BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Buying, bluedragon1994 writes:

Who has free shipping in USA ? Thanks

Instant Checkout on everything and Free Shipping on orders of at least $25.

Also, the vast majority of orders ship by the next day (of course depends what
day of the week it is to make that possible).

(USA/domestic shipping only)

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Sep 27, 2022 22:51

Subject:

Re: Adding shipping after order is paid

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Selling, 1001bricks writes:

So, overall, my opinion is not to stress the pennies from the sellers perspective
because even though not every buyer may look up actual shipping costs, everyone
still has the ability to do so, and it is easier to retain a customer when they
can see things line up as expected.

Don't mix: Postal Rates and Shipping Fees.

Shipping is a Service to ship at (eventually) the Postal Rate price.

To Ship is a task in itself, a service, and implies material (envelope, carton,
zip bag, chips, printing...)

Example: you can buy a single 0.02$ part in my shop.
I don't have any minimum, fee, or whatsoever.

But to ship, you'll get a Shipping fee which contains the price of an envelope,
the 2 mandatory stickers plus the eventual Customs, one or a few zip bags...
which is a different price than the Postal Rate.

So, what's the best to "retain a customer"?

Require a minimum order of 10$ (for a single part) or simply let them do what
they want but ask at the minimum to pay the packaging cost and the cost of the
service of shipping?

I gotcha.

Overall, I am so thankful for Instant Checkout. Avoids all these scenario's.

Take care!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Sep 27, 2022 21:12

Subject:

Re: Adding shipping after order is paid

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Selling, 1001bricks writes:

In Selling, MidwestBrick writes:

In Selling, 1001bricks writes:

In Selling, Nubs_Select writes:

you cant add shipping (or any other costs) after an order has been paid. You
can refund the payment then set the order payment status to none and then you
should be able to add shipping and reinvoice the buyer

Refunding will cost.

If there's no tax involved, simply ask the buyer to make a separate payment
directly to your PayPal account for the shipping.

Maybe add 0.50$ for the extra base fee?

Is 50 cents worth an argument or neutral/negative feedback if the buyer feels
like shipping charges are more than actual or that they are being ripped off
a little?

You're confused, Sir.

Any shop can invoice ANY shipping price, it's not related to "actual price".

The out-of-TOS error is when you publish a 10$ price and then invoice 15$.

The fact it cost 2$ in reality is NOT a problem.

I don't think I'm confused. I wouldn't worry about 50 cents and
during the time when I didn't offer free shipping (pre-Instant Checkout days),
never invoiced a penny more than actual shipping costs, and also didn't charge
extra for signature if I decided to go that route, as an example. The sale and
customer satisfaction was more important than a couple dollars or cents.

Anyway, I was just offering my opinion to the OP on another perspective on how
to get the shipping cost he would like. Remember, buyers can look up pricing
too (which is why it would be so annoying, as an example, seeing USA based sellers
invoice using Retail USPS shipping rates, when I know they are paying commercial
pricing). I would not return to those stores after being invoiced and then seeing
the postal slip which says right on it what kind of shipping is being used.

I also recall a seller charging around $20 for shipping once (which was reasonable
for what I bought) then shipping the items Media Mail which probably cost $5
tops and also takes days longer.

So, overall, my opinion is not to stress the pennies from the sellers perspective
because even though not every buyer may look up actual shipping costs, everyone
still has the ability to do so, and it is easier to retain a customer when they
can see things line up as expected.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Sep 27, 2022 18:18

Subject:

Re: Adding shipping after order is paid

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Selling, 1001bricks writes:

In Selling, Nubs_Select writes:

Refunding will cost.

If there's no tax involved, simply ask the buyer to make a separate payment
directly to your PayPal account for the shipping.

Maybe add 0.50$ for the extra base fee?

Is 50 cents worth an argument or neutral/negative feedback if the buyer feels
like shipping charges are more than actual or that they are being ripped off
a little?

No, no it is not.

Be grateful that they are working with you on coming to a conclusion together.

Best of luck!.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Sep 15, 2022 00:11

Subject:

Re: Minifigure Condition - New

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

General

In General, maxx3001 writes:

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

In General, alex10552 writes:

thus every mini-fig that is "new" in my shop is 100% always unassembled so the
buyer can have that joy passed on to them with their purchase.

What about the assembled ones directly from LEGO or the heads on the torsos?

Nothing I usually have to worry about as I buy all my Lego from Retail stores.
but of course it would be an outliner if they came from Lego already pre-assembled.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Sep 14, 2022 18:24

Subject:

Re: Minifigure Condition - New

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

General

In General, alex10552 writes:

BrickLink offers two options for the condition of a minifigure. Used or New.
Pretty simple! :]

My thinking: it's only "new" if the minifig is still disassembled. That's
a sure sign of a new figure, when you piece it together and get that tight squeeze
for the first time, right?

However, I've come across quite a few minifigure listings that mention that
the figure has been assembled but it's still listed as New. TIL that BrickLink
still considers a minifigure's condition as New even when assembled. (New
Minifigures - Minifigures are brand new, taken directly from new sets or were
purchased "as new" in another form such as accessory packs or Pick A Brick and
have been handled only for sorting. Minifigures may be listed as new either assembled
or unassembled.)

