BrickLink

BrickLink
The current logo of BrickLink features all of the letters colored black, with a Lego brick contained in part of the letter "L"
Current logo
A screenshot of the website BrickLink, taken in October 2026. The screenshot shows the front page of the website, which includes a search bar, links to other parts of the website, such as the marketplace, and different Lego items to browse.
Screenshot of BrickLink's homepage in October 2026
Former nameBrickBay (2000–2002)
FoundedDan Jezek
Headquarters
Irvine, California, United States
Owners
  • Dan Jezek (2000–2010)
  • Eliska Jezek (2010–2013)
  • NXVM (2013–2019)
  • The Lego Group (2019–present)
Websitewww.bricklink.com
Launched19 June 2000

BrickLink is an online marketplace owned by the Lego Group, who acquired it in 2019. The website was originally founded under the name BrickBay by Dan Jezek in 2000; however, the name was changed several years later after a dispute with eBay.

After Jezek's death in 2010, the website was sold to NXVM, a company owned by businessman Kim Jung-ju. The website was later purchased by the Lego Group in 2019.

Aside from website's marketplace, the company manages several other ventures, including a digital building software known as BrickLink Studio and a crowdfunding program for designers.

Overview

Described as the "world’s largest online community of [Lego] fans", users on BrickLink are able to buy and sell used Lego products such as parts and sets, in a fashion similar to eBay or Facebook. The website also features an extensive database containing information on every single Lego part ever produced, tools to calculate average and combined prices of items, and a community discussion forum.

By the time of the BrickLink's acquisition in 2019, it was noted to be home to over 10,000 different sellers in over 70 different countries and as of 2025, it is home to over one million users. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California.

History

BrickLink was founded on 19 June 2000 by Dan Jezek, under the name BrickBay. Jezek, who was born in Prague in the modern day Czech Republic, had moved to United States in 1990 after his father, a well-known mathematician, was employed at University of Hawaii. After graduating high school, he began to sell portions of his old Lego collection as a side hustle, while also gaining experience in web design, which gave him the idea to start a website similar to eBay for other people reselling Lego products. When it was first started, the website only hosted around a dozen stores.

The website's name, however, led to a dispute with eBay. To avoid legal action (as had happened to another website), BrickBay agreed to change their name, and, in February 2002, the website was renamed to BrickLink. According to Jezek's mother Eliska, the new name referred to the "links" community members found to one another through the website.

Jezek continued the manage the website as it grew in popularity over the next decade. However, in September 2010, he died unexpectedly. As a result, Eliska took over as CEO. In 2013, the website was sold to NXVM, a business operated by South Korean entrepreneur Kim Jung-ju, the owner of gaming company Nexon.

In November 2019, it was announced that BrickLink would be acquired by the Lego Group for an undisclosed sum. Despite some positive opinions, the decision to officially purchase the website also led to backlash from fans, with many believing it was an attempt by the company to "muscle in" on the community and that prices on items would be increased. Defending themselves from such claims, the Lego Group stated their decision to purchase BrickLink was about helping to strengthen ties with the fan community, not going against it, and that despite being a subsidiary, BrickLink would still continue to operate independently from their headquarters in the United States.

Projects

Integrated into the website's platform is BrickLink Studio, a downloadable software first released in 2016 which allows users to virtually design Lego creations. The software was developed by a group of software engineers hired to maintain BrickLink after it was first sold in 2013 to help supplement the website's vast catalogue of parts. This was similar to the Lego Group's own computer-aided design software, Lego Digital Designer. Users on BrickLink are able to browse a public gallery of creations made using it, and can even buy parts to build them in real life. In 2022, BrickLink Studio replaced Lego Digital Designer as the company's official building software.

Although BrickLink did not become a subsidiary of the Lego Group until November 2019, this was not their first collaboration. In 2018, the Lego Group partnered with BrickLink to start the AFOL Designer Program, where sixteen finalist designs created by fans using BrickLink Studio were chosen and then produced in limited quantities through crowdfunding.

In 2021, the company launched a new program, known as the BrickLink Designer Program, this time producing previously rejected Lego Ideas submissions in limited numbers. In January 2023, a new version of the program was created, this time overhauled to allow submissions from all users. As part of the program, five designs are selected, which are then voted on users and later sold for a limited time on the BrickLink website.

Security

In 2022, security analysts working for Salt Labs published a report revealing they had found multiple vulnerabilities in the website's API that could allow hackers to compromise accounts as well as access internal data. This included a cross-site scripting vulnerability which could allow users to insert malicious code into the webpage, as well as a possible way to execute XML external entity and server-side request forgery attacks on a page where users could create inventory lists. After Salt Labs informed BrickLink, the vulnerabilities were fixed.

On 3 November 2023, the website went temporarily offline after the company received an unspecified security threat, which included a ransom demand. While no evidence of an internal data breach was found, the company believed a small number of accounts had been compromised through credential stuffing. Servers were restored soon after after, with users being advised to change their passwords.

In November 2026, the website was taken offline again due to "unusual activity".

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The information in it was originally sourced from earlier databases ran by Lego fans including LDraw.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Wood, Zoe (20 December 2019). "Lego accused of muscling in on fans after BrickLink takeover". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  2. Champkins, Mark; Bocken, Nancy (20 July 2025). "Stimulating circulation in the circular economy: A case study of value generation for a resale platform for LEGO bricks". Journal of Cleaner Production. 516 145505. Bibcode:2025JCPro.51645505C. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145505. ISSN 0959-6526.
    1. 1 2 3 4 4
    2. ↑ 5
  3. ↑ Bartneck, Christoph; Ser, Qi Min; Moltchanova, Elena; Smithies, James; Harrington, Erin (20 May 2016). "Have LEGO Products Become More Violent?". PLOS ONE. 11 (5) e0155401. Public Library of Science. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1155401B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155401. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4874545. PMID 27203424.
  4. ↑ Bartneck, Christoph; Moltchanova, Elena (2 January 2018). "LEGO products have become more complex". PLOS ONE. 13 (1) e0190651. Public Library of Science. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1390651B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190651. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5749839. PMID 29293655.
  5. 1 2 "Nexon founder sells BrickLink to LEGO in streamlining move after botched gaming deal". Pulse. Maeil Business Newspaper. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  6. Crecente, Brian; Vincent, Ethan (31 January 2022). "The Rise of BrickLink" (PDF). Bits N' Bricks (Podcast). The Lego Group.
    1. ↑ 15-16
    2. ↑ 17
    3. ↑ 17-18
    4. ↑ 18
    5. ↑ 21-22
    6. ↑ 23-24
    7. ↑ 23
  7. 1 2 Beretta, Michela; Dahlander, Linus; Frederiksen, Lars; Thomas, Arne (12 September 2023). "Lego Takes Customers' Innovations Further". MIT Sloan Management Review. 65 (1).
  8. ↑ Wingfield, Nick (20 February 2002). "EBay Settles Site Name Disputes With BidBay.com, BrickBay.com". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  9. ↑ "BidBay settles eBay trademark lawsuit". CNET. 21 February 2002. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 Grant, Katie (29 November 2019). "Lego Group acquires world's largest online marketplace for adult fans of Lego". The i Paper. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  11. ↑ Herkewitz, William (March 2020). "This 44-Pound Star Destroyer Is Leading a Lego Revolution". Popular Mechanics. ProQuest 2387852810.
  12. ↑ Hollister, Sean (10 November 2021). "Lego is now letting you preorder unofficial sets, including an epic Lego store". The Verge. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  13. ↑ Hollister, Sean (5 January 2023). "Lego will let you — yes, you — compete to design a limited-edition Lego set". The Verge. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  14. ↑ Hollister, Sean (8 May 2023). "See the first five Lego sets designed in a competition anyone can enter". The Verge. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  15. ↑ Marcelline, Marco (18 December 2022). "Bugs in Lego Resale Site Allowed Hackers to Hijack Accounts". PCMAG. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  16. ↑ Boyd, Christopher (21 December 2022). "Lego's Bricklink steps on cross site scripting blocks". Malwarebytes. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  17. ↑ Shakir, Umar (8 November 2023). "Popular Lego marketplace went offline after a "ransom" demand". The Verge. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  18. ↑ Fadilpašić, Sead (9 November 2023). "Lego fans told to change their passwords right now following serious cyberattack". TechRadar. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  19. ↑ Kleinman, Zoe (11 November 2026). "Lego marketplace BrickLink offline after 'unusual activity' detected". BBC. Retrieved 12 November 2026.
  20. ↑ Liszewski, Andrew (12 November 2026). "Lego's BrickLink marketplace has been offline for a week following 'unusual activity'". The Verge. Retrieved 12 November 2026.