Just wanted to post my thanks for all the effort and time you put into putting out vlogs each week. I am not a seller or regular commentor but I do enjoy watching various Bricklink store vlogs as it is an interesting business in a hobby I love. Your vlogs were well done and a staple of my viewing rotation. I hope you are able to find a reasonable price for your store and enjoy your upcoming retirement, it is well deserved. Thanks again for your contribution to the hobby, I hope you do leave the channel up as it is documentation of an impressive journey. Best wishes in all future affairs!
Just wanted to add I will definitely follow your journey to the end and I think you bring up a great point about not a lot of people having spent time covering the ending of a store and it will be interesting to see you do that.
I remember watching you doing Lego hauls in your old office under the stairs. The videos you did showing off the progress of your house extension. The big Lego hauls in your office. The big purchase of a Lego store to expand Brick Arena. The weekly vlogs showing off what orders big and small customers made. Including spotting orders I made! I’ve really enjoyed watching your channel over the years. Best of luck. 😀
Hey, I wasn't expecting it, but you seem to have reflected quite a bit on the subject. All good things must come to an end and I'm looking forward to watching the ending saga. Congrats on your future retirement, the fam and health allways comes first, and it's your time to enjoy it. Thank you for letting us take part on your journey! And here's to an epic end of the road!
Keith - Thank you for all that you have done for the Lego & Bricklink community from all the way over here in New Zealand. I got into Bricklink after stumbling across the vlogs and now I have been able to support my daughter's love for Lego! It has encouraged us to post our own content and has been a great source of fun. Enjoy whatever may come and I am sure many more Middlesborough games. If you are ever over our way, please reach out. Coffee on us! Jason (Kiwi Brick Exchange)
Keith, all the best to you in your retirement. I am slowly (very slowly 😂) building up my store for retirement. I have a ways to go until that day, but my thought is to keep myself busy doing something, and why not do something you enjoy. I do have hobbies, so we’ll see if this actually pans out the way I’m thinking it should. Who knows, I may not want to do it anymore when the time comes. I can say for most viewers that you have helped all of us in one way or another and your time spent doing this is invaluable. You will be missed and I am looking forward to the final journey. Thank you for everything!
All the best for the future Keith. As the inspiration for my own store opening last year and my education in operating from the beginning I wanted to say thank you for everything, it's been a pleasure to tune in each week and learn and understand how this crazy selling world works. Enjoy the wind-down, the retirement and the future with your family. Thanks and it's been a get ride!
Keith We will miss your videos a lot! It has been great watching these over the years and you and these were extremely helpful in us setting up our own small store, even kindly responding to our emails when we had a few questions. Thank you and we wish you the very best for the future and for retirement. As others have said we will be watching until the very last vlog! Take care and all the best to you and the family.
Sad to hear this, but fully understandable. I have been watching all your videos since the beginning, it was very interesting to see the full journey and really wish to see how the exit goes. Thank you for all the information you shared, it was a huge help. Greetings from Hungary Best Regards George
Really enjoyed watching your videos each week having first started when you were laying the foundations of your Lego room. Good luck with the sale and the retirement when it comes, I’ll have to get another bricklink order from you soon.
Thanks for all the content & it was a pleasure to follow you along on your BL journey. You have been one of my inspirations into setting up a store & I have now been full-time for 2 years. Gotta say that it is a tough market nowadays & I see more and more people thinking about letting go. Have to admit Brexit really messed up what UK stores are capable of on BL :/
Thanks for the kind words. I agree its not what it used to be. Brexit and too much competition (possibly some of my own doing). But ultimately, this was always the plan and its served its purpose.
Wishing you all the best! I have learned a lot from watching your channel and will continue to watch until you sign off! What a wonderful achievement, paying off your mortgage and planning for a wonderful retirement with your family.
I’m sad to see you going, you’ve been my inspiration since I started selling on Bricklink 4 years ago, your videos etc have helped me get to where I am today with my own store. I had noticed in a few of your recent Vlogs you were as passionate as you had been but didn’t see this coming. Thank you for all your help and support from all the Lego community.
You're a legend and inspired many. Now it's Keith time and slow down on the lego. I'll carry on watching, loved watching my orders for my MOCs appear on your channel. Enjoy your holiday
Hi you were one of the earliest vloggers I watched when i decided to sell on Bricklink. Your videos i will certainly miss. At the end of the day its your decision and retirement is looming for you. I will continue watching until your last one , have the best last few months or weeks whatever it will be , Thank you Keith
Thanks for the kind words and continued support. It will likely take some months to sort out and sell the store and if it doesn't sell it could go longer, but wanted to be transparent about why there isn't more exciting content and part out etc. The clock is ticking.
Keith, it won't be the same without you! You were the staple vlog at breakfast every Monday morning before the kids got up. As a Bricklinker myself, I know how you feel, but at some point, you have to put your feet up, you've earned it. If you've still got a load of the bulk in the container, I'll drop you a line. Go enjoy the new found time.
Best of luck Keith. Seems like you have given this decision plenty of thought and I doubt anyone would say prioritising health and family is not the right thing to do.
Yeah, given it lots of thought over the last year and its really always come down to being financially feasible. Paying mortgage off last month was a big step. Still some work ahead but the ends in sight.
Best of luck with retirement Keith, you’ll be missed. I’ll keep an eye out on what you’re selling! Thank you for the channel, it’s really helped me start of my store.
Ahh wow Keith, I feel so many emotions from this update. You've clearly had so many weighted decisions on your shoulders and I can only imagine how stressful and emotional it's been for you. It will be a shame to lose such a great member of the bricklink community and someone who's vlogs I have religiously watched for years now. But on the other hand, I am so very happy for you. It's really great to see your plans for retirement come to fruition and you are such a genuine and kind hearted person that you massively deserve it. You have inspired so many people, including myself, to start a bricklink store and given so much knowledge and entertainment freely to benefit lego fans around the world. So even though thank you doesn't hold the power of the true gratitude I and i'm sure so many others feel towards you, I will say it anyway. Thank you for everything you have done and given to us and I look forward to all of the remaining vlogs yet to come and watching you achieve your well earned retirement.
Ahh thanks for the kind words. It's always been the plan to get out in good time to enjoy retirement. However, as you say its still difficult and I'll really miss the community. Just glad that people have enjoyed the content and found it useful. I'll still be around for a while until I can get thins sorted and sold but the end is in sight.
I’ll definitely continue watching, especially now as you’re entering a new phase. You’re absolutely right that nobody ever talks about an exit strategy, so this will be very interesting. One question: what do you think about the idea of continuing selling (but not buying) at ever reduced prices in order empty the store gradually?
Thanks for sticking with me until the end. - With regard your question, it is a strategy I have considered. The downsides are a: the time it will take to sell. b: You will never truly sell everything so you will still have to sell what is left. c: You still have the effort of picking (which is potentially means more work). The only positive I see is possibly getting a slightly increased return versus it all being gone from one day to the next.
Best wishes. It’s better to get out while you’re ahead. You don’t want to wait until you’re forced due to health reasons. Focus on family and health and all else will fall into place. Hopefully. 🙏
Nooooooo!! lol.. I only just found your channel this year and I’ve found your Bricklink journey so interesting. I’d be sad to see you go but it’s sounds like retirement will be well earned. Will def watch right up til the end and perhaps it’ll give me the opportunity to go back and your journey from the stsrt. Thank you, congratulations and good luck!!
Hi Keith, as I am loading parts into BL I am watching your vlog, it is a shock but a very understandable decision, Hopefully you can beat the average lifetime of your family but I understand you want to enjoy the time with your family instead of Lego time, maybe a smaller store with only figures is an option? Keep the vlogs going for as long as you have the energy, I really like watching them, thank you for all your time and I will see you for now in the vlogs.
Watched you from the early days when you were buying LEGO when I used post LEGO videos on Little Posties! Hope you are enjoying your break Keith and hopefully you will enjoy your retirement. If you struggle for interest due to the size of the store let me know but I am sure someone in the network will take it off your hands!
I'm not surprised about you wanting to enjoy some retirement and actually enjoy life fully. However, I am really looking forward to the change of pace on the blog and following the process of closing a business, that you very rightly say is not spoken about enough.
Thanks for all the great content and knowledge shared over the years. I have often wondered how people plan to exit Bricklink, especially those who build up stores to run in retirement. Best wishes for a long and happy retirement. Will you get back into building Lego?
I'll miss your Sunday video :( (I watch them all the time. Sorry I haven't commented for ages tho like you things have changed in my life & I'm trying to work out what is next for me) I did have my BrickLink store closed for about 2 years because I had to look after my parents. I opened the store a few months ago now just for extra cash really now 👍 I hope everything goes well for you & thanks for the videos that have given me loads of ideas for my store to :)
Can’t say it’s come as much of a supprise I remember having a call with you earlier this year and it was clear your heart just wasn’t quite in it any longer, I remember seeing brick seller hub and assuming that was your was of phasing out the store, I’ll be sure to hit you a message try get another call booked in before you pack up, but your doing the right thing looking after your health first mate 👍
Yeah no big surprise, its been coming for at least a year and honestly has always been my plan based on age. Thanks for your support in the past, Look forward to speaking again if you want.
I would be lying if i said i wouldnt have expected this, knowing your age, starting brick seller hub and frankly seeing your interest decline over the last few months. I feel like in the end buying the other store might have overwhelmed you a bit after a while. Just know that for beginning stores like me you did a lot with making videos explaining aspects of the work, and that alone would make me wanna suggest to leave the channel up for those videos. I wont be leaving and am interested to see how a BL store is getting sold. And for all your hard work for the community as a whole i have nothing but respect and many thanks. We appreciated it!
Thanks! This is kind of why I wanted to be transparent about where I am going. The way I have been running things the last year or so is not the ideal way, you have to keep investing. I'm glad the effort and openness is appreciated.
Sad to hear you will be out of the LEGO community for the most part. I have truly enjoyed your videos and watching yout journey. I do wish you the best! Enjoy retirement, I certainly have enjoyed mine.
All, the best for the future Keith, your channel definitely inspired me to build my very large store. Processing all that bulk definitely would have lost your interest as it nearly did me after 3 years of continuous processing. I'll be keeping an eye out when your store gets listed. Good luck.
I do love treasure hunting scrap lego ( luckily as have 1000's Kilos stockpiled) but the monotony of breaking down sets is mindnumbing, I recently purchased 15 Dark Falcons & what a job that was, sure it was kinda exciting all those minifigures & they easily covered the cost of the purchases. I myself am retired due to ill health, & 4 hours solid breaking down sets can play havoc with ya knees & circulation. Top tip guys every hour get up & stretch those legs get a cuppa then crack on, taking those breaks is essential. ( I try to follow my own advice but truthfully get lost in the podcast or audibook im listening to. ) I often ask myself why am I doing this but in truth its still to fund the hobby, not mine really more my fathers, he loves the big technic sets, Im more into epic modulars & flipping them. meanwhile my sales & my healthy pension allows/helps me buy in fresh sets & flip them so the ones we keep are pretty much free, this keeps things interesting. Exciting when I can grab half price or less deals & know im tripling up. Keeps my father happy & me out of trouble. Glad to hear you are improving your health & keeping up the gym, the brick store has kepy you afloat, been an experience & its served its purpose. I wish you well in your retirement & a big thankyou for keeping us entertained for all these years, your tricks & tips have been invaluable. Although its sometime away your channel will be sorely missed im sure. I had an idea about the amount of lego you have ,maybe you could within sales split it into 3 types, Bricks, Technic & minifigs - making the 3 portions more digestible to sell/ affordable wise. I mean shift the lot as one, but its an idea to shift in sections if it sits a while.
Endless sorting can be tiresome and tough on the joints as you have outlined. I'm glad that you're still enjoying the process enough to keep up for the sake of the hobby. As for me, it really stopped being a hobby some time ago and I think its evident from the vlogs that the passion has dwindled. It will be some time before it's all wrapped up so I am not going anywhere immediately but its only a matter of time. I'm glad you have enjoyed the videos and found something of interest from them. Thanks also for the suggestion on breaking down the store for sale. I'll share my thoughts in the video.
Saw this coming a mile off - as the weekly vlogs were getting boring to watch, and would have obvisouly been boring to film and edit too. To be honest I preferred it when you did the hauls on getting sets from deals you had found. You could have taken the cam to the local jaunts and taken us (the viewer) for the day, and filling the boot of the car. This would have got you out the house,, and maybe retained some of your mobility issues. I totally emphasise with the health stuff - as I have been stuck in a desk job for the past 25 years, and now take a proper effort to get away from the screen, and have a proper allocation of time strretching and moving my joints. I don't fear as much about losing my job, and if a manager dosent like me being AFK frequently, then tough! - health and family come first. (after oxygen, of course!) lol
Yeah, no big surprise. As you say, I was plainly aware that the vlogs were boring for me and the viewer. I could have just stopped doing them but lots of folks still seem to enjoy them. Regarding the deal videos, the economics of it all just got too much, which is why I transitioned to used. Ultimatley the Vlog is a secondary part of selling, so had to do what was right from a business and time perspective. Hopefully this will add a slightly different dynamic to the content for a while at least.
Just picked up your parcel this morning, much to my surprise. Many thanks for sending them, its really kind of you. I'll get them added to the store this week all being well. Really appreciate the support.
It will be sad to see you go. I have followed your Bricklink journey the last few years - shortly after I began mine - and I still found it interesting to see your processes and progress. I know you never discuss sales numbers but your comment that 'bricklink could never reach the numbers of my previous salary,' intrigued me for two reasons - i) I've been in the Bricklink (and ebay) business, as a side hustle, for almost three years and my turnover has more than doubled year on year; ii) Your store whilst a decent size does not feature in the Top 50 for sales volume (not value) over six months in the UK - I have tracked that data for a while now. I haven't quite cracked the top 50 either, yet my current 12 month rolling turnover is £37k (BL & ebay). I'm curious to know what you think the ceiling is for a UK seller on Bricklink.
Thanks for following along. Glad to hear you're doing well. As you know, I don't normally talk numbers but can tell you my previous salary was around three figures plus a company car, 15% bonus and a very generous pension. Therefore Bricklink was never going to match it or come anywhere close. Also, peoeple never consider the benefits of emplyment like paid sick, holidays, & pensions. Doubling turnover year on year is great but depends on what those numbers are. To be honest, turnover is pretty meaningless too. It's profit that matters. I'm not clear whether you're still doing this as a side hustle or not, but there is a huge difference in being full time verse still having another job. When your full time every penny of expenditure (mortgage, council tax, utilities, food, spending etc) has to be covered by your income selling. Sometimes this means there is nothing left to invest in the store. This has been the biggest challenge for me. Hard to know what the ceiling is but you can certainly get beyond the VAT threshold but you need to scale to achieve this so depends what you want. I never wanted to be in a commercial property for instance, the convenience of being in my own home was paramount to me. Likewise, I don't want to work day and night. Everybodys needs and situations are different and you have to evaluate based on your own situation and standard of living. Mine was a single income, but if you have a working partner this can help. Hope this is helpful.
@@BrickArena Thanks Keith. That is extremely helpful. My twelve month rolling turnover is currently £37k. Operating out of large spare room and garage so no overheads - with room to maybe triple in size? Current net profit margin is 37% (before taxes). Thats with 150k parts, 9k lots and around 20 hours a week. Looking at Bricklink UK sales cumulatively, I definitely think there is room to >5x those numbers. Its a lot of work, but so is a full time job with hours travel either way. So no different really. Its not a get rich quick scheme. But it provides me with freedom, no boss and agency. Employed work doesn't compare.
Keith you were also one of my inspirations in getting into opening and running a Bricklink store, I can totally understand where you are coming from, Best of luck with the winding down and sale of the Bricklink side of things and I look forward to watching the process and gaining any hints and tips for when it's time for ICKLEBRICKS to wrap things up. Thanks for all you do..... Darren
![Method Writing: The First Four Concepts - Jack Grapes [FULL INTERVIEW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ba9jAVzADY0/mqdefault.jpg)
Congrats on your impending retirement! Your health and your family come first. I’ll be watching until the end.
Thanks for the well wishes and for sticking with me till the end
All the best Keith , has been a Voyage watching you and your store
Thanks Derrick.
I really wish you the best of luck. You have taught me so much and I've really enjoyed your videos and your journey.
Thank you so much!
Just wanted to post my thanks for all the effort and time you put into putting out vlogs each week. I am not a seller or regular commentor but I do enjoy watching various Bricklink store vlogs as it is an interesting business in a hobby I love. Your vlogs were well done and a staple of my viewing rotation. I hope you are able to find a reasonable price for your store and enjoy your upcoming retirement, it is well deserved. Thanks again for your contribution to the hobby, I hope you do leave the channel up as it is documentation of an impressive journey. Best wishes in all future affairs!
Just wanted to add I will definitely follow your journey to the end and I think you bring up a great point about not a lot of people having spent time covering the ending of a store and it will be interesting to see you do that.
Thanks for sticking with me to the end, and thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you have enjoyed the journey.
I remember watching you doing Lego hauls in your old office under the stairs. The videos you did showing off the progress of your house extension. The big Lego hauls in your office. The big purchase of a Lego store to expand Brick Arena. The weekly vlogs showing off what orders big and small customers made. Including spotting orders I made! I’ve really enjoyed watching your channel over the years. Best of luck. 😀
Thanks for being with me for so long. Some good memories for me, and hopefully those who followed along the journey. Still a little way to go.
Hey, I wasn't expecting it, but you seem to have reflected quite a bit on the subject. All good things must come to an end and I'm looking forward to watching the ending saga. Congrats on your future retirement, the fam and health allways comes first, and it's your time to enjoy it. Thank you for letting us take part on your journey! And here's to an epic end of the road!
Ah thanks! Glad you could come along on the journey. Not sure how far the end of the road is just yet, but its in sight.
Keith - Thank you for all that you have done for the Lego & Bricklink community from all the way over here in New Zealand. I got into Bricklink after stumbling across the vlogs and now I have been able to support my daughter's love for Lego! It has encouraged us to post our own content and has been a great source of fun. Enjoy whatever may come and I am sure many more Middlesborough games. If you are ever over our way, please reach out. Coffee on us! Jason (Kiwi Brick Exchange)
Thanks for the kind words. Glad to hear the videos have been of interest and has encouraged you to start your own content. Good luck with it all.
Keith, all the best to you in your retirement. I am slowly (very slowly 😂) building up my store for retirement. I have a ways to go until that day, but my thought is to keep myself busy doing something, and why not do something you enjoy. I do have hobbies, so we’ll see if this actually pans out the way I’m thinking it should. Who knows, I may not want to do it anymore when the time comes. I can say for most viewers that you have helped all of us in one way or another and your time spent doing this is invaluable. You will be missed and I am looking forward to the final journey. Thank you for everything!
Thanks for the kind words. Not 100% sure how I'll fill my time when I wrap this up but it will be a new and interesting phase.
All the best for the future Keith. As the inspiration for my own store opening last year and my education in operating from the beginning I wanted to say thank you for everything, it's been a pleasure to tune in each week and learn and understand how this crazy selling world works. Enjoy the wind-down, the retirement and the future with your family. Thanks and it's been a get ride!
Thanks! And good luck with the store and vlog.
Keith
We will miss your videos a lot! It has been great watching these over the years and you and these were extremely helpful in us setting up our own small store, even kindly responding to our emails when we had a few questions. Thank you and we wish you the very best for the future and for retirement. As others have said we will be watching until the very last vlog! Take care and all the best to you and the family.
Many thanks for the kind words. Glad I’ve been able to help either directly or via my videos.
"I'm not only the Brick Seller Hub President, I'm also a client!" GREAT MARKETING MOVE!!!!
Haha - I love it when a plan comes together.
Thanks for the fun times. Loved watching your blogs. You will truly be missed. Cheers on your retirement.
Thanks so much! - Glad you enjoyed them. You've still got me for a little while yet
Sad to hear this, but fully understandable. I have been watching all your videos since the beginning, it was very interesting to see the full journey and really wish to see how the exit goes. Thank you for all the information you shared, it was a huge help. Greetings from Hungary Best Regards George
Many thanks George. Hopefully it will be interesting to see how this ends.
Really enjoyed watching your videos each week having first started when you were laying the foundations of your Lego room. Good luck with the sale and the retirement when it comes, I’ll have to get another bricklink order from you soon.
Thanks for following along with the journey. Be sure to stick around until the end.
Thanks for all the content & it was a pleasure to follow you along on your BL journey.
You have been one of my inspirations into setting up a store & I have now been full-time for 2 years.
Gotta say that it is a tough market nowadays & I see more and more people thinking about letting go.
Have to admit Brexit really messed up what UK stores are capable of on BL :/
Thanks for the kind words. I agree its not what it used to be. Brexit and too much competition (possibly some of my own doing). But ultimately, this was always the plan and its served its purpose.
Thanks for everything, living to enjoy life & be healthy is very important, all the best with the sale of the store
Thanks a lot!!
Wishing you nothing but the best! Completely understand prioritizing health and family above everything else.
Thanks!
Best wishes Keith, thanks for all the useful tips through your channel. I’ll treasure the Yoda Clock and catalogue I bought off you recently 😊
Thank you and many thanks for your support and purchase.
Great journey. Enjoyed following for years. Onwards n upwards Keith.
Thanks! I'll still be hear for a little while :)
Wishing you all the best! I have learned a lot from watching your channel and will continue to watch until you sign off! What a wonderful achievement, paying off your mortgage and planning for a wonderful retirement with your family.
Thanks for watching and sticking with me until the end.
I’m sad to see you going, you’ve been my inspiration since I started selling on Bricklink 4 years ago, your videos etc have helped me get to where I am today with my own store. I had noticed in a few of your recent Vlogs you were as passionate as you had been but didn’t see this coming. Thank you for all your help and support from all the Lego community.
Always sad when things come to an end but I think many saw this coming and I just don't have the passion for it right now.
You're a legend and inspired many. Now it's Keith time and slow down on the lego. I'll carry on watching, loved watching my orders for my MOCs appear on your channel. Enjoy your holiday
Thanks! Had a great break. Thanks for sticking with me till the end.
@@BrickArena Not the end.... Its the beginning. But keep a couple of lego sets to build that make you happy 😊
Hi you were one of the earliest vloggers I watched when i decided to sell on Bricklink. Your videos i will certainly miss. At the end of the day its your decision and retirement is looming for you. I will continue watching until your last one , have the best last few months or weeks whatever it will be , Thank you Keith
Thanks for the kind words and continued support. It will likely take some months to sort out and sell the store and if it doesn't sell it could go longer, but wanted to be transparent about why there isn't more exciting content and part out etc. The clock is ticking.
Keith, it won't be the same without you! You were the staple vlog at breakfast every Monday morning before the kids got up. As a Bricklinker myself, I know how you feel, but at some point, you have to put your feet up, you've earned it. If you've still got a load of the bulk in the container, I'll drop you a line. Go enjoy the new found time.
Thanks! Its' going to take some time to sort things out and sell the store so I'll still be here for a little while to come.
Best of luck Keith. Seems like you have given this decision plenty of thought and I doubt anyone would say prioritising health and family is not the right thing to do.
Yeah, given it lots of thought over the last year and its really always come down to being financially feasible. Paying mortgage off last month was a big step. Still some work ahead but the ends in sight.
Best of luck with retirement Keith, you’ll be missed. I’ll keep an eye out on what you’re selling! Thank you for the channel, it’s really helped me start of my store.
Thanks! Keep watching for progress as I get organised to sell.
Ahh wow Keith, I feel so many emotions from this update. You've clearly had so many weighted decisions on your shoulders and I can only imagine how stressful and emotional it's been for you. It will be a shame to lose such a great member of the bricklink community and someone who's vlogs I have religiously watched for years now. But on the other hand, I am so very happy for you. It's really great to see your plans for retirement come to fruition and you are such a genuine and kind hearted person that you massively deserve it. You have inspired so many people, including myself, to start a bricklink store and given so much knowledge and entertainment freely to benefit lego fans around the world. So even though thank you doesn't hold the power of the true gratitude I and i'm sure so many others feel towards you, I will say it anyway. Thank you for everything you have done and given to us and I look forward to all of the remaining vlogs yet to come and watching you achieve your well earned retirement.
Ahh thanks for the kind words. It's always been the plan to get out in good time to enjoy retirement. However, as you say its still difficult and I'll really miss the community. Just glad that people have enjoyed the content and found it useful. I'll still be around for a while until I can get thins sorted and sold but the end is in sight.
I’ll definitely continue watching, especially now as you’re entering a new phase. You’re absolutely right that nobody ever talks about an exit strategy, so this will be very interesting. One question: what do you think about the idea of continuing selling (but not buying) at ever reduced prices in order empty the store gradually?
Thanks for sticking with me until the end. - With regard your question, it is a strategy I have considered. The downsides are a: the time it will take to sell. b: You will never truly sell everything so you will still have to sell what is left. c: You still have the effort of picking (which is potentially means more work). The only positive I see is possibly getting a slightly increased return versus it all being gone from one day to the next.
Best wishes. It’s better to get out while you’re ahead. You don’t want to wait until you’re forced due to health reasons. Focus on family and health and all else will fall into place. Hopefully. 🙏
Thanks! Totally agree.
Nooooooo!! lol.. I only just found your channel this year and I’ve found your Bricklink journey so interesting. I’d be sad to see you go but it’s sounds like retirement will be well earned. Will def watch right up til the end and perhaps it’ll give me the opportunity to go back and your journey from the stsrt. Thank you, congratulations and good luck!!
Thanks for the comment. Sorry it's been short-lived for you, but there's plenty of back catalogue to watch and I'll be around a while yet.
Sad to see you are finishing up but glad you are getting to retire. Have enjoyed many many episodes over the years. All the best in the future
Thanks! There will no doubt be a good few weeks to get things in place and go but wanted to let you all know the end is in sight.
Hi Keith, as I am loading parts into BL I am watching your vlog, it is a shock but a very understandable decision, Hopefully you can beat the average lifetime of your family but I understand you want to enjoy the time with your family instead of Lego time, maybe a smaller store with only figures is an option? Keep the vlogs going for as long as you have the energy, I really like watching them, thank you for all your time and I will see you for now in the vlogs.
Thanks! I'll keep the videos coming as long as I can :)
Watched you from the early days when you were buying LEGO when I used post LEGO videos on Little Posties! Hope you are enjoying your break Keith and hopefully you will enjoy your retirement. If you struggle for interest due to the size of the store let me know but I am sure someone in the network will take it off your hands!
Thanks for watching and for your interest. Keep watching for store sale progress.
I'm not surprised about you wanting to enjoy some retirement and actually enjoy life fully. However, I am really looking forward to the change of pace on the blog and following the process of closing a business, that you very rightly say is not spoken about enough.
I suspect its not a big surprise to many. Thanks for the kind words.
Thanks for all the great content and knowledge shared over the years. I have often wondered how people plan to exit Bricklink, especially those who build up stores to run in retirement. Best wishes for a long and happy retirement. Will you get back into building Lego?
Thanks for the good wishes. I have no plans to do anything further with Lego :) As Monty Python would say "And now for something completely different"
I'll miss your Sunday video
:( (I watch them all the time. Sorry I haven't commented for ages tho like you things have changed in my life & I'm trying to work out what is next for me) I did have my BrickLink store closed for about 2 years because I had to look after my parents. I opened the store a few months ago now just for extra cash really now 👍 I hope everything goes well for you & thanks for the videos that have given me loads of ideas for my store to :)
Thanks Carl, I know you've been there from very near the start. Good luck with the store and whatever is in store for you in the future.
@@BrickArena Thanks ;) I'll watch till the end :( (feels sad saying that) But we had fun times(especially the storage(container) lock-up times) :D ;)
It's very sad but I understand why you decided to sell it. Good luck and thanks for your previous vlogs
Thanks for watching!
Be a shame to see you go. But will continue to watch till the end.
Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Can’t say it’s come as much of a supprise I remember having a call with you earlier this year and it was clear your heart just wasn’t quite in it any longer, I remember seeing brick seller hub and assuming that was your was of phasing out the store, I’ll be sure to hit you a message try get another call booked in before you pack up, but your doing the right thing looking after your health first mate 👍
Yeah no big surprise, its been coming for at least a year and honestly has always been my plan based on age. Thanks for your support in the past, Look forward to speaking again if you want.
Sad to see you go keith, wish you all the best for the future, enjoy your retirement pal,
Still a little while to go while I sort things out so hang in there with me, but yeah the end is closing in.
@@BrickArenaI'll keep watching 🙂
You were the one that got me motivated to start my own brick link store and to see you go very sad
Glad I have been interesting to watch, I'll prob be here for a little while, but wanted to be transparent about whats to come.
I would be lying if i said i wouldnt have expected this, knowing your age, starting brick seller hub and frankly seeing your interest decline over the last few months. I feel like in the end buying the other store might have overwhelmed you a bit after a while. Just know that for beginning stores like me you did a lot with making videos explaining aspects of the work, and that alone would make me wanna suggest to leave the channel up for those videos. I wont be leaving and am interested to see how a BL store is getting sold. And for all your hard work for the community as a whole i have nothing but respect and many thanks. We appreciated it!
Thanks! This is kind of why I wanted to be transparent about where I am going. The way I have been running things the last year or so is not the ideal way, you have to keep investing. I'm glad the effort and openness is appreciated.
Sad to hear you will be out of the LEGO community for the most part. I have truly enjoyed your videos and watching yout journey. I do wish you the best! Enjoy retirement, I certainly have enjoyed mine.
Thanks! I will miss it when its all over I'm sure, but time to move on I think.
All, the best for the future Keith, your channel definitely inspired me to build my very large store. Processing all that bulk definitely would have lost your interest as it nearly did me after 3 years of continuous processing. I'll be keeping an eye out when your store gets listed. Good luck.
Thanks! As you know it certainly is a grind day in, day out.
I do love treasure hunting scrap lego ( luckily as have 1000's Kilos stockpiled) but the monotony of breaking down sets is mindnumbing, I recently purchased 15 Dark Falcons & what a job that was, sure it was kinda exciting all those minifigures & they easily covered the cost of the purchases. I myself am retired due to ill health, & 4 hours solid breaking down sets can play havoc with ya knees & circulation. Top tip guys every hour get up & stretch those legs get a cuppa then crack on, taking those breaks is essential. ( I try to follow my own advice but truthfully get lost in the podcast or audibook im listening to. )
I often ask myself why am I doing this but in truth its still to fund the hobby, not mine really more my fathers, he loves the big technic sets, Im more into epic modulars & flipping them. meanwhile my sales & my healthy pension allows/helps me buy in fresh sets & flip them so the ones we keep are pretty much free, this keeps things interesting. Exciting when I can grab half price or less deals & know im tripling up. Keeps my father happy & me out of trouble.
Glad to hear you are improving your health & keeping up the gym, the brick store has kepy you afloat, been an experience & its served its purpose. I wish you well in your retirement & a big thankyou for keeping us entertained for all these years, your tricks & tips have been invaluable. Although its sometime away your channel will be sorely missed im sure.
I had an idea about the amount of lego you have ,maybe you could within sales split it into 3 types, Bricks, Technic & minifigs - making the 3 portions more digestible to sell/ affordable wise. I mean shift the lot as one, but its an idea to shift in sections if it sits a while.
Endless sorting can be tiresome and tough on the joints as you have outlined. I'm glad that you're still enjoying the process enough to keep up for the sake of the hobby. As for me, it really stopped being a hobby some time ago and I think its evident from the vlogs that the passion has dwindled. It will be some time before it's all wrapped up so I am not going anywhere immediately but its only a matter of time.
I'm glad you have enjoyed the videos and found something of interest from them. Thanks also for the suggestion on breaking down the store for sale. I'll share my thoughts in the video.
Saw this coming a mile off - as the weekly vlogs were getting boring to watch, and would have obvisouly been boring to film and edit too.
To be honest I preferred it when you did the hauls on getting sets from deals you had found. You could have taken the cam to the local jaunts and taken us (the viewer) for the day, and filling the boot of the car. This would have got you out the house,, and maybe retained some of your mobility issues. I totally emphasise with the health stuff - as I have been stuck in a desk job for the past 25 years, and now take a proper effort to get away from the screen, and have a proper allocation of time strretching and moving my joints. I don't fear as much about losing my job, and if a manager dosent like me being AFK frequently, then tough! - health and family come first. (after oxygen, of course!) lol
Yeah, no big surprise. As you say, I was plainly aware that the vlogs were boring for me and the viewer. I could have just stopped doing them but lots of folks still seem to enjoy them.
Regarding the deal videos, the economics of it all just got too much, which is why I transitioned to used. Ultimatley the Vlog is a secondary part of selling, so had to do what was right from a business and time perspective. Hopefully this will add a slightly different dynamic to the content for a while at least.
Just picked up your parcel this morning, much to my surprise. Many thanks for sending them, its really kind of you. I'll get them added to the store this week all being well. Really appreciate the support.
It will be sad to see you go. I have followed your Bricklink journey the last few years - shortly after I began mine - and I still found it interesting to see your processes and progress. I know you never discuss sales numbers but your comment that 'bricklink could never reach the numbers of my previous salary,' intrigued me for two reasons - i) I've been in the Bricklink (and ebay) business, as a side hustle, for almost three years and my turnover has more than doubled year on year; ii) Your store whilst a decent size does not feature in the Top 50 for sales volume (not value) over six months in the UK - I have tracked that data for a while now. I haven't quite cracked the top 50 either, yet my current 12 month rolling turnover is £37k (BL & ebay). I'm curious to know what you think the ceiling is for a UK seller on Bricklink.
Thanks for following along. Glad to hear you're doing well. As you know, I don't normally talk numbers but can tell you my previous salary was around three figures plus a company car, 15% bonus and a very generous pension. Therefore Bricklink was never going to match it or come anywhere close. Also, peoeple never consider the benefits of emplyment like paid sick, holidays, & pensions.
Doubling turnover year on year is great but depends on what those numbers are. To be honest, turnover is pretty meaningless too. It's profit that matters. I'm not clear whether you're still doing this as a side hustle or not, but there is a huge difference in being full time verse still having another job. When your full time every penny of expenditure (mortgage, council tax, utilities, food, spending etc) has to be covered by your income selling. Sometimes this means there is nothing left to invest in the store. This has been the biggest challenge for me. Hard to know what the ceiling is but you can certainly get beyond the VAT threshold but you need to scale to achieve this so depends what you want. I never wanted to be in a commercial property for instance, the convenience of being in my own home was paramount to me. Likewise, I don't want to work day and night. Everybodys needs and situations are different and you have to evaluate based on your own situation and standard of living. Mine was a single income, but if you have a working partner this can help. Hope this is helpful.
@@BrickArena Thanks Keith. That is extremely helpful. My twelve month rolling turnover is currently £37k. Operating out of large spare room and garage so no overheads - with room to maybe triple in size? Current net profit margin is 37% (before taxes). Thats with 150k parts, 9k lots and around 20 hours a week. Looking at Bricklink UK sales cumulatively, I definitely think there is room to >5x those numbers. Its a lot of work, but so is a full time job with hours travel either way. So no different really. Its not a get rich quick scheme. But it provides me with freedom, no boss and agency. Employed work doesn't compare.
NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Sorry Buddy, time to move on.
Keith you were also one of my inspirations in getting into opening and running a Bricklink store, I can totally understand where you are coming from, Best of luck with the winding down and sale of the Bricklink side of things and I look forward to watching the process and gaining any hints and tips for when it's time for ICKLEBRICKS to wrap things up. Thanks for all you do..... Darren