BrickLink Discussion Forum

I'm curious if BL will continue to offer the multitude other off-sites methods.
Anyone looked at what is still available? There's a bunch I've never
even heard of, and seriously, is a Western Union transfer a better option than
PayPal off-site?

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Mar 19, 2018 01:48

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, PurpleDave writes:

Bricklink famously ground to a halt, twice, because it got hacked. The site
may have been restored to working condition, but a lot of us want nothing to
do with risking exposure of our financial accounts to anyone who may be lurking
behind the scenes. Sellers don't want to give Bricklink the level of control
required to accept payments through Bricklink. Bricklink has announced that
in about a month, they plan to scuttle offsite Paypal as a payment option, without
even taking any input from their core membership. The reason stated was that
new, usually one-time buyers, can't figure out where the payment button is
when they select offsite Paypal as a payment option, so they plan to basically
cut off any buyers and sellers who refuse to use any other form of payment, and
who especially want nothing to do with any onsite Paypal options.

Make offsite Paypal an opt-in payment option. Sellers obviously have to select
up front which payment options they will accept. Make all _buyers_ voluntarily
choose to see offsite Paypal as a payment option when checking out. If a seller
does not accept any other payment options, have them flagged as "does not ship
to you", just like if they were from another country and didn't have your
country enabled for shipping options. If a new buyer signs up, they should be
required to read an explanation of how offsite Paypal works, and confirm that
they want to be able to choose that as a payment option before they even see
it appear in lists.

But seriously, don't chase away a bunch of your regular customers in the
hope that you might be able to "grow your business" on the bank accounts of people
who just get sent here to buy a replacement part that LEGO Consumer Affairs can't
provide, or who are looking for just one retired set, and will never log in again
after they receive their shipment.

Couldn't agree more. If they really are having so many tickets about the
Pay button, refer those tickets to the store(s). I am sure there are far more
tickets coming in over issues with other matters on the site than this. For a
payment method which has worked flawlessly for nearly 7 years (5000 orders received
and 1000 placed) it does not seem logical nor to their benefit to stop it. It
could, however be money driven - if you use Paypal onsite Bricklink must be getting
something out of it where as offsite is outside of their earning capability'.
But then so is every other payment method.

Author:

alahaka

Posted:

Mar 19, 2018 01:45

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

60 times

Topic:

So whatever simpler arrangement I had set up with BrickLink and PayPal --
onsite payment or instant payment or whatever it was called other than Instant
Checkout -- is now gone, courtesy of my stupidity in trusting BrickLink to
have a confirmation step before removing it.

Now that that arrangement has been disconnected, it is no longer an option and
I'll have to revert to offsite payments short of signing up for the more
risky PayPal Marketplace agreement. Purposely tricky on BrickLink's part
in my view; obviously by design.

The PayPal Marketplace includes all this stuff below. Sounds more like PayPal's
and BrickLink's account than mine. No thank you.

- Allow PayPal to connect your account with BrickLink Corporation.
- In order for PayPal to work properly on your site, you authorize BrickLink
Corporation. to: Use PayPal to process my customers' payments; Initiate steps
to authorize and capture my customers' payments; Initiate a refund for a
specific transaction; Deposit the PayPal funds I’ve received through BrickLink
Corporation. directly into the bank account I have linked to my BrickLink Corporation
account; Automatically deduct their fee from each PayPal transaction prior to
the remaining balance settling to your PayPal account. The amount of this fee,
is subject to your agreement with BrickLink Corporation; Hold and release funds
on my behalf in accordance with BrickLink Corporation's policy; Search through
and access corresponding transaction data.
- You can revoke these permissions at any time from within your PayPal account
settings.

I didn't close out the PayPal Marketplace process, so I don't know what
else it may entail. Again it appears I'm just handing control of my account
to BrickLink and PayPal, along with whatever personal data and funds are placed
at risk.

Sad to see the site going in these Take-it-or-leave-it directions.

I was getting used to my previous PayPal arrangement which as noted before didn't
appear to be much of a risk. Time to rework my invoice layout again. Bummer.

Author:

alahaka

Posted:

Mar 19, 2018 01:25

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

68 times

Topic:

I agree that flexible payment options should remain for both buyers and sellers
with regard to BrickLink. This among other considerations allows for a community-driven
village of small, large, national, and international selections and transactions
-- i.e. a more pleasant community. (For buyers with regard to sellers, I
acknowledge that I prefer PayPal.)

That said, the connection to PayPal I had (I just tried to look up its BrickLink
terminology and screwed up my connection ... so much for a confirmation step
to save changes ... we can't have that ... now the PayPal Marketplace is
my only option of two ... seconds ago I had three) ... ... anyway the connection
I had did not require much if anything beyond my email address, so I'm not
sure what the added risk is.

On to research whatever I just screwed up. For BrickLink administrators, confirming
changes is not a new concept. Arrgh.

Author:

Dalika

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 23:05

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

73 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, PurpleDave writes:

Yes, please. I really hope they continue to offer Off-site as a payment option.
I really don't want to close my store next month. That said, I will not be
linking my PayPal account with BrickLink. Fingers crossed here, for sure.

D

Author:

PurpleDave

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 21:52

Subject:

Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

321 times

Topic:

Status:

Implemented

Author:

PurpleDave

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 21:36

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

74 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

Enable instant checkout in your store.

Enable instant checkout, and it won't stop anyone from selecting any other
payment option offered. Restrict payment to instant checkout, and you lose all
the customers that don't trust Bricklink to be secure enough to make exposing
their payment info to whoever might be watching.

Author:

PurpleDave

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 21:34

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

63 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calebfishn writes:

Your suggestion will not screen out "false" buyers. But it will discourage and
dissuade all the first time people who come to Bricklink to look around. I get
very few orders that are not paid, and the ones that don't pay, are in my
opinion people who are experimenting with the order system.

Some people probably are dealing with people intentionally jerking their chain
when it comes to false orders. Either they said something here that ticked someone
off, or they did something in relation to a previous sale that had the same effect.
Creating fake accounts just to place false orders would be a way to pester someone.
You couldn't really take credit for it (not if you have a valid account
that you wanted to keep clean, at least, though if you'd already been banned
I guess it wouldn't really matter), so the victim would never know _why_
they kept getting bogus orders. But if someone is the sort to go through that
effort for such petty vengeance, I doubt logic and reason really factor into
their decisions.

Author:

calebfishn

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 19:16

Subject:

Re: Seller checkout approval for <X new buyers

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

i can't support anything that makes it harder for someone to become a bricklink
customer.

Author:

calebfishn

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 19:14

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

71 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, matejo writes:

Mentioned in other posts, I am submitting this as a separate suggestion.

The goal of the $1 payment is to preclude new members from making false orders
and thereby avoid time wasted on pulling order items, attaining packing supplies,
calculating shipping, etc.

Perhaps there is also a benefit with regard to new sellers. Not sure.

I recognize there will be process, payment, and accounting challenges for BrickLink
administrators, along with maybe an undesired initial action to become a member,
however this proposal would screen out false buyers, and benefit the integrity
and positive experiences of the entire new member, buyer, and seller community
-- which for my part is a key reason I'm here.

Just what we need, fewer buyers.

Your suggestion will not screen out "false" buyers. But it will discourage and
dissuade all the first time people who come to Bricklink to look around. I get
very few orders that are not paid, and the ones that don't pay, are in my
opinion people who are experimenting with the order system.

I say, let them experiment. It is a minor inconvenience.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 19:09

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

65 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, matejo writes:

I recognize there are problems with the idea.

And I should have highlighted that it is a one-time payment idea, for
life.

I am looking for ideas to dissuade false buyers, and I guess the "conform" notion
of instant checkout is all that's on the table.

Right or wrong, it's an eBay direction, and eBay is a customer-can-do-no-wrong
environment, which in the end does not support small sellers.

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

So, one $5 minifig will cost $7 + shipping, with $2 + 3% to BL (= ~30% fee).

Yeah, I can see that going very well indeed… not!

If someone wants to mess you about, $1 is nothing. Plus the majority of orders
I ever had go unpaid were from users with multiple hundreds of feedback or more.

Author:

Brick.Door

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 18:49

Subject:

Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, matejo writes:

Order Stats: 333 placed / 33 cancelled *

* This seller had the audacity to use our very lengthy Non-Paying Buyer process
we built to deal with non-paying buyers, in lieu of growing-in-popularity unilateral
cancellations, and on top of that this seller displayed the patience and nerve
to better inform our community of problem buyers, 33 times!

The cancelled figure includes all cancelled orders - whether by NPB or not.

Author:

alahaka

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 17:17

Subject:

Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

Author:

WoutR

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 17:17

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

73 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, matejo writes:

I would never have joined BrickLink if I had to pay first.

Author:

alahaka

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 16:54

Subject:

Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

I didn't know there was a cancelled order count. More "Look busy" corporateishness.
I have no idea what on earth it is intended to tell buyers, given the many unknowns
of cancellation circumstances.

I agree that, however much or however little, it can only come across as a negative
with regard to the seller. Weird that someone said, "Let's do it!".

Changing administration. I doubt the previous administrators would have given
a darn about displaying such an unknown.

In Suggestions, leon112 writes:

I agree that the time should be shortened. The rules were made when we weren't
as digitally connected as we are today. I would imagine that most people get
their emails on their phone or tablet.So unless they are hiding in a spam folder,
they got the message. They can pay from their phone or tablet. Chances are extremely
high that once it goes to NPB status it will stay that way.
Low feedback buyers have to start somewhere. I more than get that. I don't
do instant checkout so I attract these NPB buyers, much more than I did before
instant checkout. Not that I'm thrilled with it but it is part of doing business
the way I want to. My big complaint is that those NPBs are shown in the cancelled
order count. I don't mind if I mess up,but through no fault of my own my
count goes up by those NPBs. So right now I am sitting on 2 NPBs and more than
likely 2 more to come.
Deb

Author:

chetzler

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 16:52

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

77 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

In Suggestions, matejo writes:

Don't pick and pack until you're paid.
Enable instant checkout in your store.

I've said this before: Instant Checkout does NOT prevent NPBs. I can tell
you this from personal experience.

This is not a bad idea. Perhaps the initial membership fee could even be refunded
after 10 positive feedback is reached. Unfortunately, I doubt BrickLink will
implement anything that might limit new customers even if it would be a steady
(but small source of income).

Author:

alahaka

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 16:40

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

90 times

Topic:

So, one $5 minifig will cost $7 + shipping, with $2 + 3% to BL (= ~30% fee).

Yeah, I can see that going very well indeed… not!

Author:

Brickwilbo

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 16:34

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

91 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, matejo writes:

Don't pick and pack until you're paid.
Enable instant checkout in your store.

Author:

Brickwilbo

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 16:31

Subject:

Re: Seller checkout approval for <X new buyers

Viewed:

25 times

Topic:

This site is for selling and buying.
The lesser restrictions the better.

Enable instant checkout in your store.
That will solve your problem.

In Suggestions, matejo writes:

Whether X = 0 or some short optional range between say -3 and +3, I suggest
that any seller be able to approve of new zero-or-low-feedback members before
they are allowed to check out.

As a heads-up courtesy, new buyers can be advised by BrickLink, via a notice
both near the cart symbol while shopping and in the cart, that checking out will
require the seller's approval.

Attaining approval would require a BrickLink message from the prospective buyer
to the seller requesting to check out. In lieu of a better indicator, this message,
or perhaps more importantly the simple effort to send it, would allow a seller
to make an approval or disapproval decision.

The seller makes a decision, with ideally everything being on the up & up, and
a bona fide order and purchase follow.

However the rule and process is set up, it can be deconflicted with the "Disallow
members with negative feedback" rule.

- - - -

A better solution that what's above, to minimize time-wasting
fake orders, is to have all buyers pay BrickLink a dollar or euro before being
allowed to order.

I for one am happy to pay a dollar, although I cannot speak for anyone else.

- - - -

I've welcomed several new buyers to BrickLink, and I hope to welcome more.

On the flip side, I spent an hour-and-a-half pulling eight sets last Thursday
night, in order to identify a good shipping box (which to free up involved shifting
around several more sets) and to attain an accurate overseas shipping quote on
behalf of the customer, assuming the best with regard to their intentions. I
did this promptly within three hours of order receipt, in order to set up a timely
invoice.

I almost took everything to the post office the next day, in order to get a better
weight since the big box covered my small scale. Thankfully the member's
first negative arrived before that, and I decided to estimate the weight.

This morning, I spent another hour getting these sets back to their storage places.

I did all this on behalf of someone who is playing a mean game with several BrickLink
sellers ... ... ... simply because he can as a new member. Furthermore,
he's now at -4 and has the BrickLink greenlight to order from unsuspecting
sellers. The wasted-time toll of this false buyer round remains TBD.

My sets are safely stored wherever they fit throughout my place; I do not have
a crystal ball to store them in some purchase and ease-of-access order; and I
do not have a warehouse facility.

In light of such service efforts, extensive or otherwise, sellers should be able
to screen new buyers, even if such an evaluation is limited to interpreting a
message.

Or have everyone pay BrickLink a token amount before receiving buyer privileges.
Probably not easy given payment means and currencies, but it would likely alleviate
an ongoing and possibly growing issue.

Author:

SylvainLS

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 16:18

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

104 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, matejo writes:

So, one $5 minifig will cost $7 + shipping, with $2 + 3% to BL (= ~30% fee).

Yeah, I can see that going very well indeed… not!

Author:

Miro78

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 15:45

Subject:

Re: Minibuilds

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Lauren_Luke writes:

Miro78:
I think the success of the minibuilds portion of the catalog would greatly hinge on an ease of browsing. ... The minibuilds catalog would greatly benefit if one could narrow down list of mini builds by narrowing down choices.
(example given)

Yes I agree, your example is spot-on.

Miro78:
This would clearly require a tag system for individual entries to allow for such narrowing down of options.

Yep, totally agree.

Miro78:
Obviously this can be implemented when the BL catalog system is updated. I think doing a pilot sub-catalog trial is still in everyone's best interest that would bring in a whole slew of new buyers.

Would the pilot trial still be within BL or a new external sister-site perhaps?

I think the pilot site needs to be incorporated along with the main site, so
as to gain as much exposure and assess demand and flush out errors and get feedback.

Miro78:
Initially it would be best to start with high profile minibuilds that buyers and sellers need to exist without having the inventory admins busy with minibuilds with low likely hood of being sold.

Which are the high profile minibuilds? I would say they are the ‘new-incomplete’
and ‘used-incomplete’ sets that are already in the BL catalog. How do we know
which minibuilds have a low likelihood of being sold? Experience shows that there
is always something you think would not sell that someone is eager to purchase.

I think focusing on some key high in demand mini builds like the character based
ones that have always been discussed in the catalog would be a good start. The
admins can create a minibuild request page where people can request specific
minibuilds and if they reach a certain threshold of votes/requests then only
then admins would add those in, at least at the beginning, so as to control the
amount of work that would be needed, as well gauging demand/supply for them to
gauge success of the program. Spending time on bunch of minibuilds that would
not generate sales would not be very informative on the success of such an undertaking.

Obviously the catalog of minibuilds would not be complete from the get-go, but
it would need to start somewhere. I think sellers would be interested in it,
as it would generate sales and buyers will spend less time hunting for parts
for popular minibuilds.

If the goal is to take pressure of the Inventory Administrators then which is
more time -consuming/time-efficient: a few large-part-count minibuilds; or many
small-part-count minibuilds; or batches of a set-theme; or batches of a minibuild
category?

Miro78:
As far as sticker sheet problem, I have not found a good solution. Perhaps there can be 2 options: Without stickers and with stickers applied. The latter being a touchy topic on its-own, but at least it gives sellers and buyers options.

I checked on TLG website and does not seem to be any way to purchase replacement
sticker sheets for a set. Do you know is TLG do this? Purchasing an extra sticker
sheet for each minibuild would be another option, but it would be an extra expense
for the seller. Otherwise the minibuild sellers could buy bulk sticker sheets
from the part-out sellers.

Author:

bb680938

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 15:32

Subject:

Re: Seller checkout approval for <X new buyers

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

Instant checkout pretty much solves this. You can force new buyers to only use
instant checkout in your store. Doing something as you suggested would only add
to complications and most likely deter new buyers. Buying/checkout is meant to
be as easy as possible, not difficult.

Author:

alahaka

Posted:

Mar 18, 2018 15:30

Subject:

Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

343 times

Topic: