First time at Brick festival (southampton) NEVER AGAIN

Went to see what the hype is about and some bits there didnt make me happy

[@iainsbricks]

Love you honesty - its good to hear your thoughts on this from the perspectives of a customer. I'd heard the parking was a bit of a nightmare - it seems the Leisure centre was already busy with regular visitors to the gym / swimming pool so the extra Brick Festival traffic was, it appears, just too much for the infrastructure of the place to cope with. I thought the hall itself was great - a lovely big space. The did actually use that bare area of the hall at the start of the dat to enable the 10am ticket holders to queue up in. Unfortunately there will alway be people at these events that will vastly overcharge for the Lego sets they sell. Sellers of course want and need to make money back, as there is a cost for traders to buy tables at these events (i think i paid around £150 in total for 2 front tables and 1 backing table). I tend to stick to selling items at a price that matches, or is fairly close to 'sold' ebay prices as that seems a fair thing to do. I guess its down to the organisers who they let in, but in my experience, there is very little vetting of the sellers before hand - i guess they could stop people coming if they were unhappy with a sellers prices, although they will probably just say its a free market and people can charge what they like, but if they are the main seller and are at every event, then that reputation will rub off on the organisers and could give them a bad name and put people off going to future events. I don't always have time myself to look at other prices, so it was interesting to hear your thoughts on this. Some of the displayers were great though and a always appreciate the effort and time they spend on their models Thanks for the numerous shout outs throughout this video, its much appreciated. I personally had a lot of good feedback on my stall yesterday and hopefully everyone who bought something from me was happy with what they got.

[@snooplovesbricks]

Thanks for watching not my best vid but needs must lol. I totally agree with you having the so called main shop that much over priced does tarnish the event and also other sellers as you start to think they are all over charging . It could be just me with the other issues about the event but seeing how many events they do a year i think this year its 30 then i just was expecting a more amazing and professionally run event. When it comes to your stall it speaks for itself , organised ,neat ,tidy well priced and displayed with excellent customer service , tbh i did a bit of 007 on you i happened to be near you as I was chatting to someone and happen to watch you do a sale perfect ( ps i use to be a retail area manager many years ago) from start to finish great and even offered a receipt and I think you were the only seller i saw that did that not saying they didnt but just something i noticed you did.

[@langserv]

​@@snooplovesbricks I thought Iain must work in retail/customer service, what with his "people/sales skills"

[@MinifigJez]

I just want to give a counter to your negatives, as it was my first Brick Festival, I stayed 4 hours and had an amazing time. I take your point about the over-priced stall at the far end of the show, and a couple of independent sellers had prices that were a bit high, (but on the other side, if you’re buying Space CMF, 4 days before release day, I’d expect to pay a premium especially for the pink space baby which is already selling for MORE than IT WAS at the show) The well priced stuff sold, the over priced stuff didn’t I got good deals at three different stalls, including Iain’s Bricks. All three gave me discounts off the marked price. I chatted to many people who were having a great time. You said the atmosphere was flat with no excited kids, saying “look at this mum” and I experienced the exact opposite, I saw a lot of excited kids, with some literally saying “look at that” I had no problem getting there, parking or finding my way in. I walked in the front door, there was the leisure centre desk and the swimming pool in front of me, and no-where else to go but turn left to the event, where that sign was. I didn’t find a problem with having the same door for going in and coming out (and incidentally, that’s the same as it was at the Hampshire Brick Event in October, just one door) The event staff that I talked to were all friendly and helpful. One apologised to me that the standard pick-a-brick cups had run out but I could have 1 and a half smaller cups to compensate, and they were very generous with the “half” From my experience yesterday, I’d recommend Brick Festivals to anyone.

[@snooplovesbricks]

glad you liked it . as i said in the video some of the issue might just have been with me, im pleased you found parking ok you must have turned up at the right time but as of 10a till 12 there was more then 20 cars driving about trying to find spaces that wasnt there , and yes the HBE event did have same in and out which was due to the small venue i was surprised at a big event like that they didnt have and exit and there was doors to do that , But i am happy you enjoyed it and liked going

[@saintgeorgethe1st]

Hopefully organisers can read comments like that so they can improve on the customers experience for next time. I had an early ticket and was surprised to see how busy it was at that time,It was extremely busy that trying to look at stalls was a problem as you had to wait a while to have a proper look especially at the stalls selling minifigures. I couldn’t believe the prices of that stall you mentioned but found the majority of them not too badly priced. I heard one conversation that someone who was there at 10am sold his Death Star within 10 seconds!! His prices were pretty fair. I didn’t realise that people got vouchers for displays? Some of the builds were fantastic though. I got picked up at 12.30 and my wife was in the car park for 20 minutes trying to find a space. The only other thing that was frustrating is that on the pick a brick stand they ran out of cups. I counted around 15 people at the time that I saw with cups. In the end after waiting at the desk for 10 minutes they thought of giving a sandwich bag to fill up but had to get the ok from people higher up. Still a good event and I’m looking forward to going to the Bournemouth one later in the year.

[@snooplovesbricks]

its good to hear other peoples experiences i heard that the early bird tickets 1st hour was cazy busy which is a shame i would have thought there would have been a limted number before 11 tickets on sale .so you could have time to look about and find what you want rather then rush about to me the early bird is a way of the event makes more money and also shows that the event is based around shops and selling rather then the lego displays and the who lego fun day. enjoy bournemouth hopefully you enjoy it more id like to hear if you did

[@franj001]

The tables with the massively overpriced sets at the start is the organisers. It is part of the Brick festival people. Prices are an absolute con on there. You should check out an NBE show.

[@snooplovesbricks]

Really thats good to know .make you think that the event is just a cash cow and not about making it good for people . btw the organiser wasnt at the show

[@langserv]

​@@snooplovesbricks Great points there 🤔👍

[@jonnyhawkins7744]

Great video, I went there yesterday and I thought it did come across as a bit hectic and messy. Although I enjoyed myself for a couple of hours, there were a couple of shops that were absolutely ripping customers off, especially the long one at the back of the hall with all the old and pre owned sets. Was nice to see Iain's Bricks stall doing so well! Am thinking of getting into selling some sets but wouldnt go for a BrickFestival. Any ideas where I could sell?

[@snooplovesbricks]

Hi glad you liked it . was in two mind to put it up as not all about loving it but needs must i think. Glad you enjoyed it was some nice things to see and do and indeed the back wall seller should be locked up for them prices lol . yes iain did well great prices and great guy so everyone loves buying from him. selling wise need to go for more smaller well organised event i do one couple of times a yr keep an eye out for them and there is a smallsih one in brighton soon run by a nice guy called misa bricks you could try his too .

[@jonnyhawkins7744]

@@snooplovesbricks thank you for your response. im not someone who sells sets because it makes money (i mean it is one of the reasons) but the main ones are to see the excitement on the customers faces at seeing old/retired sets. I have a passion for collecting lego and I certainly dont charge many limbs for sets either, can I ask how can I keep my eyes out for your events, through other socials?

[@snooplovesbricks]

@@jonnyhawkins7744 thats they way to be selling wise same event wise dont get greedy and do it for the people . i have a web site and a facebook page Hampshire brick event

[@DailyWeeklyBuilds]

I also went there for the first time, I expected to see more MOCs and displays, a couple of really cool sets on offer, but nothing I was desperate to buy. The one thing I HATED was how pushy people were trying to get to the front of tables 😂. I’m not that kinda person so I spent a lot of time trying to politely make my way in.

[@snooplovesbricks]

yes some people can get crazy when it come to lego and getting the set they want and yes i think we had the same mind set when going in thought be more just seem to be geared around the selling then lego fun day

[@langserv]

​@@snooplovesbricks Adults were pushing little kids around, to get to the front of queues, and that's just wrong and disgusting

[@markdixon662]

Great video, I went to Maidstone last year and that was also in a leisure center and parking was terrible. Lots of same issues there. You had a mixture of good priced stalls some very expensive and a couple of cheap ones (brick-a-brack being one of the very cheap stalls). The strange thing was the large expensive stall was selling a lot of their sets! I think as a buyer you need to know your prices. Fair enough some people will pay a bit more to have a set straight away but £100-£200 more!! I can't see them banning themselves from the show;-)

[@snooplovesbricks]

Really thanks for letting me know sometimes you think it could be me or just a one off but its nice to hear that some of the other events was the same and i think the same i dont see them stopping over priced sellers its all about getting as many sellers in as post cos they pay for the space

[@jjs803]

Unlike you I went and absolutely loved it, hope they'll have more events in the future. Some improvements certainly can be made by the organiser's. Plenty of fair prices for retired/rare lego sets if you choose wisely who to buy from.

[@red_life_redemption]

They actually have events every month across the county on their website.

[@snooplovesbricks]

Glad you liked it as i said in the vid some people will love it

[@mrwillb3227]

Hi, the first time i went to a brick festival event run by these organisers i was very disappointed also. I hadn't seen any vids like Ian does showing what they are like inside and just going from the website i was expecting lots of displays plus traders to buy some lego from. The majority of the larger traders were very expensive, there were some good stalls around for printed parts/signs or minifigs and some with reasonable prices. But there were far fewer displays than what you had at this one. At the time it felt like i had paid just for the privilege of walking into a shop, I feel they should advertise it more as a trader fair than a lego festival event.

[@snooplovesbricks]

i was thinking the same it is more of a shopping experience

[@langserv]

​@@snooplovesbricks I've never been to one, but I thought it would just be a reselling opportunity anyway.

[@billyskoda6839]

We travel across the country displaying our cobi models and dioramas. We never get paid. Its what we do, we bring cobi models to the people to show there's a far better alternative to brickmania..

[@snooplovesbricks]

thats nice of you and great you do it . but i feel you should be paid , i pay all that do my show. after all if it wasnt for people displaying then nothing to see . plus people that display are making the event money .it like asking the singer pink to turn up and charge people to come in an see her and not pay her that will never happen

[@billyskoda6839]

@snooplovesbricks we've got (at the last count 293 individual models.. we've been displaying at the Tank Museum for 10 years now... at their main events. Keeps me from spending too much lapping the nürburgring I guess.. 😉

[@AllTheCoolStuff]

Great vid of the event. You make some fair points which I hope may be picked up to help make a first time event better next time, but you also make a lot of points which I feel come across as a little biased where you mentioned being an event organiser yourself. I was there as a retailer and all our products are the retail price or less. That does not make us the cheapest necessarily and that does not make us the most expensive either. No event organiser can predict what stock other traders will bring and what their price points will be, or police that. You said it was a good job you didn't turn up as a trader as you would have been thrown out, that could not have been further from the truth, and if the narrative you are putting forward in the video was the case, then you would have had a great day in terms of sales, I know I did :) With respect to desirable sets that are at premiums, I am sure anyone who is looking to add them to their collections will do their homework first. As a retailer of current product I can tell you that no parent or collector gets suckered into purchases that they judge to be over value ... but at the same time no-one is forced into any purchase either, so the whole argument you are trying to make is moot. The observation regarding a section of the hall being under utilized for space is likely to be a health and safety requirement for processing large queues of punters, which is a good thing, especially as it was raining. As an active leisure centre that was running gym/ football matches etc you can't have hundreds of folk snagging up the whole place and I would have thought you would have understood that as an event organiser yourself. Like I said at the start, some fair points for a first time event, but sadly there is a lot of dipping into territory that can apply to any show and it comes off as more to deliberately run down the event than anything else. My advice would be to sign up to the next one, it is not as unbalanced as you make out and you will have a great day trading yourself :)

[@snooplovesbricks]

we all have our opinions which is great to hear yes i do event and yes i vet all sellers i work with them all to make sure no one over sells if do then i dont have them at my event . i never blame the event for the parking just said parking was bad . i was just covering the parking issue . the event it self just thought be better if you do the quick math for the event the company does 35 events a year over the uk . normally 2500 tickets are sold ( ive spoken to the boss man on another project ) price on ave £7 =17500 50 seller and ave £150 a table =7500 so = £25000 per event not including money made for lucky dip and sale per event so £25000 x 35 events =£850,000 so with lucky dip, shop, etc its a million pound event company yes that before cost and layouts so when i look at that i think that an event that is pulling that amount of money in and that amont of experience should have been more wow in my eye . that was all when you get as big as they are i was think it be something amazing that was all

[@adamfairbrother6242]

I have sold at these events in the past and continue to do so, as I have said to other people look at the smaller stalls who have only 2 to 4 tables and that is where you will get a fair deal. Yes the prices are higher than when the sets were brought but I look at ebay sold prices and sell them at that. I have to be honest I have only ever sold one set that I thought was well over priced and that was the Harry Potter Book of Monsters and that was only because I loved the set so much that if I was going to sell it I was going to make extra on it. I wasn't selling here I was at Walsall.

[@snooplovesbricks]

yes indeed once retired rrp doesnt count and yes there is nothing wrong with the odd set bits higher priced even more so cos you liked it .

[@red_life_redemption]

I dont know what the people at the back were thinking with those prices.

[@snooplovesbricks]

yeah same here

[@cloudagent3099]

While I can understand some retired LEGO sets command a high price, i paused the vid and noticed sets that are still readily available in most shops priced higher than the RRP. Why would you buy them here for those prices. Good video btw.

[@snooplovesbricks]

yes indeed thats the crazy bit about it . thanks glad you liked

[@langserv]

That's the bit which surprised me too!

[@anthonyvangelos5972]

Mate this must be your first brick convention because if your shocked by the store prices I don’t know what to tell ya 😂😂

[@snooplovesbricks]

why do all rip you off?

[@anthonyvangelos5972]

@@snooplovesbricks they try lol I just don’t buy anything I don’t buy official Lego at conventions because it’s generally overpriced because sellers know they can get people in the spur of the moment, and they know kids will pressure there parents to buy them stuff, I’m not saying it’s right I’m just stating I’m not surprised this is pretty typical of Lego conventions 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@snooplovesbricks]

@@anthonyvangelos5972 thats bad i hate that i have been putting on an event for the past 10 yrs and i only have to sellers there and they have to be known by me and the prices must be ebay prices or cheaper if not cant sell at my event the rest of the event is displays and freebies / lucky dips and entry no more then £2 or £3 for this reason only i started the event for kids and parents and over the yrs i seen more lego event popping up to be money grabbing and no effort in the event . i hate it

[@anthonyvangelos5972]

@@snooplovesbricks couldn’t agree more but like I said I’m not surprised this is pretty common practice

[@snooplovesbricks]

@@anthonyvangelos5972 yep greed for you

[@Tomo-hb2tq]

I went to one in Maidstone last year one guy had a lot of the same gwp for more than they was worth and another guy he had a home alone house or £300 even tho it was still in the Lego shop in bluewater and still in the shops for 260 and still on the Lego site what a con

[@snooplovesbricks]

yes these show are only out for people to make money . granted there are a few nice sellers with great prices iains bricks etc but these event are not good to the wallet over priced to get in . with even more charged if you want to get in the 1st hour and then everything sold is more

[@AFOLTHEKID]

We were very disappointed. Hardly any displays at all to look at. Parking was a nightmare. Crazy amounts of people and just loads of stands selling overpriced Lego. Was shocked at how bad it was. We know for next time. Bitter disappointment, to be honest.

[@snooplovesbricks]

shame you didnt like it too feel you had a day like i did

[@garethsmith2250]

Pleased you got your Argos key ring 😊

[@snooplovesbricks]

Yes thank you

[@RB98r]

I went to one in Cardiff. I'd say 80 percent were sellers 20 percent were displayers. Solid 3/10 experience.

[@snooplovesbricks]

really its a shame too many sellers becoming a lego fair / market then a lego event 80% is high is getting close the being all sellers which you cant charge £7 to shop can you?

[@langserv]

​@@snooplovesbricks What they should do is increase the entrance price, and increase the quality of the display areas & pay people to display their amazing builds if necessary

[@tollyboy-]

I agree some of the prices are ridiculous but we have to remember supply and demand. If people want to pay premium let them. Everyone’s free to buy from eBay but some don’t want that hassle or get scammed.

[@snooplovesbricks]

yes free choice where to buy from but surely they should have some decency

[@tollyboy-]

Plus the organisers are scummy people. NBE is a million miles better

[@snooplovesbricks]

i dont know them personally but ive since found out that the organisers didnt pay the 4 people i spoke to at event that displayed even after they were told to contact mike and was told by them the emails was rude and was basicly told to go away even though on BF and other sites they say looking for displayers will be paid etc

[@tollyboy-]

@@snooplovesbricks they’ve been milking it for a while. Their time to fall has come. NBE will take over 100%

[@snooplovesbricks]

@@tollyboy- ill have to check out NBE thanks