Bricklink's AFOL Designer Program 2024

[raindroplet]

This post gives some assurance that the limited run is part of the nature of the program. I like that now, but we'll see how much I like that when LEGO Store and the Wild West set go up. The next waves are definitely going to be even tougher. 

[Mark Twain]

This post gives some assurance that the limited run is part of the nature of the program. I like that now, but we'll see how much I like that when LEGO Store and the Wild West set go up. The next waves are definitely going to be even tougher. 

Here’s my take from the article— dude totally batted aside the idea that these would sell out as fast as they did and tried to preserve the selling point of limited editions so that people would remain interested.

LEGO can continue to maintain the aura of limited editions by raising the cap from 5k to 10k or making it 5k per country. Limited edition stuff is all marketing crap to begin with. Trust me, the team behind this is working overtime to see how many more sets they can release.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alpinemaps]

Interesting post in the comments. Thought I'd add it here along with BrickLink/LEGO stated terms re production numbers
 
 
http://bp-forum.s3.amazonaws.com/monthly_2021_07/7E62D8BC-3C14-47FD-BC5A-DA7A2F9BC188.thumb.png.ff32ba5cf0cd2ae9fd971a3517933c89.png
http://bp-forum.s3.amazonaws.com/monthly_2021_07/5EFAB3D7-6A65-44AC-B8DA-8636401D0094.thumb.jpeg.4bbeeecba166a3bd99860ca8a9b792d5.jpeg

Just to back this up, you can see in the stickied post from March that this has always been the case.

[FM]

Which is worse? "Reseller scum" or "scalpers"? https://brickset.com/article/60324/bricklink-designer-program-are-more-sets-going-to-be-made-available

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk

[KShine]

The rules were set - LEGO made those rules - The rules were not hidden from anyone, and everyone lived by those rules - Changing them retroactively would be wrong.

If they wish to change the rules going forward - perfectly fine.

But if LEGO gives in to the whining babies (out of fear, not because it is right), it is shameful.

[Al Legorical]

54 minutes ago, FM said:

Which is worse? "Reseller scum" or "scalpers"? https://brickset.com/article/60324/bricklink-designer-program-are-more-sets-going-to-be-made-available

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk
 

Call me what they like! For me it's purely an investment opportunity. High demand + low supply = such an opportunity.

Played by the rules, set by BrickLink/LEGO. It's on them NOT me or any other opportunity seekers!

[iahawks550]

6 minutes ago, KShine said:

But if LEGO gives in to the whining babies (out of fear, not because it is right), it is shameful.

The World, post 2015

[Al Legorical]

6 minutes ago, KShine said:

The rules were set - LEGO made those rules - The rules were not hidden from anyone, and everyone lived by those rules - Changing them retroactively would be wrong.

If they wish to change the rules going forward - perfectly fine.

But if LEGO gives in to the whining babies (out of fear, not because it is right), it is shameful.

Unfortunately in this day and age, whiny babies seem to get their way with their temper tantrums!

AFAIK If they change the rules retroactively they will be breaking the law. Crowdfunding is different than merely "backing" a project.

1 minute ago, iahawks550 said:

The World, post 2015

Too true... sadly

[exracer327]

15 minutes ago, KShine said:

But if LEGO gives in to the whining babies (out of fear, not because it is right), it is shameful.

Forget the early bird getting the worm, now it is those who yell the loudest get they want.

I hear those who missed out.  I've been there too but I have never cried about it.  I learned and adapted for the future.  It seems many people do not want to learn or adapt.  They just scream because they didn't get what they want.  Talk about entitled... 

[Bold-Arrow]

Whats the point of having something as collectible/rare if everyone will have it ? As someone else mentioned the way Funko does it should be a great template for others to follow. Some crap is common, others are store exclusives, then shared convention exclusives and then you get the very hard to find ones that sell out in seconds. 

[Mark Twain]

LEGO’s ethos is always about customer service and satisfaction. This is why if a box gets damaged from SAH that their CS dept. goes the extra mile to make it right. Or why you can order replacement bricks if they break or are missing for free.

There’s a reason why LEGO remains the #1 toy brand and making people happy by releasing more sets for something that was designed to be crowdfunded isn’t a surprise to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lego Benito]

I'm hoping they up the run. Love the look of that castle, but wasn't able to be online at the time, and am happy to give LEGO my money!

 

Edited July 3, 2021 by Lego Benito

[iahawks550]

1 hour ago, Al Legorical said:

AFAIK If they change the rules retroactively they will be breaking the law. 

What law? 

[Pseudoty]

2 hours ago, iahawks550 said:

The World, post 2015

I think it was this day in particular when the voice of the soccer moms was heard:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/sapna/shoppers-are-furious-at-people-reselling-lilly-pulitzer#.sgVRRZzzK
 

I am not a lawyer and don’t play one on TV but someone in the FB comments stated that if Lego changed the T&C of a crowdfunding (not a presale) ex post facto they would be opening themselves up to a class action lawsuit. This would be a good way for them to identify the resellers. Lego should have just made it limit 2 but we would still have thousands of angry customers. 

[Mark Twain]

I think it was this day in particular when the voice of the soccer moms was heard:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/sapna/shoppers-are-furious-at-people-reselling-lilly-pulitzer#.sgVRRZzzK
 
I am not a lawyer and don’t play one on TV but someone in the FB comments stated that if Lego changed the T&C of a crowdfunding (not a presale) ex post facto they would be opening themselves up to a class action lawsuit. This would be a good way for them to identify the resellers. Lego should have just made it limit 2 but we would still have thousands of angry customers. 

That’d be an interesting courtroom appearance. “Alright Mr. Reseller, point to the Chima doll and tell me where the Lego Group hurt you.”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bold-Arrow]

2 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

That’d be an interesting courtroom appearance. “Alright Mr. Reseller, point to the Chima doll and tell me where the Lego Group hurt you.”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ll be represented by the honorable attorney , Mr. Reese Cellar. Highly recommended 

[BricksBrotha]

I do not condone the whining by any means. This was widely advertised and the site actually functioned.  I was shocked!!

However, to be fair, it feels irresponsible of Lego to only offer 5k units of a set which garnered 10k votes, and limit of 5 to boot.  They are just setting themselves up for backlash. Unless their ultimate goal was to collect reseller data. Which one would think they have plenty off. But let’s be honest with each other. In today’s age, co’s can’t get enough data!!

Lego can’t seem to get their releases straight. It’s as if they try too hard but end up with a big whiff. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by BricksBrotha
Typo

[Jackson]

How much does LEGO's bottom line increase by shipping 1,000 orders of 5 instead of 5,000 orders of 1? A lot, I'd guess.

[Voltron]

1 hour ago, Jackson said:

How much does LEGO's bottom line increase by shipping 1,000 orders of 5 instead of 5,000 orders of 1? A lot, I'd guess.

I personally don't think Lego net profit will be alot from the bricklink range compared with their normal themes, as they work on mass volume I.e. producing tens and hundreds of thousands of sets. With these sets it will be alot more manual work and with shipping to end consumers rather than just wholesaling to amazon etc

[Al Legorical]

17 hours ago, iahawks550 said:

What law? 

Contract law. A contract is formed for each and every transaction you make. In this instance they stated the terms to attract investors (as opposed to purchasers/buyers) Crowdfunding passes risk from the company seeking funding to the investors. The attraction to get investors was limited quantity of production. 
IMHO the mistake was crowdfunding, they should have simply sought pre-orders. 
 

That said they may have something hidden in the terms and conditions (the check box before you can place order). 
 

I'm no lawyer just took a lot of interest in contract law. You would be amazed by some of the contracts that you are a party to, most likely without realizing.

[iahawks550]

1 hour ago, Al Legorical said:

Contract law. A contract is formed for each and every transaction you make. In this instance they stated the terms to attract investors (as opposed to purchasers/buyers) Crowdfunding passes risk from the company seeking funding to the investors. The attraction to get investors was limited quantity of production. 
IMHO the mistake was crowdfunding, they should have simply sought pre-orders. 
 

That said they may have something hidden in the terms and conditions (the check box before you can place order). 
 

I'm no lawyer just took a lot of interest in contract law. You would be amazed by some of the contracts that you are a party to, most likely without realizing.

I guess it's just semantics.  Contract law is an area of legal expertise based on common law, not actual statutes.  I understand the civil matters that may occur when a contract is broken, but even a breach of contract in this case (5,000 sets), as a plaintiff against TLG, you would have to prove damages. What damages have occurred?

[redcell]

Contract law. A contract is formed for each and every transaction you make. In this instance they stated the terms to attract investors (as opposed to purchasers/buyers) Crowdfunding passes risk from the company seeking funding to the investors. The attraction to get investors was limited quantity of production. 
IMHO the mistake was crowdfunding, they should have simply sought pre-orders. 
 
That said they may have something hidden in the terms and conditions (the check box before you can place order). 
 
I'm no lawyer just took a lot of interest in contract law. You would be amazed by some of the contracts that you are a party to, most likely without realizing.

And what term of the contract would Lego have breached? I'm sure that they didn't include any type of representation or warranty in the terms and conditions that would prevent them from doing basically whatever they want up to and including not manufacturing the set, cutting the number of sets produced, increasing the number produced, or making the set an official release. Companies like Lego tend to be pretty good at reserving all the right they need to do whatever they want when it comes to manufacturing and distribution.

Sent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk

[Al Legorical]

1 hour ago, iahawks550 said:

I guess it's just semantics.  Contract law is an area of legal expertise based on common law, not actual statutes.  I understand the civil matters that may occur when a contract is broken, but even a breach of contract in this case (5,000 sets), as a plaintiff against TLG, you would have to prove damages. What damages have occurred?

True. Nothing has happened yet. Any contract is only of value IF the injured party can prove loss, harm or damage AND is willing to act, the latter would be very unlikely methinks.

Strangely they have billed my card for two orders but not the other two

As they say "time will tell"...

[Al Legorical]

33 minutes ago, redcell said:

And what term of the contract would Lego have breached? I'm sure that they didn't include any type of representation or warranty in the terms and conditions that would prevent them from doing basically whatever they want up to and including not manufacturing the set, cutting the number of sets produced, increasing the number produced, or making the set an official release. Companies like Lego tend to be pretty good at reserving all the right they need to do whatever they want when it comes to manufacturing and distribution.

Sent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk
 

Probably buried in the T&C's on LEGO website, assuming they trump the terms laid out on BrickLink

[Bricklectic]

https://www.stonewars.de/kommentare/bricklink-designer-program-aenderungen/

looks like some change was made but having difficulty getting a translation of this page, if anyone could post a summary