LEGO Bans - Open Discussion

[TheBrickClique]

As for operating with a single account to stay within the vendor’s technically-enforced limits, I believe this is the current state of things.
 

Cliff notes: you’ll be fine as long as you don’t go on a spending spree at Target.com, and try not to bring attention to your buying patterns by dealing with online customer service for small gripes that can be dealt with in store instead.

Target - the easiest place to get banned based simply on purchase volume online and the most aggressive against resellers in store — employees trained to identify resellers loading up carts for example.  Can still use red card in store after online ban, but using with a new email account will result in repeat ban — start receiving auto cancellations and email about possible issues including payment purchase method.  Some people have bans lifted after a period in timeout. Others indefinitely. The amount of purchases that may identify you as a reseller and get a ban? One data point: I have been unable to purchase online going on 18 months now after two months of $5k purchases on the red card. Same red card still works fine in store.
 

LEGO shop at home — with the purchase limits mechanics implemented a few years ago, it is much more difficult to get the SAH ban hammer. If you exceed a limit on any item based on past purchases of the same item, they will cancel your entire order. Be warned that if they cancel an order with a VIP Rewards purchase, the reward is not automatically credited back to your account. Also, if they cancel an item due to inventory issues, the system still tracks it as qty purchased. Qty purchased in brick and mortar stores that are purchased with VIP accounts are not counted towards SAH limits and and limits in store are done at the individual store’s discretion. If you do have to call customer service to resolve an issue, they do have easy visibility to all of your previous orders and will make comments about you “really liking LEGOs”.  No indication that that is how the ban process starts, but unless you really have an issue that needs CS, might be best to just let the small things go. 
 

Amazon — shop away. Their limits are tracked to the second on a 168-hour FIFO.  Limits apply and are tracked in that window only to items sold and shipped by Amazon.com. Buy as many third party items as you wish. Anecdotal stories of bans for excessive returns, but no clear information on the metrics used. Generally, probably best to save the returns for the really bad boxes.  Creating multiple accounts will get noticed and is the quickest way to get the warning shot emails. 
 

Barnes and Noble — similar to LEGO, has a five qty per item lifetime limit online. Exceed that amount and just that item will be cancelled from the order. No reports of bans. In store purchases do not appear to be tied to online memberships as far as adding to your 5-count quantity.  
 

Walmart — most LEGO are limited to two per order, but they won’t say how often that limit is reset.  Doing a couple of multiple limit orders in the same day has worked.  Doing dozens has resulted in order cancellations of those specific items but no bans that I am aware of. Generally, I have found one limit order per day has never resulted in a cancellation. 
 

ShopDisney — some items have limits but they are selectively enforced. If you put in multiple limit orders at the same time, they might cancel those items. If you space them out, they will be fine. I ordered a dozen castles (limit one per customer) last year and they all went through. Sometimes two in two consecutive days. 
 

Costco — has item limits on some items, but I haven’t seen any on LEGOs. Even with items with limits, possible to space them out without issue.  In store limits are usually “per day”. 
 

Best Buy — unsure on LEGO as I’ve never pushed the limits on them. In the past, I would make 50 purchases at a time of 2-dollar items that had limits and they would all go through.  I have tried to make multiple purchases of Xbox consoles and those were cancelled.  So YMMV. But no reports of bans.

Anyways, those are my observations.

[exciter1]

Mods - I would suggest removing references to the LEGO employee's name in this thread.  "Adversary" or not, he shouldn't be named.

 

Done, please send me any links if it shows up elsewhere.

 

Thanks

[romoore245]

Mods - I would suggest removing references to the LEGO employee's name in this thread.  "Adversary" or not, he shouldn't be named.

My mistake I assumed it wasn't an issue since the thread I was referring to was over a year old, but I guess that was his employee referring to him not someone he has targeted. I like the Voldemort approach better anyway He that shall not be named!

[Flemdog33]

If I order above Lego's set limits than the burden of being banned falls squarely on me. No reason to make excuses. Deal with it and move on. I've pushed the envelope recently knowing a ban can happen. If the limit is 99 and I order 99 I also will accept a ban. Unless it's something dirt cheap and I want them for favors, ie a $1.98 minifig. Those are always limit 32 anyways.

[Yinchuan]

If I purchase a few different sets, all of which I have purchased within the last few months, would that potentially set off a flag?

[fuzzy_bricks]

If I purchase a few different sets, all of which I have purchased within the last few months, would that potentially set off a flag?

No one knows for sure.  If you look at what terrymc did last 2x VIP you may be able to fly under the radar by ordering one product at a time, assuming we are talking exclusives that meet the free shipping threshold.

[canonikon]

How many sets can we buy at lego.com before we get banned from it? (merged)

 

Thinking of ordering 10 sets for a few particular products but I heard you can get banned from it from ordering too much.

[pete411]

@ canonikon Is there a limit on the set you are ordering?

 

All, I'm going to try to order a set that has a limit of 5. I ordered one of these in January. Would I still be able to order 5 more? What would be the best way to go about this?

[MartinP]

How many sets can we buy at lego.com before we get banned from it? (merged)

 

Thinking of ordering 10 sets for a few particular products but I heard you can get banned from it from ordering too much.

 

That number is unknown. If you want to get multiples of a certain set, buy them from a variety of retailers including Lego so you don't raise any red flags when ordering from Lego. Also, don't purchase everything at once. You have to do multiple purchases over a longer period of time.

[terrymc4677]

@ canonikon Is there a limit on the set you are ordering?

All, I'm going to try to order a set that has a limit of 5. I ordered one of these in January. Would I still be able to order 5 more? What would be the best way to go about this?

Order them one at a time spread out over a period of time. One per week should keep you under the radar. Wait until your first order is in shipped status before you order the next one, and if possible try to order a few during double VIP or when there is a good promo going on.

[trekgate502]

In spirit on exclusives I agree completely but I bet you could order 5 Easter kits in one order and not have an issue.

LOL

[terrymc4677]

In spirit on exclusives I agree completely but I bet you could order 5 Easter kits in one order and not have an issue.

LOL

Correct. I assumed he was buying exclusives. The small sets I don't think they care as much, especially any that are on clearance. I ordered 10 of the Santa set that was recently reduced in two separate orders (5 each) with no issues. I wouldn't push my luck with exclusives though.

[Flippingbricks]

Does anyone know if returns cause flags like not to get money back but if you change your mind and want to swap to a different set

[Sandwraith]

Does anyone know if returns cause flags like not to get money back but if you change your mind and want to swap to a different set

I've returned/exchanged a lot of items for one reason or another, haven't been banned yet at least, but who knows.

[canonikon]

If I ordered through lego.com can my family order for me too even though the billing address is the same BUT the shipping address is different?

 

My plan is me, my dad, my brother, all have same billing, but different shipping address.

 

Will Lego ban me for that?

 

Most I say is 3 sets per model, thinking of ordering 1set of 2 different models in the first order and then 2 sets of 2 different models during double points week.

 

These are "hard to find" items.

Edited March 13, 2015 by canonikon

[canonikon]

@ canonikon Is there a limit on the set you are ordering?

 

All, I'm going to try to order a set that has a limit of 5. I ordered one of these in January. Would I still be able to order 5 more? What would be the best way to go about this?

the limit is 5 on the "hard to find" items.

[gregpj]

If I ordered through lego.com can my family order for me too even though the billing address is the same BUT the shipping address is different?

 

My plan is me, my dad, my brother, all have same billing, but different shipping address.

 

Will Lego ban me for that?

 

Most I say is 3 sets per model, thinking of ordering 1set of 2 different models in the first order and then 2 sets of 2 different models during double points week.

 

These are "hard to find" items.

 

You're asking to be banned by doing that. Fly under the radar by spacing out your orders, ordering from different retailers (VIP points are not worth being banned) or buying with cash in a LEGO store without collecting the VIP points. Most of the people who order a lot just space their orders out over time. I realize you're late getting started and might want to get some of those hard to find sets before they disappear but that's reality.

 

Having the same billing address (assume different names) but different shipping addresses might work in your favor, but the reality is nobody knows the rules to get yourself banned. If you want to try, by all means, go for it. But there's apparently no going back once you're banned so think carefully.

 

And dude, no matter how many times you ask the question on the forums, the answer will be the same. Nobody knows the answer!

[canonikon]

You're asking to be banned by doing that. Fly under the radar by spacing out your orders, ordering from different retailers (VIP points are not worth being banned) or buying with cash in a LEGO store without collecting the VIP points. Most of the people who order a lot just space their orders out over time. I realize you're late getting started and might want to get some of those hard to find sets before they disappear but that's reality.

