What We Presently Believe Actually Happened: A Summary Timeline of Bricks & Minifigs Salem Store

Bricks & Minifigs | Salem, Oregon Store | Published June 4, 2026

Subject to the ongoing investigation, this document has been prepared by Bricks & Minifigs to provide what we presently believe to be a transparent and sourced account of events related to the Salem, Oregon franchise location and the Mansell LEGO collection. Every entry is attributed to a verifiable source. We are publishing this because we believe the community deserves more than a one-sided picture.

2009–2018 | How Bricks & Minifigs Was Built and What It Was Built to Do

Bricks & Minifigs was founded in 2009 in Battle Ground, Washington. A second location opened in Canby, Oregon in 2010. Franchising began in 2011.
From day one, the business model has been Buy, Sell and Trade LEGO®. That is it. Consignment sales have never been part of the BAM model, the franchise agreement or the operations manual. No franchisee has ever been authorized to enter into a third party consignment arrangement on behalf of BAM.
In 2018, brothers Ammon McNeff (CEO) and Matt McNeff (COO) joined BAM Franchising, Inc. and grew the brand from 35 to over 300 locations across the U.S. and Canada.
BAM stores are independently owned and operated by franchisees bound by the franchise agreement and operations manual, which do not permit third-party consignment of LEGO® product.

Source: BAM team

Late 1990s–2023 | Ed and Bryan Mansell Build the Collection

In the late 1990s, Ed Mansell, father of Bryan Mansell, began investing up to $20,000 in LEGO Star Wars™ sets over 10 – 15 years, holding them as an investment for his grandchildren’s college education.
Bryan indicates that the collection grew to over 780 sealed sets and 1,200 minifigures. This included a few rare individual sets, at least one is estimated to be worth over $10,000 and some minifigures estimated to be over $1,300 each.
The $200,000 figure that circulated in public Facebook posts by both Bryan and Chrystal Law/Gorman as Salem Oregon’s Public Page in 2023 was a promotional figure used to generate excitement for a public display event (not an actual wholesale or retail or other documented market value) and no verbiage around consignment was used. Both parties’ own records place the realistic high-end value at approximately $95,000–$100,000.
When Ed decided it was time to sell, his son Bryan took over. Admittedly not knowing the LEGO resale world and around September 2023, Bryan walked into a Bricks & Minifigs store and asked the owner, Chrystal, if she could help.
Chrystal’s own words, published on the store’s Facebook page: “I told him, even if we couldn’t sell the collection, I would help him figure out how much it was worth because I didn’t want him to get ripped off. And I think that’s why he trusted me.”

Sources: Collectors Weekly Podcast (April 16, 2025); Salem-Keizer BAM Facebook page managed by Chrystal Law/Gorman; BAM June 4, 2026 Announcement

October 2023 | An Unauthorized Consignment Agreement Is Made

Chrystal and Bryan entered into a consignment agreement in November 2023.
This agreement was never authorized or approved by BAM corporate as required under the governing agreements. BAM Corporate was not formally made aware of this agreement at that time. Chrystal entered this side deal as a personal arrangement and/or as the owner of the Salem, Oregon location. Chrystal never introduced BAM Corporate to Bryan and it was not aware of any unauthorized consignment agreement.
The unauthorized consignment agreement included a clause allowing either party to terminate with 30 days written notice. It also included a clause requiring Chrystal to insure the collection. No evidence of any insurance has been discovered.
Before the unauthorized consignment agreement was formalized, Chrystal took approximately 40 sets to a Rose City Comic Con September 22-24, 2023 as a trial run. According to her, sales reportedly went well.

Sources: Bryan Mansell formal written complaint; Collectors Weekly Podcast (April 16, 2025); BAM June 4, 2026 Announcement

November 7–12, 2023 | Public Unveiling at the Salem Store

On November 7, 2023, Chrystal posted a formal announcement on the store’s official Facebook page promoting a public display of the Mansell collection on November 11–12, open to journalists and the public.
The post used the $200,000 promotional figure; and Chrystal’s corporate email address at the store, salem@bricksandminifigs.com as the press contact. It also confirmed the collection would be stored off-site after hours for security. Additionally, after the public display, the social media post indicated the collection would not be kept in the store after November 12, 2023.
The event took place as announced. Ed Mansell, the reported 83-year-old father of Bryan, who entered the consignment arrangement with Chrystal, attended the pre-sale event and was photographed alongside Chrystal with the collection on display.
Bryan posted on his own Facebook on November 11: “What a fun day! …here are a couple photos of Dad and Chrystal with the collection being shown this weekend at Bricks & Minifigs Salem-Keizer.”

Source: Salem-Keizer BAM Facebook page managed by Chrystal Law/Gorman

November 2023–October 2024 | Monthly Payments and Disorganized Tracking Systems by Chrystal, Owner of Salem, Oregon Location at the time

For approximately one year, Bryan visited the store monthly around the 15th to collect paper receipts and a check for his share of sales. He received approximately $15,000 in total payments during this period (as was stated on the Collector’s Weekly Podcast on April 16, 2025).
Though not disclosed or known except by her (and potentially later by Bryan), Chrystal apparently marked his sets with a small removable sticker to keep track of them as Mansell consignment inventory, so cashiers could track sales and file receipts for monthly payouts. This information was not explicitly disclosed by Chrystal to the store staff during her tenure as to why, nor the new incoming franchise owners in November 2024 upon her departure.
If all items had sold, Bryan and Chrystal estimated total sales would have been approximately $100,000 before the consignment split, consistent with the documented value and verbally stated by Bryan on the Collector’s Weekly Podcast
BAM’s investigation has uncovered three separate spreadsheets Chrystal maintained on the collection, all showing different sales figures. POS data shows at least $52,000 and likely more was sold during Chrystal’s tenure. She underreported sales to Bryan by a significant amount.

Sources: Bryan Mansell formal written complaint; Collectors Weekly Podcast (April 16, 2025); BAM June 4, 2026 Announcement

October 2024 –November 8, 2024 | Chrystal Notifies Corporate of Closure Interest; Store Transition Begins

In late October 2024, Chrystal contacted a BAM Corporate support agent asking how to close her store. Her life partner had received a publishing offer in Europe.
BAM Corporate and Chrystal were aware that she owed just under $200,000 in unpaid royalties, unpaid lease, and covered vendor bills, rendering her insolvent and triggering BAM Corporate’s security interest in the inventory. BAM Corporate owed Chyrstal nothing.
On November 8, 2024, Chrystal personally asked to speak to BAM Corporate about her intended move overseas. An agreement was reached: she would hand over the store on November 14 smoothly, and BAM Corporate would not pursue the full $200,000 she owed. She agreed, giving her close to a week to prepare.
At no point in October, or on November 8 did Chrystal say a single word about a consignment collection in the store or to BAM Corporate.

Source: BAM team

November 14, 2024 | The Handover and the First Mention of “Consignment”

On November 14, 2024, Brandon Best arrived at the store close to store close to begin the transition. Chrystal became uncooperative, refused to hand over the keys as agreed or to provide access codes, and was observed making multiple trips to her car. Her partner, Benjamin Gorman also arrived to assist her.
That evening, Chrystal recorded Ring doorbell footage that Chrystal herself later accessed and shared publicly, which is the first and only time Brandon (and later anyone at BAM Corporate) heard the word “consignment” from her. Chrystal mentioned needing to print receipts to pay a customer.
The response from a BAM worker, assisting Brandon, in real time evidences a statement: “That’s a business matter. Brandon will take on the business. He takes on all that.” This was not an acknowledgment of the Mansell collection. It was a representative, hearing this for the first time, during a chaotic handover and incorrectly assuming it was an authorized arrangement by BAM.
Chrystal shared this footage publicly, but only a portion of it. A significant amount of footage from earlier that day is absent from what we believe she later released to Bryan.
Chrystal was formally terminated, in writing, that evening based on prior and documented breaches of the franchise agreement. She eventually left the store. Brandon secured it and obtained the keys for the first time. The store was in a run-down condition with very little inventory (approximately $40,000).
Before leaving, Chrystal removed cash from the till, attempted to print store records, and shared confidential footage without authorization.

Sources: BAM team; Bryan Mansell formal written complaint; Collectors Weekly Podcast (April 16, 2025)

November 14–22, 2024 | Bryan Comes to the Store; Sends Termination Notice

Bryan attempted to reach Chrystal on November 14, 15, and 18 with no response. He called the store that Thursday and learned for the first time that Chrystal was gone and the store had changed hands.
Bryan came to the store three times, with printouts of his contract and an inventory list. He was met with confusion from the new incoming franchisees, who did not recognize the agreement. Brandon confirmed BAM was not a party to it. Josh was also present and accompanied Bryan through the front of the store, where Bryan could not identify any of his collection on display.
Bryan called the police. Officers appropriately deemed it a private civil matter.
On November 22, Bryan sent a certified mail notice addressed to the Salem store formally terminating the consignment agreement between himself and Chrystal’s LLC, citing failure to pay the November installment and refusal to allow inventory inspection.

Sources: Collectors Weekly Podcast (April 16, 2025); BAM June 4, 2026 Announcement

December 2024–April 2025 | BAM Offers Inventory; Public Campaign Begins

In late November or early December 2024, Brandon and Josh discovered approximately 25 Star Wars sets in a closed closet in the back. They did not think anything of the fact that these had small stickers on them. They kept these sets segregated as they tried to determine what they were. In December 2024 and still unsure of whether they belonged to Bryan, BAM showed these sets to and offered to give Bryan these stickered sets as they felt bad for Chrystal’s apparent mishandling of the situation and despite no reliable evidence of his ownership. This offer was not accepted by Bryan Mansell.
From November 2024 through April 2025, Bryan exchanged messages with the BAM Corporate office and BAM’s legal team. No resolution was reached.
On April 16, 2025, Bryan appeared on the Collectors Weekly Podcast, publicly sharing what he believed to be his full account. Through the podcast, there was an inventory list, and Ring footage was linked.