Anyone else in the banned from Walmart club?

Graham

Orders constantly cancelled for a month on Walmart.com
Reason given was “something wrong with your payment methods”

Finally after many emails, ‘‘tis revealed I may no longer purchase LEGO from them, due to me being deemed a “reseller”... but I don’t sell sets much.
I’m not even a volume buyer, less than 10k per year.

This leaves me one source, and in a precarious position. Just as I was considering upping my game.

With so many sellers here in the US, and a great number much bigger than I, how many others are banned and what workaround (if any) did you find?

They’ve had my resale certificate for tax exemption on file over 4 years, so it’s no mystery I am a reseller, albeit not in the sense that TLG detest!

Things are definitely not looking rosy for the future.

Calibrick

Ugh, I am so sorry to hear that, Graham! To be honest, when I buy sets from them (I just did last weekend during that special online), I don't even give them my reseller tax ID and just pay the tax. Then again, I suspect my volume isn't nearly what yours is (you're far more successful than I) - I buy maybe 10 sets at a time (different ones), is all.

I'm guessing LEGO still won't do resale with us online sellers (brick and mortar only)?

One_Click_Off

1)Just an FYI, Monday mornings the stock clerk at your local Walmart assigned to toys loads everything going on discontinued sale from Lego to others we don't care about onto a large rolling cart and then takes them 2 aisles over to use the sticker price gun to mark them 50% off and put them on a clearance half-aisle.
Happens between 8 and 11 am...FYI

2)Pay cash

okay, that's my 2 cents

tons_of_bricks

Huh, wow, that's tough. I don't order sets from Walmart online. Instead I just hit the local walmarts during their clearances and swipe all the sets that have good deals. It's more fun this way too, the expressions adults and kids give when they see two grown men pushing a cart full of lego sets is priceless.

Calibrick

Lolol firestar! Love it. I admit I prefer online as I can no longer drive (so my poor husband then won't have to go thru the looks you get <s>) and shipping is free. But yeah, you don't get those serious clearance prices then. :-(

Graham

Thanks folks. Local Walmart is small, larger ones 20+ miles away. Unless clearance is 40% or better, I still need the exemption.
tax is 10% here, the trade off for no state income tax
Then usually the clearance sets are not great parts sets.

Tho I also enjoy the looks and comments when snagging those sets. With age comes the “couldn’t care what ya think” (or say)

Walmart still match Walmart.com prices at least.

Wild Bricks

Um, question: Resale certificate for tax exemption, what is this?

Calibrick

While I don't know the rules in Georgia at all, in California we have what's called a Reseller's Permit. It's a formal certificate (free, here - you can get it online at our state's sales tax web site) that provides a unique ID you use to report on sales taxes collected from local and in-state buyers.

For tax exemption, the same permit/cert allows you to prove you are a registered reseller so you yourself do not have to pay sales tax in states that charge it (generally). I use it for example when buying from LEGO directly if I'm buying expressly for Calibrick (they have an online contact you can reach out to to then have tax removed from an online order), at local office supply stores, etc.

NickGrooves

Don't know the LEGO policy on B&Ms but the Legoland rides/playground/store here in Atlanta isn't actually owned by LEGO. It's leased / licensed by a third party entertainment group. Which sucks, because it's the only LEGO store in Atlanta. If I wanna take my son to an in-store event (like the monthly club meetups or club builds) we have to drive an hour North. Anyway. They clearly don't mind pimping out their brand. If you're paying full price for the sets (not wholesale) then I can't imagine they would care if you break them apart and resell the pieces you don't want.

Graham

@Calibrick
That doesn’t happen in Tennessee, the resale certificate allows me to buy tax exempt from stores that are willing to accept it. LEGO expressly DO NOT accept reseller certificates. I can only deduct tax paid from tax received from sales in TN. Sales in Tennessee are minimal to say the least, my prices are automatically 10% higher than neighboring states.

Biggest state for sales for me is California!

Calibrick

Hi @Graham ! CA is my biggest sales state too - lots of AFOLs and folks buying for their kids! :-)

According to https://www.lego.com/es-MX/service/help-topics/orders/online-shop/purchases/tax-exempt-status, "US and Canadian customers may be eligible for tax exemption. Please get in touch for details." (the get in touch link is the basic help link, but they do reply to emails within 24 hours). I'm pretty sure that at least here in CA, they HAVE to accept your reseller cert for any sets you are selling in full (not busting up) as you are not the final end recipient - you are reselling it and are a registered resale business in your state. Its double taxing otherwise. They may not love it on the surface, but I'm sure there are guiding Federal laws about resale and state taxes irrespective of the state. Have I tried this? No. If you've seen my store, you know I don't sell many sets - my specialty is buying 100s of pounds of lots, cleaning them, and selling them as parts. But I do have some that I just got great deals on (like what started this whole thread). :-)

This is completely different from being an authorized LEGO reseller, of course. They get nice discounts that us onliners will never get as I'm sure everyone on here knows (all my research shows that only B&M stores are eligible, and even then, it seems to lean toward chains as I have yet to see a small indie store be an authorized reseller).

Apologies if I am telling you anything you already know, Sir! :-)

Graham

Thanks @Calibrick

Barnes and noble refused to accept my resale certificate, as did jet.com

Maybe different in other states. I will certainly consider giving LEGO a call, can’t hurt.

I am going to find out how big sellers here and BL get stock. Given that it’s obviously possible, it’s just a question of digging. I know there are some using illegal means as there were several high profile cases a while back. The most incredulous being a (wealthy) tech executive switching bar codes!

The majority are legit and lawful... and they obviously won’t share their sources... so time to start investigations 🧐

Calibrick

@graham, WOW - people switched bar codes? That is CRAZEEEE. I recall reading a few years back about a bunch of Toys R Us thefts that made their way to people via eBay, but I thought that was about the worst.

