BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Selling, stansbrickstore writes:

Hi everyone, I hope you’re having a nice start to the weekend.

Late last night I received a (small) order for some parts. I quickly sent an
invoice over and the buyer paid (via PayPal). This morning the buyer has messaged
me asking if it would be possible to add something to the order. I know it’s
possible to add items to an order, but I’ve never done it before, and I don’t
know how it would work with the order already being paid. What is the best course
of action?
I can think of two options, either the buyer sends a second order and I don’t
add shipping fees and send the two orders together. Or could I refund the buyer
and then they add the new items and pay again. If I do this second option will
either of us lose from PayPal/BrickLink fees?

Many thanks for reading, Stan.

Buyers can add items to open orders simply by adding the items they want and
checking out again as long as the order is not marked Packed or Paid I believe.

Once paid, the best option is to let them place a new order and combine it yourself.
You will be out out the Paypal fees for the second order, but that's the
price of doing business. Be sure to provide them with your store password to
bypass your minimum buy if you have one.

I wish this information was more available to buyers. I get so many requests
to cancel because 'I forgot to add one part' from buyers who are unaware
of this. They mistakenly think they need to start all over!

Good luck,
Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 17, 2021 09:35

Subject:

Re: 48723 and 68888 are not the same mold?

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Catalog Requests, pgremeau writes:

Well, I just had an order where I ordered the new type and got both types mixed.
When I told them, the seller replied that BL says these are the same molds so
they don't need to differentiate. And added the note to these pieces:
"May be part #48723 or #68888 or a mix PER TERMS WE DO NOT DIFFERENTIATE MOLDS"

Many sellers state on their splash pages or in their store terms that they
do not differentiate between similar molds. This is entirely up to the seller
and has nothing to do with the BL catalog or policies.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 16, 2021 14:51

Subject:

Re: Retaining Inventory

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

Inventories

In Inventories, sweettiara27 writes:

I have been trying to figure out how to retain my pieces in my inventory when
it is sold out, that way I don't have to keep looking it up to put it back
into inventory. Can anyone help?

There is a checkbox to Retain every time you upload any part.

There is a check box to Retain on every item you have listed. Look on your My
Inventory detail pages along the right side.

There is also a checkbox to Retain items in inventory after items are sold out:
near the bottom of the My Inventory page.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 16, 2021 11:39

Subject:

Re: How long is long enough?

Viewed:

67 times

Topic:

Problem Order

In Problem Order, Matt79 writes:

In Problem Order, Ellum writes:

If time and convenience are a factor, it is in your best interest to try and
buy from established stores with good reputations.

Jen

When do consider a store to be established?

They have high feedback (over 500) and it is listed as being a store.

That is a very high feedback for sure, but BL combines buying and selling feedback.
You can see what's what on their feedback page. There are also no grand qualifications
for being a store, you just sign up and prove your identity. I guess I am just
saying that you really need to check a place out before you buy. It sounds like
you got unlucky with this one.

7-14 days does seem excessive after a month has already gone by. You should communicate
with them firmly but politely that you expect a refund at this point.

Sorry you had a bad experience!
Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 16, 2021 11:31

Subject:

Re: How long is long enough?

Viewed:

64 times

Topic:

Problem Order

In Problem Order, Ellum writes:

If time and convenience are a factor, it is in your best interest to try and
buy from established stores with good reputations.

Jen

When do consider a store to be established?

I would consider how long they have been a seller, and then gauge their store
volume by when and how often they have received and given feedback. It is certainly
possible to become established within a few months I would say.

Of course, not all established sellers are professional either, but you can certainly
tell a lot about them by reading their terms, their feedback, and the feedback
they have left for others.

The experience the OP described seemed like a lot of rookie mistakes. How is
someone getting the zipcode wrong? They are still hand-writing addresses on packages
and then standing in line at the post office? Then typing in the tracking number
from the receipt? It's not definitive, but I would guess it is an inexperienced
seller.

I don't mind buying from hobby sellers or even new sellers if I am not in
a hurry, but the OP was concerned about the transactions affecting their business,
so...

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 16, 2021 10:42

Subject:

Re: How long is long enough?

Viewed:

67 times

Topic:

Problem Order

In Problem Order, Matt79 writes:

I'm new to bricklink. I run an ebay store and ordered to complete sets to
resell. Ordered a month back, ordered never arrived. Turns out seller put wrong
zipcode for a town 30 mins away. Drove to that post office and the 2 between
hoping they had this order because these are taking up space on my seller table
and costing time and money. Contacted seller and he needs another 7-14 days to
investigate before refunding or replacement order with whatever pieces he still
has in stock. He also offered a free minifigure under a certain amount but this
is not a collecting hobby for me. It's business. This is after sent me wrong
tracking info the first time. Being in customer service I don't understand
making the customer wait for refund but is bricklink different? This is only
my second order and already not sure I will use this website again. Any advice
or wisdom would be appreciated.

All sellers on BL are not created equal, so I guess my first question would be
what was the feedback and experience of the seller you ordered from? There are
lots of hobbyists on here, but you can usually sus them out from feedback and
store terms.

If time and convenience are a factor, it is in your best interest to try and
buy from established stores with good reputations.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 15, 2021 13:15

Subject:

Re: Placing an order without using auto checkout.

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Help, SylvainLS writes:

In Help, jennnifer writes:

[…]
I have accepted a sale from a repeat customer who couldn't get Paypal Onsite
to work for whatever reason and just sent the payment directly. I just believe
that it's bad service and bad business from BrickLink to not offer people
options just because it's not easy. The only penalty I got was that I cannot
mark the order Shipped because of BL's infantile new payment status rules.
So, the order will be in my notifications for 6 months or so I guess! I am happy
to forward BrickLink the tax money from this sale as soon as they are organized
and professional enough to receive it.

Jen

I’m not a lawyer, I’m not an accountant, but I believe you just committed tax
fraud: you collected money that you say is taxes but it can’t be taxes because
you don’t have the right to collect taxes.
At the minimum, the money should be consigned with an indenpendant entity, it
should not stay on your own accounts.

Yes, I am definitely guilty of something, but I doubt it is fraud. BrickLink
was told this would be a problem, chose to ignore it, and then refused to adjust
to all the reported issues regarding it, leaving us with their bad solution.
So, I have like $2 of their money or who-evers's money and am happy to pay
it wherever it needs to go.

Not everyone wants to (or can) use an onsite third-party payment method. I think
we should be able to accept money orders if we choose. I am sticking with my
principles here and not hiding my actions in any way. I want to pay this money
where it needs to go. They are not accepting it.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 15, 2021 13:06

Subject:

Re: Placing an order without using auto checkout.

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Help, peregrinator writes:

In Help, jennnifer writes:

I have accepted a sale from a repeat customer who couldn't get Paypal Onsite
to work for whatever reason and just sent the payment directly. I just believe
that it's bad service and bad business from BrickLink to not offer people
options just because it's not easy. The only penalty I got was that I cannot
mark the order Shipped because of BL's infantile new payment status rules.
So, the order will be in my notifications for 6 months or so I guess! I am happy
to forward BrickLink the tax money from this sale as soon as they are organized
and professional enough to receive it.

I think you can mark it as Packed, then (perhaps after a wait of a few days?)
mark it as Paid (this is still only the order status, not the payment status!),
then Shipped

Nifty! I was able to mark it Paid, then Completed. Thank you!

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 15, 2021 12:10

Subject:

Re: Placing an order without using auto checkout.

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Help, ihave36paws writes:

Thank you one and all. I never thought of that.

He is very insistent that we can do it without PayPal and skipping BlickLink
he is having a hard time excepting that I will not sell to him without placing
an actual order. I'm not jeopardizing loosing my store for a $30.00 order.
Or any order as far as that goes.

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 15, 2021 10:06

Subject:

Re: Placing an order without using auto checkout.

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Help, Cob writes:

In Help, Stellar writes:

In Help, ihave36paws writes:

Good Morning:

I have a Buyer that wants to pay with a MO and I have my store set for auto
checkout. But I also have it set that you can pay with a MO or check.

He tells me that he can not check out unless he pays with PayPal and can not
find away around that option.

Can anyone give me the directions to send him to check out so that he can place
his order.

Thank you in advance.

Barbara

If your buyer is from a USA state that BL collects TAX or from EU or UK, then
he can only pay with PayPal Onsite or Stripe

Missouri isn’t a collection state yet.

I believe the MO here stands for Money Order, not the fine state of Missouri.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 14, 2021 10:59

Subject:

Re: Never recieved my order from one year ago

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

Buying

In Buying, matt41265 writes:

Hi, this is my first time posting on the BrickLink forums. About a year ago I
ordered a set from this site from a seller not from my home country. I paid through
Paypal for the set and the seller claimed to have shipped the set. Here I am,
one year later, still hoping the set is going to arrive. The order was purged
so I do not even remember the seller or how much I actually paid for the set.
I can not dispute the charge due to no longer having that paypal account. So,
I ask you fellow members is there anything that I can really do? Can I somehow
viewed purged orders? If anyone could point me in the right direction I would
really appreciate it. thank you! any questions on my situation please let me
know.

First of all, wow.

Second, you don't think the order notification and payment confirmation are
in your email somewhere? You don't have the communication from the seller
where they 'claimed' to have sent your order?

Paypal disputes are limited to 90 days I believe.

Good luck,
Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 14, 2021 09:27

Subject:

Re: Show me stores that I have active cart for

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

Feedback

In Feedback, NicolaH writes:

Are there any plans to show an icon in the search results that indicates that
I already have an active cart with that store? Brickowl do this - when you search
for a part, in the list of search results it shows you a trolley icon next to
any stores where you’ve already got stuff in your cart - this makes it easier
to try and purchase multiple items from one store. Thanks!

I hope you are also using Wanted Lists? That is, by far, the easiest way to purchase
multiple items from one store.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 9, 2021 15:35

Subject:

Re: Inventory Change Request for Set 76054-1

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

Inventories Requests

In Inventories Requests, NC_Bricks writes:

Please make changes to the following inventory:

76054-1 (Inv) Batman: Scarecrow Harvest of Fear
539 Parts, 5 Minifigures, 1 Book, 2016
Sets: Super Heroes: Batman II

* Add 1 Part 61678 Dark Tan Slope, Curved 4 x 1 (Counterpart)

Comments from Submitter:
Missing the Dark Tan Slope, Curved 4 x 1 with 1 Silver Plate Pattern (Sticker #3). I have uploaded an image of this counterpart via the upload an image link at the bottom of the inventory page.

This is my first inventory change request so hopefully I did it correctly.

Alas, you missed a few steps there...

First, you need to add the new item to the catalog.
Then you upload an image for that item.
After it is approved, you request it be added to the inventory.

The admins have some info and tutorials:

https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1191009

And we can offer any help you need if you ask in the Forum. You can PM me as
well.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 9, 2021 14:24

Subject:

Re: Problem with dimensions when changing price

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

Technical Issues

In Technical Issues, Admin_Russell writes:

In Technical Issues, basil3legs writes:

I have noticed this before but never worked out what was causing the problem
until now...

If you enter an item's dimensions manually, for example a manual that is
210 x 130 x 6, then it accepts that just fine. However, if you then change the
price of the item the x-dimension gets copied over the z-dimension so our example
manual ends up 210 x 130 x 210. This obviously means that anyone ordering the
item gets their postage worked out on a large box, even it it is for stickers!

Can this please be looked into?

Thanks so much for reporting this problem. It will be addressed.

And the HTML too!!

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 9, 2021 14:21

Subject:

Re: These prints are the same

Viewed:

64 times

Topic:

3626cpb2480 Minifigure, Head Dual Sided Female, Dark Tan Eyebrows, Nougat Lips, Smile / Surprised Open Round Mouth with Top Teeth Pattern - Hollow Stud
Parts: Minifigure, Head

[P=3626cpb2804]

Macros are one of the best parts of our Forum!

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 9, 2021 09:31

Subject:

HTML codes in text display

Viewed:

82 times

Topic:

Technical Issues

I just submitted a new part and added some notes for the admins to read. The
Item Notes display properly on the Items Pending list:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?itemPend=Y&uID=168442

but the punctuation is displayed as HTML code on the Image Pending page:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogImagePendingApproval.page?uID=168442

Screenshots are attached.

Jen

PS. If someone wants to fix this same issue on the new My Inventory pages, that
would also be good. It's only been broke for 10 months or so. What part of
our so-called spaghetti code is keeping BL developers from being able to display
text correctly on any page they modify?

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 9, 2021 09:06

Subject:

Re: Problem with dimensions when changing price

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

Technical Issues

In Technical Issues, basil3legs writes:

Does this bug occur on the old AND new inventory pages? Or just one or the other?

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 8, 2021 12:30

Subject:

Re: Images not loading

Viewed:

24 times

Topic:

New Stores

In New Stores, Dagooo writes:

In New Stores, jennnifer writes:

In New Stores, Dagooo writes:

I've been off of work for a bit and decided to start inventorying my Lego
and possibly opening a store. I'm having issues when adding a part/piece
and the small thumbnail doesn't load and shows image not available. If you
click it, it does then show the image though. Tried doing a search for same issue,
but really didn't understand the fixes if there was any. Any advice?

You might want to give us a hint about your browser, operating system, and which
exact pages you are on!

Jen

I'm on the latest version of firefox but also checked it on chrome and was doing/showing the same. Windows 10 and it shows the thumbnail as "image not available" on everypage that is supposed to have thumbnails.

Okay, is this just one part? Which part is it?

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 7, 2021 13:24

Subject:

Re: issues.....and I managed to bag 4 of the 5!!!

Viewed:

56 times

Topic:

Designer Program

In Designer Program, yorbrick writes:

People shouldn't complain if they just get electronic instructions, as it
was made clear these were going to be electronic before buyers ordered the sets.

I think they should complain because, even if they didn't get a set this
round, they are communicating what could be done better for the next.

Why should a lego set need a certificate, unless this is a collectable?

Why would lego care if a few people are unhappy with not getting instructions
and boycott buying further sets, when those sets sell out within a day?

Because LEGO means more than just one sale, or even one set, and I bet they care
about how people feel about their company. If everyone doesn't speak up and
speak out, how can things improve?

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 7, 2021 10:03

Subject:

Re: Images not loading

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

New Stores

In New Stores, Dagooo writes:

You might want to give us a hint about your browser, operating system, and which
exact pages you are on!

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 6, 2021 15:44

Subject:

Re: Anyone else notice this? UK has changed zones

Viewed:

57 times

Topic:

Shipping

In Shipping, Mistress_Lisa writes:

So I tried to print out a first class international label today. According to
my charts, pulled from the USPS website, the UK is in zone 5, and so a small
package should be $14.49 (commercial rate). Paypal had it as $15.44. So I cancelled
the label, and contacted Paypal to say their zone chart was wrong. They responded
that the rates are set by the USPS, not Paypal. So I tried to print out a label
through the USPS (a pain since I have to copy all the information for the buyer
address). Lo and behold, the rate they were charging me was the retail amount
for zone 9, or $16.25! So even though their chart says the UK is in zone 5,
why did it come out as zone 9??? No, I haven't contacted USPS, since I am
sure it will be a while until I get an answer from them. Just wondered if anyone
else came across this?

Lisa at Brick Dungeon

Yes, I noticed the UK switched zones (and to the $15.44 rate) earlier this year.
I found a chart somewhere that said they were now in Price Group 20 which looks
to be made up just for them.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 6, 2021 13:17

Subject:

Re: Missing image

Viewed:

53 times

Topic:

So, it's awesome that this problem got fixed right away with a little help.
Thanks, everyone!

I am a bit alarmed that there was no back-up cache before this (other than google)
and am very glad to hear that one is being created. Thank you, Russell, for letting
us know.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 6, 2021 12:07

Subject:

Re: Lack of Features and UI Design / Difficult

Viewed:

60 times

Topic:

Suggestions

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, jennnifer writes:

I love when brand new people come through... look at stuff for 5 minutes, and
then decide they know everything they need to know.

Really, the site is built on ASP, a really old language? No way! I bet none of
the owners, developers, contributors, volunteers, and members had any idea. Now
we can fix it!

{Insert sarcasm emoji here}

It has a name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

Weeelll let's not be mean and take it out on the new guy. Usually it's
extremely helpful to have a pair of fresh eyes look at such things. I think this
is more an acclimatizing process where new users learn to leave their conceptions
about what is generally normal UI and functionality at the door in order not
to go crazy here

My apologies! My tone came off as way too rude.

Yes, sorry I was not trying to be mean, only to express that this seems to be
a regular and frustrating occurrence. I just think you should understand what
a thing is and how a thing works before you demand it be changed. The old ASP
parts of this site have a far more efficient design and workflow than anything
the new site or [[yuck]] XP has to offer. I work here, I need to work efficiently,
and the fact that things look out of date is not a problem unless aesthetics
are your main concern.

Jen

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 6, 2021 11:54

Subject:

Re: Missing image

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

In Catalog Requests, jennnifer writes:

Hey!

Anyone know where the image went for this part?

[p=3069bpb0208]

It was there last week when I sold one and now... poof!

There's an entry to the Change Log on July 1st.

Jen

Also missing:
[p=3069bpb0024]
[p=3069bpb0593]
[p=3069bpb0430]
[p=3069bpb0792]

Author:

jennnifer

Posted:

Jul 6, 2021 11:50

Subject:

Re: Missing image

Viewed:

27 times

Topic: