Selling Lego on Amazon.com

[Peteparker]

4 hours ago, redcell said:

It may just be because I had created a shipment but hadn't shipped it yet, which allows me to add and remove #'s of those specific sets, but not add anything I didn't already have in there. I could just be a fluke that way.

If you are being required to upgrade to a pro account, then you are most likely gated. The folks who tested it reported that once they signed up for a pro account in that scenario, they were then required to meet the substantive ungating requirements (i.e., invoices or letter of authorization).

So, you can still list individual Lego sets that you previously sold, but none that you hadn't sold previously? That's a new twist that I hadn't heard before.

 

 

[exciter1]

Well, there appears to be a definite thinning out effect already.

[newbie77]

9 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

Well, there appears to be a definite thinning out effect already.

explain? did your sales just shot through the roof

[exciter1]

explain? did your sales just shot through the roof

Some sales and noticeable drop in sellers for certain items.

[newbie77]

1 minute ago, exciter1 said:

Some sales and noticeable drop in sellers for certain items.

hmm... may be they went on labor day vacation  .... 

 

[exciter1]

2 minutes ago, newbie77 said:

hmm... may be they went on labor day vacation  .... 

 
 

[asharerin]

I haven't noticed a large drop in seller numbers yet. If you sold an item from one of the restricted brands within the last 3 months you were grandfathered in on 8/23 so that means all of the usual year round Lego sellers are still in business. In Q4 there will be alot less competition than last year which will be a very welcome change. The usual Q4 sellers don't even know they are blocked yet. 5 years down the track the effect is going to be extremely noticeable all year round, not just Q4.

Supposedly Amazon has hired a team to go through their catalog one item at a time and will be merging all of the duplicate listings (this make take a while lol). They are now also making sure UPC code prefixes match the brand so the days of buying UPCs and creating your own listings and bundles for the big brands are over. I imagine this is going to hit parts sellers very hard on Amazon. Only original items from the big brands will be allowed on Amazon now, not made up bundles.

[jaxman]

4 minutes ago, asharerin said:

I haven't noticed a large drop in seller numbers yet. If you sold an item from one of the restricted brands within the last 3 months you were grandfathered in on 8/23 so that means all of the usual year round Lego sellers are still in business. In Q4 there will be alot less competition than last year which will be a very welcome change. The usual Q4 sellers don't even know they are blocked yet. 5 years down the track the effect is going to be extremely noticeable all year round, not just Q4.

Supposedly Amazon has hired a team to go through their catalog one item at a time and will be merging all of the duplicate listings (this make take a while lol). They are now also making sure UPC code prefixes match the brand so the days of buying UPCs and creating your own listings and bundles for the big brands are over. I imagine this is going to hit parts sellers very hard on Amazon. Only original items from the big brands will be allowed on Amazon now, not made up bundles.

So complete sets of Mixels would not be allowed?

[landphieran]

2 minutes ago, asharerin said:

I imagine this is going to hit parts sellers very hard on Amazon. Only original items from the big brands will be allowed on Amazon now, not made up bundles.

I am very much okay with this. From a seller perspective this removes a lot of clutter from the catalog. Allowing a buyer easier access to the NIB goods they probably want.I feel like allowing custom lots on Amazon would devalue the shopping experience and I for one welcome removal of parted out pieces.

I feel like bricklink/ebay are the main markets for custom lots anyway so why not keep them there?

[asharerin]

3 minutes ago, jaxman said:

So complete sets of Mixels would not be allowed?

No. When a seller creates a listing Amazon is now having the bots verify the UPC code against the GS1 database. The first numbers on a UPC code identify the company that owns the prefix. All of the major brands have supplied Amazon with the UPC prefixes in use by them so if yours does not match then the listing gets flagged and the seller is shown the exit. So unless TLG sells a complete set of mixels then it will no longer be allowed on Amazon. You can try and skirt the system by using a brand name other than LEGO but we all know how that is going to go down a few months down the track.

