Questions for anyone who's had an ITD account.

[The Builder]

Hello,

I'm waiting to hear back from ITD orders for approval. But I have a few questions for anyone who's had an ITD account: 

1. How much do they discount the sets? 10%, 15%, 40%? 

2. Is there a minimum order quantity? 

3. How long does an order take to arrive? 

4. What are the buying requirements when purchasing sets? 

5. Can I buy a few sets of a certain theme, and a few sets from other themes? Or just one or two themes? 

6. Is there a yearly minimum order quantity that I have to meet each year? 

I'm a online subscription business, and I would use ITD for my inventory. I would be shipping LEGO sets every month to my subscribers. Does ITD deal with online businesses anymore? 

[The Builder]

Perhaps I should ask if anyone knows anything about ITD from friends or family that you can share. Anything would be great!

[redcell]

Yes. Lego is very stingy on ITD accounts. You generally have to have a brick and mortar store to even get in the door. Even then, Lego only approves a subset of the stores that apply. If you do get an account, you can order wholesale, but you are never guaranteed to get what you order...they will ship you what they want. Minimum order is $500.

Bottom line...don't get your hopes up. All ITD sales combined allegedly constitutes less than 1% of Lego's overall sales and is nowhere close to a priority for them.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Brickpicker Forum mobile app

[southendsox]

9 hours ago, The Builder said:

Perhaps I should ask if anyone knows anything about ITD from friends or family that you can share. Anything would be great!

I was told by ITD that they are not considering any new accounts until January 1. Did you receive different information?

[The Builder]

Just now, southendsox said:

I was told by ITD that they are not considering any new accounts until January 1. Did you receive different information?

I did not get any information about that? I think I could meat the minimum order, I would be shipping boxes monthly to my subscribers. Does anyone know how long it takes for an order to arrive? 

[emazers]

Look, I had a Lego account for 10 yrs back in the days when you could order whatever you want, "No Lego Exclusives" but ordering 50 Batcaves, Harry Potter castles, Indiana Jones, The Big Star wars sets, for a while they shipped them free, they were calling me what do you want to order now, order anything you want, $120 set lego let you make $30 but $10 a box for shipping, then in 2012 they changed there policy, you need a store fron, 75% of there themes you had to order, and all the sets, so I was done with them along with 1000's of other guys that were doing what I was doing, getting the cream of the crop sets. Look you can get most sets on sale belo what they want, and if you order a case of Jurassic Estates and the box was crushed, Lego would have UPS and they would send you new ones, now if you want new sets, you have to ship them back and they charge a restocking fee. "My Advice is don't try and get a Lego Wholesale Account"  you will regret it.    Ed

[redcell]

47 minutes ago, The Builder said:

I did not get any information about that? I think I could meat the minimum order, I would be shipping boxes monthly to my subscribers. Does anyone know how long it takes for an order to arrive? 

Unless you have a brick and mortar store, I would modulate my expectations of getting an ITD account.  They are hard to come by even when you have a B&M location and close to impossible when you don't.  Maybe a subscription service would be viewed differently, but ITD is generally not a huge priority for Lego.

Emazers' advice is solid...you can routinely get better prices on Lego by buying through retail than you can get buying wholesale directly from Lego.  

  

[southendsox]

Thanks Ed. I own a bookstore and was looking to stock LEGO legitimately in the store and was told that ITD would be a good path to go but everything I've read tells me the discounts don't make it worthwhile today. From your experience, if I resell all of the gifts that Wally and Target have given me in our bookstore, do I run afoul with any LEGO rules down the road?  I'm looking to purchase about $50-100K of LEGO for the store annually, which I was told would be a good account size for ITD. Any wisdom to share given these circumstances?

[The Builder]

I see... They did contact me back once, and said they do partner with people who own their own domain, which I do. 