I strongly disagree with that notion. What are others' thoughts on the matter?

Simple as this... when you buy something at a store that needs assembling and
part of that joy in purchasing an item from a store is the assembly phase...
then you would be disappointed if the assembling stage was completed for you.

So, the act of putting a minifig together and listing it as "new" removes that
assembling stage for a Buyer that wants to complete the process themselves, as
part of the purchase.

In conclusion, never assemble something that someone else wants to complete,
thus every mini-fig that is "new" in my shop is 100% always unassembled so the
buyer can have that joy passed on to them with their purchase.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Sep 6, 2022 10:09

Subject:

Re: A few newbie questions

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37 times

Topic:

In Selling, kbuckreus writes:

Hi, newbie here! It's time to clear out my kid's Lego sets, c. 1990.
I have a few really basic questions. First, what is considered a 100% complete
set? Do the original "extra parts" need to be included?

Second, do any of you make an effort to clean the pieces (for sanitation purposes)?
Most of mine look very good, but since they were children's toys there are
a few that could do with a cleaning. Can I put them in a zipped net laundry
bag and throw them into the dishwasher or washing machine (obviously not tiny
ones or ones with stickers on them)? Are these methods safe or can they cause
discoloring? Do you have a better suggestion?

Third, most sets are only missing a few pieces and I'm in the process of
purchasing replacements. Is there any reason I need to inform the buyer these
are replacements?

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

I have no idea if we are talking 500 sets here or 5, but I'll just mention
that all the time and effort putting into ordering or figuring out missing pieces
may be off-set by simply selling everything as-is locally. Of course you can
maximize value by completing the sets, having detailed descriptions, etc... however,
that is also off-set by how much time it may take to sell each individual set
and of course, all the effort going into it, plus hanging onto items that are
not selling and playing the waiting game.

Just some advice to really think about how much time/effort to put into this
adventure to satisfy the expected outcome so frustration doesn't occur as
much.

Best of luck and some final advice... if there is any chance of grandkids or
other kids in the family that may come along, hang onto the Lego for them to
play with. You may be surprised who starts playing with them again. I took
a hiatus from age 15 or so until mid-30's when my parents bought me a Lego
set again, and I put it together with my young son... and 100's of sets later,
I wish I had my Lego from when I was young again to put them back together.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 30, 2022 20:00

Subject:

Re: BUYER WARNING

Viewed:

120 times

Topic:

Problem Order

In Problem Order, BrickAThon writes:

I'm posting this publicly due to this buyer being a potential issue for other
sellers:

Buyer: aircargo

Ordered $135 of product shipping to a U.S. address, with a Canadian address in
his profile. He supplied us with the U.S. address, and we have clear messages
about it. He filed a PP chargeback in JULY, after posting positive feedback shortly
after the item was delivered in May. Paypal sided with us, and now, after a month+
evidently he filed with his credit card, and they sided with him, so now we are
being charged back the entire amount plus $15.00 fee because he states he didn't
get the item, but left us feedback stating he did.

You might want to stoplist this guy, as since he's done it to us, I'm
sure he'll do it to others, and it won't matter if it goes to his address
in Canada or the U.S. as most credit card companies aren't this lenient,
in my experience, with no proof.

We reached out to him, and no response at all, which tells me he's doing
this fraudulently.

Best,

Tracy
BrickAThon

Unfortunate how unfair things can be. Even though the comments are lacking in
response to this thread, there is no doubt that many of us appreciate bringing
this to our attention.

I would be curious if BL has any response to you about this, but am guessing
even if that did occur, it would be best to keep those discussions between you,
BL and the buyer.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 30, 2022 11:38

Subject:

Re: Any advice for international shipping?

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

Shipping

In Shipping, BricksOfFaith writes:

I know, I am a smaller store, HOWEVER, I do wonder if I should open world wide
shipping. I currently only ship to North America. But shipping outside of North
America is REALLY expensive. Going over-seas is between 30 and 50 dollars on
a small 12 ounce bubble mailer. I honestly don’t even see why I should open it
up if shipping is so expensive… what do y’all think? Thanks!
-Bricks of Faith

I've dabbled with this for years as well and even did ship internationally
too at one point. In the end though, I wanted to be 100% Instant Checkout, of
which I feel very comfortable having enabled for domestic only due to size/weight
being much more of a wide spectrum in shipping rates internationally compared
to domestic.

I'm sure I will revisit this approach in the future, but my goal is to also
continue to expand and part out to reach 200-250k pieces which is for me, the
current focus instead of trying to configure multiple instant checkout shipping
rates to international countries. However, even thinking about it a little now,
maybe when that time comes, I just need to focus on what is simple for shipping
rates (define the weight/size very well) vs worrying about large heavy orders
being shipped and not allowing them at all.

Good luck to you in figuring it out.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 27, 2022 18:23

Subject:

Re: instant checkout

Viewed:

20 times

Topic:

Help