BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Administrative, Nubs_Select writes:

any word on either bricklink or seller side implementation for tax for Canada
so we can instant checkout like most other countries?

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 18, 2023 09:08

Subject:

Re: List parts back to store when order cancelled

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

General

In General, outofthe60s writes:

Is there an easy way to list the parts from a cancelled order back into my store
stock or do I have to manually re-enter each lot from the order manually? This
is not a NPB issue. Thanks.

If already cancelled? No it's too late and need to do it manually (or could
use BrickStore to import that order to get the items, and then upload).

But after you refund via BL, and then open the OCR, the OCR page for cancelling
the order gives options of what you want to do with the items (such as bringing
them back into your inventory).

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 14, 2023 17:04

Subject:

Re: Account address: buyer vs seller

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

Suggestions

So my suggestion/request is one of the following:

Option 1 - Allow any buyer to enter any shipping destination in the checkout
process, just like 99% of webshops allow to do so.

Option 2 - Each account should have a buyer and a seller address. Only when changing
the seller address, a new store verification is required.

Thanks for considering any of these options.

I completely hear you on this; it's very common in Canada since we hug the
US border. There are types of parcel holding facilities where we get to have
US shipping addresses, and we cross over to get them once they arrive.

This isn't a full solution to what you're looking for, but in Feb 2021,
Russell did say they would consider allowing sellers to open another buyer account
for certain cases like these. I'm not sure if this is the case right now
and I'd recommend reaching out to Help Desk to confirm first, but here's
the original message: https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1253276

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 13, 2023 11:13

Subject:

Re: Linking to tracking numbers

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Selling, Brick_a_mind writes:

I was wondering if anyone knows a way to link to the tracking numbers generated
through Paypal shipping, so when I send out the "drive through" notification
it will automatically include the tracking number without my having to type it
in manually each time.

Thanks!

You'll likely need to make something custom to do the API calls required,
or use a type of BrickLink specific SaaS/product that can do this.

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 10, 2023 11:26

Subject:

Re: Joblot of minifigures advice

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

(We can't edit threads and I just realized I forgot your photograph question)

That's one of the great things about BrickLink - you don't need photographs.
You may want to upload your own are when you listing items with damage and want
the buyer to see exactly what they are receiving - especially for rare/expensive
figures. Or when listing a custom lot. The most important thing though is still
writing out specifics about the condition such as cracks, fading to print, etc...

But for items in great condition, no photos are required (nor additional notes
about the item).

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 10, 2023 11:09

Subject:

Re: Joblot of minifigures advice

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

In Selling, BeardRunner writes:

Hi all,

Glad to be a member and join the group.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Welcome to BrickLink

For all licensed/rare figures, selling individually is absolutely the way to
go. Most collectors already have many figures of a particular theme and are looking
for specific ones. Or even those who have a beloved character. If you sell as
a lot, you're going to need to price it lower, and it'll be often those
looking to resell individual figures.

You'll want to familiarize yourself with things to look for item condition
such as places where cracks/stress lines on torsos appear, arms etc. If selling
figures on BrickLink, they do not include handheld accessories. You can see what
is included with a figure by looking up its inventory. They do include things
like backpacks/back attachments if part of the official figure, but never handheld
accessories. I believe there's no issue with adding a note to say you are
including extras with a figure though, should you wish to.

For more normal figures like City, Town etc, and especially figures that have
damage, these are better to sell either locally/online groups or auction sites
etc with photos for them. You can sell custom lots or damaged items on BrickLink
but custom lots are harder to see, so you'll want to post on the forum potentially
to say that you have it listed. And anything with damage you need to be very
descriptive. On other platforms, you can usually be more generic in described
wear/damage.

You'll need to receive 1 positive feedback to open a store, which you can
get from placing an order with a store. I'm in Canada (but do sell to the
UK), and am a seller who gives feedback upon payment, but you may find stores
that wait until you've finalized the order as Completed and left them feedback
before they will. Read the store terms that you're buying from to know if
they leave feedback after payment if you're trying to get one quickly for
to put in a new store request -- or hopefully some local sellers will also
let you know in this thread

After that, you'll be able to upgrade your buyer status to seller (so your
account can do both), and that kicks off the New Seller Verification process.
More info here: https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2440

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Good luck!

-Sarah

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 9, 2023 08:31

Subject:

Re: XML upload doesn't work

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

Technical Issues

In Technical Issues, daves.customs writes:

Hey,

For some reason when I try to upload an XML and click 'Proceed to verify
items' it loads forever and doesn't upload the parts. I tried everything
that comes to mind. Any suggestions?

How many lots are you trying to upload? I think usually it might throw an error,
but if you're trying to upload too much at a time (over 1K lots) it'll
likely fail. I haven't tried an upload since the site came back up though
to see if it's behaving differently.

They're also likely more overloaded than usual with the backlog of parts
being uploaded by sellers.

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 8, 2023 20:51

Subject:

Re: e transfer as a payment method

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

Payment Methods

In Payment Methods, kittybrickz writes:

Hello!

I have a customer that paid with etransfer, and have shipped the item but I'm
not able to progress the order status, I think there is a setting that changed
when BL was down, or I'm missing something? Or is it up to the customer to
progress the paid status?

Also, I had an international buyer pay by paypal when BL was down, and there
seems to be no option to progress the status either.

Thank you for your expertise in this matter!

You need to put in a ticket with the support desk to have Interac E-transfer
added to your account (there's a certain about of time that you need on the
platform for them to process it). You should still be able to update it in BL
though. Try setting it first to Paid, and then to Shipped.

For the international order, if there was a tax part, you'll need to refund
them and have them pay again via the onsite payment button. After that you'll
be able to set it to shipped.

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 1, 2023 20:37

Subject:

Re: CMF Marvel 2- Do you Send the Boxes?

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

In Selling, starbeanie writes:

You can list any set without putting a Condition.

So that comes back to my question - why you would suggest that they go as far
as listing as Incomplete for excluding the CMF packaging when you aren't
doing so for most of your listings? Especially when you also exclude the insert
and extra parts for most (which is far more incomplete).

I understand there's differing opinions about if they should be listed Complete
or Incomplete without the foil/box when it comes to CMFs, but it's another
thing when you're recommending something you're not following yourself.

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 1, 2023 20:27

Subject:

Re: CMF Marvel 2- Do you Send the Boxes?

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

In Selling, Emporiosa writes:

In Selling, starbeanie writes:

Actually, only 5 say Complete. The rest don't have a condition. Thanks for
pointing those 5 out though. I've fixed them now.

No condition = complete though, as you can set them to Incomplete like you suggested
to them.

Now that I think about it, did the CMFs change in how they were inventoried meaning
you couldn't set incomplete on more recent series (and this is what you meant
about not having a condition like Sealed)? Or does the Incomplete condition remain
hidden on those but still are set that way?

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 1, 2023 20:23

Subject:

Re: CMF Marvel 2- Do you Send the Boxes?

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

In Selling, starbeanie writes:

Actually, only 5 say Complete. The rest don't have a condition. Thanks for
pointing those 5 out though. I've fixed them now.

No condition = complete though, as you can set them to Incomplete like you suggested
to them.

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 1, 2023 19:57

Subject:

Re: CMF Marvel 2- Do you Send the Boxes?

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Selling, Upstate_Brickz writes:

Greeting Bricklink,

Is there a general consensus on how we should sell the Marvel Series 2 CMFs now
that they're in stupid boxes? Are you sending the boxes with the figs, if
sold as a "new", "complete" set, like the foil bags? Or just
ditching them entirely? Has anyone sold a complete set of 12? I imagine the buyer
does not want 12 boxes.

Thanks for any feedback.

Upstate_Brickz

Most are excluding the boxes (including myself). I make sure to put a note about
it. I've purchased a lot of this series as well and none of the sellers (all
large sellers) are shipping the boxes with them, and I'm glad because they're
bulky and heavy compared to the previous foil bags.

Not to mention, in some countries like Canada, they wouldn't be able to ship
via our regular Lettermail service causing up to $20 parcel charges for a single
fig depending where they are in the country.

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Nov 1, 2023 19:47

Subject:

Re: CMF Marvel 2- Do you Send the Boxes?

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

In Selling, starbeanie writes:

If you list them as Complete, you must include the boxes. List them as Incomplete
instead.

All of your CMFs are listed as complete but with no foil/instructions (all 168
different lots). On top of that, many of your listings say you don't include
the extra parts.

Why would you recommend they do the opposite?

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 31, 2023 19:10

Subject:

Re: Canadian Province filter plz :)

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

Ordering: The way you’re reading it, BL is somewhat indirectly involved in the
ordering with EasyBuy and Co….
But those can also simply be considered as advanced search tools.
Actually, I’m not sure what constitutes “being involved in the ordering,” what
could be an example of that? BL isn’t ordering for me, it just helps me find
the goods & sellers, and then I decide 🤔

Like you touched on for a lot of the points (and even the fact that we see some
of the definitions differently), it definitely seems too vague for how they defined
things, which is why I'm really curious how BL arrived to their conclusion
with the CRA. I believe the new legislation coming in for Jan 2024 solidifies
the definition though. I'm just unsure if that definition is purely for the
additions to the Income Tax Act, or also change the definitions for the purpose
of tax collection. I guess we'll know if we hear of any new requirements
coming in for Canadians for Jan 1st 😊

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 31, 2023 16:51

Subject:

Re: Canadian Province filter plz :)

Viewed:

47 times

Topic:

In Taxes, SylvainLS writes:

In Taxes, Emporiosa writes:

[…]
Not the size or value because it's $30K revenue (including shipping) in 4
quarters which many individual sellers already qualify for.

$30k is the threshold for each individual/business. What is the threshold for
the marketplace to be considered a marketplace by the CRA? That’s that one I
was talking about.

Even if BL makes more than $30k in Canada in fees. That (possibly) just means
BL has to pay Canadian taxes on those fees. That doesn’t make BL a marketplace-for-the-CRA.

It's still $30K for them as a platform. The fees part they already collect
taxes. I believe that BL is saying they do not qualify for the definition of
a "distribution platform operator". They never explained why they said
they don't believe they qualify, but I'd love to understand how/why.

Especially when looking up the CRA definition of distribution platform operator
that states "is involved, directly or through arrangements with third
parties, in collecting, receiving or charging the consideration for the supply
and transmitting all or part of the consideration to the supplier" --
which to me sounds like the API integrations that they do with PayPal and Stripe.

And even services like the Easy Buy features etc are more than just advertising
product on the platform. They also have certain TOS to facilitate the site and
also certain requirements for buyers and sellers as part of the requirements
of the sale. For example, the NPB or NSS processes. They supersede any terms
that a seller has, which immediately disqualifies them for the Excluded Operator
definition. Attached a screenshot for more info and link below.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/gst-hst-businesses/digital-economy-gsthst/charge-collect/sales-good.html

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 31, 2023 14:42

Subject:

Re: Canadian Province filter plz :)

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Taxes, peregrinator writes:

In Taxes, Emporiosa writes:

Before marketplace tax, there already existed a tax field (and the VAT Tax ID
field that was mentioned). What I'm unsure about is if they had a tax table
available for sellers to say "I need to collect X% from State X, Y% from
state Y," etc... I could have sworn they did. But they at least did state
filtering of some kind to support IC I believe.

They did - in fact they still do:

Thanks; that definitely confirms it! That's why I find it so bizarre that
they didn't just customize a version for Canada based on this exact same
framework that's already coded (should have been done years ago when IC was
launched - taxes aren't a new thing for sellers).

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 31, 2023 12:59

Subject:

Re: Canadian Province filter plz :)

Viewed:

24 times

Topic:

If BL had to collect taxes in Canada, it would work well for Canada too.

The problem is that BL is not big enough in Canada or that the Canadian law isn’t
considering BL as a marketplace or big enough.

IOW, it’s your fault Canadians! You aren’t buying enough / you are not making
the correct laws!

Not the size or value because it's $30K revenue (including shipping) in 4
quarters which many individual sellers already qualify for. All other marketplace
platforms that I'm part of qualify for the CRA definition of a marketplace,
but BL's tax team mentioned they do not qualify for it for some reason. I
suspect it's why we won't see Canada participate in the MOC Pop-up store
in the short term as I suspect that would challenge their current definition
that keeps them excluded.

On the flip side, I suspect they're delaying participation because they still
are working on marketplace tax and are buying time - that's the optimistic
view anyways 😊

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 31, 2023 12:53

Subject:

Re: Canadian Province filter plz :)

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

- 15% HST for NB/NL/NS/PEI

But the catch is that the buyer only see the shipping methods corresponding to
his residence Province. Like that a buyer from Quebec will only see the Quebec
shipping method, an Ontarian will only see the Ontario one, etc.

Not that I disagree with the idea, especially as I'll touch on another possible
benefit, but if they can do filtering based on provinces (like how we do for
countries), I struggle to understand the difficulty of doing the same with a
tax table.

Before marketplace tax, there already existed a tax field (and the VAT Tax ID
field that was mentioned). What I'm unsure about is if they had a tax table
available for sellers to say "I need to collect X% from State X, Y% from
state Y," etc... I could have sworn they did. But they at least did state
filtering of some kind to support IC I believe.

Other marketplaces give us the option to set the tax rate we need to collect
from each province (especially as the seller's requirements will differ depending
on which specific provinces they're registered to collect from). A QC seller
will need the GST + PST, but myself I only need to set it as 5% GST for QC buyers.
Then at checkout, rather than having to select a specific IC shipping profile
that matches their province, the buyer will get the same shipping option provided
but with the appropriate tax.

The other benefit is at checkout, just like other countries that have tax enabled,
there will be a separate line that shows it's for tax. It's awful that
it's bundled with the handling/shipping fees.

Back to your original idea though, the benefit I can see for adding the province
filtering but still using shipping profiles to put in the taxes rather than tax
tables is that it can allow us to do psuedo-shipping zones (it'll be on par
with BrickOwl anyways, but still not as great as their tax tables). It'll
be based on province, but at least it's a bit better for offering shipping
via instant checkout. Of course, it doesn't solve the remote postal codes,
but for many stores, this is still infinitely better.

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 30, 2023 22:32

Subject:

Re: New policy on Forum sales posts

Viewed:

76 times

Topic:

Administrative

We're thinking of running a little contest over the next 6 months to reward
the best and most creative sales posts. More details on that later.

Great policy change; thanks BL team!

-Sarah

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 10, 2023 12:55

Subject:

Re: HS code for cloth

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

Help

I still use the same 950330 for everything that came in a LEGO set, plastic or
not. The exception being an order with only instruction booklets.

~Jen

Thanks Jen! I was mainly worried because they ordered that, and only that (if
there's at least some plastic brick in the order I through it all together
in the same HS code usually). When I was diving into the HS codes for fabric,
it gets quite detailed and finicky about the materials, if it's manmade,
is it woven, etc...

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 10, 2023 10:53

Subject:

HS code for cloth

Viewed:

76 times

Topic:

Help

Would someone happen to know the HS code that is used for cloth pieces such as

37566 Cloth Carpet Rug 4 x 6 with White Stars Pattern
Parts: Cloth {Medium Lavender}

Thanks!

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 3, 2023 09:39

Subject:

Re: Problematic Super-Heroes Minifigure ID's

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

Catalog

I think just putting in a couple subcategory is the most result from the least
amount of work and it would be worthwhile. But listen to Randy on this. They
are struggling to get new minifigs and sets approved and inventoried right now.
The job of making 2 subcategories and sorting out the minifigs does technically
get bigger with each passing month, but that growth rate is manageable. It won't
be way harder later.

100% agree - I'd say a lot of these posts aren't about bringing more
work onto a very small team, but to make BrickLink aware of the requested features/updates
etc... and to allow them to staff accordingly should they feel some of these
things are important enough for their business. It's not feasible how it
is right now.

I'm not holding my breath of course as I know there are even seller tools
(and other features) that were promised well before my time on the platform

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Oct 2, 2023 14:43

Subject:

Re: Problematic Super-Heroes Minifigure ID's

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

Catalog

I propose a recoding of minifigures, and already typed out a document with the
new ID's for both Marvel and DC (screencap included in post). If the sets
are two separate themes, it only makes sense that the minifigures should be separate
themes as well. Thank you for your time in reading, and for all the work that
goes into maintaining this database!

Although this is a massive undertaking, and like axaday mentioned, it might be
easier if they introduce gaps to split it - I agree on the idea. I'm unsure
how the catalogue discussion went when the DC and Spider-Man figures preceded
the Super Heroes line, and the decision to merge into it. I assume there was
some kind of "standard" made for the catalogue when this started.

According to the wiki, Super Heroes also included Pixar's The Incredibles,
but the figures are in their own dedicated line, and not even under the generic
Disney one. What would have caused this to split completely from any of the other
catalogue sections? Or perhaps the wiki is incorrect:

incr001 (Inv) Elastigirl
Minifigures: The Incredibles: Incredibles 2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Super_Heroes

Super Heroes was a type of branding used on sets that usually said MARVEL SUPER
HEROES or DC SUPER HEROES. But more recent sets usually only say MARVEL or DC
and perhaps the movie/franchise. For example:

76240-1 (Inv) Batman Batmobile Tumbler
2040 Parts, 2 Minifigures, 2021
Sets: Super Heroes: The Dark Knight Trilogy

This theme is not part of the "Super Heroes" branding, but the figures
are put into the "sh" fig category, like all other Batman figs. I believe
LEGO still refers to Marvel and DC as Super Heroes lines internally, but from
the catalogue perspective, I agree it would help keep them more distinct.

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Sep 26, 2023 09:06

Subject:

Re: Denied party/entity international shipment

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

Shipping

In Shipping, WildBricks writes:

Okay, here's a new one for me:

I shipped a package to Spain and it has been returned because "Failed To
Meet Export Regulations and Name Matches Denied Party/Entity". After I lifted
the green postal sticker I was able to see that the buyer's name had been
circled with a red wax pencil. I took the package to my local USPS depot and
asked what I did wrong, how I can correct the issue, future reference info and
was told that it had to do with the recipient and not the customs deceleration
(small electronics for toys, no batteries).

Considering the fact that this buyer's name is probably one of the most common
in Spain, think David Smith, I'm not sure if that is true. Can someone out
there give me a little perspective? Considering this is my 3rd returned international
package in 3 months I'm getting a little paranoid and considering turning
off international shipping altogether. (First was to Venezuela for prohibited
shipping list, 2nd was this same package for lack of description on customs deceleration.)

From what I'm seeing if you search that exact phase, and even check recent
posts on forums etc, it really sounds like their name/address is flagged on the
"do not export to" list. Hard to say if it's a fluke/error, but it's
a pretty serious flag to get for a return it seems.

"Denied or restricted parties are persons, entities, or vessels that have
violated export regulations or have been deemed a threat to national security.
Governments (such as the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Switzerland), as well as intergovernmental
and supranational organizations (such as the United Nations and European Union),
all maintain different lists of these parties and have prohibitions on transactions
with them. Further complicating matters, the information comes in different forms
and is updated constantly."

Author:

Emporiosa

Posted:

Sep 22, 2023 14:27

Subject:

Re: Sticker sheet quality in new sets

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

Help