LEGO S@H "Black Listing": Did you ever receive this re-sale warning from Shop at Home?

[Deez_Brickz]

I just received this warning email from Shop at Home.  I guess they don't like my business of 50x DC Funhouse and the like.  Should I be worried and/or change any buying habits/practices?  If banned does a new credit card do the trick?  How do they know that my kids don't have a ton of friends and the Funhouse is our go to standard birthday gift?  LOL

 

copy/paste from email below:

 

 

Hello,

 

In an  effort to reinforce existing LEGO policies, I am sending this message to you.

 

The LEGO Shop sells and ships products to end-user consumers only. You may not purchase LEGO products for resale via the shop.LEGO.com site or LEGO Brand Retail Stores.

We reserve the right to cancel or suspend your order for further investigation if we suspect it is being used for resale.

 

If you represent a retail business and are interested in purchasing LEGO products for resale, please contact our Independent Toy Dealers department to discuss our reseller requirements by calling 1-800-673-0360, or email [email protected].

 

[justafrog]

Whoa. That's fascinating and scary, too.

 

I don't have any advice, but I hope others will chime in and I hope you'll keep us posted!

[Grimhammer]

Don't buy 50 funhouses.....

 

Hope that helps.

 

Grim

[choppers605]

Another bunch of bean counters that don't understand that thier product is a huge collectible and without a secondary market thier sales would cut in half instantly, if not more

[sadowsk1]

I've never received one.

 

It seems straightforward.

 

Are you buying through Lego for the purpose of reselling?  If so, stop.

[brickolodon]

Don't buy 50 funhouses.....

 

Hope that helps.

 

Grim

agreed....OMG 50 for one order....I am buying for investing.

[choppers605]

I've never received one.

 

It seems straightforward.

 

Are you buying through Lego for the purpose of reselling?  If so, stop.

I have to disagree with this one.  If a company is selling a product on thier site or in the mall and they have no restictions like ( limit 3 per customer ) like they do on their site for many sets, and i want to buy 50 to take to my local toy show thats my business. Once i buy it i can do whatever i want with it in reason, burn them, give them to charity, throw them away, sell them to my neighrbor,  ect

[brickolodon]

I have to disagree with this one.  If a company is selling a product on thier site or in the mall and they have no restictions like ( limit 3 per customer ) like they do on their site for many sets, and i want to buy 50 to take to my local toy show thats my business. Once i buy it i can do whatever i want with it in reason, burn them, give them to charity, throw them away, sell them to my neighrbor,  ect

thats true too...but what I meant was do not buy 50 buy 5X10 orders.... ....or buy 10 every other day.

[spener90]

Another bunch of bean counters that don't understand that thier product is a huge collectible and without a secondary market thier sales would cut in half instantly, if not more

They are trying to make it so that the secondary market isn't flooded.  It's really understandable.  And if the sales would be cut in half because the secondary market stopped buying, I'm no longer investing in Lego...

[Deez_Brickz]

Don't buy 50 funhouses.....

 

Hope that helps.

 

Grim

Just what I was looking for.  I'll buy from TRU for $55+tax instead of $40+VIP points.

To clarify, I have never placed an order that exceeds the Shop at Home buying limit.  But over time, I have purchased about 50 funhouses, as well as 50x lloyd 9574 spinners, and multiples of other hard to find or exclusive type sets that can't be purchased elsewhere at a discount.

 

I am shocked that no other heavy hitters have received this message before.  I am sure we all live in the glass house of reselling, otherwise, why are you on this site?

[spener90]

thats true too...but what I meant was do not buy 50 buy 5X10 orders....

Or diversify...

 

I'm sure the set will go within 6-12 months, but ordering 50 just screams "I'm an investor, ban me Lego!"

[justafrog]

If Lego is making more than token resistance to resellers we could all be looking at a little or a lot of trouble ahead.

 

If they're just sending out a notice when a really large quantity - or perhaps a series of really large quantities if the original poster is in the habit of buying a lot thru SAH - is purchased through the site and/or stores through a trackable VIP-program participant, it's not a huge deal, a change in buying habits would suffice if the kits are available through other venues and they typically are.

 

If they're seriously thinking of trying to do some squashing of the resale market, however, they can follow the footsteps of folks like the designer handbag makers and force their authorized resellers (Target, Walmart, Amazon, you name it) to restrict quantity purchases, and they can make life nasty for larger eBay sellers by issuing VeRO takedowns and forcing us all to prove where we obtained them legally, with receipts, etc. There are ways around all of that, but they do put a bump in the road at the very least for any serious quantity reseller.

 

I am hoping this is just a very token resistance of what they consider the most obvious "offenders" (although I think reselling is anything but offensive - it does nothing but HELP the brand for people to see the desirability and collectibility through the resale market.)

[Deez_Brickz]

Or diversify...

 

I'm sure the set will go within 6-12 months, but ordering 50 just screams "I'm an investor, ban me Lego!"

Again, let me be clear on this detail which should serve as a warning to our entire community.  I never purchased more that the allowable shop at home order limit for any item on any single order.  I have made multiple purchases of items for the max allowable quantity, which I am sure I am not alone in the community here.  I realize their email reads like it is in response to a particular order, but I have not ordered anything from shop at home since late June.  So this was out of the blue in a way, which makes me think they are not reviewing a single transaction but my total transaction history - does that change people's thoughts?

[spener90]

If Lego is making more than token resistance to resellers we could all be looking at a little or a lot of trouble ahead.

 

If they're just sending out a notice when a really large quantity - or perhaps a series of really large quantities if the original poster is in the habit of buying a lot thru SAH - is purchased through the site and/or stores through a trackable VIP-program participant, it's not a huge deal, a change in buying habits would suffice if the kits are available through other venues and they typically are.

 

If they're seriously thinking of trying to do some squashing of the resale market, however, they can follow the footsteps of folks like the designer handbag makers and force their authorized resellers (Target, Walmart, Amazon, you name it) to restrict quantity purchases, and they can make life nasty for larger eBay sellers by issuing VeRO takedowns and forcing us all to prove where we obtained them legally, with receipts, etc. There are ways around all of that, but they do put a bump in the road at the very least for any serious quantity reseller.

 

I am hoping this is just a very token resistance of what they consider the most obvious "offenders" (although I think reselling is anything but offensive - it does nothing but HELP the brand for people to see the desirability and collectibility through the resale market.)

eBay would throw a fit if that happened, and BrickLink would be jumping around cheering!

[choppers605]

I say if they let you put 50 in your cart then fair game.  they have many items i look at the say limit 5 per person.  

[spener90]

Again, let me be clear on this detail which should serve as a warning to our entire community.  I never purchased more that the allowable shop at home order limit for any item on any single order.  I have made multiple purchases of items for the max allowable quantity, which I am sure I am not alone in the community here.  I realize their email reads like it is in response to a particular order, but I have not ordered anything from shop at home since late June.  So this was out of the blue in a way, which makes me think they are not reviewing a single transaction but my total transaction history - does that change people's thoughts?

When you said eBay doesn't like you buying 50 funhouse's, it made you sound like that was one order.  

 

I still would be extremely careful about how you order from them.  If I'm not mistaken, there are people on here who have had significant issues making orders on Lego, just because they have been labelled a reseller.

[comicblast]

I don't know why they bother sending these out. Isn't it better for them? They get all the money, instead of having to split some of it with a different retailer. Doesn't make any sense. You get money. Why do you care what happens to them? You afraid that we will sell the sets for less that LEGO Shop at Home then lose money? Either way, the money goes to you in the first place. People say that they are cracking down on resellers and investors, but they can't really control what their own distributers are retail chains do with the merchandise they receive. The retailers could give away for free for all TLG cares. 

[justafrog]

Spener, Bricklink isn't immune to VeRO enforcement - they may not hair trigger the way eBay management does (I don't know that they'd have a choice, though - the way the law is written a seller is presumed guilty until proved innocent and the venue basically has no choice in whether to enforce).

 

But, I don't mean to be chicken little - this situation could be very minor (Lego just wants to slow down their direct sales to resellers) or it could be very major (Lego is on a rampage to limit the secondary market by fair means or foul, for whatever corporate reasons).

 

I hope I'm projecting worst case scenario for absolutely no reason - I don't want brick-selling to become harder for any of us. 

[Darth_Raichu]

Now we know why it takes a couple of days for S@H orders to get from pending customer service status to shipped

[terrymc4677]

last november  I ordered 5 haunted houses, and a bunch of TMNT when it was just released. total order was approx $2k. went through fine and I received it all within a week. a few weeks later I placed an order for 3 fire brigades. order went through at first, but later that day I noticed it was cancelled. I called the service number and asked why. they said they don't sell to re-sellers. I asked why my previous order went through when it was much higher, and also pointed out that my cancelled order was all within their posted quantity limits. didn't matter. they gave me a bunch of company line BS and the same phone number you received. I rarely buy from shop at home, but now when I do I have learned to order more strategically.  

 

also, this past January I was at the lego store in the mall of America. I wanted 5 helicopter arrests and they were out of them. they ordered them up and shipped them to my home free of charge with no hassle and no questions. I presented my VIP card which was linked to my previous orders. later that day I stopped back in and bought three winter village cottages. the salesman was giving me the 3rd degree about buying three of the same set and who they were for, etc. it's a good thing I have 2 kids and several nieces and nephews...wink wink. 

[comicblast]

To be totally honest, I rarely buy from TLG unless there is a killer deal, or I am buying for their PAB selection. The only advantage for the buyer is the occassional free polybag. Other than that, there doesn't seem to be any particular reason for buying from them. IDK, maybe it's my ignorance, but just buy from other retailers like Amazon to get around this crap.

[Deez_Brickz]

To be totally honest, I rarely buy from TLG unless there is a killer deal, or I am buying for their PAB selection. The only advantage for the buyer is the occassional free polybag. Other than that, there doesn't seem to be any particular reason for buying from them. IDK, maybe it's my ignorance, but just buy from other retailers like Amazon to get around this crap.

Some of the best money is to be made with exclusives and/or the free polybags.  Check out how much zombie car 40076 or the hulk mini figure sell for.

[Quacs]

I just received this warning email from Shop at Home.  I guess they don't like my business of 50x DC Funhouse and the like.  Should I be worried and/or change any buying habits/practices?  If banned does a new credit card do the trick?  How do they know that my kids don't have a ton of friends and the Funhouse is our go to standard birthday gift?  LOL

 

copy/paste from email below:

 

 

Hello,

 

In an  effort to reinforce existing LEGO policies, I am sending this message to you.

 

The LEGO Shop sells and ships products to end-user consumers only. You may not purchase LEGO products for resale via the shop.LEGO.com site or LEGO Brand Retail Stores.

We reserve the right to cancel or suspend your order for further investigation if we suspect it is being used for resale.

 

If you represent a retail business and are interested in purchasing LEGO products for resale, please contact our Independent Toy Dealers department to discuss our reseller requirements by calling 1-800-673-0360, or email [email protected].

 

There is a well known poster at Brickset.com that had the same issue.  Read about his travails here:

 

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/10381/banned-from-buying-from-lego-s-h/p1

 

This is the very reason I wrote the "Hazzards" article a few weeks ago.  During my research for a now defunct idea for an article, I read what LegoFanTexas wrote on Brickset - in his case, his entire Lego VIP account was shutdown.

 

The reality is TLC is starting to crack down on resellers.  That's going to make it tougher for folks who invest for a living since they are now vigilantly monitoring their sales for mutliple orders.  My gut feeling is they are going to try to find more ways to crack down harder.

[Deez_Brickz]

last november  I ordered 5 haunted houses, and a bunch of TMNT when it was just released. total order was approx $2k. went through fine and I received it all within a week. a few weeks later I placed an order for 3 fire brigades. order went through at first, but later that day I noticed it was cancelled. I called the service number and asked why. they said they don't sell to re-sellers. I asked why my previous order went through when it was much higher, and also pointed out that my cancelled order was all within their posted quantity limits. didn't matter. they gave me a bunch of company line BS and the same phone number you received. I rarely buy from shop at home, but now when I do I have learned to order more strategically.  

 

also, this past January I was at the lego store in the mall of America. I wanted 5 helicopter arrests and they were out of them. they ordered them up and shipped them to my home free of charge with no hassle and no questions. I presented my VIP card which was linked to my previous orders. later that day I stopped back in and bought three winter village cottages. the salesman was giving me the 3rd degree about buying three of the same set and who they were for, etc. it's a good thing I have 2 kids and several nieces and nephews...wink wink. 

Thank you - this was helpful and the sort or experience I was hoping would be shared.  Have you continued to use your VIP account to make purchases from Lego (in store or online)?

[Deez_Brickz]

There is a well known poster at Brickset.com that had the same issue.  Read about his travails here:

 

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/10381/banned-from-buying-from-lego-s-****/p1

 

This is the very reason I wrote the "Hazzards" article a few weeks ago.  During my research for a now defunct idea for an article, I read what LegoFanTexas wrote on Brickset - in his case, his entire Lego VIP account was shutdown.

 

The reality is TLC is starting to crack down on resellers.  That's going to make it tougher for folks who invest for a living since they are now vigilantly monitoring their sales for mutliple orders.  My gut feeling is they are going to try to find more ways to crack down harder.

Thank you, Quacs.  I will check out the brickset posts later - it said I need to create an account to access the post.