 

Having the same billing address (assume different names) but different shipping addresses might work in your favor, but the reality is nobody knows the rules to get yourself banned. If you want to try, by all means, go for it. But there's apparently no going back once you're banned so think carefully.

 

And dude, no matter how many times you ask the question on the forums, the answer will be the same. Nobody knows the answer!

Thanks, I think I will just order 1 set for each model...totaling 2 sets in 2 orders. Since it's free shipping anyway over $70 or something.

Edited March 13, 2015 by canonikon

[kevinxf]

After baned, how can we reorder from lego.com

[DadsAFOL]

After baned, how can we reorder from lego.com

You can't.  That's the point of the ban.  You can still buy in a Lego Store without using a VIP card though.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

I'm testing the waters in the UK now.  I ordered 5x Sea Cow this morning and will order another 5 when the first 5 have shipped and then another 5 and so on while 2x VIP is running. Since the Sea Cow in the UK is close to US pricing, it represents good value. I wasn't going to buy anything but, I saw one built at Smyths Toys this morning, thought it was stunning value and I just had to have them!  Could this set be the "SteamPunk" Imperial Flagship with similar gain.

 

If I was in the US, I'd have been banned years ago!

 

I still have 90 days if buyer's remorse sets in ;-)

[diablo2112]

I'm testing the waters in the UK now. 

 

Good luck!  Great experiment you're running.

[JM123]

I'm testing the waters in the UK now.  I ordered 5x Sea Cow this morning and will order another 5 when the first 5 have shipped and then another 5 and so on while 2x VIP is running. Since the Sea Cow in the UK is close to US pricing, it represents good value. I wasn't going to buy anything but, I saw one built at Smyths Toys this morning, thought it was stunning value and I just had to have them!  Could this set be the "SteamPunk" Imperial Flagship with similar gain.

 

If I was in the US, I'd have been banned years ago!

 

I still have 90 days if buyer's remorse sets in ;-)

 

Indeed very nice! Very curious about it, because I order also more than the limits, have 2 accounts (Lego knows this when I called them, but I said it is my brothers account but I pay because I have a credit card ;-) ) and I never got banned.. they know I'm a hoarder but presumably they don't care here in Europe.

 

Oh yeah! Forgot to mention: I also know the 50% employee discount code (still working) here in the Netherlands, used it around 4 times hoping my orders will go through, but they are not shipping these me because they know I'm not an employee.. HR needs to validate your employee status before they ship orders with employee discount. I really think they don't care here in Europe about hoarders.

[Fj00]

So I was planning on making a large order on shop @ home for the double VIP points, until I read this thread. I added several items to my cart, and several exclusives (none of which I have ordered before, although I did max out the limit for each (they are 2 or 5 max). I actually have an interesting situation. Before today, the Helicarrier was limit 5, but now it is limit 1. But I still have all 5 in my cart. It says I will get double VIP points for all of them. How high of a risk of a ban is it to place this order? My VIP account was created about a month ago, and I purchased from a local Lego store twice since then (including today.) I could split it into 2-3 orders over the next 2 weeks (starting with 5 Helicarriers), or even go back to the Lego store for a few items they have in stock. I am not a reseller, and I haven't sold a set in my life. I just enjoy collecting multiples.

[canonikon]

Those who get banned were orderings $10,000+. Your 5 max shouldn't be a problem. I believe Lego goes after the bigger fishes.

[gregpj]

So I was planning on making a large order on shop @ home for the double VIP points, until I read this thread. I added several items to my cart, and several exclusives (none of which I have ordered before, although I did max out the limit for each (they are 2 or 5 max). I actually have an interesting situation. Before today, the Helicarrier was limit 5, but now it is limit 1. But I still have all 5 in my cart. It says I will get double VIP points for all of them. How high of a risk of a ban is it to place this order? My VIP account was created about a month ago, and I purchased from a local Lego store twice since then (including today.) I could split it into 2-3 orders over the next 2 weeks (starting with 5 Helicarriers), or even go back to the Lego store for a few items they have in stock. I am not a reseller, and I haven't sold a set in my life. I just enjoy collecting multiples.

 

It's always a risk to order large quantities... If you're comfortable taking chances, go for it. If you value having Lego Shop @ Home as a place to buy, then I highly recommend you split them up to fly under the radar. Many people who get banned find other ways to purchase.

 

The Heli Carrier just got here ... there is no reason to think it won't be around for another 2x VIP event.