BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Suggestions, basarozcan writes:

Dear Staff,

I'm one of the executive member of enclosed Turkish LEGO Users Group (Turklug)
and one of the founder of Istanbul LEGO Users Group (IstanLUG). Last 7 years
me and my friends organized Turkish LEGO Fans to be a RLUG, arranging so many
meetings, contests and community projects in our country.

We're sellers and buyers from Turkey whom deals with government's bad
decisions nowadays. After 6th of June, PayPal is retreat from our country because
of governments some regulations. Not only for bricklink we're blocked to
buy stuff and sell our works for using PayPal. PayPal authorities said that they
are working on this situation to solve immediately but nobody know when they
will solve it.

As you know Bricklink request fees only on PayPal account. We're unable to
pay our bricklink fees anymore. Please add different payment method for paying
our fees to bricklink. If it is not possible we'll want limitless postponement
to paying our fees to bricklink.

Kindly regards

For your information: you don't need a Paypal account to pay to a
Paypal account, you can open the payment tab and select 'other method'
and pay straight from credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc),
so I don't think there would be any reason why Bricklink would not bill you
or agree to accept a longer delay on payment.
Obviously, it does mean you should have a credit card allowed by Paypal...

Author:

basarozcan

Posted:

May 31, 2016 14:07

Subject:

Letter for Bricklink Administration

Viewed:

464 times

Topic:

Status:

Implemented

Author:

StormChaser

Posted:

May 30, 2016 21:54

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 3368-1

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

3368-1 (Inv) Space Center
478 Parts, 4 Minifigures, 2011
Sets: Town: City: Space Exploration

* Add 1 Minifig cty225a Spacesuit, White Legs, Blue Short Bill Cap, Eyelashes, Black Eyebrows (Alternate) (match ID 11)
* Change 1 Minifig cty225 Spacesuit, White Legs, Blue Short Bill Cap, Eyelashes {match ID 0 to 11}

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 19:04

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 41037-1

Viewed:

25 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

41037-1 (Inv) Stephanie's Beach House
379 Parts, 2 Minifigures, 2014
Sets: Friends

* Change 1 Part {Trans-Clear to (Not Applicable)} bb663pb02 Plastic Triangle 6 x 12 Sail with 'HLC-37' Pattern

Comments from Submitter:
I am having the PCC and images switched for this.

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 17:43

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 9486-1

Viewed:

21 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

9486-1 (Inv) Oil Rig Escape
261 Parts, 4 Minifigures, 2012
Sets: Cars: Cars 2

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 17:35

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 6863-1

Viewed:

21 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

6863-1 (Inv) Batwing Battle Over Gotham City
265 Parts, 3 Minifigures, 1 Book, 2012
Sets: Super Heroes: Batman II

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 17:24

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 70135-1

Viewed:

23 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

70135-1 (Inv) Cragger's Fire Striker
358 Parts, 3 Minifigures, 2014
Sets: LEGENDS OF CHIMA

* Change 2 Part Trans-Red {85959px1 Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange / Trans-Yellow Pattern to 85959pb01b Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Yellow Pattern}

Comments from Submitter:
All online photo and video evidence shows this set with the Trans-Yellow version. This fits the timeline for the part as all later Chima sets had transitioned to the Trans-Yellow variety.

Author:

ziddi

Posted:

May 30, 2016 16:40

Subject:

Re: Inventory Change Request for Set 41015-1

Viewed:

18 times

Topic:

The star seems Magenta, but the part is Medium Lavender, to add in the inventory
of the set.

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 12:17

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 8970-1

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

8970-1 (Inv) Robo Attack
388 Parts, 6 Minifigures, 2009
Sets: Agents

* Change 1 Part Trans-Red {85959px1 Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange / Trans-Yellow Pattern to 85959pb01a Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange Pattern}

Comments from Submitter:
All online photo and video evidence shows this set with the Trans-Orange version. This fits the timeline for the part as it was released the year this set came out, and all early versions were of the Trans-Orange variety.

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 12:10

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 7199-1

Viewed:

16 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

7199-1 (Inv) The Temple of Doom
626 Parts, 6 Minifigures, 2009
Sets: Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom

* Change 2 Part Trans-Red {85959px1 Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange / Trans-Yellow Pattern to 85959pb01a Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange Pattern}

Comments from Submitter:
All online photo and video evidence shows this set with the Trans-Orange version. This fits the timeline for the part as it was released the year this set came out, and all early versions were of the Trans-Orange variety.

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 12:03

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 7097-1

Viewed:

18 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

7097-1 (Inv) Trolls' Mountain Fortress
788 Parts, 10 Minifigures, 2009
Sets: Castle: Fantasy Era

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 11:57

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 5985-1

Viewed:

16 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

5985-1 (Inv) Space Police Central
601 Parts, 5 Minifigures, 2010
Sets: Space: Space Police III

* Change 2 Part Trans-Red {85959px1 Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange / Trans-Yellow Pattern to 85959pb01a Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange Pattern}

Comments from Submitter:
All online photo and video evidence shows this set with the Trans-Orange version. This fits the timeline for the part as all Space Police III sets should have had the Trans-Orange version.

Author:

randyf

Posted:

May 30, 2016 11:50

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 5983-1

Viewed:

17 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

5983-1 (Inv) SP Undercover Cruiser
309 Parts, 2 Minifigures, 2010
Sets: Space: Space Police III

* Change 1 Part Trans-Red {85959px1 Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange / Trans-Yellow Pattern to 85959pb01a Wave Rounded Large (Flame) with Marbled Trans-Orange Pattern}

Comments from Submitter:
All online photo and video evidence shows this set with the Trans-Orange version. This fits the timeline for the part as all Space Police III sets should have had the Trans-Orange version.

Author:

TakeAbricK

Posted:

May 30, 2016 05:09

Subject:

Re: Inventory Change Request for Set 258-1

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In Inventories Requests, rbgeddes writes:

In Inventories Requests, TakeAbricK writes:

In Inventories Requests, rbgeddes writes:

Please make changes to the following inventory:

258-1 (Inv) Zoo with Baseboard
467 Parts, 1976
Sets: Building Set with People: Zoo

* Change {17 to 16} Part White 3001old Brick 2 x 4 without Cross Supports

Comments from Submitter:
I've just obtained this set in virtually new condition. There are only 16 of this piece. One is in the large elephant and 15 in the white stand where the gorilla is. See pages 2 and 5 of the instructions. Based on the positions of this piece in the gorilla stand as shown in the instructions, this part of the model physically can only be built with a maximum 15 of this piece.

Hi,

I bought this set, boxed and with all parts present and in shiney condition,
about 8 years ago. I also build the whole set back then and after that I checked
the BL inventory. My set really has 17 white bricks 3001old. I still remember
I had some problems building that stand with gorilla's, so I tried again.
The building instruction is very difficult at this point, it doesn't show
all steps and it doesn't show all bricks. You really need other pictures
on the box to get it done, and even then ...

I tried and I tried and I tried for over half an hour to build a solid stand
with only 15 2x4 bricks, but it doesn't work for me. Did you actually build
the stand / set?

Imo the set inventory is correct. Another note: There are several other building
idea's in the Instruction / on the box that you also have to be able to build
with the bricks inside (instead of the Zoo that is). Please also keep that in
mind when checking an Inventory.

Kind regards,
Diana

Hi Diana,

Thank you for your reply. Yes I built the set and like you I had a hard time
with the stand. I have the box and the other models do not use anything near
16 or 17 3001old white bricks. The pictures of the zoo on the box lid and the
underside of the lid don't help either.

The first two images below are from the instructions.

In the first picture, the brick(s) holding up number 11 are hidden. Also, a 3001old
is most likely under the brick marked 'A', binding it by 2 or
4 studs to brick 9.

In the second picture, a stud can be seen that is behind brick 2. I think this
is a 3001old sitting directly behind brick 2, which would offer 4 studs of support
to brick 11.

The third picture is the model taking my suggestions from the first two pictures.
There are 13 3001old bricks in this model, with only enough room for 2 more.

The fourth picture is the model with a total of 15 3001old bricks. The fifth
picture is a slight variation on picture 4. The last two pictures provide a good
degree of stability to the stand.

Please let me know what you think Diana and please advise how you built the stand
with 16 3001old bricks!

Kind regards,

Robert

Hi Robert,

Thanks for all your trouble. I promiss I will check again with the help of your
images. Please just give me some time for that. Although the set is still in
my Living room

I am very busy with my store at the moment. But again, I promiss
to get back on this. The large box on my dinner table will remind me, LOL

Kind regards,
Diana

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

May 29, 2016 22:43

Subject:

Re: Inventory Change Request for Set 41015-1

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Inventories Requests, ziddi writes:

Please make changes to the following inventory:

41015-1 (Inv) Dolphin Cruiser
600 Parts, 3 Minifigures, 2013
Sets: Friends

* Add 1 Part 50950pb100R Medium Lavender Slope, Curved 3 x 1 No Studs with Magenta, White and Medium Azure Shooting Star Pattern Model Right Side (Sticker) - Set 41015

Comments from Submitter:
I added this part yesterday, but is not magenta is Medium Lavender and the name should be changed as : "Slope, Curved 3 x 1 No Studs with Medium Lavender, White and Medium Azure Shooting Star Pattern Model Right Side (Sticker) - Set 41015"

Hello,

It appears that the sticker is placed upside down on the image your uploaded.
Could you please submit a correction?

50950pb100R Slope, Curved 3 x 1 with Magenta, White and Medium Azure Shooting Star Pattern Model Right Side (Sticker) - Set 41015
Parts: Slope, Curved, Decorated

Thank you!
Jen

Author:

StormChaser

Posted:

May 29, 2016 12:13

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 9681-1

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

9681-1 (Inv) eLAB Renewable Energy Set (1999 Version)
709 Parts, 4 Minifigures, 3 Gear, 1999
Sets: Educational & Dacta: Technic: eLAB

* Add 1 Gear Gstk112 (Not Applicable) Sticker for Storage Bin, Dacta Labels - Sheet of 2

Comments from Submitter:
Source: photos of new set which had been opened (parts still sealed in bags). This sticker sheet was included.

