Independent toy store blacks out scannable codes on LEGO CMFs
An independent German toy store has made scanning your way to the LEGO Collectible Minifigures characters you want trickier.
If you’ve got specific minifigures from 71047 Dungeons & Dragons that you want or you want to avoid duplicates, using Brick Search to scan the matrix codes on the base will tell you what’s inside the blind box before you buy. It’s a happy compromise between keeping the air of mystery for those who want it and avoiding getting unwanted minifigures for those who just want the character they want.
However, one independent German toy store in Lower Saxony has taken action to stop people from scanning those codes, blacking out the matrix codes so that they couldn’t be scanned. A redditor shared pictures of the matrix codes, along with their six minifigures. They were lucky to not get duplicates but were forced to buy minifigures the old-fashioned way, with the true air of mystery.
This is a stark contrast to LEGO stores, according to people sharing stories in the comments. Others report LEGO employees being apathetic or even happy about people scanning for the minifigures they want. Other independent stores even go so far as to unbox and prepare entire sets for those who want to buy all 12 characters in one fell swoop.
“My local (not official) LEGO store just unpacks them and sells them as a complete set for the original price or per minifigure for 50 cents more,” commented one person. “Understandable. Everybody who knows it just goes to him…and he makes a little bit more money than selling them packed. Win-win.”
No matter what approach your local store is going with, be prepared with Brick Search. Download Brick Search for free by clicking here for Android or here for IOS, or by scanning the QR code below if you’re reading this on a desktop.
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this just feels like a very petty move by the store owner and I’ll be avoiding the store. The only logical explanation for this is greed. Force customers to buy more minifigures to get the set they want rather than just let them buy the minifigures they want.
if it’s permanent marker, using a dry erase marker makes the permanent marker erasable. However, if the code is also printed on after the bag was made @ LEGO, then the code may erase, too.