Legos are manufactured to an incredibly high standard. Lego knock-offs just aren't the same; they don't snap together and stay together as well, and they are easily deformed.
Source: I was a child once.
Later on, I learned Lego manufacturing tolerances are measured in micrometers.
I didn't call them overpriced, she did. I was about to defend her by noting the massively increased price of LEGO sets over the past few decades versus the (I would assume) relatively static economics of manufacturing plastic bricks - but then I googled it and it's all a lie[1]. Guess I'll file that one next to "there were more thunderstorms when I was a kid".
This is so true, my parents have my 35 year old Lego that my children were still playing with until quite recently. Apart from a few odd pieces it's all as good as new.
Source: I was a child once.
Later on, I learned Lego manufacturing tolerances are measured in micrometers.