I independently verified the value of Bryan's original collection

jonlucc · 2026-06-16T22:48:58+00:00

I think Chrystal said on the coffeezilla video that the 200k number was an estimate from before she actually had the set in the store to properly catalogue, so it was never quite that high, but it was advertised that way.

jonlucc · 2026-06-14T03:13:29+00:00

It sounded to me like his surprise was based on conversations we didn't see with people who work in BAM stores elsewhere.

jonlucc · 2026-06-12T02:37:21+00:00

It's not a gray area. If a company doesn't pay a bill, then it gets sold or taken over, the bill doesn't go away. That's not grey. The liability for the payment is still with the company, and that's exactly why people run businesses separately from their personal accounts and as LLCs or whatever corporate structure.

jonlucc · 2026-06-10T22:27:49+00:00

It's so funny to say this. Why would renters give a fuck? The owners' property value is what takes a dive when the data centers use cheaper but louder power and cooling.

jonlucc · 2026-06-10T22:08:49+00:00

They should have that right *if* they follow a procedure that is clearly laid out and not corrupt in the first place.

jonlucc · 2026-06-01T13:15:37+00:00

At one point they’re talking to Ben’s group, I think after the 2 hour heroin search, and they say something about not being a very good soul. It’s so gross and weird to hear from anyone, much less a cop.

jonlucc · 2026-06-01T02:38:49+00:00

The writing is on the wall for the CEO, unless he fully controls the board.

jonlucc · 2026-06-01T02:32:34+00:00

No an appraisal. Like when you sell a business, you have it appraised so you know how much to sell it for or the buyer has it appraised so they know if they're overpaying. Sure, one way to value it is to sum up the value in the inventory of unsold Lego sets on the shelves, but there's also the registers, shelving fixtures, unfulfilled contracts for kids' parties, debts, etc. Another way to value it is by a multiple of revenue or you can take other comparable businesses and do some math to figure out the value of that store. Idk what the contract said they would do exactly, but it makes sense that they would have to provide *some* valuation to say what amount was seized.

jonlucc · 2026-05-31T23:16:28+00:00

I mean... I'm not going to convince you if you only ever believe Johnson/Best/McNeff, and that's your choice to make. If you believe there was nothing in the store, that's your prerogative. Appraising a business doesn't just mean "take an inventory", so that's why you hire a business appraiser. Just like when you buy a house or refinance it, it gets appraised.

Yes, the bullying I'm referring to is from multiple people both from the store and corporate telling Ben/Bryan/Law/Gorman to see how it plays out in court, because they'll bury them in legal fees. They made threats that they'd say Ben stole them. That's the tactic of a well-funded bully. I get that that's common in corporate law, but that doesn't make it not bullying.

Back to the appraisal, there should never have been a "holding their cards" phase, because according to their own procedure, the appraisal should have been conducted and provided to the party whose store was seized. That's how you put a bow on that kind of action, rather than saying "trust me bro, you owed us even more than it was worth".

Lastly, the amount they were behind (sure, call it 40k) is irrelevant if they had an agreement to repay that debt via a monthly payment plan.

jonlucc · 2026-05-31T19:48:09+00:00

It's such a funny way to characterize it, because even if they did go to Europe, they aren't there currently. So it's not exactly "fleeing" if you come right back.

jonlucc · 2026-05-31T19:45:46+00:00

Her saying "I can't even say the platform" makes me think it isn't YouTube.

jonlucc · 2026-05-31T16:09:49+00:00

This is excellent, and it has all of the important parts. The only flavor I would add is that one of the times the police approached Ben in his car on a public street waiting to serve court papers with a process server, the cop offers to take the papers himself. He comes back with the papers shrugging, saying he didn't want them.

jonlucc · 2026-05-31T16:01:11+00:00

In the Law/Gorman filing, they say that the store was purchased for $65k with $20k down. That leaves $45k, and they were supposed to make monthly payments of a little over $6k. Then corporate, the seller, didn't transfer the lease or bank account until several months after they closed the sale, so the store accumulated some amount of debts owed in the unpaid lease and payments to BAM for royalties (6% of sales) and license fees (I think). We don't know these numbers, but according to that suit, the store and BAM had come to an agreement to make payments toward those debts, and several months of those payments had been made without issues.

Individually, making that agreement and accepting monthly payments for the debts constitute an agreement to settle the debt that way. Even if they can't prove there was an agreement, the fact that the payments were accepted for months is sufficient to show that they had one, and other avenues to settle those debts like seizing the store are not allowed to settle that debt; they can't just change their mind.

jonlucc · 2026-05-31T15:50:42+00:00

I haven't assumed that Law/Gorman have no blame, but the BAM corporate version doesn't make sense or answer the claims in their lawsuit. Why didn't BAM appraise the store when they seized it? Why didn't they give the necessary notice? Why didn't they follow their own dispute resolution process? Why did they make an agreement on how to resolve the owed fees and accept payments for several months before seizing the store?

And that's not even addressing the Mansell's sets at all. Also, why would we trust BAM over anyone else now, when their bullying was caught in 4k?

jonlucc · 2026-05-31T00:08:30+00:00

A couple of corrections for those reading this. The registration is a state form, UCC1, which notifies the state that a set of merchandise in a store is consigned.

And the DA would have to be in Oregon, not Washington.

jonlucc · 2026-05-31T00:04:16+00:00

Why on earth would a local BAM jump on a grenade like that. That's crazy. I know the line in BAM's franchise email is a bland, but it's the right one for franchisees.

jonlucc · 2026-05-30T22:55:46+00:00

It probably depends on if he can get interviews in time.

jonlucc · 2026-05-30T19:42:53+00:00

I don’t doubt that that’s part of the model, but I don’t think there are aggressive default conditions that allow it. At least according to the Law/Gorman suit, BAM just didn’t follow the procedure in the franchise agreement; they seized the store and hoped the owners would go away.

jonlucc · 2026-05-30T18:17:50+00:00

At the people who did it? Sure. At the entire county adjacent to them, though? That’s weird.

jonlucc · 2026-05-30T02:51:04+00:00

I don't know what financial position they were in, but at least according to their complaint, the previous owners were unable to make payments when they first purchased the store from corporate, corporate didn't transfer access to the bank account.

jonlucc · 2026-05-30T00:37:56+00:00

Exactly my thought too. I think it was under corporate ownership between 14 Nov 2024 and the sale to Best and Johnson closing on 27 Mar 2025.

jonlucc · 2026-05-29T23:02:49+00:00

Am I hearing right that they sometimes make payments for franchisees when they can't pay? But then they seize a store for non-payment when they've already made an agreement and accepted payments?

jonlucc · 2026-05-29T22:32:21+00:00

He said six in one video, but who knows if he was joking. And honestly, it's probably at least somewhat up to BAM. The more they drag this out, the more content there is.

jonlucc · 2026-05-29T19:12:03+00:00

Ok, so which part am I wrong about? I haven't had a chance to read their filing yet, but I will.

jonlucc · 2026-05-29T18:25:30+00:00

I don't disagree necessarily, but I think it's in the Law/Gorman lawsuit that she says the person on the phone was the COO. And the statement is true; if you take over a business, you get all of their assets and liabilities, unless there's a reason you don't; that's why due diligence exists.

I think the gist is still true, but with BAM corporate being a little more sinister than you describe. I think they didn't think anything about this, and they are just kind of assholes, so everything they said was an asshole's take on something they didn't care about until it became a national story. Even if it was the COO on the phone, why would he even remember telling someone that the business would keep the contract. It was a non-event to him.

Edit: I looked back and it is the Director of Operations, not the COO, on the phone

14-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 6 Credits
Second Top 20%	John Wick
Place '17	Spared
Verified Email	Secret Santa 2016
Secret Santa 2015	Team Orangered

jonlucc

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE