BrickLink Discussion Forum

In General, rainbowmist writes:

I am all for either requiring Instant Checkout or highlighting sellers that do.
Even as a seller, I hate the guesswork when buying, and sometimes the sellers
come back with an out-of their... out of this world shipping price!

I prefer the manual invoice for my store. Sometimes I have to package orders
that have fragile parts and need the extra ounces for proper packaging or with
a shipping box. If the buyer does not agree with the shipping cost then they
can cancel the order or don't order in the first place. As long as what is
stated in your terms it seems pretty simple. Looking at other websites for their
shipping costs BL seems fair to me.

You can change what each item weighs or change the size or have Instant Checkout
use weight or size and modify all that yourself for each item.

If we all had to abide by the same rules, then buyers wouldn't have to cancel
their orders so all parties would be satisfied.

I know it is possible cause I am 100% Instant Checkout and have yet to come across
an order that floored me with how much it cost to ship. If an item would put
shipping parameters out of whack, as in cost too much to ship for how much I
could sell it for, I just don't add it to my shop, or if I do, put it at
a price that I'm satisfied at if it is purchased knowing it will cost more
to ship it.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 26, 2023 17:44

Subject:

Re: Tell Me: What Do Sellers Want Most?

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Topic:

In General, Nubs_Select writes:

In General, Yo_Yo_Flamingo writes:

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

In General, dcarmine writes:

Most of you know that I am on the BrickLink Marketplace Panel group of which
Admin Tanja. We will be meeting next Wed, Feb 1, and I need some seller feedback
to share with the group.

During the last meeting we were told that the plan for seller tools was scraped
because what was being developed did not fit in with the plan for the new site.
(Yes there is a plan to write a new site). Yes, I am MORE than disappointed that
we, once again, are not getting anything new to help us.

So I am wanting your seller input that can get us a few things now, to work with
this site, to hold us over until the new site is done. My recollection is the
next two years.

I have a few pet peeves that I will be sharing, but I want to hear your annoyances.
I know they are many, hit me. I'll do what I can.

Post here or PM me, either way is fine.

Thanks
Donna Carmine
Nebraska Brick Store

A lot. I want a lot of stuff. I do agree with items others have mentioned to
reduce confusion within the website, but am going to take a different angle here.

I'll try to keep the list short and focus mostly on increasing what Buyers
want cause it falls in line with what sellers want, which is increased sales,
increased traffic, and increased daily excitement putting together Lego orders
for other lovers of Lego. I can't tell you the joy I receive every time someone
visits my store and then the additional joy of seeing an order that I can go
pack up and fulfill.

1) I want buyers to know that BrickLink exists so more of them come here vs going
to Amazon. I don't have the answers on how you advertise but I can't
say I've ever seen any either. Put it this way, there is not 1 person in
my life that I have discussed Lego with that has ever heard of BL prior to me
introducing them to it. We are not talking about a few people, this is hundreds
of friends and family. They all have children, nearly all those children love
building Lego, nearly all those children receive at least 1 Lego set for Xmas/birthdays...
yet none know where to purchase Lego beyond Amazon, Walmart, or Target. What
really hurts though is many of them really dislike the invoice system, see #2
below as they want to shop, checkout and then see their purchase in their mailbox.
They don't want delays in-between.

2) For Domestic Orders as I think this should be possible for every country but
I am not sure entirely - I want every store to be required to have Instant Checkout
for every order cause I am growing tired of seeing the posts about X seller is
now charging this, or personally when I see X seller charging Retail shipping
vs Commercial... every store can keep their terms on costs but each store should
be fully capable of figuring out what works for them to provide instant checkout
with shipping costs built in too at various levels. It isn't difficult to
know our own inventory and know how much shipping would approximately cost for
domestic orders and if a seller gets burned a little, like many of us have, we
learn from it and move on.

3) along with #2 as I don't see that happening, then stores that are 100%
instant checkout from a buyers perspective, should be highlighted for them so
a buyer knows that they can fully checkout and bypass having to wait for invoices
etc... we should be adapting to what buyers want vs buyers having to adapt to
what each seller wants. I want to buy things from other sellers too, but as
an example, am SOOOO tired of being quoted Retail shipping when I know they are
paying commercial. I decline every single quote or request for shipping cost
when I know it is much higher than what I know they would actually be paying
especially when I ship orders every day and have the capacity to look up what
actual shipping would be from Point A to Point B. Some terms specifically say
"retail" which is fine, I just avoid them, but many are not clear enough.

Maybe this list is too strong and maybe too difficult and some sellers would
be turned off by these ideas. I have no doubt that many sellers would dislike
having to implement the above, however, for the betterment of the site, I think
it would do wonders to really help streamline Bricklink to be more what buyers
want to retain them and gain new customers for everyone, and add in a little
advertising and this could really become the 1st place customers go to get their
Lego.

Thanks

except many cant in Canada yet

I just went to one store and have a classic example of how frustrating using
Non-Instant Checkout would be if I were a buyer.

I have loaded up a cart with 470oz of sets, which is nearly 30 lbs. Yet the
"estimated shipping" charge shows up as $8!

How upset would you be as a buyer when the actual shipping charge of $50+ pops
up when the estimate was $8. You would be upset if it was off more than a $1
and the seller shouldn't even charge anything more than the estimated $8
either.

This is why every store, at least in USA, should be 100% instant check-out.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 26, 2023 16:43

Subject:

Re: Tell Me: What Do Sellers Want Most?

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Topic:

In General, dcarmine writes:

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 23, 2023 19:45

Subject:

Re: Amazon who? (Part 4)

Viewed:

50 times

Topic:

In Shipping, popsicle writes:

... or another "Eat my dust, Bezos!"
https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1386836

Order placed 12:41 pst - Acceptance scan by USPS 34 mins later @ 1:15 pst

Okay, another alignment of circumstances. I'll take the credit though

34 mins per lot is definitely quite the record. Glad your bar is set high to
get that average down on the next one for "time per lot".

You can do it!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 21, 2023 23:35

Subject:

Re: Is Blue-Violet really a thing?

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Colors, Yo_Yo_Flamingo writes:

I see Blue-Violet is listed as a color for one set:

8781-1 (Inv) Castle of Morcia
594 Parts, 8 Minifigures, 5 Gear, 2004
Sets: Castle: Knights Kingdom II

Is it really a unique color?

Yes. I know I had some in my shop but may have sold them all. It is definitely
different than any other color and once you see it, you'll know.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 20, 2023 18:05

Subject:

Re: Is it ok to use wood base?

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

My Own Creation

In My Own Creation, Algold721 writes:

Hi. Kind of new to the world of designing unique Lego models. I am designing
a Lego model that includes a large change in elevation (a large hill, basically).
Although I could build the substructure of the hill out of Lego bricks, it would
take a massive number of them and am trying to keep costs reasonable. I am thinking
of building a sub structure out of bass wood that would go underneath that section
of the model, with the ground in Lego bricks above it. (so from the outside,
it would look like it was 100% Lego). Is that considered cheating? Or is it
commonplace to build foundation supports out of non-Lego material?

You are your own judge, so do whatever it is gets the job done and makes you
happy.

Remember too that competitions don't start from the floor, they use a table
to start their displays. Your table might have a bump in it, nothing wrong with
that

best of luck and feel free to share pictures with the community here with the
progress or final model

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 19, 2023 15:25

Subject:

Re: Problem order with Brickiton (Dutch shop)

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

Problem Order

In Problem Order, Nubs_Select writes:

In Problem Order, Leftoverbricks writes:

Here are the facts:
order placed January 8.
order paid via bank transfer January 8.

Order was marked 'Ready'

After 7 days of no action form the seller (status still 'ready'

I asked
him if there was a problem with the order. No answer.

January 14 I started a OCR because the seller did not respond to my previous
message and I asked him to cancel.

January 18 still not a single line from the seller. I sent him a message that
he could either still ship the order, or cancel it. No response whatsoever.

So I'm left with an order that I have paid for and a seller that doesn't
respond.
Since I've contacted him a couple of times without response I feel it is
OK to name the name the seller and I warned him that I would do so if he didn't
respond to my complaint.

It's Brickiton and he has run into more problems, see his feedback https://store.bricklink.com/Royroy#/feedback

Store closed on January 15..........

I wrote above post without checking his recent feedback.
Now I did and this says all:

Could be a medical emergency that let the store auto lose after x amount days
and he can’t respond maybe?

