LEGO, Quo Vadis? Some Thoughts on a New Business Model

[Peppermint_M]

Right, well, can we draw a line under this now? Personally, I find it a lot better and healthier not to take "Stuff people say on the internet" to heart. Especially on a subject like my hobbies, it keeps you sane to just move swiftly on. 

 

[The Brick Boss]

58 minutes ago, Peppermint_M said:

Right, well, can we draw a line under this now? Personally, I find it a lot better and healthier not to take "Stuff people say on the internet" to heart. Especially on a subject like my hobbies, it keeps you sane to just move swiftly on. 

Cheers! 

[Vindicare]

2 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

Right, well, can we draw a line under this now? Personally, I find it a lot better and healthier not to take "Stuff people say on the internet" to heart. Especially on a subject like my hobbies, it keeps you sane to just move swiftly on. 

 

Hear, hear. When you open yourself up to the world, you need to make sure you have thick skin. 

[Phil B]

6 hours ago, legotownlinz said:

It would be stupid for Lego to ruin the platform as it would just make other platforms stronger. Pick-a-Brick integration is good for customers as long as they do not disadvantage other shops

If you take a look at the Beta BrickLink XP experience you’ll see exactly how LEGO is planning to ruin the platform.

[legotownlinz]

42 minutes ago, Phil B said:

If you take a look at the Beta BrickLink XP experience you’ll see exactly how LEGO is planning to ruin the platform.

How can I see it?

Update: Found it, https://www.bricklink.com/r3/main.page

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by legotownlinz

[Phil B]

2 hours ago, legotownlinz said:

How can I see it?

Update: Found it, https://www.bricklink.com/r3/main.page

 

Now try to purchase a brick .... there is no option to view all sellers, you get one pre-selected. It takes some digging before you can even see other purchase options.

[jpx]

8 hours ago, Phil B said:

Now try to purchase a brick .... there is no option to view all sellers, you get one pre-selected. It takes some digging before you can even see other purchase options.

Wow, that sucks! I really liked new new layout until I came to that simplified check-out view. I'd much rather pay a bit more per brick at a store located in Denmark, than having it shipped from e.g. UK (faster shipping, perhaps pickup, no tax etc....) 

I will leave feedback (lower left corner), and I hope they'll improve the checkout section. 

 

[legotownlinz]

3 hours ago, jpx said:

Wow, that sucks! I really liked new new layout until I came to that simplified check-out view. I'd much rather pay a bit more per brick at a store located in Denmark, than having it shipped from e.g. UK (faster shipping, perhaps pickup, no tax etc....) 

I will leave feedback (lower left corner), and I hope they'll improve the checkout section. 

 

I've also tried it. You can still add bricks to a wanted list instead of a cart. The beta site is not feature-complete, so it is too early for a final judgement. There are no signs that the new UI will favour Lego in any way.

[Alexandrina]

13 hours ago, Phil B said:

Now try to purchase a brick .... there is no option to view all sellers, you get one pre-selected. It takes some digging before you can even see other purchase options.

I don't think that's an insurmountable problem. The 'All Listings' section is just one click away, and visible from the same screen as the pre-selected seller.

(To be honest, I didn't even see the pre-selected seller initially, but that might well be due to my having selective blindness and anticipating looking towards the bottom half of the screen for a price anyway!)

[Hedgie]

On 5/25/2020 at 5:02 PM, Alexandrina said:

I don't think that's an insurmountable problem. The 'All Listings' section is just one click away, and visible from the same screen as the pre-selected seller.

Does anyone else have the problem that even the "All Listings" section shows a lot less sellers than the old site?

2 minutes ago, Hedgie said:

Does anyone else have the problem that even the "All Listings" section shows a lot less sellers than the old site?

Never mind, I found the answer in the FAQ:

Why is my store not shown on BrickLink XP?
Currently, BrickLink XP only displays stores that have Onsite payment enabled. Instant Checkout is also strongly encouraged. Your store will not be displayed if it does not support either of these features. If your store supports Onsite payment and is not shown by default, your store is likely listed in the Domestic or International “All listings” page. On Classic, your store will be displayed as usual.

[mfeldt]

On 5/17/2020 at 12:01 AM, legotownlinz said:

I've explained it before: All these options are complicated, expensive or both. You can't upload part lists to Pick-a-Brick. Part availability directly from Lego is limited. Bricklink splits your part list into many orders with a shipping fee for each.

I have first hand experience with all of these I can can tell you it is a mess and expensive. These offers are for die-hard AFOLs, but unusable for the average customer who saw a nice design and just wants to order it.

I'd see the following criteria for custom orders to be widely accepted:

• Average price of 10 cent per part
• Direct order from a web platform without dealing with part lists
• Easy to understand rating system so that customers understand how extensive the design has been tested
• Stable set of available parts designers can rely on
• Availability of all important parts

This!  And if I really could dream - availability of all the parts in Ldraw in all the colors you could think of...

[Alexandrina]

1 hour ago, mfeldt said:

This!  And if I really could dream - availability of all the parts in Ldraw in all the colors you could think of...

That's unfortunately not going to happen, even in a world where Lego offer custom sets. There are thousands of discontinued parts without extant moulds - the cost to resurrect those moulds, in the gamut of colours including discontinued and never made, would be astronomical. In fact it would probably put Lego out of business long before they reaped any dividends from adapting their business model. 

I think the best we can hope for is the ability to build a custom set from a preselected range of parts, like with the old LDD. At best we might see certain old sets return to order, with the understanding that they won't have a production run until a certain threshold of orders is reached and so it might be some time before sets get made.