The Two Sides Of The “Genuine” LEGO Snobbery

There are LEGO fans and there are “LEGO” fans, and the two are not the same…

There is no topic more heated among LEGO fans, than being or not a LEGO purist. If it sounds somewhat religious, that’s probably because it kind of is. In fact, I am part of the purist community, so I guess that puts me into the religious category of LEGO fans. But as I often do in my blogs, I will dive deeper into this topic and look at it from both sides of the fence, play the devil’s advocate even. Is LEGO at the end of the day just plastic bricks, or is it more? What’s behind the fanatic purism, and why perhaps the opposite side isn’t as wrong as they may seem for mixing various brands together and still calling them LEGO.

Some context for the uninitiated

One of the very few reasons you might see two people literally punching each other in the face at a LEGO convention, is for one of them daring or even suggesting mixing non-LEGO bricks into a LEGO creation. Big no-no if you ask some, perfectly fine if you ask others. You’d think that LEGO fans are lovely nerds who wouldn’t hurt a fly, and while the flies may be in no danger, being in the wrong group when that fight goes down can leave you in tatters and at the very least mentally and emotionally scarred for life.

So, what does it mean to be really a purist or not be one, and why does it matter? Well, what you have to understand is that LEGO has a well-loved history, and has become a household name just as much as Hoover. Except while Hoover fans won’t punch anyone in the face for calling a non Hoover branded vacuum cleaner a Hoover, which everyone in the UK and much of Ireland, does — except maybe the Dyson fans — LEGO as a brand always liked to keep a close eye on what is being called LEGO and what isn’t. It’s a trademark thing, really.

Of course, other companies over the years, seeing LEGO’s success in toy bricks, wanted to copy them to the extent that their bricks would actually fit the LEGO branded ones. Some fans loved this idea, but for no other reason than the massive price-difference. Essentially, a $400 LEGO set, they were now able to buy for $80 from the likes of Lepin. The rest of the fans, however, sided with LEGO, who while has many patents expired over the years, still registers many more every year.

Essentially, what it all boils down to is branding. The purists will do their absolute best to only use LEGO-branded pieces and in their original form untainted with anything else, while the other group will get their hands on anything, heck, some will even 3D-print pieces, even if that involves lesser-quality parts. Now, armed with that context, let’s look at both sides of the conversation — I wish, more like an endless rabid fight.

The purist view

For transparency’s sake, I identify as a LEGO purist. I recently bought 6 Kg of used LEGO, and I spent at least a full day’s worth of time just sorting out the non-genuine LEGO pieces to make sure they don’t end up in my collection. That’s a long time for someone who values their time at over $50/h. The reasons may or may not make sense to some, and I am perfectly fine with that.

For many of us, it’s about brand loyalty. The first LEGO set I received, at the age of 7, was a LEGO branded kit. It was small, but from that moment on, I did not consider anything else to be LEGO, other than sets, pieces and mini-figures that had the LEGO branding. For us, someone copying a LEGO set and its pieces feels like copyright infringement, an attempt to create something fake to hurt the original brand.

With that of course also comes a touch of elitism. It’s not meant to be offensive, but I will admit that there is in the purist community a sense of looking down on brands that copy LEGO, and unfortunately, implicitly on the people who support those brands by buying their sets. While it’s tough to admit, I think, us, purists contribute a bit to creating a class-based vibe within the larger AFOL community, where purists “can afford” real LEGO, and the rest can’t. This is something that I myself, even as a purist, disagree with. It’s the last thing a community around toys and creativity should allow for.

Obviously, some of all this does stem from somewhere, and it goes back to those original patents that started expiring in the 70s. That meant, suddenly anyone was able to mould bricks that fit the LEGO branded pieces. The way we see this is that all the other companies exploited the system and just waited for LEGO to have their patents expired and then jump at its throat through releasing exponentially cheaper copies of their products. You can read a lot more about the patents on beemlaw.com. The LEGO Group even has an official brochure about this stuff!

With these products, you often lose something vital, and that’s quality, and pretty much all competing brands had issues with the quality of their bricks. Those typically didn’t stick together well, colours were off, the mould marks were very visible and even palpable and just all-around didn’t even come close to the quality we expect from LEGO. To this day, this is somewhat true. I can, 95% of the time, recognise a non-LEGO piece without even looking for the branding. Competing brands, however, did improve to some extent, so their sets aren’t as sad of a story as before, and in fairness also work quite well when mixed with LEGO bricks. That being said, we still don’t want those anywhere near our LEGO collection.

The final aspect worth mentioning, which I’m not certain how many really care about, but I certainly do, is supporting European manufacturing. LEGO is manufactured mostly in Europe, and some of it in Mexico. This was true though only until 2016 and even less so in 2022, when LEGO announced that they are expanding their Chinese factory. The purist argument would have been that it’s good to keep local businesses local and pay our own people, even if that results in higher prices on the shelves. I share some of that sentiment, but not all of it. I, for one, am happy that Mexico is part of the LEGO family. When it comes to China, I have yet to form an opinion. If I start seeing people being laid off in Europe or Mexico, then me and many other purists will be pretty pissed off. If, on the other hand, the move is really just an expansion project with no effect on quality, then so be it. I have nothing against Asian families and AFOLs having genuine LEGO manufactured on their home-land.

Everyone else’s view

People want to pay as little as possible for as much as possible. Shocker, innit? But it’s true, and the most popular argument against LEGO purism is the price of LEGO sets and bricks. Yes, LEGO isn’t cheap, though even inflation being considered, over the decades its prices actually have gone down, and yes, even with this year’s price hikes. Having said that, when looking at competing and compatible brands where the same exact set costs 4–6 times less, it’s hard to argue with the high LEGO prices being, well… high. Many AFOLs don’t just buy sets occasionally, but dedicate entire rooms for massive LEGO cities and MOCs, which of course means their budgets are stretched a lot more than perhaps mine, who buys say 20 sets a year and calls it a day.

Funnily, enough, this group has a view on the expired patent too. In their view, it’s just how patents work, and it’s part of doing business. While it feels reductionist to say the least, it is the harsh reality that LEGO has to deal with. Patents are not eternal. Take a look at this piece, for instance. The patent for it is set to expire in 2028. It is what it is. From that date onwards, chances are anyone can mould that piece, and you bet most competitors will. It feels lazy to just copy someone else’s work, but that’s how patent law works, apparently.

Finally, the lack of brand loyalty — the sharp opposite of the purist view. This group is not about LEGO as a brand or even the pieces being in their original shape, but more about building stuff with whatever they can, as long as the quality is at least passable. Typically, you’ll find 4–5, or even more brands mixed all into tubs, and their builds, and many can’t wait to see an original LEGO set being replicated by a competitor, to snap it up on the cheap. To them, LEGO is just another manufacturer, all they care about is bricks that interlock and happen to follow the same standard as LEGO pieces. Everything else, pretty much irrelevant. It’s all about building and creativity with little or zero brand association or limitation.

Does it ultimately matter?

Conceptually? Not really, no. At the end of the day, even as a purist, I will agree that LEGO and LEGO-like bricks are about the experience and creativity, and frankly all the brands provide that just fine. There are no real reasons for acting like a snob or belittling someone who doesn’t always use genuine LEGO bricks. LEGO was never about that, and honestly most kids would never care about any of this. Some will, just like I did, but many won’t, so there is an element of “AFOLs need to grow the feck up”, not that we’d ever really want to, we’re all playing with toy bricks for God’s sake.

We will never truly grow up, we don’t want to, and even if we wanted to, we’re incapable. We’ll stop in the middle of sex if someone shows us a new LEGO set. 🤣

There is one other thing to consider, though. The value of these sets. When it comes to resale value, LEGO is pretty much in the same boat as Apple. Sells really well, even used. Mix in some alternative brands, and you got yourself a tainted collection you’ll find much more difficult to sell. Alternative brand sets also don’t sell well, even brand new a couple of years later nor do modified LEGO bricks. Nobody wants them. Their value is purely in ownership, but zero when it comes to resale.

So from this perspective it matters a lot whether you’re a purist or not. As a purist, you’re likely sitting on a little gold-mine, as a non-purist, well, good luck to ya. You had a lot of fun, but apart from that, probably not much else. It’s like cheap Android phone vs iPhone. Which one do you think will sell better on eBay?

Which camp should you be in? Like in every religion, the one that makes you happier… 😄

Hi there! 👋

Recently, I started a new publication — Bricks n’ Brackets — dedicated to LEGO, tech and coding. It would mean a huge deal to me if you’d follow it, though only do so, if any of those topics pique your interest. You can also read more about why I started it and what my overall goal with it is. You can also join as a writer if you’d like, as long as you submit articles around those three topics. The publication also has a YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channel. Thank you, and may the gods of creativity and success guide your day!

Attila Vago — Software Engineer improving the world one line of code at a time. Cool nerd since forever, writer of codes and blogs. Web accessibility advocate, LEGO fan, vinyl record collector. Loves craft beer!