Clone Army Customs is a legit business that's been around since ~2009, they
use lego blanks to make custom clone trooper minifigs - I don't think it's
too far-fetched that they'd have 200k hands, but I guess it was enough to
suspend the store
The store is closed simply to ask a few questions about sources. They are not
permanently suspended. All they had listed was the hands, so no other inventory
is being impacted.
Clone Army Customs is a legit business that's been around since ~2009, they
use lego blanks to make custom clone trooper minifigs - I don't think it's
too far-fetched that they'd have 200k hands, but I guess it was enough to
suspend the store
I had no idea running a website where you ripped off Star Wars IP (Disney) that
LEGO pays good money for is a legitimate business model.
We are not talking about a small amount of pieces. There is a review of the guy's
warehouse on Beyond the Brick's Youtube channel.
As to the hands, I have no idea if they are legitimate or not, but I don't
believe people who violate Fair Play belong on this platform.
It's not the reason for the suspension and I have no comment on that, but
just a response to this comment: "NOOOO YOU CANT DESIGN YOUR OWN MINIFIGS!
THINK ABOUT THE BILLION-DOLLAR CORPORATIONS!!!!"
Like it or not, you can't just steal people's (or companies' IP.
Practical side effects include:
- Devaluing legit parts and figures on this site.
- Flooding the used/bulk after market with cheap knockoffs. This in turn raises
sellers' costs to acquire legit goods.
- Lower profits lead to smaller store closures and decreased competition among
stores which in turn leads to less variety and availability of parts for buyers.
In General, 1P writes:
I had no idea running a website where you ripped off Star Wars IP (Disney) that LEGO pays good money for is a legitimate business model.
Where is this energy when it comes to sellers acquiring official Lego minifigures
in bulk from illegitimate sources (aka minifigs stolen/illegally produced within
the Lego factory in Mexico & perhaps another one overseas) and selling them here?
What energy? I had a short reply to a forum comment.
I think selling stolen Lego figures is worse than selling stolen IP. Why would
you think I don't? This comment from you is akin to me asking: "Where
is this energy when it comes to armed robbery of Lego stores!!!" Of course
it's wrong, but it has nothing to do with what I was commenting on.
I literally started my response with this:
It's not the reason for the suspension and I have no comment on that, but
just a response to this comment: "NOOOO YOU CANT DESIGN YOUR OWN MINIFIGS!
THINK ABOUT THE BILLION-DOLLAR CORPORATIONS!!!!"
I specifically said I had no comment on the minifigure hands and was only responding
to your sarcastic comment that implies it's fine to steal from large companies.
Disney is not shy about going after copywrite and trademark violators. However
there are literally thousands of people stealing from them every day. Just because
they don't go after every single one of these small time thieves, does not
make it ok to steal.
In General, 1P writes:
From what you said it seemed like you were implying that the guy's custom
minifig company (not even remotely related to what can be sold on BL) and his
200k minifigure hands is destroying the Bricklink marketplace - in which I replied
with a related issue that actually & directly affects the BL marketplace, small
stores, and profits, yet gets brushed off as nothing for the most part whenever
it's mentioned
I don't think CAC is in the wrong, and (as I previously mentioned) if the
IP was really being stolen, Lego/Disney would have sent a cease & desist letter
long before he was able to open a warehouse for his business
From what you said it seemed like you were implying that the guy's custom
minifig company (not even remotely related to what can be sold on BL) and his
200k minifigure hands is destroying the Bricklink marketplace - in which I replied
with a related issue that actually & directly affects the BL marketplace, small
stores, and profits, yet gets brushed off as nothing for the most part whenever
it's mentioned
I don't think CAC is in the wrong, and (as I previously mentioned) if the
IP was really being stolen, Lego/Disney would have sent a cease & desist letter
long before he was able to open a warehouse for his business
I sent an email to the Disney IP team. We'll see what kind of response I
get.
USA, Virginia
Canada, Ontario
France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
I had a short reply to a forum comment.
Germany, Schleswig-Holstein