https://brickset.com/arti...oup-acquires-bricklink
https://www.lego.com/de-d...ovember/lego-bricklink

Viele Grüße
Dirk - Mail

Hi Friccius,

passend zu dem Thema. Die Veröffentlichung auf bricklink.com:

https://www.bricklink.com...iew.page?msgid=1166622

DER MODERNE AFOL VON HEUTE ZEIGT MIT STOLZ SEINE NOPPEN.

Hoffentlich wird LEGO eine "LDD"-mode in Stud.io einbauen. Ich weiß es noch nicht... TLG bleibt ein fremdes Geschäft.

Beängstigend für mein Hobby... ich kaufe im Grunde kein Lego mehr in Setform und besorge mir nur mal ne nette neue Figur oder ein schönes neues Teil um alte Sets zu verbessern (wie die bedruckten Batmanfelgen für mein mein altes Batmobil aus dem Jokerland-Set).

Wenn Lego mir diese Bezugsquelle dicht macht, bin ich raus. Ich seh es nicht ein, mir teils 300€-Sets, die ich nicht geschenkt will, für ein besonderes Minifigurenteil zu kaufen.

doe gefällt das

Thomas52xxx hat geschrieben:

Dem schließe ich mich an,begeisterung = Null

Gorilla94 hat geschrieben:

DER MODERNE AFOL VON HEUTE ZEIGT MIT STOLZ SEINE NOPPEN.

videot , , Matze2903 gefällt das

Als ich heute Nachmittag die Meldung las, dachte ich zunächst auch an einen Scherz. Dann war ich doch ein bisschen geschockt.

Jetzt, ein paar Stunden später und nachdem das Interview nochmal in Ruhe gelesen habe, würde ich sagen, wir warten es doch erstmal ab. Das Lego Stud.io weiterhin supported, finde ich durchweg positiv, ich finde das Tool besser als den LDD, der ohnehin seit langem kein wirkliches Update mehr bekommen hat.
Falls Lego es tatsächlich wagt, BrickLink an die Wand zu fahren, indem z. B. die Händlergebühren nach oben geschraubt werden oder aber Einfluss auf die Preise genommen wird, glaube ich, die Community wird sich Ressourcen suchen. Immerhin gibt es mit BrickOwl und BrickScout alternative Plattformen, die nur deswegen noch nicht so populär sind, weil es BL in der heutigen Form gibt.

Also. Erst einmal abwarten und Tee trinken. Oder Glühwein.
In diesem Sinne,

Tastenmann

Mehr Fotos gibt es auf Flickr
und auf Instagram

Dirk1313 , IngoAlthoefer gefällt das

Hier einige Antworten einer LEGO Mitarbeiterin im LAN auf Fragen von Ambassadoren.
Wie zu erwarten geht das nicht über das bisher Bekannte hinaus:

Posted in The LEGO® Group acquires BrickLink
2 hours ago, Alice - ArchLUG said:
Question: Does this mean that LEGO will continue on with the people who are currently working at BL? Or will it be brought in house with new employees in Billund (or elsewhere)?

Question: In the interview with TBB, there is this statement: "From that perspective, you would not see BrickArms and guns and things that are potentially particularly connected to things like warfare and violence, which is something that we decided as the LEGO Group we would never support. Those kinds of things we would not want to see on the platform." How can LEGO continue to say they don't do guns and warfare with the continued collaboration of sets like Star Wars and Overwatch and the production of quite a few new gun elements? It is comments like this and the statement that 'there is no conflict of interest' that make it obvious to me that LEGO is perfectly ok with obvious contradictions or is deeply oblivious, neither of which inspires confidence in regards to this merger.

Antwort Sarah S. (LEGO):
Bricklink will continue to be run by the existing management team and based out of California. We plan to operate the businesses as fully stand-alone entities in their current locations.

Your second questions around weapons and LEGO brand guidelines - that's a topic which I've seen surface many times, and I don't want to divide the conversation here - our mantra has been that we encourage fantasy play but do not wish to show modern military themes.

1 hour ago, Marty said:


@Sara S.(LEGO): I can tell you this is going to be an uphill battle in terms of getting AFOLs to be excited about this merger. Fear of the unknown is already running rampant, and the (understandable) lack of details in these very early stages is only fueling that fire. The sooner clarity can be provided to the community at large, the better.

One note I will also add from my own observations, the interview posted on Brothers-Brick came off as very PR-speak heavy to me. There seemed to be a lot of non-answers provided in response to real concerns about conflicts of interest, especially, and I believe that a real acknowledgement of the potential pitfalls and concerns as well as a conversation about it with the community would go a whole lot farther than simply trying to say there's nothing to worry about.

Overall, though, I guess there's not much to be done aside from wait and see what comes from all of this.

Antwort Sarah S. (LEGO):
We do really want to share more, but can't until after closing - sometime this year.

1 hour ago, Eljay said:
What stance? We have yet to be provided a stance on account of being too early in this process, and instead being told the founder had a specific vision that would be adhered to - which has now been proven inaccurate. Unless you mean to suggest that if TLG comes to the decision to axe custom pieces, the founders views would not factor in.

Don't mean to argue, just seeking clarification. This is some of the largest news of the year and a lot of people are faced with massive uncertainty and will be for a while. Thank you for keeping up with the messages regardless.

Antwort Sarah S. (LEGO):
Sorry, I should have been more clear: our stance related to modern military themes. As Alice quoted from Julia's interview, "From that perspective, you would not see BrickArms and guns and things that are potentially particularly connected to things like warfare and violence, which is something that we decided as the LEGO Group we would never support. Those kinds of things we would not want to see on the platform."

1 hour ago, Anna - theBrickBlogger said:
I haven't seen anyone mentioning this yet, and it's unlikely that we will get an answer to this anytime soon, but I'm just wondering what's LEGO's long-term plan with BrickLink, because what they are doing now is opening them up to huge legal liability.


Antwort Sarah S. (LEGO):
There is a long-term plan - we love our long term strategies here at the LEGO Group. Of course this, like many other questions raised here, cannot yet be shared. I'm not overly familiar with the issues you mention with eBay, but I trust our legal and risk management team would be. Unfortunately, I don't have further information on this, it’s best not to speculate but to instead see how things will play out.

1 hour ago, Warren said:
Our LUG hasn't had much time to think this through, but the comments I've seen so far are 100% negative.

I think this comment on Facebook says it all: 'I hope LEGO reads all of the feedback and takes a good hard look at the level of distrust being conveyed.'. This has gone down like a tonne of bricks (ie, really badly) for a whole variety of reasons which are stated above and elsewhere. Putting that all aside, if I was LEGO senior management - I'd be far MORE concerned about the fact they have misjudged the AFOL market so badly. @Sara S.(LEGO) - is the general reception of this being communicated back to Julia?

Not that it's my place to suggest anything at all - but if asked, I'd like to see LEGO put Bricklink put into some sort of independent trust. Separate enough from LEGO to cover themselves from lawsuits whilst giving AFOL customers and sellers confidence it's independent. Hell, I'd even offer to be involved in that if it ever happened!!

Antwort Sarah S. (LEGO):
Reactions are being shared with Julia and the team.

We don't yet have details we can share on the future of BrickLink, but we want to keep independent spirit that has made BrickLink great. I do realize these are just words right now however, the community needs to see it to believe it - so please be patient until closing has completed.


7 hours ago, Thomas - Bricking Bavaria said:
· We would like this to be a platform for LEGO Bricks and LEGO-branded products, as that was Dan’s original vision. This is an issue we will review as the deal closes.

7 hours ago, Jan - Bricks am Meer e.V. said:
yes, I fully agree and I can see this advantage.

I am optimistic, too. But I also welcomed the independence of Bricklink

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
We plan to operate the businesses as fully stand-alone entities in their current locations. Bricklink will continue to be run by the existing management team.

7 hours ago, Richie | PerthLUG said:
So effectively Lego now has a secondary income stream from every single set its ever sold and will sell, forever ad infinitum.

In fact, Lego will now make money from items such as GWP sets, that previously made them nothing.

Let that sink in.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Julia touches on this in her Brothers Brick interview - the marketplace operates very well and provides an opportunity for fans to purchase the product they need. Some of them are very difficult to find and don’t exist in production anymore, so they’re complimentary. This acquisition is to support the fans better. We see opportunity to actually listen to the fans and have a stronger connection with them.


7 hours ago, Fernando, TechnicBRICKs said:
I swear my first reaction was to look at the calendar!...
1st of April? Already!??

I wish this never happened!
And wonder whether Dan would be happy or mad at this moment, if he would be able to see this happen... Didn't his family still have a participation at BrickLink before this deal?

Honestly and despite the LEGO reassurance, I don't see how the community will benefit from this... There were already so many aspects where TLG can and should improve on their own!!
So why this? Other than mining the wonderful set of transaction data that BrickLink can provide?
Data is key, data is king, data is cash nowadays!

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Hi Fernando,

I understand you're very upset by this. I can't tell you what the future will hold, but what I can tell you is for us, this acquisition is about investing in the adult fan community – which is important to the LEGO Group. BrickLink is a platform LEGO fans love. It’s a place where they can be creative and entrepreneurial – and we want to continue to nurture these things. And it’s a vibrant community which brings our brand to life / keeps our brand relevant

7 hours ago, Richie | PerthLUG said:
You quoted my post but didn’t address it at all.

You now make more money from sets you’ve already sold once. And money from sets you previously made nothing from.

Antwort Sarah (Lego):
Sorry for not being more clear - what I can say is the motivation for this acquisition is not related to money at all. It is about strengthening our connection with the large and growing adult fan community – who are important to long-term success. This is a benefit of being privately owned – we can take a long-term view.

We do create exclusive building sets and GWP for events or for platforms. But we are not doing this with profit in mind as much as we are doing it to tap into a cultural moment and trying to create something that is really interesting. However it’s too soon for us to be talking about terms and conditions. That is something that we will review closer to the deal closing.

7 hours ago, Jonathan | RomaBrick said:
Let's see if TLG will change the rate or something else on Bricklink.

A new website will be really appreciated.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Regarding rates - That is not something we are currently looking at. Over time, we will review all aspects of the site to ensure it offers a great experience for everyone involved community, users, designers and sellers.

Regarding a new website - We also plan to invest in the fundamentals of the platform and ways we can scale up in the future. However, it’s too soon to be specific. We will take time to work with the team at BrickLink and the fantastic community to understand what’s working and where there is opportunity for development.

6 hours ago, Ed | Texas Brick RR said:
I'm not sure how the community will benefit either.
Zephyr will need to find a new outlet for his valve gear rods though. I'm sure there are other examples of non-LEGO parts unrelated to the weapons issue.

Maybe LDD will be merged with Studio?

The data is more important than the cash - that is a very good observation.

I do hope they keep Dan's mother involved.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Regarding LDD and Studio - Both offer creative fans great support. We will review future opportunities for both following closing. We will certainly plan to support and evolve Studio. The BrickLink team has done a great job developing this.
To the best of my knowledge she was involved.


7 hours ago, Joel said:
Wow. I never, never thought that this might happen.

The statement below bothers me, because my perception (and I think the perception of many other people) is that the current management team other than Russell really isn't doing very well, and Russell's hands seem to be tied when it comes to communication.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Sorry, I think I missed this one. We have been working closely with Russel on this announcement.We plan to operate the businesses as fully stand-alone entities in their current locations. I should add that the management will report to Julia Goldin (CMO) but we are keen to retain the entrepreneurial spirit that has made it such a success.


6 hours ago, Balazs said:
Maybe Bricklink IT can help the LEGO folks first

6 hours ago, Boštjan said:
While I may see some logic behind it, my first thought (or avice) was: please PLEASE leave it as independent as possible. Bricklink is as it is because its independent, with all its qualities, but also with all its flaws. From Q&A:

Looking a this and the other topic about banning people for buying 5 led lights gives me the creeps. Bricklink needs "some" regulation, but from the perspecive of rules, imposed on S@H, three quarters of shops could be suspended immediately. While some shops may be a bit "shady" and there could be some suspicions about how they acquire some of their stock, like for example hundreds of some rare torsos or stuff like (it would be naive to think that all this come just from parted out sets), its BrickLink and its almost unlimited supply that makes this whole AFOL thing going, enables large builds etc...

Please LEGO, think twice before doing anything too "direct way".

If fans (and shops) will get "scared" away, there will certainly be initiative to come up with new trading platform (or use Brickowl or something similar) and we will end up with divided community and confused market.

Another thing is that while I like and respect TLG (I really do and I've defended its actions many times, here or elsewhere), I'm afraid of what their IT, some techincal and even legal services will do the platform, with all their (proved many times) inflexibilty, corporate thinking and sometimes even lack of common sense will do to plaform (from the technical side). Briklink is simple, even "ugly", but it works. In comparison, lego.com is nice, all "bling-blingy" and so on, but its slow, sorting sometimes dont work properly language setting get lost and its difficult to find something.

To end on positive side: I also see some great opportunities in it. Just, please, dont broke what works.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Thank you Bostjan, we will keep all of this in mind. We do plan to work with the BrickLink team going forward to invest in and improve the platform. We know you care about this, but it’s best to not rush to conclusions yet. We will share more details when we have them.

Viele Grüße
Dirk - Mail

JuL gefällt das

Die Antworten sind - nun ja - unbefriedigend und eine weitere vage Erläuterung zu ohnehin schon sehr unspezifischen Statements. Also doch bloß Marketinggewäsch, auch wenn natürlich klar ist, dass sich LEGO da vorerst nicht in die Karten schauen lässt. Ich find's schade, dass man nicht proaktiver kommuniziert, um der negativen öffentlichen Diskussion entgegenzuwirken. Nicht, dass ich jetzt von LEGO Wunder erwarten würde, aber irgendwann muss das doch auch mal zwei Ebenen über den LAN Managern ankommen...

Mylenium

https://myleniumsbrickcorner.wordpress.com

6 hours ago, Mark said:
Several AFOLs who run bricklink shops are concerned they will be banned from buying from Lego on account of being "resellers". There are also concerns that third party vendors who sell custom, non-LEGO parts would also be banned, despite these parts not violating LEGO's policies or competing directly with LEGO products. An example would be vendors who make custom train track.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
the reseller question bought up here is an important one, but requires a bit more research first before I can provide an answer. Right now, we are in very early days so we cannot yet say for sure what the future holds.

Regarding the secondhand marketplace: What’s great about LEGO bricks is that it’s a true system of play. Elements we’ve produced since 1958 is compatible with the bricks that we have today. We’re supportive of the fact that these bricks are still in circulation and they’re still being used and leveraged for creativity.

For custom parts, again, an important question. We would like this to be a platform for LEGO Bricks and LEGO-branded products, as that was Dan’s original vision. This is an issue we will review as the deal closes.


5 hours ago, Hugo said:
I understand that the path of the future Bricklink will go strictly to resell LEGO elements, so 3rd part vendors who actually are selling custom parts or non-LEGO parts will not be welcome and will disappear from Bricklink..., I believe this was one decision that was made by the owner who will no longer be...

But what about the called LEGO Q-elements, will they be banned? Will LEGO install in the Bricklink system a censorship or filter about those for example?

I am trying to understand the aim to connect more with the community and strenghen the ties with the AFOLs but I don't expect and don't really want LEGO to control everything.

About Q-elements for instance I would not expect LEGO to ban them from Bricklink but instead they can produce them in order to fill a void that the AFOL community could use to create awesome MOCs.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
I actually had to look up Q-elements since it's not a term I've heard before. That’s a good question and I want to get you the right information. Unfortunately, we do not have more information to share at this time but hope to have an answer for you later.


4 hours ago, Jason | OCLUG said:
This is an interesting bit of information that I hadn't seen elsewhere yet. I'm a little surprised that this doesn't fall under CEE and @Tormod's leadership. I'm not entirely clear on the internal structure within TLG, but i hope that Julia and Tormod can develop a close working relationship, so that decisions about BrickLink's operations would be first based on AFOL community needs and only secondarily to Marketing. I'm excited to see what develops from this acquisition.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Tormod actually reports into Julia - if that helps clarify the structure. So they have a close working relationship already!

4 hours ago, David - Solid Brix Studios said:
This is shocking. I would’ve never seen this coming from LEGO. On one hand I’m really happy to see that LEGO is taking the AFOL community even more serious to spend what was probably millions to purchase Bricklink. LAN now would will become even more important between the LEGO and the adult fans.

On another, I’m concerned that since LEGO might start policing certain products sold on Bricklink other then BrickArms. What about custom minifigures? Will the blank parts used to create them also disappear? Or other modified LEGO? How about BrickForge or Arealight where they produce custom elements to work on LEGO?

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out in the upcoming year!

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Regarding custom parts - We would like this to be a platform for LEGO Bricks and LEGO-branded products, as that was Dan’s original vision. This is an issue we will review as the deal closes.

4 hours ago, David - Solid Brix Studios said:
Wait. Does this mean BrickLink’s stud.io will replace LDD? Or vice versa?

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Both offer creative fans great support. We will review future opportunities for both following closing. We will certainly plan to support and evolve Studio. The BrickLink team has done a great job developing this.


