KIDS ZONE
Response from LEGO SHOP
June 25, 2019
Emily, Customer Service
I'm sorry to hear that our LEGO® Baseplate didn't meet your expectations. The older piece you have is something a little different - a plate - which serves a different sort of purpose.
Baseplates, like this one, are meant purely to serve as the very bottom of your build. That's why they're thinner and aren't made to attach anything underneath. They're perfect for creating a build on a contained space or for making a play table. Baseplates are also awesome for filling in spaces around your builds, giving you the look of grass.
Plates, however, come in loads of sizes and colors and are included in many DUPLO® sets. They're designed to be used anywhere in a build and will allow pieces to attach below them. They are, however, smaller than baseplates since they're meant to fit in lots of different places; that means they're not as good at filling in larger spaces.
As for the quality, our toys are made to last for generations, and we've tested and retested them to make sure they're A-Okay. It's rare for any of our toys to break during normal use, but if anything ever does happen, we're here to help at LEGO.build/Service.