BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Inventories, wilton1975 writes:

Hi all

I have downloaded an XML version of my inventory via Brickstock.

When I open it I do not see any way to specify a set's sub-condition ie incomplete
or sealed.

Is it possible or does BrickStock have no way to specify a sub-condition.

Does anyone know?

No sub-condition currently in Brickstock

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Feb 16, 2019 08:01

Subject:

Re: We need a modern way to part out sets.

Viewed:

76 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, HallBricks writes:

The "Part Out" tool feels very outdated, and is tedious to use. One accidental
click on a link, and you loose every data you have put in for each lot.

I know there are third party software used to upload parts to your inventory,
but think a much more powerful way to part out set should be offered by BrickLink.
Maybe a software you download to your computer, but it could also just be a massive
redesign of the existing tool online.

What I miss the most is easier ways to manage lots that already exist in my inventory.
I don't want to open a new page just to check the remarks for a certain lot,
because if I forget to open that link in a new tab I will loose all progress
made with the other lots. This information should be visible on the same page,
or I should be able to open it in a pop-up window.

When parting out huge sets with thousands of pieces, it would also be nice to
be able to save the progress and continue later. Maybe there should be one upload
button for each lot, so I don't have to go through the entire list first
and then submit all changes at once.

There are of course lots of different features that could be implemented to make
the Part Out tool even more powerful, like more advanced ways to set up automatic
prices, like 10% below average etc.

YOu are of course right - that feature needs re-thinking. Having said that I
am not yet convinced leaving it in the hands of the developers, without a proper
specification will gie us what we want/need. It would be absolutely brilliant
if they come to the members and ask for input - then produce a spec for review
and then once agreed - write the code. Not really going to happen is it. No work
is currently being done on the classic site whilst all efforts are directed to
the next great marvel Bricklink xp and then, according to Admin_russell sellers
tools are next, whatever that means. As we have been waiting since 2013 for some
indication as to what that will be and the only message which evens mentions
features was that from Admin suggesting that B2B should be part of sellers tools
????? I wonder who asked for that and what does it mean?

People who run stores both new and old know what they need far better than those
who have not run a store. They should be asked what is needed and as I mentioned
in the first paragraph given a significant say in what is developed. Not goint
to happen, I am sure but one could hope.

For starters we ned as a minimum the following:

1. Inventory management
1. Sales Metrics/dashboard
3. Access to Google Analytics information for no of visitors etc
4. More printing capabilities (parameter/choice driven
5. More options using Query by Form
6. A totally revamped MY Inventory page
7. A proper part-out log (not the current one)
8. Redesign of the part out feature
9. Redesign of the add inventory page
10. Proper backup capabilities
11. Re-visit downloads and make them compatible with modern tools

And that list could go on for days

Sorry to kind of hi-jack your thread.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jan 27, 2019 08:26

Subject:

Re: Visit count incrementing

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, jamescorkhill writes:

Thanks for replying. I kind of thought that might be the case and you have confirmed
it.

I'm very new to selling, but a web developer myself, so any tips welcome.
Do you just embed one into your terms/splash page?

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, jamescorkhill writes:

Hi
I was wondering if was possible, or if it would make sense to stop the visit
count going up when you visit your own store. This would give a more accurate
idea of how many other people have looked at your store.

If I am misunderstanding what it is for please correct me.

The visitor counter is totally flawed and should not be used as an indicator
of visitors. If you press and hold the F5 Ker whilst in your store, or anyone
else does, you can make the counter jump horrendously.

We went from 60000 visitors a long time ago to 250,0000 overnight and you know
that cannot be real.

We had our web designer deal with this and now use our own counter, which many
other people also do.

It is a shame really as it appears Bricklink use Google analytics and could provide
much better information but to date have not seen this as important.

Good luck with your suggestion but without a radical change to the way the Bricklink
one currently works it is not helpful information.

That is the normal way, but to be honest I amm not sure how our guy did it. Will
ask him and repost.

It would be so much better if Bricklink would open up Analytics and let us all
do and see what we want.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jan 27, 2019 07:47

Subject:

Re: Visit count incrementing

Viewed:

51 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, jamescorkhill writes:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jan 15, 2019 13:12

Subject:

Re: Add ability to download Part Out Log

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, JulieK writes:

Please add ability to download the list of sets shown on the My Inventory: Part
Out Log.
Thank You.

Bumping. It would be nice to be able to download this info into an excel sheet.
It would make cross checking my records easier.
Thank You.

Hi there - voted no but need to explain. The part out log as it stands at present
isn't really much value. It needs to incorporate the transaction detail (which
it holds) before it would be worthwhile downloading it. The only thing it contains
at present is the set id and the date you parted it out.

But, again, unfortunately nothing is going on on the classic site whatsoever
- all development effort is being utilized on Bricklink XP (or whatever they
end up calling it).

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jan 2, 2019 13:33

Subject:

Re: Add HTML functionality to shipping message

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Leut writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, Leut writes:

When I ship an order with a courier and I get a track-and-trace code, I also
add a URL to the message with which the buyer can easily keep an eye on the courier's
website and the status of the parcel.

This URL however can only be inserted as plain text and looks rather old school
and not quite professional as I would like to see. An image is attached to show
what I mean.

Is it a possibility there's some kind of HTML options added to the shipment
message with which we -the sellers- are able to create good looking messages?

If something like this already exists or if there are any other options I might
have overlooked, please do inform so.

Hi there - very strange

We add the tracking url to our drive through messages and it works fine.

This is the URL that we use, replacing the [TRACKING NUMBVER] field with the
Post Office tracking number.

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/track?trackNumber=[TRACKING NUMBER]

That already looks better than mine.

But wouldn’t it be more nicer to mention the tracking number only in the drive
through message, and this tracking number is a hyperlink, on which the buyer
can click to get routed to the courier’s statuspage?

That above URL is pasted into our drive-thru messages with the appropriate number
in it (replacing the word tracking number) and over 5000 orders later we have
never had a problem other than they click on the link and the post office haven't
updated the information yet but that always goes away after a day or so.

Go to your postal service or courier web site and I am sure in their support
section they will have a list of the URL's to use with examples. That is
what we did

We still agree with you about smartening up the message capabilities so it can
be more of a marketing tool but at least you should be able to do this without
any problems.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jan 2, 2019 13:11

Subject:

Re: Add HTML functionality to shipping message

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Leut writes:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 23, 2018 10:50

Subject:

Re: Part out value may not always be accurate

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, shovhans writes:

Dear bricklink development team,

Currently the "Part Out Value" page shows the value in average, which may not
be accurate if any seller posts an item with very high, or inaccurate price.

To better represent the part out value of a set, we need to add the following
additional metrics:
1. Standard deviation of the Average value shown
2. Median value
3. Breakdown list of all items with the above metrics for each item. Additionally
we would like to see the count for each item.

Thanks
shovhans

Whilst your suggestion is very good - nothing is being done by the development
team to the classic site whilst Bricklink eXpress is being developed. So it will
more than likely fall on 'deaf ears'. An awful lot more needs doing on
the entire part out process on this site. The part out log should not be just
a reminder of the date when you parted it out - it should contain full details
of the part out. You should also be able to see what the 'new lots' will
be from the first screen - we need more flexibility in the initial screen especially
with remarks fields, as well as seeing what we have the item listed as etc. etc.
Lots to do - nothing will get done. Shame really as it is a very important part
of the site.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 23, 2018 00:38

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 40145-1

Viewed:

154 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

40145-1 (Inv) LEGO Store
409 Parts, 1 Minifigure, 2015
Sets: LEGO Brand: LEGO Brand Store: Model

* Add 2 Part 4085b Orange Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical - Type 2 (thin U clip) (Alternate)

Comments from Submitter:
6 sets parted out 2 had the b variant not d.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 21, 2018 12:03

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 40222-1

Viewed:

225 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

40222-1 (Inv) Holiday Countdown Calendar
250 Parts, 2016
Sets: Holiday & Event: Christmas

* Add 2 Part 4085b Orange Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical - Type 2 (thin U clip) (Alternate)

Comments from Submitter:
5 Sets parted out - all b's not d's

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 21, 2018 11:50

Subject:

Re: Projectile Launcher

Viewed:

286 times

Topic:

In Catalog, TheBrickGuys writes:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

Change for the sake of change is often followed by complaints - it rarely serves
any real purpose. Agreed changes often come with compliments and welcoming. There
is a difference.

That's a reasonable assessment. However, I'm fairly confident that the
changes I've made or coordinated in the catalog so far were all improvements.
Still, I've gotten a number of complaints about nearly all of them.

How does that go - you can please some of the people all of the time but not
all of the people all of the time

NB - We haven't had reason yet to complain other than taking up the entire
forum with catalogue and inventory change requests ....

There are certain ones that talk allot about the changes needed yet they disagree
with just about EVERY change made. Hmmmm, makes you wonder.....

About what?

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 21, 2018 09:39

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 40222-1

Viewed:

197 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

40222-1 (Inv) Holiday Countdown Calendar
250 Parts, 2016
Sets: Holiday & Event: Christmas

* Add 1 Part 44567b Light Bluish Gray Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger on Side without Bottom Groove (Alternate)
* Add 1 Part 44302b Dark Bluish Gray Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with 2 Fingers on End without Bottom Groove (Alternate)

Comments from Submitter:
5 sets parted out all without groove.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 21, 2018 08:43

Subject:

Re: Projectile Launcher

Viewed:

182 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

Change for the sake of change is often followed by complaints - it rarely serves
any real purpose. Agreed changes often come with compliments and welcoming. There
is a difference.

How does that go - you can please some of the people all of the time but not
all of the people all of the time

NB - We haven't had reason yet to complain other than taking up the entire
forum with catalogue and inventory change requests ....

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 21, 2018 07:56

Subject:

Re: Projectile Launcher

Viewed:

352 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

What do you think?

That was the point of the Projectile Launcher category: to group all of these
together in one place. However, I'd prefer to wait for the launch of the
parts reclassification project to move these.

The first part of that project will be creating precise written definitions for
every category of parts. Once written definitions exist, then people will have
less room to bring out the torches and pitchforks when parts start moving.

Don't know if you noticed or not, but people sometimes want change and then
complain when it happens.

Change for the sake of change is often followed by complaints - it rarely serves
any real purpose. Agreed changes often come with compliments and welcoming. There
is a difference.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 8, 2018 11:45

Subject:

Re: Try that again

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Rob_and_Shelagh writes:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

29112pb01 Plant Venus Flytrap Half with Marbled Red Spikes Pattern
Parts: Plant

- Not swure thie is correct in the catalogue. In all 3 sets that
it comes in there is an

x71 Rubber Belt Small (Round Cross Section) - Approx. 2 x 2
Parts: Rubber Band & Belt

white rubber band which holds the two halves
together. The instructions show the rubber band being used in each case. Should
there be an inventory for the part?

As currently set up in the catalogue 29112pb01 is for 1 piece i.e. half of the
assembly and the band is just another separate part. For an assembly the inventory
would need to be 2 x 29112pb01 plus one band but typically assemblies like this
are not catalogued.

Robert

Hi Robert - I thought there was all this talk and discussion about assemblies
a short time ago and that has changed but I will bow to your knowledge and separate
them out.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 8, 2018 11:39

Subject:

Try that again

Viewed:

224 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

29112pb01 Plant Venus Flytrap Half with Marbled Red Spikes Pattern
Parts: Plant

- Not swure thie is correct in the catalogue. In all 3 sets that
it comes in there is an

x71 Rubber Belt Small (Round Cross Section) - Approx. 2 x 2
Parts: Rubber Band & Belt

white rubber band which holds the two halves
together. The instructions show the rubber band being used in each case. Should
there be an inventory for the part?

