The 1st of January is usually one of the most exciting dates on the LEGO Fan’s calendar, as a whole bunch of new sets usually get launched, with heavy hitters such as the new modular 10297 Boutique Hotel becoming available.
It’s a fun time, as eager fans get to order all the shiny new sets they’ve had their eyes on, but this year, 1 January didn’t go as smoothly as expected.
LEGO.com surprise delays
31 December 
1 January
Here in Australia, just after the stroke of midnight, many fans rudely discovered that quite a large number of LEGO sets that were originally advertised as “Coming Soon on 1 January 2022” had their releases pushed out further, some with Back Order Status, and the other coming soon.
The new release dates are also all over the shop, with sets like the Clone Trooper Commander Station having indefinite “Coming Soon” status, Ahsoka Tano Brickheadz is “Coming Soon” in the US, but is back ordered till 3 February 2022 in Australia, the Iron Man Figure is pushed out till 10 January 2022, and most devastatingly, it looks like LEGO Minifigures Series 22 is now delayed to February in Australia.
The Ahsoka Tano Brickheadz are available in the UK, in-store and online… so (???)
In short, a very confusing mess, and it’s extra frustrating because most of these sets were advertised as being available on 1 January – and I imagine many, like me had to adjust (or even abandon) their New Year LEGO purchases due to so many things being out of stock.
I can’t imagine why this couldn’t have been communicated much earlier, even a few days prior if LEGO Australia were aware of such delays, before pulling the rug on fans who stayed up till midnight to order.
Missing 1 January 2022 launch sets in-store
I’ve also heard similar stories on the ground in Australia. Holly, who is based in Sydney had an equally underwhelming trip to the LEGO Certified Store, where the situation was even more dire, with no Sonic The Hedgehog on shelves (apparently releasing on the 11th of January?), Ahsoka Tano Brickheadz or even Battle Packs.
Oh and no Monkie Kid or LEGO Mario as well. Worryingly, Monkie Kid isn’t even showing up on the LCS Coming Soon section, so who knows if they’ll actually be available in physical stores. 🤷
In the USA, it seemed like the situation was much better in-store, save for a few missing Star Wars sets.
United Kingdom LEGO Price Increases
In the UK and Europe, the 1st of January also signalled some price adjustments, with some sets going up in price, and some sets going down, in an effort to harmonise prices around Western Europe.
Painfully, the Assembly Square’s price in the UK has increased by 27%.
Brickset has a great roundup of some of the major pricing changes in Europe.
Oh and bad news for LEGO MOC builders as Pick a Brick prices also looked to have increased in the UK, with large cups costing £14.99 and small £7.99, up from £11.99 and £6.99 respectively. A 25% increase for Large Cups!
Build a Minifigure station prices are also £5.99 for three, up from £4.99 previously – a 20% increase.
Inflation, or Brexit-related, this isn’t great news for UK LEGO fans, who are already dealing with soaring cost of living and other essentials.
All in all, a very messy and frustrating experience for LEGO fans looking to get their hands on new LEGO sets. There were other minor disappointments, such as the lack of a tantalising gift with purchase (GWP), and some minor confusion about whether the new LEGO Retail Store set would be offered, thanks to ambiguous information from LEGO.
This all comes down to poor communication from LEGO, compounded by most countries being on holiday from Christmas till New Year, and the world still reeling from Supply Chain and logistics challenges, which may have contributed to some sets being delayed from appearing on shelves or online.
I was ready to make a few big purchases, and even had plans on visiting a LEGO Store on launch day to pick up Sonic (my review copy has been delayed, and hasn’t shipped yet), but caught a cold (not Covid… I think) and had to bail on my plans, so I’m thankful I didn’t travel a long way for a set that wasn’t available in-store anyway.
I even had a writeup planned on the 10 sets you need to order in January 2022… but given the delays, half the items on the list wouldn’t have been able to be ordered, so that’s put on ice instead.
Anyway, that’s been my experience and observation of what went down on 1 January 2022!
How was your 1 January 2022 LEGO shopping experience? Did you order what you wanted, or did you have to slightly alter plans like me?
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At least it cuts down on the impulse buys! 😉 I was able to order the Hotel and am satisfied for now.
People understand and respect that things happen; they don’t always go according to plan and sometimes events happen that affects availability. It’s the response to these events that separate good companies from poor companies.
Using Lego Australia as an example, it should have been obvious some sets would not be available in the new year. If it didn’t arrive before Christmas, there was no way it was going to arrive before the new year. Surely these things would be planned months in advance.
Lego could have put together a statement on their site that said “Due to shipping delays, the following sets scheduled for release 01/01/22 won’t be available. These are the sets and their estimated release times.” There would have been grumbling and complaints, but customers would have respected the situation. Instead, you get what amounts to “Surprise!” when you actually go shopping.
As you said – it should have been communicated earlier.
“Why is LEGO like this?”
“Because they’re lame!” (Creed from The Office)
It wasn’t all doom and gloom Jay – my Titanic order arrived 13 days early 🙂
*The world is burning*
“At least I have my Titanic.”
Congrats, Mike! That’s gonna be a stunning display. If I only had the space…
I managed to order Sonic from the Australian site on Jan 1. The lack of GWPs was disappointing (we normally get a good one in January) as was the ominous sign on the site saying orders would be processed sequentially from the 4th, with delays of up to 10 days expected. Haven’t seen that before either.
The was a time when my Lego online orders would reliably arrive within 2 days of order, first thing in the morning.
By and large I’ve stopped getting excited about Day 1 purchases. It’s cheaper to wait anyway and there’s always plenty of youtube content on new sets if curiosity gets the better of you.
I’m based in Europe (Ireland) and didn’t have any issues with my order, though it was small enough to begin with. I just bought the Boutique Hotel, Monkie Kid set, and the anatomically correct tiger. I was a bit surprised at the lack of any GWP, but considering issues others are having even ordering regular products I suppose I should be thankful. I also wanted to order the Beijing postcard set, though that was announced as delayed weeks ago.
I was also able to order both the Lunar New Year sets on December 26th here though I did notice they were still available on the 1st when my second order was placed.
The indefinite coming soon of 40558 worries me, as someone wanting to get a 501st battle pack (which has temporarily been out of stock for nearly 12 months for the Australia Lego store), while I watch videos with it sitting on shelf after shelf in stores in the US is just plain ridiculous. I can buy one, but at double the price and I want a few, because they are battle packs after all !
Although they have produced some great sets in 2021, in other ways, Lego seems to have really dropped the ball. I understand that logistics and in particular transport – shipping – is a nightmare right now, something out of their control, but something within their control is communication, and they just aren’t performing in that area at all.
They ALWAYS drop the ball.
I ordered the Hotel online from the Certified Store. Would have loved the BMW also, but you can’t buy everything. At least not at once.
I also wanted the Singapore set. I should have had enough VIP points for it, but none are showing. I left a message last week but am yet to hear back.
It was disappointing indeed, 2 of the sets I was waiting for are already on back order, due in Feb they say, I hope they fix some glitches soon, or at least create a page letting their fans know what’s happening.
January 1 was a bust! I didn’t put in an order because of all the stuff that was unavailable. What is going on? It’s not like this is the first year of sales for Lego. Like most normal Lego fans, I was sitting at my computer waiting for the sets to go from “Coming Jan 1” to “Available Now”. Big disappointment.
Totally agreed. I was disappointed after staying up on new year’s eve for the launch.
Not surprised though. LEGO is dumb.