Re: Unfortunately...
"True, but with those 30 pieces you can build only 1 thing."
Which I acknowledged, but also pointed out there are other sets which actively encourage multiple builds eg. creator. The problem I think is one of perception. As the earlier poster noted, he had to go to the back of the store to find the non-specialist themes., but they *are* there, you just have to get past all the Ninjago and Bionicle nonsense to find them ... its not Lego's fault that the popularity of certain themes makes shops push them to the front.
And Lego was always relatively expensive, I remember the old Technic Car Chassis, it cost about £50 in 1980, which would be a lot of money now. But what a set!