Subject:
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Re: Proposal for website to sell individual Lego parts in quantity
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade
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Date:
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Mon, 26 Jul 1999 06:23:35 GMT
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Viewed:
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538 times
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I have not really been following lego news. Did I read that right, bulk tubs
(like the current purple one) are being discontinued? Where/when was this
announced?
Steve
In lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade, Mike Poindexter writes:
> Troy,
>
> not to burst your bubble, but you will not be able to buy from Lego to sell
> online unless you fulfill ALL of the following:
>
> Have 30+ RETAIL OUTLETS
> Sell in all three Distribution areas (West, North and South) i.e. be Nationwide
> Carry a phenomonal inventory (I forgot the exact amount)
>
> The ONLY exception to this rule is eToys. I tried to do this with Lego
> because I wanted to order half a truckload of the bulk tubs and they basically
> told me to take a hike. I have spoken to people who deal with them and they
> say that Lego is a horrible vendor to work with.
>
> You could probably get them at a discount from Toys R US, but you better
> hurry, as TRU cannot order them any longer. Bulk tubs and buckets are
> history. The closest we will get is from Freestyle and Basic sets. You will
> probably end up with thousands of sets of Timmy and that chick.
>
> Other than that, I would be happy to see you get one going. I was planning on
> doing it, but I am too busy to do it alone and my wife isn't really enjoying
> sorting bricks. Let me know when it is up and I will probably place a good
> order.
>
> Mike
>
>
>
> In lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade, Troy Cefaratti writes:
> > I have a proposal for a new website for everyone here, and am hoping to get
> > feedback on wether there would be a demand for such a service among Lego
> > builders.
> >
> > What I am proposing is a web site that would sell individual Logo pieces in
> > quantity and for a set price to whover wanted them. The following are just
> > some thoughts that I had on the subject, and am looking from feedback from
> > you, the people who would hopefully use such a site.
> >
> > * Would start out carrying "basic" bricks (probably from the big tubs) and
> > would expand from there to other parts (Plates, flats, sloped bricks, etc)
> > and eventually into the very theme-specific parts.
> >
> > * Site would be fully e-commerce capable, with the ability to take secure
> > credit card orders and possibly online checks (depending on the cost of
> > implementing this). This would include calculating shipping costs, atleast
> > to the US.
> >
> > * Bricks would be sold individually (not is packages or lots), so that if
> > you needed say 300 blue 1x6 bricks, you would be able to get them without
> > having to also take (and pay for) any other bricks that you may not need.
> >
> > * In all likelyhood, there would probably need to be a minimum order
> > ammount, to prevent someone from ordering just one 4 cent part, as this
> > would cost alot in transaction processing fees.
> >
> > * Pricing would be set based on the cost of the parts, demand and
> > availability of the parts, and the going rate in other places, such as other
> > parts sales or auctions.
> >
> > * All parts would be brand new and taken from sealed sets.
> >
> > * Parts would idealy be obtained directly through Lego, as we would
> > probably have a large enough volume to do this.
> >
> > * A secondary source of parts would be "close-outs" and sales from local
> > stores.
> >
> > * There would, of course, be a section for requests so that interest could
> > be gauge and the right products purchased.
> >
> > * There is the possibility of expanding into telephone orders for those
> > that do not have an internet connection. (Depending on demand for this.)
> >
> > * Products would ship within 1 day of ordering. This would of course
> > depend on the number of orders and the ability to count out the pieces quick
> > enough. This problem could be countered by having pre-counted bundles of
> > bricks and/or using a counting scale to speed up the process (expensive, but
> > VERY accurate. I've used them to count very tiny electronic components in
> > the past).
> >
> > * Would like to be able to keep all products in stock at all times, so that
> > you can always get what you need when you need it. This likely would not
> > happen immediately though, but would be something that could be smoothed out
> > as demand and popularity of certain pieces was gauged and purchasing
> > adjusted acoordingly. It would also depend on availability of specific
> > parts from Lego. If they don't put it in any sets, then it won't be
> > possible to obtain it.
> >
> >
> > Well, I think that is about it for now. I am sorry that the post is so
> > long, but these things have been floating around in my head for a while now
> > and i needed to write them down. I hope to hear from you all with comments
> > on what I have proposed above and with any ideas that you come up with that
> > you think would make this site more attractive to prospective users.
> >
> > If something like this already exists, someone please point me to it. I
> > have seen Auxilla (which is great, but is an auction and is cyclical) and
> > numerous other auction sites. I have also seen some sites that directly
> > sell bricks, but unfortunately none of them ever seemed to have anything in
> > stock at the time.
> >
> > Also, i know that i am new to the newsgroups, and that many of you may not
> > have seen me here before, but I have been an avid Lego builder since I was a
> > kid (I'm 27 now). I feel that, having run an ISP in the past, I have the
> > skills to pull this off should there be a demand for it. Further, pending
> > the sale of my current company (A weekly newspaper) I may actually even have
> > the funding to get something like this started (Costs associated with site
> > design and software, as well as the innitial purchase of product from Lego.)
> >
> > Well, i guess that is enough for now, let me know what you think.
> >
> > Troy Cefaratti
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