No Vorys; Be Happy

[Mark Twain]

23 minutes ago, chaozz said:

they want your info to get the report, do you have a copy you can link?

I'm waiting for you to take the plunge. 

[chaozz]

30 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

I'm waiting for you to take the plunge. 

LOL thanks🤣

[brickvoyeur]

I find it amazing that Lego can go after resellers selling authentic products, but allows sellers of illegally stamped Lego figures to get tossed all over the market. 

This one is literally filled with glitter. "Genuine" stamped Disco Vader figure.

Can't even control the product in house where these are being produced. 

Edited March 8, 2022 by brickvoyeur

[chaozz]

 Anyone heard if any law firms are doing this to Euro sellers.

[KStaci]

Any new updates here? I've heard some discussions it was more towards sellers on listings for current/new and premium LEGO sets (on Amazon).

Appreciate the thread and everyone's updates on this matter.

[Bold-Arrow]

4 minutes ago, KStaci said:

Any new updates here? I've heard some discussions it was more towards sellers on listings for current/new and premium LEGO sets (on Amazon).

Appreciate the thread and everyone's updates on this matter.

I haven’t heard anything recent 

[SleepingGiant]

On 4/3/2022 at 7:52 PM, KStaci said:

Any new updates here? I've heard some discussions it was more towards sellers on listings for current/new and premium LEGO sets (on Amazon).

Appreciate the thread and everyone's updates on this matter.

They still haven't responded to our letter.  I know it's not over but I've been able to sleep better the past few weeks 😁

[chaozz]

From posts from others over the years, That have called or emailed, They don't ever seem to reply. 

Edited April 11, 2022 by chaozz

[Pandaa]

I received a letter from Vorys. Was very frustrating and couldn’t sleep for the past weeks. I contacted AmazonSellerslawyers for consultation but want to find another firm. Can anyone here give recommendations or provide their attorney info ? 

[Bricklectic]

7 hours ago, Pandaa said:

I received a letter from Vorys. Was very frustrating and couldn’t sleep for the past weeks. I contacted AmazonSellerslawyers for consultation but want to find another firm. Can anyone here give recommendations or provide their attorney info ? 

Not legal advice but.....I know ppl that ignored it and nothing happened. YMMV

[Pandaa]

This is my first time getting a letter from Vorys. So I thought it best to negotiate or work out with them before hiring an attorney. However I was wrong, the firm insisted that the first sale doctrine is not protected for reseller as I’m not an authorized lego reseller under their term. I provided my list of inventory and  sources which was a wrong move. I should have consult with an attorney first. Now I’m looking around to see if anyone hired an attorney and can provide their info.

[redcell]

7 minutes ago, Pandaa said:

This is my first time getting a letter from Vorys. So I thought it best to negotiate or work out with them before hiring an attorney. However I was wrong, the firm insisted that the first sale doctrine is not protected for reseller as I’m not an authorized lego reseller under their term. I provided my list of inventory and  sources which was a wrong move. I should have consult with an attorney first. Now I’m looking around to see if anyone hired an attorney and can provide their info.

Did they provide any response or comments to what you provided?

[SleepingGiant]

9 hours ago, Pandaa said:

This is my first time getting a letter from Vorys. So I thought it best to negotiate or work out with them before hiring an attorney. However I was wrong, the firm insisted that the first sale doctrine is not protected for reseller as I’m not an authorized lego reseller under their term. I provided my list of inventory and  sources which was a wrong move. I should have consult with an attorney first. Now I’m looking around to see if anyone hired an attorney and can provide their info.

The sources you provided... Are they authorized resellers?    

[Pandaa]

Just like many of us , purchased in major  retailers.  

[legorunner]

9 hours ago, Pandaa said:

Just like many of us , purchased in major  retailers.  

Were you only selling retired sets or were you also flipping sets that were currently available? 

[Legolassy]

23 hours ago, Pandaa said:

This is my first time getting a letter from Vorys. So I thought it best to negotiate or work out with them before hiring an attorney. However I was wrong, the firm insisted that the first sale doctrine is not protected for reseller as I’m not an authorized lego reseller under their term. I provided my list of inventory and  sources which was a wrong move. I should have consult with an attorney first. Now I’m looking around to see if anyone hired an attorney and can provide their info.

Never talk to someone else’s lawyer yourself.  There’s a reason lawyers get paid big $$, to protect people from situations such as yours.  

[Legolassy]

On 3/7/2022 at 7:40 PM, SleepingGiant said:

I submitted that question but to this point it hasn't been answered.  This whole situation just feels like a giant money making scheme to me.  Here's how I picture this all got started ....

(my opinion only)

Vorys hires a smart guy to track a specific reseller online to help win "a" case.  Light bulb goes off and they develop a software that can track a multitude of products and resellers for future cases.  Being the leaches they are, sit around a table and say "Time to cash in and bro down!".  They put together a PowerPoint with loose case law and a broad list of accusations that could apply to many different brands and head on down to the local trade show.  Meanwhile, one of the attorneys developing said master plan calls his buddy from law school over at AmazonSellersLawyers.com (more on this later) and tells him to add content to their website claiming to combat the Vorys letters.  Saying something to the effect of "This is going to be big! Don't miss out!" and jokingly asks for a referral fee.  

Walking around the the trade show is a poor innocent Lego representative minding his own business when all of a sudden a Vorys monkey pops out and does his sales dance.  Beating him down with fancy charts and lawyer speak ... using words like streamlined, cost effective and produces made up RESULTS!  until he finally agrees to "talk to his manager".   

The Lego manager decides to employee this strategy, not because they want to sue a bunch of unauthorized resellers, its because they want to be able to tell their pissed off and winey authorized resellers they are doing something to help them compete. 

(exit opinion)

As for AmazonSellersLawyers.com, I took advantage of their free consultation and man was I impressed!  I never actually got to talk to one of their attorneys but their sales team had all the right answers ... and for a flat fee of $3500!  How could I pass this up!?  In all seriousness though, they did nothing wrong, it was just my gut telling me something wasn't right after they called me 3 straight days seemingly begging for my retainer.  I had to tell them I retained someone else to get her to stop calling.  She also made it seem like they were very friendly with the Vorys which turned me off ... I wanted a shark, not a minnow.  

Regardless of my opinion it's pretty easy to see who's the main beneficiary from sending hundreds of C&D letters ... Vorys.  I'm sure their eControl is working quite well ... resellers with very little stake are dropping out with nothing more than a whine and the outright thieves run and hide.  These numbers are then presented as proof to whatever story needs to be told.   The fact that Lego hasn't sued anyone selling legitimate Lego product tells me dragging a bunch of people to court is not their intent and why we're choosing to hold our ground.  

When I was a kid Lego was a "Toy"  but now as an adult its a "Collectible".  You can't have collectibles without a secondary market and with that comes the reseller.  Lego should be embracing us and the value we add to their brand name.  Lego customers will continue to pay inflated prices as long as the perceived value continues to go up.   You're welcome.

 

Vorys planning their pitch meeting to Lego...

Do you mind sharing who you used?  Happy for a pm if you don’t wish to post publicly.

[chaozz]

On 4/27/2022 at 8:35 AM, Pandaa said:

This is my first time getting a letter from Vorys. So I thought it best to negotiate or work out with them before hiring an attorney. However I was wrong, the firm insisted that the first sale doctrine is not protected for reseller as I’m not an authorized lego reseller under their term. I provided my list of inventory and  sources which was a wrong move. I should have consult with an attorney first. Now I’m looking around to see if anyone hired an attorney and can provide their info.

They actually picked up the phone?  In the end its up to Lego if they choose to seek legal action, To my knowledge lego has never filed against anyone along the lines of these letters,Just people using the likeness of their products.

[chaozz]

On 4/27/2022 at 8:35 AM, Pandaa said:

This is my first time getting a letter from Vorys. So I thought it best to negotiate or work out with them before hiring an attorney. However I was wrong, the firm insisted that the first sale doctrine is not protected for reseller as I’m not an authorized lego reseller under their term. I provided my list of inventory and  sources which was a wrong move. I should have consult with an attorney first. Now I’m looking around to see if anyone hired an attorney and can provide their info.

What instructions did the actually give you going forward? 

amazon sellers lawyer they have a very active FB group, But they also play both sides of the fence they send letters also.

[Pandaa]

On 4/29/2022 at 4:27 PM, Legolassy said:

Do you mind sharing who you used?  Happy for a pm if you don’t wish to post publicly.

I would like to know too. Please PM me the info. We’re all in the same boat ! 

[Pandaa]

On 4/29/2022 at 7:46 PM, chaozz said:

They actually picked up the phone?  In the end its up to Lego if they choose to seek legal action, To my knowledge lego has never filed against anyone along the lines of these letters,Just people using the likeness of their products.

Yes they do reply. Just need to leave them messages. 

[Pandaa]

On 3/1/2022 at 9:03 AM, Banjoman said:

A little update.....I hired an attorney (teaches Trademark law at a major law school) who has reached out and had some back and forth contact with Vorys....our approach was to be pretty open in that I buy from authorized retailers including Lego, many times at full price,  I hold until they are unavailable on these platforms, and then I resell, with fulfillment through Walmart or another AUTHORIZED Lego retailer.  I voluntarily sent them a month of receipts showing $25K in legit purchases from Amazon/Walmart.   I have specifically asked how long I would need to hold inventory to be considered a retailer vs the need to be an authorized seller (and requested approval to be an authorized seller if required for these type of purchases.)  It seems a disclaimer of this was is being RESOLD as repurchased and as a collectors item.  

I hope I wasn't too open but sort of dumbed it down to anyone in the world can walk in Walmart and buy a set (or 200 of a set) and stick it in storage for two years and then resell it for twice the value.  I had pretty high volume (probably much smaller than people on here) , but I do not know that they can see that.  I also think they target the non-WFS or FBS sales where we ship and manage customer service.   Still waiting on the requested clarification, and we may not get it.    They did make it sound like if I immediately stopped buying, they would gladly let me sell out my legit inventory...but again no full clarification.

 

You mind sharing your attorney information ? I’m asking around and hoping someone reply. Please PM me if possible. 

[chaozz]

2 hours ago, Pandaa said:

You mind sharing your attorney information ? I’m asking around and hoping someone reply. Please PM me if possible. 

You really don't need one unless they actually file a case in court, As long as your stuff is legit.

2 hours ago, Pandaa said:

Yes they do reply. Just need to leave them messages. 

so what did they tell you?

[Bold-Arrow]

11 hours ago, chaozz said:

You really don't need one unless they actually file a case in court, As long as your stuff is legit.

 

All the communications between you and them and  any documents disclosed can be used against you should a case is filed. Why risk it 

[marvriel]

Could someone send me the contact info for their lawyer used against Vory's? Please PM me. Thanks!