BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Suggestions, bje writes:

In Suggestions, searme writes:

In Suggestions, bje writes:

Besides - if you know sellers who are listing items they do not have on hand,
you must report those lots to BrickLink

I'd love to but how do you suggest I prove that, short of raiding seller's
home/shop?

Per your original post - you and other LUG members are aware of those sellers,
so you and your fellow LUG members all report those lots and wait for BL to sort
it out. You are not prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner and neither are you
the policeman. But it also does not help matters if you just talk among yourselves
about it. If you and all other members of your LUG really feel there is a real
serious problem here with a specific subset of sellers, you all report the problem
lots. I'm sure BL can investigate the matter evenhandedly.

On the other hand, if there is nothing in your original statement, then we do
not need this badge idea, as all you have to do is ask the seller to ship to
your timeframe and keep the proof as you require.

In addition to what Jean has mentioned you also need to be aware that the suggestion
program has not worked for a long time as development on the classic site is
no longer part of Bricklink's plans. They have agreed publicly to continue
to support it but all work (development) is being aimed at the "Future of Bricklink
e.g. Bricklink XP" as stated in the Presentation at Brickworld. When and if that
happens it appears the business model will change - to what is really unknown
at present with only very sketchy details available. That plus the fact that,
again publicly, Bricklink have stated they are somewhat in limbo over the future
direction they want to decide on means that modifying the classic site is even
further down the line for anything to be done.

Using the existing feedback system is really your only avenue to deal with things
like this. I would think most people agree that system is flawed, not used correctly,
and in need of a facelift - but it doesn't really appear that is likely.

Things can of course change and there are lots of us who want to see that happen
but for the time being use the tools that are already there.

Author:

bje

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 07:20

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, searme writes:

In Suggestions, bje writes:

Besides - if you know sellers who are listing items they do not have on hand,
you must report those lots to BrickLink

I'd love to but how do you suggest I prove that, short of raiding seller's
home/shop?

Author:

searme

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 06:45

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, axaday writes:

eBay has 4 or 5 parameters in the detailed feedback. But I'm not sure who
ever checks it.

If an universally visible badge would be dependent on a parameter, you wouldn't
even need to check that parameter manually. It's kind of the whole point.

Author:

searme

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 06:44

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, bje writes:

Besides - if you know sellers who are listing items they do not have on hand,
you must report those lots to BrickLink

I'd love to but how do you suggest I prove that, short of raiding seller's
home/shop?

Author:

axaday

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 05:51

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, searme writes:

What if we added a secondary feedback where instead of just writing if the service
was OK or not OK, the buyer also rates service speed between fast/regular/slow?
And sellers who are consistently rated "fast" by buyers get a badge? Still can
be misused, but should be harder to tamper with. The problem is definitely there
and the existing feedback doesn't solve it. If a dishonest store states they
ship in 5-15 days, you're obviously hoping for 5 and they're obviously
just making 15 look nice. Seriously, maybe set a limit for a maximum shipping
time? If a seller can't ship anything in less than 3 weeks, they obviously
don't have time to run a store OR they're not being truthful about their
stock.

eBay has 4 or 5 parameters in the detailed feedback. But I'm not sure who
ever checks it.

Author:

bje

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 05:48

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, searme writes:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

I don't think it is necessary. If you have a bad experience then leave appropriate
feedback.

Having a badge will do nothing, as sellers will find a way around it. Plus it
will need policing, which is impossible unless everyone reports tracking information
to BL, which will increase postage costs for buyers. Plus the tracking information
will still need checking to find out if it is genuine.

The shops in question clearly prove that feedback is not reliable, as they only
have 10-20% of complaints and they tend to blacklist complainers to prevent them
from buying again. Yes, a small percentage of sellers will find a way around
anything, but I still believe that for majority of them, such a badge would be
reliable. Far more reliable than blindly trusting the seller, which is what we
are mostly doing right now. I've lost all faith in the feedback system -
consider that if a seller declares on his page that he ships in 5-15 days and
then he ships every order in 15 days (which is pretty much the case with some
shops), you still have no grounds for negative feedback. And I feel like a number
of buyers is simply afraid of giving a negative feedback.

With 800+ buy orders under the belt you should know that feedback is not in any
way designed to be any barometer of service standards. If the seller is not clear
on when he/she will ship, then message them prior to placing the order and ask
what the timeframe is. That way you do not ahve to trust blindly.

A real example of why feedback is such a difficult tool to use to assess sellers:
I have an outstanding order. I asked the seller to keep proof of shipping. After
two months I ask the seller for the proof of shipping. The seller did not keep
proof of shipping. The seller offers me a refund. I did not order a refund. I
paid for the shipping in trust. The seller has no proof that the money I paid
him for shipping was used as intended. That seller is batting 0 for 3 - he has
not done a single thing I have asked him to do. Yet, if I were to leave him negative
or neutral feedback on the facts right now it will be the end of the world for
him because in his head he thinks he has done right by me by offering a full
refund of the order.

I think that if it is that mission critical that the seller must ship the next
day, then tell the seller that when you palce the order and give him/her a clear
opportunity to cancel if they cannot fulfill the order to your expectations.

If a seller then chooses to accept the order and still gives you that level of
poor service, either do not buy from the seller again or bite the bullet and
leave clear feedback such as "seller promises to ship next day but does not".

Besides - if you know sellers who are listing items they do not have on hand,
you must report those lots to BrickLink so those can be removed and if there
are a sufficient number of those lots, so the sellers can be closed down by BrickLink.
If you say nothing, then you are helping the seller to circumvent the very issues
you are complaining about.

Author:

searme

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 05:43

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 05:19

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, searme writes:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

So BL goes for a badge for speed of shipping. That may lead to some sellers being
sloppy to make sure they qualify for that badge. So we need a badge for accuracy.
Plus for used parts sellers, we need a badge for quality of parts. And what about
a badge for quality of packaging, as some people don't package adequately.
And so on.

And all these badges need monitoring. Should it be down to the seller to declare
they ship within 5 days, or for the buyers to monitor this. And what about correctness
of order and so on - should a buyer declare this or the seller?

If you want a fast turn around, I suggest avoiding stores that state they will
ship in 5-15 days.

If a store has 10-20% of complaints, then I'd also avoid them.

As to a store blacklisting a buyer that complains, I don't see the problem.
If a buyer is upset with a store enough to leave them negative feedback, then
surely the buyer would not want to buy from that same store again. And if they
do, surely the seller has the right to stop them. If they didn't like their
purchase first time around, then why deal with that customer again if they are
just going to complain again at the service.

Author:

SurplusParts

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 05:14

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

I honestly think that if the feedback system was used as it is designed to do,
then some of these problems would be eliminated.

What is the considered % for a top store. 100%? 99%? 90%?

That maybe is the problem. Everyone wants 100% and they don't want negative
feedback. They say they are happy for constructive feedback, but the reality
is that they don't really, unless it is positive. And some stores use some
bad methods to keep that score up.

Imagine if a top store was only 90%. Then people may be more likely to give
honest feedback as it would be less likely to ruin their perfect score.

I recently had a buying experience on Bricklink that i would consider neutral.
Wasn't disastrous, but was certainly not good. However i felt that i couldn't
leave that kind of feedback because i am a seller too, and i didn't want
to receive the same in return. Retaliatory feedback is a big problem.

But as mentioned above, sellers could just mark the shipment as shipped and it
would make no iota of difference.

I think that honest feedback is the only really way to go, but i am guilty of
the opposite myself so i won't be holding my breath that this will happen
any day soon.

Anyway, just my thoughts.
Douglas

Author:

searme

Posted:

Nov 26, 2019 04:36

Subject:

Re: "Fast Shipper" badge for Sellers

Viewed:

43 times

Topic: