BrickLink Discussion Forum

Yesterday I received two messages from one of the BL CE accounts, informing me
that US sellers are now able to submit their reseller certificate, in order to
be allowed tax exempt purchases.

I'm seeing no announcement about this in the Community. Is this official
? Personally, I do not see myself making use of it going forward, as I don't
wish to acquire additional inventory.

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Mar 21, 2024 07:23

Subject:

Something to keep in mind about picture reqs

Viewed:

136 times

Topic:

General

If you are using a modern smartphone to satisfy picture requests, it is very
likely that the pictures contain location data as to precisely where you were
located when you took the picture. Unless you turn that off, or strip the EXIF
data, you are telling the recipient where you store your inventory.

Something to keep in mind.

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Mar 8, 2024 15:02

Subject:

change 45535

Viewed:

90 times

Topic:

Catalog Requests

For:

Catalog Associate

Status:

Open

Please add a note to part ID 45535 that some were sent out from the factory in
an alternate format: Without the outer circle, but including the three masks
and the center sprue, all loose packed in a clear bag.

In one sense, the image on the item makes a presumption that all new parts will
include the outer circle with the masks attached to it. That is not the case.

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Jan 20, 2024 11:20

Subject:

I'm doing a SMH

Viewed:

275 times

Topic:

General

I am looking at the ID card of a member. The member has been on site slightly
more than 3 years. Thus far, they have racked up 189 negatives and 152 neutrals.
Their selling privileges are still green/intact. There is some evidence (based
on contra-feedback from another member) that they may have been suspended at
some point. Did they not solve the reasons that triggered all those negatives,
or only the ones that got them suspended ?

Obviously the information is there for a buyer to see, but how many check FB
and how many just hit Easy Buy ?

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Dec 10, 2023 07:30

Subject:

Emergency Brake

Viewed:

176 times

Topic:

Suggestions

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

This is a suggestion to give sellers a mechanism to do a hard shutdown of their
store, at any time day or night, week or weekend, if they have lost control for
unexpected reasons.

The emergency break would be a one time, BL generated sequence, that is very
long and random (similar to a MD5 hash). Once generated and verified, the seller
would store it offline in case ever needed if an emergency should arise.

Usage of the emergency brake feature would not require the seller to have password
access, because the password access could have been compromised. The length of
the emergency token would allow BL to relate to a specific store without any
chance of ambiguity.

Once the emergency brake has been pulled, the seller's store is locked, password
is no longer active, and seller must converse / authenticate with the help desk
to begin the process of resetting the password and remediating the cause. It
is a mechanism to prevent further damage (to the store, to unsuspecting buyers,
and to BL's reputation).

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Dec 9, 2023 06:55

Subject:

Requirments for new sellers

Viewed:

344 times

Topic:

Suggestions

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

This is a suggestion to help prevent some of the recent problems with new seller
accounts.

In the beginning (2000 until a few years back) anyone could request selling privs,
and could sell here. The door was wide open, and it was occasionally abused.
The current mode is to receive at least one positive FB. Based on another thread
here, it is possible that is also being abused.

The suggestion is to request fees in advance for the first 45-60 day selling
period. The range of dates is such that at least one full month will be contained.
At the end of that time-frame, any fees not used would be refunded as a partial
refund. The amount charged would be nominal ($5 for example) but would also act
as a speed brake because it would limit how much can be sold during the time
frame (roughly $150). Someone who expects and intends to sell more, could pay
a larger initial fee, but would also face more verification prior to approval.

The advantage of doing this is that it would require someone to prove they exist
as a real person, via the payment. It may also expose someone trying to use a
stolen credit card.

The disadvantage is that it may limit participation from countries where electronic
payment is not possible.

I'm not 100% thrilled with this suggestion, but I think something needs to
be done to enhance validation and to limit the velocity of abuse.

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Dec 7, 2023 08:08

Subject:

Lego Fortnite: Gaming giant launches Minecraf

Viewed:

120 times

Topic:

Media

Lego Fortnite: Gaming giant launches Minecraft rival

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67635859

and this caught my eye ...

The game includes more than 1,000 Lego minifigures based on Fortnite skins

If those are issued are IRL minifigs ... Collect the entire set !

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Nov 30, 2023 20:59

Subject:

entering dimensions for a playmat

Viewed:

79 times

Topic:

Catalog

Status:

Open

This is about this item ...

4182737 Plastic Playmat Duplo, with Water/Ice Pattern from Set 3621 Polar Animals (Explore)
Parts: Plastic

It does not have dimensions in the catalog. I have several in stock. They were
factory packed folded in half (so half the long dimension). Do I enter the folded
or the unfolded length for the X dimension. Note that using the folded X dimension,
will cause the Y dimension to become the large of the two.

thanks, Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Nov 30, 2023 08:13

Subject:

EasyPost

Viewed:

107 times

Topic:

As of this morning, PirateShip labels are by EasyPost. Looks very similar to
the Pitney Bowes labels, but with minor differences. New QR codes are still present.

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Nov 23, 2023 06:10

Subject:

List of E-Mail Basic Macro Tags is broken

Viewed:

58 times

Topic:

Technical Issues

When I went to the this page ...

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=661

The left column is supposed to be a list of the tags. On my browser (Firefox
119.0.1, macOS 13) it is not showing them.

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Nov 10, 2023 11:31

Subject:

Reminder USPS closed on Saturday 11 Nov

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

For the US Veterans Day holiday. Mail pickup/delivery resumes on Monday 13 November

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Nov 8, 2023 15:37

Subject:

one way to find recent store activity

Viewed:

127 times

Topic:

Help

Go to Market - Stores - Calendar. Enter your user name, and click on Filter
Results.

That will show you any recently listed lots, which you can then inspect for validity.

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Nov 2, 2023 08:07

Subject:

New bar code on Pitney Bowes label ?

Viewed:

98 times

Topic:

A postage label printed this morning (USPS via Pirate Ship / Pitney Bowes) has
a new scatter-type bar code to the left of the address lines. I would have missed
it, had it not also been printed on the postage paper, below the actual label.

Anyone know what it’s for ?

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Oct 29, 2023 08:34

Subject:

The validity of listing comments

Viewed:

129 times

Topic:

Terms and Policies

A week back one of my listings was deleted because a complaint was filed. After
re-wording the listing (to solve the issue), I re-sublimated it.

In the process of checking the listing, I took a peek at other sellers selling
the same set. One of those listings (in the comments) says that the set had been
sitting in their inventory in excellent condition for 30 years. Considering the
set was was released in 2001-2002, that is simply not possible. I’ve taken no
steps to suppress their listing, but it feels like hyperbole has exceeded something
that is reasonable.

Any thoughts ?

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Oct 10, 2023 12:08

Subject:

Sellers on other sites scamming postage

Viewed:

213 times

Topic:

Off Topic

A couple of weeks back I purchased something off eBay (non LEGO). The listing
said shipping was $15 (which I knew was from zone 7, and sounded roughly correct).
The package arrived today, sent via Ground Advantage, and marked as 15.9 oz.
Before I opened it, I dropped it on my scale … 3-lbs + 2 -oz.

To me, that is just egregious. Being off half an ounce I might understand, but
the seller wanted to maximize their profit. Hopefully, USPS APV picked it up
and charged them for the difference.

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Oct 7, 2023 16:48

Subject:

Slate Gray legs ?

Viewed:

83 times

Topic:

Colors

Status:

Open

Earlier today someone ordered a pair of violet hips and legs. Without paying
much attention, I reached into the appropriate drawer and pulled one out. In
the picture, the hips & legs on the right are correct violet. The hips on the
left are violet, but the legs are some weird color that looks approximately like
slate gray. As these are the spring loaded hips & legs, they all came out of
the 2003 NBA collectors sets, which means they are all now ~20 years old.

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Oct 2, 2023 16:06

Subject:

USPS pricing is bonkers

Viewed:

225 times

Topic:

So, this morning I needed to ship a 4-oz package to zone 7, customer specified
PM. Using my own packaging (6x4x2) PS quoted me $9.55. Using a small flat-rate
box, PS quoted me $8.10. D’oh! And I get use packaging provided by USPS. Sweeeet
!

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Sep 12, 2023 17:51

Subject:

PayPal payment notifications restored ?

Viewed:

68 times

Topic:

Payment Methods

For the first time In quite a few years, I received an IC order immediately followed
by a PayPal payment notification. Has something changed ?

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Sep 2, 2023 19:41

Subject:

USPS and APV

Viewed:

69 times

Topic:

USPS has a postage/package verification scheme called APV. Sometimes it hiccups.
I had this happen a few weeks back, and they have since agreed with my dispute.
But why it happened is the more interesting question. Many of the boxes I use
are from ULine or are older USPS PM boxes that I am slowly working thru. All
of the current USPS PM boxes and the boxes I have from another box source, have
UPC bar codes on the bottoms. I am suspicious that APV is being fooled, by not
seeing a readable UPC barcode that will tell it what box was actually used, and
instead is seeing an adjacent box’s UPC, which may be for a totally different
rate (Ground vs PM flat rate).

Anyone have a newer USPS box (with Bar Code) that tripped APV as being the different
from the purchased postage ?

Nita Rae

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Aug 28, 2023 07:32

Subject:

Rubber Band details image

Viewed:

72 times

Topic:

Catalog Requests

For:

Catalog Associate

Status:

Open