A Moral Dilemma...

[meeotch]

I was at work at Target yesterday and noticed something, which I thought would be an interesting thing to discuss here.

Assume for the sake of this discussion that you are in the market for a dry-erase board and you are shopping at Target. Picking up and examining all of the various models that they carry, you notice that they are all by the same brand, "The Board Dudes." But then something grabs your eye. Down at the bottom of the packaging, you see that little logo that tells you, "A company of Mega Brands." Therein lies the dilemma. Is purchasing non-building toy products from Mega Brands okay? What would you do? Why or why not?

Me personally, I would probably just buy the board, but I wouldn't feel great about it. Since I work at Target, I get a discount on everything in the store, and I don't really care enough about a dry-erase board to shop around for a non-Mega branded one.

[Unsier]

Well, you, meeotch, are not going to heaven then.

[meeotch]

Oh boy, is that a discussion for a different thread... But I guess that lets me know where you stand.

[Flynn]

I used to buy USA Gold pencils...'til I noticed they were Mega Brands.

Shame, too, they were good pencils.

[Andi]

What is Mega Brands?

[SkwerlJones]

Don't worry, your dirty little secret is safe with me.

But in all seriousness, it isn't something I would lose sleep over. None. I am talking about 8 full hours. No interruptions. Like a baby. A cute baby.

[Heady]

Andi: Mega Brands is the Uber-Corporation that owns Mega Bloks. (I think)

[Bored Robot]

I'm not a fan of Super Giganto Corporations that sell/produce everything from pencils to birdseed and food coloring to deodorant, so I would probably buy a different board if there was a choice. If you think about it, no company can be good at doing so many different things which tells me they just swallowed a bunch of smaller fish (some of which may not have wanted to be swallowed).

Then again, it's just a dry erase board and I need it to get some work done so who cares right?

I'm not helping...

[Gumby]

Haha too funny.

Looking at the subject, as I read your post, I thought you were going to steal a dry-erase board!

[Duckman]

If it was the company, or even a company affiliated with Mega Blocks..... ditch ém.... they are in direct competition with TLC, and the more ppl that boycott that rubbish producing company, the better. I'm not saying I want a monopoly for building bricks (well, perhaps I am), but I am saying that considering the company is going to be in the hearts of my children, their children and so on and so on, and the professionalism and duty of care TLC passes onto the public is second to no other company.

[GIR3691]

*sigh* Fanboys...

If the dry erase board is good quality, and you want it, then buy it. Who cares. You aren't going to put TLG out of business by buying a totally different product.

[meeotch]

Okay, new quandry. The fate of my decision may very well rest with you, the hive mind.

Mega Blocks has the Nickelodeon liscence. Showing up very recently on toy-store shelves across the country (specifically at your local Target, though I bet elsewhere as well) are Ni Hao Kai Lan and, even cooler, Yo Gabba Gabba liscenced building sets. If ever I have been tempted to go to the Dark Side (Mega Side?) it's now. My kids (and myself) are Yo Gabba Gabba fans. If you don't know what that is, go ahead, check youtube. Just to drive home the relative fanboyish-ness I hold for Yo Gabba Gabba, I will show you:

a) a music video I made of an original electronic music track I made;

and b) my Halloween costume from last year.



Given these details, is it okay for me to purchase Mega Blocks?By the way, my mind has been made up, I'll get them if I can afford them, I just want to see what everyone else thinks.

[Solo]

If it appeals to you: buy it. You don't need community approval for spending your money.

[ThinkingImpaired]

People here are saying "don't support mega-bloks so you can help Lego." I say buy from Mega-blocks to keep Lego's competition tough which well keep Lego's prices competitive. Start thinking indirectly people.

[Coret]

Mega Blocks is inferior quality. Plain and simple, however, I don't see a problem buying something like that if you want a licensed product they do, if it isn't half bad. But remember that it will be made out of cheap plastic and won't be up to TLC's higher standards.

Myself I actually bought a Mega Blocks Wolverine just because I wanted those claws.

As to the dry erase board, you can probably find a better product than the Mega Brand, and possibly cheaper.

[Draykov]

Nagging doubt is in my tummy...so yummy, so yummy!

[Daz Hoo]

Geez... some people here are REALLY fan boys of a certain company...

Dude, if you want something, and the price is fair to you for the quality it gives you, than by all means, do buy it. You don't need of bunch of nerds collecting building blocks to tell you how to spend your hard earn money.

Also, for all Mega bashers out there, there is a reason why Mega Blocks decided to change its name to Mega Brands. A few years back, when things went economically better for them, MB acquired a number of other small toy companies, expanding their market well beyond building blocks. Now, I'm no expert in boards, but it could be possible that Mega Brands now owns the best darn dry erase boards out there.

Buying a dry erase board from Mega Brands doesn't effect LEGO in any way. Buying a building set from MB instead of a LEGO set, now that's a completely different story. Than again, who am I to tell you to buy this brand instead of that brand?

My two cents.

[theJudeAbides]

Wow, is it national "Daz Hoo lays down the common sense" day or something? Between this post and the one in the G-Force thread, I'd recon that it is.

I've always found this kind of unwavering brand loyalty to be a bit ludicrous; yet no matter where look, you see it. Cars, video games, fast-food restaurants, and of course building bricks (among many others) somehow inspire the kind of loyalty that was once reserved for family and country.

As Daz Hoo said, if a product appeals to you and fits your budget, buy it. Ask yourself, what exactly did that brand you're so loyal to ever do for you? It sold you it's product. Nothing more, nothing less. And what did that brand you hate ever do? It tried to sell you it's product. Yet ask the average LEGO fan what Mega Blocks did, and you'll leave thinking they were responsible for all terrorist acts ever, raped their mother and sister, and keyed their 1965 Cadillac with chrome rims. Oh, and they secretly backed Hitler.

What do you think would happen to LEGO prices if Mega Blocks suddenly stopped making building toys? You can bet they would rocket even higher. Competition is what keeps prices low and quality high. Without competition, what incentive would LEGO have to keep it's quality high and prices low? None. You may think their carefully constructed image (that's what PR departments are for) of being family friendly and "committed to quality" would hold, and perhaps it would, but it's unlikely. I'm sure you could even find some talking head to tell you that, "LEGO is committed to quality, no matter what." But really, what else would they say? "LEGO is committed to quality, so long as that remains profitable and suits our business model"? Unlikely. Mega Block's alleged inferior quality makes the job of LEGO's marketing department very easy.

Well, this turned into a longer rant than I intended, but what are you gonna do?

And in case you're wondering about the hypocrisy between this post and this one, bite me.

[GrayMattR]

MegaBrands also owns the Rose Art brand with all the colored pencils and art supplies. I've found those to be good quality. (Well, good enough for my kids to use at school - not like I'm a professional artist...) If it's between them and Crayola brand, I get whatever's cheapest.

However, you won't catch me dead with their Halo Wars "brick construction sets" since they 1) compete directly with Lego sets, 2) market a mature game (supposedly 17 and up) to young kids, 3) are made of inferior plastic, 4) molded so much they may as well be Hasbro, 5) minifigs are cartoony.