I don’t think this is going to be a merger of equals and I remain skeptical about how it will work out. Brick Link has been the place for LEGO Master Builders and casual builders (like me) to get pieces or out of print sets without getting gouged to the Moon. The former element really comes in handy when you just need certain colored bricks and pieces LEGO has part numbers for in the instructions but refuses to put them lego.com; often infrastructure pieces on Star Wars ships.
I should’ve seen this coming because at Brick Fiesta 2019 I found out LEGO was involved with Brick Link’s ten special anniversary sets; I have the Science Tower. Thus, LEGO made these ten sets par as a contemporary LEGO City or Ideas Set price wise.
I understand LEGO wanting to protect their copyright/trademark (the buzz phrase today is “intellectual property,” property? yes in how greedily it’s defended, intellectual? an exaggeration created to make the greedy sound more intelligent and benign, they’re neither) yet corporate greed is more often the motivation.
For example, Sony/MS/Nintendo were pissed off at not getting a dime of the used video game stores’ revenue despite now sticking us $60 for a new game. They’ve dipped beak enough. It was a huge reason why they’re booby-trapping the overpriced media and/or moving toward downloadable-only games. Sharing? Screw that! Only Commies share a game with their friends and relatives! Say it again with Thurston Howell III’s voice, it becomes more accurate and indiscernible from The Economist‘s free podcast!
Meanwhile, this has the stench of LEGO pushing to do the same dick move no matter how much they repeat their litany about “quality” and “consumer confidence.” Brick Link handled issues quite well without the Danish Empire’s involvement. What I fear on the horizon will be several things:
- Cease & Desist on anyone selling those hard-to-get Technic-like parts along with the ones from licensed sets.
- A LEGO tax on used pieces so the greedy shareholders get some of the action.
- Forcing resellers to abide by a MSRP on used sets.
In return, two things may save us. The European Union unlike the US, will go fight on behalf of peasants worldwide to save Kapitalism from itself…again. It loves to eat itself and throw the world economy into the shitter every generation. The better solution comes from the Internet, another, improved and less bullshit site will pop up with the Brick Link faithful fleeing to it. Forcing LEGO into another game of Whack-a-Mole to stop people cutting out the greedy and useless middle man Kapitalism thrives/depends on.
Fingers crossed I’m wrong but given the English-speaking world being governed by an orange-colored chimp, an ‘everyman’ poseur (Bush of the UK) and an Aussie Nero, it’s hard to be optimistic without being bilingual.