BrickLink Discussion Forum

Further to our original post we are delighted to advise thet with the help and
patience of Beaverbrick we now have a working labels template for Brickstore.
That has also revealed a bug in Brickstore which we are looking at how best to
report that.

The labels work wonderfully, but you can not selectively print them - it is
all or nothing. That happens whether using the label template from the extras
menu or the normal Brickstore print command. It seems to think a document is
the entire list not a selected item. Workaround is simple, copy the individual
item to another document and print from that, but it is a definite bug.

Thanks again Beaverbrick

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 14, 2021 11:18

Subject:

Re: Change ,oftenbrings chaos

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In General, Teup writes:

In General, calsbricks writes:

Having looked back a long way in the forum (before the current lot of compliance
issues being addressed) I could find no real issues being brought up over sales
tax, vat etc. The stores where it applied were dealing with it with no real issues.
All of a sudden legislates get involved, without thinking things through, as
usual, and we have a degree of chaos here on Bricklink. How odd that the individual
stores, where applicable coped more than adequately, until this load of changes
emerged,

The moral of the story is let well enough alone. Yes they may have missed the
odd amount of tax or vat but things were being dealt with - no pressure on BL
to come up with a total solution and no forum posts raising holy hell.

Still there is no going backwards only forwards and we are all now waiting for
the issues to be dealt with - they are far more complicated than what people
believe but if others have dealt with it I am sure BL will in due course.

Well, life was simpler in the past in general... That doesn't mean we can
recreate that by not having the rules we have today. They're there for a
reason. Today's world can't exist without improved legislation on e-commerce,
just like it can't exist without something like cyber security. The problem
is just that Bricklink doesn't see changes in the world as opportunities
to make this platform professional and respectable, but rather behaves like a
poorly motivated teenager who does the bare minimum to pass the class at the
very last moment (and in some cases less than the bare minimum and later than
the last moment).

Hiya Teup. Veery philosophical.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 14, 2021 10:31

Subject:

Re: Change ,oftenbrings chaos

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In General, cosmicray writes:

In General, calsbricks writes:

Yes they may have missed the
odd amount of tax or vat but things were being dealt with - no pressure on BL
to come up with a total solution and no forum posts raising holy hell.

You don't live in the USA, so your understanding of the previous situation
may not have been clear. Prior to July 1, 2021, sellers on BrickLink, and located
outside of Florida, were not collecting sales tax. So 49 US states plus all international
sellers were not collecting sales and use tax for shipments destined for Florida.
The same situation applied to ~40 other US states. I do not consider that an
odd amount of sales tax.

Furthermore it created a lopsided playing field between sellers in Florida, and
sellers outside of Florida, for shipments destined here. Since July 1, I've
noticed more orders destined for Florida than I used to receive. Likewise I've
seen fewer orders going to California. So it balances out (in some sense).

Nita Rae

Just to help you out Born and raised for the first 21 years of my life in Buffalo,
New York. Well aware of the sales tax situation - every time my family and I
visit the US all I hear from them is we forgot about the sales tax - so it wasn't
quite as cheap as as we thought.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 14, 2021 03:59

Subject:

Change ,oftenbrings chaos

Viewed:

181 times

Topic:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 12, 2021 00:07

Subject:

Re: What happens next

Viewed:

60 times

Topic:

In General, infinibrix writes:

In General, calsbricks writes:

In General, Rob_and_Shelagh writes:

In General, calsbricks writes:

For me 2 things come to mind:-

1. Cost benefit analysis - what would Lego and everyone else expect to get out
of rewriting the site (versus doing nothing or doing something else instead)?

Hiya Robert

A little bird told us a rewrite is the only real way to get thee functionality
we want. Far too much 'spaghetti code' to leave as it is. But the whole
point is it has to be done on a collaboration basis not one individual deciding
what everyone wants and needs. Time will, of course tell

2. Risk analysis. Completely rewriting the site sounds like potentially changing
(or losing) some functionality and as we have seen many times before a resulting
dissatisfaction from members. Could be disaster.

I don't know if they are even thinking of doing this or not and I'm personally
not convinced it is the right thing to do now. Overall not my decision to make
thankfully!

Robert

Correct me if I'm wrong but XP is already the work in progress where all
the substantial programming and work will be focused. The standard BL will sit
alongside XP and remain largely untouched apart from being patched up here and
there and so I don't think there should be any concern about losing what
we already have.

HI there and thanks for adding your thoughts. We believe this entire situation
has changed/evolved and a different approach is in the air. Time, will of course
tell and of course whatever does happen the main site will be kept in place until
any new development is ready.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 12:23

Subject:

Re: Brickstock/Brickstore - issues

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Related Software, beaverbrick writes:

In Related Software, calsbricks writes:

In Related Software, beaverbrick writes:

In Related Software, calsbricks writes:

In Related Software, beaverbrick writes:

In Related Software, calsbricks writes:

We have been Brickstock users since Patrick took it on and in many cases worked
closely with him to iron out issues etc, however his main job really does prevent
him from carrying on with developments so the product is slowly but surely heading
for the archives. Current issues include not getting any images of minwfigures
(everything else is okay), and price guide guidelines are also not updating properly.
So we downloaded Brickstore and it 'cures/fixes' the current Brickstock
issues and adds some nice touches but and it is a big but. We cannot use our
print templates. Yes we know about modifying viewws etc but that doesnt work
when we need to print labels for our products - and it works very well in Brickstock.
. We worked with tsrateplayer (Alan) a long time ago to get these templates done
and have shared them with many Brickstock users. We have good documentation on
theme and a how to guide to create or modify them but have not got a clue how
to incorporate them into Brickstore.

Maybe we can actually reach out to Robert via this forum message and ask if he
is willing to incorporate these into Brickstore. (We print delivery notes as
well as product labels via the templates.

Thoughts/comments.

Forgot to add the minifigure issue started immediately after Bricklink changed
the id from minifig to minifigure - we are sure that has something to do with
the issue.

The print templates in BrickStore are JavaScript.
I never used BrickStock so I don't know what format they're in.

Take a look at this page...
https://github.com/rgriebl/brickstore/tree/master/extensions

Scroll down to the README.md section and it gives you info on how to get a print
template into BrickStore (basically, copying the print template file into the
right directory/folder and giving it the right file extension).

I have modified existing templates for my own use, so I'd be happy to take
a look if you're not having much joy... although I'm not a pro programmer

OK - the Brickstock files are .qs files and it says only qm are allowed. Not
being a programmer doesn't help me cause I dont know if I can convert the
qs to qm or I have to develop a qm file and add it to the directory. Grrr.

Send me the qs file from BrickStock and I'll take a look.
If you send me instructions on how to load the template into BrickStock too,
I can then see exactly what you want in BrickStore.

Done - will wait to hear from you. The labels one is the most critical - we
have found a way to create a view that then prints a bit like our delivery note.

Working through some of these and think we're getting there.

Which labels are the most important for you?
There are 5 different label layouts, some of which have identical names in BrickStock!!...

Labels_5b
labels_A4Order
labels_A4Report
labels_bill
labels_DYMO

Thanks :

Answered by PM - THanks)

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 11:21

Subject:

Re: What happens next

Viewed:

76 times

Topic:

In General, Rob_and_Shelagh writes:

In General, calsbricks writes:

For me 2 things come to mind:-

1. Cost benefit analysis - what would Lego and everyone else expect to get out
of rewriting the site (versus doing nothing or doing something else instead)?

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 11:12

Subject:

Re: Brickstock/Brickstore - issues

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Related Software, MMillere writes:

Please share in a new post if this works

Milissa

Of corse

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 10:12

Subject:

Re: What happens next

Viewed:

79 times

Topic:

In General, kzinti writes:

Architecture is everything, so rebuilding a house on a crappy foundation only
results in more issues down the road. The site needs a complete rebuild from
the bottom up, and if the core system is built out correctly, the subs can be
handled Agile style for quicker results.

Hiya and thanks for adding your thoughts. I think I covered architecture with
the analyst and a systems spec. Systems meaning architecture, UI, and functionality.

Still do not see a need for agile - requires so much admin and follow up etc,
but if we get that far who cares.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 06:48

Subject:

Re: Brickstock/Brickstore - issues

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Related Software, beaverbrick writes:

In Related Software, calsbricks writes:

In Related Software, beaverbrick writes:

In Related Software, calsbricks writes:

Forgot to add the minifigure issue started immediately after Bricklink changed
the id from minifig to minifigure - we are sure that has something to do with
the issue.

Send me the qs file from BrickStock and I'll take a look.
If you send me instructions on how to load the template into BrickStock too,
I can then see exactly what you want in BrickStore.

Done - will wait to hear from you. The labels one is the most critical - we
have found a way to create a view that then prints a bit like our delivery note.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 06:07

Subject:

Re: Brickstock/Brickstore - issues

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Related Software, beaverbrick writes:

In Related Software, calsbricks writes:

Forgot to add the minifigure issue started immediately after Bricklink changed
the id from minifig to minifigure - we are sure that has something to do with
the issue.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 06:04

Subject:

Re: What happens next

Viewed:

80 times

Topic:

In General, yorbrick writes:

What next? I reckon very little in terms of seller/buyer features or site development
but probably more Bricklink Designer Program sets. That (and studio) seems to
have driven more new users here and also sales through LEGO's own website.
Two easily measurable performance goals.

I hope you are wrong but there is logic in what you are saying. We need another
Dan, really. Lego are mainly interested in sets - they make more money that way.
Parts etc are small fries . I have had a very lengthy e-mail exchange with TLG
customer services (Who are normally very good) over the fact they have stopped
allowing Retail stores ordering 2 x 4 bricks in various standard colours e.g
LBG, DBG, Reddish Brown and Lime to name a few. It has been over 4 years siince
the UK stores have been able to order any of those. One manager told me TLG are
not really interested in the wall - the push is for sets.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 05:31

Subject:

Re: Brickstock/Brickstore - issues

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

In Related Software, beaverbrick writes:

In Related Software, calsbricks writes:

Forgot to add the minifigure issue started immediately after Bricklink changed
the id from minifig to minifigure - we are sure that has something to do with
the issue.

Hiya and thanks for the post. Will investigate.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 11, 2021 04:13

Subject:

What happens next

Viewed:

281 times

Topic:

TLG - Bricklink have recently announced a change of leadership at Bricklink
and thanks the previous CEO for all of his efforts. (Sorry to Interrupt the Monthly
Contests), etc.

We have a new gentleman coming on board - who we do not know a great deal about
other than he is a Lego guy. Ok good. Everyone who uses this site since JK's
takeover (2013) knows it needs a major re-write (Not XP) but both a redesign
and rethink. There have been a few (Including one by us) messages on here which
pointed the cost of doing that to be around 2 years in development terms at whatever
cost you wish to put on that.

There are differing views on development here some say use an agile methodology
(write code quickly and then patch, patch and patch.) Others say waterfall (The
old fashioned way) is best here - it takes more time and is less patch, (patch
and patch) . Agile is great when you are in a competitive environment (Can keep
you in front of the competition) but is that really required here? It also needs
2 sprint teams at least. One to write and release and the other to patch. Is
this the right environment for release, patch, patch and patch again (Even if
you have the people?)

Bricklink has several things going for it - e,g market pull, membership and now
the financial clout available through TLG, albeit we say that with tongue in
cheek.

Hire a senior analyst who has strong SQL skills/background and let them spend
some time putting together a decent system spec from which a business overview
can be published which asks all the right questions about direction etc and once
that is put together talk to your panels of advisors e.g Marketplace, Catalogue
and Studio as well as any future ones created. Make sure the spec includes strong
inventory management, and gives sellers the tools they need to operate successful
businesses as well as ease of use for buyers, etc. etc.

Get the spec costed and presented to TLG for approval (Let them worry about the
cost and time tables.)

Then go for it , really - lots of complications to this I am sure but in the
end analysis that is what is needed. Think more than carefully about the design
work- what it looks like is a matter of personal choice but what it does is not.
Design is everything in development4 and always calls for the highest level of
knowledge and experience

There are quite a few of us who would be willing to put time and effort into
this as this is a major project and needs lots of input and discussion. Not everyone
is going to get everything they want but working on the basis of discussion leads
to compromise and ultimately a quality product - this is the real way forward,
isn’t it?

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 10, 2021 23:31

Subject:

Re: Brickstock/Brickstore - issues

Viewed:

57 times

Topic:

In Related Software, calsbricks writes:

Forgot to add the minifigure issue started immediately after Bricklink changed
the id from minifig to minifigure - we are sure that has something to do with
the issue.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 10, 2021 23:26

Subject:

Brickstock/Brickstore - issues

Viewed:

165 times

Topic:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 10, 2021 12:20

Subject:

Interesting

Viewed:

217 times

Topic:

LEGO products

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/dec/10/investing-in-lego-more-lucrative-than-gold-study-suggests?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 9, 2021 12:36

Subject:

Re: Not convinved this is correct

Viewed:

69 times

Topic:

In Problem, dcarmine writes:

In Problem, calsbricks writes:

In Problem, StarBrick writes:

In Problem, calsbricks writes:

with. What a convoluted mess, with or without Brexit. Do they actually pay these
people to come up with these hair brained schemes (Not Bricklink, by the way
- they are just trying to implement this hair brained scheme)

Frustration noted, but it doesn't bring you into a better environment....

Actually, we make it possible to have these people paid to come up with these
schemes....
They are funded by OUR taxes, so indirectly when we stop paying taxes, these
people are no longer being paid for there brained scheme productions. However,
it takes about 55 steps in the system to get from your tax payments to these
people.

All these systems worldwide are broken or at the verge of breaking. As long as
we abide by these insane rules, insane schemes and insane solutions, these insane
systems will be held in place.

One lingering question. A seller putting bl's gb vat id on a cn232b is open
to problems,, especially as you now have to put the business name and address
details on the cn22. To me that is not sensible and very much open to fraud.
How does the system deal with that, if it does at all?

When we bring back understanding and logic that operates on a higher level and
not different logic for every lower level, we will gradually begin to see a change
for the better.

I am not, in any way, fully understanding this system. But from listening to
others, the IOSS system is used to report the paid VAT to a database that can
be used by the receiving country to see if the VAT was paid on the sending side
of the transaction.

Maybe you can look that up and see if that is true.

HTH
Donna

Hi Donna

Thanks for the post. Will be talking to our local Postmaster tomorrow to see
what he knows. Will update then. Whatever the outcome of that it is still a mess
- not well thought out from a practical point of view and full of little loopholes
etc. It is, also in our opinion ripe for fraud.

There is in the UK at least a VAT registration database where one can check on
the validity of a number. I presume the same applies across the EU, but as for
world wide cooperation on a matter like this - no chance.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 9, 2021 04:13

Subject:

Re: Not convinved this is correct

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

In Problem, StarBrick writes:

In Problem, calsbricks writes:

When we bring back understanding and logic that operates on a higher level and
not different logic for every lower level, we will gradually begin to see a change
for the better.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 9, 2021 03:59

Subject:

Re: Not convinved this is correct

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

In Problem, StarBrick writes:

In Problem, calsbricks writes:

I wonder whose lifetime that will be in. Certainly not mine.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 9, 2021 03:27

Subject:

Re: Not convinved this is correct

Viewed:

67 times

Topic:

In Problem, calsbricks writes:

Had to place an order on an EU store yesterday knowing full well that we would
have to pay VAT on it. The order was of small value so the VAT wasn't going
to be significant. The store had an onsite payment method (Paypal). Order placed,
shipping costs agreed and normal Bricklink invoice received from store. That
invoice had a link on it to pay via PAYpal onsite which we used - okay fine,
Moments after making the payment a Bricklink VAT invoice arrived - this is where
it gets cloudy, that invoice (BL's) shows an invoice amount fine - but no
where does it show what we paid. Surely this invoice should be a sales receipt
otherwise what proof do I have that we paid the VAT?

It really does not appear that this was all thought through. The customer should
always have proof of payment and by calling the Bricklink invoice which is the
VAT invoice as being paid that would suffice, otherwise C&E have every right
to question it at arrival. They are not interested in an invoice they want to
know the VAT has been paid. .

Are we not reading this right?

Allright a bit more research and the invoice is fine. That is not the issue whether
it is marked as paid or not. The issue is how does the seller tell customs that
they have accounted for the VAT. Theory is they fill out the CN22b and include
Bricklinks GB VAT ID on it ? That then tells C&E where the vat has been dealt
with. What a convoluted mess, with or without Brexit. Do they actually pay these
people to come up with these hair brained schemes (Not Bricklink, by the way
- they are just trying to implement this hair brained scheme)

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 9, 2021 00:19

Subject:

Not convinved this is correct

Viewed:

231 times

Topic:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 8, 2021 01:42

Subject:

Re: Organizational change in BrickLink

Viewed:

108 times

Topic:

Administrative

In Administrative, EnchantedBricks writes:

In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:

Dear BrickLink Members,

When BrickLink was acquired by the LEGO Group in 2019, we did so with the vision
to get closer to our committed adult fans, and over the past two years, we’ve
invested greatly in supporting and developing BrickLink to better deliver on
your needs.

At the same time, we have seen a significant increase in the LEGO Group’s adult
audience, and we want to build strong, direct relationships with them. Given
BrickLink’s increasingly important role in being a voice for the AFOL community,
we see a need to bring BrickLink closer to the LEGO Group and ensure that their
valuable insights can influence the LEGO Group’s full adult strategy.

As part of the journey to bring BrickLink closer, Marvin Park, formally Vice
President of BrickLink, will become an external advisor, supporting us with his
experience and knowledge about BrickLink.

I would like to warmly thank Marvin for his contribution to BrickLink and the
LEGO Group. Marvin has brought forward a number of strong initiatives that have
been instrumental in shaping BrickLink and developing it to where it is today.
Since the acquisition, he has been dedicated to connecting BrickLink and the
LEGO Group together, while staying focused on creating value for the fans and
the LEGO Group.

The role as Head of BrickLink will be taken on by Casper Thingholm. Casper is
well-positioned to step into this role as he has been intimately involved with
BrickLink over the last two years. This, combined with his solid LEGO leadership
experience and his passion for the fan community, makes me confident that he
will lead the future integration in a smooth and seamless way and enable the
LEGO Group to strongly support BrickLink’s development.

With this change, we will foster closer collaboration, become even better at
developing products that will benefit BrickLink users, and strengthen the voice
of the community towards the LEGO Group.

In this transition and in the future, we are as committed as ever to serving
the AFOL community. Creating value for the BrickLink community and ensuring that
we are meeting their needs will continue to be our top priority and we look forward
to doing even more of that with this change.

Best wishes,
Julia Goldin
Chief Product & Marketing Officer at the LEGO Group

Thanks for the Update!! I hope this is a step in the right direction.

Hopefully we will see some optimization and some focus on Seller Tools. I look
forward to the Future of BrickLink.

Always Let Your Imagination Run Wild!!
Enchanted Bricks

The first iteration is coming, I can assure you. No guaranteed timeline yet but
it is 'in the works'. And remember it is only step 1 of the many concepts
that are being addressed.

Complaince issues are, as normal, taking up valuable development time, but as
they are compliance they have to be done. I can honestly say after 8.5 long years
of promises (Mostly broken) that things are moving.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Dec 7, 2021 00:55

Subject:

Re: Organizational change in BrickLink

Viewed:

141 times

Topic:

Administrative

In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:

Thank you for the update. Look forward to the coming months and further updates.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 30, 2021 13:22

Subject:

Re: Filter by quantity - part ref NOT colour

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

Buying