My last post to this site was way to long ago, but I feel this site still brings benefit to a few people, especially those who are in the parting out business. What happened to my store? My store, UniBricks, is still open and has a couple thousand items. However, this is a big difference than it was in December 2015. I had over 200,000 items in my inventory either listed or ready to be listed. So why did I liquidate? This is what this post is about. Why did I liquidate and stop parting out? I liquidated most of... Bricklink / LEGO / LEGO Selling Hopefully you have read Part 1, so now we need to finish off our store terms with the shipping section. Shipping Charts A Shipping chart will likely keep a buyer shopping. Even if you don’t charge exact shipping costs, buyers want to know an estimate. I have simplified mine to include prices that would apply to 99% of my orders. Want the code for a US PayPal Rate shipping chart? Check the Bricklink Code page! Customs Notice After running a store long enough, you will eventually get a customer that asks: “Can you mark the customs form for less value/under this amount/as...
Store terms are a part of every BrickLink store. If you have a BrickLink store, you have some basic store terms already in place. You will always default to some information, but you can add or change information as you see fit. You can look at mine or most other Bricklink stores for more ideas. Countries to Ship To Click Here to edit your store’s ship to list! Choosing which countries to ship to is totally up to you. Often new sellers stick to their local country at first which is great! However you will reach a much broader market if you... Bricklink / LEGO Selling LEGO storage for your collection, Bricklink store, etc. should not be just stack-ons. I highly suggest using Sterlite drawer systems or other similar brands. (I will refer to Sterlite, but that includes other brands that may be more available in your area or country) Sterlite and Large Plastic Storage Systems Here are a couple of the different styles I have: I use a couple other types for my LEGO storage, but I always try to get as many thin large drawers (shown in the products above) as I can get.
Reason being is so I can store a high quantity of a part... LEGO / LEGO Selling Many people store sealed LEGO sets in their closet for years to increase in value with Sealed Set Investing. However you could pre-pack sets before storing. The benefits vs cost I think it is pretty self explanatory what the main pre-packed benefit is. It is ready to ship. Maybe put the weight in the remarks and instant shipping quotes. Also you can wait to find the perfect box, not have to worry about not having enough packing materials, and it is very well protected in storage. The what I would call “Neutrals” is the space it takes up and multiple set purchasing....Here is a brief summary of what you can learn and where to start! Watch the video to get a overview: Selling LEGO Brick Sales 101 is an ongoing series on how to sell LEGO different ways on various platforms. From Storage to Sourcing a lot of information is available! I will continue this series for a long time so don’t worry if you don’t see the exact post you need.
If you have a special request for a post, topic, or discussion, let me know via the contact form! You probably saw that little newsletter opt-in... Now just about every Bricklink seller has their own storage so this is not the perfect way. It is just a way. But after going through many methods, I found my storage system to be twice (yes I checked mathematically) as efficient as the older methods I used. Stack-ons By far the best storage investment I have made. Stack-ons (Or any hardware drawer based system) are fairly affordable for the benefits they provide. Stack-ons are also very expandable which I will get to later in this post. The biggest thing with using stack-ons is labeling them. You could label the first drawer... Now there are many ways to get used bulk LEGO. But you want to keep in mind a few things. Where do you get bulk used LEGO lots? Answer is a lot of places. I have personally gotten bulk LEGO from Facebook, Friends, eBay, Craigslist, and by far my most successful – Garage sales.
I watch most of these places for deals that are fantastic. Some people pay upwards of $5 a pound for reselling (and I have heard $10 for sorted out collections!), but my rate is rarely above $3 a pound. Often I get bulk for much less. Now that you have decided what area(s) you want to focus on, you need to get product! Buying LEGO can be fun, but also tricky when you need larger quantities. This post is focusing specifically acquiring *new* inventory for your LEGO selling business. Where do you start? The reason why YOU shouldn’t buy from LEGO directly for reselling is because the risk of being banned. And it isn’t easy to be unbanned. LEGO doesn’t mind resellers (A common misconception), they just want the resellers to not interfere with the availability of product to... Parting out LEGO sets is by far one of my favorite LEGO selling techniques. Although I use a combination of a few of them, this is the one I prefer. What’s parting out mean? Well let’s take a set like 10243 Parisian Restaurant.
This set retails for $159.99 and “parts out” to a value of $389.30 at the time of this posting. That means if I sold every piece for the average price they have sold for in the past 6 months, then I would sell them for $389.30. Now you are not going to be able to sell every piece for... So the definition of “used” LEGO is vague, especially on Bricklink, but that’s for another day. In general though, most used LEGO consists of parts that have been played with or built with. That doesn’t mean the parts are in horrible condition, it just means they are not new. (Like I said, vague.) Technicality aside, the selling part is probably what you wanna know. What are the benefits of selling used LEGO? This is probably the biggest reason to go this route. Most businesses go for a 50% profit on product. Used LEGO can sometimes yield 5-6...In an October 21 Instagram post, artist Ai Weiwei revealed that Lego refused to sell him a bulk order of bricks for a forthcoming installation at the National Gallery of Victoria, in Melbourne, Australia, on political grounds.
The question: are Lego's motives about "censorship," as Ai alleges? Are they a cop out from a corporation trying to cover its ass? Or are they about a toy company that just wants to keep its focus squarely on making toys? "As a company dedicated to delivering great creative play experiences to children, we refrain—on a global level—from actively engaging in or endorsing the use of Lego bricks in projects or contexts of a political agenda," Lego spokesperson Roar Rude Trangbaek told Co.Design via email. "In cases where we receive requests for donations or support for projects—such as the possibility of purchasing Lego bricks in very large quantities, which is not possible through normal sales channels—where we are made aware that there is a political context, we therefore kindly decline support." In the October 21 post, Ai also pointed out that Lego and the Chinese government recently signed a deal to open a $300 million Legoland theme park in Shanghai, implying a connection with his bulk order going unfulfilled.
In an October 25 Instagram post, Ai wrote: "Lego's refusal to sell its product to the artist is an act of censorship and discrimination." Ai Weiwei's @Large installation on Alcatraz required 1.2 million LEGO bricks. Trangbaek mentioned that while Lego can refuse to fill bulk orders at its discretion, that it's not outright banning the sales to any individual or entity. "We respect any individuals’ right to free creative expression, and we do not censor, prohibit or ban creative use of Lego bricks," he said. (Co.Design has covered many creative projects that use Lego as a subject or medium.) So someone who wants to use Lego bricks can do so, but they'll have to buy them like any paying customer. Ai's installation will carry a message of free speech. When it comes to using Lego bricks, though, it seems that will come at a price. "Any individual person can naturally purchase Lego bricks through normal sales channels or get access to Lego bricks in other ways to create their Lego projects if they desire to do so, but as a company, we choose to refrain from actively engaging in these activities—through for example bulk purchase."
Lego declined to comment on the price difference between retail and bulk orders. Trangbaek says that this policy has been around for decades and as CNN reports, the company has tried to remove itself from any type of political messaging, from disputes between Royal Dutch Shell (with which Lego had a promotional contract) and Greenpeace to blocking an idea to create a Supreme Court–themed set under a "no politics or political symbols" rule. It's worth noting that Ai specified Lego bricks for his @Large installation, which appeared on Alcatraz from September 2014 through April 2015. Trace, a piece appearing in the show, was composed of 1.2 million bricks, which the show's organizer, FOR-SITE, obtained for the artist. In this situation, FOR-SITE asked for an in-kind donation (not to fill a bulk order as in the case of the Australian exhibit) and there was no formal notice from the corporate office declining to fill the donation. In fact, there was no response from the corporate office at all.
Alison Konecki, development & outreach associate at FOR-SITE, issued the following statement: In the early stages of developing Ai Weiwei's @Large installation, Trace, which utilized 1.2 million Lego bricks, FOR-SITE Foundation contacted Lego's corporate headquarters in Denmark with a request for an in-kind donation of materials. We did not receive a response, and subsequently reached out to several departments at U.S.-based Lego Systems Inc. with the same request, explaining that we were seeking Lego bricks for a project with artist and activist Ai Weiwei exploring freedom of expression and individual responsibility. Although our request for support was declined, we were referred to members of the Lego U.S. sales and customer service team who facilitated the transactions for numerous bulk orders shipped both to us and directly to the studio in Beijing for the project. When asked about the @Large installation, Trangbaek responded: "We do not comment on our dialogue with partners, customers, consumers, or other stakeholders."
Judging from the hundreds of comments on Ai's photos voicing support, a least a large slice of the public seems to have sided with his stance. However, Guardian critic Jonathan Jonas writes that: "I am shocked that someone who has experienced what it is to be oppressed by an authoritarian regime...would be so glib as to confuse a clumsy PR move with actual 'censorship.'" Yes, the refusal to "actively" sell a bulk order to Ai is a silly, backwards policy. Ai has since started a campaign to defend the freedom of political art, which consists of second-hand BMW 5S Series sedans that will become collection points for Lego bricks. The donations have already begun. Companies like Etsy, Starbucks, and Dove have incorporated "do good" social initiatives as part of their messaging—some more successful than others. Free speech seems like a no-brainer cause to support in this day and age, but as a corporation, Lego has the discretion to support—or not support—what it pleases.