Random musings on Lego Pricing and Positioning

I’ve admired Lego since childhood, although I haven’t collected many sets over the years, the most recent being two Technic kits about 7-8 years ago. What holds me back is the plastic. I hope Lego soon finds a more eco-friendly alternative to their iconic bricks.

When buying Lego kits, I usually apply a simple thumb rule: the price roughly correlates to the number of pieces. In India, on Amazon at least, the price tends to be about 10 times the piece count, give or take a few hundred or thousand depending on the scale.

For example, a set with 800 pieces typically costs between ₹6,000 and ₹10,000. If a kit falls outside this range, I consider it either a bargain or overpriced.

Recently, I was casually browsing Lego kits during a work break, when I spotted two sets that didn’t quite fit this pattern: the Pac-Man arcade machine and the NASA Artemis Space Launch System.

The Pac-Man kit has 2,651 pieces, available at a discounted ₹25,299 (MRP ₹29,999) on Amazon.
The Artemis kit has 3,601 pieces, but was priced lower at ₹21,299 (MRP ₹24,999), also on Amazon.

This caught my attention for a few reasons. The Pac-Man set, with its nostalgic appeal for Gen X and older Millennials, perhaps commands a premium price despite having nearly 1,000 fewer pieces than the Artemis kit. Its dynamic, interactive design surely makes it a cooler and more desirable build.

The Artemis set on the other hand, likely has a much narrower audience. It may not resonate too strongly with younger builders compared to popular themes like Star Wars. And also, the real Artemis program’s mission, deep space exploration and asteroid research in relation to Earth’s (possibly bleak) future, carries a subtle, somber undertone to it. The set also appears to have far too many recurring pieces, which reduces its perceived value at least for me.

Besides, the Artemis kit perhaps targets adults who want a sophisticated showpiece or conversation starter. Though even among adults, unlike perhaps an authentic, NASA-certified scale version, a Lego version can still be seen as a childish hobby. Unless of course it is a Lego Serious Play workshop mandated by HR. So this might limit how much enthusiasts might be willing to pay for this kit.
End of musing.

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