Introducing Brick Search Plus – a new minifigure scanner and more

A monthly subscription? I can't see this working out well.

Yeah a subscription is pushing it for sure, especially when the scanner is a lot slower than some of the other apps on the market. I gave up with it as it took too long, I found omgbricks much quicker.

I think I'll just keep buying them on eBay at a modest markup. If I'm paying money, I'd rather just get them posted to me directly.

"moved to a subscription model"
Thank you for letting us know. I have just uninstalled from my phone.

I just don't understand why they think there's a need for this app, certainly with a subscription.

Granted, I never used this app myself so maybe I'm missing things, but from the description and website it seems like it's mostly just yet another Lego database browser (probably using some existing database api anyway like Brickset or Rebrickable). Like, why would I track my collection in that app instead of just on e.g. Brickset which syncs and exports with everything anyway? And then it has a barcode scanner tacked on, which is nice but nothing revolutionary in the slightest.

Ridiculous greed. Have uninstalled and will now use omgbricks.

Here's a wild idea, maybe implement the innovative ideas first (which basically sound like Brickset catalogue) and THEN ask for a subscription?
Barebones android app and a basic template website, asking for money with such low effort product is ridicolous.

The app was always much too slow for me. If I wasn't already using a different app, the subscription model would definitely be chasing me to it now. Perhaps if the service was the only one out there, and was very efficient, maybe then I could be tempted, but as it stands this seems like a flawed concept.

I also echo what other users have said - there are other, better, existing sites to track your collection on, many of which can already share their databases in helpful ways.

Just use the web based one on JaysBrickBlog since it's free and there's no need to download and install anything.

"Billed as the Best Ever Minifigure Scanner"
Here in NL we have a saying for this, "We from WC-duck recommend WC-duck".

I don't really see why I would need an app for my collection when I've already got Brickset. Minifig scanning? I've been using omgbricks's scanner for that, which works just fine.

I'm gonna start ripping up boxes just because of this news release.

A subscription for this app is a silly business move. I expect way more in an app if I am paying for it!

I suspect this is aimed at high-end people who don't really consider these "small subscription fees" to be real money. Personally, I prefer to do a small amount of extra work (using a generic code scanner plus a list of known numbers, or one of the other solutions mentioned here) if it means saving some money. It's nice that it needs no Internet connection, though--my local Target has zero cell service (hence my solution of comparing against a list).

I’ll add my name to those uninstalling this app! Personally I’ve been using Minifig Scan and omgbricks as found them much more convenient. Especially Minifig Scan as it already allows you to scan multiple boxes at a time - when searching for specific DnD figures in the latest CMFs I was able to scan 4 boxes at a time easily.

BrickSearch logic be like:
'The number of ripped open boxes decreased when our scanner was introduced, therefore it is our scanner and purely our scanner which is responsible for this'

@Lamarider:
'The number of ripped open boxes in Sweden increased since our subscription plan was announced'

@vissitor I used to use that one until I found the app called 'Minifig Scan' which has identified every minifig I've held up to it almost instantly, and you can scan multiple minifigs simultaneously.

RIP Brick Search. January 2024 - January 2025.

Seriously, when 99% of the traffic it got was for people scanning mini-figures, and theres still 100% free apps out there that do the exact same job, charging people WILL completely kill it.

Also: "Brickset is not affiliated with the app". Yet aren't you best friends with Rob who created and owns it @Huw?

@MisterBrickster said:
"I think I'll just keep buying them on eBay at a modest markup. If I'm paying money, I'd rather just get them posted to me directly."

You can get a full series on eBay for usually between £40 - £45. Given that buying them individually at £3.50 each would come to £42, its a great way to cut out the hassle and get them conveniently sent to you.

Bricksearch has a convenient countdown function that starts at 12, one for each ‘free’ scan of a minifigure data matrix. Once it reaches 0, i.e. you have no scans left, that’s your cue to delete the app.

Looking at the figure the scanner has been improved.
I used the app when it was free and the scanner was quite uncomfortable, very slow sometimes and quite tricky.
This upgrade aligns their scanner to the competitor's ones but it is not enough for a subscription.

Frankly I think that the main error when they switch to a subscription business model was to cut off features that was available with the free version.
One of the basic rules when you leave a completely free approach is to maintain all the previous features and add new interesting features for the premium version.
This avoid the haemorrhage of users maintaining a solid base. With a solid base it is easier to offer premium features a user could be interested in.

Echoing what others have said,
This app provided a useful feature in the scanning, everything else to the app was tacked on useless bloat.

