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

---