News: The LEGO Group acquires BrickLink from Nexon founder Jay Kim for undisclosed sum – interview with LEGO CMO Julia Goldin

The LEGO group announced today that it is acquiring LEGO marketplace website BrickLink. BrickLink was founded in 2000 by the late LEGO fan Dan Jezek, and was purchased from Dan’s family in 2013 by mobile game company Nexon founder and entrepeneur Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim. Over the past six years, the new owners, via Mr. Kim’s investment company NXMH, have taken the website in a number of new directions, including a “MOC Shop”, Stud.io virtual LEGO design software and the AFOL Designer Program earlier this year.

Although the official press release is fairly light on details, prior to the announcement today, LEGO invited The Brothers Brick to conduct a one-on-one interview with Julia Goldin, Chief Marketing Officer for the LEGO Group. We asked Ms. Goldin about potential conflicts of interest in LEGO now owning a large proportion of the secondary market for its own product, the future of the community-driven BrickLink catalog, and more. Read our in-depth interview in the article below. We’ll also have more analysis and discussion in the coming days.

The Brothers Brick:
What changes does LEGO plan to make with BrickLink after the acquisition?

Julia Goldin:
We’re not planning to make any changes in the immediate future on the BrickLink platform because it operates really well and serves the fans very well. So in terms of how it operates it will continue the way that it is. Obviously, we see a lot of opportunities of how we can support the platform and support the fans. We did a pilot — AFOL Design project earlier this year, and it received a very very good response. So we see opportunities for us to start doing more together, and so that will come as we start working together, but no immediate changes.

The Brothers Brick:
There are certainly LEGO builders and collectors who will immediately see a conflict of interest between LEGO producing sets, bricks, and minifigs, while also controlling the main secondary market for its own products. How would you respond to this concern?

Julia Goldin:
We actually don’t see a conflict there at all. The marketplace right now operates very well and it provides an opportunity for fans to purchase the parts that they need — some of them are very difficult to find, and they don’t exist in production anymore, so it’s quite complementary. So we really don’t see — they obviously operate very well. We want to see a fair competitive environment, and that’s just one part of that kind of environment. So there’s no conflict there in my view.

What we want to do is really support the fans better. We see a lot of opportunities and needs that they have to both have more ways in which they can actually realize their creations, and create more ways in which they would be able to sell their creations to others. We also see a lot of opportunities to actually listen to the fans and have a stronger connection with them and get their input and ideas about what we could do to actually improve, with the work that they do with LEGO. So we don’t see this potential area as any kind of conflict of interest.

The Brothers Brick:
Well, LEGO creates artificial scarcity for things like San Diego Comic Con exclusives like sets and minifigs. And then LEGO would immediately turn around and profit from that artificial scarcity. How is that not a conflict of interest?

Julia Goldin:
You’re right in the fact that we do create some exclusives, some exclusive building sets for particularly advanced [builders] or for particular platforms. We’re not doing it particularly with profits in mind as much as we’re doing it as part of a cultural moment that creates something that’s really interesting. So, this is where I, again, I don’t see how that conflicts with the platform.

The Brothers Brick:
We noticed that this includes the acquisition of sohobricks as well, which produces many elements that are identical in shape to existing LEGO elements. Does LEGO plan to continue producing sohobricks, and if so, how will you differentiate the two brands?

Julia Goldin:
sohobricks mainly produces for events, such as charity. And that that is really where they’re at their focus. It’s very early days for us to say exactly how we will work together and we’re very excited about the deal, and it’s obviously that it’s just our work together is just starting off, so we’re gonna have to do some work together to figure out what the future looks like.

The Brothers Brick:
Will LEGO discontinue sales of custom elements like BrickArms that feature historical or realistic military themes?

Julia Goldin:
That is a very good question. I think that our vision is that we would want to stay, from BrickLink, with the vision that Dan the original founder had, which is, this is really about LEGO and this is about LEGO elements. 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.

The Brothers Brick:
So that would be an immediate change.

Julia Goldin:
In that particular regard, yes, we would only sell LEGO — we would only support LEGO-branded sellers.

The Brothers Brick:
How do you anticipate LEGO managing the potential change in reputation of being associated with selling used elements?

Julia Goldin:
I think here again I don’t see an issue. What’s great about LEGO, as you know, is that it’s a true system of play, and every piece that we’ve produced since 1958 is compatible with the bricks that we have today. We’re very supportive of the fact that these bricks are still in circulation and they’re still in use and they’re being leveraged. So again, no conflict there — full support. We love the fact that the fans can actually get their hands on them, and then be able to use bricks that are no longer in production.

The Brothers Brick:
LEGO sells individual elements through a variety of programs such as Pick-a-Brick, Bricks and Pieces, and so on. Those sales of existing or new elements compete directly with BrickLink today. Can you describe LEGO’s strategy for directing customers to one platform over another for purchase of individual pieces?

Julia Goldin:
It’s, again, very early days right now, so it’s too early to say exactly how we will evolve our own ways of selling. But right now, what I would say is that we want to go where the demand is. And as far as I see it, there is demand for both, because what I hear from fans most of all is that it’s not easy enough for them to get the things that they want — the bricks that they want. We actually see an opportunity for both to continue. We will need, obviously, to evolve and understand what is the best way, the best service that we can provide, and where they can be complementary to what they’re already getting. It’s not about being competitive with the marketplace, but it’s about understanding how can we serve the fans better and where the demand is that we’re not yet servicing.

The Brothers Brick:
Speaking of BrickLink, itself, LEGO builders and collectors outside of English-speaking speaking countries have often complained to me about how difficult BrickLink is to use for them. Will this acquisition provide an opportunity for improved internationalization or localization of both the BrickLink website and the catalog?

Julia Goldin:
That’s a really good question. We definitely see an opportunity for more global expansion because BrickLink is currently mostly concentrated around Europe and particularly the US. We would need to investigate what is the best way that we can support development that would actually service our Asian AFOLs, because they’re mainly in Japan, but also in other countries in Asia and we would love to see that community also thrive and develop.

The Brothers Brick:
And where do you see the role of BrickLink as a component of the community? BrickLink of course is not the entirety of the AFOL community — it’s much more distributed. How do you see BrickLink fitting into the much broader online community?

Julia Goldin:
That’s something that I’m also very excited about. We as LEGO would love to engage with all of our fans and we would like to see BrickLink as an integral part of the community. Also, as a way for us to understand better how could we actually create some connections between the different online communities that exist — what role can BrickLink play in that and how can we best support not just the BrickLink community, but also others that are out there. So I think that is absolutely the work that needs to get done but maybe if I talk about the ownership mindset. You know the LEGO mindset is that we want to connect with all of our fans, not just with the fans that are in the BrickLink community. Obviously, we would love to see the BrickLink community grow because it provides services the fans want, so I think that’s probably the way that we can best make the connections with other communities that exist.

The Brothers Brick:
The BrickLink catalog itself is a product of contributions from across the LEGO fan community, over nearly 20 years. How will LEGO manage community contributions toward the catalog in the future?

Julia Goldin:
We would like for that to continue. We think that that is one of the great things that our fans have done. It’s a really great catalog, so there’ll be no change. If anything, you will see us actually trying to engage fans around the world, even more actively. We see the catalog as one of the really unique parts of BrickLink’s offerings, and fans play an absolutely integral role in doing that. So that will just continue to evolve and build.

The Brothers Brick:
I personally prefer the Brickset catalog over BrickLink’s catalog — it’s much easier to navigate, for me personally. How will this acquisition affect catalogs on other reference websites like Brickset, with LEGO’s focus on BrickLink instead.

Julia Goldin:
It’s a very good question, and I don’t have the answer right now to exactly what’s going to happen. But obviously we need to listen to the fans and understand what actually they prefer — what makes the most sense, how can we improve the BrickLink catalog, how it connects with others. That’s the kind of a work that we would need to get done. But again, my perspective on this would be that we would not want to create disruption for our fans. We want people to benefit from LEGO’s ownership of BrickLink. You raise very good questions, and I would expect that we would actually get engaged with a lot of dialogue with communities, not just the community of fans on BrickLink, but others like yours, to understand better what’s needed and how can LEGO support to improve the you know the kinds of services that fans have, and also what we can do both in the short term as well as the longer term. So, no direct answer to this particular question, but we want to share why we’re doing it. We want to strengthen our relationship and deepen our relationship with the fan community. We really want to see this as an opening for more dialogue and more understanding of how LEGO can actually lean in.

The LEGO® Group acquires BrickLink, the world’s largest online LEGO® fan community and marketplace to strengthen ties with adult fans

Acquisition will strengthen the LEGO® Group’s engagement with its growing community of adult fans.

BILLUND, Denmark, November 26, 2019: The LEGO® Group today announced it has acquired BrickLink Ltd (www.bricklink.com), the world’s largest online community of adult LEGO fans from NXMH LLC to strengthen its connection with its important adult fan base.

The BrickLink platform has more than one million members and comprises an online marketplace of more than 10,000 stores from 70 countries; a digital building software where builders can design and showcase their creations; and a vibrant online community where fans share ideas and builds.

The platform was founded in 2000 by Dan Jezek as a way to connect like-minded adult LEGO fans from around the world. It was acquired in 2013 by NXMH, which is owned by Korean entrepreneur Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim. BrickLink is headquartered in Irvine, California.

The LEGO Group CEO, Niels B Christiansen said: “Our adult fans are extremely important to us. They are passionate, committed and endlessly creative. We have worked closely with the community for many years and look forward to deepening our collaboration through BrickLink. We plan to continue to support the active marketplace and evolve BrickLink’s digital studio which allows our talented fans to take their creativity to the next level.”

Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim, owner of NXMH, said: “It has been a privilege to lead the transformation of BrickLink during the past six years. I am grateful to the community for being so welcoming, supportive and constructive. I am constantly amazed by everyone’s endless creativity and their love for building. I am confident the platform will be in good hands with the LEGO Group. As a fan myself, I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

The LEGO Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, Julia Goldin, said: “BrickLink provides the LEGO Group with a unique opportunity to connect with adult fans through new channels and exciting experiences. We’ve recently collaborated with BrickLink on a range of crowd-sourced sets to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the brick. We learned a lot and are keen to explore more ways of working together to create value. We look forward to collaborating further with our adult fans, while retaining and nurturing the independent spirit of the digital platform.”

The acquisition also includes Sohobricks which makes small batches of building elements.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Closing is expected to occur before the end of 2019.

63 comments on “News: The LEGO Group acquires BrickLink from Nexon founder Jay Kim for undisclosed sum – interview with LEGO CMO Julia Goldin

  1. LEGO Fan

    Yep major conflict. I give it 2 years before site is shut down and the marketplace portion is added to LEGO store site. They will cite fan confusion as the cause.

  2. Cameron

    This truly is a step in the wrong direction for LEGO fans. However, if and when they do shut down Bricklink, I’m confident another fan run market place will step in to fill the gap.

  3. Gesh

    This is very concerning. There is a very obvious conflict of interest. Lego alreadg has three different ways of selling individual elements (virtual PaB, Bricks and Pieces, and brick-n-mortar PaB and BAM), and taking over the largest online marketplace doesn’t seem to have enough apparent upsides compared to the possible downsides.
    Meta comment: Reading this article is very difficult. The paragraphs and lines keep jumping up then down as ads appear and disappear. I lost my place multiple times. If this interview was available anywhere else, I would have jumped ship already. Even as I type this, an ad is appearing and disappaearing right at the bottom of the form, blocking what I type.

  4. Andrew Post author

    (@Gesh: Meta-reply: Ads are annoying on every website, but they’re the price we all pay to consume content for free, I’m afraid. Thanks for understanding.)

  5. Sam Beckett

    So sad!!!! So sad!!!! So sad!!!! So sad!!!! Why, LEGO has too many rules. LEGO shuts down too many things….. LEGO as a company has never been TRUSTWORTHY or DEPENDABLE.. So the fact they sell new sets the day after Christmas shows how GREEDY they are.

    BrickLink was go to place for all my LEGO stuff because it was run by small sellers and you could find what you wanted at any time. The brick wall at LEGO stores never have the pieces I want. Bricklink filled that huge hole in the marketplace.

    This is a true monopoly and BrickLink will be gone in 5 years. So I guess I should go start developing the replacement website for brink link. I hope the owners that sold are set for life, I am sure they are. Congratulations.

    But freedom died today, the Empire conquered the last rebellion planet. But there hope, a few rebel transport ships escaped before the death start destroyed the planet…

    Worst Christmas ever for LEGO. I immediately going to a store and telling them how PISSED off I am.

  6. Alfred Vismer

    Hope Bricklink is not added to the Lego store! Lego store does not sell to South Africa!! Bricklink keeps an open shopping basket that can be added to as necessary. Lego store will not even combine orders for postage!. I have ended up with a host of orders that had to be posted to third parties resulting in very expensive and inconvenient shipping methods. Many times service has been very disappointing.

  7. ZCerberus

    I believe if LEGO has not already decided this, having your brand represented by so many sellers outside your control will be too much for them. Bricklink is going to change from what it is. Every seller on the site now should be concerned if they intend to stay.

    The one thing I find very interesting though is LEGO does not own the bricks on Bricklink- so if this does end up being a disaster, a new secondary market can pop-up. I do not know if there is some technology or other IP associated with Bricklink LEGO intends to defend, but ultimately we may end up needing to buy our bricks somewhere else soon.

  8. Mestari

    So.. no brickarms, what about customs like chromed parts? 3D printed?
    What about the naming convention, will we see the LEGO names instead of BL ones?
    BL database is updated sooner than that of LEGO, more complete also. Will they drop maintaining this because consolidating the effort will be cheaper?
    Bad turn of the events :/

  9. mevitsbricks

    Thank you for the interview! It would have been nice if someone asks the questions for the sellers as well. Right now they refer to Bricklink as the store. Bricklink is website with 10,000+ individual stores behind it. What does this mean for the sellers who put their money in to aquiring inventory so people can purchase via bricklink?

  10. Marty

    Brickarms is bad, but all the violence from Star Wars and other fantasy types are ok because of the gazillion dollars, euros, etc they bring in?

  11. hehehe77d

    Star Wars is a war of the past. Indiana Jones was World War II. Lego, blind to money, wants to realize communism in China, and freedom of creation is gone. Only control exists.

  12. whataslacker

    The only positive in this is that maybe they will finally give us a mobile friendly version of the site, but other than that this whole thing stinks. Next up they start buying fan run sites like Brothers Brick.

  13. Gesh

    @Andrew – if you read my comments, I wasn’t complaining about ads. I was complaining about how the page keeps jumping up and down and shifting everything constantly, multiple times, as I read the text. But thank you for twisting my message and making me sound like I’m new to the web.

  14. Matt R

    I suggest you start looking at Brick Owl. It’s a decent alternative to Bricklink, albeit smaller

    I dont think Bricklink will be around 3 years from now.

  15. Jordan Perry

    This is disappointing on multiple levels, but I’m mainly concerned for local businesses like Brick Arms and Cape Madness who provide quality custom products to fans. Use of these products used to be up to the fan; are you a purist or not? Now apparently Lego has decided to make that decision for us.

    Meta agreement: the format of the ads does make it difficult to navigate on iOS mobile platform. I had the same scrolling difficulties as Gesh. The actual presence of ads are not a problem.

  16. BlakeS

    Its interesting to me how everyone is freaking out.

    It would be interesting if Lego took a hands off approach. They wouldn’t be the first company to swallow up a ‘compeitor’ and not change it. Just think of Reebok & Adidas, or RC Cola & Pepsi, Or Lays & Ruffles.

    Granted there have been plenty of companies that have been destroyed a few years later after being bought, the latest I can think of is ThinkGeek. It took them 3 years, but Gamestop finally killed them off.

    I guess I’m more of a glass is half full kinda guy

  17. Joe N.

    This seems very concerning. A definite conflict of interest up front – we know Lego has banned people from buying on their site for being large scale resellers. Now they have access to the back end of the premier secondary reselling site to indentify sellers and track sales volumes/trends.

    Expect to see them go after the MOC market – manipulating supply (and competition) by controlling who gets parts and how much. It will be easy for them to connect names/emails/geolocation to cross reference with their VIP program and specifically curate the lists.

    Also, right now, Stud.io links to Brinklink for parts to build MOCs. Those paths can easily be changed to point to Lego’s own PaB providing revenue directly back to the company.

    Lastly, Bricklink currently operates as a standalone site. But that doesn’t fit well with a “Lego Family” of sites and services so I’d expect to see a migration to bring Bricklink onto the Lego.com domain.. with further limitations. Remember, Lego is currently actively promoting a program to recycle (without payment) old collections of Lego off the market. This is in effect undercutting the supply AND demand of the secondary market. Buying Bricklink will certainly give them greater ability to further strangulate this market.

    There are many ways this can and eventually will impact sellers and buyers of Lego on the secondary market. Whether Brickowl will succeed as a successful replacement remains to be seen. But I think we’ve just witnessed a major move by Lego to co-opt the biggest competitor they currently have – their own fans.

  18. Josephine Monterosso

    I hope this turns out okay but I’m not very optimistic.

    Here’s where my pessimistic mind goes: What’s to stop Lego from, say, preventing the sale of a new part until a certain amount of time has passed after it’s initially released? You want the cool new part? Go buy a full set to get one. Or wait a year until we release it to Bricklink.

    Hopefully Brickowl sticks around. I haven’t yet had the need to use their service but maybe that will change in the future.

  19. Gesh

    @Josephine – you can get new parts from Bricks and Pieces. I don’t buy a lot of sets, but I have plenty of new colors or new molds from B&P.

  20. hobbydudes

    ” I think that our vision is that we would want to stay, from BrickLink, with the vision that Dan the original founder had, which is, this is really about LEGO and this is about LEGO elements. 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.”- The Brothers Brick interview

    Stranger Things??? Overwatch??? ANY Castle Theme?? Star WARS??? Avengers??? Lego certainly doesn’t have values!

  21. Mike T Bricker

    For everyone freaking out, why do you begrudge Lego for this acquisition? You call them greedy. I call it smart business. If you don’t like it, don’t purchase Lego sets. Of course, you KNOW you will continue buying. And if not? Way to exercise your personal right. My only hope is that they keep the AFOL program running and produce more sets as they did this past June. But I doubt it. It will be too close to their Ideas line.

  22. Katie Walker

    (meta: Totally agree about the ads on the site misbehaving on iOS. It’s super-annoying and not normal for ads and I would have thought you might have thanked the person who brought this to your attention instead of making him sound idiotic?)

  23. Andrew Post author

    (Ads meta: No offense was intended whatsoever! My apologies if it came across that way. Actionable feedback is always helpful, and the additional information from everyone helps us get our ad provider pointed in the right direction for a solution.)

  24. Paul

    I’m not quite as pessimistic as most of the commentators here, but I do see this as a problem. It’s the most similar to Ticketmaster offering and promoting fan-sold tickets directly through their site. Someone buys a ticket and pays Ticketmaster fees, then resells the ticket and pays fees, and someone else buys the ticket and pays fees. Ticketmaster profits three times.

    I don’t think they will outright shut down the site, since there is nothing stopping another fan-based site from popping up (I just learned about Brickowl in this thread!) but Lego will likely implement higher/new fees to the seller and buyer of all used parts – so they too can profit three (or more) times per brick.

  25. Steven

    Have to join to say I think this is bad news for the AFOL community. I’m worried about potential limitations on newer parts and sets as well, especially across international lines. I’m also worried Lego will enforce their parts names and IDs, as well as color names, which are much of the time terribly awkward or off or in the case of colors, inaccurate. Honestly, trying to think of a good outcome out of this and all I can think of is better servers and less down-time on those late hours.

  26. Ding Dong

    My guess is that most of the BrickLink community will have to switch over BrickOwl. TLG and BL do NOT go together…..I mean, thing about how anti-reseller LEGO has been in the past.

  27. Guido

    I’m astonished that so many have not heard of brickowl. It often has parts that bricklink does not, and is much more user friendly in that postage costs/fees are stated ahead of time and the interface is in many ways Better. The current downside is that there are fewer sellers on there which means prices are sometimes higher, but I have found many fantastic bargains on there too, not available on bricklink.

    Some of what people have said above is rather hyperbolic, but it is clear that there is a conflict. I am not a seller but I do feel for the sellers who are obviously most at risk here.

  28. Jordan Perry

    “For everyone freaking out, why do you begrudge Lego for this acquisition? You call them greedy. I call it smart business. If you don’t like it, don’t purchase Lego sets.”

    @MikeTBricker, I don’t think anyone here lacks the ability to understand this as a business move for TLG. We are more bemoaning the potential fallout of the acquisition as it relates to our access to the secondary market.

    The, “if you don’t like it, don’t purchase Lego sets” is one of the worst arguments one can make when confronted with this sort of scenario. My personal enjoyment of Lego as a product has nothing to do with the corporation’s business operations. I ultimately just want to be able to buy/sell the product in a fair and competitive marketplace. Monopolization of sourcing options potentially degrades that ability. That’s what people are worried about here.

  29. Eric G

    Lots of words, very little said – You really can’t rely on their stance right now. I can understand lots of AFOL’s are worried about this acquisition. The image of big business creating a monopoly is not taken away by this interview. They only acquire it, because they have a solid business case – would like to know just that.

  30. hntrains

    I used to like Brickset myself, then I got more used to BrickLink – it is faster (it often takes ages for a Brickset page to open; also, the number of parts a Brickset user has needs hours to update) and it (BrickLink) provides more useful information from the point of view of the buyer/seller. Any significant changes to BrickLink will, as a consequence, affect the likes of me; the question is, to what degree?
    It is difficult to say what will happen to BrickLink; it is obvious that the LEGO Group will want this surprising acquisition to result in something positive for THEM while also keeping their fans happy. The LEGO Group has the resources to make BrickLink better than in any fan’s wildest dreams; will they find the way to get there?
    It would be great if Ms Goldin returned and responded to the concerns expressed in the comments posted above!

  31. BrickMonkey

    With LEGO now owning Stud.io I’d like to know how this will affect those who make a living selling instructions made using this software. Will LEGO now block the use of Stud.io for commercial purposes?

  32. Heather

    This is a MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST, I see this as a way of the Lego Group controlling the brick market, not enhancing it. The Lego Group has never given any genuine support to the AFOL community, and I can’t see how LEGO Group acquiring Bricklink is going to change this. Its all about the Control of the Lego brand.

  33. Tom Sandors

    No… No…. No…. this is terrible news.
    Brinklink is place where you can shop for lego items, without The LEGO GROUP overlords controlling everything. Seems the AFOL Community has now lost is sanctuary

  34. Kevin Bumgardner

    This is a pretty weird situation. Could easily go bad but also could go well if Lego leaves their acquisition relatively untouched. But a main market purchasing a secondary market? How wack is that? It’s like inception. Does’t make a lot of sense to me, but we’ll have to see. Obviously it means more money for Lego, so we can easily see their motive. However, Lego may not be the “bad guy” here. Time will tell.

  35. Ross

    This is in no way a good thing. Lego uses it muscle and money to do anything and everything it wants to control and corner the market. They may not make changes right away but they will in time and it will only hinder our abilities to get the products we need at fair prices. Lego likes control and restriction of its customers, mostly so it can steal their ideas for Self-profit.

  36. Tony

    First thank you Andrew for asking the tough question and not just doing a puff piece for LEGO PR.

    People, don’t forget that Brickowl exists and is actually a better platform.

    I don’t think this is a good idea. Lego controlling the secondary market is not a good thing.

  37. Tom Carroll

    I think this is a natural progression as Lego casts about for more revenue streams. Who can deny that Lego paid attention to the after-market prices of certain sets (looking at you, Millennium Falcon) and reissued sets to capture that revenue. Even Ninjago now has Legacy sets. Next I would expect Lego to tap into that elements database and pick out “Legacy” elements that are going for top dollar and re-issue them as a “Legacy Pick-a-Brick”. Big win for AFOL, but very disruptive to the marketplace.

    Of course set-hoarders (eh-hem collectors, and yes, I am one) have already learned the hard lesson that selling that high price set BEFORE Lego announces a re-release is tricky business. (Anyone want an original Slave I? I didn’t think so…)

    This announcement coupled with Lego Replay does bring up interesting potential for Lego. Since they sort and clean the Lego that is donated back to the Children’s Hospital, is it a stretch that maybe the top 10% valued elements are skimmed and put on the official Lego “Certified Used” store? Yeah, probably a reach – parters know it is not cheap or easy. But what if that “April Fool’s Brick Sorter” is real?I mean they sort plant seeds that way, why not Lego?

    On the other hand, if Lego can support standardization – as others have mentioned element naming, colors – and can build on the integration of access to the element universe (rooting for you PiqaBrick!) this could be a big win for AFOLs. I did like the Bricklink contest and think that more of those would be great!

    One final note. “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.” This may have been true when the first Castle set was released in yellow, but I think they crossed that bridge LONG ago. I can appreciate and support that they may not want to offer sets depicting WWII Germany, but hey, Hydra tanks are not a problem, right? Sheesh…

  38. Chip

    First the youtube/COPPA thing now this. The little guy gets a brief time of freedom before the multibillion dollar corporate overlords squash it. It’s all about power and control. They have it, you don’t, and if you ever dare forget they will forcibly remind you.

  39. skjos96

    “…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.”
    .
    As stated before, what a bunch of f’ing hypocrites. Just look at their web site, set 70793 “Skull Basher” nothing violent about that.

  40. Johnny Johnson

    TBB: “What do you think about this being a conflict of interest?”
    LEGO: “I can’t even IMAGINE how this could possibly be a conflict of interest!”

    That’s not a reassuring company line.

  41. Dan Schneider

    Sounds familiar, like when Amazon and Col Needham stole the entire IMDb from the fans who created it. Now look at it. Forum gone.

  42. Purple Dave

    Just touching on the ad thread, I’ve also had these problems with iOS, but there may be more underlying causes. I’ve noticed it’s only really a problem with long pages (short articles with no comments don’t produce enough ads to be a problem), and it’s tied to site lag (if the page loads really fast, you never see it, but right now this page is loading so slowly, and crashing, that I just gave up and wrote this in Notes before copying and pasting it into the reply box). When the page text first loads, there are no ad gaps. As each ad loads, a large gap appears, which then shrinks to fit whatever size ad eventually loads. The result is that if you’re reading below where the ads are loading, first the text shifts down and you’re rereading a previous paragraph. Then, just when you find your spot, the text shifts back up and now you’re reading a paragraph ahead.

    Usually I avoid this completely by just getting the posts via e-mail, but for commenting or longer posts, you have to go to the website.

  43. Theo

    You should really optimize the ads on your site, the article is quite unreadable because there are playing video-ads every few lines and embedded ads are changing their height all the time so the whole content moves around. I totally understand that ads are necessary but if they are that annoying it’s also necessary to use ad-blockers ????????‍♂️…

  44. Frédéric kostecki

    So, that big company which will now somehow control the after market of their own products. As long as I can find all the parts and colors I need, with serious, reliable and quality sellers as it is the case for about 5 years now, why not. If it somehow improves the imperfections of the web site and user interface, why not. If it’s to have the complete hand on customers data, centers of interest, it’s OK. But all in all, Lego is a business company which main and even only purpose is to make more and more profit. I sincerely hope that this move will be for the best for both them and us, Lego fans and communities, but a little voice far deep tells me that all will not be as good and philanthropic as mentioned in her interview by this Lego representative who cares so much about AFOLs and Lego fans. Wait, and see.

  45. urison

    This platform was a meeting point for more than a million members
    Buyers, sellers, and MOC exhibitors
    An independent platform for Lego lovers AFOL’s from all over the world
    Over 10000 stores around the world
    The ability to find a single part or a set you dreamed of as a kid…
    But
    Yesterday’s the rules of the game changed
    Lego control of this wonderful place
    No doubt limit the freedom that was here
    Too bad

  46. Exxos

    I am kind of amazed Bricklink survived Nexon’s actions. All of them put a strain on the system and took it further away from the ideal lego marketplace.

    Now I think it was all candy-coating to get lego — or someone else — to buy it.

    If you think of it as insane tangents for a company, it makes no sense. If you think of it as a form of merger/buyout baiting, marketing wank, the entire picture becomes a long game to get it purchased for a profit.

  47. Shazam

    Julia “I don’t see any conflict there” Goldin, surveying all the areas where there is obvious conflict. Nice job corporate stooge

  48. Katy

    So the Lego Group now have a monopoly on the sale of almost all Lego Bricks and kits sold.
    This is not good news

  49. Matt Pascoe

    facebooks marketplace just became more appelling for local sale contacts and yep brickowl will soon become the newest secondary market supreme. everyone loves the game called monopoly, but only when they aren’t the ones being screwed over

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