On November 21, BrickLink – the largest community of online resellers of LEGO bricks, owned by the LEGO Group as of 2019 – quietly changed its policies on which countries would be allowed to operate stores on the platform as of December 12 (now updated to January 31) with 35 countries, including most of South America, Africa, and the Middle East. As the community learned of these changes, heartbreak and anger have rippled throughout the community, both for the poor way the changes have been communicated, but also for the reminder that, for as much as Bricklink and LEGO celebrate their global reach, in practice, much of the world lacks the services that other countries take for granted. Today we’re sharing the experience of one fan affected by the change, Pinar, a builder from Türkiye who runs the BukaBricks blog and maintains the LEGO Bestiary.
Last month BrickLink announced they would be stopping their services in 35 countries.
Did they, though? I mean, I saw no official announcement anywhere. One of the people in my chat groups shared a screenshot from a store owner abroad. A little after, someone found a message on the BrickLink message board. By the next day, everyone on social media was talking about it. Some of these were recognized communities, but some weren’t. So where did everyone get the info? There was nothing on LEGO or BrickLink’s profile. No emails were sent. No announcements were made. This was keep-under-the-wraps news. Or at least that’s how it felt.
Among these 35 countries was none other than my home: Türkiye. It hit me hard, because BrickLink has been my only source of getting separate parts. Not just domestically, but internationally as well. I’ve been collecting and cataloging animals, and it was easier to find them in the international stores – though with the recent law changes, not too easy to obtain them, but that’s another subject.
As people in my chat groups were discussing the news, someone said “There’s no reason to
approach this emotionally.” I both agree and disagree with him. While he was kind enough to give
me information about the logical side (more on that later), for me, BrickLink was always more than a marketplace. I discovered its existence very late, around 2014, and it has become my go-to place whenever I was researching about a blog post. I have downloaded countless images, and recently uploaded dozens of animal images. I still feel proud when I see my image listed under the animal. I have learned about molds, prints, parts… most of my LEGO knowledge came from BrickLink. I kept a record of my animal collection there and compared what I had with what I don’t. Yes, I shopped as well, because who would miss the chance of getting parts/minifigures that were only found in big sets they had no interest in buying? There’s no Pick-a-Brick service in Türkiye, so BrickLink was the only option. BrickLick meant so much to me, I celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this year.
I still don’t know if I’ll be able to access the site at all after the “big” date. There have been no announcements about that either. Will I even be able to keep my account? Or will my browser say “Sorry, access from your country has been banned for this site.” These are all unknowns. I don’t know about others, but yeah, I am approaching this emotionally. My main and most reliable connection to my passion is being taken away from me.
As for the logical side… on December 1st , I shared a post on my Instagram saying “While I’m extremely angry about the decision, I’m twice as angry because deep down I think we deserve it (this is my opinion on just my own country, not the others).” The person who said “no need to approach this emotionally” is none other than Erden Dinçerden, founder of Halk Brick, the largest BrickLink store in Türkiye (now closed). With around 2 million items, it wasn’t just the largest store in Türkiye, but in Middle East and Africa as well, the region Türkiye is listed under. Erden wasn’t just a seller, though, he was (and still is) a collector as well. He discovered BrickLink while looking for parts for his MOCs, and ended up being a provider because the existing ones weren’t enough. He’s been selling both domestically and internationally for the past five years.
Erden informed me about the legal side of things and told me how it’s all connected to PayPal. It’s been some years since PayPal stopped providing services in Türkiye, and the reason for that is it doesn’t have a local office here. Operating in a country without having to pay taxes… no government would agree to that. He also mentioned that he had foreseen this was coming, and pulled from the market early, almost a month before the “announcement.”
Another seller and collector, and one of the oldest Turkish stores on BrickLink, Alkan (AlkanBricks & More, founded in 2011), pointed out that the sellers need to pay a fee to BrickLink, and neither Türkiye nor the other countries included in the list pay it, because PayPal isn’t operable in them. Both Alkan and Erden think that the only way BrickLink comes back is if PayPal starts its services once again in Türkiye. Otherwise, it will be impossible to control the taxes, and the situation will remain as it is.
Another seller and collector, Furkan, who has been running Nazir Brick for around three years, mentioned similar things about taxes, and how some local stores have been avoiding them. He also mentioned an underage seller who has been selling both domestically and internationally by using his mother’s credentials. When you look at it from BrickLink and The LEGO Group’s point of view, yeah, it’s not something a large company would like to have.
Long story short, yes, logically speaking, they had every reason to pull out of Türkiye. What bothers me, and from the comments I read on social media, is HOW they chose to do it. Onat, one of the active members of the Turkish AFOL community, says “You decided to ban 35 countries from BrickLink—including domestic use—without a single explanation. Even Russia can still use BrickLink domestically. And your “announcement” is a weak forum post buried on some forgotten page. For something as minor as the recent account merger, you sent emails for months beforehand.”
Yes, it’s harsh, even though I clipped the harsher parts. But is he wrong? Let’s forget about the buyers for a second. Is 10 days enough for store owners to put their affairs in order? Especially if BrickLink is their only source of income, which is the case for some? There’s a term called “two-week notice”, given by both companies and employees out of respect for the other party. RESPECT is the keyword here, and it seems to me they don’t have it.
I have to be fair, though. After another post I saw by coincidence, I came across this message from Steven Lee, Head of BrickLink. To summarize, he was saying they didn’t give sellers enough notice time and the stores will remain open until January 31, 2026. You can find the whole message here.
Again, only the people who now follow the forums would have seen this had the community not been raising voices online. And the decision was only made after countless people said, “Give us more time”. It’s like breaking a vase, pasting the pieces manually, and giving it back saying “See, I care”. Feels fake. But then again, I tend to think more emotionally than logically, so maybe I’m not the right person to be the judge of that.
When The Brothers Brick contacted me to ask me if I wanted to share my thoughts, I was honored but also surprised. Most people in the Turkish AFOL community don’t even know my existence. Still, I tried to contact as many people as I could to get a broader view of the situation. I want to thank TBB for giving me a chance to express my thoughts, along with the thoughts of others, on the matter.
Our hearts go out to Pinar and the countless other builders who will soon find themselves blocked from Bricklink’s services. We recognize that servicing a global community is a nigh impossible task, where tax codes, sanctions, and fraud affect nations differently. But even if BrickLink’s changes can be justified, the way the communication has been unacceptable. LEGO would have us promote and celebrate a collaboration with FIFA and the World Cup, and yet AFOLs in the countries that gave us Messi and Ronaldo are getting even less access to bricks.
For more statements from builders in the countries by BrickLink’s decision, Jay’s Brick Bog has an extensive and essential collection of comments.