I'm shocked that Jet and B&N did not accept your sales cert. Deeply. FYI, I suspect Amazon would take it if you opened a business account with them - they keep trying to nudge me to start one based on my purchases.

Diff subject: Wouldn't it be interesting if perhaps a lot of bigger sellers banded together for BIG buys direct from LEGO? That may be something interesting to pursue. LEGO isn't going to say no to selling 100s of sets in one lot - maybe even consider auth reseller at that volume?

I've done some basic googling last year only to learn lack of B&M was a massive roadblock - if you want any research help (I'm in California), let me know - I'd love to know too! :-) As would everyone, lol - of course if you share what you learn, that just makes competition, so... it's all good either way!

I do wish you good luck though!!!

R,
Sandy

Graham

@Calibrick here’s one article
https://www.mercurynews.com/2012/05/22/da-motive-in-silicon-valley-lego-barcode-scheme-may-be-compulsion-or-beating-the-system/

I have a commercial property and am/was considering going the B&M route, however from what I learned so far. They won’t sell you the premium restricted retail sets, and they dictate what lines you have to carry and in what quantity. Then the majority of sales must be sold person to person.

I have a business account with Amazon, currently that’s now my only on line source. Limited usually to 3 per set per week.

Calibrick

@Graham thank you for the article link I will definitely go read that. It is insane the lengths people will go to...

I am flabbergasted that a company would want to dictate what is sold and quantities - unless they are deeply concerned about "diluting" the brand (and it's not like this is a movie studio, so I have a tough time seeing that), that makes little business sense to me. Businesses want to make money - and in particular, they had struggles several years ago. I would think they'd want to see as much as possible! I see nothing wrong with LEGO dictating a minimum retail price, but other than that, any other direction from then one what B&M stores can/cannot sell is just senseless IMHO.

leopard37

@Graham The retailer I talked to with a B&M store here in Edmonton, gets a catalog once a year with the list of sets available for him to purchase. He returns to TLG the items he wants - then gets a completely different list back with most of the things he does not want. He than has the option of saying yes to everything or no. I can't remember but then I think he is due a portion to pay for an amount of the sets in advance. It may be on receipt, either way quite a load of money as it's the whole year's stock that comes in bunches from TLG during the year.

I don't think he had considered it but from what I read, you have to sign something saying you will not modify the sets for sale (ie group together or break apart). He does sell slow moving sets on Amazon, not sure whether TLG is ok with that or not. He never returns any sets, just keeps them on his shelves because he says they move eventually.

I approached him to buy his overstock or slow moving at a discount for stock in my store, but he said he wasn't interest as he has no problem moving it. (based on his shelves I disagree)

Tyson.

Graham

@Calibrick @leopard37

Yup LEGO love the family warm fuzzy feeling GIVEN them. However in reality they are quite (ruthless isn’t quite the word), definitely aggressive in business.
They have generated brand loyalty that most all other toy manufacturers only dream of! There is no other product that I can think of that has two independent websites devoted exclusively to reselling their offerings.
They are the global #1 toy company and have incredible clout.
Is their any other company that DICTATES to Amazon?
The only “warm fuzzy” part is the amount they donate to charity, but then they get tax deductions on that...

I often wonder how much of Danish GDP is generated by LEGO

Wild Bricks

@Calibrick I don't know if you remember the store A Brick World that was open on BL since day 1. Lori, the owner, and I had a very long chat about her sources of stock. She said that she had spoken to LEGO extensively and even though she was a well known buyer who had contact with all of the TLG reps in the majority of the country as well as a stellar reputation within the AFOL community as a seller, they wouldn't allow her to buy as an authorized reseller without a commitment of $200k+/yr. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't spend that kind of $$ on my inventory yearly.

Calibrick

Wow. $200k/year commitment. That is a LOT of $$ (and far, far, far beyond what I could dream of, lol).

Graham

OK seems it’s just wm. Com. Was able to purchase tax exempt in store

Calibrick

Nice!!

BrickAThon

I'm not allowed to purchase ANY LEGO on WalMart.com now - I was buying a few sets here and there, mostly to just hang onto, and they decided I was buying too many and obviously I didn't need as much LEGO as I was buying (so, buying 6 or 7 sets a month in a couple of types was enough to warrant me as a Reseller - which is just sad, as I can buy tons on Amazon and they have limits in place for pretty much everything, which suits me fine).

TLG is making it harder and harder for us to buy their products, and that's the worrisome aspect of their new acquisition, as now they'll have even more access to what we do.

Calibrick

Buying 6-7 sets/month brands you a reseller? Ouch. I buy almost that much just for my own play! :-(

BrickAThon

I guess I shouldn't be buying multiples of 1 set (like, maybe I'd buy 3 of one and 4 of another) - yep, I'm a reseller.

leopard37

...or are a part of a LEGO club ...or have 3 or 4 nieces/nephews that you are generous towards

Calibrick

Can I adopt you as my uncle, @leopard37? ;-)

leopard37

Well alright! But you have to suck up a lot to get sets, not just extra 1x1 rounds...

Calibrick

So batting big blue puppy dog eyes and telling you you're the bestest uncle ever doesn't work as well when I'm in my 50s as it did when I was a kid, I'm guessing? ;-)

Graham

Strange I was just able to buy again, I suspect the trigger is more than 2 or 3 of same set. I started buying more on Walmart due to better packing and that they use fedex.
Ticks me off that Amazon send ALL the large boxes via USPS. We are rural and the carrier doesn’t have a large car, which means she sometimes has to make more than one journey... And then UPS arrive with the bubble envelopes