This happened to me a few years ago. It wasn't life-threatening, but I was
in the hospital for an unexpected visit for 5 days (dislocated and broken ankle
and broken foot from playing sports) which of course disallowed me to get around
to pull any type of Lego order no matter how small for weeks. But, around 4am
on the 1st night, I logged in, messaged all orders that I had open what occurred
and promptly closed up shop. Thankfully they all understood and it was no big
deal, but in this case we have a store that has been running almost flawlessly
for years and then suddenly they stop answering? Seems something else is up
and hopefully all is okay in the end.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 20, 2022 01:11

Subject:

Re: Acquiring boxes and packaging

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

In Shipping, OKCBrickDepot writes:

Hi All,

I'm opening a USA based BL store. What's the best resource for acquiring
various packing material, boxes, and either packing peanuts or something to fill
a void inside a box?

Thanks!

Just thought of one more thing... I'm sure there are comparable costs here
elsewhere or maybe better deals elsewhere, but whenever Costco puts their Heavy
Duty packing tape on sale, I buy plenty to last over a year (enough to last until
the next sale). It is either a 6 or 8 pack for about $20-$25.

Always use Heavy Duty Tape... do not skimp on this, tape top and bottom at least
3 times to ensure a secure delivery (sometimes around the sides to (make your
package a brick that won't fall apart unless heavily tampered with). Just
do not go cheap on tape or amount of tape being used. Last thing anyone wants
is a box delivered that is falling apart upon delivery because cheap tape was
used.

Best of luck!!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 19, 2022 13:45

Subject:

Re: Acquiring boxes and packaging

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Shipping, peregrinator writes:

In Shipping, MidwestBrick writes:

Priority Shipping - Pick up some flat rate USPS padded envelopes, they get used
rarely but do come in handy to have a few on hand at all times. Order other
priority mail boxes from USPS, they work great.

This is true but Priority Mail can be significantly cheaper if you use your own
boxes and get the commercial Cubic rate (which you can get through e.g. Pirate
Ship). The USPS's Flat Rate Priority boxes in particular are not ideal for
shipping Lego.

I didn't say to use USPS flat rate boxes, only the bubble mailer flat rate.

I would agree that USPS Flat Rate Boxes are terribly priced.

But USPS has free boxes for priority mail shipping that fit the smaller lego
sets really well.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 19, 2022 13:18

Subject:

Re: Acquiring boxes and packaging

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Shipping, OKCBrickDepot writes:

Hi All,

I'm opening a USA based BL store. What's the best resource for acquiring
various packing material, boxes, and either packing peanuts or something to fill
a void inside a box?

Thanks!

It's quite simple really.

#1 - before you buy something, know how you will ship it. This is a lesson many
of us have learned when buying those largest of sets. Just be prepared or have
that idea so that when it comes to sell, you are already prepared. It's
great to get a large set sale but isn't that fun when you don't have
a box on hand to ship it in. It just causes more work and time, so prepare yourself.

Boxes - I buy enough from online retailers that I have a variety of box sizes
from them to re-use. Only keep the good ones though and toss the bad boxes.
You'll know the difference.

Packing supplies - I rip up instruction booklets to pack with nearly every parts
order to protect the order more, but also to bulk the package up so that no one
at USPS gets the idea to run the order through their letter machines. I also
reuse all the bubble mailers or air-bags from online retailers shipped to me,
of course only using the good ones and tossing the bad ones.

Priority Shipping - Pick up some flat rate USPS padded envelopes, they get used
rarely but do come in handy to have a few on hand at all times. Order other
priority mail boxes from USPS, they work great.

First Class Package - someone below mentioned less than 13 oz, but it is less
than 16 oz to mail first class commercial packages. I buy mine from a variety
of places, usually Amazon these days but have done Uline or other online bubble
mailer suppliers (some of dried up).

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 19, 2022 09:32

Subject:

Re: Who has free shipping in the USA

Viewed:

57 times

Topic:

Buying

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:

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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:

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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:

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Topic:

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:

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

Viewed:

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:

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:

In Help, JerryMonroe writes:

How do I remove instant checkout and How do I stop brinklink from suggesting
shipping costs.

Instant checkout, in my opinion, is amazing.

I cant remember the last time I have sent an invoice, years ago.

Every order is paid for immediately and then shipped immediately. A good thing
for customers and myself.

I would suggest figuring out how to maintain instant checkout. It might be a
lot of work, but it is worth it.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 26, 2022 13:01

Subject:

Re: Buyer Won't "complete order"

Viewed:

56 times

Topic:

In Help, krystensprouse writes:

IT'S DRIVING ME INSANE!
The buyer has had the items for over a month now and won't "complete" the
sale, which constantly shows up as 1 order in my store when there's not.
Is there a way on our end as seller to force complete after a certain amount
of time or what? My ADHD and OCD are going nuts over here!!!

Your job as a seller is to invoice, pack and ship the orders as they come in,
then leave positive feedback for payment of the items and reconcile any issues
which hopefully are near zero. Everything else is at the will of the buyer to
mark packages as received, completed, and if they want to leave feedback, that
also is their choice.

That's about it. Take the time you are wasting by worrying to part out more
items, improve how your items are stored (inventory management), or watch a tv
show.

Good luck!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 26, 2022 11:55

Subject:

Re: Error rate in orders

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

Buying

In Buying, Lhugo writes:

Hi everyone,

I'm building a small MOC and ordered pieces from 7 sellers. On 7 orders,
3 of them had errors (43%). That is almost one order out of 2. Is that what other
buyers are experiencing?

- Missing part
- Wrong part
- One part in a lot in wrong colour
- Modified part in a non-modified lot (plate with a clip)

From my past orders, I noticed that the bigger the store is, the higher the possibility
of errors.

Errors happen, I know. I run a small BL store, and despite my double-checking,
errors do happen. On ~400 orders so far, I had errors on 4 orders. That's
like 1% of my orders.

Anyhow. I was just curious to see what other buyers were experiencing.

That is exhausting having to do all that extra work to get your orders correct.
I'll be honest, I have missed 1 lot this year in an order and it was promptly
shipped out upon being notified. It's rare, but it's part of being human
as well. However, from a cost perspective, only having to ship one extra time
this year so far is to me, not perfect, but very very good.

I have also had 1 time this year when a Used part I entered was incorrect when
pulling it, but instead of "refunding or informing the customer" I just crack
another set to go get it, even for a piece that was for a penny. Shipping the
order out as complete is much more valuable than shorting/refunding a customer
(with the assumption the piece is obtainable and not from old sets only that
I can't get in a reasonable time frame or do not have on hand either).

Hope your future orders go more smoothly. Favorite the stores that got it right,
take note of the others for yourself.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 25, 2022 18:58

Subject:

Re: Contest Winner!

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Contests, popsicle writes:

Is Dan (DanialR)

Fun contest, it always amazes me how many of any Lego will fit in smaller spaces.

I'm sure many of us have been there when an order has 200+ of something and
even know we all know that every piece was added correctly, when you first look
at a what you have and how many were ordered, you have the feeling of... "how
am I short?" and then it works out just fine just like every other time we have
counted large quantities.

Congrats to the winner and Pops for putting on the fun!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 25, 2022 17:00

Subject:

Re: Let's give away $100 to a fellow BL member!

Viewed:

22 times

Topic:

In Contests, popsicle writes:

Guess the number of

553px1a Brick, Round 2 x 2 Dome Top with Silver and Red Pattern (R5-D4) - 6 Arcs on Top
Parts: Brick, Round, Decorated

contained within the vase pictured below.

Contest rules are few:

~ The first to enter the exact amount, wins
~ One guess per member per 24 hour period
~ Identical entries are adjudicated by timestamp
~ All members worldwide are welcome to participate

The winner will receive a $100 store coupon, or $50 cash. Your choice.

-Christman Family

383

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 25, 2022 13:27

Subject:

Re: buyers see ship to nowhere in my store. help

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Help, redsman writes:

In Help, MidwestBrick writes:

In Help, redsman writes:

In Help, jennnifer writes:

In Help, redsman writes:

I have not received orders for the last three days and buyers are now contacting
me to say my store says I ship to nowhere. I only ship to the U.S. but I have
changed nothing. What do I do ????? HELP

I just checked and confirmed this.

Can you show us your shipping settings for the US?

Has anything changed with your payment settings?

Jen

I have changed nothing in my settings since I opened my store 3 years ago. In
'my store settings" it shows I ship to no countries and does not let me change
it. This started 3 days ago but I just thought it was a slow time until buyers
started contacting me.

Yes

Do you have shipping methods set up to ship domestically? I know you've
probably checked this but doesn't hurt to recheck.

I corrected it myself. Thanks

Confirmed, appears to be working. What was the issue?

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 25, 2022 12:53

Subject:

Re: buyers see ship to nowhere in my store. help

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Help, redsman writes:

In Help, jennnifer writes:

In Help, redsman writes:

I have not received orders for the last three days and buyers are now contacting
me to say my store says I ship to nowhere. I only ship to the U.S. but I have
changed nothing. What do I do ????? HELP

I just checked and confirmed this.

Can you show us your shipping settings for the US?

Has anything changed with your payment settings?

Jen

Do you have shipping methods set up to ship domestically? I know you've
probably checked this but doesn't hurt to recheck.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 24, 2022 16:19

Subject:

Re: Let's give away $100 to a fellow BL member!

Viewed:

24 times

Topic:

In Contests, popsicle writes:

Guess the number of

553px1a Brick, Round 2 x 2 Dome Top with Silver and Red Pattern (R5-D4) - 6 Arcs on Top
Parts: Brick, Round, Decorated

419

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 23, 2022 13:18

Subject:

Re: Let's give away $100 to a fellow BL member!

Viewed:

21 times

Topic:

409

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 18, 2022 21:24

Subject:

Re: UPDATE on the LEGO Sports haul

Viewed:

59 times

Topic:

In Announce, ImperialFleet writes:

Once everythings done and listed made $300 profit. All for sale now, so if you're
interested let me know!

Unrealized Profit.

Nice haul and best of luck making it a realized profit.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 16, 2022 14:08

Subject:

Re: Getting close! Final update

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1357363

In Announce, popsicle writes:

What is so fascinating with the logistics of mail is how quickly packages can
go across the country.

If no one has ever visited a distribution center (of any capacity), I would strongly
encourage checking one out as it is just amazing on how fast everything moves
to get from point a to point b and back on a truck or plane to move to the next
location.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 9, 2022 15:52

Subject:

Free shipping on orders $25 or more 24/7/365

Viewed:

49 times

Topic:

Each and every day, any order $25 or more is free shipping. Any order less than
$25 is $4.99.

That's it. Nice and simple and instant checkout available on every purchase.

On top of all that, I get any orders to USPS or UPS quickly.

If today isn't a shopping day, simply adding my shop as a favorite to check
out later on may save some clicks another day.

Hope all is well and take care!

- Midwest Brick

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 28, 2022 11:24

Subject:

Re: Selling for a couple of months! Need Tips!

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

New Stores

And finally, April is generally when sales start to slow for the year in my experience.
Very typically to see a decrease in sales from April through September.

I was going to mention this more than anything else.

I would bet that anyone that sells consistently day after day, week after week,
saw a big decline about two weekends ago when the USA warmed up to 70+ nearly
everywhere so customers went outside to enjoy the outdoors rather than think
about their Lego builds. This period of the year is just dedicated to other
activities, vacations, get togethers with friends/family as the temps warm up
across the nation more consistently. Of which, I 100% understand. I'm the
same way and want to enjoy the outside too when it is warmer. It's been
a long winter and cold snap this year. In upper Wisconsin, hitting the 50's
these days is a huge win!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 26, 2022 02:05

Subject:

Re: Looking to buy extensive parts list

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

Wanted

In Wanted, RaptureNation writes:

If any sellers would be willing/able to put together a list of parts I need and
sell them(over 5000 pieces) I would be highly interested and greatly thankful.
This is my first post on this site so I apologize if I posted this in the wrong
section of formatted something wrong. I am not even sure if it is possible to
put together a list like this or if pieces are meant to be bought individually.
However if it is possible please contact me to discuss payment and other details.

Create a wanted list and see where you can get the items you need from, then
shop around.

I may have quite a bit that you need but no idea to what extent.

I'll just say this... At my Store it is Free Shipping on any order once you
spend at least $25 (USA only)

Best of luck in your journey in getting everything you need!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 25, 2022 14:25

Subject:

Re: Got my Orange Brick!

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In General, par016 writes:

I finally got my orange brick over the weekend; no negative or neutral feedback
yet (knock on wood). Maybe I should update my profile picture to be holding
an orange brick.

Next goal is pink; hopefully it doesn't take another 10 years.

-Pete

Congrats!

Update picture to hold red and orange. capture both

Best of luck on your next goal

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 21, 2022 09:56

Subject:

Re: New IRS $700 selling threshold

Viewed:

47 times

Topic:

Taxes

In General, aboyer writes:

In General, SylvainLS writes:

In General, aboyer writes:

[…]
In H&R Block, on the Deductions page, there’s a single field for hobby expenses.
If you sold a $15 set for $20, you’d put $15 in that field and be done with it.
Presumably TurboTax is similar.

Isn’t there a code for each field in your forms?

That’s useful to communicate. We have them in France (things like “2CA” “3VC”).
When we get papers from banks (yearly reports of interests, capital gain, deductible
fees, what we already paid…) or corporations (shareholder dividends…) or anything
that has to be reported, we know where to report/check them on the standard form.

That is true if you are filling out the forms yourself, but no sane American
does so directly. We pay $35-$100/year for tax software that does it for us or
even more for a pro to take care of it.

The US filing system is ridiculous, at least partly on account of lobbying by
an alliance of anti-tax conservatives (who want people to hate the IRS) and the
tax prep companies (who depend on it for their livelihood). The IRS already has
almost all of this information; all they do with your filed return is double-check
that it matches what's already on file.

Sorry but I do not agree with this take. For a large percentage of Americans
that just have a W2 and take the standard deduction, yes they know "enough" about
you cause it is easier to track, but for everyone else, no, they do not know
everything about you. They have no idea which purchases are business expenses,
they can not track cash transactions as in they do not know what a payment is
for, so if we would like the American government to tax us based on all cash
flows into our bank accounts, we would all have much higher tax liabilities as
each transaction that increases our balances would get scrutinized to the highest
degree and be assumed to be revenue and taxable, and it would be on every person
to break out what is revenue vs what is not and we would have to trust each other
that friends/family would report the same gifts/trading of cash the same ; which
IMO, would be far worse than it is now.

As an example, imagine going out to dinner with a group of friends, you split
the bill with one person paying the tab and 7 others Venmo you their share to
you. The government would see all those Venmo's as revenue to you and then
2 of the 7 friends want to deduct the payments as expenses cause they want to
cheat the system. It could be an absolute nightmare and it would be.

Or you buy something at a store for $200, use it for a year, end up not liking
it so you sell it for $50 cash, then deposit that cash into your bank and boom,
another item to report as revenue, that you took a loss on (not counting depreciation
here) but the government sees it as revenue to report. An example of how keeping
money out of banks would be a valid tactic to avoid taxation.

For purposes on this topic, when I knew I was going to start selling Lego, I
immediately kept track of every purchase I ever made, every set from a store,
every expense incurred, every cash transaction through craigslist, every mile
driven, etc... to keep records of it all. This is what is expected of any citizen
that is selling anything cause it is the law. Now, there are differences between
a Hobby and Business; of which, I made sure to meet the business criteria to
be able to gain all those deductions. Thousands and thousands of records; thank
god most stores allow us to buy more than 2-3 sets at a time to reduce the paperwork.

For anyone out there that is worried about paying taxes on their revenue here,
report it to the best of your ability and expect the government to know about
it from paypal transactions. In reality, just about every State requires selling
permits, tax to be paid to your home state, and every person should be reporting
every craigslist item sold or facebook marketplace sale, etc... It all falls
under revenue/sales for taxation.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 20, 2022 11:01

Subject:

24/7/365 - Spend $25 and get Free Shipping

Viewed:

120 times

Topic:

Sales

Free Shipping with orders of $25 or more.

Instant Checkout is available for any order as well.

Any orders are shipped quickly as well. I had one yesterday for nearly 3,000
pieces and it is already in the mail.

I only ship within the USA.

Take care and have a wonderful rest of the week!!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 13, 2022 12:50

Subject:

Re: Feedback score (praise) calculation

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

Feedback

In Feedback, brickshomeUK writes:

The total feedback score / praise percentage calculation at the top right corner
of the stores embarrasses me.

I have a store with almost 3000 orders. My feedback score is 97.62% what looks
really bad. In covid times it was really challenging to go post office regularly,
so I received couple of negative feedbacks. But it was 2 years ago now... I haven't
received a bad feedback since then.

My suggestion would be to show the recent 1 year or 6 months feedback percentage
of the top right corner, because it's more reflects the actual quality of
a store.

Dear Bricklink team please consider my suggestion. Thank you!

It literally says on your store that your next shipping date is 14 days from
today.

The item that your customers are talking about most doesn't seem to be getting
adjusted or fixed.

As a comparison, I just recently opened back up, and every order is being scanned
by the Post Office within 1 day so far with many of them the same day. Now,
my post office and my availability may be very very different than yours, but
that is the expectation that most online shoppers have across all online vendors,
regardless of website they are visiting... to order something and have it shipped
very very quickly. The only thing that none of us can fix is what happens to
a package once it gets dropped off at a post office. This is where we hope
customers are watching the tracking and hopefully realizing that there is nothing
any of us can do to make USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc... operate better or faster.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 12, 2022 00:27

Subject:

Fast search Heads

Viewed:

80 times

Topic:

It appears whatever site I used to use to help identify mini-fig heads is not
existent anymore or the URL changed.

Can someone point me to what the go-to site is for helping ID mini-fig heads
or remind me the tricks?

Thanks

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 6, 2022 23:34

Subject:

Re: Store is back Open

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Announce, Sadler_Bricks writes:

Congrats and welcome back. We are in the process of buying a new house so plan
to have more space for our store. So big congrats on your new house and future
lego journey

Sadler_bricks

Best of luck in your search...

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Feb 6, 2022 23:17

Subject:

Re: Feedback Advice for Noob

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

Problem

In Problem, Upstate_Brickz writes:

Greetings Bricklink,

I am a new store with only 6 orders so far. the last 4 orders I sent out have
all received their parts, but haven't left any feedback. It's been a
few days for most of them and I don't think they are going to leave any.
I have posted in my terms that I will leave feedback if they do. The 4 buyers
were all new, most of them with zero feedback. Should I leave the buyers positive
feedback anyway since they were all perfectly fine and maybe it looks better
for my biz if I do, or should I stick to my terms and not leave any because
I really need their feedback too? You would think if they were trying to get
the feedback to become sellers they would be aware of all this. I also don't
want to look like I forgot to leave feedback. Let me know what you think!

Thanks,

Upstate_Brickz

Here's my order of processes..

1. Receive order
2. Pick, pack and mail order
3. I Leave Feedback

Rinse and repeat. The buyer's did what they are asked to do. Order and Pay.
So it is my turn to complete the rest and if they wish to leave feedback, that's
great, but it doesn't bother me if they don't either. Life is busy enough
as it is. Regardless though, I always leave them feedback for stopping by.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 31, 2022 15:33

Subject:

Re: Hill Country Bricks is now open

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Announce, ccroxton writes:

This is my first adventure into selling Lego, so please lmk any improvements
needed, your thoughts, etc. Still adding parts!

https://store.bricklink.com/ccroxton&utm_content=globalnav#/shop

My advice would be the following:

Used is expected to be in playwear (fair to good+) condition by its definition.
If you have to make a remark that there are cracks/heavy scratches etc.. then
it probably shouldn't' be listed at all unless it is still useable or
described as rough shape

So with that, you are going to save yourself a lot of time and energy if you
don't describe every single piece that you have as the condition of "USED"
speaks for itself.

Buyers will return more frequently though if your Used condition is in fact in
good or better condition though.

Best of luck on the store!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 28, 2022 10:39

Subject:

Re: Just got a fun one...

Viewed:

63 times

Topic:

In General, par016 writes:

1/19 - Received order in my store

1/19 - Packed and shipped

1/22 - Package delivered

1/27 - Buyer asks for tracking number

1/27 - I message them back with the tracking and point out that it has already
been delivered

1/28 - 8:51 - Buyer sends a message saying there were 10 pieces missing from
4 lots in a 98 piece order including 2 full lots. Says he wants the pieces over
a refund and is letting me know before he "files a complaint with BrickLink."

1/28 - 9:22 - I respond saying that I specifically remember packing some of the
peices they say they are missing and ask them to check to see if they got stuck
in the packaging. Then I go on to say that if they didn't get the pieces
that's my fault and I apologize.
I tell them I am sending a refund for the parts and will also ship out the replacements
today. So I sent refund for the part, pack replacements, adjust my inventory
because it was still acurrate, print shipping label.

1/28 - 9:44 - "im so sorry, i actually found the tan pieces behind a crevice
in my closet, and when i looked through the trash to see if i threw out the pieces
on accident i found the dark green piece, then i found the light bluish gray
piece on the floor, so the order is 100% perfect, all my fault, i apologize for
the inconvenience."

-Pete

Everyone loves a happy ending!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 26, 2022 22:07

Subject:

Re: Filing Taxes

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

In Help, sweettiara27 writes:

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone can help with how to go about filing taxes? This is
the only income I have and I have two dependents. I believe I file it all together.
What do I need to file? Something from Bricklink, Paypal and Stripe, or just
from Bricklink plus my expense receipts, I am guessing.

Any info would be great

Thank you

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

Some night time reading. Good luck

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 16:57

Subject:

Re: Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

In General, axaday writes:

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

Been away a full year, what's new?

Did you hear about coronavirus?

Thankfully all the Lego Mini's have survived thus far... Lots of unopened
boxes though so we won't know for sure for a long time!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 13:14

Subject:

Re: BL collecting sales tax on resale purchases

Viewed:

65 times

Topic:

In Selling, kzinti writes:

Any time a purchase was made on BrickLink by a legitimate reseller, the taxes
paid on the sale should be excluded, or paid back upon request and presentation
of a reseller license. That's all.

I see. I don't file for tax exemptions and just tack it on to the cost of
the item. I should do this, maybe tomorrow.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 12:54

Subject:

Re: BL collecting sales tax on resale purchases

Viewed:

90 times

Topic:

In Selling, oasis writes:

I just got off the phone with my state's department of revenue, and here's
what they said.

BL collects state sales tax from purchases made by all of the US sellers, instead
of collecting our resale certificates. BL owes us all, every penny of that, and
the total keeps climbing with every purchase-for-resale that each of us makes.

I was told that BL has to initiate the refunds, not us. BL has two choices, as
to how to process all of that money back to us.

A) request a total refund from each state, and refund us each individually, or
B) formally, legally assign the refunds to each of us, for us to process with
our state, individually

Either way, it's complicated; B is way more complicated for the sellers.
Either way, BL has to take our resale certificates and stop charging us. I'm
in SC. The options might be different in other states, but the person I spoke
to thinks it's most likely all the same. This is stupid. They owe me about
$400, how much do they owe you?

So you are saying that every Tax collected by BL should be paid back to you,
regardless of which state it was collected for and not just sales within your
own State?

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 12:19

Subject:

Re: Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In General, Nubs_Select writes:

Don’t forget to celebrate the new house with a pizza party!

Great advice, thank you. We celebrate each Friday as Pizza Friday!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 12:17

Subject:

Re: Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

24 times

Topic:

In General, zorbanj writes:

I already got burned on this:

Shipstation sorts postage options by price, which means Media Mail is always
the first postage option. Pitney Bowes (the prior vendor), ebay, USPS, etc. always
have Media Mail at the bottom. I mistakenly selected Media Mail a couple of times
before I realized it.

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

OMG, this probably scares me the most

* Most, if not all, PayPal users have been transitioned from Pitney Bowes to
Shipstation for shipping labels. The consensus here is that Shipstation sucks.

I think I just saw an advertisement for this on Hulu and heard the "it saves
me money" line and was just like Ohhh you mean commercial vs retail. Ya, everyone
gets commercial if you know how to print your own label. If it wasn't this
company, it was something quite similar in name.

Thanks for the heads up. I look forward to navigating this and seeing how much
pricing has gone up for shipping too!

Very helpful information to know how it sorts. Thank you!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 10:58

Subject:

Re: Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In General, SylvainLS writes:

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

[…]
Very helpful information and thank you for the post. I will have to track down
this session if it was recorded and available for re-watching.

Here it is: https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1321609

Perfect timing. I have a meeting coming up that I'm not a part of but have
to sit on so this will help pass the time!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 10:57

Subject:

Re: Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In General, jennnifer writes:

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

Happy 2022 everyone. 2021 was very busy for my family and I as we built a new
house and moved to a new area as well do i had to shut down the store in Feb
2021 to start packing everything up. There were plenty of delays in the home
building and overall a great experience but also an exhausting one too.

Just checking in to ask if someone is able to summarize what is new on BL from
early 2021 until now. Any big new develops or changes on how things are done
or is it pretty much the same as before? The last big thing I recall is implementing
the tax per sale based on the state making the purchase. Also, anything that
deals with international processes can be left of any summary. I only sell domestically.

Hope all is well with everyone. I built my new Lego room all by myself and am
very pleased with how it has turned out. Everyday I'm putting in the work
to get organized more and more and although I could probably open later this
week, I want to put in some more improvements so picking orders csn be sped up
even more than I had it organized prior which takes further planning and organizers.

Thank you in advance to anyone that responds to this too.

Not sure all of this is exactly 2021 but here's what seems new to me.

BL has a new boss from LEGO.

They still don't want to have an active presence here on the Forum, but they
communicate occasionally and when there are major outages so that's nice.
They are meeting with panels of members on various topics to involve the community
in BL stuff.

We have some new admin (ah, I mean experts) and some admin in new roles. They
are doing amazing work for our catalog. There is a Catalog newsletter you may
have to subscribe to.

There is lots of hubbub with VAT and US sales tax. You have to have an Onsite
method for any to work. Still no method of tax-exempt purchases. Some countries
require a VAT receipt on the outside of the package which BL has been providing.

The AFOL Designer Program was very popular. Especially if you are very patient.
Although I can't find a link to it anywhere at the moment.

Jen

Oh thanks for the reply as this reminds me to check all the "adjustments" of
items being moved from one category to another. I store all my pieces by category
so it really saves me time if I make sure I move my store around to correlate
with BL catalog categories.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 10:55

Subject:

Re: Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In General, zorbanj writes:

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

Welcome back!

Just checking in to ask if someone is able to summarize what is new on BL from
early 2021 until now. Any big new develops or changes on how things are done
or is it pretty much the same as before? The last big thing I recall is implementing
the tax per sale based on the state making the purchase. Also, anything that
deals with international processes can be left of any summary. I only sell domestically.

Off the top of my head:

* BL collects sales taxes for just about every state now. Still no mechanism
for accepting exemption certificates.

* You can't sell incomplete minifigs anymore. Listed minifigs have to include
everything shown in that minifig's inventory. If not, they have to be listed
as parts or as a custom listing.

* Most, if not all, PayPal users have been transitioned from Pitney Bowes to
Shipstation for shipping labels. The consensus here is that Shipstation sucks.

When I've been away for awhile, I skim through Admin Russell's posts:

https://www.bricklink.com/messageList.asp?nID=1315366&uID=919043&v=c&mTP=N&max=100

Hope all is well with everyone. I built my new Lego room all by myself and am
very pleased with how it has turned out. Everyday I'm putting in the work
to get organized more and more and although I could probably open later this
week, I want to put in some more improvements so picking orders csn be sped up
even more than I had it organized prior which takes further planning and organizers.

Would love to see photos and/or a video of the Lego room when you're done.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 10:11

Subject:

Re: Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In General, Teup writes:

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

Business as usual, except that Bricklink now has a CEO from LEGO and LEGO wants
to have video sessions with the users with 'some' frequency, on hot topics
that arise or otherwise. The first session was at least refreshing. So hopefully
some long overdue things will finally start moving in the coming months/years..

Very helpful information and thank you for the post. I will have to track down
this session if it was recorded and available for re-watching.

The 1st thing I encountered upon returning is the inability to get detailed sales
transactions for more than 6 months. That still drives me crazy that we can't
get at least a full year of detailed sales for our records (if not more than
a year). I usually download them every quarter but it was my mistake to forget
to do this last year.

It should almost be an automatic process that on Jan 1 of every year, every seller/buyer
has a emailed Detailed Transaction list for our records.

Anyway, thanks again for the post.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 10:07

Subject:

Re: Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

49 times

Topic:

In General, SezaR writes:

In General, MidwestBrick writes:

I was actually thinking about you as you did not write any thing in the forum
for some time.

News?
I received my first bad feedback

o
Other than that, I think you may need to check VAT for Europe and VAT for UK
is implemented and this means extra work for sellers. The situation can be a
mess sometimes. Check few threads on the forum in regards to VAT.

Oof, bad feedback is not want I want to hear about!! Sorry to see that happen!

Thanks for the reply and thankfully for me, I shouldn't have to deal with
VAT. This is what largely keeps me away from the international scene (things
like this) as I simply do not have the time or energy to figure out every nation's
rules. Tough enough knowing the tax codes of USA!

I feels good already to be posting again in this forum. I knew I wouldn't
go away, but I didn't think it would take me a year to get everything up
to snuff again either (the house was originally to be completed in July, which
then stalled until nearly October due to shortages of products. Just too many
things out of my control!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 25, 2022 00:44

Subject:

Been away a full year, what's new?

Viewed:

253 times

Topic:

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Apr 27, 2020 01:38

Subject:

Re: how to approximate value of inventory

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

Inventories

In Inventories, courpee writes:

In Inventories, faro writes:

In Inventories, jbroman writes:

In Inventories, courpee writes:

what I'm wondering is if there is a way to determine if it would be better
to part out a set or sell complete set value-wise?

You could start the part out process and see what the value is.
Use default price as last 6 month average. Submit for edit. Verify items.
The next page will have the value at the bottom of the page.
Now you have the choice to upload the items, or if you don't want to, just
close the tab in your browser. As long as you don't click on the upload
items button, the parts won't be added to your inventory.

Do not Forget to take the time into consideration. Selling the parts takes normally
longer...

thnks you guys

Ask yourself what your goals are... is it to make a few bucks, is it to make
your money back, is it to support a hobby?

If you answered yes for any of those, then don't do it.

You need to go all in and be ready to fully support a store, otherwise here is
what will happen.

You part out a few sets, great, people buy from you, but the pieces bought are
highly sought after and the rest of your pieces lay around waiting for a suitor
that never comes.

If this was easy everyone would be doing it. Let me tell you, it is not easy.
It takes dedication, daily dedication, every night, every weekend, you need
to be constantly scouring for deals to fuel your store and keep pieces in stock
that are purchased often even if the % profit on them is minimal. The list goes
on and on as you need to be on top of your game at all times.

All I'm saying is, part out for the right reasons, not the hopes and dreams
if you don't actually have the time, patience, and ability to build a store
that will satisfy your goals.

Best of luck in your decision.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Mar 25, 2020 13:10

Subject:

Re: Money off code to distribute

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, allenafol writes:

Hi,

I think it would be great if you could generate a code for your store so people
could enter it for a discount.

This would be good for marketing on social media rather than having to issue
individual coupons.

Is there any chance this could be developed?

Thanks,

Allen.

What about your regular customers that might not be on social media? How do
they get the deals you are allowing for others?

Sounds like a grocery store where you need a keycard for some deals and then
an app for even more. To me, it is unnecessary when you have the power to reduce
prices or run general sales for all customers and advertise as such. I'd
be quite upset if I bought from a store, and then realized that I could have
saved 10% if I saw some advertisement from somewhere else. This is just like
when any of us buy something and then learn it was cheaper if we entered some
code at checkout.

PS: Any Grocery Store Managers or Corporate see this... STOP IT. I'm already
in your store. Just give me the best price you are advertising without having
to go through all the extra steps!

PSS: I understand fully how advertising works. I just think it is getting ridiculous.
Keep it simple for all of us customers, no matter what industry we are talking
about.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 24, 2020 13:23

Subject:

Re: Have A Heart

Viewed:

60 times

Topic:

In General, BLUSER13161 writes:

I can't help myself from returning to this topic.

It is not right to erase people who have contributed to the catalog and turn
them into a meaningless number (and a username that rhymes with "loser.").

The first attached image shows people who have contributed a set inventory to
the catalog. For each person it was only one inventory, but it was time they
took out of their day or week to make a contribution.

The second image shows people who have added items to the catalog. One person
added 113 items. Another added 97 items. Yet another added 87 items. And so
on down the list.

Some of these unregistered users are no doubt dead. Some have moved on to new
pursuits. Some may be in a coma or in prison. Who knows why any one person
hasn't logged on or may never log on again?

BrickLink wants contributions. BrickLink wants an involved community. But when
BrickLink treats former contributors so dismissively, by erasing them into meaninglessness,
it makes me think they have no respect for contributors.

BrickLink contributors deserve better treatment than this. Anonymizing people
who have contributed to the catalog was a poor decision. It was a careless and
heartless decision.

I urge the site to reconsider the decision to anonymize any former catalog and
inventory contributors.

In the long-run, why does it matter? I can't recall if I have added anything
to the catalog but really don't care if my name is stamped on something or
not. The purpose is to get the information into the database so it can be utilized.
We all know that someone had to do it and we are all thankful of those contributors,
whether they did 1 submission, or 100,000 submissions.

Maybe it is my older age, but I don't need the "satisfaction" that others
know it was me that did something. My satisfaction comes from others enjoying
something that was done, regardless of whom did it.

This literally sounds like an employee of mine that needs to know for every task
they do that we all know they did it. After awhile, it doesn't hold any
merit and I really don't care. The task was completed and we can move on.

My suggestion, let it go and let those in charge, focus on things that need to
be done and let the trivial stuff whoosh right over our heads and leave us un-phased.
Not everything is going to be perfect and arguing over little things makes the
big things harder to accomplish.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Sep 17, 2019 12:58

Subject:

Re: Request a Quote

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, kelmgo writes:

I am after a few pieces to complete a few kits and am going from one checkout
to another, then to another and then cancelling the orders (before payment) because
the vendors haven't got the "Request a Quote" provision set up.
Clearly it would save a lot of stuffing around if you know the full cost incl
P&H before hand.
Even better - there should be a little icon or something next to the vendors
name to indicate whether they send quotes or not so you don't have to go
through the checkouts to find out right at the end.
This is what I'm experiencing in Australia

Part of what you suggest exists: Stores with a thunderbolt icon have instant
checkout, which means that you see the grand total before you order. There isn't
an icon to distinguish quote sellers from non-quote sellers, however. But even
if there would be such an icon, I'm not sure it would do sellers justice,
as a non quote seller may have a very clear table of shipping costs, which could
be just as good or better than asking a quote.

I disagree and think it is a valid request to include an icon so shoppers know
they can get a quote from that store immediately instead of having to look for
it or go through the check-out phase.

Using IC is impossible to hit on every scenario and even sometimes the IC may
work, but a buyer still wants to use the Quote system because maybe the IC is
charging too much. There is nothing wrong with a buyer double-checking to see
if their order actually fits in a cheaper shipping option than what IC is calculating.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 30, 2019 18:18

Subject:

Re: Technic heads: Do the categories make sense?

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

In Catalog, axaday writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

I'm not super technical and as a kid I was terrible at making anything out
of Technic Lego so in spite of my dad's efforts I quickly abandoned it and
never picked it up again. But I'm seriously wondering if the Technic categories
make any sense at all. I'm not good at the jargon and especially not in English,
but here's my observation:

- There's a category called "Link", which includes belt/chain items as well
as suspension parts. Is that just a random semantic, well, "link" between these
parts?
- It seems like there's a whole family of parts that have to do with driving/gears
- clutches, gearboxes, driving rings, changeover catch.. all of these parts are
scattered across categories but I think they are supposed to work together.
- There's a category called steering but it seems to be about wheel suspension
as well as, well, steers. And then there are suspension arms in both "Link" and
in the generic "Technic" category that I think are equally involved in this stuff.
- There's a generic "Technic" category which includes very random items.
While there was a fanatic impulse of emptying out the "(other)" category, apparently
the "Technic" category is still full of randomness. And it's now the biggest
Technic category (if you don't count decorations). That isn't very helpful
is it?

So... I never used this stuff, but a question to the Technic pros: Do you find
that the Technic categories make sense to you, or is it just a fairly random
division that you just memorised the way it is? Should it be improved?

I sometimes have trouble guessing where something is, but the categories aren't
too long and I have memorized some things that were hard before.

It could definitely be improved.

Just call it all technic.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 15, 2019 23:14

Subject:

Re: Interesting

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

In Colors, Adjour writes:

UVs don’t tan the plastic. UVs accelerate or make possible some chemical reactions
in the plastic.
Other things may accelerate the reactions. And the reactions also occur all
by themselves.

Came here to say this.

so yeah. This.

Came here to say this.

"This"

Sorry, just cracked me up. It's been a long week.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 3, 2019 17:52

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, manganschlamm writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

I had enough of these in the last few weeks that waiting 2 full weeks is painful
to complete them.

I don't mind the 1 week to pay before it is started. But another full 7 days
to complete the NPB is not necessary.

I would propose 3 additional days and that is it. Let us get our stock back
in our stores to sell to someone else instead of being held at our will for 14
full days when 10 is plenty enough.

I can't be the only one that feels this way and 14 days might have worked
10-15 years ago when access to Smart-Phones wasn't as widespread, but these
days, you can't go far without having the ability to respond. Thanks

OK then in return I propose that we buyers can initiate and complete NRS and
NSS after proportionally shorter time. If sellers want to give us buyers less
time to make the payment, then they should also have less time to issue invoices
and ship. Something for something. As a side note, I would like to mention that
in Europe many payments are still made by conventional bank transfer, which may
take few days to complete (and will only be processed on business days).

Final comment: Sellers that want to push for high-speed payment should accept
the fact that for 99% of buyers this is a hobby whereas for a considerable fraction
of sellers it is a full- or part-time business. We buyers typically have a normal
job and need to find the time to do things related to BL.

Not a problem and I 100% see the buyer side and Agree. As a buyer myself too,
it is frustrating when you are sitting there waiting and waiting for an invoice,
which is why as a seller, I send them out asap or if it is going to take some
time (like up to 2-3 days), I send communication with the buyer so they are fully
aware that I will get be sending it soon. Although, many times I have simply
estimate the shipping, refund if I over-estimated and take the hit if I under-estimated
just to get the invoice out asap still.

It would be wonderful if sellers had stats that showed how quickly invoices are
sent out and how quickly shipments are sent as I feel the NPB should start when
the invoice is sent and not determined on how many days pass from the date of
purchase.

Overall, Yes to Both sides. Hold Sellers and Buyers accountable. +1

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 3, 2019 11:59

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Bricklord writes:

I fully agree, it is far too long to deal with the deadbeats here on BL. 8 days
to me would be best, 4 and 4 and cancel. Frees up inventory.

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Yes, it's a slow start to the movement but this can be done!!!

I really wish the clock could start when the invoice is sent, but don't want
to make this a "huge" undertaking with coding.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 3, 2019 01:13

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Use instant checkout and instant payment or enable the checkbox for Use instant
checkout for low feedback buyers in the Store settings.

Instant Checkout- I already have this enabled, but this is not possible to enable
for every scenario, let alone Zone within the USA.

Forcing Low Feedback Buyers - Absolutely Not. I will not stop a new buyer from
selecting something that is outside the IC restraints. There are way too many
New Buyers that come to my store that have a 0 rating and come and go just fine.
I would not want to deter any new buyer from BL in any way. Could you imagine
how frustrating it would be if you went on Amazon or Walmart to buy something
and were restricted in anyway? Why would anyone return to that site if they
had issues checking out? So, I will never, refuse service, to a new buyer simply
because their order falls outside of an IC method. I wouldn't want to lose
the business and neither should BL.

The issue is not only with low feedback buyers too. This can occur with any buyer
at any level. I still would like to see this looked into and possibly changed.
10 days is more than enough time to pay for an item, especially when I am providing
and invoice within 24 hours and many times within minutes of an order coming
in.

Possibly the NPB should start 7 days after an invoice is generated, and at that
time sellers wouldn't have to wait another 3 or 7 days for a buyer to respond.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 2, 2019 21:02

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, udenbricks writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Things can happen.
I had an NPB last weeks. Suddenly 4 days after starting NPB (so the order is
12 days old, the buyer reacts.
There was an internet outage and his dayly business get all his attention. He
didnt check Bricklink and forgot his order. Now all was working again and he
give his apologies. He paid and I removed the NPB (will give positive feedback).
So the timeline 7 days plus 7 days is ok for me.

JustMy2Cts

Not enough of a reason for me to back down on the request to move up things by
4 days. The buyer can rebuy, or reach out at anytime beyond the 10 day mark
with communication to make things right. Why hold our inventory hostage?

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 2, 2019 18:05

Subject:

Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

210 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Feb 16, 2019 19:12

Subject:

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

Viewed:

48 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.

Brickstock. Best $20 I spent. Super Easy. Do I wish it did more, of course,
but it does enough to satisfy me.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Feb 6, 2019 17:05

Subject:

Re: New and Used: more shades of grey are needed

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, runner.caller writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

In Suggestions, JusTiCe8 writes:

Hi,

as a buyer, I found having only two choices for parts condition is far too basic
and not useful, mostly for buyers, but also for sellers who seek accuracy and
honesty regarding their inventory.

I mean, for now a seller can only pick new or used, but pretty much everyone
has his/her own standard and I got some used parts which are like new, some others
which are closer to the one way ticket to trash, if you see what I mean

.

It's not good nor practical to force seller to put actual picture(s) of all
the used parts, both hobbyist and professional has better use of their time I
guess.
Plus, asking for every single part before ordering is not good either, some sellers
didn't took time to reply to potential buyer's question already.

And when seller put description, it's quite subjective, one adjective is
far to describe actual shape of a part: "bite marks, yellowish", ok but how many
marks, how deep ?
how much "yellowished" is the brick ?
Some may claims "quite good", some other "I can't send them to trash".

A quality score could be added to a used part. It would be used as well to set
the sell price, as trash-ready used parts can lower the infamous "average 6 months"
and lower ALL prices, which is very unfair for like new parts.

Any thoughts ?

The other site that has various categories of Used was the #1 reason I will never
use it, unless BL goes away. I do not want to have to make my judgment call
and "hope" that the buyer has the same judgment call on what category of "used"
I selected.

Here is my advice when buying Used. Buy from various sources, when you find
a source that sells you crap compared to others... don't buy from the crap
store anymore and continue buying from the stores that treat you well. For example,
a large % of my Used pieces I am confident I could put down "like-new" and maybe
even sell them as "new" and no one would know the difference. I surely don't
do that but I'm trying to make a point. I don't make too many comments
on Used Items because it isn't necessary. Buyers that purchase from me multiple
times know what to expect, that a large percentage of Used items will be in good-great
condition unless I did make a notation about a specific dent, scratch, etc...
but didn't want to toss the piece as it has value to it, however, still have
the notation that it any piece is Used and could have been played with.

I don't think we need any Buyer Rating system either. This will only cause
uproar when our opinions are ever so slightly different.

Each Store can make their own process as they see fit. I have no issue with anyone
taking the time to do this. I certainly do not have the time to "judge" every
piece though. It would literally be sorting everything once which takes long
enough, and then sorting them all again and instead of having 2 main locations
for items stored (new and used) you would need 4 or 5 or who knows how many to
make sure you are pulling from the correct drawer, bag or akro-mill slot, etc...

There is Positive, Neutral and Negative Feedback available if, as a buyer, anyone
does not agree with what they received from what they purchased.

I understand your argument but I, and I assume many others here, do not have
another 4-8 hours per day to put into subjective scoring. Thanks

Thank you, I appreciate that.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Feb 6, 2019 16:18

Subject:

Re: New and Used: more shades of grey are needed

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, JusTiCe8 writes:

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 3, 2019 17:12

Subject:

Re: part 4073: catalog statisics mistake

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, yoavheskia writes:

i counted only 51 known colors, not 52 as mentioned in catalog statisics.

That is odd. I cannot explain it. I thought the statistics were real-time data.
Even if not, I don't see any recent changes which could have caused this
discrepancy.

Must have counted itself as one. Silly catalog, you are not a color.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 3, 2018 14:54

Subject:

Re: Home page - more stages shown

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Currently it says
Invoices
Shipments
Drove-thru

Would like to see
Orders
Invoiced
Paid
Packed
Shipped

Orders -- these need to be invoiced
Invoiced-- seller has sent the invoice
Paid --- buyer has paid
Packed-- seller has packed the order
Shipped -- seller has shipped the order, and can complete drive thru here
to move it out of the shipped bucket

Same for buyers. Not sure why everything was condensed to three options when
there are more stages than this and with IC, items move quickly through the stages
and skip some.

Thanks for the consideration.

Kind of surprised there is zero support or feedback on this. It can't
be just me whom dislikes having so many orders within the same bucket (Shipments)
when they have been paid for but not packed or they are packed and ready to print
the shipping label. Personally, I don't pack an order then go print the
shipping info right afterwards. I, and I assume many others, pack all orders
or as many as they can get to, then go print all shipping labels at one time.

And then still show the orders that have been invoiced but a payment hasn't
come through yet. I think this is the most important one as a non-paid for order
can get buried quickly so it would be nice to see that you have an order you've
invoiced and check up on it without having to dig for it.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 1, 2018 23:59

Subject:

Re: Automatic price while listing items

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Rainey writes:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

In Suggestions, Rainey writes:

I just bought a MacBook Pro and it is very fast! But it has got me wishing that
Bricklink had a seller feature that would automatically have the average price
(or what ever price you set it as) put in the box while adding items like brickOwl
does. I also love how brickOwl has the option to add the same part in multiple
colors at the same time and I really wish Bricklink had the same! I also like
it that if I posted a suggestion in the BrickOwl Forum for a new seller feature,
it would be done in a matter of a few minutes (most likely). I hope this seller
feature suggestion can be acted upon quickly and not years later to never.
Rainey

This already exists, use your default selling settings: https://www.bricklink.com/invOptionsAdd.asp

I didn't see any setting for adding individual items. There is only one
for parting out sets.
Rainey

Use brickstock. If the average is automatically put in then it is one more thing
that needs to be deleted before typing in the price you want, thus takes more
time.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 1, 2018 21:45

Subject:

Home page - more stages shown

Viewed:

86 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Nov 12, 2018 21:40

Subject:

Re: List only USA items in "Items for Sale" tab

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, gregmgallup writes:

When I want to buy something under the “Items for Sale” tab, all of the items
from all of the countries are listed.

It would be nice to see only USA sellers.

Under the “Price Guide” tab there is a way to change the settings to see only
USA prices.

Can that also be applied to “Items for Sale?

Thanks

Greg

Click on "More Options" and you'll see this already exists.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Nov 12, 2018 13:42

Subject:

Parting Out - Items We Do Not Have

Viewed:

157 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

I used Brickstock to Load my stock into the store but the Price Guide that BL
has is a wonderful estimate to what I would do using Brickstock.

However, a piece of the parting out could be pushed to one degree further if
only you were able to have the BL system tell you what the items are that you
do not have.

In the attachment, off of a random set, I have the majority of the lots in my
store, but do not stock 4 of them. This is where it would be wonderful to have
a quick way of knowing what those 4 Lots are. Is there a way this already exists?
The only want I know of to check on this is to run an upload from Brickstock
into BL, take it to the verify screen and review the items that are not being
consolidated. Is there another way that is helpful?

Thank you

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Nov 9, 2018 20:28

Subject:

Re: Wondering if part 53588 exists - want to buy

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Brickitty writes:

In Catalog, MidwestBrick writes:

In Catalog, Brickitty writes:

In Catalog, mfav writes:

https://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/EXTN/1481.png?0

Clearly it's marbled in the set image.

You're right, it is. Perhaps the catalog admin should change this and consolidate
both parts under 53588pb01, in Dark Gray or Dark Bluish Gray, then?

And possibly purchase some items at those two stores to make amends?

I'll definitely send a message to the sellers I messaged before, to let them
know they should relist the parts appropriately. But I'm curious why you
think I'm in any way responsible for the catalog error or receiving refunds
for what I could only assume were mistakes? I was just going off of the catalog,
and it's only the difficulties during this last week that led me to believe
that the part might not exist in a non-marbled version.

Guess tough crowd to crack a joke within, I'll keep my fun thoughts to myself
next time.

(I'm smiling and having a chuckle while I write this). Best
of luck in your investigation.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Nov 9, 2018 17:07

Subject:

Re: Wondering if part 53588 exists - want to buy

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Brickitty writes:

In Catalog, mfav writes:

https://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/EXTN/1481.png?0

Clearly it's marbled in the set image.

You're right, it is. Perhaps the catalog admin should change this and consolidate
both parts under 53588pb01, in Dark Gray or Dark Bluish Gray, then?

And possibly purchase some items at those two stores to make amends?

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Oct 31, 2018 20:57

Subject:

Re: Catalog Project Request "Bar" vs. "Weapon"

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In Catalog, DeLuca writes:

One bit of inconsistency that has been bothering me for a while, is that, though
part (64567) is classified as a "Minifig, Weapon", its modified variant, part
(92690), is listed in "Bar".
Though I do not care where these parts are reclassified, I do want
to see them in the same category.

64567 Minifigure, Weapon Lightsaber Hilt Straight
Parts: Minifigure, Weapon

92690 Bar 1L with Top Stud and 2 Side Studs (Connector Perpendicular)
Parts: Bar

Fixed. What's next?

92690 Minifig Weapon, 3 sided Hollow Hammer
Parts: Minifig, Weapon

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Oct 5, 2018 00:17

Subject:

Re: Restrictions kill sales! I'm outta here!

Viewed:

116 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, npl writes:

Twice today I spent time making LARGE orders (two different vendors) for about
$30 or so USD+. The first had a shipping box size restriction I didn't see
until I was checking out and the seller did not respond to a query for a 'bypass'
in time to be useful. I bought what I wanted on Amazon instead. It will be
here day after tomorrow! Just now I put together another order of over 150 items,
spent 20 min, only to learn it had a ^%#^*^ LOT average of a dollar, and again,
I was required to ask for a bypass. Screw that. I don't have the time for
this nit-noid nonsense. So here's the suggestion: Price your stuff for
what you want and either make the restriction clear on the main page or can the
restrictions. As for me, I'm head for e-bay where I am sure I can get what
I want and where any restrictions are clear.+

I understand your frustration. There are some sellers with so much going on
in their terms that I X out and never go back. But there are many more sellers
here that are straight forward, simple, and quick to pull, invoice, and ship.

As a seller myself, I believe my store is easy to understand, has a quote section
available, and I respond to inquiries quickly.

I can only suggest to weed out the stores you do not like and find the diamonds
in the rough that work for you. There are many out there to choose from. Best
of luck!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Oct 3, 2018 12:02

Subject:

Re: Need Work

Viewed:

51 times

Topic:

Inventories

In Inventories, StormChaser writes:

We inventory administrators have used up all the work. There are no inventories
or inventory change requests pending approval. I can't speak for Marek,
but I feel rather useless with nothing to do.

There are still 410 sets which haven't been inventoried, including 68 sets
from this year. Send us some work!

Is there ever an ongoing list or update of sets that need to be inventoried?
I personally would enjoy doing one eventually. For example, which 68 sets have
not been done yet?

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Oct 1, 2018 10:33

Subject:

Re: 90-percentile as new average price ?

Viewed:

60 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Gaston.La.Brick writes:

I really don't think prices on Bricklink
are unfair at all considering all the work that goes into running a store.

You are jumping to conclusions. I never said prices are unfair. I'm saying
the average calculation, although mathematically correct, is not a good indication
of what a piece is actually sold for most of the time.
Because that is what the average amount implies: the average price to which an
item is sold for most of the time.

For me, I use the average price to set my pricing. But currently it becomes unreliable,
when you have to verify how many items have been sold at a price that's not
realistic (or at least: that has something strange going on -- $1.00 for
a typicall $0.02 item, seems strange to me).

You are not for, because it would make the calculation less transparant. But
it doesn't have to be clear how it was calculated, as long as it's accurate.
It's like Google search engine: you don't need to know the algorithm
behind it, as long as the results are accurate (which they typically are).

Your remark about why not the middle 90p (so 5p-95p range), is valid but I'm
in doubt about that. It still is a seller/buyer market. So a low price actually
does mean a very solid competition that influences the seller/buyer market. This
in contrary to a very high price, which is not relevant for the seller/buyer
market.
The reason I wouldn't include the lowest 5p, I give you that, is to exclude
the sellers who price very low but add a ridiculously high fee per lot.

In the end, to me, it still feels the average price as a purely mathematical
average, is not very useful. You imply it's good for sellers, since the buyer
gets an (unrealistic) idea about the amount he should spend on the item. Unless
it's a smart seller that looks at other stuff than average amounts... (and
I think most of them do).

A low price puts in all those sales where people are "selling out".

Overall, to each their own on pricing. I have my own methods which vary from
color to color, type to type and category to category, and use multiple buckets
to put items into rather than one. If I have a piece and want to sell it for
$1 when the market is $0.05 and it sells. That's a great business decision.
Price is only one factor of many when buyers choose your store.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 28, 2018 18:12

Subject:

Re: Ability to Sort Inventory by Total Size

Viewed:

22 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

In Suggestions, VOTB writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

One of the many ways that I personally change my pricing is simply based on how
much space those items take up to store them. An example is, I believe I have
about 200 6x6 plates. This takes up a good amount of room to hold these, of
which, maybe I would want to price these lower to possibly move them to free
up space. Another example is large Wheels. Regardless, it would be beneficial;
to other than knowing what items are large but also to know how much space is
being used in comparison to others if they were able to sort by total Size which
would be Quantity times the sizes that BL already has established. This would
help compare space being used for 2 x 4 plates vs 6 x6 plates vs 1x1 round plates
and also be another way to run sales on items that are large that maybe we forgot
we even had.

Thanks for the consideration.

The real question is the size of a piece listed as a data point or simple
text. It seems like this could get pretty complicated describing so many three
dimensional pieces. Once you start looking at slopes and brackets shape and
volume get harder to calculate. I guess a 3D Studio model of each piece could
do the work.

I am still fairly new to this system but could sorting by weight/piece and weight/lot
do this? (I know this is not a current feature)

- A heavier piece would likely be bigger and take up more space.
- A heavier lot would likely take up more space, even if the piece is small.

This would let you see that drawer of 1000 1x1 bricks is likely taking more space
than the 2000 1x1 tile.

This utilizes an existing data point. The only thing is that some wheels are
hollow and are quite large, but a smaller tire could weigh more. From what I
have experienced so far, wheels and tires just take up a lot of space no matter
what.

Overall, just a volume calculation would be nice. From there it shouldn't
be overly difficult to simply "imagine" how much space that volume is taking
up. But knowing that X piece or type takes up a Y amount would be useful, especially
for those whom have limited storage space to begin with. It wouldn't have
to be exact as that is tough to do, but it would also help for a price analysis
too. I would rather have 1,000 1x1 tiles vs 4 Large Tires, thus the room is
more important to utilize for some items vs others. If I could sort by volume
of space being used, then it would be easier to possibly push out the larger
items, especially if you haven't notice that they continue to accumulate.
(each of us have our own storage solutions) I can open a drawer and visualize
all of this, but it is of course easier if the computer tells me what my bulk
items are and I can make adjustments on the fly vs having to look them all up
individually.

It would easily be possible for the system to sort according to volume. All volumes
of all parts are either know or estimated, as they are being used by instant
checkout all the time.

Being able to sort by weight though would already suit your purposes I think.
If we're talking about some 50 lots you want to discount, it's not really
torture to go over the list and skip the odd compact part in the list.

I do wonder what this would do to the prices. It may encourage a race to the
bottom for large parts, and blowing holes into inventories, and I wonder if it's
really in anyone's interest. I totally understand why you would want to discount
big parts, I've also been doing it and have been thinking about it, but I've
eventually decided not to do this anymore and simply create more storage space
for these parts. Having a balanced, well rounded inventory is more important
to me.

Big parts usually mean less frequent visiting of that area of storage. Fewer
visits per liter, so to speak. There are always some drawers or bins near the
ceiling or near the floor where you don't really like to be. I planned my
storage so that such parts would end up in places like that and now they don't
bother me anymore

I don't think it would affect pricing too much, as you are going to do it
or not. It would just be another tool to use. Sometimes there are many items
we forget we have and if we saw that having hundreds of something in another
way might give some of us reason to try to move them out. I mean for all those
that post "sales because they need room" this should be the first thing that
is done. It only makes sense in a literal aspect to sell the largest items that
take up the most space right?

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 28, 2018 15:56

Subject:

Re: Ability to Sort Inventory by Total Size

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, VOTB writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 28, 2018 14:14

Subject:

Ability to Sort Inventory by Total Size

Viewed:

68 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Aug 14, 2018 16:34

Subject:

Re: Brown or Reddish Brown??? Please help!

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

In Colors, bje writes:

Aah glad I'm not the only one with this problem

Sunlight IMO works best, I've sometimes looked at these till my eyes water
under every conceivable type of lightbulb and still made mistakes which came
out later in sunlight. Best is to have them in a pile like you have and then
pick out the ones that do not look as bright, those would be brown (technical
term would be less red, but that would confuse the issue)
If your pile is the same I've marked the ones that stand out clearly.

HTH

Jean

In Colors, patpendlego writes:

Is there an easy way to tell which brick is Brown and which Reddish Brown? I've
tried different things, under a lightbulb, halogene light, sunlight... I just
don't see it... please help!

Best way is to make a color palette. I have one for nearly every color and it
is obvious when you compare them vs the palette. Put the colors that are similar
right next to each other so it is even easier to distinguish them apart from
each other. This picture looks like medium dark flesh almost due to the lighting
and I believe I counted at least 9 that do not look the same color as the rest.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jul 23, 2018 18:40

Subject:

Re: Buyer tips

Viewed:

53 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, superchicken77 writes:

Create a wanted list

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/wanted/list.page

Then search for sellers who have the lots you're looking for. Depending
on how long your list is, you may not find them all from one seller.

In Suggestions, solitos writes:

Hello there ,

i am new to bricklink and i need tips since i am trying to make my first order.
I want to buy around 15 minifigs but as it seems most of the sellers dont have
any other than the figures i am interested of buying.Is there any way sorting
a list and then see the availability on the buyers ? Or i should just copy paste
on all shops every single code i am interested to ?
Thanks for your time and answer

FYI too, after finding stores, make sure you compare what final costs would be
as the wanted list does not factor in each stores "terms" separately. Some stores
charge exact shipping while others do not and some offer free shipping if certain
thresholds are met. All I'm saying is do your home work to find the best
price and best chance that the entire process will be smooth for you and you'll
be very happy in the end (check feedback). Best of luck!

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jul 9, 2018 22:00

Subject:

Re: Are all of these pieces lime green?

Viewed:

37 times

Topic: