Author Topic: Playmobil verses LEGO  (Read 12756 times)

Offline Richard

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #10 on: June 28, 2008, 04:52:42 »



... I might be the longest-running parts orderer in the USA!



You might be, Timmy.

It all depends on whether or not you ordered your parts from Schaper before (or after) I did ... :klickywink:



Offline playmofire

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #11 on: June 28, 2008, 05:55:48 »


If every accomodation they make for us leads to vocal outrage, the company will either:

1) keep striving like a footsore boyfriend to make us happy
2) write us off as a bunch of cranks and do the minimum to keep us hanging on

In fact, are Playmobil and Lego revolutionaries in the industry considering the extent they let us order parts piecemail?  Does Hasbro accommodate this for Star Wars figures and GI Joe?


-Tim


You're quite right, Tim, and option 2 is always a possibility.  I suspect that there are few people who think of thanking DS (in any country) for their work and help, and fewer still who think of thanking them and then do so.  I always let UK DS know when an order arrives and thank them for their work in ordering it etc, and send them a card at Christmas.  Yes, they do make mistakes, but certainly in the UK I've always found them quick to correct them.  And ordering DS parts must be difficult for them as the parts are often described in German and there don't seem to pictures of the parts available to them.

Overall, the spare parts supply must be a pretty massive operation in terms of stock held and labour intensive and, on both counts costly, so it must often be tempting in these days to look at it as a possible source of cost cutting, so I say:

THANK YOU PLAYMOBIL FOR DS!
« Last Edit: June 28, 2008, 06:10:04 by playmofire »
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Offline LHAAP

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #12 on: June 28, 2008, 08:27:04 »
Older?  Heh, Geobra has been around since the 1930s and produced appliances; later hula hoops and big toy trucks kids could ride on.
So, Geobra is actually older than Lego.

Actually not. LEGO started producing tree toys in 1934 with the name LEGO. So the companies are around the same age.
LEGO has produced plastic toys since 1947.

I'm sorry that I didn't have in mind that Playmobil's mother company was around already in the 1930's 8}

Offline Gustavo

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #13 on: June 28, 2008, 16:24:28 »
Actually not. LEGO started producing tree toys in 1934 with the name LEGO. So the companies are around the same age.
LEGO has produced plastic toys since 1947.

I'm sorry that I didn't have in mind that Playmobil's mother company was around already in the 1930's 8}

[:2c:]& Playmobil itself appeared in the '70s ...[:2c:]


You're quite right, Tim, and option 2 is always a possibility.  I suspect that there are few people who think of thanking DS (in any country) for their work and help, and fewer still who think of thanking them and then do so.  I always let UK DS know when an order arrives and thank them for their work in ordering it etc, and send them a card at Christmas.  Yes, they do make mistakes, but certainly in the UK I've always found them quick to correct them.  And ordering DS parts must be difficult for them as the parts are often described in German and there don't seem to pictures of the parts available to them.


They probably use Heather's, which would be bad for them :( ... (Heather's "Inn"'s the best, but she isn't hired by gB ; She should be (...) ; it's bad for them because they SHOULD have catalogues of EVERY part exclusively FOR THEM, DS sellers. Not printed ones, but in the internet: everything's so easy to be done, nowadays!, you don't have to print a comma!

I use to give feedback (including to say that the work was done/well_done/excellent) in my transactions through the internet, or at least I did, until now, because I could make compliments, and I wished ... It's not only polite, but a recognition that, once the work is being satisfactory in its purpose, I will go on buying, which is good for me, good for them ...

(Once I hadn't made any ... warm acquaintances, I still haven't sent any Christmas cards yet. I have to admit that it isn't a habit of mine, though :-[ But I hope I will improve my manners, as the I grow ... wiser ;D )


Overall, the spare parts supply must be a pretty massive operation in terms of stock held and labour intensive and, on both counts costly, so it must often be tempting in these days to look at it as a possible source of cost cutting, so I say:

THANK YOU PLAYMOBIL FOR DS!

I quote myself:

ARE THEY HEARING THIS?, or are we only supposing they are? Have them ever given any feedback like "hey, we came to know what you posted" ...

In this, Joe's letter gives some interesting advice: we should invite some "ambassadors" to talk with us collectors here, so that they can defend their way of work (most times), and be thankful whenever we say that they are important to us (few times, shame on us ; even though they must improve their way of serving : everyone does).

I'm not a user of DS up till now, because I'm beginning (again) in Playmobil, but I remember, in Portugal, having written a letter to Playmobil Alicante, because a hat had been missing in a set, and they sent the hat promptly.

Later, I sent another letter, saying that I liked the orange cat, and that I'd like to buy one, and asked whether it was possible, and they sent me the orange cat, promptly.

So, I think DS was working fine, back there in the '90s, as well as I believe they still do so, with kids that write saying "it was missing one", or "can I buy one?" ... But collectors are never satisfied.

I don't know if they're hearing me, Gordon, but I'll double your thanks ...

If you are hearing, Playmobil,
THANK YOU, PLAYMOBIL, FOR YOUR SERVICES
IN GENERAL
& I sign : Blackhair Gus

Gus
:blackhair:
Gus
:blackhair:

Offline Timotheos

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #14 on: June 28, 2008, 16:38:09 »
I'm sorry that I didn't have in mind that Playmobil's mother company was around already in the 1930's 8}

Geobra still wins!  (My data was wrong):

From the Playmobil USA website under company history:

Quote
Once upon a time in 1876, there was a locksmith named Andreas Brandstätter. Mr. Brandstätter planted a magical seed that would eventually blossom into PLAYMOBIL® by founding an eponymous lock and metal fitting company in Fürth, Germany. His son, Georg Brandstätter, took over the company in 1908, changed its name to Metallwarenfabrik Georg Brandstätter, and in 1921 moved the headquarters to Zirndorf, Germany, where it remains to the present day. By the 1930s, the company had again been redefined, manufacturing telephones, cash registers, and various items for toy shops using sheet metal, and going through another name change, to geobra (short for Georg Brandstätter).

A company name like
Quote
Metallwarenfabrik Georg Brandstätter
rolls right off the tongue...

Is Playmobil a "company" or a trademark?  Geobra's only other product are those funky flower pots, right?

Offline playmofire

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #15 on: June 28, 2008, 17:26:04 »

Is Playmobil a "company" or a trademark?  Geobra's only other product are those funky flower pots, right?

In Malta, the Brandstatter Group - Malta in the late 1990s included Hob Software Ltd. (software packages for Brandstatter), Inmold Ltd., (manufactuere and repair of steel moulds for injection moulding and other steel tools and jigs), Hob Components Ltd. (Maxiplug System), and Hob Electronics Ltd. (electrical and mechanical timers in domestic appliances).  Whether the group still includes these companies I don't know.
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Offline Richard

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #16 on: June 28, 2008, 17:28:28 »


Gordon is absolutely correct!

Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG) is a German company, headquartered in Zirndorf. The group is comprised of toy company Playmobil, Playmobil 1.2.3 Ltd, Inmold Ltd, Hob Electronics Ltd, Hob Components Ltd, HOB Inc., HOB GmbH & Co KG, and Hob Software Ltd.

In 1876, the company was founded by Andreas Brandstätter in Fürth, Bavaria and produced ornamental fittings and locks. By 1921, the company mainly was producing metal toys such as piggy banks, telephones, cash registers, and scales.

In 1954, production shifted to plastics and in the following years produced toys such as the Multi-Worker play-set.[1] The Playmobil line of products was introduced in 1970 under Horst Brandstätter and marketed worldwide in 1975. Since 1971, Brandstätter has been operating in Malta.

The Brandstätter Group produces exclusively in Europe, chiefly at its main factory in Dietenhofen, 25 km from Zirndorf, with a workforce of 750 people. Although Playmobil also has factories in Malta (700 employees), Spain and the Czech Republic, Horst Brandstätter expanded production in Germany, and invested heavily in the Dietenhofen factory.

Offline LHAAP

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #17 on: June 28, 2008, 17:44:56 »
Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG) is a German company, headquartered in Zirndorf. The group is comprised of toy company Playmobil, Playmobil 1.2.3 Ltd, Inmold Ltd, Hob Electronics Ltd, Hob Components Ltd, HOB Inc., HOB GmbH & Co KG, and Hob Software Ltd.

Thanks for all the facts, Richard - Mr. Facts  :)

I noticed that you wrote Playmobil 1.2.3. Ltd.. Isn't this department based in Germany?

Offline Richard

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #18 on: June 28, 2008, 19:05:55 »




Thanks for all the facts, Richard - Mr. Facts  :)

I noticed that you wrote Playmobil 1.2.3. Ltd.. Isn't this department based in Germany?




Thanks, Lars ...

However, they weren't my facts ...  :-[

I "borrowed" them from Wikipedia ...  ::)

I forgot to "quote" my source ... sorry ... 8}





Offline Timotheos

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Re: Playmobil verses LEGO
« Reply #19 on: June 28, 2008, 20:52:30 »
So what's the story with the flower pots?  I get a catalog sometimes with my Playmobil orders.