[ISO8T0]

Interesting. So no more selling of (2) packs of holiday promos or RE + GT combos etc etc.

[Phil B]

Interesting indeed. No option to sell a Ghost+Phantom combo unless you have the official 66512 (?) combo pack? I'm assuming listing under that UPC with the comment "missing the outer box" is asking for trouble, if you have the 2 sets but not the official combo?

[SpaceFan9]

This implies no more individual minifigs, either, huh? (unless they are CMF, I guess)

Bummer. 

[Bold-Arrow]

The UPC thing has been going on for months 

[cladner]

17 minutes ago, SpaceFan9 said:

This implies no more individual minifigs, either, huh? (unless they are CMF, I guess)

Bummer. 

not yet at least - all the individual minifigure listings are intact and i can still list figures for sale.  hope that doesn't go away though it could also be a good thing for ebay sales.

[asharerin]

Can't say I am going to miss the geniuses listing lego pieces for sale and shipping used pieces to Amazon customers in ziploc bags. Keep that crap on fleabay.

[Bold-Arrow]

2 minutes ago, asharerin said:

Can't say I am going to miss the geniuses listing lego pieces for sale and shipping used pieces to Amazon customers in ziploc bags. Keep that crap on fleabay.

 

[tacsniper]

1 hour ago, SpaceFan9 said:

This implies no more individual minifigs, either, huh? (unless they are CMF, I guess)

Bummer. 

 

47 minutes ago, cladner said:

not yet at least - all the individual minifigure listings are intact and i can still list figures for sale.  hope that doesn't go away though it could also be a good thing for ebay sales.

This is going to be a bummer. I sell a lot of single figs on Amazon. 

[KvHulk]

It's about time Amazon cleaned their room up.

[Peteparker]

All the minifigures are restricted for me...

[redcell]

36 minutes ago, Peteparker said:

All the minifigures are restricted for me...

Sounds like you're behind the brand gate.

[newbie77]

now lego sales are going to fall through the cliff. not talking about the individuals and/or re-sellers but for the TLG as a whole.

good percentage of sales were going to resellers inventory and with amazon locking doors left and right i have the opinion that this year going to be very very hard for TLG as a whole.

btw, they are having very very hard to clear those latest star wars sets ... i am seeing people dumping their stocks. this has been going on since beginning of this year for sets listed below:75100, 75101, 75103, 75104, 75106

from august i am seeing 75102 and 75105, 75135, 75136, 75137 and 75138

not sure what to make of it but cautious times ahead

[Deadfraggle]

15 minutes ago, newbie77 said:

now lego sales are going to fall through the cliff. not talking about the individuals and/or re-sellers but for the TLG as a whole.

good percentage of sales were going to resellers inventory and with amazon locking doors left and right i have the opinion that this year going to be very very hard for TLG as a whole.

btw, they are having very very hard to clear those latest star wars sets ... i am seeing people dumping their stocks. this has been going on since beginning of this year for sets listed below:75100, 75101, 75103, 75104, 75106

from august i am seeing 75102 and 75105, 75135, 75136, 75137 and 75138

not sure what to make of it but cautious times ahead

What makes you say people are dumping their stocks? Do you have objective downward price trends from resellers? Hard sales data? Gut feeling?

[biking_tiger]

I think a *lot* of resellers have the jitters right now. Liquidating plastic assets is not as easy as other investment vehicles. 

This holiday season should be telling. I'm proceeding with caution when it comes to new purchases. 

[newbie77]

7 minutes ago, Deadfraggle said:

What makes you say people are dumping their stocks? Do you have objective downward price trends from resellers? Hard sales data? Gut feeling?

downward price momentum @ various selling platforms. people attribute these to "make space for new sets coming" but if one look closer then its not because of that alone.

there is so much inventory of some of these sets. its mind boggling.

some of the brick linkers in US have parted out over 300 of each of these sets and we are still seeing this kind of massive drop in the major retailers. that should speak for itself. i don't know how many more others are holding. 

i am guilty as well since i also have massive inventory of these. granted i am still in black but