leafan

TLG acquires Bricklink

Recommended Posts

I hope this doesn't mean the end of building MOC's (I ain't gonna wait a few years for another BL to open and I don't really have a huge collection of parts). Gonna make a BrickOwl account just in case, but I hope I never have to use it. Hopefully, LEGO keeps the independence of the market and maybe add there own market presence by selling pieces not available in B&P. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

LEGO sure understands that today online is killing retail. Bricklink is becoming the smart hub of LEGO e-shopping and taking too much of their potential revenue. 

It could be a smart act by LEGO to make Bricklink its own Aliexpress. If thats the case then this is beneficial for them and no harm for BL. Bricklink can continue to run as is while LEGO takes its share.

However if they decide to manipulate the market to protect their classic retailers worldwide, here comes the bad news for both LEGO and Bricklink. It will however fail as people will shift to other platforms gradually.

Let me categorize Bricklink's activity as follows:

1- Parts market

2- Used set Market (complete and incomplete)

3- Historical Set Market (overpriced)

4- Oversees Supply (lower price than LEGO)

If I'm LEGO then I'd like to take my share of (1) and hit (4).  I am already fighting (3) through re-issues.

I (LEGO) may also become a seller (the big one) and a buyer (when I need to).

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
6 minutes ago, Grover said:

I don't have access to a LUG or a Lego store easily either, which is frustrating to me.

Same here. The closest store is several hours away...

Maybe the whole LUG thing isn't working out to their liking?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's remarkable eh?

On a fan site.

For Lego.

A community for people who spend thousands of dollars, pounds, euros or whatever on Lego.

Where official sets are endlessly discussed, raved about, hated on, dissected.

That Lego.

Is so mis-trusted.

Edited by andythenorth

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
13 minutes ago, andythenorth said:

That Lego.

Is so mis-trusted.

The Lego Group is not equivalent to Lego bricks that we are enthusiasts of.
TLG is a shareholder profit driven corporation in, this the year of our Brick, 2019.
They will make corporate decisions which benefit the corporations bottom line.
Historically those decisions play out poorly for the (niche) consumer.
Especially as they now also need to recover the funds invested in the acquisition + show a ROI.
Incoming moneygrab. Hopefully BL will not be milked to death to satisfy the beancounters but I expect it will be.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

"The LEGO Company has alienated its most vocal evangelists...I have friends who are very angry about it and, I feel their pain. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll certainly be buying less of your product in future."

Some will get the reference :wink:

Edited by andythenorth

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As both an occasional buyer and seller, I figure this will either be very beneficial or it will be a disaster.  I really hope it continues to be a place I can sell an occasional set or buy something Lego no longer offers at a reasonable price.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, ShaydDeGrai said:

Funny, as someone with 15+ years experience in web development, this was my second thought as well (my first was "What the f...?")  I sincerely believe that if this whole thing turns out to be a disaster, the market itself will survive.  Buyers and sellers will find (or create) new venues and the free market will win out under a new umbrella, it just might take some time.  At worst, this is an inconvenient delay (that will no doubt hurt many in the community) but it's not the end of a sub-culture.  This genie left the bottle twenty years ago and while TLG might be able to wave it newly purchased bottle around, sticking the cork back in at this point isn't going to capture the genie.  If people don't like changes that come under TLG's control, they'll just close up their BL shops in favor of BrickOwl, eBay or whatever other option comes along.  No disrespect to the people behind BL or BO, but, at its heart, the software isn't _that_ sophisticated; the right people with the right skills and the right motivation could cook up a viable alternative to BL and, with the possible exception of post-aquisition non-compete clauses for current BL staff, TLG wouldn't have any say in the matter.  TLG can't stop you from parting out and reselling kits you bought as a general consumer (reselling LUG-bulk buys and charitable donations from Lego might be a trickier matter but kits, PAB cups filled at stores, etc. are fair game) and if BL becomes an unfavorable place for sellers and buyers to meet, they'll just find someplace else to hook up.  The internet is a big place.

So hope they will keep that in mind, there actually are quite some AFOLs that work in ICT indeed...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hmm, these news came really surprising to me - in hindsight, with the recent collaboration in selling that limited run of MOC-sets - it maybe should not surprise us that much. :wink:

I don't really know what the consequences will be and I'm not going to call this the end of days. After all, bricklink itself is just a platform. A platform of thousands of individual sellers, so the consequences of us as buyers will be probably not negative. And if they are, this would mean an open door for a potential competitor to pop up and has its moment. There are likely more Bricklink-MOC-projects coming up instead. Maybe it will even get as much importance as Ideas.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Unexpected bad news

- For Customers: data analysis?

- For Sellers: fees?

- For Mocers: copyright and censorship?

And let's not forget the acquisition of Sohobricks, a clear message towards custom bricks manufactures.

Overall, as a customer, I don't feel very comfortable at the moment.

What would it be the next step? The acquisition of Brickset? Or maybe of Eurobricks?

Anyway, I can foresee a large migration to Brick Owl, provided that Lego doesn't buy it as well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

Now this is a susprise.

Not sure what to think. I'm not really worried about the availabiltiy of official Lego parts, but what kinds of consequences does this have for things like Brickarms, Chromebricks, custom (aluminum) parts, and other such "fan-created additions" to the building system?

LEGO has already said that Brickarms etc will no longer be sold on BL. Obviously, there will be a transition period, but I expect it won’t be long.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
34 minutes ago, Masked Mini said:

TLG is a shareholder profit driven corporation in, this the year of our Brick, 2019.

From what I remember, TLG is a private/family owned profit driven corporation.

As for creating an alternative, lots of people seem to forget that BrickOwl exists, which is part of the problem for anyone creating a replacement. Unless you get all the sellers to move over and have them offer competitive prices, it will fail.

One of the thing whichs always bugged me, was that TLG never made an attempt to improve things like B&Ps.

One bit which hasn't been mentioned is that the sellers on BL tend to buy up LEGO which is on sale in high street shops, online, retailer returns etc. For all of those retailers, this is a good thing. It means they clear their stock. For LEGO, it is a good thing as it means retailers aren't left with excess stock, which makes them more sheepish on order numbers going forward. I don't think LEGO would want to disrupt that aspect of the 3rd party market. That market provides a place where sets that didn't sell go.

In a perfect world for the consumer, it would be great to have LEGO as a seller on BL. When you have a look at LEGOs stock numbers for certain parts, they are swimming in them. At the moment, I buy from both BL and B&Ps depending on which is cheaper for each piece. B&Ps can work well for all the random bits I need as they have them all and thus I don't have to get them via lots of different sellers, e.g. postage costs. Also, some pieces which are not common in sets, but are in high demand, end up being cheaper on B&Ps.

That said, I would see that as being bad for the resellers and you need the resellers to be able to make their profit off the less common/high demand pieces. Their profits in part, come from the convenience of doing it all on one site. Doing it between BL and B&Ps is a pain.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I'm neutral until I see the direction it'll go. Part of me says "Ooh let's see if they bring more AFOL designer programs, maybe mine will succeed this time" and part of it (the Hermione part) says "THE MINISTRY IS INTERFERING AT HOGWARTS"

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My initial reaction to the news was actually quite neutral, if slightly positive. Now reading the concerns people here have, I guess we have to see how this goes. I don't think TLG is going to clamp down on the sellers, but surely the amount of customer-data is a goldmine for them. At least for the AFOL-sector, which I assume is the biggest group on BL. Ah well, wait & see...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't think it is an Armageddon thing. That said, it is right to highlight concerns and if I was a seller right now, I would have concerns. Certainly going to hit the 3rd party manufacturers. Maybe they want more control over the reseller platforms as 3D printers etc. become cheaper. For my purposes, having LEGO make sure everything on BL was official LEGO is a good thing. There are a lot of people where that is bad news though. As someone else mentioned, what happens if they regulate against the reselling of licensed pieces?

Their replies to questions by The Brothers Brick didn't exactly inspire confidence. e.g. although they have to say "there is no conflict of interest", it still isn't good to read it when you know the conflict of interest is there.

It will certainly be interesting to see how it all pans out and the acquisition and what they do with it will certainly be telling as to how they want to move forward in this regard.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

if lego uses the data from bricklink transactions they can help bolster supply where needed, we get more bricks lego gets more sales. But as lego don't reprint old pieces I cant help think this is not enough to warrant their involvement.. however I cant imagine a better place to advertise lego than with bricklink combine this with more community interaction and lego group gains a lot.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, AFOoLish said:

TLG has just bought our individual DNA. This is very bad news for the AFOL community.

I truly believe that as well.

To be honest: I am instantly losing trust in BL. And TLG. Why on earth did they do that? So prices will go >anywhere< they want because they have a handle? Will there be emails to individual sellers telling them the stuff they sell is too cheap? TLG has behaved recently like very, very big and totally stupid elephants in so many ways - in rather delicate environments. Oh my.

No. I don't like that move at all. It gives me the creeps.

It may be getting me out of here - as we are not allowed to talk about alternatives.

My goodness.

 

Just now, Aerolight said:

if lego uses the data from bricklink transactions they can help bolster supply where needed

Sure.

Provided they believe in "we" and not "them". Their recent actions on some folks out there makes me wonder. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

No way - TLG  having access to BL data allows for market manipulation. Why should increasing supply of parts be in the interest of TLG? Increased supply works against them by lowering prices and so the commision the site owner pays BL. Expect parts that are in demand by AFOL,s to be offered by TLG only in full sets.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is not going to end well, TLG want their cake & eat it also.

Will Bricks & Pieces become a BL store?  Average prices will go up NOT down.

Arise BL 2.0

OMR

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.