4 hours ago, Hugo said:
@Sara (LEGO) we use that term for LEGO elements that were not release in any sets, but do exist and off course are available only in the LEGOLAND workshops. But sometimes they are found in the wild in small or big quantities.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Thank you and @Fernando, TechnicBRICKs for clarifying. This is an area where we will have to investigate further to get an answer for this question. Sorry I don't have further details on this right now.

4 hours ago, Martin LUG'est said:
2. All those boxes of vrac that were given to AFOL / LUGS could now be sold via bricklink LEGO shop, (we would never know) driving many fan shops out of business.

I hope I am wrong time will tell...

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
We have no plans at this stage to start selling on BrickLink. There is a great community of sellers who have fantastic reputations and offer great customer service. We want to preserve that spirit of independence.

3 hours ago, Martin LUG'est said:
@Sara (LEGO) Is this is true a statement ?? In the future LUGBULK could be free to all AFOL participating through a LUG ?? Paid from profits from Bricklink.

An old English saying "Put your money where your mouth is."

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
It would be awesome to supply LUGBULK for free but I really don't foresee that happening, sorry.

For those reading this whole thread, sorry if I'm repeating myself in the answers, just trying to address what questions I can!


4 hours ago, Anna - theBrickBlogger said:
I just want to clarify that this is actually not true. I have been on BrickLink since Dan's times, and he repeatedly and clearly said that he likes and approves small customizers, but not clone products. So BrickArms, BrickForge, BrickWarriors, Little Armory, BrickTW, Arealight, Christo's Customs, Minifig.Cat, custom chromers, custom train tracks, custom stickers, custom capes, etc. were always welcome. Many of these customizers set up their own webshops when it became easier to accomplish that, but Dan always welcomed them, and many of them still operate BrickLink stores along with their own websites. In fact, Dan set up a separate section of the site just for custom items. He was however against clone brands like Lepin being sold on the site.

Now that BrickLink is owned by LEGO, of course they can change these terms, but please don't say that this was Dan's original vision, as it wasn't. He very much supported the small cottage industry of customizers that developed around the LEGO hobby.

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
Thank you for this background, I never had the opportunity to meet with Dan. I'll pass this message back to the team. It wouldn't however change our stance on this issue.

4 hours ago, Joel said:
I really hope there are changes (for the better!) with the Bricklink management. One of the forum members there creates these comics, which seem to be pretty accurate:

http://v4ei.com/mini-fig-...outer/comics/index.php

Antwort Sarah (LEGO):
These comics are very well done



53 minutes ago, Sara (LEGO) said:
We don't yet have details we can share on the future of BrickLink, but we want to keep independent spirit that has made BrickLink great. I do realize these are just words right now however, the community needs to see it to believe it - so please be patient until closing has completed.

Anna - The Brickblogger:
Thanks, @Sara (LEGO) for keeping on top of the questions and concerns here. I know you can't share much, but just the fact that you are reading, responding, and relaying is a big help. May I suggest that someone from the team does the same thing on the BrickLink Forum before things get out of hand? Or perhaps ask Russell to gather questions, relay them to Julie, and have some official answers that he can post?

The BrickLink community weathered a lot of battles since Dan's passing. They are a hardy bunch, but they are also weary and salty. Giving them something to calm their nerves can be immensely helpful. For some, BrickLink is their livelihood as sellers, or the source of bricks for their businesses as brick artists, etc., so it makes sense that they have important questions and they would like to know as much as possible as soon as possible. Here are two main threads about the topic:

Comments on the announcement: https://www.bricklink.com...iew.page?msgid=1166622

Questions that the community would like answers to: https://www.bricklink.com...260210&nID=1166680


Signe - LEGO - Head of Community Growth:

Ladies and gentlemen - dear ambassadors,

thank you so much for you questions and raising your concerns, voicing opinions and bringing important topics to the surface. As Sara mentioned we'll make sure to bring forward messages to relevant stakeholders (Julia Goldin, the Bricklink team, the internal teams working with the deal etc.).

In this period from signing with Bricklink until closing of the deal we allow the internal teams to prepare all the closing material. This means that in the pre-closing period we/ the company cannot share much detail. We'll try our best to answer your questions with the information we can give you at this point in time and as mentioned compile the feedback here, so it is truly valuable to hear your concerns and the different areas your flagging to us.

We'll be back tomorrow - I'll be responding and Sara will be enjoying a well-deserved Thanksgiving Holiday with her family and will be out of office the rest of the week.

Please continue to post and I'll be here to answer your questions tomorrow in the a.m. CET

Viele Grüße
Dirk - Mail

JuL gefällt das