Do any of you guys do this in regards to the Simpsons Lego.

[Roebuck]

My friend and I were at Toys R Us for almost an hour doing this while looking through the Simpsons Lego mini figures mystery packs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRi9fSAazw0

[hatcher]

Or, you could buy an entire box, take it home and identify the ones you want in the privacy and comfort of your own home and then return the ones you don't want the next day. Just don't open them.

[lego the hutt]

Or, you could buy an entire box, take it home and identify the ones you want in the privacy and comfort of your own home and then return the ones you don't want the next day. Just don't open them.

That is an interesting idea Hatcher.

At this point I'm anti "blind bag feeling" unless the employees at the store go out of their way to offer to help you feel the blind bags (like they sometimes do at the Lego store). I feel that it is pretty disrespectful to the employees and other customers to stand in the isle and do what that guy was doing in the video. (he even commented that the employees were giving him dirty looks).

For one thing, those products that don't get purchased need to be resold. Now the packaging is all wrinkled and crumpled. The normal customer who might purchase one as an impulse buy is less likely to pick one up when the packaging looks like that. Usually I find CMF blind bags laying on the shelf next to the box that people have gone through. Those employees don't want to have to clean up after you and try to re-box them neatly.

I have never seen older AFoLs standing in a store doing this. Maybe they are just more discreet or do what Hatcher recommends.

Just be respectful to those around you in general. Be aware of how your actions might affect others. Life lessons based on Lego I guess.

I usually end up trying to trade any duplicates. Ending up with some duplicates isn't that bad anyway.

[condor]

I've seen a lot of people doing this at the Lego store from kids to adults. I haven't sent it done at the any of the big box stores since they don't have them available anymore, probably because people are buying the full box to feel them up at home.

I don't think they have any trouble selling the rejects since I can't find them anywhere.

[lego the hutt]

I've seen a lot of people doing this at the Lego store from kids to adults. I haven't sent it done at the any of the big box stores since they don't have them available anymore, probably because people are buying the full box to feel them up at home.

I don't think they have any trouble selling the rejects since I can't find them anywhere.

Yep, they don't mind as much at the Lego store. They will even sometimes help you feel.

It's more than just the Simpsons though. This has been going on for years with all the CMFs. To tell you the truth it didn't bother me until MR. Gold was available. Then every box seemed to be a mess and many of the packages thrashed. The Simpsons are just easier to feel than some of the CMFs in past years because of the new heads.

Interesting that you can't find them. I have read reports on other forums that, while they sold fast the first week, now the boxes have been sitting. Possibly because of the 4$ price? I know around me I have seen them at 3 or 4 big box stores without really trying.

Maybe I shouldn't have voiced my opinion on this one...I sound old.

[vynsane]

Yep, they don't mind as much at the Lego store. They will even sometimes help you feel.

I've never had anyone "mind" at stores other than LEGO Stores. I've gotten a few odd looks from other customers from time to time, but the employees are largely ambivalent.

If the customers have kids and are also looking for CMFs I always try to help them find the ones they're looking for, which seems to ease the tension.

It's more than just the Simpsons though. This has been going on for years with all the CMFs.

Yes, I'm a self-diagnosed CMF molester. I go to CMFaholics Anonymous for help. I kinda miss the barcode days, although I am not interested in any of the Simpsons figures (despite having been a big fan of the show for a solid decade through High School/College), so this series has been a bit of a respite for me in terms of CMF frenzy.

I was dismayed at how fast the Movie series was gone, though - I think I only saw them twice. Managed to get the figures I really wanted except for the secretary robot, but none of the rest.

[lego the hutt]

Part of my thoughts extend to other blind bag/box items beyond Lego. It is generally more frowned upon with other toys. The local comic book store owner will tell you not to do that. He went on a small rant one time when I felt one of the Dr Who blind bags at the register for about 5 seconds and I said "feels like a Dalek"...and he is always a really nice guy. The large box store employees always have to turn a blind eye but smaller retailers will often say something (not many smaller retailers carry Lego and the larger stores would rather lose a bit of profit in the present if it means keeping the consumer happy in the long run).

I've never had anyone "mind" at stores other than LEGO Stores. I've gotten a few odd looks from other customers from time to time, but the employees are largely ambivalent.

As someone who used to work in customer service for over 10 years I guarantee you some of those employees who witnessed your blind bag feeling "minded" and took exception to it, but were not at the liberty to say anything.

But then Lego tends to be different from other toys in many ways. For example, profiting from selling action figures is very frowned upon in the collector community until they are considered "vintage" 15 or 20 years later while people encourage it with Lego (my thought is because Lego is so well distributed and has such a long shelf life that you don't run into the same type of issues with scalpers and consumers unable to attain the product if they want it)...but now I am off on a tangent.

