BrickLink Designer Program

autolycus

Onebricktoomany said:

Anyone heard anything on Round 4?  Just want to get a note on my calendar so as not to plan anything that day.  FOMO?  Set completionist? Addicted plastic user?  Yes to all… 

They haven't even announced officially that there will be a Round 4. There are an awful lot of rejected Ideas sets out there, so if the project went ok from Lego's perspective, they've got material to do more waves. 

If they do another wave of 3 rounds, I'll probably end up buying a set or two, but I will start to lose some of my enthusiasm for the concept. I'm happy to have the 4 sets I have, and they do look great, but the build experience and final product is simply not as good as the official sets. Lego's rigorous design and iteration process really does make for a better final product. And I've got a large backlog as it is!

Phoenixio

There's a round 4?  I thought they had only planned 3?  Didn't we see all the sets from the original selection already?

I assume they'll run something like that again, but they'd have to do a new selection of sets, no?

autolycus

Phoenixio said:

There's a round 4?  I thought they had only planned 3?  Didn't we see all the sets from the original selection already?

I assume they'll run something like that again, but they'd have to do a new selection of sets, no?

Correct. They've completed the process for all of the participating sets that we know about. If they do more rounds, it will have to include sets that were rejected from Ideas more recently.

CCC

autolycus said:

I'm happy to have the 4 sets I have, and they do look great, but the build experience and final product is simply not as good as the official sets. Lego's rigorous design and iteration process really does make for a better final product.

Presumably they take on feedback like this, a long with the negative feedback about shipping, delays, excluded countries, and exclusivity / demand before deciding whether to go through it all again, or just take the designs in-house and have another "second chance" round like for the ISS.

arathemis

The 1 thing I don't like about this, is the impossibility to buy them on sale. 

It's like in that joke about a low cost airline: Stewardess: Would you like something to drink? 
Passenger: what options are there? 
Stewardess: Yes or no. 

Russell844

As far as I know there are no plans for a round 4 or any other rounds in the future right now.

sweetness34

Brick link did something similar a while back and I was able to get this set. As for the current group there was only 3 rounds planned. It remains to be seen if they will do anything similar in the future with other sets. So far I have not seen anything to indicate that they will have anymore. 

CCC

Yeah they did AFOL Designer Program, then Bricklink Designer Program, so next will be C...

Fizyx

CCC said:

Yeah they did AFOL Designer Program, then Bricklink Designer Program, so next will be C...

"Check Out this Awesome Designer Program" followed by "Dudes, We're Doing Another Designer Program"

pxchris

They just announced the next round!

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/main.page

Onebricktoomany

Onebricktoomany said:

Anyone heard anything on Round 4?  Just want to get a note on my calendar so as not to plan anything that day.  FOMO?  Set completionist? Addicted plastic user?  Yes to all… 

Ah ha ha!! All that was needed was to give voice to the thought!  Ah ha ha!!!

arathemis

pxchris said:

They just announced the next round!

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/main.page

Somewhat unfortunate. I was hoping these sets would be rarer than this.
I mean what's the difference between this and ideas? 

bricktuary

Two per household! Sensible - one per household was far too restrictive. 

Modeltrainman

Now to figure out what to submit!

Switchfoot55

arathemis said:

Somewhat unfortunate. I was hoping these sets would be rarer than this.
I mean what's the difference between this and ideas? 

Although I do agree that this becomes very similar to Ideas, it gives a larger platform for sets that people love to actually have a chance of some sort of production. I feel like the last handful of Ideas rounds have concluded with 25+ sets to reach 10k. And often only 1 of those making it to production. Who knows what the ratio will be on this one, but I do feel confident that great sets (such as modular style builds) that never have a chance in Ideas (sans the Fishing Store) would have a viable chance in the BDP. Certainly there are likely zero chances Licensed IPs of any sort would be allowed (I haven't read the rules, so potentially this is already spelled out as a no-no), but I like the ability for additional fan-created models to become more of a reality. 

I didn't purchase any of the last rounds worth of sets, but heard some rumblings around Instruction quality. Hopefully this is one of the items that receives a bit of an improvement. 

pxchris

There is actually quite a bit difference between this and Ideas.

Ideas submissions go into a heavy redesign process within LEGO after the projects have been approved. As we all know, the final results of these sets are quite often significantly different than the original submission.
Any sets that make it to production through this method are by-and-large a design straight from the fan designer. Other than some low level feasibility and stability checks, they are left mostly unaltered.

And that's just the biggest & most blatant difference. I absolutely see a place for both of these programs!

bricktuary

Yes, and that for me makes this much better. The foosball table might have made it through unscathed for example. 

I imagine we'll end up with stacks of modular-style buildings and I'm well up for that.

Very exciting, I think it's great for Lego to support the community like this. 

Modeltrainman

OK, I have a question, that I'm asking here, and did in the BL forum. They want our models also built in real life to test buildability, stability, experience. I'm trying to convert my layout to MILS, slowly. Does it go against the rules to build to that standard, as they don't want bricks just for sake of parts, and they encourage smaller plates? I'm only doing so here, as I figure my layout would be my test bed of sorts.

ericb

bricktuary said:

Yes, and that for me makes this much better. The foosball table might have made it through unscathed for example.

The foosball table would have been for display only had it not gone through LEGO's redesign process.  That may have been fine for some consumers, but not all.

You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

DadsAFOL2

Modeltrainman said:

OK, I have a question, that I'm asking here, and did in the BL forum. They want our models also built in real life to test buildability, stability, experience. I'm trying to convert my layout to MILS, slowly. Does it go against the rules to build to that standard, as they don't want bricks just for sake of parts, and they encourage smaller plates? I'm only doing so here, as I figure my layout would be my test bed of sorts.

You have to build it virtually in Studio.   So if you like to build irl then you can build on MILS and just omit that base when recreating it in virtual.  I don’t think having your actual submission on MILS will help your chances.  It may confuse some people that don’t understand it.    

bricktuary

ericb said:

bricktuary said:

Yes, and that for me makes this much better. The foosball table might have made it through unscathed for example.

The foosball table would have been for display only had it not gone through LEGO's redesign process.  That may have been fine for some consumers, but not all.

You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Yeah that's true. I think Ideas is essentially now -hey Lego, we want a model of X and then Lego designers go and do the actual design. The original Ideas MOC is at best a proof of concept, at worst a placeholder, it might as well be a drawing sometimes.

Whereas with BL, for better or worse we get something very close to what the designer intended, after a bit of refinement. Some of my favourite models have been the BL ones. 

So I can definitely see a place for both programs.

FireFox31

I'm really glad BDP is back but I'm concerned about the set selection "funnel".  The 2019 ADP and 2021 BDP began with a curated list of 31 and 25 sets, respectively.  It was comfortably easy to select which sets to order from among these.

The new Series 1 seems like it could start with hundreds of submissions varying wildly in quality much like Ideas does now.  It could be daunting to view all submissions leading to user "fatigue" and loss of interest.  Perhaps some sets will gain early support and be given higher visibility, causing users to only bother viewing these while other gems might get overshadowed.  Yes, that's a form of curation, but it's can be an unlevel playing field.

It was a joy to browse the quality sets thus far in the BDP, carefully deciding which I'd purchase.  I'm not excited to wade through hundreds of awkward models trying to discern which are good enough to warrant my support.

CCC

It is similar to IDEAS in that sense.

Jern92

Anyone knows when Round 3 sets are meant to ship? I noticed that box images have begun appearing on social media.

Phoenixio

I saw a message somewhere about a representative reportedly saying they'd start charging/shipping in early March.  No idea if that was a believable message, but I hope it's true!

sweetness34

Phoenixio said:

I saw a message somewhere about a representative reportedly saying they'd start charging/shipping in early March.  No idea if that was a believable message, but I hope it's true!

I wouldn’t mind if they are delayed a bit now that I have to shell out $500 for the new lord of the rings set. Otherwise March is going to be a very expensive month. 

pxchris

sweetness34 said:

Phoenixio said:

I saw a message somewhere about a representative reportedly saying they'd start charging/shipping in early March.  No idea if that was a believable message, but I hope it's true!

I wouldn’t mind if they are delayed a bit now that I have to shell out $500 for the new lord of the rings set. Otherwise March is going to be a very expensive month. 

Same!! hahaha

PDelahanty

sweetness34 said:

Phoenixio said:

I saw a message somewhere about a representative reportedly saying they'd start charging/shipping in early March.  No idea if that was a believable message, but I hope it's true!

I wouldn’t mind if they are delayed a bit now that I have to shell out $500 for the new lord of the rings set. Otherwise March is going to be a very expensive month. 

Why do you have to buy the new set right away?  I'm patient with new sets so that I can take advantage of GWP offers that come along.

daewoo

PDelahanty said:

Why do you have to buy the new set right away?  I'm patient with new sets so that I can take advantage of GWP offers that come along.

Or double VIP point opportunities.

sweetness34

PDelahanty said:

sweetness34 said:

Phoenixio said:

I saw a message somewhere about a representative reportedly saying they'd start charging/shipping in early March.  No idea if that was a believable message, but I hope it's true!

I wouldn’t mind if they are delayed a bit now that I have to shell out $500 for the new lord of the rings set. Otherwise March is going to be a very expensive month. 

Why do you have to buy the new set right away?  I'm patient with new sets so that I can take advantage of GWP offers that come along.

Lately it seems that if you don’t purchase day one it seems to take a long time to be restocked on the shelves. It makes it harder to wait and line up the promotions to time with the purchases. 

FireFox31

Sets are available for 18 - 24 months from release.  During that time, there will be numerous offerings of double points, GWP, or even both at once.  Basic sets go on sale for 20% off or more, but even major sets can get special sales like Black Friday / Cyber Monday.  Perhaps I spend more time looking for sales than it's worth, but my goal is to always get at least 20% off a set.

The only sets to buy on day one are the Bricklink Designer Program sets because they immediately and permanently sell out.

PDelahanty

FireFox31 said:

Sets are available for 18 - 24 months from release.  During that time, there will be numerous offerings of double points, GWP, or even both at once.  Basic sets go on sale for 20% off or more, but even major sets can get special sales like Black Friday / Cyber Monday.  Perhaps I spend more time looking for sales than it's worth, but my goal is to always get at least 20% off a set.

The only sets to buy on day one are the Bricklink Designer Program sets because they immediately and permanently sell out.

Agreed.  ...or polybags or CMFs might only be available for a few months, but there's no point to wait for sales since they're so cheap anyway.  (My Target is notoriously terrible about stocking ANY polybags.  CMFs?  Forget it.)

Also, gotta hop on any GWPs you might want to "purchase" since I've been burned by waiting on a few and have missed out.  #40290 is one example.  Ended up getting it via eBay at a reasonable price.  Still have it sealed on my office bookshelf.  Great display box.

wiggy

Got the emails from LEGO today about 2 of the sets being out of stock, so must mean the sets will be on the way reasonably soon.

wardm

@wiggy they said it would be around march/april if I recall correctly, so would make sense! :) 

tvjelle

I have submitted my BDP series 1 project and it has been approved now I have to wait until March 7 so I can show it to everyone.

I'm very curious how many projects have been sent in I can't wait to see everyone's submissions :)

Modeltrainman

tvjelle said:

I have submitted my BDP series 1 project and it has been approved now I have to wait until March 7 so I can show it to everyone.

I'm very curious how many projects have been sent in I can't wait to see everyone's submissions :)

Yay! Can't wait to show y'all mine!

Vgang

I read somewhere that more than 500 submissions have been made

bricktuary

Oooh, they've taken the money for the Winter Chalet and it's now 'In Warehouse'. Exciting!!

arathemis

Chalet charged. Hope it gets here by next winter

pxchris

Seems that they're starting fulfillment in Europe again.
My order (the 50's Diner) is still showing as "back ordered".

Brickchap

It's a shame I miss out on Bricklink designer sets. In some ways I wish they would just do a separate Bricklink Ideas style line (run through Bricklink) where you buy the winning sets as regular sets (rather than this preorder nonsense). Think of the amount of money Lego would make if everyone could buy the Bricklink Designer sets (especially given most of them are quite expensive).

Brickmania/Brickarms are unofficial third party websites that make Lego kits, these are a limited production run, but anyone can buy them. I think that would be a better system.

560Heliport

So many people like to say, "Lego would make so much money if only they would" do this or that. Since TLG is a for-profit company, and they know sales numbers (and we don't) I assume they usually know what they're doing. 

"Vidiyo! Hidden Side! DOTS! All proof that they don't know what they're doing!"
An occasional line that doesn't do as well as they hoped is just the sign of a company trying new things. 
Or trying old things: #10497 Galaxy Explorer.

Brickchap

@560Heliport Yes, but it does make sense though doesn't it? The more products you have available, the more people can buy them. That's one of the reasons Ford Motor Company was so successful; mass produced motor cars that ordinary people could afford (rather than some Ferrari you have to already own a Ferrari to buy). There are clearly more than 5000 people who would want to buy many of the Bricklink designer sets. It's like how clearly more than 10,000 people buy the Ideas sets.

Switchfoot55

As someone who wasn't able to get the Chalet (not just due to availability), I can understand the feelings of, "if they only made more..." 

I know at least one element of this program was to gauge interest in the fanbase for these sets that had at least at one point, gathered enough votes to be considered as an official Ideas set. Yet, we saw many of the final sets not reach their initial backing numbers. The few that made it through seemed much more popular and, I'm sure would have sold many more than the 5000 limit. 

I don't pretend to understand the ins and outs of LEGO or any other sales organization. But I do think there is a fine line with balancing budgets, inventory, production lines, product availability, and ideal market saturation. I already feel like LEGO has oversaturated its market over the last two years with the proliferation of so many 18+ sets out there. Yet, they have continued to do so. Can the market take more? If there were 20 approved and for-sale Brinklink sets, would they all sell 10k+ copies? Or would the market saturation reach maximum levels, thus resulting in loss of profits by the company who has over extended on marketing, production, inventory, etc...? 

All these questions are things that I legitimately am curious about, so I'm not taking a shot for or against any argument. I've certainly had the thought as well over the last few years.

It's all a mystery to me!

560Heliport

If people want the Bricklink designer sets, then they can preorder them. That's how that line works.
TLG can't just make more products. Their factories can only produce a finite number of parts. To make more of any given set would mean fewer of others. Again, I say that I believe TLG knows what they're doing- most of the time.

Lo1sJess

I’m happy the directions are provided for the sets so you have an opportunity to BL them to some degree yourself if you miss out for any reason(s).

Phoenixio

I got charged 109 €, so the Dinner is on its way?  Strange that they didn't charge for the Construction Site at the same time!

PJ76uk

I think part of the popularity is the limited availability. I would assume if they made it more widely available many who ordered would've waited, for a discount or preferring to purchase some other set.

Vgang

No charges for the mountain observatory either. Still backordered.

drdavewatford

bricktuary said:

Oooh, they've taken the money for the Winter Chalet and it's now 'In Warehouse'. Exciting!!

Yep - mine too! All of the others are still showing as "Backordered", however.