What a great comparison! I have a carriage house, bit mine makes carriages. I don't have one that rents carriages. The kingsford rug merchant is wonderful. I want that one. Maybe this coming yead. Thank you for posting the website with the 2025 releases for Department 56! I saw 17 Cherry Tree Lane and almost screamed. I love Mary Poppins. This one is definitely going in my village!!!!❤
Hello Rebecca, I suspect that those new items from Department 56 for 2025 are only the ones that the store will import for sale in Europe. They are too few, Department 56 usually produce more every year. But I agree with you 17 Cherry Tree Lane is a magnificent building. Even if not entirely Victorian. Mary Poppins novel is set in Edwardian Time. But most likely the builders built the building in full Victorian era.
@silvioallena that is true. Last year they didn't produce to much either. Maybe they are cutting back. Yes, ot is not in the Victorian era, but I have one that looks similar to that building, so I suspect you are right. I bet the buildings were built during the Victorian era. (48 Daughtery building). So, it should fit nicely into the neighborhood I am designing for 2025!
Very god comparison, Silvio! About 90% of my village has been Lemax dating back to late 1990's. I do like the use LEDs now, instead of putting a bulb in the back of a building or underneath the building. I do use different color bulbs to add an accent color effect! But, in the USA Department 56, is much higher in price than Lemax! I have also notice that Lemax has gone to a slight smaller scale in their buildings and more of a pastel coloring in their buildings, than a vivid color! What do you think?
Hi Robin, Even in Europe Department 56 buildings are more expensive than Lemax. But only because Lemax has not put a carefully produced ceramic building on the market for many years (excluding obviously the collection inspired by Norman Rockwell's paintings) In 90% of the countries around the world Lemax has the monopoly on Christmas Village buildings and having no competition they can afford to do what they want even drastically decrease the quality of their buildings over the years since they know that people will buy them anyway. Pure and hard marketing strategy: first I put medium to high quality products on the market in order to spread the brand and then, when the brand has conquered the market shares without competitors to compete with, I decrease the quality more and more in order to margin as much as possible. Over time I have also bought porcelain Lemax buildings for over 100 Euros and the quality was not low. Today the only expensive Lemax buildings are made of resin and are industrial products for more than 80% with very little manual intervention. The less you use labor and quality materials, the less a product should cost. And resin is a much less valuable product than porcelain. It's just a matter of the fact that under a monopoly, the only one who loses is always the buyer. So, welcome to Department 56 in Europe, Lemax will have to increase quality so as not to lose part of the market and if this means raising prices, I don't think it will be a problem. They are collectible products, not disposable products. I absolutely agree with you Lemax is using now a days only all pastel or fade colors. But I suspect once again that it is to earn more: the less pigments a color has, the less it costs. For the small scale it is not very evident and not on all collections I am rather intent on believing that Lemax has decided to produce fewer sumptuous buildings with many fewer rooms or floors. So evidently reduced in size.
Hello Silvio, My first comment did not post, so I will go again...lol Great review and comparison. I have some Dept 56 buildings and I use a rubber bad to keep the styrofoam pieces together. It is easy to see the clear winner for quality. Here Cranes carriages is forty dollars and Kingford Rug Merchant is one hundred seventy five. So, I guess you either pay for quality or get what you pay for. So glad you are sounding like you feel better.
Hello Susan, Thank you for the elastic (no confusion like this😁😁😁😁) suggestion. I bought Crane’s Carriages for 63 Euros and Kingsford Rug Merchant for 163 Euros. So it is clear that I am willing to pay 160 Euros even for a Lemax building if it is made of ceramic and of good quality. The price difference between Lemax and Department 56 in Europe is much less wide precisely because Lemax has no competitors. In the USA the gap is greater precisely given the wider diffusion of Department 56 and if Lemax did not have such low prices they would sell even less considering the objective lower quality. But I repeat that even just six or seven years ago the quality of Lemax buildings was far superior. In practice it is in Europe/Italy that Lemax sells products at a price higher than their value. Yes, I feel better thank you. As demonstrated by my repeated and invigorated criticisms of Lemax products dictated solely by deep disappointment.
It will be interesting to see how Lemax responds to the competition in Europe. Hopefully, with an improvement in quality. I agree that what Lemax is turning out now is lacking but at least the roof line was not curved up at the bottom on Cranes carriages.
Buongiorno. Per l'Europa dal seguente sito Olandese. www.minidorp.nl Hanno tutte le più recenti uscite di tutte le collezioni Department 56 e si possono anche prenotare le collezioni 2025 con spedizione luglio 2025.
What a great comparison! I have a carriage house, bit mine makes carriages. I don't have one that rents carriages.
The kingsford rug merchant is wonderful. I want that one. Maybe this coming yead.
Thank you for posting the website with the 2025 releases for Department 56! I saw 17 Cherry Tree Lane and almost screamed. I love Mary Poppins. This one is definitely going in my village!!!!❤
Hello Rebecca,
I suspect that those new items from Department 56 for 2025 are only the ones that the store will import for sale in Europe.
They are too few, Department 56 usually produce more every year.
But I agree with you 17 Cherry Tree Lane is a magnificent building.
Even if not entirely Victorian.
Mary Poppins novel is set in Edwardian Time.
But most likely the builders built the building in full Victorian era.
@silvioallena that is true. Last year they didn't produce to much either. Maybe they are cutting back. Yes, ot is not in the Victorian era, but I have one that looks similar to that building, so I suspect you are right. I bet the buildings were built during the Victorian era. (48 Daughtery building).
So, it should fit nicely into the neighborhood I am designing for 2025!
Very god comparison, Silvio! About 90% of my village has been Lemax dating back to late 1990's. I do like the use LEDs now, instead of putting a bulb in the back of a building or underneath the building. I do use different color bulbs to add an accent color effect! But, in the USA Department 56, is much higher in price than Lemax! I have also notice that Lemax has gone to a slight smaller scale in their buildings and more of a pastel coloring in their buildings, than a vivid color! What do you think?
Hi Robin,
Even in Europe Department 56 buildings are more expensive than Lemax.
But only because Lemax has not put a carefully produced ceramic building on the market for many years (excluding obviously the collection inspired by Norman Rockwell's paintings)
In 90% of the countries around the world Lemax has the monopoly on Christmas Village buildings and having no competition they can afford to do what they want even drastically decrease the quality of their buildings over the years since they know that people will buy them anyway.
Pure and hard marketing strategy: first I put medium to high quality products on the market in order to spread the brand and then, when the brand has conquered the market shares without competitors to compete with, I decrease the quality more and more in order to margin as much as possible.
Over time I have also bought porcelain Lemax buildings for over 100 Euros and the quality was not low.
Today the only expensive Lemax buildings are made of resin and are industrial products for more than 80% with very little manual intervention.
The less you use labor and quality materials, the less a product should cost. And resin is a much less valuable product than porcelain.
It's just a matter of the fact that under a monopoly, the only one who loses is always the buyer.
So, welcome to Department 56 in Europe, Lemax will have to increase quality so as not to lose part of the market and if this means raising prices, I don't think it will be a problem.
They are collectible products, not disposable products.
I absolutely agree with you Lemax is using now a days only all pastel or fade colors.
But I suspect once again that it is to earn more: the less pigments a color has, the less it costs.
For the small scale it is not very evident and not on all collections I am rather intent on believing that Lemax has decided to produce fewer sumptuous buildings with many fewer rooms or floors.
So evidently reduced in size.
Hello Silvio, My first comment did not post, so I will go again...lol
Great review and comparison. I have some Dept 56 buildings and I use a rubber bad to keep the styrofoam pieces together.
It is easy to see the clear winner for quality.
Here Cranes carriages is forty dollars and Kingford Rug Merchant is one hundred seventy five.
So, I guess you either pay for quality or get what you pay for.
So glad you are sounding like you feel better.
Hello Susan,
Thank you for the elastic (no confusion like this😁😁😁😁) suggestion.
I bought Crane’s Carriages for 63 Euros and Kingsford Rug Merchant for 163 Euros.
So it is clear that I am willing to pay 160 Euros even for a Lemax building if it is made of ceramic and of good quality.
The price difference between Lemax and Department 56 in Europe is much less wide precisely because Lemax has no competitors.
In the USA the gap is greater precisely given the wider diffusion of Department 56 and if Lemax did not have such low prices they would sell even less considering the objective lower quality.
But I repeat that even just six or seven years ago the quality of Lemax buildings was far superior.
In practice it is in Europe/Italy that Lemax sells products at a price higher than their value.
Yes, I feel better thank you.
As demonstrated by my repeated and invigorated criticisms of Lemax products dictated solely by deep disappointment.
It will be interesting to see how Lemax responds to the competition in Europe. Hopefully, with an improvement in quality. I agree that what Lemax is turning out now is lacking but at least the roof line was not curved up at the bottom on Cranes carriages.
Holy cow, rubber band not rubber bed
Why only cows are holy and not bulls ?
@@silvioallenaGood question... Maybe it is just plain bull sh*t? 😮
Salve una domanda da quale sito si possono acquistare i prodotti Department 56?
Buongiorno.
Per l'Europa dal seguente sito Olandese.
www.minidorp.nl
Hanno tutte le più recenti uscite di tutte le collezioni Department 56 e si possono anche prenotare le collezioni 2025 con spedizione luglio 2025.