About 6 weeks ago I got banned from the Lego.com site for being too good of a customer (buying too many items). I challenge you to try getting banned from virtually any other retail store for buying too many items. Coach handbags is possibly the only one I can think of. Can you imagine getting banned from a car dealership for buying too many cars? How about McDonald's banning you for buying too many hamburgers? In fact, according to the New York Times many retail stores have VIP and concierge services which are extended to customers who spend a lot of money each year. Not only did I not get such a benefit extended to me, I was told to hit the bricks (pun intended). What the ban means is that all of my orders are cancelled after I place them. I can't use my VIP points online (because they won't ship any more orders to me) but I can use them in stores oddly enough which I guess is alright.

 

In both of the letters I got from the Lego executive he told me to contact their reseller dvisison. Here is the passage:

 

"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]."

 

I emailed them over a month ago to ask for info and they have not responded to my request. Does anyone have any experience with this department? Should I try calling them? I talked to a friend of mine who owns a small toy store and she said she didn't sign up as a reseller with them because they require a minimum purchase of $10K up front. I am OK with that requirment but if they don't respond to me I don't see how it's ever going to work.

 

Anyone have any experience with all of this?

 

Thanks in advance!

wow.....fun forum...

 

People have been buying things low and reselling at a higher price since probably the beginning of time.

Scalping, reselling, flipping, investing...it's all the same.  Buy at one price, sell(hopefully) at a higher price.  Bottom line is LEGO likes to manipulate the market.  The bans and restrictions are just a few ways to generate buzz and cause people to further inflate the value of LEGO sets.  LEGO is doing us a favor.  They are instilling in consumer's minds that these sets are valuable and that they as a company are out there fighting against "scalpers and flippers,"  making sure Little Johnny gets his Minecraft set for XMAS, while in fact, LEGO is actually making sets more valuable in the secondary market because of these same restrictions, bans and sales reductions.  

Ed=Smart

I'd rather call myself an opportunistic middleman.

I'm going to start using this one.  Thanks.

Ed=Smart

I have to agree. That was an excellent point that I had not considered.

Well, that was a fun read. What's next?

I never thought I would see the day Alcarin and Mos_Eisley team up.  Isn't this one of the first signs of the apocalypse ?

I never thought I would see the day Alcarin and Mos_Eisley team up.  Isn't this one of the first signs of the apocalypse ?

IT'S LEGOGEDDON!!!!

Wow, this topic sure did go in a direction I wasn't expecting. To a certain extent, Lego has it's version of scalping. For a normal guy like me, and I know others as well, being able to be at a store or on a website exactly as the sale is happening etc to catch is not always as feasible as it sounds. There are some sites at work that I can't access and because of work, I can't go to the store. So when an awesome sale happens, sometimes I don't hear about it until a few hours later or maybe a day or so later, and by that point it's too late. And that brings me to my point. I want to by my girls the Dolphin Cruiser, although because of circumstances I haven't had a chance to buy it yet. Yet it's already sold out at almost every store near by. And I'm seeing it on the local classifieds for a huge markup. I refuse to buy into it. There was a point about a ton of people being 'scalpers,' 'resellers,' etc. What I don't think some people understand, is that if it really is just a few people buying 10-30 sets or whatever at a time no big deal. But when you have hundreds, and sometimes more buying huge amounts of the sets, it can actually be difficult for production to keep up with that.

Wow, this topic sure did go in a direction I wasn't expecting.To a certain extent, Lego has it's version of scalping. For a normal guy like me, and I know others as well, being able to be at a store or on a website exactly as the sale is happening etc to catch is not always as feasible as it sounds.There are some sites at work that I can't access and because of work, I can't go to the store. So when an awesome sale happens, sometimes I don't hear about it until a few hours later or maybe a day or so later, and by that point it's too late.And that brings me to my point. I want to by my girls the Dolphin Cruiser, although because of circumstances I haven't had a chance to buy it yet. Yet it's already sold out at almost every store near by. And I'm seeing it on the local classifieds for a huge markup. I refuse to buy into it.There was a point about a ton of people being 'scalpers,' 'resellers,' etc. What I don't think some people understand, is that if it really is just a few people buying 10-30 sets or whatever at a time no big deal. But when you have hundreds, and sometimes more buying huge amounts of the sets, it can actually be difficult for production to keep up with that.

Not to troll on the thread, but DC is available this mornin @ Amazon and TRU, hopefully u can get one for your daughter

Not to troll on the thread, but DC is available this mornin @ Amazon and TRU, hopefully u can get one for your daughter

I've been keeping a close eye on where I can find it for retail on any store near by. I have a pulse on it, and I just hope it stays in stock long enough. I just don't like the idea of paying $100+ on a set that is still in production lol.

There are plenty of places that sell lego and do so with great discounts, almost always better than lego.com, i use wal mart, target, amazon and ebay just to name a few, none of which will ever put me on a banned list for being a good customer!

 

Just create a new lego.com account under your wifes or parents name. Avoid using the account except for access to exclusive items and promotional deals, even then keep the purchases to their limit of 2, 5, 10 or w/e it may be.

And then there is me, who actually thinks there is nothing wrong with ticket scalping...

Makes two or us. I did it for 12 years using eBay and Stubhub buying directly from 14 NFL teams, Penn State FB, Univ of Miami, Phillies, Yankees, and 2 BCS Bowl committees. Now I only have 1 MLB and 1 NFL team Left. Oh, those were the glory days, 25% - 35% profit each yr even with those stinking preseason games. Now 10% is a stretch with so many teams having seat licenses, the economy sorta still sinks, sub-prime mortgages, and increased ticket prices.

Scalping, reselling, flipping, investing...it's all the same.  Buy at one price, sell(hopefully) at a higher price.  Bottom line is LEGO likes to manipulate the market.  The bans and restrictions are just a few ways to generate buzz and cause people to further inflate the value of LEGO sets.  LEGO is doing us a favor.  They are instilling in consumer's minds that these sets are valuable and that they as a company are out there fighting against "scalpers and flippers,"  making sure Little Johnny gets his Minecraft set for XMAS, while in fact, LEGO is actually making sets more valuable in the secondary market because of these same restrictions, bans and sales reductions.  

true, i just worry that one day the "buzz" will come from the main stream media causing millions of people to pile into LEGO investing, adults fighting over boxes of LEGO like they were Tickle Me Elmos.  For me that will signal the end of my lego investing career, i only hope im smart enough to dump my collection at the top of the mania.

 

Not that this is my investment strategy, but is something i always keep an eye out for. But as of today when i tell people i invest in lego they look at me like ive lost my mind.

true, i just worry that one day the "buzz" will come from the main stream media causing millions of people to pile into LEGO investing, adults fighting over boxes of LEGO like they were Tickle Me Elmos.  For me that will signal the end of my lego investing career, i only hope im smart enough to dump my collection at the top of the mania.

 

Not that this is my investment strategy, but is something i always keep an eye out for. But as of today when i tell people i invest in lego they look at me like ive lost my mind.

 

As long as they look you like you've lost your mind thats ok... it gets RED ALERT over investing when they do not look you like that anymore ....

true, i just worry that one day the "buzz" will come from the main stream media causing millions of people to pile into LEGO investing, adults fighting over boxes of LEGO like they were Tickle Me Elmos. For me that will signal the end of my lego investing career, i only hope im smart enough to dump my collection at the top of the mania.

Not that this is my investment strategy, but is something i always keep an eye out for. But as of today when i tell people i invest in lego they look at me like ive lost my mind.

I always got the same look when I would tell people how much I invested in Magic the Gathering over the years.

People are like 'why would you spend so much for a piece of cardboard?' Simple really, there's a market for it and as it gets older and harder to find the more expensive it becomes.

Same thing with my watches. This particular brand that I love, made a special turquoise dial of which only 50 were ever produced. I got in on the action because I knew it would be special. There were tons of people that were like, 'nah, turquoise?? who would buy that color?' Then when it was released and real pictures showed up online, most everyone was kicking themselves for not getting it. The price for it at the time was $1790 for the watch, and I have yet to see it show up for sale for less than $3000+.

Lucky for me I got watch #1 woo.

Anyways, for those that make a living, hopefully not too many people get into the buisness. But if they do, I guess just adapt?

awww...sounds hard work?!