In my subscription box I would offer, one LEGO minifigure, one small LEGO set, and about 250 bricks from LEGO classic sets. And if I have 500 subscribers, I would order 500 sets, minifigures, and classic sets. The LEGO sets would be small. Is all that doable? Can I order all of those products at once? Or is there some sort of restriction on how much you can order of each set/minifigure?

In that example, I would be ordering about 1,500 products. Is that size order acceptable?  

Edited November 30, 2018 by The Builder

[Phil B]

8 minutes ago, The Builder said:

I see... They did contact me back once, and said they do partner with people who own their own domain, which I do. 

 

 

[The Builder]

If ITD doesn't work out for me, where else can I get my inventory? It needs to be a place that can fulfill a lot of orders, and it has to be REAL LEGO'S! Not fake! 

And as far as I can see, none exist?  HEEELLLLPPP! 

[Jackson]

The Builder, go for your ITD account and your subscription model and never give up! Follow your vision.

[exciter1]

[The Builder]

Any other helpful info? Thanks Y'all for your advice so far, it's been really helpful! Any other answers to my questions would be greatly excepted! 

Edited November 30, 2018 by The Builder

[Phil B]

Any other helpful info? Thanks Y'all for your advice so far, it's been really helpful! Any other answers to my questions would be greatly excepted! 

Yes, before you launch your site and materials, contract the services of a copywriter to proofread all of your materials. If your posts here are anything to go by, this investment will be well worth its money.

[The Builder]

How long does it take for an ITD order to reach your destination? 

Can I order products from many themes, like mini-figures, marvel/DC sets, city sets etc, all in one order? 

Is there a minimum order quantity that I have to meet every year, or every theme? 

Any answers to these questions would be great!

[emazers]

On 11/29/2018 at 5:29 PM, The Builder said:

Hello,

I'm waiting to hear back from ITD orders for approval. But I have a few questions for anyone who's had an ITD account: 

1. How much do they discount the sets? 10%, 15%, 40%? 

2. Is there a minimum order quantity? 

3. How long does an order take to arrive? 

4. What are the buying requirements when purchasing sets? 

5. Can I buy a few sets of a certain theme, and a few sets from other themes? Or just one or two themes? 

6. Is there a yearly minimum order quantity that I have to meet each year? 

I'm a online subscription business, and I would use ITD for my inventory. I would be shipping LEGO sets every month to my subscribers. Does ITD deal with online businesses anymore? 

Look you can call me about a Lego Account and I will give you all the info, now until 11pm      Ed

Edited December 1, 2018 by Darth_Raichu
Removed personal phone #. PM Ed directly for phone #.

[ravenb99]

Come on Darth.  By now we all have Ed's phone number

[Phil B]

Come on Darth.  By now we all have Ed's phone number

Speed dial #2 on my phone

[Val-E]

4 minutes ago, Phil B said:

15 minutes ago, ravenb99 said:

Come on Darth.  By now we all have Ed's phone number

Speed dial #2 on my phone

He´s speed dial 1 on Trump´s phone.

[ravenb99]

Brings up a Classic Raven post...

 

 

Hard to believe that gem was over 2 years ago.  How time flies!

Edited December 2, 2018 by ravenb99

[Guest TabbyBoy]

If the US has a "LEGO Certified Professional" company like Bright Bricks in the UK, it may be worth contacting them to see you can piggy-back off their orders or even form some sort of relationship. I've heard that they get discounts way, way larger then wholesale. I've bought countless baseplates and bricks from auctions for peanuts and it seems this is where they came from.

[The Builder]

Can anyone tell me how much ITD discounts their sets? That would help a lot, because that way I can know if it's worth it to wholesale from them. 

I can't find any other wholesaler that wholesales REAL LEGO sets and bricks. If anyone knows any wholesalers that wholesale REAL LEGO bricks, mini-figures, sets, and can handle a lot of orders, please share!

And if there is a minimum order quantity, those two questions are the most important! And I'll ask the rest later.