BrickLink to Allow BrickArms Listings

[Black Six]

Someone recently shared this post by the BrickLink staff over on their forums. It seems that they are going to start allowing listings of BrickArms parts in the near future. I didn't read all of the replies, but the few I read were very angry, seeing this as a slippery slope that will result in BrickLink allowing Lepin or other clone brands on their site.

 

What do you guys think about this? Will you still buy from BrickLink? Or are you going to move over to BrickOwl? Are there any other alternatives out there?

[Taria Pakari]

The majority here are here because we have pure LEGO blood.

 

You ever read something that just makes you slump down in your chair so far that you're basically sitting on the floor? Man, the way some of these people in the replies are acting you'd think the BrickLink staff just straight up murdered someone.

[Toa Imrukii]

Personally, I think if this to go through I think there should be heavy moderating of parts on BrickLink. That is if it actually goes through.

[Makuta Luroka]

 

The majority here are here because we have pure LEGO blood.

 

You ever read something that just makes you slump down in your chair so far that you're basically sitting on the floor? Man, the way some of these people in the replies are acting you'd think the BrickLink staff just straight up murdered someone.

 

My reaction to all the negative press here

 

Truth be told I don't see a problem with it. If Bricklink wants to carry overpriced unofficial WWII sets with some custom parts, then so be it. It'll make it easier for the people who want them. I honestly just don't see what all the fuss is about.

Edited December 7, 2017 by Kuan

[xccj]

There's a weird bias in the AFOL community, where clone brands like MegaBlocks and Lepin are deeply hated but custom accessories like BrickArms are perfectly fine. I guess the argument can go that one is trying to expand on areas that Lego is unwilling to (military, ext) whereas others are just ripping off their main ideas and trying to compete directly. It's a bit of a gray area.

 

Although I don't mind custom Lego accessories, I'm not sure BrickLink is the best place for them. It seems too easy for the non obsessed Lego fan to buy some thinking they're actually Lego, unless they're going to have some really obvious distinction to them. And I mean BrickArms is available thru other online sources, granted they're not as big as BrickLink and they cost quite a bit. (And BrickArms isn't even my preferred convention vendor, although they're the only one I can remember by name at the moment.)

 

Anyway, not a huge fan of the move, but it won't stop me from using BrickLink. I never quite got onto BrickOwl; their prices were the same and availability was generally worse. (A least when I last looked into it, which granted was a few years ago.)

 

[Aanchir]

There's a weird bias in the AFOL community, where clone brands like MegaBlocks and Lepin are deeply hated but custom accessories like BrickArms are perfectly fine. I guess the argument can go that one is trying to expand on areas that Lego is unwilling to (military, ext) whereas others are just ripping off their main ideas and trying to compete directly. It's a bit of a gray area.

 

Although I don't mind custom Lego accessories, I'm not sure BrickLink is the best place for them. It seems too easy for the non obsessed Lego fan to buy some thinking they're actually Lego, unless they're going to have some really obvious distinction to them. And I mean BrickArms is available thru other online sources, granted they're not as big as BrickLink and they cost quite a bit. (And BrickArms isn't even my preferred convention vendor, although they're the only one I can remember by name at the moment.)

 

Anyway, not a huge fan of the move, but it won't stop me from using BrickLink. I never quite got onto BrickOwl; their prices were the same and availability was generally worse. (A least when I last looked into it, which granted was a few years ago.)

 

I don't think hating Lepin but liking custom parts like BrickArms is at all hypocritical, since generally brands like BrickForge and BrickArms usually don't steal/copy existing LEGO parts, characters, brands, etc. Now, when people hate on Mega Bloks and are perfectly fine with other non-LEGO parts, that gets a bit murkier. People who do hold those opinions usually justify it to themselves because BrickArms isn't trying to position themselves as a direct competitor to LEGO, but whether that argument holds water is up to you.

 

Anyway, BrickLink already allows sellers to list customized parts like official bricks that had been custom painted or chromed, custom sticker sheets, and even entirely custom parts from companies like BrickArms and BrickWarriors. However, actually cataloguing custom parts is an entirely new step, and I do think there are some things about that which merit a bit of skepticism. Wouldn't actually cataloguing bricks from certain customizers unfairly favor those customizers over others? I'm not sure I like the direction that would lead, with custom brick startups having to curry special favor with the BrickLink admins to get their products on a level playing field with other, potentially bigger customizers.

[Pohaturon]

This is hardly the kind of colossal heresy that some of those comments make it out to be, but I do kinda question the wisdom behind the decision. Won't make me stop using Bricklink, and if someone does stop using it because of this, it's a really silly thing to do in my opinion. It's no use getting so worked up over something so trivial. 

 

There's a weird bias in the AFOL community, where clone brands like MegaBlocks and Lepin are deeply hated but custom accessories like BrickArms are perfectly fine.

 

This reminds me of the absolutely baffling view in the Transformers fandom with non official toys. Bad ones are "knock-offs" and heresy, while the good ones are "third party" and acceptable (sometimes even preferred).