Subject:
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Re: Bulk Ordering - Secrets Revealed.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:01:42 GMT
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Viewed:
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1829 times
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Larry Pieniazek <lar@voyager.net> wrote in message
news:37A8E6BE.6903F39E@voyager.net...
> Well, bully for you, I guess.
>
> But think of the message instead if you had surrepetitiously contacted
> everyone that wanted a lot of parts, and then presented TLG with a
> 250,000 dollar order and a quarter million in cash. I know I have a
> spreadsheet of wants that, even at 10 cents a part, totals over 20,000
> USD.
>
> Do you think TLG would ignore us then?
I've spoken with the Spare Parts Manager about this numerous times and he
agrees that TLG should be making more of an effort to cater for people who
wish to buy in bulk. In fact the SPM put forward a number of proposals on
this matter to his previous manager who returned to Denmark in January. Who
knows, maybe in time we'll see a bulk ordering service of some kind in
future.
>
> I guess I'm mildly happy for you but seriously bitter for everyone else.
Look at this from the point of view of people who live outside the US. We
in NZ don't have bulk buckets at all and the LEGO range of services is no
where near as broad as it is in the US. Plus the cost of LEGO here is
usually a lot higher than elsewhere in the world not to mention the scarcity
of promotional sets. If anything we should be the one's feeling bitter.
> I also have to wonder if there's any connection between your parts and
> the fact that NZ is closing their doors. That was a cheap shot, there
> probably isn't. But who knows...
The SPM made mention of the "bulk ordering service" to his manager. The
manager stated quite clearly that it was ok so long as it didn't interfere
with the SPM core responsibilty of servicing the requirements of LEGO
customers. To this end I went to great lengths to ensure that it was as
easy as possible for the SPM to know which parts I wanted and in what
quantity. There was no point in me sending him photocopies of instructions
with arrows pointing to pieces which I wanted or phoning him and asking him
to turn to page 54 of the 1994 catalogue to see what piece I was talking
about.
LEGO NZ is closing down for much the same reason LEGO Canada is closing down
(if infact it is). The Fitness Program that TLG have undertaken has
resulted in a refocussing of worldwide operations. Unfortunately the
boffins in Denmark feel that the NZ market can be just as effectively
serviced from Australia.
>
> And I have to ask why you're so proud you didn't make any money at it?
Not proud but just clarifying my position. With all these pieces and my
disposal and the number of parts auctions at the moment it would have been
very easy for me to order x amount of rare piece y and auction it off.
> Suppose you had? You could have ordered a lot more with the profits. The
> larger the order, the less cost to TLG to fill it.
The effort involved in ordering pieces is more than you can image. After
each order I promised myself that that would be my last. As it turned out a
few months later I would once again be formulating another order.
Keep in mind that large orders take about a month and a half for LEGO NZ to
process. Prices for each piece (of which there were about 500) have to be
found using a system of two separate parts books. It's a very difficult
system to use according to the SPM and not something you'd want to do every
day.
The only reason why the final order was so big was because it was going to
be the last hence the SPM was willing to process it. In any other situation
the SPM would have rejected it. I honestly felt bad sending the order
because I knew how much work was involved. But the SPM being the great guy
he is accepted it without any complaints.
> No, I'd say "as good a time as any" would have been a year ago.
I would have been rather foolish to reveal this a year ago. Why? The SPM
made it clear that he didn't want to be inundated with requests for bulk
orders. The spare parts section is a very small operation. He mentioned
that he was providing bulk orders for only a handful of people, of which
mine was usually the largest. With the amount of work involved I could
understand his point of view.
Sanjay
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Bulk Ordering - Secrets Revealed.
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| (...) Doubtful. I have a very large imagination. Don't forget that I've seen some incredibly broken business processes in my day, it's what I do for a living. (...) I'd gladly wait 6 months to get 10,000 windows. I'd gladly sit down and formulate (...) (25 years ago, 5-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Bulk Ordering - Secrets Revealed.
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| (...) Spoken like a true "LEGO addict"... <grin> Sanjay, congrats at your good fortune! When your project is done, we want pictures! TLG, are you listening? People are willing to pay good money for pieces in bulk. We could come up with dozens of (...) (25 years ago, 5-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Bulk Ordering - Secrets Revealed.
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| Well, bully for you, I guess. But think of the message instead if you had surrepetitiously contacted everyone that wanted a lot of parts, and then presented TLG with a 250,000 dollar order and a quarter million in cash. I know I have a spreadsheet (...) (25 years ago, 5-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
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