Many members are Lego lovers and enthusiast collectors, they are just the silent majority imo.  

Can't we be both investors and lovers? I am.

Can't we be both investors and lovers? I am.

I am too... I just meant with 20k+ members on the site , there maybe are 200-300 regular posters?? Many just come here to see how much their sets are worth or to gain more info about that. I don't think that having an affiliated link will lead TLG to scrutinize every member here.

I wonder how many of these 20k members are active. It must be quite a few by looking at the "online within the last 20 min" list at the bottom of the page, but 20k members doesn't mean 20k active members (say, active within the last few weeks or so). I also didn't want to cause panic or something. Using the affiliate links is quite probably safe. And as far as I know nobody got banned because of an account on BP yet.

Everyone please stop with all the speculation, affiliate links are not leading to bans.  BP usernames are not leading to bans.

Sorry but this is wrong. I got a ban but I have been successful making an account with my wife's name, email, and credit card. The shipping address is the same of course. So they will ship to a banned buyers address.

 

I should never have underestimated them. Like a belligerent drunk in a bar, they're enthusiastic fighters, but not exactly super effective. 

I should never have underestimated them. Like a belligerent drunk in a bar, they're enthusiastic fighters, but not exactly super effective. 

I am shipping to my office. I certainly hope there is no way they could possibly ban entire office... I could also imagine a scenario where billing address is also set up to be an office address. Though ban hammer targeting a fly might wreck the whole table...

This seems very hypocritical to me. If BP has an affiliate deal with S&H they obviously have been to the site and know what goes on here. Why sign sites like this up as affiliates if they don't like what we are doing?  I have changed my Ebay name to a different name than my S&H name and my BP name. I guess I need to do the same for Bricklink now too.

We sell a lot of LEGO for LEGO.  That is the truth.  Jeff and I have no idea about how LEGO actually feels about us as a site, but being that we are the biggest promoters of their product on the planet Earth, I'm sure they like us at least a little bit.  LOL.  On a serious note, LEGO likes to protect their brand and many LEGO sites and retailers have a love/hate type of relationship with them.  They are not always clear as to what they really want from affiliates, consumers or small retailers.  You would think they would love the reseller because they buy a ton of their products, yet there are many reasons why LEGO is leery of resellers.  

 

Affiliate plans are not run by LEGO directly, so I guess they can have their cake and eat it too.  They can have us promote their product and then ban people for reselling and parting out sets to resell, so they can look good to Moms and Dads who can't buy a Minecraft set for their kids.  As I have stated before, we have heard from LEGO directly in an interview(about us) that was done a year or so ago and they don't mind the small time reseller and investor...basically, the person who buys 2-3 sets...one to build, a couple to resell at a latter time.  I guess they have issues with people who buy large quantities at a discount to resell in direct competition to them or their retailers.  Those people they would rather shift to their own marketing program, which requires a brick and mortar store, no exclusives, and other requirements.  

 

Is this hypocritical, I guess in some ways it is, but I truly do not know the real impact that resellers of LEGO sets and parts has on LEGO and their future.  As for Bricklink, they have always been a niche type of site, very busy, but kinda under the radar.  With these new owners, who knows how this will affect TLG's view of that site and its members.

re Bricklink:

around Jan when Lego had the VWC on sale for $80 I wanted one and had to call Lego CS as they had the call for availability tag on their website. Lady said that they were OOS, would not restock then she suggested I check a website called bricklink as they sell Lego stuff.

If you all get banned then you can only blame yourselves. Without doing research and just jumping the gun, you'll easily be a marked target for TLG.

If you all get banned then you can only blame yourselves. Without doing research and just jumping the gun, you'll easily be a marked target for TLG.

I prefer to blame others

I am shipping to my office. I certainly hope there is no way they could possibly ban entire office... I could also imagine a scenario where billing address is also set up to be an office address. Though ban hammer targeting a fly might wreck the whole table...

 

AHHH I will order 10 orders of 5 Pet Shops and have them sent to their headquarters!!! Then they will ban themselves! HA! That'll show 'em! ummm errrr. nm

AHHH I will order 10 orders of 5 Pet Shops and have them sent to their headquarters!!! Then they will ban themselves! HA! That'll show 'em! ummm errrr. nm

This could cause collapse of the Universe. Maybe let's try head of FTC address first...

This happened with another BPer who used the same username for his VIP and eBay accounts. Interesting that TLG are digging deeper to find who the resellers are .

Before I got banned, my VIP account name and eBay selling name were only different by the last character.  I have changed that with my new VIP account.

Interesting that TLG are digging deeper to find who the resellers are .

It'd be nice nice if TLG gave a Donald Duck about the bootleggers. How they allow eBay to advertise endless illegal fakes is beyond me

It'd be nice nice if TLG gave a Donald Duck about the bootleggers. How they allow eBay to advertise endless illegal fakes is beyond me

I wouldn't be surprised if they don't it mind when people buy some here and there that have been around for a couple years, but when they see topics, posts and pictures of people owning more than 100 of an item that is exclusive and made on a very small run (ie...Mars Curiosity Rover) then they probably frown upon that. 

People are not getting banned for being members of Bricklink, Brickpicker, Brickset, BrickOwl...They are getting banned for being Brickbrains and buying multiples on LEGO [email protected] exceeding the limits set.  People are not being selectively targeted unless something in their buying history is audited.  It is then a LEGO rep probably looks deeper into a customer's history and might find a connection to a store on eBay, BrickOwl or Bricklink.  

 

Either way, it is not the end of the world to be banned from LEGO S@H.  The best discounts are found elsewhere.  

When is that feature allowing us to change user names being implemented, Ed and Jeff?

I think when people are willing to pay cash for Jeff's time to change them.  

re Bricklink:

around Jan when Lego had the VWC on sale for $80 I wanted one and had to call Lego CS as they had the call for availability tag on their website. Lady said that they were OOS, would not restock then she suggested I check a website called bricklink as they sell Lego stuff.

 

Same thing here.  I called to see if I could purchase a replacement sticker sheet for a set that's long been retired.  They said they only had spare parts for sets 5 years back, and that I should check bricklink or ebay for a replacement.

 

If you all get banned then you can only blame yourselves. Without doing research and just jumping the gun, you'll easily be a marked target for TLG.

 

What research would that be?  Some people on here seem to be band for buying 3 of something at one time, yet others like Iketart order 90 vampyre hearses without TLG batting an eye at it.  We will never know their reasoning or methods, and no amount of research will uncover how to not get banned."  As Ed said, don't abuse the buying limits and you should be fine 99% of the time.

 

What research would that be?  Some people on here seem to be band for buying 3 of something at one time, yet others like Iketart order 90 vampyre hearses without TLG batting an eye at it.  We will never know their reasoning or methods, and no amount of research will uncover how to not get banned."  As Ed said, don't abuse the buying limits and you should be fine 99% of the time.

I have bought hundreds of sets through LEGO S@H through the years.  I don't order 10 of this and 20 of that.  I mix it up and stay within their limits.  Many people on this site will lie and say,"Oh, I only bought 3 sets!!!."  Nonsense.  They want the sympathy from other members, but 9 times out of ten, they bought something in mass quantities that triggered the ban.  

Same thing here.  I called to see if I could purchase a replacement sticker sheet for a set that's long been retired.  They said they only had spare parts for sets 5 years back, and that I should check bricklink or ebay for a replacement.

 

 

What research would that be?  Some people on here seem to be band for buying 3 of something at one time, yet others like Iketart order 90 vampyre hearses without TLG batting an eye at it.  We will never know their reasoning or methods, and no amount of research will uncover how to not get banned."  As Ed said, don't abuse the buying limits and you should be fine 99% of the time.

 

I have bought hundreds of sets through LEGO LEGO Shop at Home through the years.  I don't order 10 of this and 20 of that.  I mix it up and stay within their limits.  Many people on this site will lie and say,"Oh, I only bought 3 sets!!!."  Nonsense.  They want the sympathy from other members, but 9 times out of ten, they bought something in mass quantities that triggered the ban.  

 

Ok, then don't lie and use your brain, as Ed sorta wants to blurt out!

Ok, then don't lie and use your brain, as Ed sorta wants to blurt out!

 

That's kind of what I was getting at.  There's no way to know what criteria is used to drop the banhammer, so if people just follow the buying limits you're going to be fine most of the time.  Others choose to press their luck, and more power to them.

 

Nearly every order I've put in this year that is a non-exclusive has been 5 or 6 of a set when they go on clearance, and that's usually the buying limit.  Exclusives I buy 1 or 2 at a time.  Haven't received any nastygrams yet.

You are being watched 

You are being watched 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOnQ8CD3v4g

Big Brother is watching.... and he's made of Lego. :keeporder: