Redisplay Messages: Compact | Brief | All | Full Show Messages: All | Without Replies| Author: | MidwestBrick  | | Posted: | Jan 26, 2023 17:52 | | Subject: | Re: Tell Me: What Do Sellers Want Most? | | Viewed: | 53 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| 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!
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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.
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| Author: | MidwestBrick | | Posted: | Jan 26, 2023 17:44 | | Subject: | Re: Tell Me: What Do Sellers Want Most? | | Viewed: | 49 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| 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
|
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!
|
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.
|
|
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| Author: | MidwestBrick | | Posted: | Jan 26, 2023 16:43 | | Subject: | Re: Tell Me: What Do Sellers Want Most? | | Viewed: | 107 times | | Topic: | General | |
|
| 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
|
|
| Author: | MidwestBrick | | Posted: | Jan 23, 2023 19:45 | | Subject: | Re: Amazon who? (Part 4) | | Viewed: | 50 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| In Shipping, popsicle writes:
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: | Colors | |
|
| In Colors, Yo_Yo_Flamingo writes:
| | I see Blue-Violet is listed as a color for one set:
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
|
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| 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:
| | 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.
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| Author: | MidwestBrick | | Posted: | Dec 20, 2022 01:11 | | Subject: | Re: Acquiring boxes and packaging | | Viewed: | 41 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
|
| 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!!
|
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| Author: | MidwestBrick | | Posted: | Dec 19, 2022 13:45 | | Subject: | Re: Acquiring boxes and packaging | | Viewed: | 41 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
|
| 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: | 42 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
|
| 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).
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