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Kits of Distinction: Designed by Craftsmen, Built by Connoisseurs |
FAQ
- Who are we?
- We're a guild. That means we've banded together for mutual advantage. Some of us focus on sourcing parts and some of us focus on kit design and development, but all of us are vital members of our merry band. We occasionally add new members. Visit here for the current membership list
- How long have we been in existence?
- We were formed in 2000. See our history page for more information.
- Are we affiliated with LEGOŽ? Does LEGOŽ help us in any way?
- We are just LEGOŽ fans and customers like you. The LEGOŽ group gives us no special help and makes no official recognition or sanction of our activities. See our Disclaimer page for more information.
- How do we produce kits?
-
We buy up current production LEGOŽ sets, part them out, and reorganize them
into something "better". That may mean trading amongst ourselves and also
buying parts on the open market.
After one of us has designed a kit, a high quality set of instructions is developed, rivalling the detail and scope of the best that The LEGOŽ Group produces. That set is assembly tested to ensure it accurately allows you, the fan, to create what we created, with no missed steps, incorrectly placed pieces or confusing views.
We then develop packaging of the highest quality available commensurate with keeping costs reasonable (we want our kits to look good but we don't want to spend 50 dollars a unit on the box, that would not be what you, the discriminating collector, want)
- How do I buy a kit from you?
-
Each kit is made available over the internet. Many of us have websites
where the kits are described or offered for sale. Many of us have BrickLink
TM
stores where you can purchase directly. See the memberlist for details
- What do I get in a kit?
- The answer varies, but in most cases you get new, never handled LEGOŽ bricks, and a complete set of instructions. The instructions often come in a binder. Many, but not all, kits are boxed. Finally, almost every kit is proudly delivered with a signed and numbered Certificate of Authenticity, identifying the Bricksmith who created it, when it was produced, which production run it was, and which spot in the production run it had. Although we cannot predict with certainty, we believe that this will increase the desirability and collectability of these kits.
- What determines what is made?
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Market research, and the desire to have a complete line from very small to very large, in a particular area. The areas chosen are based on the interest of the members. For example, Larry likes trains so will be concentrating in that area.
Also, we're interested in your input, especially if you're already a customer of ours.
- About how long does it take?
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Not all kits are in stock. So if a kit is marked available it will be shipped to you within a very reasonable time after your payment is finalized.
- Why are the prices so high?
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There's not a lot of economy of scale here. A production run of 10 or so has to cover all of the design cost, the cost of creating and printing instructions, packaging and all the other costs.
However, you need to compare the price you pay for a kit of this quality against the prices of other high quality, limited production run items, for instance HO brass locomotives, hand painted fantasy art figurines, or sculpture, rather than against low quality mass produced items such as Town Jr. Viewed in that light, our prices are extremely reasonable.
Another way to evaluate price is to consider how much you'd have to pay yourself on the open market for pulling a kit together. You'd have to buy a number of different sets and you'd have a lot of parts left over when you were done, but your cost might easily be 2-3 times what our kits cost.
- Do you buy parts? What are the requirements for selling to the Guild?
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The Guild as such does not enter into transactions. All purchases or sales are
with individual Guild members. However if you are a parts seller that wants to sell
to the Guild, we're all ears! Here are some helpful things to know.
Because we are selling kits to folks, we want them to have a great experience. For that reason we want parts to be new wherever possible. It's not much fun to purchase a kit at a premium and get a part that has chew marks on it or that smells of smoke. So new, like new and smoke free are strongly preferred. If it's not a part that you would be happy to receive inside a sealed package, it's probably not a part we'd want to buy.
However, in the case of very rare parts, we do occasionally buy gently used parts if there are no new ones available. Careful and scrupulous communication of condition are key.
Guild special offers: While we do not feel we are entitled to special treatment, we do buy a lot of parts and if you as a seller would like to make a special offer to Guild members, knowing that we will buy in larger quantities than the general public, we'd love to hear about it. The best way to make such an offer is to send it to a Guild member and ask that it be forwarded to our internal mailing list. Please do not try to send unsolicited mail directly to this list as it will be rejected. - Are we accepting applications for membership?
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Our membership is by invitation only and we are not actively soliticing
members. If you have a strong interest in what we are trying to accomplish,
and believe that you can contribute, you're welcome to contact one of the
current members to discuss. Expect to be asked about how you see yourself
contributing, and to be asked for samples of your work (MOC or existing
items for sale, graphical work, LDrawn instructions and so forth)
Members have a rather strict code of conduct they must agree to abide by and there is also a requirement that matters discussed within the Guild be kept confidential. People who know of other commerce related proprietary information that may constrain their free participation, or who are involved in other commerce initiatives, or who have ties to TLC, may not be good candidates.
The Guild of Bricksmiths is currently not accepting minors as full members because minors may not enter into legal and binding contracts. This policy was reached not by consensus, but established by a majority vote after months of deliberation and debate.
If you have general LEGOŽ questions related to buying and selling, check Bricksmith Kevin Wilson's Buying LEGOŽ FAQ