Author:

Brick_Wizard

Posted:

May 29, 2016 08:14

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 41008-1

Viewed:

19 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

41008-1 (Inv) Heartlake City Pool
414 Parts, 2 Minifigures, 2013
Sets: Friends

* Add 1 Part 14769 White Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Bottom Stud Holder (Alternate) (match ID 5)
* Change 1 Part White 4150 Tile, Round 2 x 2 {match ID 0 to 5}

Comments from Submitter:
Parting out multiple sets. Found both variants.

Author:

therobo

Posted:

May 28, 2016 18:33

Subject:

Re: Inventory Change Request for Set 41015-1

Viewed:

19 times

Topic:

In Inventories Requests, ziddi writes:

Please make changes to the following inventory:

41015-1 (Inv) Dolphin Cruiser
600 Parts, 3 Minifigures, 2013
Sets: Friends

Looks like the shooting star is Magenta, White and Medium Azure:

50950pb100R Slope, Curved 3 x 1 with Magenta, White and Medium Azure Shooting Star Pattern Model Right Side (Sticker) - Set 41015
Parts: Slope, Curved, Decorated

Author:

Brick_Wizard

Posted:

May 28, 2016 16:51

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 70814-1

Viewed:

16 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

70814-1 (Inv) Emmet's Construct - o - Mech
678 Parts, 4 Minifigures, 2014
Sets: The LEGO Movie

* Add 2 Part 553c Black Brick, Round 2 x 2 Dome Top - Hollow Stud with Bottom Axle Holder x Shape + Orientation (Alternate) (match ID 4)
* Change 2 Part Black 553b Brick, Round 2 x 2 Dome Top - Blocked Open Stud with Bottom Axle Holder x Shape + Orientation {match ID 0 to 4}

Comments from Submitter:
Just parted out 2 sets with alternate occurring in each set.

Author:

ziddi

Posted:

May 28, 2016 14:15

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 41015-1

Viewed:

18 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

41015-1 (Inv) Dolphin Cruiser
600 Parts, 3 Minifigures, 2013
Sets: Friends

Author:

welo999

Posted:

May 28, 2016 05:42

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 76009-1

Viewed:

89 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

76009-1 (Inv) Superman: Black Zero Escape
153 Parts, 3 Minifigures, 1 Book, 2013
Sets: Super Heroes: Man of Steel

* Add 1 Part 30350c Trans-Black Tile, Modified 2 x 3 with 2 Clips (thick U clips) (Alternate) (match ID 2)
* Change 1 Part Trans-Black 30350b Tile, Modified 2 x 3 with 2 Clips (thick open O clips) {match ID 0 to 2}

Author:

paulvdb

Posted:

May 28, 2016 04:02

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 21024-1

Viewed:

89 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

21024-1 (Inv) Louvre
695 Parts, 2015
Sets: Architecture

* Add 8 Part 4085b Dark Bluish Gray Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical - Type 2 (thin U clip) (Alternate) (match ID 1)
* Change 8 Part Dark Bluish Gray 4085d Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical - Type 4 (thick open O clip) {match ID 0 to 1}

Comments from Submitter:
I found both types in sets that I am parting out.

Author:

StormChaser

Posted:

May 27, 2016 11:22

Subject:

Re: Add Element ID's to DUPLO minifigs

Viewed:

25 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, FigBits writes:

While waiting for the system limitations to be changed (so that PCC codes can
be added to items in the Minifig category), is there anything stopping us from
simply adding this number to each minifig's name?

Good idea, but yes, there are at least two problems with that. The titles for
some of these figures have already used up the maximum space allowed for a title.
Thus, requests for title changes cannot even be generated by users for some
figures.

Also, it doubles the amount of work required.

1. Submit title change request to add PCC. (work for submitter)
2. Verify and approve title change request. (work for administrator)
3. Submit second catalog change request later. (additional work for submitter)
4. Approve second catalog change request. (additional work for administrator)

Because of the amount of extra labor required to fix something which should take
the development team a very short time to implement, I'm not interested in
the approach and I doubt the catalog administrators would be thrilled about it
either.

It is a good idea, though, if it turns out that no alternative exists.

Author:

FigBits

Posted:

May 27, 2016 10:56

Subject:

Re: Add Element ID's to DUPLO minifigs

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, StormChaser writes:

In Suggestions, Turribrick writes:

Since DUPLO minifigs are single piece items I see no reason why they can't
have an Element ID / PCC code.

I am inventorying a Duplo set and I completely agree. The two figures in the
set I'm inventorying have PCCs and now I must attempt to find them by title
in the catalog.

It's been over six months since you made this very helpful (and, it seems
to me, easy-to-implement) suggestion, but I see that we're about to get BrickLink
Studio instead.

Author:

bb414973

Posted:

May 27, 2016 10:48

Subject:

Re: Add Element ID's to DUPLO minifigs

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, StormChaser writes:

In Suggestions, Turribrick writes:

Since DUPLO minifigs are single piece items I see no reason why they can't
have an Element ID / PCC code.

I've been working with Duplo gears recently and have bought tons of Education
Duplo sets to get them (hence the Education polys I have for sale which were
given to me free). Many of these Duplo sets came with figures that I'm simply
not interested in. I was unable to find them on BL which means either I suck
at looking or they could be new to BL.

Thing is, I don't know where to start when it comes to adding a minifig,
how to classify them (Town/etc.) and how you find out what the next sequential
number is. Plus, assuming I do all that, only to be told "these figures already
exist." In the end I decided to give them all to my niece.

I'm not sure what a PCC is (the 6-digit number?) but if adding them makes
finding/adding Duplo figs easier then I'm all in favour.

Author:

StormChaser

Posted:

May 27, 2016 10:36

Subject:

Re: Add Element ID's to DUPLO minifigs

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Turribrick writes:

Since DUPLO minifigs are single piece items I see no reason why they can't
have an Element ID / PCC code.

Author:

SylvainLS

Posted:

May 27, 2016 06:10

Subject:

Re: Following on from 'A Preview Update'

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

[…]
Stores organise their parts differently. It is unlikely that
any two stores are identical and we now have over 10000 live ones.

Statisticaly, more stores means more chances to have two stores that work the
same way.

9. Quicker turnarounds on new inventories/parts and colours.

Ooh, how you neatly veiled the dreaded “pay someone to do the job” suggestion.

10. A much more up to date forum capability - bring it into the 21st/22nd century.

Post 1994 would be a good start. (Even if I rather like its usenet / mailing-list
feel.)

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

May 27, 2016 05:50

Subject:

Re: Following on from 'A Preview Update'

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

As the topic has now done it's usual - off on a tangent' we would like
to pick up on one of admin's comments early on the discussion. They said
their next project was to help the sellers (why that is lower in priority than
the buyers - I am not sure)

We would like to ensure the following items are addressed in this next development
and would like to gauge the reaction of other stores to this:

1. Inventory management tools
2. Sales analysis tools
3. Multi-user logins to stores with security permissions
4. Significant improvements to the NPB process which is currently too long winded
5. Improvements to the Bricklink messaging system to allow graphics as well as
attachments
6. Multi level minimum values e.g. 1 for Domestic and 1 for non-domestic for
example
7. Shipping policies per country as appropriate. We only shipped on a tracked
basis to some countries.
8. Much more flexibility in how we deal with orders from the printing/downloading
etc point of view. Stores organise their parts differently. It is unlikely that
any two stores are identical and we now have over 10000 live ones.
9. Quicker turnarounds on new inventories/parts and colours.
10. A much more up to date forum capability - bring it into the 21st/22nd century.

Please feel absolutely free to comment or add to this list if you have other
points as well.

Sorry should have also added

11. Full audit trail capabilities for parting out sets as well as mass uploading
parts (we do this through Brickstock at the moment, but it would be much better
if Bricklink did it.
12. Audit trails for adding inventory (should be part of Inventory management
tools)

The list actually does go on and on .......

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

May 27, 2016 05:35

Subject:

Following on from 'A Preview Update'

Viewed:

126 times

Topic:

Status:

Discarded

Author:

ZwarteMagica

Posted:

May 27, 2016 04:07

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 314-1

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

314-1 (Inv) Police Boat
45 Parts, 2 Minifigures, 1976
Sets: Boat: Police

* Add 1 Part x145c01pb02 Black Boat Hull Smooth Bow 5 x 6 x 3 1/3, Deck Color Light Gray with White Anchor Pattern on Both Sides (Stickers) (Counterpart)

Author:

ZwarteMagica

Posted:

May 27, 2016 04:07

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 709-1

Viewed:

18 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

709-1 (Inv) Police Boat
46 Parts, 1 Minifigure, 1978
Sets: Boat: Police

* Add 1 Part x145c01pb02 Black Boat Hull Smooth Bow 5 x 6 x 3 1/3, Deck Color Light Gray with White Anchor Pattern on Both Sides (Stickers) (Counterpart)

Author:

bb95324

Posted:

May 27, 2016 00:11

Subject:

Re: Inventory Change Request for Set 258-1

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

In Inventories Requests, TakeAbricK writes:

In Inventories Requests, rbgeddes writes:

Please make changes to the following inventory:

258-1 (Inv) Zoo with Baseboard
467 Parts, 1976
Sets: Building Set with People: Zoo

Author:

SylvainLS

Posted:

May 26, 2016 09:55

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, BrickItYourself writes:

[… stock exchange …]
commodity exchange but I also do think we should allow "futures"

I would have used the same word as in French (which seems not to be a false friend,
for once) but chose to avoid any impropriety as I don’t know which meaning is
more readily understood.

[…]
Again, I have pointed out a basic idea, and for all I know, this already happens,
I get messages all the time from buyers saying they will pay an amount for something
I have in my store trying to get a deal.

That’s haggling. Like you can do on a street market.

But, above all, that’s closed information. The clients come to you. You don’t
know if they also go to others. Others don’t know they went to you. No one but
buyer and seller know the haggling that went.

Also, we complain about "slumps" in sales during certain times of the year.
I would think that some sellers would like to actively gain business during this
time of year by connecting with those people who wants items at a discount.

If sellers want more sales, they can lower their prices on the most wanted items.

And, as it’s already been said, if the price becomes lower than what is on a
buyer’s wanted list, they’re notified (if they put a price and asked for notifications).
Which is close to what you propose, the difference being that, now, the price
is closed information.

All the comments about "disrupting this or that" can't we all agree that
the biggest "disruption" in this "marketplace" is the cutthroat nature of the
constant under cutting of prices, mainly because there is a certain percentage
of sellers that don't care about making a profit or have NO IDEA HOW TO MAKE
MONEY...

Again, I’m just saying it will change the nature of the market by opening some
information.
Not saying if it’s good or bad.

[…]
I gave a basic idea, of course I did not outline every exact idea of implementation,
and I know the idea is not going to get implemented, because nothing from the
suggestions does. I wanted to point out and discuss a way that would help people
complete their collections. I obviously see that more people here are concerned
with small little details than connecting people with what they want...

Maybe some answers seem a little harsh but trying to see how can it work, what
can go wrong, and what are the benefits of your proposal is discussing
about your proposal….

Author:

Made_In_Bricks

Posted:

May 26, 2016 09:12

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

I disagree. Overall, I think it could result in less sales (especially impulse
buys when browsing). And rather than increasing overall sales, I think it would
also just divert or shuffle sales from one seller to another.

Sales as in # of orders or volume of items sold?

Thor

Author:

ToriHada

Posted:

May 26, 2016 09:02

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, BrickItYourself writes:

In Suggestions, ToriHada writes:

Seems like a lot of work for minimal and questionable benefit. Plus some potential
problems as others have noted.

Sorry, but if the item is going to sell quickly anyway (like the example you
used to support this suggestion), what does BrickLink need this for? Maybe it
is just me, but I don't really think it is a problem that someone else bought
it first. First come, first served. The seller got the price he wanted and
the (first) buyer got a nice figure for a price he was willing to pay. Those
who were too slow to order just have to act faster next time. And the existing
Wanted List feature can already quickly tip them off when new things are listed.

Thor

Remember in the references thread about SW102, the buyer stated publicly he would
pay $$$ for the figure.

As a buyer, I would be frustrated and disappointed if more and more lots for
items I wanted were not publicly listed because someone else MIGHT pay more for
them. If the seller wants more, list them at the higher price. I think, in
the long run, BrickLink serves it members better and earns more fees by having
more items listed and available to everyone on a first come, first served basis.
It is easier, less confusing, more fair, less elitist, and FASTER.

Also, the wanted list for this particular item wastes part of his time because
he is looking for a variation on the item. So he gets an e-mail every time one
is listed and most of them are going to be the wrong one.

True - for this particular item. But how many items have variations that are
not listed? A fraction of 1% of all items in the BL catalog?

Now asking, what are the benefits of such a feature is a question.

benefits I see are as follows:

Buyers would be able to place 1 order instead of several if they have the time
to wait

As a buyer, when I place multiple orders to get items on my Wanted List, I almost
always add items that were not on my Wanted List. What this means is that, for
example, the total amount of 2 or 3 smaller orders (before shipping) is almost
always MORE than the amount of the one large order I could have placed. This
results in more fees for BrickLink and more orders and income for more sellers.
Sure, as a buyer I pay more. But I also get more and it is my choice to pay
more.

Collectors could put out specifics on items they want without have to browse
many stores to see if the items meet their needs

As a buyer, browsing stores is a big part of the fun of shopping here on BrickLink.
And browsing also causes buyers to buy even more. It is NOT in the financial
interests of either BrickLink or sellers to help buyers avoid browsing in stores.

Sellers could actively initiate more business for themselves.

Author:

FigBits

Posted:

May 26, 2016 08:58

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

I prefer the view point that this site is for people to connect and share Lego
for the pleasure of it. So I ask myself would this feature assist in this.
And YES it would.

It isn't for that though, is it? It is for selling and buying LEGO. And for
money, not for pleasure.

It's for both.

There are plenty of ways to make money. I enjoy doing this (buying and selling)
more than I enjoyed any previous job I've had. So, while making money is
what allows me to do this full time, I do it because I enjoy it.

With BL ownership, it's a bit more complicated. But they have been losing
money, not making it, for the last few years.

--
Marc.

Author:

Made_In_Bricks

Posted:

May 26, 2016 08:39

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, ToriHada writes:

Remember in the references thread about SW102, the buyer stated publicly he would
pay $$$ for the figure.

Also, the wanted list for this particular item wastes part of his time because
he is looking for a variation on the item. So he gets an e-mail every time one
is listed and most of them are going to be the wrong one.

Now asking, what are the benefits of such a feature is a question.

benefits I see are as follows:

Buyers would be able to place 1 order instead of several if they have the time
to wait

Collectors could put out specifics on items they want without have to browse
many stores to see if the items meet their needs

Sellers could actively initiate more business for themselves.

Buyers could save money by getting parts for less money, not guaranteed, but
he is my example:

I have 1200+ 3004 in blue. Cheapest in the USA is .03 at the amount. If I know
I could unload them all in an order RIGHT NOW for .025 each, they'd be gone.
Buyer wins, Seller wins

Item hasn't sold in at least 6 months, there is no price guide on sales.
Buyers are posting what they are WILLING to pay, it can help me price my item,
maybe perhaps above what buyers are willing to pay and below what the cheapest
for sale is INSTEAD of just undercutting the lowest available by a penny to be
the lowest for sale.

This would also help with items that have 0 for sale as well.

Thanks

Ken

Author:

Made_In_Bricks

Posted:

May 26, 2016 08:24

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

24 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

I prefer the view point that this site is for people to connect and share Lego
for the pleasure of it. So I ask myself would this feature assist in this.
And YES it would.

It isn't for that though, is it?

It is why it was created...

It is for selling and buying LEGO. And for
money, not for pleasure.

Well, with the new ownership, I don't know what it is for anymore.

Author:

Made_In_Bricks

Posted:

May 26, 2016 08:22

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

You can’t have a market place that works in all the ways (street market, stock
exchange, auction, Dutch auction, raffle, Chinese auction, etc.) at the same
time, for the same items to boot.

There used to auctions on BL, I thought it was a great feature and I don't
remember why it was taken down, it was removed during my first year here and
I didn't spend much time in the forums then...because there was chat

For now, BL is a street market: sellers propose products at a price, buyers pick
and choose. BL provides the “street” and a little police. If you set up those
“bids” and “requests,” BL would become a stock exchange.

commodity exchange but I also do think we should allow "futures"

I’m not interested in if one type is good or bad, or better or worse. I’m just
saying they are two different kinds of market places. You could have both in
parallel but that’d be two different market places.
As QCBricks explains, you can’t have bits of one in the other without changing
the rules and disrupting the market. Either you totally change the place, or
you create another, totally separated, place.

Again, I have pointed out a basic idea, and for all I know, this already happens,
I get messages all the time from buyers saying they will pay an amount for something
I have in my store trying to get a deal.

Also, we complain about "slumps" in sales during certain times of the year.
I would think that some sellers would like to actively gain business during this
time of year by connecting with those people who wants items at a discount.

All the comments about "disrupting this or that" can't we all agree that
the biggest "disruption" in this "marketplace" is the cutthroat nature of the
constant under cutting of prices, mainly because there is a certain percentage
of sellers that don't care about making a profit or have NO IDEA HOW TO MAKE
MONEY...

The worries about jacking up prices already happens in the FORUM, the OP of the
thread I posted just alerted tons of sellers that there is a demand for a particular
figure with a printing variation.

Prior to his post, I did not know of this. Now I know and if I come across this
figure you can bet the price is going to be higher that if I just looked at the
price guide.

I gave a basic idea, of course I did not outline every exact idea of implementation,
and I know the idea is not going to get implemented, because nothing from the
suggestions does. I wanted to point out and discuss a way that would help people
complete their collections. I obviously see that more people here are concerned
with small little details than connecting people with what they want...

Thanks,

Ken

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

May 26, 2016 08:16

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

24 times

Topic:

I prefer the view point that this site is for people to connect and share Lego
for the pleasure of it. So I ask myself would this feature assist in this.
And YES it would.

It isn't for that though, is it? It is for selling and buying LEGO. And for
money, not for pleasure.

Author:

Made_In_Bricks

Posted:

May 26, 2016 08:11

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

So you don't see a single consequence of potentially providing this information
freely?

I prefer the view point that this site is for people to connect and share Lego
for the pleasure of it. So I ask myself would this feature assist in this.
And YES it would.

If all you do is consider the negatives, nothing will ever get done, there is
no such feature that if you implemented it, everything would be 100% positive.
Any change in the buying/selling experience will have pluses and minuses.

I think the pluses in helping people who have Lego get it to those who do not
are greater than the minuses with the suggestion, thus I made the suggestion.

Think of the dire consequences of allowing Joe Schmoes across the world to open
up a store on a whim and list rare items they don't have, think of all the
possible scams. Better not allow that...

What if it crowded out certain buyers? What if it allowed certain sellers
to corner the market on a rare item?

I believe this already happens thanks to the price guide

What if it allowed high dollar buyers to
just shut out small buyers on a limited budget?

I'll give a specific example from our business. There are a few parts that
we use in projects that have a very high margin for us at retail. In some cases
we buy as many as 60-80% of a specific part that is listed on BL in a given month.
In some cases the going rate on BL is just 20-30% of what we are willing
to pay. We'll often buy them at 2-3 times (or more) of the BL average
price if a seller has a decent quantity.

I don't think it could be any simpler...don't use the feature. Boom,
problem solved...

Do you realize what would happen if we chose to make that information public
that we were willing to buy large quantities at 300% of the average price for
a certain part?

Forget for a second that we would probably pay more as sellers
simply met our higher than average "maximum price", but think about all the other
buyers who are only willing to pay the current average price.

Now their parts are potentially 3 times more expensive.

Again, great for BL's fees, great for sellers, great for the buyers willing
to buy at a higher price, but terrible for all the other buyers.

Scott

Author:

ToriHada

Posted:

May 26, 2016 08:11

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

May 26, 2016 00:28

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Book DKChimaPL

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory: [B=DKChimaPL]

* Delete 2 Part 11097 Flat Silver Minifig, Armor Shoulder Pads with Front Stud and 2 Back Studs
* Delete 2 Part 98138 Trans-Light Blue Tile, Round 1 x 1
* Change 1 Minifig {loc013 Crawley to loc162 Crawley - Flat Silver Armor (5002773)}

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

May 26, 2016 00:27

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Book 5002773

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory: [B=5002773]

* Delete 2 Part 11097 Flat Silver Minifig, Armor Shoulder Pads with Front Stud and 2 Back Studs
* Delete 2 Part 98138 Trans-Light Blue Tile, Round 1 x 1
* Change 1 Minifig {loc013 Crawley to loc162 Crawley - Flat Silver Armor (5002773)}

Author:

SylvainLS

Posted:

May 25, 2016 19:04

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, QCBricks writes:

[…]
I'll give a specific example from our business. There are a few parts that
we use in projects that have a very high margin for us at retail. In some cases
we buy as many as 60-80% of a specific part that is listed on BL in a given month.
In some cases the going rate on BL is just 20-30% of what we are willing
to pay. We'll often buy them at 2-3 times (or more) of the BL average
price if a seller has a decent quantity.

Do you realize what would happen if we chose to make that information public
that we were willing to buy large quantities at 300% of the average price for
a certain part? Forget for a second that we would probably pay more as sellers
simply met our higher than average "maximum price", but think about all the other
buyers who are only willing to pay the current average price.

Now their parts are potentially 3 times more expensive.

Again, great for BL's fees, great for sellers, great for the buyers willing
to buy at a higher price, but terrible for all the other buyers.

Exactly.

And IOW, having “demands” on an open platform, along with “offers” is what happens
on a stock exchange.

A lot of markets are closed (information-wise, like with blind bids) or where
there’re no buying bids (for example Dutch auctions: the seller lowers the price
until someone take it).

You can’t have a market place that works in all the ways (street market, stock
exchange, auction, Dutch auction, raffle, Chinese auction, etc.) at the same
time, for the same items to boot.

For now, BL is a street market: sellers propose products at a price, buyers pick
and choose. BL provides the “street” and a little police. If you set up those
“bids” and “requests,” BL would become a stock exchange.

I’m not interested in if one type is good or bad, or better or worse. I’m just
saying they are two different kinds of market places. You could have both in
parallel but that’d be two different market places.
As QCBricks explains, you can’t have bits of one in the other without changing
the rules and disrupting the market. Either you totally change the place, or
you create another, totally separated, place.

Author:

QCBricks

Posted:

May 25, 2016 18:12

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, BrickItYourself writes:

This is exactly why it would probably work for a single minifig or a single rare
part. Not much can be assumed from just that single piece of information.

On the other hand, a ton of information can be inferred from knowing who makes
the huge orders (I am talking $500-$1000+ or 5k+ parts) and what it is that they
order. I am sure that many buyers making those sorts of orders would not be
comfortable making that information freely available. Savvy sellers will find
the cracks in that system and exploit to make more money from buyers. If the
buyer is doing custom work or reselling, they might not want to provide potential
competitors with information. And so on...

Then don't use it...??? it isn't that hard to understand, the suggestion
is to make the service available to those who would want to use it.

If you have these concerns, don't use it. If you want to try to get bulk
parts cheaper, use it.

I can spell out tons of reasons NOT to use the forum, but people chose to stay
out and people chose to use it.

Apples to Oranges. There is no price guide for the forum or even an exchange
of money.

So you don't see a single consequence of potentially providing this information
freely? What if it crowded out certain buyers? What if it allowed certain sellers
to corner the market on a rare item? What if it allowed high dollar buyers to
just shut out small buyers on a limited budget?

Not saying those specific things will happen, but it clearly could have some
unintended consequences that cannot be dismissed with "don't like it, don't
use it". Economists would call these negative externalities when an unrelated
third party is potentially affected by a transaction between two other parties.

If it was found that such a system rose prices on an item by 50%, sellers would
love it, but buyers not so much.

I'll give a specific example from our business. There are a few parts that
we use in projects that have a very high margin for us at retail. In some cases
we buy as many as 60-80% of a specific part that is listed on BL in a given month.
In some cases the going rate on BL is just 20-30% of what we are willing
to pay. We'll often buy them at 2-3 times (or more) of the BL average
price if a seller has a decent quantity.

Do you realize what would happen if we chose to make that information public
that we were willing to buy large quantities at 300% of the average price for
a certain part? Forget for a second that we would probably pay more as sellers
simply met our higher than average "maximum price", but think about all the other
buyers who are only willing to pay the current average price.

Now their parts are potentially 3 times more expensive.

Again, great for BL's fees, great for sellers, great for the buyers willing
to buy at a higher price, but terrible for all the other buyers.

Scott

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

May 25, 2016 17:54

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, BrickItYourself writes:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

There is a difference that the buyer chooses to buy at that time.

A buyer putting up a wants list at $x moves the power from buyer to seller. If
the price drops and the buyer does not cancel their list quick enough, then the
seller decides the sale goes ahead and forces (or tries to force) the buyer to
pay what is now over the odds.

If it was a nonbinding quote, that would be better.

This was already brought up.

If you as a buyer put out "I want a SW102 for $25" (just a hypothetical) and
a seller comes along with what you want and answers your open bid. And you purchase
it, YOU got what you wanted for the price you were willing to pay.

If the prices DROP or were already dropping and you didn't pay attention,
what is the difference on how the transaction was completed?

This happens all the time. This could happen with auctions on the other site.
You could place a bid to win an item on a 30 day auction and the very same
seller could start selling the same exact item for less, and then at the end
of the auction, you would still be obligated to purchase. In reality, I don't
think prices change THAT fast.

I could see where rare items might go up in price, but I could also see them
going down.

If there is a buyer out there that says I will commit to buy a New Sealed - Mr.
Gold for $1,200 and no Mr. Gold is listed at that price, but a seller wants to
move their merchandise, this now brings the price for the item DOWN. Also, sellers
can use such a tool on where to price rare items that might not have had one
move for 6 months...

Thanks

Ken

There is a difference though. For example if a buyer says they will pay $1K for
a Mr Gold and sets up a want offer (let's say cheapest is $1.5K), then it
is anounced that Mr Gold is going to be released as a regular CMF. His price
is going to plummet, so that seller jumps on the offer as quick as possible to
get rid of it. Something similar (but smaller numbers) happened this year with
Chicken suit guy. How many people would pay out the $1K if it was clear the standard
price would now be under $10?

Of course it can happen in reverse now, where sellers get caught out when a part
rises in price quicky (rare parts in batpod or an Arvo Bros model) and people
buy their cheap parts that are about to rise. The difference is a good seller
will keep up with what their stock is worth.

Author:

therobo

Posted:

May 25, 2016 15:49

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, BrickItYourself writes:

Look and this recent thread:

http://www.bricklink.com/messageThread.asp?ID=205650&nID=988369

buy looking for

[m=sw102]

with a certain print. One pops up and boom, gone before he could get it, then
buyer posts they will offer $$$$ for it.

This is a good example that fits a feature for BL to implement (like they ever
would though) to produce more sales.

This feature would work with the wanted lists or single items. One could simply
put a wanted list on the open market. No single store has everything in your
wanted list? Maybe a store has 90% of the items, that store is willing to buy
the other 3-4 items and ship you your entire wanted list, 1 order for the buyer,
just as many sales for bricklink, sellers eat shipping or build into the price.

Also, how about rare items? The user in the above thread was willing to pay
$$$ for it. Perhaps someone holding the said item wants just a few more dollars
that what is listed for sale. The buyer in the above thread could say I am willing
to pay $75 for the correct sw102. Then anyone with that figure could browse
the OPEN BIDS for such an item.

How would it work?

I upload my wanted list

lets just say 1000 part A, 2000 part B and 3000 Part C, I am willing to pay $X,
then sellers could elect to fulfill this order or not. The buyer can upload
all the requirements, price, shipping, ship by date etc. Sellers could offer
counters, maybe they could get everything for just a few $ more.

This is the summary to vote yes or no

"Bricklink please develop a method of completing transactions in which the BUYER
can dictate the ITEMS and TERMS and SELLERS can elect to fulfill such order or
offer COUNTERs. Once a SELLER elects to fulfill an order, it goes into the system
as Bricklink order XXXX and the terms are now the terms in dictated in the open
bid"

Thanks

Ken
Brick It Yourself

Hi,
some years ago I suggested to have an option per wanted list to make them publicly
available, but don't publish the usernames.
Sellers would be able to browse through the lists and make offers.
Anything but remarks fields would be visible to sellers.
Sellers could let the system (on request) check the lists against their inventory
automatically and when the seller clicks "Send Offer" (per list), the items would
be reserved to the buyer for a certain time frame (maybe 2 days).
Sellers would not know to whom they send the offer until they get the order.

My suggestion is no longer around, maybe someone else re-posted it similarly
but I haven't checked.

Author:

Made_In_Bricks

Posted:

May 25, 2016 15:48

Subject:

Re: Open Bids and Purchase Requests

Viewed:

28 times

Topic: