TLG buying used LEGO bricks

Graham

I imagine several folks received the email linking to "LEGO Brick Take Back", this is in addition to the donation program.

They are offering (up to) $6/lb in gift cards or $3.60/lb digital cash. There is no mention of why or where the bricks are going, other than the statement "Our goal is to keep as many bricks in play as possible".

The donation site clearly states where they are going, the "buy back" does not.

Whats up with this? Are TLG about to sell used parts?

Curious!

https://legobricktakeback.com

Hoddie

What is digital cash?

Graham

@Hoddie Good question!

Malnaborg

digital cash, i guess, would be points on the lego website. Where x amount of points can be exchanged to x amount of real money. That way you can have "digital" money for new lego set.

Hoddie

^ can't be, because the gift certificate is worth much more.

MacsBricks

@Hoddie I believe digital cash = PayPal and the like.

Hoddie

Ah that makes sense, thanks.

adjour

I did an interview with the lego group about their sustainability not long ago. They picked my brain extensively about how to get people to sell used parts. They were adamant that Ai was going to make valuing piles of used bricks from photos something anyone could do, very soon. I did not get the impression they wanted to sell them themselves, but rather encourage BL sellers to become used parts vendors so they can look better from a green angle.

Graham

@adjour Interesting, but why are TLG buying them? They already have a donation option for charity running.

So I have to assume this is not for charity. Therefore reselling in some way?

adjour

@Graham I would get the impression it is for research purposes and is temporary, but I don't know. Seeing as anyone with the money and space can buy gaylords of used lego, there much be some other reason they want to do these smaller transactions.

I'm presuming it's either for research or to appear more "green" because they are now first party to "recycling" the bricks. Another theory I have is they want to steal the used brick BULK market from ebay and other sites. Since they bought BL, this makes alot of sense to me, but I'd imagine they are still in the research stage of this.

They seemed like they did not approve (morally) of the BL sellers that specialize in parting out NEW sets, en masse. I agree personally .02

They wanted to encourage sellers on resale sites like this one and BL to stick to used lego, due to environmental concerns (or perhaps just their image around the subject). I told them that exclusive new parts sellers can charge less for run of the mill parts than I do, and you have to be a certain type of person s=to slog through piles of used parts. It requires alot of brain power and time. Also I think, for me at least, its a labor of love because I just like vintage parts. Ai was mentioned every time I brought this subject up, so they are clearly working on something above and beyond the single brick recognizers we currently have.

It was a long interesting conversation.

White Horse Bricks

I was also part of that research and it was really an extensive discussion about how to keep bricks in circulation for longer. One of the things that was floated was adding Q/R codes or links with an advert at the back of instruction manuals giving information on how to sell the set on after you are done with it. As well as the brick buy back scheme that is being trialled they are considering set buy back schemes where used sets can be completed and then resold.

Graham

@adjour @White Horse Bricks

So times are changing! I've not come across anyone throwing LEGO out, mostly its "large containers in the attic/basement" that eventually end up on eBay by the lb/kg

I moved over to new only many years ago due to time constraints. Up until recently it was challenging due to hitting the purchase limits on S@H, Amazon 3 per 10 days, Walmart max 2 per order.
Amazon changed to no apparent limit earlier this year, but with sales being so slow, not much use to me at the moment. No longer parting out or aquiring sets, I have a storage place filled already

Maybe its time to retire!

adjour

@White Horse Bricks ah yes, I forgot completely about the QR code thing. They def were trying to find ways to intercept the used bricks before they ended up on other sites. I honestly don't remember many of the details of the convo, perhaps you can fill in the gaps better. I just remember being asked what the secret was to getting more people to sell used parts vs new, and I didn't really have an answer for them. I have a hunch they'll find the whole thing isn't worth their time in the end.

@Graham yes, I'm guilty of selling many excess lbs on ebay. I used to buy and sold sealed sets years ago, but found the limits frustrating. Also space issues. Sales are def not what they used to be, but I'm in for the long haul. At least until Ai puts us all out of business

White Horse Bricks

I think the key think Lego want is bricks to circulate more quickly and to remain in use. So they want ways for users to move them on easily when they are finished with.

I would guess the biggest challenge collectors and AFOLs, more parent who buy kids a few sets, then the kids grow out of them and they end up in the loft for 20 years.

Neiljones

@adjour i totally agree with you on the AI thing. The film terminator always comes to mind when people talk about it.

Brick.Galaxy

@adjour - How to get people to sell more used parts? Build a part sorting robot? It's the labor that kills it for most I think. We started off with used and my goodness, it's only slightly nuts.

adjour

@Neiljones I've tried not to think about it too much. It would be very useful for completing sets, if I could lay out bricks and ai could just tell me whats missing. If they find a way to interface it with uploading parts for sale, ehhh I'd say our days may get numbered, it would be all about who could source good parts and less about sourcing good parts + sitting there and actually doing it.

@Brick.Galaxy yeah, I've always focused on used and you do have to be a bit nutty to sit there. I try to do niche stuff (like vintage, instructions and duplo) to stand out

misbi

I'm going to predict that LEGO will move to make Bricklink the official platform for used parts only and pick-a-brick the platform for new parts.

White Horse Bricks

@misbi Isn't this already the case?

adjour

@White Horse Bricks I think what they mean is they plan to no longer allow selling of new on BL. Which if it came on suddenly, would ruin a lot of people's weeks lol

Perhaps grandfathering in existing uploaded parts would be the solution. I'd imagine a lot of stores would just give up if they couldn't adjust.

sotwuser

If you bothered to read the terms and conditions, it clearly states that the parts are going to Pentatonic NOT Lego. Now, what Pentatonic's plan for them is, who knows? Also, the program ends on Dec. 8.

adjour

@sotwuser now, if you bothered to read it... They are acting as an intermediary and say they are just selling the bricks back to lego.

When I looked up the parent company, it appears they sell "consulting services"

I'd imagine since used parts aren't really LEGO's thing, they are hiring another company to figure out the best way to deal with them.


"Your contracting party within the following Terms and Conditions for the selling of used LEGO® bricks (“Terms and Conditions“) is Pentatonic and its subsidiary Infinitum Technologies, Inc., 2140 S Dupont Highway, Camden, DE 19934 (“Pentatonic”). Please note that Pentatonic acts as an intermediate buyer and will sell the LEGO Bricks to LEGO Systems Inc., "

Graham

From Pentatonic

"Drive repeat revenues from your products and customers

We connect customer engagement with intelligent material management to unlock value for the world’s largest brands. Our platform ensures every product delivers ongoing revenue through recovery, repair, rental, resale, recycling, and remanufacturing. We help brands turn sustainability into a competitive edge."

'Incentivize and reward

Boost customer loyalty with flexible, global payment solutions. Issue digital cash, pre-paid debit cards, and branded gift cards, creating seamless incentives for repeat engagement."

Brick.Galaxy

@misbi indeed, that is the fear...

If they did that, BL would turn into a very small site, much smaller than it is. Which is fine, that's LEGO's right to do that, but then what's the point?

All the new sellers aren't going to switch to used, they'll do something else. Maybe sell here?

Used in volume requires either a mechanic sorting option or ultra cheap labor, it makes no financial sense as a business that I can tell.

Brick.Galaxy

@adjour - indeed, if they banned NEW LEGO outright on BL, it would end a lot of stores. Not much I guess everyone could do about it, but the big new sellers aren't all going to switch to used.

I suspect that BL doesn't really bring in much money to TLG, it was probably bought to keep clone bricks off it. Anything beyond that was a bonus.

MacsBricks

@Brick.Galaxy In my opinion, TLG bought BL for the massive amounts of data it produces.

White Horse Bricks

@MacsBricks Agreed, I can't believe it's anything else than data mining.

Brick.Galaxy

That's a good point on the data side, didn't think of that!