In the end, to each their own. It is just not something I am comfortable with.

[vynsane]

As someone who used to work in customer service for over 10 years I guarantee you some of those employees who witnessed your blind bag feeling "minded" and took exception to it, but were not at the liberty to say anything.

In my time in "retail hell" I think I would have more greatly minded the "buy all the things and eventually return the ones I don't want" route more than someone who came in, spent some time picking out the ones they wanted and leaving the rest for other customers. I guess it also depends on how you leave them - I always straightened up the leftovers and made the display neat again, looking as though no one had even touched them, not left them crinkled and all over the place as if a tiny bomb had gone off. You don't even really need to crinkle the packaging all that much to feel the distinctive pieces in most cases, you just need to grab a hold of the baseplate and instructions and shake the rest of the pieces to the bottom, then feel around for the indicative bits.

Like you said, though, to each their own. Most LEGO Store employees I've met are not only more than happy to help feel out any particular figures I've needed, some have gotten downright professional at it as if there were some sort of national CMF-feeling competition circuit! Most non-LEGO Store employees I've met who have done their routine "can I help you?" jazz have mostly smiled, nodded, and said something like "oh, yeah, that can be a challenge" when I respond that I'm just trying to find the ones my daughter and I need, and went about their business. Then again, the only other places I've ever found them were Target, Walmart and TRU - three places where I suspect they don't pay the employees enough to care one way or the other.

That one comic book guy you referenced is not your average retail employee, though - he's a sole proprietor who probably didn't have a huge stock of those figures in the first place. He was presumably trying to keep enough in the store for the largest amount of customers, rather than allowing one person to rifle through and get all the rares or whatever, and then be stuck with a bunch that no one wanted.

In the end, no matter what you do, you're probably going to inadvertently offend someone somehow.

[lego the hutt]

In my time in "retail hell" I think I would have more greatly minded the "buy all the things and eventually return the ones I don't want" route more than someone who came in, spent some time picking out the ones they wanted and leaving the rest for other customers. I guess it also depends on how you leave them - I always straightened up the leftovers and made the display neat again, looking as though no one had even touched them, not left them crinkled and all over the place as if a tiny bomb had gone off.

You are probably right about buying them all and returning them. Also, I 100% agree with the rest of this paragraph. Maybe some people do put them back in the box neatly and I only notice when it looks like a bomb has gone off. That is something that should be encouraged in the Lego community. Just straighten them up and leave them looking like you had never gone through them. I applaud that and maybe my concerns are unjustified and more people just need to take some basic steps to clean up after they feel through them all.

That one comic book guy you referenced is not your average retail employee, though - he's a sole proprietor who probably didn't have a huge stock of those figures in the first place. He was presumably trying to keep enough in the store for the largest amount of customers, rather than allowing one person to rifle through and get all the rares or whatever, and then be stuck with a bunch that no one wanted.

That is part of his concern, he doesn't want people to search through to get the rare chase figures, but also going through them negates what the retailer is trying to do by packaging them in a blind bag...which is get you to buy more than one of each. He wants to sell as many as possible.

From my point of view as a consumer this is a minor issue compared to messing up the packaging and leaving them in piles that consumers and employees have to deal with later.

In the end, no matter what you do, you're probably going to inadvertently offend someone somehow.

Very true.

I think next time I see someone tearing through the boxes I'll start a conversation with them about Lego (I sometimes do)...and then maybe mention in a nice way that they should be sure to leave them like they found them. I shouldn't complain about it if I don't try to help the problem. No one likes going to their local store and have the CMF box look like a bomb went off.

[slacker]

I started to "molest" the packs after Lego decided to have multiple versions of the dot codes. I held out as long as I could because I didn't want any molested packs. So while I do this, I make sure I don't damage the packaging unlike the video. One top of that, I also make sure that there's no evidence that I went through the box.

Lately, I've been buying all my CMF at the Lego store since I'm not getting any discount from TRU or Target. So I figure I would get some points by buying there. The good thing about this, is that employees at my Lego store are supper friendly and it doesn't bother them that you molest the packs. They really don't want people to return the packs back.

[StClair]

I "feel" and search for the ones that I want. I can't afford to buy multiples of the ones that I don't want. Sometimes I really like the figure while other times I only want a few pieces or parts. I can't justify spending 2.99 for figures that I don't want. Occasionally I order blind bags and don't get to "feel" for them. In this case I use the ones that I don't want for gifts or I list them on ebay.

As others mentioned I see nothing wrong with searching for the ones that I want. I do it carefully and gently so that I don't damage the parts and am careful with the package. When I'm finished I clean up and most of the time I leave the display in better condition than when I arrived.

I've had several good conversations with others while "feeling" that would not have happened had I not taken the time to do so. Other times I've handed young fans the ones that they are looking for or help other parents with their search.