Redisplay Messages: Compact | Brief | All | Full Show Messages: All | Without Replies| Author: | CE_Tanja  | | Posted: | Jan 6, 2022 13:45 | | Subject: | Re: EU distance selling - Online session | | Viewed: | 54 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Yes, and I am sorry that the conclusions made at the time were not communicated.
As things are, we are looking in to the needs and requirements in order to properly
assess and prioritize. We will keep you updated as we move along.
In Administrative, watch505 writes:
| | Tanya,
Thank you for your reply. I think the concern is the community was told this
issue was decided at a meeting and now it appears that bricklink is starting
over on a decision that was already made over a year ago:
Author: Admin_Russell
Posted: Jan 22, 2021 15:59
Subject: Re: US State sales tax - additional states
In Administrative, Admin_Russell writes:
Yes. We have determined this is a definite need for our customer base and we
are moving forward with it. The first step is to meet with our third-party service
who calculates the tax for us. Then we will need to set up a method of receiving
and retaining the exemption documents.
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jan 5, 2022 16:54 | | Subject: | Re: EU distance selling - Online session | | Viewed: | 85 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear all,
We are receiving a lot of sign ups for the meeting which is great! We are able
to have 1000 people in the session instead of the expected 350 so don't hesitate
to sign up if you haven't already done so.
We will be sharing a link with you no later than tomorrow 10am PST, should you
have signed up and not received a link by then, please let me know and I will
make sure to add you.
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear BrickLink member,
We have recently launched a new feature enabling EU distance selling on the BrickLink
site. Because we have had a number of questions and concerns expressed from some
of you, we are setting up an online sessions to take you through the new guidelines
in more detail as well as addressing your concerns. The online session will take
place this Friday at 9-10 am PST
During the meeting you will have the option to write additional questions in
the session chat and have them answered directly in the session to the best of
our ability.
In order to participate in the session you will need to sign up, in order to
sign up, please write to CE_Tanja and share the email you would like to participate
with and we will invite you to the session. The deadline for signing up is Thursday
1/6 at 9 am PST.
There is a limit of 350 participants. Participation will be on a first come first
serve basis. We will be recording the session for those of you that are unable
to participate, this way you will be able to watch the recording afterwards.
Kind regards,
The BrickLink Marketplace team
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jan 5, 2022 15:35 | | Subject: | Re: EU distance selling - Online session | | Viewed: | 83 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Hi Andrew,
That is an option, for now we are planning a focus group meeting this month on
the Tax exemption topic with a smaller select group of sellers, in this meeting
we will ensure that we (including our Tax team) understand the need in details.
After this, we will involve the sellers to get a better understanding of the
number of sellers this would benefit by explaining exactly what is required in
order to be tax exempt.
The reason for going about it this way is to ensure that if and when we decide
to implement this, we are able to proper prioritize this with other features
based on the impact of the sellers in general.
More info on this to follow.
In Administrative, watch505 writes:
| | Tanya,
Will there be a future session regarding business to business sales and tax exemption
in the USA?
Kind Regards,
Andrew
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jan 5, 2022 15:31 | | Subject: | Re: EU distance selling - Online session | | Viewed: | 75 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear Dreambuilder71,
Thank you for your kind words, I am afraid this has no impact n the shipping
cost.
In Administrative, dreambuilder71 writes:
| | Hi Tanja and congrats on your almost first year at BrickLink. 🤗
Will this talk help us ship overseas at a cheaper price?
From Canada to, let's say England (UK), a small package of figs at only 400
grams cost $60! And a small set at 700 grams is $80! That's with tracking
if the buyer uses PayPal!
So I've had to stop shipping overseas cause of high shipping prices no one
will pay! 😥
Best regards,
James
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear BrickLink member,
We have recently launched a new feature enabling EU distance selling on the BrickLink
site. Because we have had a number of questions and concerns expressed from some
of you, we are setting up an online sessions to take you through the new guidelines
in more detail as well as addressing your concerns. The online session will take
place this Friday at 9-10 am PST
During the meeting you will have the option to write additional questions in
the session chat and have them answered directly in the session to the best of
our ability.
In order to participate in the session you will need to sign up, in order to
sign up, please write to CE_Tanja and share the email you would like to participate
with and we will invite you to the session. The deadline for signing up is Thursday
1/6 at 9 am PST.
There is a limit of 350 participants. Participation will be on a first come first
serve basis. We will be recording the session for those of you that are unable
to participate, this way you will be able to watch the recording afterwards.
Kind regards,
The BrickLink Marketplace team
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jan 4, 2022 22:06 | | Subject: | Re: EU distance selling - Online session | | Viewed: | 88 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| That is great to hear! Thank you.
In Administrative, Stellar writes:
| | Thanks for taking this approach, I will be there 
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear BrickLink member,
We have recently launched a new feature enabling EU distance selling on the BrickLink
site. Because we have had a number of questions and concerns expressed from some
of you, we are setting up an online sessions to take you through the new guidelines
in more detail as well as addressing your concerns. The online session will take
place this Friday at 9-10 am PST
|
For easier conversion to EU sellers, that is Friday at 18:00 to 19:00 CET
time.
| |
During the meeting you will have the option to write additional questions in
the session chat and have them answered directly in the session to the best of
our ability.
In order to participate in the session you will need to sign up, in order to
sign up, please write to CE_Tanja and share the email you would like to participate
with and we will invite you to the session. The deadline for signing up is Thursday
1/6 at 9 am PST.
There is a limit of 350 participants. Participation will be on a first come first
serve basis. We will be recording the session for those of you that are unable
to participate, this way you will be able to watch the recording afterwards.
Kind regards,
The BrickLink Marketplace team
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jan 4, 2022 22:05 | | Subject: | Re: EU distance selling - Online session | | Viewed: | 102 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Hi Paul,
Yes, we will share a link as soon as we can after the meeting to be on the
safe side, please share your email with me, that way you will have access to
the recording in the meeting chat as soon as it is done.
In Administrative, patpendlego writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear BrickLink member,
We have recently launched a new feature enabling EU distance selling on the BrickLink
site. Because we have had a number of questions and concerns expressed from some
of you, we are setting up an online sessions to take you through the new guidelines
in more detail as well as addressing your concerns. The online session will take
place this Friday at 9-10 am PST
During the meeting you will have the option to write additional questions in
the session chat and have them answered directly in the session to the best of
our ability.
In order to participate in the session you will need to sign up, in order to
sign up, please write to CE_Tanja and share the email you would like to participate
with and we will invite you to the session. The deadline for signing up is Thursday
1/6 at 9 am PST.
There is a limit of 350 participants. Participation will be on a first come first
serve basis. We will be recording the session for those of you that are unable
to participate, this way you will be able to watch the recording afterwards.
Kind regards,
The BrickLink Marketplace team
|
Great! I would like to see the recorded session. Will it be available shortly
after the life session?
Thank you,
Paul
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jan 4, 2022 17:25 | | Subject: | EU distance selling - Online session | | Viewed: | 512 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear BrickLink member,
We have recently launched a new feature enabling EU distance selling on the BrickLink
site. Because we have had a number of questions and concerns expressed from some
of you, we are setting up an online sessions to take you through the new guidelines
in more detail as well as addressing your concerns. The online session will take
place this Friday at 9-10 am PST
During the meeting you will have the option to write additional questions in
the session chat and have them answered directly in the session to the best of
our ability.
In order to participate in the session you will need to sign up, in order to
sign up, please write to CE_Tanja and share the email you would like to participate
with and we will invite you to the session. The deadline for signing up is Thursday
1/6 at 9 am PST.
There is a limit of 350 participants. Participation will be on a first come first
serve basis. We will be recording the session for those of you that are unable
to participate, this way you will be able to watch the recording afterwards.
Kind regards,
The BrickLink Marketplace team
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 31, 2021 21:50 | | Subject: | Re: Happy New year | | Viewed: | 54 times | | Topic: | General | |
| Happy New Year everyone!🤩
In General, Brickwilbo writes:
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 21, 2021 20:44 | | Subject: | Re: Help Center - Reasons for suspension | | Viewed: | 81 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
| Thank you cosmicray and DVectored1,
Yes, let’s update the help page for this area (among others) asap, it is in progress
and we should be able to update this withon a couple of weeks.
In Suggestions, DVectored1 writes:
| | In Suggestions, cosmicray writes:
| | Please create a Help Center page that enumerates the reasons (as displayed on
the store front) for suspension, and helps sellers to determine what needs to
be addressed.
Some reasons are rather obvious, but others appear to be a generic suspension
(without any specificity). Please help to pull back the curtain so that sellers
can see what the problem is. It may be that the reason needs to be made more
explicit on the seller's dashboard.
thank you, Nita Rae
|
Based upon my own experience, the non-obvious reasons may include something particularly
uncommon, meriting an admin to actually sit down with you to explain the unique
circumstances that led to the suspension. The problem then however seems to be
resolving the issue because (for whatever reason) it seems to be either left
floating in a queue or passed around multiple admins, to which a situation that
probably could've been resolved in a matter of days or weeks ends up taking
an egregious amount of months. (I'd name names but I don't even know
who's still there or who left.) This could become upsetting if one admin
succinctly explained the problem AND solution, yet there has been no follow-through
despite your following their instructions.
I'd assume common situations are handled faster than uncommon situations,
but as of now I don't exactly have evidence to back this up.
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 21, 2021 13:27 | | Subject: | Re: Issues with placing orders | | Viewed: | 98 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Completely agree, we will make sure that this can be enabled in the future.
In Administrative, Poncke writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We are currently working on fixing this issue. The solution is expected to be
delivered on Monday.
The current workaround for sellers is as follows:
Turning off the feature that has 'Handling cost rule' set up or removing
the handling fee settings and manually adding a handling fee. The easiest way
to keep track of this is to leave 1 domestic and 1 foreign shipping method.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
We will keep you updated.
|
Can you next time please communicate this directly via email to your members?
Posting only on a forum is not good enough. Thanks.
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 21, 2021 13:22 | | Subject: | Re: Issues with placing orders | | Viewed: | 89 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Thank you pineBRICKS, we appreciate the acknowledgement!
In Administrative, pineBRICKS writes:
| | Thanks Tanja and all others for getting this fixed quick!
I have no doubt the BL admins work really hard and with dedication. However it
seems they have way too much work on their hands. I just hope TLG understands
the importance of BL and gives you the (financial) recourses you need.
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 21, 2021 13:21 | | Subject: | Re: EU Distance selling feature is now live! | | Viewed: | 83 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| You are welcome Sylvain
In Administrative, 1001bricks writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | We have enabled this for EU-EU transactions only at this point. We’re still working
on the feature to allow Non EU-EU transactions, this should be ready in the beginning
if January.
|
That's very fine for me, thank you!
And thanks for your support - and in particular - this weekend.
Sylvain
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2021 19:29 | | Subject: | Re: EU Distance selling feature is now live! | | Viewed: | 82 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| We have enabled this for EU-EU transactions only at this point. We’re still working
on the feature to allow Non EU-EU transactions, this should be ready in the beginning
if January.
In Administrative, 1001bricks writes:
| | In Administrative, kaat writes:
| | In Administrative, kaat writes:
| | Thanks for the update! Good to hear its being worked on
|
Update from my side on "EU Distance selling feature":
it seems the issue where you could not disable the VAT checkbox, when an order
came in via the distance selling feature, is fixed. I can now disable/enable
the check boxes on all orders. This means B2B transactions work again So
more great news, yippie! Thanks!!
|
Wow! That must be Christmas!?
Other ones confirm?
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2021 19:10 | | Subject: | Re: Issues with placing orders | | Viewed: | 93 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| I am happy to hear that, thank you for letting us know
In Administrative, Teup writes:
| | Thank you Tanja! Very pleased with the communication and quick solution after
the initial silence. My buyer's order just came in successfully
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
The issue has been fixed.
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We hear you, we are working on the solution and we will let you know as soon
as the issue is fixed!
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We are currently working on fixing this issue. The solution is expected to be
delivered on Monday.
The current workaround for sellers is as follows:
Turning off the feature that has 'Handling cost rule' set up or removing
the handling fee settings and manually adding a handling fee. The easiest way
to keep track of this is to leave 1 domestic and 1 foreign shipping method.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
We will keep you updated.
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2021 14:39 | | Subject: | Re: Issues with placing orders | | Viewed: | 90 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Thank you for letting ud know that things are working!
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
The issue has been fixed.
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We hear you, we are working on the solution and we will let you know as soon
as the issue is fixed!
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We are currently working on fixing this issue. The solution is expected to be
delivered on Monday.
The current workaround for sellers is as follows:
Turning off the feature that has 'Handling cost rule' set up or removing
the handling fee settings and manually adding a handling fee. The easiest way
to keep track of this is to leave 1 domestic and 1 foreign shipping method.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
We will keep you updated.
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2021 13:02 | | Subject: | Re: Issues with placing orders | | Viewed: | 147 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear all,
The issue has been fixed.
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We hear you, we are working on the solution and we will let you know as soon
as the issue is fixed!
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We are currently working on fixing this issue. The solution is expected to be
delivered on Monday.
The current workaround for sellers is as follows:
Turning off the feature that has 'Handling cost rule' set up or removing
the handling fee settings and manually adding a handling fee. The easiest way
to keep track of this is to leave 1 domestic and 1 foreign shipping method.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
We will keep you updated.
|
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2021 10:04 | | Subject: | Re: Issues with placing orders | | Viewed: | 117 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear all,
We hear you, we are working on the solution and we will let you know as soon
as the issue is fixed!
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We are currently working on fixing this issue. The solution is expected to be
delivered on Monday.
The current workaround for sellers is as follows:
Turning off the feature that has 'Handling cost rule' set up or removing
the handling fee settings and manually adding a handling fee. The easiest way
to keep track of this is to leave 1 domestic and 1 foreign shipping method.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
We will keep you updated.
|
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2021 02:14 | | Subject: | Issues with placing orders | | Viewed: | 659 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear all,
We are currently working on fixing this issue. The solution is expected to be
delivered on Monday.
The current workaround for sellers is as follows:
Turning off the feature that has 'Handling cost rule' set up or removing
the handling fee settings and manually adding a handling fee. The easiest way
to keep track of this is to leave 1 domestic and 1 foreign shipping method.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
We will keep you updated.
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2021 01:40 | | Subject: | Re: CANNOT PLACE ORDER CUSTOMER TOO | | Viewed: | 113 times | | Topic: | Technical Issues | |
| Dear all,
We are looking in to this, I will keep you updated!
In Technical Issues, Luxurybricks writes:
| | Hello!
Some customer notified me that they are not able to check out.
They always get the message "Technical Problem".
I tried it by myself on a store from a friend and it doesn't work.
It is not the first time we have these problems.
PLEASE CHECK IT OUT.
Sincerely,
Artur Alaverdyan
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2021 13:29 | | Subject: | Re: EU Distance selling feature is now live! | | Viewed: | 95 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear all,
A bit more update to share,
Based on the input we have received, we are currently implementing a solution
that will enable B2B transactions for EU customers which is expected to be completed
in early January.
B2B transactions for UK and US customers will follow while we review the proper
compliance needed.
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear all,
We are sorry for the lack of reply to this thread, we understand that this is
causing a lot of frustration and is leaving a lot of questions unanswered.
We are currently working with our Tax partners to make sure we provide proper
responses and guidance, unfortunately it is a complex matter and taking longer
than we had hoped for.
Once we are able to answer your questions we will share them in this thread.
We will also be inviting everyone to an online call in the beginning of January,
in this call we will elaborate on the issues raised and it will be possible to
ask further questions.
Thank you for your patience.
In Administrative, Admin_Russell writes:
| | Dear BrickLink Members,
We have released our Distance Selling feature for sellers who plan to or have
reached the EUR annual 10 000 distance sale of goods threshold. To see where
your current BrickLink sales totals are, you can download the order information
here:
https://www.bricklink.com/orderExcel.asp?orderType=received
To turn this feature on, navigate to your Store Settings page and enable distance
selling. You will be asked to enter your One Stop Shop (OSS) number:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/vat/oss_en
or foreign VAT registration information and provide valid documentation. Once
enabled, the prices of your items will remain the same on your storefront, however
the VAT rate charged and collected will be changed to match the country’s rate
in which the buyer is located.
This has been implemented to comply with the new EU marketplace regulations.
For more information, please see the European Commission article on this topic
here:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/vat/online-sellers_en
You can find additional guidance on the BrickLink EU Marketplace Changes Help
Page:
https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2517
This message will be sent via email to all sellers at the beginning of next week.
Please add any questions about this feature (along with any bug reports) to this
thread.
Thank you,
The BrickLink Team
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 15, 2021 13:10 | | Subject: | Re: EU Distance selling feature is now live! | | Viewed: | 88 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear all,
We are sorry for the lack of reply to this thread, we understand that this is
causing a lot of frustration and is leaving a lot of questions unanswered.
We are currently working with our Tax partners to make sure we provide proper
responses and guidance, unfortunately it is a complex matter and taking longer
than we had hoped for.
Once we are able to answer your questions we will share them in this thread.
We will also be inviting everyone to an online call in the beginning of January,
in this call we will elaborate on the issues raised and it will be possible to
ask further questions.
Thank you for your patience.
In Administrative, Admin_Russell writes:
| | Dear BrickLink Members,
We have released our Distance Selling feature for sellers who plan to or have
reached the EUR annual 10 000 distance sale of goods threshold. To see where
your current BrickLink sales totals are, you can download the order information
here:
https://www.bricklink.com/orderExcel.asp?orderType=received
To turn this feature on, navigate to your Store Settings page and enable distance
selling. You will be asked to enter your One Stop Shop (OSS) number:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/vat/oss_en
or foreign VAT registration information and provide valid documentation. Once
enabled, the prices of your items will remain the same on your storefront, however
the VAT rate charged and collected will be changed to match the country’s rate
in which the buyer is located.
This has been implemented to comply with the new EU marketplace regulations.
For more information, please see the European Commission article on this topic
here:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/vat/online-sellers_en
You can find additional guidance on the BrickLink EU Marketplace Changes Help
Page:
https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2517
This message will be sent via email to all sellers at the beginning of next week.
Please add any questions about this feature (along with any bug reports) to this
thread.
Thank you,
The BrickLink Team
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 9, 2021 17:34 | | Subject: | Re: Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 86 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Hi Popsicle,
A very fair concern! I am sure as well that this will not be the case.
I will pass on your warm welcome to Casper
In Administrative, popsicle writes:
| | Always appreciate the positive messaging, Julia. Thanks.
(Good to hear about Marvin’s involvement, too)
Casper, no doubt friendly, but hopefully not another ghost
of the forum. Keep in mind, it's the community's voice and the gravity
of that function. Without a voice to express and the certainty that it's
being heard, thoughts fester. I'm sure that won't be the case, though.
A sincere and warm welcome, Mr Thingholm.
-Cory
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
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| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 9, 2021 17:31 | | Subject: | Re: Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 74 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, BensBrickstore writes:
| | Hi Tanja,
Related to this, could you share anything regarding sales tax exemption for resellers
(and/or non-profits)? I believe in a previous forum thread around a year ago,
we were told that this would be implemented around Q1 2021, and now we are in
Q4, and I haven't heard an update (I could have missed an update, I don't
have time to visit the forums often).
Really looking forward to this, I think the lack of a sales tax exemption option
could be really hurting business for US sellers, and of course for BL, because
some potential buyers could be choosing to shop elsewhere. Rolling this feature
out could really help Bricklink compete with other marketplaces, including 2
other platforms that I think could be considered BL's direct competition,
both of which do offer sales tax exemption for resellers.
If/when there is any news to share it would be greatly appreciated if it could
be shared via email newsletter as well as on the forums.
Thank-you!
Erik (Ben's Brickstore)
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Hi macebobo,
Yes, we are aware that these are causing a lot of frustrations but they are some
of the compliance related issues that I referred to earlier. I know that the
team here has worked around the clock to support everyone in managing this, if
you have questions related to this, please write our helpdesk and we will be
happy to support you in any way we can.
In Administrative, macebobo writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | If you won't mind, please share an email with what you are mentioning above
reg. new implementations with me.
|
Tonya,
Take cover, incoming VAT/Sales Tax implementation complaints by the truckload.
|
|
|
Hi Erik,
I know we have another dialogue about this as well and I am still looking forward
to hearing back regarding the details.
I want to let you and everyone else know that several people have reached out
to us regarding this issue and we have decided that the next natural step will
be for us, and our Tax team, to understand exactly what is needed and what the
requirements will be from a tax and legal perspective, in order for that to happen
we will reach out to a few of you that have expressed interest in taking part
in this and invite you in for a dialogue in the beginning of the new year.
Once we have a clear understanding of the issue, then we will reach out to all
sellers to understand how many are able and interested in making use of this
feature in order to be able to prioritize this based on a solid and sound foundation.
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 9, 2021 17:23 | | Subject: | Re: Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 61 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, bagelboybugle writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | In Administrative, Stellar writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
|
|
| | | |
Thanks Tanja for sharing the Julia statement of what its happening within BL
top staff direction.
Hope you are well installed in your new location and see more communication with
the community soon.
This year there have been somethings that could have been implemented better
if they were shared with us and heard what real user know about the implications
of the changes.
Greetings,
Sergio
Stellar Bricks
|
Hi Sergio,
You are welcome and thank you, I am very happy in California
We are very eager to engage with the BrickLink community! One of our priorities
this year has been to ensure ore transparency and collaboration and we are coming
to a point where any development on BrickLink is qualified and prioritized by
the community (aside from the changes we are obligated to implement due to legal
legislation which have been quite substantial this year).
We are doing so through surveys and community panels. The Panels currently exist
for Marketplace, Catalog and Studio and they have done a great job representing
the general BrickLink community in the sessions we have had so far! I Please
keep in mind, the Panels don't decide what is critical to the community,
the community does, the panels support us in qualifying the prioritization.
After the panel meetings we share newsletters with information about past and
planned changes, sometimes the newsletters include mini surveys to ensure we
get the prioritization just right.
This is a new initiative and likely not something we see the full impact of yet,
I do hope that going forward you and the rest of the BrickLink members will not
be left with the same feeling of not having been heard, and if so, please reach
out any time!
If you won't mind, please share an email with what you are mentioning above
reg. new implementations with me.
Tank you.
|
This is wonderful and my warm welcome to the new folks. These snippets of positive
engagement almost tempt me to start selling as a semi pro again.
Cheers
G
must resist... do not have space...
|
I am happy to hear that
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 7, 2021 11:15 | | Subject: | Re: Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 103 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Hi Jen,
Thank you for your responce!
Casper Thingholm will be moving to California with his family in the beginning
of next year.
And you are absolutely right! We need closer collaboration and we will have that,
in and outside the forum (at Fan events, in the Panels, through regular updates
reg. the development of the platform, etc.).
I am happy to hear that you want more collaboration
In Administrative, jennnifer writes:
| | Thanks for posting this update. Marvin was always very kind, and I wish him the
best in any new endeavors.
Could you share any information with us about where BrickLink will be managed
from? I see that Casper Thingholm is based in Denmark.
My most important question will be: Will anyone be taking a more proactive approach
here in the Forum directly communicating and answering questions from our members?
These occasional 'We're listening!' posts don't mean much unless
someone is actually available for follow-up and community input.
I, for one, am hoping for a more collaborative experience with BL staff in the
future.
Thanks,
Jen
|
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 6, 2021 19:59 | | Subject: | Re: Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 105 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Hi macebobo,
Yes, we are aware that these are causing a lot of frustrations but they are some
of the compliance related issues that I referred to earlier. I know that the
team here has worked around the clock to support everyone in managing this, if
you have questions related to this, please write our helpdesk and we will be
happy to support you in any way we can.
In Administrative, macebobo writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | If you won't mind, please share an email with what you are mentioning above
reg. new implementations with me.
|
Tonya,
Take cover, incoming VAT/Sales Tax implementation complaints by the truckload.
|
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 6, 2021 19:56 | | Subject: | Re: Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 101 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Hi Jim,
I am very happy to hear that!
My profile picture is by one of my favorite brick photographers Priovit70, he
kindly allowed me to meke use of one of his amazing images when I joined the
BrickLink team earlier this year
In Administrative, TheBrickGuys writes:
| | I hope everything goes smoooothly. I came love Lego latter in life and I really
enjoy selling here on BrickLink. This is a great site and I look forward to see
what the future holds with BL going forward.
Just a side point, your avatar pic looks really nice and the slightly out of
focus plants or flowers are a nice touch. Out of curiosity, did you take the
picture and does it have any meaning?
Best Regards.
Jim.
|
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 6, 2021 17:02 | | Subject: | Re: Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 142 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, Stellar 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 Tanja for sharing the Julia statement of what its happening within BL
top staff direction.
Hope you are well installed in your new location and see more communication with
the community soon.
This year there have been somethings that could have been implemented better
if they were shared with us and heard what real user know about the implications
of the changes.
Greetings,
Sergio
Stellar Bricks
|
Hi Sergio,
You are welcome and thank you, I am very happy in California
We are very eager to engage with the BrickLink community! One of our priorities
this year has been to ensure ore transparency and collaboration and we are coming
to a point where any development on BrickLink is qualified and prioritized by
the community (aside from the changes we are obligated to implement due to legal
legislation which have been quite substantial this year).
We are doing so through surveys and community panels. The Panels currently exist
for Marketplace, Catalog and Studio and they have done a great job representing
the general BrickLink community in the sessions we have had so far! I Please
keep in mind, the Panels don't decide what is critical to the community,
the community does, the panels support us in qualifying the prioritization.
After the panel meetings we share newsletters with information about past and
planned changes, sometimes the newsletters include mini surveys to ensure we
get the prioritization just right.
This is a new initiative and likely not something we see the full impact of yet,
I do hope that going forward you and the rest of the BrickLink members will not
be left with the same feeling of not having been heard, and if so, please reach
out any time!
If you won't mind, please share an email with what you are mentioning above
reg. new implementations with me.
Tank you.
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 6, 2021 14:38 | | Subject: | Re: Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 151 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear ninjakitten117,
Thank you so much for your kind comment!
We are aware that there are quite a few UX/UI related issues and that Search
is one of them. We are planning to improve our Search functionality, however
the detailed plan and priority is not yet available so I am not able to share
specific timings for when this will happen at this point.
In Administrative, ninjakitten117 writes:
| | This is great news! I hope the transition goes smoothly and the team adapts to
the new leadership!
I work in UX design and I'd say for me the biggest roadblock to a stellar
user experience is the search capability. Are you able to comment if there are
any planned changes to revamping the search so it becomes a powerful tool?
|
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Dec 6, 2021 12:30 | | Subject: | Organizational change in BrickLink | | Viewed: | 1830 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| 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
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Nov 1, 2021 13:19 | | Subject: | Re: Second round of crowdfunding for the BrickLink Designer Program opens November 9th featuring these nine LEGO® IDEAS 10k Club Projects! | | Viewed: | 333 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear all,
As you might have heard, there has been a recent tragic incident on the movie
set of Rust. Due to this tragedy, we have decided to move Brick West Studios
to Round 3 and move Venetian Houses in to Round 2 to take its place.
We are doing this out of respect for people affected by the recent tragedy on
the movie set of Rust. We didn’t want to draw any unintended and inappropriate
association between the fan design and the tragedy at this difficult time.
Venetian Houses will sell for USD 289.99/ EUR 244,99.
We communicated this to the fan designers affected by this last week. I want
to say a warm thank you to them for their understanding!
The BDP Team
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Oct 20, 2021 16:04 | | Subject: | Re: Second round of crowdfunding for the BrickLink Designer Program opens November 9th featuring these nine LEGO® IDEAS 10k Club Projects! | | Viewed: | 213 times | | Topic: | Designer Program | |
| In Designer Program, Llewyn writes:
| | In NEWS, Admin writes:
| | Here are the candidates for the second round of crowdfunding, along with their prices:
|
Thanks for releasing the prices in advance for this round (assuming this didn't
happen with round 1 without me noticing).
Quick question about them - will the project pages be updated with local pricing
at some point before the 9th? First round projects had local prices on their
pages when they went live at least, without needing to click through to Lego
to check them, but it would help with planning.
|
Hi Llewyn,
Thank you for your question
Yes, the local prices will be updated prior to go live, unfortunately we are
not able to share the exact timing at this point.
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jun 29, 2021 18:14 | | Subject: | BricLink Designer Program change to crowdfund | | Viewed: | 900 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Over the past weeks, we’ve been working hard alongside the fan designers to finish
the details for the BrickLink Designer Program projects. Unfortunately, due to
unforeseen complexities, we didn’t quite get there with Mountain View Observatory.
This has caused us to have to change things a bit.
We're sorry to share that Mountain View Observatory won’t be available for
pre-order in Round 1 of crowdfunding after all. This isn’t what we or the fan
designer had hoped for. However, before we can offer a project for crowdfunding,
we must make sure it’s completely ready.
Mountain View Observatory is still in the program; it will be added to one of
the later crowdfunding rounds. We’ll let you know which one when we announce
the Round 2 candidates.
All other projects in the first round of crowdfunding will be available for pre-order
as we previously announced.
The BrickLink Team
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jun 1, 2021 17:08 | | Subject: | Re: Marketplace Panel meeting minutes | | Viewed: | 114 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, VOTB writes:
| | Thank you Tanja for summarizing the new panel and a brief look at what transpired.
I know in the past that attempts like these have fallen flat, and disappointed
those that have been around much longer than I have.
I am excited about the life that TLG is breathing back into BL. I know it all
takes time and a metered approach is going to be the most beneficial long term.
I have appreciated this update as well as the catalog newsletter, and look forward
to other updates and ways we can help participate in this platform.
I have had personal conversations in the past, with a few of the panelists and
feel that some great choices were made for the first round.
|
Thank you VOTB I appreciate the input and your offer to participate!
/Tanja
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jun 1, 2021 07:51 | | Subject: | Re: Marketplace Panel meeting minutes | | Viewed: | 101 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, Teup writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | In Administrative, Teup writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear BrickLink members,
Please find the minutes from the first Marketplace Panel meeting.
Minutes from the first Marketplace Panel meeting May 20th. 2021
Agenda
- Panel member introductions
- Marketplace panel program presentation
- Workshop
- BrickLink vision
- Marketplace plan 2021 & Prioritization discussion
- Next steps
Ad. 1 Panel member introductions
We have selected the initial panel members based on criteria such as: Having
both buyers and sellers represented, BrickLink experience, ability to engage
in constructive dialogues about the future of BrickLink and ability to consider
the greater good for the BrickLink sellers and buyers.
The initial panel members are:
Constructibles, SimplyBricks, Dcarmine, Calsbricks, Erkiles, Legoman77, Faro,
BrickCoast
During this first part, all panel members introduced themselves and it is clear
that this is a diverse, multitalented group that are all passionate about BrickLink.
No doubt that this select group will be a fantastic first Marketplace panel.
Ad 2. Marketplace panel program presentation
The structure of the program had been shared with the panel ahead of the meeting,
so in this session, we mainly dug into the basics of the program and collaboration
principles:
4 annual meetings with an opportunity to impact the future development of the
BrickLink Marketplace
Between the meetings we will collaborate through a Teams channel, making it possible
for us to engage outside the meetings as well.
We aim to increase the number of members in the panel to a max of 14 people throughout
the next 1-2 years.
We will invite new members to the Panel annually, to ensure fresh perspectives
by shifting 50% of the panel members with new members meeting above criteria.
We will be promoting the opportunity to sign up for the panel in Q1 2022.
In our collaboration, we will be looking to the future as opposed to the past.
We will be mindful of one another in the dialogues we have, remembering that
we are all in this with the best of intentions.
This panel is focused on the Marketplace specifically. There will be other initiatives
similar to this one, that focus on e.g. Studio, The Catalog, etc.
Ad 3. Workshop
This being the first Panel meeting, we felt a need to make sure we got the frustrations
out of every one’s system, in order to be able to focus on the future of BrickLink,
as opposed to being stuck in the past. This was done in a workshop where everyone
was able to share frustrations but also the things, they love about BrickLink.
Ad 4. BrickLink vision
Marvin Park shared thoughts related to the vision and mission of BrickLink as
a platform through which LEGO fans can also realize their dream designs. As for
the long-term roadmap, it was highlighted how BrickLink marketplace and Studio
can evolve to meet diverse needs of the AFOL community and become an integral
part of the entire LEGO ecosystem.
Ad 5. Marketplace plan 2021 & Prioritization discussion
BrickLink’s new Senior Product Manager Stephen Wilhelm presented the current
Marketplace roadmap. This roadmap is now mainly focused on development related
to VAT compliance rules (initiatives that we are bound to by law and that we
are not able to de-prioritize) and initiatives intended to support e.g., the
ability to lower response rate for new seller verifications, etc. There are several
user experience related initiatives the BrickLink Marketplace team plans to work
on, but we are looking to the Marketplace Panel members to help us prioritize
what enhancements would provide the most value.
Aside from above, several focus areas that we have picked up based on input from
the BrickLink members in general were presented with the intention to prioritize
them. We were not able to finish the prioritization discussions completely at
this meeting, but a couple of things were highlighted as being critical to prioritize:
Seller tools (e.g., Inventory management, store management, seller page updates)
Continue modernization of the BrickLink platform. This is already ongoing, but
we aim to apply more resources later this year.
A few less critical but still impactful areas were introduced:
Telephone support and the ability to have expert engagers to reach out to
Order Item Refund Request (OIRR) & Refund enhancement
Rewriting storefront pages to support mobile / native.
Provide BrickLink shipping methods (preferably one shipping cost per customer)
Overhaul/update payment processes
The above list varies greatly in level of complexity, and we will need to take
all input in to consideration in upcoming plans. Status on above and long-term
plans will be shared in minutes from the next Panel meeting.
A few other things we will be looking in to due to the input from the panel:
Ability for Sellers to make use of BrickLink’s access to Google Analytics.
On-site payment and why some sellers choose not to use this option.
Shipping price calculations based on zones instead of weight (US specific)
Ad 6. Next steps
It was decided to disclose the BrickLink panel members to the general BrickLink
membership base, this is not to be seen as an invitation to reach out to the
panel members directly with input for the Panel, but a way to be transparent
about who is in the panel as per the request of many members. Any ill manor
targeted directly at the Panel members may result in abandonment from BrickLink.
We need everyone’s input!
We have recently taken input from all BrickLink members in the survey, and we
take input regularly in the NPS survey, this input has already played a huge
part in shaping the focus for BrickLink in general and will be part of shaping
the future of BrickLink also.
During the upcoming Panel meetings, we might come across items to prioritize
that are not straight forward, in terms of defining what is best for the majority
of BrickLink members, in these cases, we will have a poll among the members in
general in order to ensure solid facts to back the decisions.
Upcoming meetings
The next meetings are planned for August and November.
Reflections
No doubt that we are blessed to have members on BrickLink that are prepared to
spend hours in their busy lives, participating in dialogue to make sure that
we have the best outside-in perspective we can when deciding how to prioritize
our efforts on BrickLink going forward. This is not something we have been able
to prioritize to the same extent in the past (hence numerous understandable frustrations),
but it is something that we are committed to prioritizing going forward!
BrickLink members, you can be proud of your Panel members, they did an amazing
job in representing you. Everyone spoke freely about critical issues to be addressed,
this is highly appreciated because then we won't have to waste time (mis)interpreting
this and we can get moving on the things that matter.
We hope that you will read this and share any feedback you might have, in this
topic or directly to ce_tanja. We have just started this journey and we are happy
to take your input to the process and adjust along the way.
Thank you!
The BrickLink Team
|
This is pretty impressive Tanja, thanks for sharing this and for coordinating
these efforts!
Just a bit of input on this one:
On-site payment and why some sellers choose not to use this option.
One obvious reason (which I have been stressing and repeating more times than
I could count ) is.... Bricklink better payment methods!! PayPal has just become
too expensive. Catch up with BrickOwl here. A year ago I had a call with the
team and raised this point, they said they were working on it, but sadly still
no results. The Netherlands, and I think a bunch of other countries, have onsite
interfaces for bank transfers. Once that is implemented I can guarantee Dutch
domestic offsite payments are gonna drop by at least 90%.
Also I would add, fix the bugs! Very good to hear there was some space for
people to share their frustrations and that they are taken seriously now. IMO
the best thing BL could possibly do is prioritise a good bug report&fixing infrastructure.
I myself have reported a bunch of bugs over time, through the report system,
through email, and through the forum, and even when I got affirmative response
through those channels, most are still unfixed. I feel like Bricklink has bug
reports scattered all over the place and there is just no structure. Only once
bugs are dealt with efficiently, the next step is to think about improvements
and new features - that's my opinion at least. Bricklink needs to respect
its own core functionality. I don't need a store with fancy storefront features
as long as I can't even list my stock because it's impossible to part
out large sets due to site timeouts!
To be honest I pretty much gave up on Bricklink and sell elsewhere now, but I'm
still available to give input or be in a panel (I owe Bricklink that much) and
will definitely come back if Bricklink becomes a convenient option for me again.
|
Hi Teup,
Thank you for taking the time to share this input! Yours and everyone else's
input will be taken in to account and I agree, it is not new input, it is something
that we are aware of and that we are making an effort to solve. I am sorry to
hear that you have given up on BrickLink. Hopefully we will be able to apply
the needed changes and once again welcome you back on BrickLink as a Seller,
perhaps as a Panel member in the near future.
/Tanja
|
Thank you for your feedback Tanja, I'm available for a panel anytime. Good
luck!
|
Great to hear! Thank you!
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jun 1, 2021 07:50 | | Subject: | Re: Marketplace Panel meeting minutes | | Viewed: | 83 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, infinibrix writes:
| | In Administrative, Captain_Q writes:
| | In Administrative, randyipp writes:
| | In Administrative, leopard37 writes:
| | Perhaps that seller is selling so well they have no time for the forum...
|
Agreed, someone with nearly 10k feedback in a year seems like a member who might
have some decent input as to what sellers might need.
Besides, I think calsbricks makes up for this member never using the forum, haha
|
I agree, not everyone of the panelists needs to be the exact same and if one
of them does not post much on the forum, then does it matter?
But dang! Someone with 10k feedback in a year probably has some useful insight.
|
I fear by replying to you all I will only end up in further trouble so I will
try to generalize my response so it reflects on future chosen panel members as
a whole rather than targeted at existing panelists though it should be said that
all your replies have skirted around my main concern/issue to which I cannot
further discuss for obvious reasons?
Of course it goes without saying that any member whether they do or don't
post on the forum may still be a valuable asset to the panel however those that
already engage with the community to either offer help to others be that identifying
parts, sharing advise/knowledge and contributing to the catalog I feel would
add even more value to any panel not least because that extra layer of passion,
enthusiasm for the site and engagement with the community already exists which
can only be a good thing but yes I accept some sellers may be doing so well and
be so busy that they don't have time for the forum(though being a panelist
in itself takes up time right?)
however (and yes I'm generalizing again here and not targeting!) if a panelist
is given that special privileged benefit of speaking on behalf of the community
then being a community based role I feel a certain level of buying/selling ethics
should also be expected and taken into consideration within that selection process
likewise I wonder whether inactive users not currently using the site for its
primary use of buying/selling can actually add as much value insight into issues/problems
compared with users that are currently actively buying/selling and experiencing
problems on the site and whilst I accept that BL is also used by many members
as just a reference source having awareness of current buying/selling issues
are an important aspect of helping towards improving to the site
Overall I feel my observations are fair and relevant even though others may disagree
but in the spirit of the chosen panelists and at the request of the admins I
will respect their wishes by not engaging in any further discussion on the matter!
|
Dear Infinibrix,
Thank you for your input! This seems like a good occasion to share a bit of information
about the concept we are currently introducing called Community Voice. The Marketplace
Panel is one of many initiatives under this umbrella. We will be introducing
a Studio and a Catalog panel within the next month as well and I invite anyone
who would like to be a part of either of these panels to let me know, even if
someone is not selected for the first Panel, we will be partially exchanging
the Panel members annually in order to apply fresh perspectives to apply as broad
a representation as possible. Also, once we get this up and running, we are planning
to increase the size of the Panels.
These are new initiatives on BrickLink and all the input that you and others
share is valid and valued, and will be taken in to account. Thank you!
If you or anyone else prefers to share their input with me directly, I welcome
that and look forward to more great input.
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | Jun 1, 2021 07:36 | | Subject: | Re: Marketplace Panel meeting minutes | | Viewed: | 110 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, Teup writes:
| | In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear BrickLink members,
Please find the minutes from the first Marketplace Panel meeting.
Minutes from the first Marketplace Panel meeting May 20th. 2021
Agenda
- Panel member introductions
- Marketplace panel program presentation
- Workshop
- BrickLink vision
- Marketplace plan 2021 & Prioritization discussion
- Next steps
Ad. 1 Panel member introductions
We have selected the initial panel members based on criteria such as: Having
both buyers and sellers represented, BrickLink experience, ability to engage
in constructive dialogues about the future of BrickLink and ability to consider
the greater good for the BrickLink sellers and buyers.
The initial panel members are:
Constructibles, SimplyBricks, Dcarmine, Calsbricks, Erkiles, Legoman77, Faro,
BrickCoast
During this first part, all panel members introduced themselves and it is clear
that this is a diverse, multitalented group that are all passionate about BrickLink.
No doubt that this select group will be a fantastic first Marketplace panel.
Ad 2. Marketplace panel program presentation
The structure of the program had been shared with the panel ahead of the meeting,
so in this session, we mainly dug into the basics of the program and collaboration
principles:
4 annual meetings with an opportunity to impact the future development of the
BrickLink Marketplace
Between the meetings we will collaborate through a Teams channel, making it possible
for us to engage outside the meetings as well.
We aim to increase the number of members in the panel to a max of 14 people throughout
the next 1-2 years.
We will invite new members to the Panel annually, to ensure fresh perspectives
by shifting 50% of the panel members with new members meeting above criteria.
We will be promoting the opportunity to sign up for the panel in Q1 2022.
In our collaboration, we will be looking to the future as opposed to the past.
We will be mindful of one another in the dialogues we have, remembering that
we are all in this with the best of intentions.
This panel is focused on the Marketplace specifically. There will be other initiatives
similar to this one, that focus on e.g. Studio, The Catalog, etc.
Ad 3. Workshop
This being the first Panel meeting, we felt a need to make sure we got the frustrations
out of every one’s system, in order to be able to focus on the future of BrickLink,
as opposed to being stuck in the past. This was done in a workshop where everyone
was able to share frustrations but also the things, they love about BrickLink.
Ad 4. BrickLink vision
Marvin Park shared thoughts related to the vision and mission of BrickLink as
a platform through which LEGO fans can also realize their dream designs. As for
the long-term roadmap, it was highlighted how BrickLink marketplace and Studio
can evolve to meet diverse needs of the AFOL community and become an integral
part of the entire LEGO ecosystem.
Ad 5. Marketplace plan 2021 & Prioritization discussion
BrickLink’s new Senior Product Manager Stephen Wilhelm presented the current
Marketplace roadmap. This roadmap is now mainly focused on development related
to VAT compliance rules (initiatives that we are bound to by law and that we
are not able to de-prioritize) and initiatives intended to support e.g., the
ability to lower response rate for new seller verifications, etc. There are several
user experience related initiatives the BrickLink Marketplace team plans to work
on, but we are looking to the Marketplace Panel members to help us prioritize
what enhancements would provide the most value.
Aside from above, several focus areas that we have picked up based on input from
the BrickLink members in general were presented with the intention to prioritize
them. We were not able to finish the prioritization discussions completely at
this meeting, but a couple of things were highlighted as being critical to prioritize:
Seller tools (e.g., Inventory management, store management, seller page updates)
Continue modernization of the BrickLink platform. This is already ongoing, but
we aim to apply more resources later this year.
A few less critical but still impactful areas were introduced:
Telephone support and the ability to have expert engagers to reach out to
Order Item Refund Request (OIRR) & Refund enhancement
Rewriting storefront pages to support mobile / native.
Provide BrickLink shipping methods (preferably one shipping cost per customer)
Overhaul/update payment processes
The above list varies greatly in level of complexity, and we will need to take
all input in to consideration in upcoming plans. Status on above and long-term
plans will be shared in minutes from the next Panel meeting.
A few other things we will be looking in to due to the input from the panel:
Ability for Sellers to make use of BrickLink’s access to Google Analytics.
On-site payment and why some sellers choose not to use this option.
Shipping price calculations based on zones instead of weight (US specific)
Ad 6. Next steps
It was decided to disclose the BrickLink panel members to the general BrickLink
membership base, this is not to be seen as an invitation to reach out to the
panel members directly with input for the Panel, but a way to be transparent
about who is in the panel as per the request of many members. Any ill manor
targeted directly at the Panel members may result in abandonment from BrickLink.
We need everyone’s input!
We have recently taken input from all BrickLink members in the survey, and we
take input regularly in the NPS survey, this input has already played a huge
part in shaping the focus for BrickLink in general and will be part of shaping
the future of BrickLink also.
During the upcoming Panel meetings, we might come across items to prioritize
that are not straight forward, in terms of defining what is best for the majority
of BrickLink members, in these cases, we will have a poll among the members in
general in order to ensure solid facts to back the decisions.
Upcoming meetings
The next meetings are planned for August and November.
Reflections
No doubt that we are blessed to have members on BrickLink that are prepared to
spend hours in their busy lives, participating in dialogue to make sure that
we have the best outside-in perspective we can when deciding how to prioritize
our efforts on BrickLink going forward. This is not something we have been able
to prioritize to the same extent in the past (hence numerous understandable frustrations),
but it is something that we are committed to prioritizing going forward!
BrickLink members, you can be proud of your Panel members, they did an amazing
job in representing you. Everyone spoke freely about critical issues to be addressed,
this is highly appreciated because then we won't have to waste time (mis)interpreting
this and we can get moving on the things that matter.
We hope that you will read this and share any feedback you might have, in this
topic or directly to ce_tanja. We have just started this journey and we are happy
to take your input to the process and adjust along the way.
Thank you!
The BrickLink Team
|
This is pretty impressive Tanja, thanks for sharing this and for coordinating
these efforts!
Just a bit of input on this one:
On-site payment and why some sellers choose not to use this option.
One obvious reason (which I have been stressing and repeating more times than
I could count ) is.... Bricklink better payment methods!! PayPal has just become
too expensive. Catch up with BrickOwl here. A year ago I had a call with the
team and raised this point, they said they were working on it, but sadly still
no results. The Netherlands, and I think a bunch of other countries, have onsite
interfaces for bank transfers. Once that is implemented I can guarantee Dutch
domestic offsite payments are gonna drop by at least 90%.
Also I would add, fix the bugs! Very good to hear there was some space for
people to share their frustrations and that they are taken seriously now. IMO
the best thing BL could possibly do is prioritise a good bug report&fixing infrastructure.
I myself have reported a bunch of bugs over time, through the report system,
through email, and through the forum, and even when I got affirmative response
through those channels, most are still unfixed. I feel like Bricklink has bug
reports scattered all over the place and there is just no structure. Only once
bugs are dealt with efficiently, the next step is to think about improvements
and new features - that's my opinion at least. Bricklink needs to respect
its own core functionality. I don't need a store with fancy storefront features
as long as I can't even list my stock because it's impossible to part
out large sets due to site timeouts!
To be honest I pretty much gave up on Bricklink and sell elsewhere now, but I'm
still available to give input or be in a panel (I owe Bricklink that much) and
will definitely come back if Bricklink becomes a convenient option for me again.
|
Hi Teup,
Thank you for taking the time to share this input! Yours and everyone else's
input will be taken in to account and I agree, it is not new input, it is something
that we are aware of and that we are making an effort to solve. I am sorry to
hear that you have given up on BrickLink. Hopefully we will be able to apply
the needed changes and once again welcome you back on BrickLink as a Seller,
perhaps as a Panel member in the near future.
/Tanja
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | May 31, 2021 20:52 | | Subject: | Re: Marketplace Panel meeting minutes | | Viewed: | 116 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear All,
I really appreciate your comments and input, most of which are both kind and
valuable, thank you! The intention is to be transparent, however I kindly ask
that in the attempt to be so, you all stay on the ball! Calling out any individual
panel members in a negative context will not be tolerated.
Thank you for your understanding.
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | May 31, 2021 12:03 | | Subject: | Marketplace Panel meeting minutes | | Viewed: | 783 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear BrickLink members,
Please find the minutes from the first Marketplace Panel meeting.
Minutes from the first Marketplace Panel meeting May 20th. 2021
Agenda
- Panel member introductions
- Marketplace panel program presentation
- Workshop
- BrickLink vision
- Marketplace plan 2021 & Prioritization discussion
- Next steps
Ad. 1 Panel member introductions
We have selected the initial panel members based on criteria such as: Having
both buyers and sellers represented, BrickLink experience, ability to engage
in constructive dialogues about the future of BrickLink and ability to consider
the greater good for the BrickLink sellers and buyers.
The initial panel members are:
Constructibles, SimplyBricks, Dcarmine, Calsbricks, Erkiles, Legoman77, Faro,
BrickCoast
During this first part, all panel members introduced themselves and it is clear
that this is a diverse, multitalented group that are all passionate about BrickLink.
No doubt that this select group will be a fantastic first Marketplace panel.
Ad 2. Marketplace panel program presentation
The structure of the program had been shared with the panel ahead of the meeting,
so in this session, we mainly dug into the basics of the program and collaboration
principles:
4 annual meetings with an opportunity to impact the future development of the
BrickLink Marketplace
Between the meetings we will collaborate through a Teams channel, making it possible
for us to engage outside the meetings as well.
We aim to increase the number of members in the panel to a max of 14 people throughout
the next 1-2 years.
We will invite new members to the Panel annually, to ensure fresh perspectives
by shifting 50% of the panel members with new members meeting above criteria.
We will be promoting the opportunity to sign up for the panel in Q1 2022.
In our collaboration, we will be looking to the future as opposed to the past.
We will be mindful of one another in the dialogues we have, remembering that
we are all in this with the best of intentions.
This panel is focused on the Marketplace specifically. There will be other initiatives
similar to this one, that focus on e.g. Studio, The Catalog, etc.
Ad 3. Workshop
This being the first Panel meeting, we felt a need to make sure we got the frustrations
out of every one’s system, in order to be able to focus on the future of BrickLink,
as opposed to being stuck in the past. This was done in a workshop where everyone
was able to share frustrations but also the things, they love about BrickLink.
Ad 4. BrickLink vision
Marvin Park shared thoughts related to the vision and mission of BrickLink as
a platform through which LEGO fans can also realize their dream designs. As for
the long-term roadmap, it was highlighted how BrickLink marketplace and Studio
can evolve to meet diverse needs of the AFOL community and become an integral
part of the entire LEGO ecosystem.
Ad 5. Marketplace plan 2021 & Prioritization discussion
BrickLink’s new Senior Product Manager Stephen Wilhelm presented the current
Marketplace roadmap. This roadmap is now mainly focused on development related
to VAT compliance rules (initiatives that we are bound to by law and that we
are not able to de-prioritize) and initiatives intended to support e.g., the
ability to lower response rate for new seller verifications, etc. There are several
user experience related initiatives the BrickLink Marketplace team plans to work
on, but we are looking to the Marketplace Panel members to help us prioritize
what enhancements would provide the most value.
Aside from above, several focus areas that we have picked up based on input from
the BrickLink members in general were presented with the intention to prioritize
them. We were not able to finish the prioritization discussions completely at
this meeting, but a couple of things were highlighted as being critical to prioritize:
Seller tools (e.g., Inventory management, store management, seller page updates)
Continue modernization of the BrickLink platform. This is already ongoing, but
we aim to apply more resources later this year.
A few less critical but still impactful areas were introduced:
Telephone support and the ability to have expert engagers to reach out to
Order Item Refund Request (OIRR) & Refund enhancement
Rewriting storefront pages to support mobile / native.
Provide BrickLink shipping methods (preferably one shipping cost per customer)
Overhaul/update payment processes
The above list varies greatly in level of complexity, and we will need to take
all input in to consideration in upcoming plans. Status on above and long-term
plans will be shared in minutes from the next Panel meeting.
A few other things we will be looking in to due to the input from the panel:
Ability for Sellers to make use of BrickLink’s access to Google Analytics.
On-site payment and why some sellers choose not to use this option.
Shipping price calculations based on zones instead of weight (US specific)
Ad 6. Next steps
It was decided to disclose the BrickLink panel members to the general BrickLink
membership base, this is not to be seen as an invitation to reach out to the
panel members directly with input for the Panel, but a way to be transparent
about who is in the panel as per the request of many members. Any ill manor
targeted directly at the Panel members may result in abandonment from BrickLink.
We need everyone’s input!
We have recently taken input from all BrickLink members in the survey, and we
take input regularly in the NPS survey, this input has already played a huge
part in shaping the focus for BrickLink in general and will be part of shaping
the future of BrickLink also.
During the upcoming Panel meetings, we might come across items to prioritize
that are not straight forward, in terms of defining what is best for the majority
of BrickLink members, in these cases, we will have a poll among the members in
general in order to ensure solid facts to back the decisions.
Upcoming meetings
The next meetings are planned for August and November.
Reflections
No doubt that we are blessed to have members on BrickLink that are prepared to
spend hours in their busy lives, participating in dialogue to make sure that
we have the best outside-in perspective we can when deciding how to prioritize
our efforts on BrickLink going forward. This is not something we have been able
to prioritize to the same extent in the past (hence numerous understandable frustrations),
but it is something that we are committed to prioritizing going forward!
BrickLink members, you can be proud of your Panel members, they did an amazing
job in representing you. Everyone spoke freely about critical issues to be addressed,
this is highly appreciated because then we won't have to waste time (mis)interpreting
this and we can get moving on the things that matter.
We hope that you will read this and share any feedback you might have, in this
topic or directly to ce_tanja. We have just started this journey and we are happy
to take your input to the process and adjust along the way.
Thank you!
The BrickLink Team
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | May 17, 2021 08:31 | | Subject: | Re: We are extending the BrickLink Designer Program | | Viewed: | 106 times | | Topic: | Announce | |
| In Announce, kpierce8 writes:
| | Hi,
I am wondering About your announcement in the lego developer’s program. Does
this change mean that some of the projects that had to drop out might again be
available in the later rounds? Specifically I am hoping that the seafood restaurant
and the dive shop might become a possibility again.
|
Hi kpierce8,
No, I am afraid not, the projects you mention had to leave the Designer program
due to other obligations. For some projects though, it will allow the designers
a bit more time to adjust their designs to ensure that they are able to make
it to crowdfunding.
/Tanja
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | May 13, 2021 09:58 | | Subject: | Re: We are extending the BrickLink Designer Program | | Viewed: | 335 times | | Topic: | Buying | |
| In Buying, Errd writes:
| | Dear BrickLink Team.
Because you're making changes in Design Program I would like to ask if there's
a chance to remove the 5000 limit on the number of created sets.
I love everything about this initiative except the rat race factor that mentioned
limit creates.
I think some of those awesome sets will become very popular and they could run
out of stock very fast.
It would be a shame to miss the chance to order one of those wonderful builds
just because not being fast enough to purchase.
|
Dear Errd,
What an absolutely lovely message! I am thrilled that you love the program and
I understand the frustrations with the limited availability.
We did double the number of sets produced from the pilot we did back in 2019,
hopefully this will mean enough for everyone interrested because we are not able
to expand further unfortunately.
Fingers crossed you will be able to get the sets you would like to have.
/Tanja
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | May 13, 2021 09:50 | | Subject: | Re: LEGO Certified Professional program-hiring! | | Viewed: | 72 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, Stellar writes:
Thank you for kind assistance!
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | May 12, 2021 09:49 | | Subject: | LEGO Certified Professional program-hiring! | | Viewed: | 354 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear BrickLink Members,
I thought it might be interesting to some of you (especially Russian and Mexican
members) to know that The AFOL Engagement team within The LEGO Group is looking
for candidates for two new LEGO Certified Professional positions in Russia and
Mexico.
You can read much more about this here: https://www.lego.com/da-dk/aboutus/new-lego-certified-professionals.
/Tanja
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | May 10, 2021 16:06 | | Subject: | Re: BrickLink Marketplace Panel | | Viewed: | 112 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
| | Dear BrickLink members,
We are launching a new initiative on BrickLink called the Marketplace Panel,
the initiative aims to achieve an outside-in driven approach to decision making.
In 4 annual Panel sessions, the purpose is to:
- Ensure and improved prioritization of tasks (development, bug fixes, etc.)
within the Marketplace team, in order to reflect the needs in the Seller and
Buyer community as much as possible.
- To investigate opportunities for improvements to the current setup of the Marketplace.
- To pressure test new opportunities, concepts, legislative requirements, etc.
- Build future strategic plans for the Marketplace
To start out with, we have invited 8 Sellers and Buyers, going forward it will
be possible for all to sign up for Panel participation (we will have a limit
of 10 members per year though).
We have great expectations for this initiative and hopefully this is something
that more people will want to take part in going forward.
The first Panel meeting will take place on May 20th. We will be sharing minutes
with all of you after each of the 4 annual meetings.
The BrickLink Team
|
Dear all,
Thank you for your comments and questions!
To start the Panel and test the concept, we have invited eight people that we
trust to be able to represent the greater Bricklink Seller and Buyer community
in a proactive and constructive manner.
Once the concept is tested and working smoothly, we will be able to bring other
community members on board.
But first we need to get to the first meeting This is something we look very
much forward to!
We will keep you posted in the forum as well as in an upcoming Marketplace newsletter.
The BrickLink Team
|
|
| Author: | CE_Tanja | | Posted: | May 10, 2021 04:03 | | Subject: | BrickLink Marketplace Panel | | Viewed: | 905 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
| Dear BrickLink members,
We are launching a new initiative on BrickLink called the Marketplace Panel,
the initiative aims to achieve an outside-in driven approach to decision making.
In 4 annual Panel sessions, the purpose is to:
- Ensure and improved prioritization of tasks (development, bug fixes, etc.)
within the Marketplace team, in order to reflect the needs in the Seller and
Buyer community as much as possible.
- To investigate opportunities for improvements to the current setup of the Marketplace.
- To pressure test new opportunities, concepts, legislative requirements, etc.
- Build future strategic plans for the Marketplace
To start out with, we have invited 8 Sellers and Buyers, going forward it will
be possible for all to sign up for Panel participation (we will have a limit
of 10 members per year though).
We have great expectations for this initiative and hopefully this is something
that more people will want to take part in going forward.
The first Panel meeting will take place on May 20th. We will be sharing minutes
with all of you after each of the 4 annual meetings.
The BrickLink Team
|
|
|
