LEGO reportedly ending SDCC exclusives for good
The LEGO Group has reportedly abandoned the concept of SDCC-exclusive sets and minifigures for good, following a complete absence of any exclusives at this year’s event.
That’s according to Allen from The Brick Fan, who’s currently attending the first physical San Diego Comic-Con since 2019. Prior to the onset of the global pandemic – and SDCC’s two-year in-person hiatus – the LEGO Group regularly offered exclusive sets and minifigures at the convention, typically tied to licensed themes like Star Wars, Marvel and Stranger Things.
Those exclusives were produced in very small numbers, and even attending SDCC was no guarantee that you’d get your hands on them. The result, of course, was that they quickly ballooned in price on the aftermarket, with especially rare and sought-after minifigures going for triple or even quadruple figures.
For the vast majority who couldn’t attend San Diego Comic-Con – or weren’t lucky enough to get their hands on the exclusives through the lottery system – these sets and minifigures proved grating and frustrating more than anything. Want a Jean Grey X-Men minifigure? Or the very first BrickHeadz sets for a complete collection? You’d best be prepared to pay through the nose for them.
That the LEGO Group is now seemingly abandoning SDCC exclusives for good will probably be a source of relief for most collectors, then – but for those few who were fortunate enough to get their hands on them in person (and perhaps used them to recoup the costs of attending), this will probably not be a welcome move.
Likewise for those with deep enough pockets to collect and enjoy the varied cast of characters that SDCC has brought us over the years, many of whom – like Sheriff Deadpool and Legends of Tomorrow’s Vixen – would likely never have appeared in regular LEGO Marvel or DC sets otherwise.
While the LEGO Group has definitely skipped exclusive products at this year’s SDCC, though, we don’t yet have official confirmation that it’s retiring them permanently, so it’s probably worth filing this one in the rumour drawer for now.
The company hasn’t been totally absent at SDCC, either: it still has a booth on the show floor, where it’s currently displaying the four newly-revealed LEGO Avatar sets.
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- I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.
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Seriously I am going to have to rethink SDCC if Lego isn’t going to have exclusives. The figures are done by random giveaway, and you only get an entry for having a badge. Scalpers are not scooping up bunches, because its random, and you have limited entries. All collectibles have exclusives that are harder to get. I want an AT-AT, but the cost is unfairly keeping me from getting one, should I whine and complain about that? And people who get the giveaway minifigs have to work for them with their time and perseverance. I can tell you first hand, there is absolutely no line for Lego’s retail shop here, but the Nanoblocks booth with an entire wall of well done Pokémon figures has a line around their booth. The Lego booth is very sad this year and does not have the energy that they usually bring to the Con. I am deeply saddened and hope Lego rethink this decision.
For science, I personally love the avatar sets! They all look pretty good, and I know most people don’t agree with me, but I think it is a lot better than people make it out. I just wish people would be less dismissive and give this theme a chance. I’ve never seen so much backlash before anyone even has them in hand.