BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Selling, Sgt._MacSquinch writes:

I've probably placed 60+ orders over the last few months. I can say without
exaggeration that on at least 40% of those orders, there was no tracking number
provided. It's annoying enough when a seller can't be bothered to put
it where it belongs on the order form for the customer, but when I then go to
Paypal looking for one, and it isn't there, a simple annoyance becomes an
aggravation. Not providing tracking for customers shows an indifference to the
needs of the customer. That, and it's just plain lazy. There's also the
matter of sellers not bothering to check the merchandise for accuracy before
shipping. Twice in the last month I've had to deal with Batman figures, ordered
for a specific cape type, arriving with the wrong capes. Again, this is lazy.
Any kind of business that sells something has even the most basic quality control
practices in place. One can certainly tell the difference between pro sellers
who take what they do seriously, and the fly-by-night pop-up stores that are
just here to get the most bang for their bricks while they unload their unwanted
Lego. These lackluster sellers are contributing to an overall downturn, IMO,
in what should be a pleasurable buying experience, and frankly, I don't believe
the platform should continue to offer them the privilege, if they continue to
make customers unhappy. Go to Craig's List, place an ad in the paper, have
a rummage sale - whatever. Just take your bricks, your laziness, and your ineptitude
elsewhere.

I hear you. As a buyer, I was frequently frustrated by these issues too. Some
U.S. sellers wouldn't send tracking even when asked for it (and the EU really
needs to catch up with the U.S. -- for once -- by regulating and requiring
free tracking on all packages sent by public postal service). And then there
were the mistakes -- my overall error rate was 33% to 40% on orders with
at least one error in listing/packing, and well over 50% if I count orders with
at least one damaged piece but no incorrect pieces as part of the error rate.

That's why I run my store the way I do. I try to do the things I wanted as
a buyer on my 750+ orders. Tracking is uploaded to the order page AND included
in the Drive-Thru email for every single order. Turnaround time on shipping is
1-2 business days max, regardless of how busy I am. Orders are dropped off at
the post office rather than a dropbox, which often saves an entire day of shipping
time. Parts are bagged neatly and labeled if necessary. And most importantly,
I have a robust QA system that triple-checks every single order for accuracy
and quality. With hundreds of thousands of parts sold through various platforms,
I've never had a reliable report of a missing or incorrect part in an order
(though I admit that I have missed minor damage a handful of times). As a seller,
I hold myself to a very high standard, and I struggle to understand how other
people's standards for themselves are so low.

I have one of the largest used-parts inventories in the country, so feel free
to try out my store if you'd like. You'll get great service and great
parts, just like it says.

Author:

MinifigureHub

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 17:59

Subject:

20% SALE!! ALL PARTS

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

Sales

20% SALE!! ALL PARTS

Author:

crimson30

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 17:54

Subject:

Re: Tracking and order pulling accuracy

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Topic:

I think some of the problem here is that very low expectations breed abuse.

I look at feedback for a seller and see a negative or two complaining about slowness
and think "well, I'm not in a hurry". Then I get the order and there are
multiple missing parts, wrong colors, really bad condition parts... the order
is fractally wrong and I have to wonder "why didn't these other buyers say
something?"

Author:

Sgt._MacSquinch

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 17:41

Subject:

Tracking and order pulling accuracy

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Topic:

Author:

leggodtshop

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 17:34

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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Topic:

In Announce, calebfishn writes:

Profit is not harming the planet. Exploitation is.

Profit is exploitation. Profit means taking more than it has cost you. By definition
that is exploitation, consient deliberate exploitation. Letting someone else
pay more than it has cost you. On purpose. And getting away with it. We have
made it legal. Amazing.

There are command and control economies in various totalitarian states of the
world in which the profit motive is reduced. Are those economies less harmful
to the environment, or more harmful?

Is it better for a society to convert forests into charcoal to be used for cooking,
and thus pollute the atmosphere with carbon smoke, or for an enterprising person
to invest in developing cleaner forms of energy that benefit people and the environment
in exchange for a profit/return on her investment? People are not going to invest
the time and money needed to bring environment-saving technological improvements
without getting a return on their investment.

Without profit motive we are left with two alternatives: Coercion by the more
powerful to force the less powerful to "work" without profit, or a global return
to a hunter-gatherer society.

Which one of the two do you advocate?

Author:

popsicle

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 16:28

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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Topic:

In Announce, psusaxman2000 writes:

I've only been part of this community for about 1.5 years and joined here
when I personally dove back into the LEGO community during the pandemic. I grew
up with Lego in my home and was always happy to have a new set (new to me personally)
for a holiday, birthday or whatever. As an adult now with a child, I'm
happy to be able to provide the same experiences for my daughter as she has grown
to love and enjoy a toy as much as I still do and we get to enjoy this hobby
together. What I've found recently is that there is a lot of animosity when
people tend to not get or find what they want. To me it sometimes feels like
a sense of entitlement and not realizing that you can't always get what you
want. Are there individuals that try to take advantage of the system, yes, always,
but the majority of the time, that's not the case.

I never joined this community with the intent of becoming a seller. I raided
my old collection that was still at my parents house trying to clean up space
and handing some down to my niece and nephew. In reviewing all these sets I
found that I had missing parts and that's when BL came into my life. From
there it was a matter of collecting the missing parts and reliving my childhood
over again. I found that I had extras and in collecting from some local yard
sales I just use BL to supplement my ability to purchase new sets for myself
and my daughter.

Over this time, I have similar interactions to the ones you've called out,
and at this point just come to realized that with any other social media type
thing, there are always both sides to each community and they will make themselves
loud and clear when they don't like something. To me it's just a byproduct
of the time and when they don't get what they want it will always come out.
Case and point is the BL Designer Program.

Enjoyable read. Thanks

Author:

popsicle

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 16:09

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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Topic:

In Announce, firestar246 writes:

In Announce, patpendlego writes:

Yes, and that same profit is killing our planet. Because all profit eventually
is made on natural resoources taken from our planet at low or no cost at all,
harming nature, killing woods, animals, plants, etc.

Buiness may survice on profit, our planet is not.

Don't want to get into this hornets nest, but just want to point out that
every item you mentioned is a renewable resource and are being renewed. It doesn't
help out a lumber company if they destroy all the trees, as that would then end
their business pretty quickly. So the good companies will make sure they don't
just destroy, but rather harvest and replenish.

Well put.

Timberland, much of which is owned and managed by Indian tribes, have been historically
some of the healthiest forests we have in the Pacific Northwest, for us to enjoy.
Least prone to wildfires too.

Author:

popsicle

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 16:06

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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Topic:

In Announce, patpendlego writes:

In Announce, firestar246 writes:

In Announce, patpendlego writes:

But that is exactly what is happening! The rainforests are largly gone and NOT
renewable anymore, only and only for short term profit.

True. And a prime example of the havoc narrow-minded, short-term gain driven
men are able to reap. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other such examples
throughout our history. Which spotlights our primal nature when it's let
off the leash, not curtailed.

Profit per se, is not the boogie man in your example. It's human nature denied
and therefore unmanaged. IMHO

as that would then end

their business pretty quickly. So the good companies will make sure they don't
just destroy, but rather harvest and replenish.

Every company must first make profit before they can renew what they used, and
no company has ever renewed ALL or even MORE than they destroyed. There is no
perpetual mobile.

Author:

zorbanj

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:37

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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Topic:

In Announce, psusaxman2000 writes:

To me it sometimes feels like a sense of entitlement and not realizing that you can't always get what you want.

But if you try sometimes, well, you might find you get what you need.

Sorry, I couldn't resist

Author:

waltzking

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:35

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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Topic:

In Announce, crimson30 writes:

How are schools indoctrinating youth against capitalism?

Do you have any specific examples?

I could really get off topic here, but just try looking at the curriculum being
taught and compare it to that from 20-30 years ago. History events are changed
or omitted, key "fathers of communism" figures are now celebrated in countries
formerly known as capitalistic or free market. Couple with what students really
know (if you take the time to talk to any and dig for depth of knowledge in conversation)
and you'll find the vast differences in education in just the last few decades.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, but this forum isn't the place for
the topic beyond how it relates to our interactions now as sellers, buyers and
collectors from largely opposite economic world views. But is key IMO to understanding
why these vastly opposite and even angry interactions are occurring with consumers
faulting the profits of a reseller as immoral, when the original seller made
just as much if not more profit to start with. The lack of logic in such a view
is astounding.

Jonathan

Author:

calebfishn

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:33

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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65 times

Topic:

Profit is not harming the planet. Exploitation is.

There are command and control economies in various totalitarian states of the
world in which the profit motive is reduced. Are those economies less harmful
to the environment, or more harmful?

Is it better for a society to convert forests into charcoal to be used for cooking,
and thus pollute the atmosphere with carbon smoke, or for an enterprising person
to invest in developing cleaner forms of energy that benefit people and the environment
in exchange for a profit/return on her investment? People are not going to invest
the time and money needed to bring environment-saving technological improvements
without getting a return on their investment.

Without profit motive we are left with two alternatives: Coercion by the more
powerful to force the less powerful to "work" without profit, or a global return
to a hunter-gatherer society.

Which one of the two do you advocate?

Author:

leggodtshop

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:24

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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60 times

Topic:

In Announce, firestar246 writes:

In Announce, patpendlego writes:

But that is exactly what is happening! The rainforests are largly gone and NOT
renewable anymore, only and only for short term profit.

as that would then end

their business pretty quickly. So the good companies will make sure they don't
just destroy, but rather harvest and replenish.

Every company must first make profit before they can renew what they used, and
no company has ever renewed ALL or even MORE than they destroyed. There is no
perpetual mobile.

Author:

tons_of_bricks

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:17

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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59 times

Topic:

In Announce, patpendlego writes:

Author:

leggodtshop

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:06

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

Viewed:

74 times

Topic:

In Announce, firestar246 writes:

In Announce, psusaxman2000 writes:

What I've found recently is that there is a lot of animosity when
people tend to not get or find what they want. To me it sometimes feels like
a sense of entitlement and not realizing that you can't always get what you
want.

That's the big issue right there, at least in my opinion.

People don't seem to understand the importance of profit anymore. They think
that if someone buys something to resell it at a higher value, that they are
cheaters, scammers, scalpers. They don't seem to understand that profit is
needed for a business to survive.

Author:

tons_of_bricks

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:03

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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57 times

Topic:

In Announce, calebfishn writes:

Profit is not only needed for the survival of an individual business, it is essential
for making any type of consumer good dependably available and affordable. Just
think about Soviet Russia in the 1970's where people lined up for hours hoping
to find a loaf of bread and a bottle of vodka on the grocery store shelves. Without
incentive, people are not going to work at making consumer goods available and
affordable. Without the ability to profit from their work, Bricklink sellers
would not be spending hours sourcing, sorting, and listing parts for the AFOL
community to purchase. The variety of parts and sets available on Bricklink would
be much less and pricing would be variable and unpredictable.

For those who think that profit is immoral when it comes from selling toys, let's
all be thankful that Lego doesn't think that way, or we'd have no lego
at all.

This is what I like about (most) of the sellers here: they actually have a head
on their shoulders and a brain in it.

You hit the nail on the head.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:01

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

I've seen one and only one instagram comment where I posted the price guide
image next to a rare figure part and someone commented "rip off".

Just because they see it as a toy and not a commodity doesn't mean they're
right.

Yeah. It's funny how lego is just a kids' toy when someone wants something
cheap, but it's a valuable collectable when it is in their hands.

If they want a palantir for their LOTR collection, they can buy a 20c Zamor sphere
in red and yellow instead of a black and lime one. It's just a toy, after
all.

Author:

tons_of_bricks

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 15:00

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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45 times

Topic:

In Announce, waltzking writes:

IMO its more so the anti-capitalist (or communist) teaching of youth that has
created the idea that profit is bad, and everyone deserves the same outcome...thus
anything they want they deserve to get, and anyone who gets more than they wanted
is (quote) "scalping scumbag."

I once even ran into a buyer on eBay who I had to give a basic lessen in economics
to after he "felt terrible" he sold something to be for more than he had paid.
When I enlightened him that likely everything in life he ever bought had the
seller making a profit (be it Amazon, Walmart or a private seller), it was
like a light bulb moment for him... I just don't get how he reached adulthood
not realizing this absolutely basic component of a free market? Seemingly schools
noways are not even teaching basic concepts, but rather indoctrinating youth
with who knows what instead!!!

Rant over, but I honestly think it all stems from a disconnect on the way the
last generation or two has been taught. Especially in well-to-do societies where
a large sum of the children have been pampered and treated like self-serving
royalty, rather than trainees facing graduated real-life challenges aiming to
help them become the leaders they need to be for the next generation. Global
warming won't wipe us out nearly as quick as such lack of knowledge and training
will.

Jonathan

I have to agree 110% with you here!

Author:

calebfishn

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 14:54

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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Topic:

In Announce, firestar246 writes:

In Announce, psusaxman2000 writes:

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 14:50

Subject:

Re: Co-op type store.

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Topic:

In Selling, Dirkpeek writes:

Hi all,

I have a small bricklink store where I sell stuff from my joblot buys that dont
interest me. It's mainly sets and figures.
I've had a couple of my friends and acquaintances ask if they could list
some of their sets. I said I'd be interested for a small percentage of the
final cost as I'll have to put time and effort into it. Has anyone done this
before? If so how did you work out payment etc? I'm not worried about payment
from my friends, it's the acquaintances I'd be sceptical about.

Is it worth it or am I open to a world of pain?

Any help is appreciated
Hendrik.

Minifigs are not so bad as they are quick to check. But sets, you need to make
sure every part is there in the correct colours. It is your reputation so you
need to do that. You should also have them on hand, so you can post them when/if
sold.

If you do it, insist on having the items in hand and you pay them when the items
sell.

Author:

waltzking

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 14:50

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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Topic:

In Announce, StickyBrickit writes:

In Announce, musen2100 writes:

In Announce, StickyBrickit writes:

I'm part of several non-BL Lego groups such as some of the FaceBook AFOL
groups plus some groups that are local to me (in the UK). I've noticed that
there is a range of opinions on people who sell / resell Lego and that (strangely,
IMO) some opinions can be vehemently negative. This can range from the odd comment
about how resellers are missing the "point" of Lego (i.e. it's a toy, it
shouldn't be resold for profit) to some downright nasty comments about me
being a "scalping scumbag" and that I'm "ruining the hobby, driving up prices,
taking food out of children's mouths" etc (not kidding about that last one!)

Tbh I'm never that bothered about any negativity as I'm sure you get
it everywhere, but I do think it's strange in that I guess people just misunderstand
how the market works. I can only set my own prices and not the general market
value, so if I overprice my Lego it won't sell, and if I underprice it then
I wouldn't make any money so there would be less Lego available (as I'd
be out of the market).

I guess Lego does retain it's value well when resold so maybe people are
angry about this, but I don't know of any resellers that are raking it in
at other people's expenses. In fact for the hours we put in I'd say we
generally don't get paid all that well. Especially when I put in extra time
for customer service (making sure we're good/very good at all aspects of
what we do, it takes extra time for which we don't actually get paid).

Just wondering if anyone else has come across this sort of negativity and accusation
that we're all driving up prices and making Lego unaffordable for most people
(I'd actually argue the opposite is the case as we provide an alternative
to buying from Lego themselves who would basically have a monopoly if resellers
didn't exist!)

I am assuming you are also talking about older sets. For me after learning about
bricklink I have been able to get sets that I couldn't afford when I was
a small child. I can afford them now but without resellers I wouldn't be
able to buy them. Recently I have finally been able to obtain the 10143 UCS Death
Star II New for $550 by buying the parts. That is incredible. I also got the
6211 here for a bit over $150 (no minifigs, but new). Without any resellers this
would never have been possible, ignore the hate comments, you resellers are awesome

I get comments around everything new and old, rare and common, but the worst
ones usually relate to new sets that sell out quickly and people can't get
them at RRP and instead have to pay the initial inflated price when they get
relisted. I get this is annoying for people, and tbh not something I do, but
I still don't think the people doing it are really doing anything "wrong"
as it's a free market and people can buy what they like and try to resell
it for whatever they like.

Author:

runner.caller

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 14:39

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

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57 times

Topic:

In Announce, crimson30 writes:

Parting out sets clearly adds value to the Lego community. I'd much rather
pay $1 for a Sky Blue 2x4 plate than buy a $100+ set for it. If I had to buy
sets to get the parts for every MOC I wanted to make, it would be very cost prohibitive
and Lego would lose me as a consumer.

Maybe some people aren't considering MOC builders? I've seen a lot of
people who are tunnel-visioned into the paradigm of Lego only being about sets
and/or minifigs. With that sort of thinking, that value-added is marginalized.

As does bulk minfig listings.

If a seller undertakes the arduous task of ID'ing a ton of minifig components,
and then listing them or using them to complete figures, then they are getting
paid for that value added.

If I buy a used lot for $100, and everything sorted and combined and relisted
is worth $450, a collector who has more money than me, but less time is willing
to trade their money for certain figure(s) that they want, but don't have
time to hunt and compile themselves, then that is absolutely fair.

Try acquiring all of the Lord of The Rings figures now for a minifig collection
if resellers didn't exist.

I've seen one and only one instagram comment where I posted the price guide
image next to a rare figure part and someone commented "rip off".

Just because they see it as a toy and not a commodity doesn't mean they're
right.

I'd tell any negative peeps in regards to this to respectfully, pound sand.

Author:

mezoberenybrick

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 14:24

Subject:

-30% SALE OF PARTS!!

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

Sales

-30% SALE OF PARTS!!

Author:

Fr0stByt3

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 13:54

Subject:

Re: Lego Resellers vs. The AFOL Community

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Announce, StickyBrickit writes:

Recently bought a new copy of 1349 from Bricklink for roughly $170, which isn't
cheap but when you think about it, it's worth roughly what the set was worth
new. That's one set that hasn't really appreciated much in value but
most of the larger sets from the 2000s I've wanted appreciated a lot in value
and it's disappointing but understandable given how economics work.

Really can't say market manipulation is a problem on BL. If it is, it's
not noticeable compared to the stunts pulled frequently on Amazon and eBay where
the sellers think they've got gold and there are quite a lot of people out
there that give in and buy those sets because they often times don't know
sites like this exist.

Going back to set 1349, I'm glad I jumped on it because on eBay or Amazon
sellers were wanting $300+ from what I saw so it was a matter of time before
someone purchased it just to flip on another site for a profit. So not so much
a problem here as it is elsewhere and most of the sellers here shouldn't
be getting the flack.

Seller was nice and I'll enjoy using the set.

Author:

Stuart9

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 13:47

Subject:

Re: Mega Bloks

Viewed:

72 times

Topic:

General

Too true, Hilary Page didn’t seem to see the full potential of the self locking
bricks.

In General, runner.caller writes:

In General, Drevil44 writes:

In General, bearly30 writes:

This site is amazing!! I used the inventory area to put all my nephews sets back
together, as the legos were just a total mess. I was wondering if anyone knows
of a site in which to find instructions or the brick inventory of Mega Bloks.
I am trying to sort the pieces to find them all for the set. It is an older set
. It is called Mega Bloks Build A Bakery. Contacted the company but that information
is unavailable as the set is a few years old. Thanks a bunch!!

I can't believe that Mega Bloks has never been sued out of existence by Lego
for copyright infringement of their design/product. I can't tell you the
countless hours I have spent separating non-Lego from genuine Lego parts only
to dump these fraudulent pieces into the garbage. Family members who give these
Mega Blok sets to their children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews etc., are proliferating
a continual crime in my opinion. These inferior products may at the onset look
like they can be combined with the Lego system of bricks, but in actuality ruin
the building experience that that child might have otherwise enjoyed if using
pure Lego only.

LOL! the non-lego brands are super annoying when sorting bulk.

However, don't forget that LEGO was once a clone brick brand as well copying
kiddicraft. So if kiddicraft had sued lego out of existence in 1949, what you're
suggesting lego do to mega-bloks now, then lego wouldn't exist today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFELcl75CiY

I had a terrible experience with a mega-bloks monster truck as a little kid.
I was never able to put it all the way together bc the tolerances were so bad
that pushing a piece in would pop one off somewhere else.

I'm guessing uninitiated gift buyers think they are getting more bang for
their buck, but I'd rather have had a modest $20 lego set back then than
a giant $20 cheap monster truck.

I will say that the halo figures they make are actually pretty cool and they
have some resell value as well which helps fund more lego purchases.

Author:

cejorion

Posted:

Jul 28, 2021 13:44

Subject:

15% off for the rest of July

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

Sales