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 5, 2018 05:28

Subject:

Re: The 87552/94638/35378 saga

Viewed:

52 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

Good morning

You already have an open request for this issue. I have copied your message
and reposted it to the open request and moved this request from Catalog Requests
to Catalog.

I haven't had time to look at this issue closely, but I will soon.

Noted - we will carry on with our investigations as well.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 5, 2018 03:59

Subject:

The 87552/94638/35378 saga

Viewed:

91 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Good morning

It is now clear from the evidence we have gathered that the catalogue is not
currently correct for these part id's. The part

87552 Panel 1 x 2 x 2 with Side Supports - Hollow Studs
Parts: Panel

is correct but
should only be used for solid colours, similar to the 3004/3065. Both the 94638
and 353787 are for Transparent colours of the same part - we are in the process
of investigating those two parts to see if there is any difference in them.

So far the 94638 comes in 4 transparent colours Trans-Clear, Trans Bright Green,
Trans-Black and Trans-Light Blue. The part also carries a slightly different
description with Lego - incorporating the Letters PC (PolyCarbonite) at the end.

The 35378 is currently only available in Trans-Clear, Trans Light Blue and Trans-Black.

All 3 parts are available through the Lego Bricks & Pieces site as separate items.

What we suggest in the first instance is to separate 87552 and restrict it to
solid colours only. Hopefully in due course we will have the answer on the other
2.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 29, 2018 13:02

Subject:

Re: New Catalog Roadmap

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

Can we get some agreement on standards for reporting stud sizes please. some
are re[porting width and length and ignoring height and others are including
height. This happens quite frequently on 1 x 1 items.

Just set a rule or guideline and reject any that do not meet that.

There are already rules and guidelines set:

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=261

However, they could definitely be clarified when it comes to parts which don't
fit easy definitions. Therefore, I've added your project to the list:

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2473

As for the part you mentioned in a subsequent post, it simply needed a correction
to remove the height and I have fixed it. Thank you for pointing it out.

That was only a single example - there are plenty more.

NB - We are not all that bothered by this as the stud measurements have no real
meaning

Perhaps not to sellers who only sell and don't use the product. To people
who actually build with LEGO parts, these dimensions can be quite helpful. I
have used them many times.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 29, 2018 05:05

Subject:

Re: New Catalog Roadmap

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

Want to know where we're going with the catalog? Hard to do without a map,
isn't it?

I'm excessively pleased to announce the all-new Catalog Roadmap in the Help
Center:

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2473

If you lose that link, you can always find the page in the Help Center for the
catalog:

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?topicID=21

This is an effort to increase transparency about what is happening with the BrickLink
catalog and to make it feel more like a community effort. And, of course, to
get some stuff done.

And no, before anyone asks, I don't know what's going on with the site
roadmap. I thought it was a fantastic feature and I'm quite excited to finally
have something similar for the catalog.

Feedback? Ideas? Comments?

Morning

One more little item which needs attention

Can we get some agreement on standards for reporting stud sizes please. some
are re

15535pb02 Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Hole with Propeller with 3 Silver Blades Pattern
Parts: Tile, Round, Decorated

reads 2 x 2 x .33 whilst

15535 Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Hole
Parts: Tile, Round

reads 2 x 2

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 29, 2018 05:02

Subject:

Re: New Catalog Roadmap

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

Morning

One more little item which needs attention

Can we get some agreement on standards for reporting stud sizes please. some
are re[porting width and length and ignoring height and others are including
height. This happens quite frequently on 1 x 1 items.

Just set a rule or guideline and reject any that do not meet that.

NB - We are not all that bothered by this as the stud measurements have no real
meaning it is the actual dimensions which are important but until we can both
see that and use it getting some form of standardisation would be nice/helpful.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 28, 2018 03:03

Subject:

Re: New Catalog Roadmap

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In Catalog, jennnifer writes:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

Okay - our fist suggestions:

1. Get the dimensions field added to the catalogue page display as well as in
stores.
2. Introduce a level above the categories for the purposes of reporting and searching
e.g. Bricks would cover all sub categories of bricks e.g. modified, decorated
round etc. Without the catalogue it is unlikely Bricklink would still be here.

Just those two thoughts will take development time and careful planning and I
am sure those that are more heavily invoiced with the catalogue and inventory
updates will have tons more they wish to see.

Good luck getting any of that done - a roadmap is an interesting start and welcome
but it has to fill out with actions rather than just remaining a blueprint (as
the other one has done).

I would just like to quickly point out that the Catalog admins don't have
the ability to make developmental changes to the site. It won't be their
fault if your suggestions can't be implemented in a timely way. This road
map contains projects and ideas that don't require the BL office to facilitate.

Good ideas though!
Jen

Pity really. Comments understood. Best we leave at that. When the single most
important element of your organisation (e.g. the catalogue) has no programmer
involved and has no direct influence on development plans - something is not
quite right?????

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 28, 2018 02:57

Subject:

Re: New Catalog Roadmap

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

Good luck getting any of that done - a roadmap is an interesting start and welcome
but it has to fill out with actions rather than just remaining a blueprint (as
the other one has done).

The programming stuff is, as you say, out of my control. The projects you see
on the catalog roadmap, however, are things I have the ability to accomplish.
If you've been paying attention to inventories over the past year, you'll
see that this is not just idle talk. There were more changes to inventories
in the past year than any other year in BrickLink's history.

Not all of the catalog projects on the roadmap will be accomplished and some
of them may not even be attempted. But I can promise that you will definitely
see some catalog changes in the next 12 months.

Again - good luck with the new role.

Thank you!

Your comments are noted and understood - so as far as development goes it remains
status quo. Pity really - getting the data right in the database is only half
of the equation - the other half - getting it out in a meaningful and helpful
way is the other half and so much more needs to be done there. That helps both
sides of the market sellers and buyers.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 27, 2018 13:40

Subject:

Re: New Catalog Roadmap

Viewed:

52 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

Catalogue administrator - a promotion? More work and still in a queue for development
(despite the fact that the catalogue is the single most important asset of the
organisation - it is what brings both buyers and sellers to the site and is known
throughout the planet as the most comprehensive database of its kind for Lego.
You need a developer (one with SQL experience and knowledge) dedicated to it
and in your control.

Okay - our fist suggestions:

1. Get the dimensions field added to the catalogue page display as well as in
stores.
2. Introduce a level above the categories for the purposes of reporting and searching
e.g. Bricks would cover all sub categories of bricks e.g. modified, decorated
round etc. Without the catalogue it is unlikely Bricklink would still be here.

Just those two thoughts will take development time and careful planning and I
am sure those that are more heavily invoiced with the catalogue and inventory
updates will have tons more they wish to see.

Good luck getting any of that done - a roadmap is an interesting start and welcome
but it has to fill out with actions rather than just remaining a blueprint (as
the other one has done).

Again - good luck with the new role.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 25, 2018 12:21

Subject:

Re: Price guide improvement

Viewed:

25 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, hpoort writes:

Reverse engineering and assuming the API provides us with a clue about the underlying
data structure, I would conclude that the price is recorded in the local currency
of the store. This makes sense as this would remove all currency calculation
from the equation when looking at the internals of a store.

The API for the GetPriceGuide says:
"This method returns price in the specified currency code
- If you don't specify this value, price is retrieved in the base currency
of the user profile's"
http://apidev.bricklink.com/redmine/projects/bricklink-api/wiki/CatalogMethod#Get-Price-Guide

The page generator will have to convert from many different currencies to the
currency requested by the viewer. No intermediate conversion through another
currency is needed, although mathematically there will always be any reference
currency in the currency conversion table.

For the 'items sold' prices, the engine will look up the currency conversion
table of that specific time frame, according to the help.

It seems pretty clear to me how it works.

Thank you for your thought's and comments they are helpful and it now seems
that several things are obvious. We do not have access to the API so it is not
possible for us to determine the information you have introduced.

A lot of calculations seem to be taking place when the price guide is called
up by an individual member, e,g, UK store looks up a common part which is sold
everywhere in the world and the system is converting all those store held currencies
(Could be 37 of them) to GBP at a rate that is being held in a currency conversion
table. That table gets updated by a link to xe.com on an hour by hour basis,
but the rate used for the page is not shown - this would be clumsy and create
a vastly complicated screen display. Maybe a link could be created against the
currency which would reveal the exchange rate used. Maybe that is not worth it.
Hmm. More to think through now.

Thank you again for adding your comments to this thread. They are helpful.

Hans-Peter

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

I would prefer it on the price guide so I didn't have to go back and forth.
Mind you this is all hypothetical cause they really are not doing anything with
the classic site whilst they work on XP.

I understand why you'd want it in the price guide, but there are many (37)
exchange rates to GBP, or any other single currency. While many pieces are listed
in USD, plenty are also in EUR, with other currencies also used. That's a
lot of extra information to list. You also wouldn't need to go back and forth,
as if it was set for one hour, you could note down the exchange rates of interest
and you would know they are guaranteed until the next exchange rate update time.

Interesting point - might need a bit more detail from Bricklink now. We understand
how the currency thing works in certain areas but we thought that the underlying
base currency for all prices was USD which Bricklink converts everything to and
then uses the xe.com exchange rate as and when necessary. So if what you are
saying is correct and the prices being shown for each country on the price guide
are converted directly from their currency to gbp that is a different story and
more thought would have to go into this. Unfortunately the help page isn't
really clear on how they are holding the currency from the outset. What you are
suggesting that if someone in India adds items in rupees then the system would
have to convert from rupees to gbp as well as any other currency and that would
be a different proposition entirely.

I do believe Bricklink should clarify this issue which would be helpful.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 25, 2018 10:16

Subject:

Re: Price guide improvement

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

I would imagine so, as converting a to b to c doesn't always give a to c,
even at xe.com.

Agreed but the way most multicurrency systems work their is a base currency as
well as a reporting currency as well as individual, currencies. You define what
is the base and you advise how you wish that to be reported. You also have things
like spot rates, rate tables etc, which just about covers all angels. Here it
looks a little bit like a free-for all in trying to accommodate all frequencies.
In fact if this was the case the price guide is almost useless on current items
listed - as for those items sold - you would need to see what rate they were
converting at when they were sold and factor that in. All in all vry messy and
inaccurate. Mixing 37 different currencies into gbp is problematic at the best
of times.

Hmmm.

For example, right now, 1 USD = 0.878393 EUR and 1 USD = 0.777160 GBP. Also 1
EUR = 0.884895 GBP. (They use six sig figs).

1 USD = 1 USD, so 0.878393 EUR should equal 0.777160 GBP. Yet this gives the
rate as 1 EUR = 0.884752 GBP, different in the fourth figure to the EUR-GBP rate
they quote.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 25, 2018 09:29

Subject:

Re: Price guide improvement

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

I would prefer it on the price guide so I didn't have to go back and forth.
Mind you this is all hypothetical cause they really are not doing anything with
the classic site whilst they work on XP.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 25, 2018 07:01

Subject:

Re: Price guide improvement

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

I thought current items for sale were all displayed using the exchange rate of
this moment. Why is it that important though if the exchange rate would be an
hour older?

That isn't how it works unfortunately. They change hourly, according to the
help pages. It would be far simpler to show the rate used at the top of the column.,
hence the suggestion.

I imagine doing instant lookups is just not efficient, as every time someone
accesses the price guide or looks at a store or a cart in another currency,
BL would need to access the exchange rates from xe.com. Plus I don't think
their (xe) rates are continuously updated anyway - aren't they something
like every 10 or 15 minutes, plus they also have some lag. I can totally understand
why BL sets them and fixes them for one hour, given how slowly they change (at
least change significantly, not in the 4th or 5th decimal place).

Understand what you are saying but it all depends on how the code is put together
to display the current data. It would be highly unusualk as well as inefficient
if they were storing the figures - good code isn't written that way, so when
we call up the price guid for a given element it should be doing those calculations
then and presenting the data - if that is the case then it is a simple matter
to add a single or couplof fields to the display.

It wouldn't do any harm to either have the exchange rate on the price guide,
or possibly better still, have a separate page where all the current exchange
rates being used are listed along with the time they were updated for those interested.
That way, it is one less thing on the price guide page. Of course, you can always
get the current BL exchange rate, by doing the calculation yourself, to about
4 decimal places.

I would prefer it on the price guide so I didn't have to go back and forth.
Mind you this is all hypothetical cause they really are not doing anything with
the classic site whilst they work on XP.

Still one can hope - it really isn't rocket science or a lot of development
time to simply display the number you have used for the calculation.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 25, 2018 01:40

Subject:

Re: Price guide improvement

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, BricksThatStick writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Thoughts ?

It's just a guide.

Yes, true so why not make it informative, rather than having to use guesswork
and trial and error.

If sellers want to use it to actually price their listings to the averages they
accept its not 100% perfect.

I am not sure anyone makes that assumption - we don't it is supposed to be
a data average and the currency conversion should be dynamic not hourly. Not
sure why this would cause any real problem for any developer.

Otherwise sellers should just see it for what it is and adjust their prices/set
prices as they see fit.

Many of us do but the adjustment should be based on real - not supposition.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 25, 2018 01:37

Subject:

Re: Price guide improvement

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

We are aware that nothing is going on on the classic site whilst the development
team focus on Bricklink XP, so we will make this as short and sweet as we can.

Having contacted the forum and put all elements of this together it is plain
that a subtle but important change needs to be in place for the price guide screen.

Understanding full well what happens with the 'sold at' columns those
can be left as they are until the whole price guide is revisited, whenever that
is going to be. The current items for sale, however needs s small but important
change, in our view. It is currently not possible to determine the currency conversion
rate for those figures. It could have been anyti8me in the last hour or this
hour or whenever.

Please simply add the two fields which are used to convert e.g. for example $1
= 'x' £;s and £1 = 'x$). This will enable any member, buyer or seller,
to at least get their figures correct when working offline. This is not a complicated
change/fix - it merely requires placing those fields on that screen each time
they change. The fields are held somewhere in the system even if it is a temporary
table, so it should be relatively straight forward to display them on the price
guide screen.

Thoughts ?

I thought current items for sale were all displayed using the exchange rate of
this moment. Why is it that important though if the exchange rate would be an
hour older?

That isn't how it works unfortunately. They change hourly, according to the
help pages. It would be far simpler to show the rate used at the top of the column.,
hence the suggestion.

By the way, in case you didn't know and it's useful - you can always
flip the currency of the priceguide by changing the vcID parameter in the URL:

Euro: https://www.bricklink.com/priceGuideSummary.asp?vcID=2&vatInc=Y&a=p&colorID=110&itemID=3005

Dollar: https://www.bricklink.com/priceGuideSummary.asp?vcID=1&vatInc=Y&a=p&colorID=110&itemID=3005

I just wish this was properly interfaced (and that there was an easy simple to
understand API to access these things without downloading the page and run into
download limits imposed by Bricklink)

Don't we all.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 24, 2018 13:01

Subject:

Price guide improvement

Viewed:

217 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 21, 2018 09:51

Subject:

Re: Inventory Change Request for Set 10258-1

Viewed:

14 times

Topic:

Inventories Requests

In Inventories Requests, StormChaser writes:

I also notified the original inventory
submitter of the change in case that person can provide any further insight.

Confirmed from the submitter to have been an error.

Great - all sorted now.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 20, 2018 13:02

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 10258-1

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

10258-1 (Inv) London Bus
1686 Parts, 2017
Sets: Creator: Creator Expert: Traffic

* Add 1 Part 62462 Metallic Silver Technic, Pin Connector Round 2L with Slot (Pin Joiner Round) (Alternate)

Comments from Submitter:
2 sets parted out both had metallic silver not flat.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 4, 2018 07:44

Subject:

Re: Lego 10214 Tower Bridge 2 types of blue

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

Colors

In Colors, Brick_Buyers writes:

Hi, I recently purchased The Tower Bridge and have noticed that the medium blue
4x8 plates are actually 2 different colour. I have shown pictures below that
outline this. The instructions say there are 18 4587271 plates, actually there
are two slightly darker plates. The lighter 16 say 4-35 on the bottom but the
darker 2 say 2-35. Can someone explain this? It is the same with some of the
other medium blue colours in the set as well.

Hi there

We just finished parting out 2 of these and there was not the difference you
have had. Could be they came from a different batch of plates;.

Everything we had was the right hand side of your photo. The left acutally looks
like dark azure or ish.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 11, 2018 12:09

Subject:

Re: Request official BrickLink app

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, KaanDurak writes:

Hi ,
I use my phone alot and I also use Bricklink alot , but the site on phone isn't
that great , so please. Bricklink create a phone app of Bricklink , it would
be easier for phone users.
I hope the staff will see this and an official bricklink app will be created.
Thanks for reading

Voted no as this has supposedly been in development since the new owners took
over - there might be a version that will work on the phone with Bricklink XP
which is also under development, but that is not clear yet either.

According to the admins no development on the classic site is going on whilst
XP is being worked on and MP, the head of development said in his Brickwworld
presentation the future is XP, although the classic site will be maintained.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Aug 29, 2018 08:01

Subject:

Re: Minimum re-order level and auto wantlist

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, RoswellGinny writes:

In this day and age and all the talk about modernising the site, it is nonsense
that stores do not have inventory management at their disposal.

++++++++++++++++ 1 x 1,000,000!

Abso-frickin-lutely!

I have searched and searched and searched for an inventory management tool. I
have bought 2 and been refunded by their developers because they don't work
with my needs. I have tested out 5 others and rejected those as well. I'm
so frustrated by this problem I can't even talk about it without my blood
pressure spiking. It is the single largest headache in my business. It affects
my accounting, my sales, my purchases..... every aspect of my business.

We are in total agreement with that. We have developed our own in-house Access
system which deals with all aspects of running a store but doe not yet have full
inventory management in it. I am seriously thinking about putting one of our
developers on it but it should come from bBricklink who have access to the code
and database.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Aug 29, 2018 07:26

Subject:

Re: Minimum re-order level and auto wantlist

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, bje writes:

Can we please get a field in the my inventory page for a minimum stock level
for each item and can that please be used to trigger an automatic entry to a
dedicated wantlist as soon as the re-order level is hit?

So for example what I would want is say

3001 Brick 2 x 4
Parts: Brick

in red, I would like a minimum
inventory to be in my store of 30. I have 60 at present. An order comes through
for 40, and immediately that part in that colour gets added to my dedicated
wantlist for inventory.

The benefit would be that it is simply a wantlist that needs to be checked daily
and not inventory levels in brickstock or some other off-site inventory management
system. Also obviously easier to re-order as needed, especially for sellers like
me with very long lead-times.

Of course, the best would be if there could be a complete inventory management
on BL as to which this would just a small part of because I really find it frustrating
that inventory management on-site is essentially just the selling price and quantity
available, but... baby steps

We voted yes for this but it is unlikely to happen. This was asked for when the
new people took over Bricklink (2013). It was muted it was going to go into Sellers
tools but a series of speculative developments (Mosaic, Stud.io, MOC, plus the
up and coming XP)have prevented that from happening - the current one being XP.
In admins own words the classic site, other than fixing issues which are show
stoppers, is not seeing any developments major or minor whilst XP is being developed.

Serious inventory management is not a simple exercise and bearing in mind the
strengths of the current development team lie in other areas, it might be better
to 'hook' a proper inventory management system in but they are unlikely
to do that either.

In this day and age and all the talk about modernising the site, it is nonsense
that stores do not have inventory management at their disposal.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Aug 9, 2018 11:13

Subject:

Re: need new filter function for this website

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SGTENIGMA writes:

i have one suggestion that i think all would greatly appreciate. the function
capability to isolate and block individual sellers. what i mean is to make it
where if you have unsatisfactory service, you the buyer, can highlight the specific
seller and put him on your own block list. much like facebook. so that way, you
no longer see the seller when you search for future lego products. for the bad
shops will be filtered out and you wont see them. i just had an order that i
cancelled. i was instructed to go thru paypal and enter all their info in order
to buy their products. instead of going thru bricklink to get thru to paypal.
in other words, they wanted to circumvent the percentage you guys make when each
sell happens. so i refuse to let them circumvent and cut you out. pretty sure
they will give me a bad review. dont care. i believe in being honest. but i find
it frustrating that i have to write down each bad seller and have to review my
own list before buying. that is timeconsuming. appreciate it!

Voted no as this is already available. Just least favourite the store and you
will then no longer see them on searches etc once you mark your search preferences.

As for the Paypal it does appear you are talking about Paypal offsite v Paypal
on site. Lots and lots of stores still use Offsite rather than onsite, for a
variety of reasons so be careful you do not end up with no sellers to buy from.
Most established stores have links in their invoices which allows the buyer to
simply follow the link, make their payment and finalise the transaction.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jul 24, 2018 11:06

Subject:

Re: 71017-1

Viewed:

22 times

Topic:

In Catalog, calsbricks writes:

Need a little help here. The above set number is on each of the polybag mingifugres
that we have but of course they are individual figures not a complete set. Have
just tried to replace the catalogue photo with our own image and the system keeps
falling over with an internal resource problem Server 500 error. (Solved this
problem)

The picture of the complete set is confusing and despite the fact that the description
clearly says it is a single random figure from the set, we still get questions
about it.

The price guide for the 71017 is also not very helpful as it shows the price
for the complete set not an individual figure.

Need to understand better what is going on here. Help.

We have managed to load our own image4 for this entry and after reading the very
lengthy threads previously posted on the listing policy for these we are happy
we understand - don't agree with it - but we understand it.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jul 24, 2018 10:21

Subject:

71017-1

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jul 20, 2018 00:02

Subject:

Re: Separating “buyer” and “seller” reviews

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, jadonut writes:

A bricklink user may be an A + buyer but a mediocre seller. I’m dealing with
a seller who’s had bad reviews, ranging from water and crush damage to an order
that was cancelled without explanation. But this user has stellar buyer reviews
that reflect his overall rating.

If there’s not already, there should be a way to filter between these two types
of reviews so that users aren’t stuck with a bad seller who’s being advertised
so positively from their reviews as a buyer.

Morning

There is already a way to do this. Click on the members feedback number which
takes you to his overall feedback page. Go to the bottom of the page and you
will see a comment which shows Seller or Buyer and click on either one - that
then shows the most recent feedback as seller or buyer - whichever you have chosen.

Not all that obvious but it works and is certainly a way to do what you have
asked.

Hope that helps and good luck with your order.

BTW - not everyone ships same day.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jul 3, 2018 11:50

Subject:

Re: Adding the subnavigation to the home page

Viewed:

25 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

In Suggestions, Dutchblockhead writes:

Hi,

I would like to propose the idea to add the subnavigation to the homepage.
Alot of the times i want to look up the priceguide for a set and it always takes
some extra clicks.

The Catalog used to be on a separate Tab. Would be nice to have it back.

Agree with that +1

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jul 3, 2018 11:03

Subject:

Re: Adding the subnavigation to the home page

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Dutchblockhead writes:

Hi,

I would like to propose the idea to add the subnavigation to the homepage.
Alot of the times i want to look up the priceguide for a set and it always takes
some extra clicks.

Hi there

Not sure what you mean with this. If you just click on shop the price guide sub
menu is on the top right of that dropdown. Could you post a view of what you
mean.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jul 2, 2018 09:25

Subject:

Re: After posting feedback "Go Back" Button

Viewed:

49 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, randyipp writes:

Had no idea you posted about this till I randomly saw it on my activity page
yesterday. Still does not work in Chrome for me.

In Suggestions, Admin_Jaclyn writes:

Hi randyipp,

Thanks for reporting this issue! I have marked this suggestion as implemented
since a fix was released this morning. Please let us know if you are still experiencing
a problem.

Thanks again!

-Jaclyn
BrickLink Admin Team

In Suggestions, randyipp writes:

Please fix this "go back" button to load the orders page not actually go back
a page. This requires me to hit refresh in order to see what order needs feedback
next. It's not an issue when there are only 1 or 2 but more than that and
it can get a little annoying.

This issue was observed on Chrome, it may react differently on other browsers,
if so I would love to hear about which ones if the button works!

Thanks!

Still does not work in IE11 either.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 22, 2018 11:13

Subject:

Inventory Change Request for Set 10698-1

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Please make changes to the following inventory:

10698-1 (Inv) Large Creative Brick Box
790 Parts, 2015
Sets: Classic

* Add 1 Part 15254 Light Bluish Gray Brick, Arch 1 x 6 x 2 - Medium Thick Top without Reinforced Underside (Alternate)

Comments from Submitter:
4 sets parted out today and all 4 had this alternate

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 16, 2018 11:24

Subject:

Re: Improvements needed on My Inventory Page

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, JulieK writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, jenwick writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Please consider the following:

1. Add colour as an option
2. When using the 'by category filter@ please show sub-totals by category

Can you elaborate on what you mean by these two points?

You can get that info from the catalog page, make sure the color info tab is
clicked.
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3004&idColor=10#T=C&C=10

Thanks but we already knew that and it isn't what we want. When you search
your inventory you should be able to do the same as you can when you are within
your store. Choose a part no and a condition and a colour. The only way this
can be done currently is via a PCC and a condition filter.

Hope I have now made that clearer.

The issue is that although the search option is labeled "Catalog Name and Number"
it is actually Catalog Name OR Number." BL has the part numbers and part names
in separate fields and it does not search them both at once. If you include a
part number in the search terms it defaults to a part number search and ignores
the other keywords.

So if you search for [3004 dark green] it only searcesh on 3004 and ignores the
"dark green," so it shows you all your 3004s.

To search by color and part, do not search on the part number but use
the part name. Try searching your inventory with "any part of field" selected
for [dark green 1x2 brick] and you should get the results you expect.

That does work your Goatleg knowledge of how it works is useful. Having said
that not many people would be aware of that and it still would be easier to do
it the way we suggested.

At the end of the day it is not a significant programming change to alter the
query by form using colour as a 'where' statement, especially if there
are separate fields in the database.

Well the color information is actually in two places - in the color field as
well as in the name - and like the part number search, it will default to searching
the color field if you search only for a color name. Try an inventory keyword
search for [dark green] and you'll get nothing, because it tries to do a
color search but the color field is not included in the query.

I assume the somewhat crippled nature of the search function was meant to reduce
the load and improve response time on Bricklink's original servers. Searching
three fields at once was maybe more than it could handle in a reasonable amount
of time. Capabilities have advanced considerably.

Yes things have moved on and now with the announcement from Brickworld it looks
like it doesn't matter anyway cause we will be another Amazon if the CEO
has his way. If we wanted to sell on Amazon we would open on Amazon. (It is a
hopeless site anyway with excessive fees, the worst customer service on record
and despite his billions prone to dramatic and total flop decisions). He got
some right after the disastorous start which made him very wealthy - now he dabbles,
pays his employees peanuts and has 10 recent flops with the tangent decisions
he has made - but at least he can afford them.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 16, 2018 10:51

Subject:

Re: Improvements needed on My Inventory Page

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, JulieK writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, jenwick writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Please consider the following:

1. Add colour as an option
2. When using the 'by category filter@ please show sub-totals by category

Can you elaborate on what you mean by these two points?

You can get that info from the catalog page, make sure the color info tab is
clicked.
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3004&idColor=10#T=C&C=10

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 16, 2018 10:20

Subject:

Re: Improvements needed on My Inventory Page

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, jenwick writes:

OK, I understand the color part and totally agree. Now can you explain point 2

We seem to be having a two person dialogue on this but, sadly that is what happens
to lots of suggestions, both good and bad.

Currently when you go to the My Inventory page, you see below:

What we would like to see is a sub-total line entered below each major category
e.g. sets; parts, minfigures etc. showing the totals for lots, items and value
and then at the bottom of this we would like a summary which would read something
like this (Not real figures, of course)

On the summary you might want to see the % breakdown on lots, items or value
so this should be 'choosable'

It took ma few minutes to do that so you could image how long it would really
take up if you had to constantly add up numbers. All of which computers are here
for.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 14, 2018 13:32

Subject:

Re: Improvements needed on My Inventory Page

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, JulieK writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, jenwick writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Please consider the following:

1. Add colour as an option
2. When using the 'by category filter@ please show sub-totals by category

Can you elaborate on what you mean by these two points?

You can get that info from the catalog page, make sure the color info tab is
clicked.
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3004&idColor=10#T=C&C=10

One more thing. Everyone knows that behind Bricklink there is a SQL database.
The My inventory page is a query by form (in effect) - that means there is little
if any programming to add the colour filter and writing the code to provide sub
totals and a summary might take half an hour, at most. They already provide a
summary at the bottom of each inventory and although that should be improved
(similar to what Brickset provide) at least the idea exists somewhere.

So many little things that could make the site more helpful.

These are simple things which would make it easier for store owners, most of
whom do these types of things offline because they are not available through
the site. Part of sellers tools ? I don't believe anyone knows as these have
yet to be defined. Perhaps that will be in the new roadmap announcement being
made at Brickworld.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 14, 2018 13:23

Subject:

Re: Improvements needed on My Inventory Page

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, JulieK writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, jenwick writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Please consider the following:

1. Add colour as an option
2. When using the 'by category filter@ please show sub-totals by category

Can you elaborate on what you mean by these two points?

You can get that info from the catalog page, make sure the color info tab is
clicked.
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3004&idColor=10#T=C&C=10

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 14, 2018 13:21

Subject:

Re: Improvements needed on My Inventory Page

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, jenwick writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Please consider the following:

1. Add colour as an option
2. When using the 'by category filter@ please show sub-totals by category

Can you elaborate on what you mean by these two points?

Of course

On the right hand side of the My Inventory page there are several options to
choose from, but one that is missing is colour. When I want to see how many dark
green 1 x 2 bricks I have I have to put in 3004 and look at hundreds to find
the dark green, rather than just choosing dark green 3004. You can do this if
you use the PCC but who know those off the top of their head.

On the sub totals when you see your inventory by category it is a simple list
broken by Sets, Parts etc. Rather than having to add up all the totals of lots,
items and value manually, it would be better if they were sub totalled so at
a glance I could see how many of each mainline category we have at any time.

Hoppe that makes it clearer if not let me know and I will put together some screen
shots of how we think it should look for easier use.

See below two very crude attachments - the first shows where we would like the
colour filter and the 2nd shows a small cut-out of the left hand side of the
MY inventory screen where your inventory is shown by category. We would like
subtotals after each main break e.g. sets, parts, minifigures, etc.

A summary at the bottom would be nice so at a glance you can see how your inventory
is broken down e.g.

Lots Items Value % of total

Sets xxxx xxxx xxxx
Parts xxxx xxxx xxxx
Minfigures xxxx xxxx xxxx

Again, at a glance one could tell a good deal more about your inventory from
this simple calculation.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 14, 2018 12:53

Subject:

Re: Improvements needed on My Inventory Page

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, jenwick writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Please consider the following:

1. Add colour as an option
2. When using the 'by category filter@ please show sub-totals by category

Can you elaborate on what you mean by these two points?

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Jun 12, 2018 07:58

Subject:

Improvements needed on My Inventory Page

Viewed:

99 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Please consider the following:

1. Add colour as an option
2. When using the 'by category filter@ please show sub-totals by category

It would also be a good idea to incorporate the ability to update selected inventory
items into a superlot.

In addition, whilst you can use external tools to work on pricing it would be
far better if that type of tool existed on the MY Inventory page.

We are aware there has been discussion over sellers tools since 2013, and these
things may or may not be in those new tools, however it is now 5 years since
that discussion began and to date, I am not sure anyone is aware of what may
or may not be coming.

We are led to believe that Admin_Jaclyn is project managing the sellers tools
- Could we have an indication as to what is being considered, please?

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

May 28, 2018 07:37

Subject:

Re: Improve add item screen

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Pippyblocks writes:

Out of interest, I noticed some of your used plates are slightly more expensive
than your new ones. I've noticed this with my inventory before when I've
gone through to adjust pricing and wondered why / how this happened because obviously,
customers would pick out the new over used as it is cheaper.

Hello there

Thank you for your comments. Sometimes used is more expensive than new based
on demand and availability. Like you we would always buy new if that were the
case. We get buyers who buy the used even though new is less expensive. It doesn't
always marry up with logic and is part and parcel of the Bricklink/Lego world.

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Yesterday I added about 6000 dark green 1 x 1 plates to our inventory as we continue
to build up quantities of standard items. I listed them at our standard price
and then later on went to my inventory page, called up that item and added a
tiered price at 1p below our standard price for quantities of 100 or more. Fine
- no problem.

Today additional stock of that particular item came across my desk to be added
and I went to add the item - filled in all information to add the additional
pieces. Lo and behold the system removed my tiered price and set it back to 0.

As it is not really possible to remember all the items we have on tiered pricing,
I believe the system should either show you this or have an option to retain
tiered pricing.

Anyone else - or is there a workaround to ensuring the tiered pricing sticks.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

May 28, 2018 07:15

Subject:

Re: Improve add item screen

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

The workaround is there - don't use the ad item screen. Go to my inventory
and simply change the quantity of the part and submit changes. Please consider
enhancing the normal add item screen to either see the pricing you have set up
or to retain any tiered pricing for that item.

Thanks.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

May 28, 2018 07:12

Subject:

Improve add item screen

Viewed:

97 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Mar 19, 2018 11:59

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

51 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, WoutR writes:

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.

Was there not a page in my account settings where I could select my payment methods?
And a filter that hides stores that do not accept my payment types?

Then all what needs to be done is make the default setting for accepting Offsite
Paypal "OFF". (I would not recommend the name "offsite Paypal", I think that
name only makes sense within the current discussion. )

Maybe it was this one... https://www.bricklink.com/storeSettings.new.asp

And yes, save offsite Paypal as an option.

https://www.bricklink.com/wantedSettings.asp?viewFrom=P

Thanks for the link - never been there before as wanted lists are not required
for our buying.

Even the payment method element is flawed in design terms. We just had to cancel
an order from someone who chose to pay in euros via Bank Transfer. We only accept
UK pounds for bank transfers and that is/was stated in our terms but because
we aaccept euros (accepted currencies) they were allowed to choose that currency.
Currencies should be defined against payment methods. If you set up bank transfer
you should be able to say GBP only and have that as a viable payment methods.
Again it is not a complicated thing to do - you could have an all radio button
or individual buttons which would need to be marked by the stores for what they
will accept.

They have gone the other way - here are the currencies we accept and here are
ther payment methods you can use. ?????????

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Mar 19, 2018 06:26

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

66 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, WoutR writes:

In Suggestions, PurpleDave writes:

That page has been disabled for a while, however buyers can choose their acceptable
payment methods in the advanced search options and Paypal is still listed there.
Not sure about wanted lists cause I don't use that feature, but am sure I
have seen it mentioned somewhere.

Even the payment method element is flawed in design terms. We just had to cancel
an order from someone who chose to pay in euros via Bank Transfer. We only accept
UK pounds for bank transfers and that is/was stated in our terms but because
we aaccept euros (accepted currencies) they were allowed to choose that currency.
Currencies should be defined against payment methods. If you set up bank transfer
you should be able to say GBP only and have that as a viable payment methods.
Again it is not a complicated thing to do - you could have an all radio button
or individual buttons which would need to be marked by the stores for what they
will accept.

They have gone the other way - here are the currencies we accept and here are
ther payment methods you can use. ?????????

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Mar 19, 2018 06:17

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

63 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Are they going to go through 11,000 stores and remove the Paypal option from
their payment methods when the April date comes around?

Well, no, they simply remove the old PayPal payment method from the main system
once, and then it will be as you say, people (like me) who haven't accepted
will automatically get an instruction to enable the new PayPal. That's what
I assume anyway.... then again, it's Bricklink... they can't even remove
multiple forum posts by one spammer at the same time...

I think they may have already done the first bit as I do not see a payment method
for Paypal or paypal offsite in the selectable payment methods options (drop
down). I really meant from the stores point of view. There are countless numbers
of stores who only accept Paypal - by disabling it as a payment method does that
mean the stores will have no payment methods? That will cause a moderate amount
of chaos. Not everyone reads the forum, by a long way and announcements such
as the one that was made will not have filtered through to all stores. So you
wake up the morning after and find that no one can check out of your store? Sounds
unreasonable even now, but who knows.

Really not sure how this decision was made or why - the ticket thing was a non-starter
- there is more to this than that. Instant checkout has still only mustered less
than 15% of stores - is still buggy. Onsite Paypal is still flawed as far as
a buyer having multiple Paypal addresses and yet here we are ...... ????????

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Mar 19, 2018 02:20

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

78 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, chetzler writes:

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?

Our Paypal account works for both Bricklink and our main company - there is absolutely
no way ever that we would allow Bricklink access to funds in that account or
details of transactions in that account - it is really none of their business.
I am sure that other people who have Paypal accounts and use them for Bricklink
also use those for other things and would not want any involvement with Bricklink
in their account.

This does not appear to be well thought through and even though it says you may
revoke the permissions you have given by signing up to this agreement what does
that mean - do you still have a paypal account for use on Bricklink or not? Is
it online or offline?

Are they going to go through 11,000 stores and remove the Paypal option from
their payment methods when the April date comes around? Stores will wake up to
a 'cannot receive orders as you have no payment methods available' (imagine
the tickets from that !!!!!) or are people going to set up other payment methods
but give Paypal offsite instructions in their invoices. How can they possibly
police this?

The mind boggles .....

All the clamour and yet no response from Bricklink. It is like they are saying
take-it or leave it (which is never a good idea in the best of environments.)

Such a real shame ........

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Mar 19, 2018 01:48

Subject:

Re: Save Offsite Paypal!

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, PurpleDave writes:

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:

calsbricks

Posted:

Mar 16, 2018 14:44

Subject:

Change the price guide screen

Viewed:

97 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Currently there is no way you can determine easily from looking at the price
guide what currency conversion has been used to determine the move from USD to
any other currency. As this figure has to be held/determined (calculated) somewhere,
whether in BL or by xe.xom it is available to be displayed and updated as regularly
as the price guide.

If Bricklink displayed that figure it would be very helpful for everyone's
use whether buying or selling. This is especially relevant for the last 6 months
sales which is a floating figure and is not easily determined - (it can be done,
but is very long winded and takes a lot more time and effort to get right.

As for the changes this would require, they are absolutely minimal from a coding
point of view and it would help to solve the never ending threads about currency
conversion and the price guide.

It would also help with Brickstock, but I am sure that is of no concern to Bricklink.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Mar 11, 2018 05:49

Subject:

Must have improvements

Viewed:

170 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

As there is almost constant changes going on in the catalogue stores need more
features to ensure they are up to date. For example - we received orders over
the weekends for many of our

3794 Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud, Jumper (Undetermined Type)
Parts: Plate, Modified

pieces which of course have been changed
to

3794a Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud without Groove (Jumper)
Parts: Plate, Modified

. I had to go to my inventory page for the part and change each and
everyone of these from 3794 to 3794a, That 'dropped 4 or 5 small images -
(we will re-do those photos and submit) but they had photos before we changed
them from 3794 to 3794a.Hmmmm

It is a very simple select and update query in SQL - surely one of the developers
can put together a screen to allow us to update multiple items in our inventory
at once. We are in the dark ages here really.

In addition I noticed yet another quirk which is simple enough to sort out but
untouched

We hold bulk amounts for many standard items (in the thousands of each of them)
and decided to set up a tiered pricing schedule for each of those taking 1p off
at each quantity break. Fine - it was still a manual exercise for over 100 items
but we went through that - only to find that we either had to repeat this each
time we added to that part or we would lose that tiered pricing. The options
on consolidate are far too limited. We need at least another method of new price
and retain old tiered pricing.

Neither of these changes require huge amounts of time or development effort but
both have needed doing for some time.

It may be a question of priorities or design or ????? but surely such simple
mods can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

It does get exasperating sometimes. And Brickstock will not allow you to make
these changes offline and upload them either. We have tried that and failed.
We have also advised Patrick but he has gone missing at present.

Come on Bricklink - the stores need their tools (just like buyers, if not more
so)

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Feb 23, 2018 10:37

Subject:

Re: Interface improvement

Viewed:

66 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In my opinion, icons that accurately represent functionality are a key part in
having a good interface. It has come to my attention that the icon of the Community
tab is outdated and needs improvement. Briklink has changed alot and the smiley
face simply does not suit a modern Bricklink where a forum is intended for poorly
informing the community of unwanted selfish business decisions only to ignore
the responses.

I've designed a better icon for this tab. Hope to see this implemented soon!

A little while ago when Jaclyn's predecessor was here I got a lifetime ban
from the forum for something similar to this. Fortunately she got the 'move
on out order (P45 in the UK) and Jaclyn re-instated me with full apologies.

Good luck with it.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Feb 18, 2018 10:30

Subject:

Minor improvements to add inventory

Viewed:

76 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

I am sure there are lots of sellers who are waiting to see what enhancements
Bricklink as and when the finally release the sellers tools they hafve talked
about..

We would like to see a small modification done now to help on the 'add inventory
screens'. This would take a programmer less than an hour to accomplish and
it would aid most sellers.

When you manually add an item to your inventory you can do it in one of several
ways. When you go this route some things, which are important are missing.

From the main catalogue page for any given part choose Add to my inventory. This
takes you to the add inventory page and fills in some of the details for you
e.g. part no; colour etc, leaving you to add the quantity, price, condition and
any remarks you wish to make. You then click on the review item button at the
bottom and it takes you to the review item page where you do not see all the
relevant information No part no - no remarks. How can you really review the information
if it isn't all presented to review. Good memory? Maybe if you are only doing
the odd one, but if you are using this in anger it would be very helpful if the
review item page had the part no on it as well as the remarks field.

A similar situation occurs with the mass inventory upload. Once you paste your
xml file into the window you choose verify and all the parts in that file are
listed but instead of displaying the part nos for the items it drops them off
despite being in the xml upload.

Again a very minor programming job which would aid the sellers.

Think about it Bricklink. Make the site easier for us to use.

See images attached.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Feb 10, 2018 04:54

Subject:

Re: Please bring Order Download up to date

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

Problem

In Problem, Minifigforlife writes:

Agreed. Make this a suggestion post and I will vote yes.

Done

Now let's see what happens.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Feb 10, 2018 04:24

Subject:

Please bring Order Download up to date

Viewed:

119 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

To Admin/Development

The order download feature is clumsy and nor set out to work in today's IT
environment. Please bring it up to date and provide choice for which columns
that the user wishes to download. Choosing include details is insufficient. More
people would use this feature if the flexibility in design was improved.

Bring the formats up to date as well as even Excel 2010 is unhappy with the MS
excel download. Stop combining the colour field with the description field etc.,
etc etc.

If improvements here are planned for sellers tools, please let us know and provide
an anticipated delivery date for that. We want to download our orders into our
off-line system and at present this is a totally manual exercise.

Those of us who use off-line systems need more flexibility to deal with data
from Bricklink.

We haven't pout this as a suggestion cause quite honestly we do not feel
that route works very well at all.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 20, 2017 09:10

Subject:

Re: 'blservice@bricklink.com' as the sending addr

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, BigBBricks writes:

The system works as designed BUT time has moved on and better methods are available.

I believe it works like this...
You will see the buyers email addy and be able to reply back to it if they do
not have their privacy settings turned up

You will see a reply to BL addy if they are turned on

The best method would be to have BL operate an email server of their own which
would convey the messages through BL so that an admin would be able to see the
communications if necessary (same method as BO uses).

I'm sure the people in charge of the future BL seller tools will include
a more modern approach.

Big B

You can get some pretty long, if not very long odds on that happening

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 18, 2017 03:13

Subject:

Re: A better idea ?

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

I don't really understand what you're suggesting, in particular the combination
of "forcing" and "template" - which as far as I can see is by default something
that can be customised. Are you asking for more macro tags maybe to make these
templates more powerful? If so, which?

My apologies for not making this clearer. I didn't mean the macro tags
at all. I meant specifically creating different templates to handle different
circumstances. Those that have a variety of payment methods acceptable might
need a different template to handle their IBAN payments v Paypal v ????. As for
'forcing' what I meant was the subject line has now been changed to read
order confirmed instead of this transaction has been placed. Not everyone is
happy with that and it was supposed to be for instant checkout orders only but
it is that way for all orders.

Basically we are asking for more flexibility with the use of templates. Macro
tags are only one element of it. We agree there should be a weight one as well.

I personally have always wanted to see a weight macro tag added. That would help
me alot generating shipping costs in my software. Would be even cooler if there
are ways to do computation with this within Bricklink, with some advanced macros.

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Sine the rollout of Instant checkout and various updates there have been a number
of posts regarding the templates BL are forcing users to use.

Would it not be a better idea for the number of templates to be increased so
the stores can have their own choice of how they want it organised and addressed.

This is a simple code change for the programmers and allow some more flexibility
for the stores in addressing the various issues e.g. IBAN and bank details; etc.

Just a thought

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 17, 2017 13:19

Subject:

A better idea ?

Viewed:

145 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 16, 2017 07:56

Subject:

Allow stores to modify Order Notifications

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Stores need the ability to modify the 'Subject Header' in the order notification
template. This currently is not available to stores, but it should be.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 16, 2017 07:54

Subject:

Please include in Sellers tools

Viewed:

69 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Please include in the release of sellers tools a mechanism to allow stores to
back up not only their stores inventory but also their settings.

There, apparently is now ay to do this at present.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 28, 2017 13:56

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, chetzler writes:

In Suggestions, Rob_and_Shelagh writes:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

In Suggestions, PurpleDave writes:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

I think it should be mandatory by Bricklink that any seller not using Instant
checkout will

Automatically will have the Quote option enabled.

What is the harm in that?

I voted No. On the surface, I don't really care if sellers enable the Quote
function, but I don't want to see it become a mandatory part of my shopping
experience. I have zero interest in Instant Checkout. If someone doesn't
have one key element that is the only reason I placed the order, I'd rather
be able to just cancel out of it without having my money even get involved, much
less having to wait for refunds to clear (something which can take a few weeks
if PayPal flags the refund for investigation like I've had happen a few times
in the past), where IC forces you to pay up front and hope your seller has their
inventory locked down.

For Quote, my main concern would be that if everyone is forced to have it turned
on, and sellers start getting thoroughly sick of having quotes auto-cancel because
elements end up being short due to other orders coming through during the turnaround,
we might see stores restricting sales to quoted orders, preventing me from being
able to just place my order and be done with it.

I'm looking at the amounts you're talking about, and in the one example
all I can see is maybe a $2 difference. I'm not big on just throwing away
money, but I've run into stores where simply placing the order could cost
$20-50 more for very basic parts. $2 extra in shipping costs seems like a bargain
at that point. I've placed orders where the cost of the parts was less than
1% of the invoiced total, not because the seller decided to rake me over the
coals on shipping, but because the order was for maybe $0.25 in parts. Generally,
that would be a very cost-prohibitive way to order parts, but sometimes I find
that there's literally only one store without a massive minimum buy that
has something I need for a MOC, and they have absolutely nothing else I want
to buy from them. So, I can either suck it up and pay shipping on maybe one
or two pieces, I can scrap my plans and see if I can come up with a new design,
or I can play the long game and hope someone else lists that part under more
favorable conditions...and probably cut my output down to nothing in the process.

I should of made it clearer but everybody seems to be missing that fact I'm
only saying it quote should be 'offered'

Buyers do not have to use it.

If you don't care about all the fees, or which shipping charge you will get,
and you want to guarantee the parts are yours, fine you can check out as normal.

I'm just saying Quote should be enabled if your fees and postage are not
calculated (by instant checkout) before being legally obliged to pay

I agree with the suggestion but note you are not "legally obliged" to pay for
an order online if you change your mind and no longer want it. The only problem
here is those sellers that try to enforce you to pay for all those add-on fees,
won't let you cancel and give you an NPB saying an order is legally binding
and their fees were stated (or hidden) in their terms somewhere. Although those
sellers are the minority that is why your suggestion gets my support.

Robert

So you are actually OK with allowing a few bad sellers to dictate terms to the
rest of us? Why is that it OK with you? I find it unacceptable. This is just
totally backwards! Why can't anyone think of a way to penalize the FEW bad
sellers instead of the MANY good sellers?

Where does it end? Will you be as supportive of this attitude when you are forced
to ship every order with insurance or tracking because of a few untrustworthy
buyers? I don't particularly like receiving large orders in bubble mailers
because the mailers are prone to damage and the pieces get scratched; I think
every order should be shipped in a box. In fact, I think we should FORCE every
seller to ship orders in boxes because that's what I do for 99% of my orders
already--no skin off my back! That's not a big deal, right?

We just HAVE to get away from this one-size-fits-all make-everyone-conform mindset.
This attitude is why most all of our governments are bloated and ineffectual.
I will again put forth the idea of a probabtionary period for new sellers and
problem sellers (an idea that actually addresses the root cause!) Once you've
shown you are a good actor, restrictions are lifted. As for the rest of us,
please just leave us in peace and let us run our stores as we see fit!

Well said - here, here - All individuals may be equal but that doesn't make
them the same and the same applies to BL stores. Why in earth's name would
we want to implement features that just aren't needed? If you find a store
that isn't communicative or helpful just move on - it will not take many
people moving on for them to disappear. Leave appropriate feedback when you have
to to warn others. There are lots and lots of ways to deal with this other than
forcing something down someone's throat. We are totally against that, and
that is in addition to the fact that the quote system is flawed in thought and
design. Let each and every store run its business - BL holds the marketplace
and they get paid a generous sum of money to do that but if you allow them to
start dictating how you have to run your store, then the marketplace loses its
individuality and identity I don't believe anyone really wants that.

The probationary period isn't a bad concept to look into and there are other
ways as well to get at the sellers who seem to create this type of thread in
the forum.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 27, 2017 14:34

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, MarieA writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

I believe in instant checkout even though I still have a few problems with it
that are still not being addressed. However:

I believe you should know the cost upfront of your cart, fees and shipping before
being obliged to pay.

I recently placed an order and again the fees and extra are so buried within
the terms the parts cost become 34% more! also I was invoiced for the larger
box option, and I know if using the instant checkout the parts would have easily
fit into the smaller letter rate. I read the terms 3 times and still some fees
were still easily missed.

This happens over and over again, its not a one off.

I think it should be mandatory by Bricklink that any seller not using Instant
checkout will

Automatically will have the Quote option enabled.

What is the harm in that?

Every customer can make a decision up front if the fees and postage are reasonable
and acceptable. When im invoiced a total random bunch of fees I am not entered
into the contact agreement before knowing them.

Sorry Paul - voted no - don't like to see anyone forced into doing something
they don't wish to do. I have never had what happened to you happen to me
and have placed 1000 orders on Bricklink. No quotes asked for - none received.
Graneted postal costs are never our main concern when we need parts and there
are others where it is vitally important.

If I did ask a seller for a quote even if they didn't have it enabled and
they simply didn't respond, I would think they don't want my business
and find the items elsewhere, if possible.

As a seller it is our responsibility, amongst others, to communicate with our
buyers either pre-sale, during processing or post sale. If we don't do that
we are letting ourselves down as well as other stores on the site.

Forcing this as a feature is not, in our opinion, the right way to deal with
it. Avoid those stores and move on - when enough buyers do that and their orders
dwindle or even fall off a cliff, that fixes the problem cause they will disappear,
hopefully.

I just dont think when placing an order I have to guess what prices you are going
to choose for me.

You currently dont include you packaging materials in the weight, you also say
you may impose the insurance

so I place a 212g order with my cart valued £41

which of the following am I going to pay? (from your chart)

101 - 250 Large Letter
No Tracking - Tracked - 2nd Class
- 1.30 - - - - - - - 2.40 - - - - - - 2.32

101 - 250 Small Parcel
No Tracking - Tracked - 2nd Class
- 3.40 - - - - - - - 4.40 - - - - - - 3.90

or once packaging is added (and I know you package very well in sturdy boxes!)
is it going to take me into 251g-500g range?

251 - 500 Large Letter
No Tracking - Tracked - 2nd Class
- 1.74 - - - - - - - 2.84 - - - - - - 2.68

251 - 500 Small Parcel
No Tracking - Tracked - 2nd Class
- 3.40 - - - - - - - 4.40 - - - - - - 3.90

I think It will fit in the small letter 250g range 1.30 price and I dont want
insurance.

You package it well and takes it into the 251g small parcel brakcet and you also
decide that Im high risk and want to insure it and send it tracked 4.40 or 2nd
class 3.90. Do you think I should not know up front? which one of the 9 prices
it could be? rather than have to guess?

This is just a quick scan or your terms pages, there are other sellers who offer
a simular postage chart that also add package fees and paypal fees that you would
have to calculate also on top of the guessed postage price.

Its only about making the experience as simple as possible for the customer.

Y

What you are missing in reading the terms, and I think I am going to do something
about that, shortly is how we deal with an order once received. Our postage tables
reflect nothing more than an image of those from Royal mail - They are meant
as a guideline. When we get an order we send out our own acknowledgement which
is much more detailed than what Bricklink offers and in it we explain how things
work in our store. We inform everyone that they will have rock solid firm shipping
costs/options in 24 - 48 hours after we have pre-processed the order. We pick
all orders first and pre-package them to guarantee postage costs.

We then receive a response from that buyer and invoice them exactly as they are
expecting and have chosen. No guesswork, no gimmicks just a simple process of
picking the order pre-packaging it and advising the buyer of that. I suppose
you could look at that as a quote but not a BL one (Their quote system is flawed,
badly - doesn't work properly on inventory and is not enabled in our store.
I am now going to add to our terms and policies page a reflection of that order
acknowledgement which should make it totally clear what is going to happen, give
the buyers their choices for shipping and confirming that we charge no fees whatsoever
- just postage at cost.

And at this point, do you allow your customer to cancel the order if the shipping/extra
fees are deemed by them to be excessive?

simple answer yes but we don't charge any fees just postage at cost

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 27, 2017 12:02

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

Never ever had this problem and I do not believe we have ever not responded to
a query pre an order. Again move on and go somewhere that want's your business,
rather than dealing with someone who obviously doesn't.

What impression does a new user get of the whole of BL when they come across
a seller that won't let them checkout, won't give them a quote and won't
reply to an email asking about postage costs. Bad sellers tarnish all sellers,
especially if the buyer is new.

I think you might be stretching it a bit. Bricklink has continued to grow year
on year ever since it started (without either a quote feature or IC). I am sure
that will continue. If the quote system wasn't flawed in the way it handles
inventory, then maybe, just maybe more people might embrace it. As for ic only
time will tell there. some have adopted some haven't. Still quite buggy and
missing key features e.g sales tax,etc. etc.

Quote from recent first time user

Thank you very much for making my first order on bricklink smooth

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 27, 2017 11:28

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 27, 2017 11:08

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, chetzler writes:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

No, No, NO! Voted no.

Automatically will have the Quote option enabled.

What is the harm in that?

-Someone else buys the parts while the customer is waiting on the quote!
-It makes the purchase process longer!
-It's a draconian one-size-fits all approach!

Every customer can make a decision up front if the fees and postage are reasonable
and acceptable. When im invoiced a total random bunch of fees I am not entered
into the contact agreement before knowing them.

And they still can in my shop and many others! I charge no additional fees and
my shipping rates are quite clear (I usually end up paying some of the shipping
myself). Don't try to force me to run my shop in a particular way just because
a few other sellers are shady!

"Request for invoice" works just fine and my sales have remained steady even
after the instant checkout debacle, so people are still OK with using this method.

Instant checkout still does NOT allow for calculation of sales taxes and even
though this is on the road map I have very little faith that it will be implemented
properly. IC also (as far as I can tell) calculates shipping strictly on weight
and volume. I would appreciate a system that mirrors my shipping tables: give
the customer one price if his order contains a set and another if it contains
only parts. This would be far easier to implement.

I'm sorry you ran across a bad seller, but again, I'm am getting very,
VERY tired of the knee-jerk reactions around here that propose up-ending the
processes of a bunch of good sellers just because a few bad sellers are jerks.
If you have to read the terms multiple times that should be a sign to leave
that store.

Some people are always going to try to game the system, IC or not. "Caveat emptor"
will always be good advice, just do a little research as always and stick to
sellers with a good track record.

+111111111111 - wholeheartedly agree.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 27, 2017 11:07

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Bricklord writes:

Fully supported. I have had the Quote function enabled since it was first introduced,
and have no intention of ever screwing myself and my customers over by implementing
that goat rodeo called Instant Checkout. Sellers should be obliged to offer the
Quote Function if they opt not to use Instant Checkout. The latter must not be
made mandatory though. If it does, I and a large number of other sellers will
leave.

That said, the Quote function must be improved. Instead of an obfuscated tab
at the very end of the checkout process, it should be the fork in the road right
at the start.

Nothing should be mandatory as far as this goes. You have over 11,000 unique
sellers on this site and they will all have an opinion of whether they want to
offer quotes or instant checkout - leave it that way and you may end up filtering
out the 'damaged goods sellers' that seem to happen - this is really
odd, I must say all this talk about sellers not responding etc. We have been
buying for a very long time on this site and have never had a seller not respond
to any query we had pre, during or post sale. Most of them are happy to get their
orders in and process them and certainly do not want to turn away business. Maybe
people should name and shame them

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 27, 2017 11:02

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

I agree. I think it is perfectly acceptable that a buyer should be able to refuse
to pay if they were not told of the total costs for an order in a clear and simple
way. Some seller's terms are contradictory and / or confusing (for example
charging lot fees but do not consolidate lots), and also not knowing what packaging
the seller will use can change the costs significantly.

We believe that already exists - a buyer can request to cancel an order at any
time and most reasonable sellers will simply cancel and move on, that is what
we do.

Either make quotes mandatory, or allow buyer-led cancellations if they do nto
want to proceed once invoiced with the true total.

Don't agree. If you are going to do that why not make all features mandatory
- new layouts, instant checkout etc. Taking away people's choices is never
a good idea.

I am amazed at how many sellers don't reply to emails asking for quotes.
I've had two sellers that did not reply to messages in the past week, and
one other saying that I should be able to work it out by myeslf from their terms
page. Of course, I couldn't work it out as they don't say how much their
packaging weighs. Not only do they lose a sale now, they will probably lose all
future sales too.

Never ever had this problem and I do not believe we have ever not responded to
a query pre an order. Again move on and go somewhere that want's your business,
rather than dealing with someone who obviously doesn't.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 27, 2017 10:57

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Pippyblocks writes:

This is why I have a min buy of £5 and postage at cost, simple and clear.

And so do we

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 27, 2017 10:39

Subject:

Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote

Viewed:

65 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 9, 2017 07:20

Subject:

Change Search Results for Find Stores

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

I believe it would be very helpful for the collection of statistical data if
the way the search in Find Stores' returned its results was altered to include
a column for Instant checkout enabled/adopted. Use the same Lightning bolt that
is currently being used simply add the column rather than having to go back and
forth betwee the searches - without IC and the 2nd with

The example shown reflects the UK's top 11 stores for no of items. 5 of the
11 have implemented it so far. 6 haven't, for whatever reason.

This would save having to make 2 searches (and less calls on the server) apart
from making it easier to gather the data.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 22, 2017 04:51

Subject:

Please add new item to Activity Page

Viewed:

65 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Please add new Non-Commercial Activity category to the My activity section to
cover add Packaging Dimensions to Catalogue Items. Include Pending, approved
and disapproved.

This will allow individuals to identify what is happening with their submissions.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Oct 16, 2017 11:49

Subject:

Improvements to part descriptions

Viewed:

70 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

It would be very helpful if in the part descriptions submitters were required
to put colours where appropriate. For example and especially for minifig torso
assemblies.

If someone submits a new minifig torso or legs assembly they should fill in a
short form for Hip colours, leg colour(s) as well as torso colour, arm colour
and hand colour.

If we could get this as a requirement it would make life much easier especially
when using tools like goatleg.

If the description doesn't include all this information then Goatleg doesn't
always find it and that makes identifying some of these parts much harder than
it needs to be.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 16, 2017 14:07

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

[…]
There
are well over 1/2 million members of Bricklink now - even if only 20% of them
contributed […]

You’re overly optimistic about contribution rate.
I don’t think that there ever were 20% of BLers who contributed, even back when,
even counting one-time contributors.
And for something that will only interest sellers, 0.02% (100 people) seems more
likely. But maybe it would suffice

There are two of us who have already said we would supply our data which, I can
assure you, would make a dent in what is needed. We are all 'whistling in
the wind' over this cause BL do their own thing and changes to the catalogue
are changes to their single most important and valuable asset. You will remember
the saga over image rights when they took over and how there is a shyness to
open the catalogue any further (the changes to Brickstock and logging in). Good
to get this out in the air and see what peoples thoughts are but it ain't
going to happen.

If it promotes dialogue with BL development we will have achieved something.
Dimensions, weights etc ?????

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 16, 2017 13:49

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

14 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, qwertyboy writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, qwertyboy writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, brickbrowser writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

The Bricklink catalogue has the perfect base for this change but it is a question
of whether the developers feel they can do it with minimum effort. Each item
in the catalogue has a PCC as well as its mould or design id number associated
with it. The PCC code is Lego's element id and it is what they print in their
instructions.

There have been lots of comments both in and out of the forum concerning part
weights and how there is a variance between colours of the same part number.
We have also experienced this. The simple way to deal with this is to add a weight
field against the PCC in the catalogue. This would allow the system to hold the
individual weights for each colour part and could be used to more accurately
provide cart weights for instant checkout when it comes out of preview.

There are far greater weight discrepancies / inconsistencies in batches of packaging
materials (even from same supplier), than those attributed to mold or part colour
differences. Furthermore, one weight submitter's scales and measuring technique
probably differs from another's to the extent that the exercise is moot.

I doubt that would ever be an effective use of people's time.

You may be right - the only thing is surely we have to start somewhere - as I
said in an earlier reply the current generic system only works because sellers/stores
have been doing this manually

For the record - when doing up shipping cost for an order, we have _never_ weighed
the order, we always used BL's supplied weight (unless of course the weight
was not specified). As far as I can recall, we have never had issues with an
order needing more postage than what was indicated by using supplied weights.

As others have indicated as well, adding weights to PPCs is a massive undertaking,
time that would be better and more profitably spent elsewhere.

Niek.

We weight every order and totally disregard BL's weight as
it does not make allowances for bags, other packaging materials and of course
the box we use. Strange you don't weigh your orders?

Poor choice of words, my bad. I meant - we don't weigh orders before determining
shipping cost. We have a good handle on what fits into where, and that includes
how much weight to add for packing material. We have enough NBPs to make packing-up-and-then-unpacking
a pain in the behind. If we over-estimated shipping, we refund. If we under-estimated,
we eat the diff. Same will happen when auto-checkout will come by.

For us, PPC weights are a non-issue, and (again for us) efforts would be better
spent developing other features.

Niek.

Then AFOL's comments about checking MyWeight a PPC weight or defaulting to
the generic weight solve that issue - if the PPC weight were available.

BTW

We work very differently to you. Our parts are picked and prepacked to determine
an accurate shipping cost - we never under or overcharge - no refunds no administration
just simply parcel sent at cost given to buyer. It has worked well for us for
6 years and 4100+ orders - not sure we need to change it. Haven't had an
NPB in all that time - so again that is not an issue for us. I have said this
many times and will keep saying it - if instant checkout can replace a manual
system which doesn't get it wrong - ever - then subject to them sorting out
the Paypal on site payment issue (to do with addresses) we will look at it in
seriousness if not we will stay with what works for us and hasn't let us
down - the old expression applies if it ain't broke don't fix it.

There are huge number of things that are needed on the site - we agree with
that but that all appears to be out of our (The community's) control or influence
- the roadmap has changed a multitude of times - no one knows where the seller
tools are or if we will ever see them - so many other things do need doing -
we agree but we and others do not see this as being the lead weight to bring
it all to a halt it would simply be another enhancement to the BL catalogue.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 16, 2017 13:36

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

22 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, WoutR writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, DadsAFOL writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Yes, we have manually recorded lot weights on thousands of PCC's over the
years of selling. I would be happy to share that info to seed the database.
From there like everything else here it just gets crowdsourced over time and
wouldn't really be a big deal. Just set up the system with a bit of a waterfall...
if MyWeight exists, use that; if not then if PCC weight exists use that; else
use ItemID weight.

Here's a good example of why this would be helpful:

3023 Plate 1 x 2
Parts: Plate

- Catalog - 0.36
- Black actual - 0.3331 (-7.5%)
- White actual - 0.3425 (-4.9%)
- Trans Clear actual - 0.3836 (+6.5%)

So if someone bought 1000 of these in your store, and you wanted to weigh them
using the catalog weight instead of counting them...
- Your customer would get 1075 black and your inventory would be short 75 for
the next order
- Your customer would get 1049 white and your inventory would be short 49 for
the next order
- Your customer would get 935 trans clear and your inventory would be over 65,
and your customer would be upset asking for a refund or for you to ship the missing
parts.

Same issue applies to postage calculation. Its totally possible that the system
undercharges on postage for the trans clear because 1000 actually weighs 383g,
not 360g like the catalog expects.

Thank you for joining this thread and the detail you provided it is helpful for
others to see what a difference the weights can make towards shipping. We would
be happy to share our data with BL as well.

The transparent parts are heavier because they are made in a different material.
LEGO often has a different designID for those parts,which BrickLink sees as an
alternative (to keep things simple for buyers and sellers).

I have been studying the small design changes on the 3001 bricks. I have seen
many mold changes that would cause such small changes in weight, and the exact
weight of the raw material might differ from one batch to the next (especially
because LEGO uses several suppliers). Even mold wear adds weight to the parts.

The only correct way to do this would be to assign a tolerance to the weight,
it is an illusion that the part weight is constant in so many decimals.

Hardly an illusion based on the data presented, although we agree nothing is
constant with Lego. They weigh parts that they send out for their B&P site and
the count can be significantly out on the same item. Everyone agrees this is
not an exact science - we are simply exploring other possibilities that may help
to solve or improve on the current system, which, with the best will in the world
is far too generic.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 16, 2017 12:07

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, DadsAFOL writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

3023 Plate 1 x 2
Parts: Plate

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 16, 2017 11:11

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

22 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, brickbrowser writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Have you looked at the preview site and how it works in comparison with BO? There is almost a deafening silence here about the preview site, which, of course adds to people's
concerns.

Not looked again since July, as I'm not aware of any further progress.
My thoughts on issues at that time were in regard to missing dimensions:
https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1045320

Remember that - we voiced our concerns at the time as well, and so did others.
It certainly isn't going to go away - things need to be out in the open about
it - are there dimensions being held somewhere ? Have the converted stud measurements
to mm? Can we see and modify those? Lots and lots of question really but unfortunately
there are not a lot of answers coming out, which is a shame really.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 16, 2017 10:30

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

22 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, qwertyboy writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, brickbrowser writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

You may be right - the only thing is surely we have to start somewhere - as I
said in an earlier reply the current generic system only works because sellers/stores
have been doing this manually

We weight every order and totally disregard BL's weight as
it does not make allowances for bags, other packaging materials and of course
the box we use. Strange you don't weigh your orders? As for the claim about
massive undertaking - so is adding dimensions and how does everyone think the
catalogue got put together in the first place - it just appeared !!!!! There
are well over 1/2 million members of Bricklink now - even if only 20% of them
contributed that reduces the amount of time it would take to get started
populating the relevant fields - The absolute same applies to proper dimensions.
The catalogue wasn't created in a day or a year it is still ongoing and so
would this if it were to be put in place.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 16, 2017 05:37

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, brickbrowser writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

As for the quite common comment that it works on BO so it should work here -
that is a logical statement if all things were equal, but unfortunately they
are not. The stores we have spoken to that are on both sites have tended to tell
us they only ever ship large letter style parcels on BO whereas they do both
parcels and large letters on BL. (I think this may be down to somewhat smaller
orders on BO - but cannot be 100% accurate with that)

We sell on BO and it works well enough. If dimensions for a particular part
aren't in the catalogue the system defaults to parcel rate. If it fits large
letter, a refund for difference is easy to send at time of shipping. It's
not a perfect system, but it's worth the minor inconvenience for the benefit
that instant checkout brings and as you said - we have to start somewhere.
I spend more time sending BL reminders to late/non payers on BL than I do sending
refunds to BO customers for overpaid P&P!

Interesting - we don't sell on BO but have kept our options open. Have you
looked at the preview site and how it works in comparison with BO? There is almost
a deafening silence here about the preview site, which, of course adds to people's
concerns. If it was all working wonderfully well I am sure we would hear from
those who have the time to test it as well as NL with the 'good new'
but nothing like that at the moment.

We maintain our thoughts that BL needs to at worst add the dimensions capability
to the catalogue (or at least define where it is getting its information from,
and at best allow members to add those dimensions. That doesn't ensure that
it will, work but it gives it a better chance.

In our 6 years as a store we have had a handful of buyers that we had to chase
for payment - it isn't a major issue for us - but we do understand others
position as well. mot sure if we have ever completed an NPB. We may be lucky
with that and of course it can change almost instantly. but that side of it is
not our main concern. Getting the shipping right first time every time, which
is what we do manually, is.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 16, 2017 04:13

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

22 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, brickbrowser writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

You may be right - the only thing is surely we have to start somewhere - as I
said in an earlier reply the current generic system only works because sellers/stores
have been doing this manually - it would be nice to know how the instant checkout
is actually going to calculate which box type - and the associated tare it is
going to use - easy enough to set up a different delivery method for your boxes
and have the tare weight associated with that but as you say that can differ
between batches and manufacturers. Large letters come in envelopes as well as
boxes and small parcel boxes have an almost infinite number available in the
UK - all with different tares.

We would like to understand how their calculations are going to work so we can
determine whether it is worthwhile or not. That information is lacking.

As for the quite common comment that it works on BO so it should work here -
that is a logical statement if all things were equal, but unfortunately they
are not. The stores we have spoken to that are on both sites have tended to tell
us they only ever ship large letter style parcels on BO whereas they do both
parcels and large letters on BL. (I think this may be down to somewhat smaller
orders on BO - but cannot be 100% accurate with that)

Ignoring that completely a very thorough and detailed description of how ic is
intended to work on BL would be very helpful for all parties.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 15, 2017 13:35

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

25 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, qwertyboy writes:

So how do you suggest BL tackles the weight issues resulting from TLG mold changes?

Niek.

There is no one single way of achieving that - Lego themselves haven't resolved
this. The K boxes of parts that get shipped to all the Lego stores differ in
weight for the same part and the same colour. Our suggestion was meant to be
an improvement on what is currently in place as it is far too generic. The reason
it has worked for so long is down to the individual stores and how they handle
orders - they have done the package weights manually and of course that is actual
not calculated. That works - there can be no denial to that. Where a postal system
is based just on weight it is the perfect solution - pick the parts - put them
in a parcel that will hold them weigh it and price it. Ship it - if instant checkout
can do that - then go for it.

Where volume calculations are required then it requires more than just weight
- manually it is easy and most stores who have been around a while will do it
almost instantly. Whether software can do that or not remains to be seen and
please do not refer to the other site for this. BL is not BO and vice versa -
if they were the same, despite the problem being the same - then BL would have
had instant checkout years ago - they aren't and probably never will be.

So the only real solution is doing it manually (AI solution perhaps - I doubt
it but that is feasible).

As not a lot is known about how the preview site is actually doing it is difficult
to comment accurately on where BL is with the feature. There are stores who are
clamouring for it - there are stores who are sitting back and waiting and there
are stores who say - not interested - don't need it. Time will tell - as
and when it gets released.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 15, 2017 13:20

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

24 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

- In 627 orders processed on the other site, with them having one weight for
each part no, we haven't experienced one single issue. Weight differences
are small, the likelihood of this "screwing up" auto-checkout is minimal, and
if it does make an err, the seller can chalk it up to the cost of doing business.

I agree this is not really necessary. It is a huge amount of data to collect
as well especially if the data is meant to be "more" accurate.

A while ago I looked at the weight distribution of 100 of the Krusty torsos:

973pb1676c01 (Inv) Torso Simpsons Shirt with Black Collar Outline and Dark Azure Bow Tie Pattern / Yellow Arms with Molded Bright Pink Short Sleeves Pattern / White Hands
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

They are all identical parts, same colour and print, but they vary in weight
slightly (at most in the second decimal place - they were all 1.27+-0.03 g) with
a distribution that is very similar to the distribution of weights of a random
sample of torsos (both printed and unprinted).

If people are then adding "accurate" data based on PCC number, I really hope
they don't get this data by weighing just one part. They should be getting
it from a large number of the same parts with the same PPC, and taking the average.
If I had picked a single torso, I could have claimed the weight was as low as
1.24g, if another as heavy as 1.30g. I made the average for my batch 1.274g,
in the catalogue it is 1.25g.

If I sold 100 of them, I might think it is as low as 124g total or it could be
as high as 130g. The catalogue tells me 125g. That 6g possible difference is
well within the buffer I allow when estimating the weight of packaging, tape,
etc.

It is interesting to compare these torsos:

973pb2654c02 (Inv) Torso Batman Prisoner Female Jumpsuit with Belt, White Undershirt and 'ARKHAM' on Back Pattern / Orange Arms / Dark Green Hands
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

973pb2654c01 (Inv) Torso Batman Prisoner Female Jumpsuit with Belt, White Undershirt and 'ARKHAM' on Back Pattern / Orange Arms / Dark Purple Hands
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

973pb2568c02 (Inv) Torso Batman Prisoner Jumpsuit with Belt, White Undershirt and 'ARKHAM' on Back Pattern / Orange Arms / Dark Green Hands
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

973pb2568c03 (Inv) Torso Batman Prisoner Jumpsuit with Belt, White Undershirt and 'ARKHAM' on Back Pattern / Orange Arms / Medium Lavender Hand Left / Medium Nougat Hand Right
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

973pb2568c01 (Inv) Torso Batman Prisoner Jumpsuit with Belt, White Undershirt and 'ARKHAM' on Back Pattern / Orange Arms / White Hands
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

1.28g 1.30g 1.28g 1.28g 1.27g

They are all orange torso assemblies with (almost same) print and vary only in
the different colour hands. Are the hands really responsible for the variation
in weights? If a hand is 0.09g (I think all colours currently have same weight)
making a pair 0.18g, then the variation of 0.03g in 0.18g seems very large. Whereas
a natural variation within the same colour torsos and arms seems more reasonable.

The weight may well depend on the location of the part in the mold / on the sprue
if multiple parts are molded at once even though all are given the same PPC.

A huge amount of data is also required for actual dimensions rather than studs
but none of that is impossible especially when you have a willing and capable
membership the size of Bricklink.

It is a complicated scenario really - no one solution can do it all but we could
do with improving the one we currently have.

Bricklink, we believe do not want to open the catalogue any further - it is their
single most valuable asset, so it is probably unlikely that this suggestion will
get anywhere near implementation. If it causes thought then it will achieve what
it was set out to do. Same part with mould variations but the same PCC as well
as variances on colours and composition (differing amounts of ABS etc all make
this a very, very complex arena.

Perhaps most importantly this does not prevent auto-checkout from working if
and when it comes out of preview and we didn't in any way suggest that, despite
earlier comments. Auto-checkout has already been built and this wasn't in
place - they have used some information from somewhere to determine weight and
volume? Not sure what nor how - that really hasn't been explained but I am
sure it will work for some - maybe not for all just yet, but only time will really
tell.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 15, 2017 12:23

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, qwertyboy writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

I would vote no, for two reasons:

- In 627 orders processed on the other site, with them having one weight for
each part no, we haven't experienced one single issue. Weight differences
are small, the likelihood of this "screwing up" auto-checkout is minimal, and
if it does make an err, the seller can chalk it up to the cost of doing business.

- TLG is known to have made changes to their molds just to save a few cents
by requiring less ABS. These changes are done to parts that keep the exact same
PPC, and most times BL doesn't differentiate (think hollow versus solid pins
under a 1x4 brick for example). Those weight changes could actually be more significant
than the weight change for different colors. In effect, the weight-per-PPC will
almost always be an approximation, not the 100%-always-correct-weight for a PPC.

In short, I am convinced these weight differences are a non-issue for auto-checkout.
Experience proves this. I am sure others can verify this. Don't make things
more complex than they need to be.

Niek.

Thank you for your comment. Your opinion is noted, however I am not convinced
using the other site as a reference point is really relevant. The other site
also has proper dimensions for each part, which BL does not and as far as I can
tell from the brief look at the preview site the implementation here is different
to that over there. We sell lots and lots of bulk orders and a small difference
on an individual part can make a significant difference overall. As far as putting
that down to cost of business we will let you do that - it is of no interest
whatsoever to us. Maintaining margin/profitability is a key factor to a successful
business and taking all steps necessary to prevent additional costs is one small
part of that. With over 4000 order on this site we have no mistakes on postage
costs - once bl's implementation of instant checkout can be shown to provide
that reliability we will consider using it, however it is not of major importance
to us at the moment. There are far more important things to deal with.

Sorry I mis-read part of your original post. We are not trying to overly complicate
things - our suggestion, we believe, would help not hinder, and I do not believe
in any way did we say that this would prevent 'screwing up' with instant
checkout. We suggested it would help - not hinder.

As for your opinion, you are, of course entitled to it as we are to ours. You
have been around this site nearly as lone as we have so you will appreciate that
lots of people differ on what is needed, what is important etc. That is the way
life and business goes but it is more than essential to compare apples with apples
not apples and pears. In terms of coding this is a simple change and would take
any programmer less than a day to achieve it and it may, yes may help - it certainly
isn't going to hinder by any stretch of the imagination.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 15, 2017 11:54

Subject:

Re: Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, qwertyboy writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 15, 2017 10:09

Subject:

Change to information held in Catalogue

Viewed:

130 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 12, 2017 11:56

Subject:

Re: Moderate Forum Posts

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, StormChaser writes:

I suggest that members with 2 or less feedback have their forum posts moderated,
meaning that posts must be approved by a moderator before appearing in the forum.
This should resolve the issue of scammers joining BrickLink merely to post spam
in the forum.

Yet another +1

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Sep 11, 2017 12:15

Subject:

Re: Separate email addresses for buying/selling

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, stecre writes:

I think it would be very useful to be able to have separate email addresses for
your buying and selling activities.

I operate a store but also have wanted lists and buy from time to time and being
able to separate the various emails to different addresses would be helpful.

e.g.

To the "Buying" email address:

Any messages regarding orders you placed e.g. Invoices etc.
Wanted list notifications

To the "Selling" email address:

Any messages regarding orders received e.g. invoices, payments
Emails about Fees

Perhaps there could even be a configuration page for users to select which emails
they would like to go to which address?

Yes you can probably achieve this with filters on your email client if on a PC
but not sure about phones and other devices.

Thanks,
Steve

Voted yes but I think this needs to be expanded. Holding multiple address records
has its problems but it really is the only way to go. We, as a store, have 2
distinct locations - one for our storage/picking centre and one for order processing.
If Bricklink allowed us to hold multiple addresses ((including e-mail addresses)
it would make life much easier, There are issues with doing that but most organisations
have overcome those and I am sure BL can do the same.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Aug 15, 2017 08:38

Subject:

Re: Upgrade XML download to include addresses

Viewed:

32 times

Topic: