Between 8:00 – 8:30 AM ET, the LEGO UCS Millenium Falcon VIP sale went live. Sort of. From my perspective, it was an unmitigated disaster. If The LEGO Group wasn’t aware of it before, this should be proof to them that their website needs SERIOUS work. It’s flaky on a good day. This botched sale showed it can’t handle significant loads of any kind.
UCS Millenium Falcon VIP Sale FAIL!
I have been eagerly awaiting this day. Today was my chance to erase my biggest LEGO regret to date; passing up on the original UCS Falcon. I began my day at 7:00 AM in front of my computer, and refreshed the screen every 10 minutes or so to see when the sale went live. My first sign that it was close was when I noticed I was no longer logged in as a VIP member.
It was all down hill from there
For the next hour, I dealt with various connection errors, account logouts, ridiculously slow response times, etc. Long story short, I was not able to make my purchase during the UCS Millenium Falcon VIP sale. On the bright side, this gives me a chance to wait until it goes on sale or to at least wait for double VIP points.
Realistically, how many people could have been hitting the website during this time? How many people are willing to pay $800 for a toy? I’d be shocked if the server load was ever over 100,000 visitors. ANY e-commerce website should be able to handle that. This excuse for a website is pitiful for a company the size of TLG. Seriously. Hire some real coders, and spend some money on your hosting facilities. This isn’t rocket science.
I thought I made my peace with missing out on this sale, however, I clearly have not. I’m getting more and more angry thinking about it.
Grrrrrrrrrrr
If you’re in the US, check checking this link to see if the new UCS Falcon is back in stock.
UPDATED 9/15
Today, this is what people are seeing on the LEGO Shop@Home website.
On Thursday, September 14, the LEGO Group gave its VIP members an opportunity to purchase the LEGO® Star Wars™ Millennium Falcon™. We are thrilled by the positive response to the set, which is the largest we’ve ever released so far. We can assure all our fans around the world, that we are doing everything we can to make more sets available and keep our LEGO builders happy.
I am an Adult Fan of LEGO (AFOL) and an active member of the Michigan LEGO User Group (MichLUG). I have loved LEGO for as long as I can remember. I am currently working on the following models:
– UCS Millenium Falcon
– Emmett’s Apartment Building
– Gringott’s Bank
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