The scanning can be done elsewhere even with just a qr code reader and lookup table, the convenience of cutting out manual lookup is not worth a monthly fee, especially since there aren't new minifigs every month.

And there are other apps that do the same thing. Making this decision seem even more ludicrous.

This move seems like greed and will just kill their app.

I mean – I would pay a one-off £4 or even £5 for an app.

Subscription? No, thank you.

@Zander said:
"Bricksearch has a convenient countdown function that starts at 12, one for each ‘free’ scan of a minifigure data matrix. Once it reaches 0, i.e. you have no scans left, that’s your cue to delete the app."

Or you could just delete the app-data and it worked again. Yes a bit time consuming, therefore I'm grateful for this article, where I could find great alternatives in the comments ;)

@enamic5 said:
"I mean – I would pay a one-off £4 or even £5 for an app.

Subscription? No, thank you."

Agreed completely. $3 once would be reasonable, $3 every time a new series of CMFs is released absolutely isn't, and $3 for a month without CMFs if you forget to unsubscribe is just pointless.

Absolutely not. Also, FWIW, Falcon Bricks was a superior box scanner. Will not be using this.

Also, what's with all the puffed up wording in this press release? "Revolutionary", "best-ever", "innovative", blah blah. It's a scanner app for crying out loud.

Personally, I don't see the rationale for a subscription when one only buys a handful of minifigs each quarter or year: Historically I've bought about 5 per year and this year 12, which means a subscription like this would increase my cost per figure by 80%...

It is just much easier to buy them on Bricklink from one of my favorite stores at a small markup.

@GrizBe said:
""Brickset is not affiliated with the app". Yet aren't you best friends with Rob who created and owns it @Huw?"

That's not Brickset as a company then, it's Huw as a person

Lol, just use omgbricks. Takes some balls to make a decision like that when there are better, free options out there.

I am not sure what this article is trying to achieve, but it is certainly not bringing more customers!
Just deleted the app.

FYI, Tiro Media, who own BrickSearch also own the BrickFanatics website. This is the only LEGO related website that I actively stopped consulting, because it is full of bloat, ads and other stuff that make the website incredibly slow. And it is one of those websites that complain when you dare to use an adblocker.

Not entirely surprising that a company owning such a website is trying to do what they do with Bricksearch.

@raygunn said:
""moved to a subscription model"
Thank you for letting us know. I have just uninstalled from my phone."

Agreed. Uninstalled.

BTW I'm a HUGE fan of your breakdancing skills!! ;)

@MrBedhead said:
"FYI, Tiro Media, who own BrickSearch also own the BrickFanatics website. This is the only LEGO related website that I actively stopped consulting, because it is full of bloat, ads and other stuff that make the website incredibly slow. And it is one of those websites that complain when you dare to use an adblocker.

Not entirely surprising that a company owning such a website is trying to do what they do with Bricksearch."

Indeed. I prefer to refer to them as AdFanatics.

I do like to visit them on occasion in order to maintain the dexterity of my ad-delete tapping finger. It's quite the workout!

App deleted,

2 mentioned alternatives noted.

@MrBedhead said:
"FYI, Tiro Media, who own BrickSearch also own the BrickFanatics website. This is the only LEGO related website that I actively stopped consulting, because it is full of bloat, ads and other stuff that make the website incredibly slow. And it is one of those websites that complain when you dare to use an adblocker.

Not entirely surprising that a company owning such a website is trying to do what they do with Bricksearch."

It's honestly a shame that the site has ended up like that, it used to be my only way of hearing about leaks, and they were one of the few sites actively reporting on magazine gifts.

@Spike730 said:
"Speaking of minifigs. Is there an app or site where I can determine If I already own a minifig with the same torso print? I own so many loose ones that the set inventories at Bricklink aren't as useful anymore."

Not a definitive answer, but Google lens has helped me out in the past.

I was never able to use the function for minifigs. So certainly not going to pay for non functionality. And certainly object to "best ever." What hyperbole! Is the founder orange faced?

I use omgbricks instead.

Also pie on the face of those arguing last week that since they weren't being asked for a monthly subscription that it meant everyone else was a lying liar face.

Pie in your face.

“Billed as the Best Ever Minifigure Scanner”. You got that right. Nice pun.

Tiro Media's offerings (Brick Fanatics and this Brick Search app) are plainly targeted towards casual LEGO fans, not the more hard core "in the know" crowd here, where so many of us know about the free - and in fact better - options out there for scanning Minifigure codes (and reading LEGO news without the clickbait spin).

It's pretty yucky, though not at all surprising, that someone is going to try and profit off of people's desire to know what's inside a product that's already designed to profit off of light gambling. I hope LEGO buyers at large find their way to the likes of omgbricks or Jay's non-app version rather than fall for this.

@b2_O said:
" @MrBedhead said:
"FYI, Tiro Media, who own BrickSearch also own the BrickFanatics website. This is the only LEGO related website that I actively stopped consulting, because it is full of bloat, ads and other stuff that make the website incredibly slow. And it is one of those websites that complain when you dare to use an adblocker.

Not entirely surprising that a company owning such a website is trying to do what they do with Bricksearch."

It's honestly a shame that the site has ended up like that, it used to be my only way of hearing about leaks, and they were one of the few sites actively reporting on magazine gifts."

From @Huw on February 21, 2022:

“It's fine to link to BrickFanatics, as it is a recognised fan media site that does not publish leaks, and while they do write a lot of speculative rubbish and click-bait content they do, as you say, occasionally publish something of interest, even if it is hard to find and read.”

It was funny then, and it’s funny now.

Bricksearch was slow on the rare occasions that it did work for us. To have any chance of a good take up they would need to charge quarterly coinciding with CMF releases and charge maybe £2 max. BUT they would need to make the app work well BEFORE they ask for money not after. I've installed Minifig Scan thanks.

I don't collect CMFs so I've never used any of the apps, but I am highly entertained by the comments.

Uninstalled - wonder how quickly they'll see the numbers decline?

Does whoever wrote that press release even believe that rubbish? I would say any resolution to the ripped boxes for the first couple of boxed series might just be the printing of scannable codes on the boxes, not the development of a scanning app.

I do wonder, because they’ve obviously developed some extremely exaggerated idea of their importance. Personally I’m glad it’s come to this as the other useless functions in the app already detracted from it’s usefulness.

the only lego website I would ever pay a subscription for is brickset

And that is it for me as well. I am not going to pay for an App when there are Free Apps working even better than Brick Search (Plus). Just deleted Brick Search

I'm out, thanks for the g?o?o?d? times, bricksearch. You have been deleted.

Never used it, never will. Jay's Brick Blog scanner was good enough for me, and there's nothing to install.

$2.99/month is enough to pay for another seven minifigs per year.

And it takes gall to imply that there's 70% less box-tearing because of one's app. All they really said was that some people in their specified audience thought that there wasn't as much box-tearing. If anything, 7 out of 10 might have thought there was a little less tearing. So even a 20% decrease in vandalism, due to all factors - including other methods and even more vigilant store staff - could technically validate their claim. (That reminds me of the breakfast cereal claim along the lines that one bowl meant you were "good to go all morning," when all their study said was that more than half of their audience was not more hungry 4 hours later. Well of course you're hungriest when you first wake up, and that means 40% still were hungrier. And my morning often takes more than 4 hours between breakfast and lunch. Technically true, but not everything they would imply.)

So the update gives BrickSearch some of the features other apps have but charges for them even though the other apps that already have those features are free? Removed.

If you try posting anything less than a glowing review of BrickSearch (which, notably, there are none) in BrickFanatics' comment section, don't expect your remarks to make it past moderation.

Reads like an ad, not an article. I don't mind stuff like that on here, but at least don't just copy and paste the press-release, especially when it's as hyperbolic as this one.
As others have said, this looks like a bad move given the better, free options available. Thanks to this announcement, I've deleted the BrickSearch app and downloaded a couple of the still free ones to try.

No. Uninstalled. Minifig Scan it is now...

"All the money you save, by buying rando CMFs you do not, GIVE IT TO US"

I use the “Minifig Scan” app on iOS and don’t pay a thing. It has scanned the correct minifig each time I’ve used it.

@C_O_Patra said:
"Tiro Media's offerings (Brick Fanatics and this Brick Search app) are plainly targeted towards casual LEGO fans, not the more hard core "in the know" crowd here, where so many of us know about the free - and in fact better - options out there for scanning Minifigure codes (and reading LEGO news without the clickbait spin)."

That's not how I took this--I took this to be aimed at the "whales" of our fandom, who don't consider money and will likely assume that the best experience is the one charging money for it. I'm not sure what "casuals" do. Probably ask us (their friend/relative who "hey, you're into Legos [sic], right?...") how they can get a particular minifig.

I use OMGbricks. It also lets you scan multiple at once, and the creator has gone on record saying he will never charge for access to it.

Removing the app from my phone now.

When I first saw your post I thought that I should download the Brick Search app, after all I have thousands of minifigures, all loose, all purchased without their original packaging. Then I realised that it only scans barcodes, not the minifigures themselves. So. it's of no use to me, so I won't be downloading it. But I will continue using Brickset's recording system, so thank you Huw for an excellent method of recording my small colourful pieces of plastic.

Yikes. Despite finding it useful for the space series (with some lag and clunkiness) Bricksearch was basically nonfunctional the last time I tried to use it on the DnD wave. The newer app “Minifig Scan” was many times quicker and much more reliably scanned everything I threw at it.

Just use OMGBricks I cannot believe they are deluding themselves into a paid model. Their falloff will be immense lol

@Huw said:
" @GrizBe said:
" @alLEGOry_HJB2810 said:
" @GrizBe said:
""Brickset is not affiliated with the app". Yet aren't you best friends with Rob who created and owns it @Huw?"

That's not Brickset as a company then, it's Huw as a person"

Fair enough point on that,, if not for the fact Huw will admit to having a history of posting things as 'favours to friends' on the site. IE, recently with a minifigure display frame a friend of his manufactures. "

And what's wrong with that? You are not forced to read them.

"

Huw is certainly able to post what he wants on his site. I, for one, am grateful for the site and the work he puts into it! That's my "final judgement", as it were.

For nuance' sake, I do think that as the site is now somewhat the nexus of a standalone community, it wouldn't be unreasonable to request Huw as caretaker to make some designation of these posts as being separate from standard content (labeling them 'Promotion' or something like that).

I don't think it's worth that much fuss, but the "personal" posts and the "community-interest" posts could use separate designations for clarity without massive offense to anyone.

Brick Search was the only app I could get to work on my Android phone back when they first updated Series 25 box codes. It was slow and only worked on clearly printed codes but I was able to get what I wanted. I used it to get a few additional figures for series 26 but since I bought a full box of those I wasn't looking for very many extras. For the D&D series I also bought a full box but there were a lot of figures I wanted more of so I could mix & match the parts to make different figs. I used Minifig Scan for the D&D series with about a 95% successful scan rate, 100% positive match results. There were still a few codes that just would not scan for me. Brick Search took forever to identify anything the few times I tried to use it for the D&D series when I couldn't get Minifig Scan to work. I'll be deleting Brick Search and will not be paying a subscription fee when there are multiple free options that work out there.

@pedro_lego said:
"the only lego website I would ever pay a subscription for is brickset"

Don't give them ideas.

@Chilis_no said:
"OMG there was a lot of complaining here. I happily paid $22.73 for 1 year subscription, it gives me a lot of pleasure with quick identification. Easy way to get hold of the characters I actually care about.
No one is forcing you to do anything."

Think of these comments as constructive consumer feedback. Like many of the other commenters, I have used Brick Search to various degrees of decreasing success. It worked about 50 percent of the time at first, and now it hardly seems to work at all. I am not inclined to pay (or pay again) for a product that has already failed me on multiple occasions. I very much appreciated the free app for what it was, and I enjoy visiting Brick Fanatics on a nearly daily basis. However, if I'm asked to pay for that experience, too, I will also politely decline. For my money (or affiliate percentages), Brickset and New Elementary are the real value propositions for LEGO fans on the interwebs.

@ra226 said:
"I suspect this is aimed at high-end people who don't really consider these "small subscription fees" to be real money. Personally, I prefer to do a small amount of extra work (using a generic code scanner plus a list of known numbers, or one of the other solutions mentioned here) if it means saving some money. It's nice that it needs no Internet connection, though--my local Target has zero cell service (hence my solution of comparing against a list)."

Other free apps already offer scanning sans internet connection.

@Maxbricks14 & @Chilis_no: That's great and all, but why pay for a subscription when there are other apps that do the same for free?

@ra226 said:
" @C_O_Patra said:
"Tiro Media's offerings (Brick Fanatics and this Brick Search app) are plainly targeted towards casual LEGO fans, not the more hard core "in the know" crowd here, where so many of us know about the free - and in fact better - options out there for scanning Minifigure codes (and reading LEGO news without the clickbait spin)."

That's not how I took this--I took this to be aimed at the "whales" of our fandom, who don't consider money and will likely assume that the best experience is the one charging money for it. I'm not sure what "casuals" do. Probably ask us (their friend/relative who "hey, you're into Legos [sic], right?...") how they can get a particular minifig."

You could be right. I suppose what I meant by casual fans was people who are into LEGO enough to read clickbait articles about LEGO online, or these days watch some Tik Toks/reels, but not do their own research for what's out there and engage in discussions.

Since Brick Search's launch, I always wondered why Brick Fanatics was pushing it so hard in banner ads. Like, great to tell people you have a helpful tool, but it came across with the same advertising spin as is in this media release. Now we know why: get people to download and use the app, and then tell them they've got to pay.

The people who made the app are going to learn what a lot of other 'innovators' had to learn:
Offer something for free first, then making people pay for it, never ends well.

@Huw said:
" @GrizBe said:
" @alLEGOry_HJB2810 said:
" @GrizBe said:
""Brickset is not affiliated with the app". Yet aren't you best friends with Rob who created and owns it @Huw?"

That's not Brickset as a company then, it's Huw as a person"

Fair enough point on that,, if not for the fact Huw will admit to having a history of posting things as 'favours to friends' on the site. IE, recently with a minifigure display frame a friend of his manufactures. "

And what's wrong with that? You are not forced to read them.

"

Huw — Your contribution to LEGO fans worldwide is immeasurable. Brickset is a wonderful resource enjoyed by millions and it’s due to your dedication to providing a website that is beneficial to LEGO fans. And if you post some sponsored news articles to help pay the bills, no reasonable person has a problem with that.

That being said, here we have an article that is not tagged as sponsored content and is rife with hyperbole and ridiculous claims. You can see from the comments that it is clear that users have issues with Brick Search and in particular, for being charged for a sub-par service as compared to free competitors. Of course you are free to post whatever you want on the site, but it’s yours and Brickset’s integrity being put on the line when you share a “news article” that is a copy-paste of a nonsensical press release from another company.

Again, we love the work you’ve done for the LEGO community but steering users toward paid apps that are inferior to other, free apps will only erode the trust that the community has in this site.

@CapnRex101 said:
" @Rasmodius said:
" @Huw said:
" @GrizBe said:
" @alLEGOry_HJB2810 said:
" @GrizBe said:
""Brickset is not affiliated with the app". Yet aren't you best friends with Rob who created and owns it @Huw ?"

That's not Brickset as a company then, it's Huw as a person"

Fair enough point on that,, if not for the fact Huw will admit to having a history of posting things as 'favours to friends' on the site. IE, recently with a minifigure display frame a friend of his manufactures. "

And what's wrong with that? You are not forced to read them.

"

Huw — Your contribution to LEGO fans worldwide is immeasurable. Brickset is a wonderful resource enjoyed by millions and it’s due to your dedication to providing a website that is beneficial to LEGO fans. And if you post some sponsored news articles to help pay the bills, no reasonable person has a problem with that.

That being said, here we have an article that is not tagged as sponsored content and is rife with hyperbole and ridiculous claims. You can see from the comments that it is clear that users have issues with Brick Search and in particular, for being charged for a sub-par service as compared to free competitors. Of course you are free to post whatever you want on the site, but it’s yours and Brickset’s integrity being put on the line when you share a “news article” that is a copy-paste of a nonsensical press release from another company.

Again, we love the work you’ve done for the LEGO community but steering users toward paid apps that are inferior to other, free apps will only erode the trust that the community has in this site. "

The bulk of the article was not written by @Huw, it is a press release from Brick Search. I can see how that is not immediately obvious though, so I have updated the text at the beginning."

Thanks Rex. I still think the underlying issue remains, however. If Brickset wants to share info about scanner apps, why not share a comprehensive comparison of the options? Or if this is simply doing a favor for Brick Search, then a disclosure of that at the top would be appropriate. And perhaps a limit on some of the silly claims they are permitted to make on your site? Claiming responsibility for a 70% reduction in opened boxes is laughable. I just don't understand why Brickset is lending credibility to this nonsense.

" @alLEGOry_HJB2810 said:
" @Huw said:

Amazon, LEGO.com and eBay are the primary ones. There are others to smaller retailers."

I presume there isn't any way to support you guys through a PAB order since it isn't something you review? "
You can buy a doorbell on Amazon or some vintage clothing on eBay - it doesn’t matter at all what you buy, brickset still benefits as long as you use their link.

"Brick Search Plus members will get not only unlimited use of the best-ever minifigure scanner"

So you've now introduced limits to the scans on the free app and think we're paying a monthly subscription to scan minifigures that come out at the most 3 times a year? Ahahahahahah

Well, congratulations, I just uninstalled the app.
Thanks to everyone in the comments who already suggested alternatives.

@yellowcastle said:
" @Huw - thank you and please note that that cream was for my dog."

Every response I have to this is unpublishable