LEGO takeover of Bricklink: manufacturer answers questions from worried fans

It is via a series of questions and answers organized on Bricklink that LEGO responds, via its marketing director Julia Goldin, to many questions from worried fans about the future of the marketplace bought by the manufacturer. To save you time, I list below the most interesting statements made by LEGO in response to questions from all those who want to know what will be the future of the platform. In the midst of more or less consensual responses and promises that may be difficult to keep, there are some interesting details about the LEGO projects:

Platform servers, offices or employees will not be moved to Denmark, Bricklink will continue to operate from its current offices based in California even though the employees of the marketplace are now employees of the LEGO group.

LEGO does not have not intend to take advantage of the platform's statistical data to adapt its own product / price policy and thus directly or indirectly penalize resellers. LEGO is currently in discussions with the Bricklink teams so that data such as sets inventories are shared efficiently and quickly between the manufacturer and the platform.

Regarding the localization of the marketplace in other languages, LEGO replied that it had to study the possibility of allowing the platform to reach an even larger audience and the localization of the content is one of the possible avenues.

Lego did no intention of attempting to regulate pricing policy practiced by the various vendors of the platform, especially on products withdrawn from the manufacturer's catalog, claiming that it is not in its interest. The manufacturer wants to ensure that Bricklink remains competitive and therefore will let sellers continue to manage their offering. Lego do will also not change the commission rate applied to sellers.

The software Stud.io is not doomed to disappear, LEGO is planning on the contrary to make it evolve in order to reinforce its interactivity with the platform in terms of transfer of MOCs to the store itself for the purchase of parts. Official designers will continue to use the improved version of the software Lego digital designer that they were already using until now. More generally, LEGO announces that it wants to invest on a technical level to improve the ergonomics and performance of the marketplace. Bricklink will not be integrated, technically and visually, into the ecosystem of official websites and will remain a separate space.

Retail sale of licensed minifigs will not be regulated, LEGO declares that the elements of an official set may continue to be resold, except in the case of counterfeit products, modified or altered products, personalized products or products that infringe the rights of a third party in respect of intellectual property. "Custom" products will therefore no longer be authorized for sale on the platform. No regulation will take place on the resale of exclusive products such as those distributed for example during the Comic Con in San Diego.

LEGO will not prevent resellers from continuing to market parts that are no longer officially in the manufacturer's inventory, if they are indeed original parts.

The different parts retail services: Pick a Brick, Bricks and Pieces and Bricklink will continue to coexist. They are not intended to be regrouped or merged.

To weigh the value of these statements, remember that promises are not binding on those who make them and this Q&A was handled by Julia Goldin, Director of Marketing and it was she who recently stated in several interviews that LEGO would not "change anything" following the takeover of the marketplace by the manufacturer ...