BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Suggestions, axaday writes:

When you just get
told that you have this long to fix it or your listing will just evaporate, I

Listings evaporating would be totally unacceptable though, and would finally
cause the people who are accusing BL of inventory gremlins to be right. If such
a system was implemented it would cause me to write software to evade it. Because
to me, if there is one thing that's unacceptable about selling, it's
parts physically taking up space in my home that are dead weight and I will never
discover it. It's a number that can only grow over time, unless I would count
all of my million parts which - call me lazy - I won't do

Much better to simply make (older) "undetermined" parts not appear in the list
when browsing a store's items. Or undetermined items forced into stockroom
(with clear notification). The seller's inventory management should always
be 100% accurate and not suffer from a pressure means to improve listings. That's
a very principal thing to me, and for some sellers there's even a tax report
aspect here.

But yes, I understand your sentiment, and it shouldn't be too difficult for
Bricklink to focus the incentive on "buyability" and not on messing up administration.

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, axaday writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

When a new variant is introduced after
something was listed, then logically the listing is the old variant and does
not need to be undetermined.

That's actually not logical. Sometimes it is a while before a variant is
recognized. It is not at all uncommon for it to go unnoticed for 6 months by
which time a lot of people have the new one for sale, listed as the old one.

I added

42876 Turkey Drumstick, 22mm with Oval Opening on Back
Parts: Food & Drink

to the catalog when someone on the forum reported that there
was a new variant. I happened to have it and got a quick picture. This happened
Sept 23, 2019. Last year's advent calenders brought the attention to it.
But it has now been found in 7 sets from 2018. You had over a year to part
out one of those sets and have a listing that claimed to be the old variant and
was actually the new variant.

Many more stark examples can be found among the Clikits. Little attention has
usually be given to them. [p=clikits004a] and [p=clikits004b] masqueraded as
the same part for ELEVEN YEARS before Woutr noticed they were distinct and there
are a dozen other Clikits pieces with the same situation. Now the listings are
littered with the undetermined piece and there is no way for the Bricklink computers
to determine which is which. It's pretty easy to do in person once you learn
what you are looking for, but you have to actually have the pieces in your hand.

True, and I wasn't saying that it could account for *all* listings. But it
would already help a great deal if the items that are certainly not of the newer
type, weren't turned into undetermined. Even in your 11 year example, they
could still leave listings that are older than 11 years (and not added to in
the meantime). Maybe not so many listings left that qualify in such an extreme
case, but still, all bits help.
I think for most items we have a pretty good grasp on what year they were released.
If I recall right, several lots in my inventory have turned "undetermined" that
hadn't been created or added to for quite some time, and there was no reason
to make them undetermined because of a much more recent type.

Anyway you're right it's not a *solution*... just something that'd
help. Along with clear communication about new types to sellers that have them
listed when a new one is discovered, and simple interface options to manage types.
I think type listing deserves some attention for improvement, as many problems
buyers run into with sellers have to do with type errors.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jan 2, 2020 17:14

Subject:

Re: Policy change - Undetermined versus Unknown a

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, axaday writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

When a new variant is introduced after
something was listed, then logically the listing is the old variant and does
not need to be undetermined.

42876 Turkey Drumstick, 22mm with Oval Opening on Back
Parts: Food & Drink

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jan 2, 2020 11:14

Subject:

Re: Policy change - Undetermined versus Unknown a

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

At the same time, we need to start enforcing listing rules
more stringently, and give a fixed, reasonable length of time for sellers to
deal with undetermined entries in their stores, instead of waiting until all
items have sold out.

I think that is only fair if Bricklink also improves the system. Because right
now it has turned a lot of parts that I had in fact determined, into undetermined
parts (thinking of jumper plates now). When a new variant is introduced after
something was listed, then logically the listing is the old variant and does
not need to be undetermined. At the very least I'd like to receive a message
when a new variant is added and a confirmation option to mark my existing stock
as the old variant. Because right now things become undetermined without me know
it, then they are ordered, a random variant gets picked, and the result is inconsistent
inventory that needs to be recounted. That's a bit off putting.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 31, 2019 14:18

Subject:

Re: hope for the new year

Viewed:

51 times

Topic:

http://v4ei.com/mini-fig-ure-outer/comics/index.php

In General, mfav writes:

Happy new year folks. Wish you all the best for the new year. As for me, I just
hope I will survive this night...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGJseovT8ug

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 30, 2019 07:52

Subject:

Re: Don't set "Ready" as default order status.

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, Gaston.La.Brick writes:

After a user places an order, it gets the default status "Ready".*
This confuses buyers: they think the order was processed and is ready for shipping.
I would like to suggest setting the default order status always to "Pending".

*(Unless they pay at once using BL, it is set to "Paid" automatically. I can't
set it to that status manually. This is confusing since there is a payment status
as well. So that's double info and I would remove that possible value for
the status.)

Hi there

Don't use IC so do not have this problem . but I think it is worth noting
that lots of sellers use the status indicator for different situations.

For example - in our store we see Pending as order placed. We change that status
to Processing when we pick the order up and send out our acknowledgement to the
buyer. When the order is picked and pre-packaged the status changes to ready,
and when it is invoiced it goes to packed. We don't change it to paid - we
ship within 24 hours of being paid and change it then to shipped. So paid is
not something we use and we change the status at various times throughout the
process to match our processes. That seems to work well for us but it probably
would not suit others. Just depends on whether you use IC or bother with the
status at all. I don't believe Bricklink should get involved with changing
the status automatically in most cases - that should be left to the stores and
when appropriate the buyers.

Bill @ Calsbricks

IC orders that come in not yet paid (or verified) come in as "ready", so in your
routine it's the same issue as that I have: Some of your "ready" orders would
be picked and pre-packed, while others would be completely newly received IC
orders. There are 2 possible solutions:

1. Invoice manual orders before picking them, so that all "ready" orders
mean "need to be picked" (disadvantage: if they're manual because of a shipping
cost question you may want to pick and test it first)

2. Change manual orders to "packed" once you picked them, so there's no risk
you pick them twice (disadvantage: you can't see when the buyer sent the
payment and buyers can't make additions anymore)

However, since 99% of my orders are IC, it's not difficult for me to deal
with this anymore as I can remember the status of such individual cases. So I'm
not complaining, but I agree the OP's suggestion would be an improvement.
However, I am not sure about the OP's reason for it - I haven't had any
buyers that were confused by it - just me

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 30, 2019 05:26

Subject:

Re: Don't set "Ready" as default order status.

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Suggestions, Gaston.La.Brick writes:

Agree, posted this before. It's also ambiguous for me as a seller, as I can't
distinguish new orders from the ones I have sorted and invoiced. Especially when
you work together with someone else it is messy and has already resulted in several
orders being picked twice.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 26, 2019 04:48

Subject:

Re: BRICKS & PIECES availability and price

Viewed:

64 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Tholwin writes:

Hello,

While I favor buying other people's unwanted pieces, I always check the price
of each piece on "BRICKS & PIECES" (Lego website), in an attempt to avoid buying
on bricklink pieces I could get cheaper and brand new from Lego.

This is the reason why I would love to see in bricklink if pieces are available
on "BRICKS & PIECES", and at which price, without having to search.

Best regards

I get why this would be a useful feature for an independent comparison site to
have. But on Bricklink itself that makes little sense, for reasons others
have mentioned. Maybe propose this at a site that is not a marketplace, such
as Rebrickable? I don't know Rebrickable very well but they do have a channel
through which you can buy on BrickOwl (maybe als on Bricklink?). It'd sound
like the best place for that helicopter overview where it's OK to compare
apples and oranges, just like sites for comparing retail prices of sets from
different sources.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 24, 2019 14:31

Subject:

Re: Problem/bug with shipping minimum order

Viewed:

25 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, kaat writes:

Agree it makes no sense to set it lower than the store minimum buy (part 1 of
what you say).

However, it should not be completely removed (part 2 of what you say). For example,
I use this to offer free shipping from a certain order amount. So that's
not "without any side effects"

Well I didn't intend to remove it completely, just remove the (pointless)
rule that a shipping method MUST have a minimum order at least as high
as the store minimum. So, in your example you can still enter that minimum you
want. You are just no longer forced to enter a minimum value for a shipping method
if you don't want to. If you want, you can leave it on zero while your store
minimum is €10, so that "bypassers" are able to use the method. Or you can set
it to €10 so that they can't.

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

I've never quite understood why you are not allowed to set the minimum order
of a shipping method lower than the minimum order of your store. It's annoying
because if you have 10 shipping methods, then anytime you want to change your
minimum order, you need to also change it 10x in your shipping methods, for no
real reason, because the "master setting", the store minimum order value, should
determine it already.

However, it seems it's also causing another problem: Buyers can use the bypass
password to get around the minimum order, but it does not help them go
around the minimum order of the shipping methods. The result is that anytime
a buyer used the bypass password, they are able to order but unable to select
any shipping methods. So there will need to be a manual invoice.

I'd propose removing the restriction for shipping methods to have a minimum
order value that is higher than or equal to the store minimum order value - in
fact, I'd propose for shipping methods not to need a minimum value at all.
That should solve everything I described without any side effects.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 24, 2019 13:10

Subject:

Problem/bug with shipping minimum order

Viewed:

74 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 21, 2019 18:01

Subject:

Re: Guardian " lego take ovrer BL"

Viewed:

60 times

Topic:

In General, nectara writes:

In General, Teup writes:

but Bricklink is not a profitable site (at least, that's the general consensus)

Wow
So Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim paid millions for a not profitable site than Lego paid even
more millions for the same not profitable site ... interesting way to do business...
Regards
Nectara

It's surprising you're now defending Bricklink as a cash cow because
that would mean they have plenty of budget to solve their problems, problems
that you often seemed to just accept as the way things are. Anyway what most
members as well as Bricklink have been saying is that Bricklink doesn't have
much money. And I don't think that Lego bought Bricklink for its money making
potential. There are tons of things that are smarter to buy if making a quick
buck is the idea. Lego is smarter than that. It seems clear to me they bought
Bricklink for what it is - an essential piece that facilitates part of their
business, the AFOL business - rather than for a quick buck.

If I were Lego, I'd do everything to own a marketplace that is THE one and
only place to go. Maybe I'd make it free, compensate volunteers (probably
with Lego sets) to have the most complete catalog possible, so that there's
no competition possible and there is no question about where to buy Lego. I'd
own the whole chain. The extra sales from a stable system like that and the improved
customer service that can direct costumers to buy any part there probably far
outweigh messing around with fee percentages to scrape bits of money off the
transactions.

In the end all parts are produced and sold by LEGO, so the better and more efficient
the whole pipeline is, the better. We don't have the numbers and figures
so this is all speculation and we can never be sure. But not wanting to save
money on infrastructure makes sense to me.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 21, 2019 15:41

Subject:

Re: Guardian " lego take ovrer BL"

Viewed:

58 times

Topic:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/dec/20/lego-accused-of-muscling-in-on-fans-after-bricklink-takeover

In General, legoman77 writes:

In General, Teup writes:

In General, stacey_love writes:

My goodness why the focus on all de doom thinkers, now it sounds like everyone
assumes it will be terrible. That's neither correct, nor to our advantage.
I thought the replies to the news were really pretty balanced. We've seen
a whole range of different opinions and expectations. But I guess that's
how media work.

Every sale or transfer of this site has shown a decline in the functionality
of BrickLink. I do not see that there will be an improvement and that Lego will
consider this site a money making proposition. If they did not think that, they
would not have bought it. Lego, after all, is for profit. That is their bottom
line. So far they have kicked off Brickarms. And yes, I am in the doom column
and there is nothing wrong. I hope that I am wrong.
I see the 3% fee going away. I see something more like ebay feedback or the
feedback being eliminated. I see Lego making sellers not undercut the cost of
bricks that they sell in their Shop at Home site. I also see not allowing current
sets to be sold on Bricklink. At one time they gave Peeron permission to post
the instructions, except for the current and I believe the past years. So they
could do that with new sets. Lego is all about profit. They are not Lego enthusiasts
unless it is about sales.
I hope that I am wrong.

John P

Well here's my take on that: https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1170213

Of course LEGO is all for profit, but Bricklink is not a profitable site (at
least, that's the general consensus). Instead I think they just want to own
the part of the "production line" where their sets get turned into AFOL food,
namely the parts. Raising fees would be foolish, people will just sell elsewhere.
I think LEGO just wants to secure their selling of sets by 1. Selling more sets
to happy AFOLs with a good Bricklink and 2. Selling more parts to AFOLs through
the work of BL sellers parting out the sets.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 21, 2019 09:04

Subject:

Re: Guardian " lego take ovrer BL"

Viewed:

61 times

Topic:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/dec/20/lego-accused-of-muscling-in-on-fans-after-bricklink-takeover

In General, Give.Me.A.Brick writes:

In General, calsbricks writes:

In General, Pippyblocks writes:

Since when have the media ever spread good news, they focus on the negative,
its what sells and allows 'them' to try and brainwash the masses.

In General, stacey_love writes:

The answer to that is bad news sells, good news rarely does. It is, unfortunately
the way the world is. What a dreadful state of affairs that is

Sorry to disagree, but IMO* , there is no such thing as "the way the world is".
We all are making the world.

I once had a Belgian Buyer with a "me" page reading that he and his wife through
their 3 children all supported children in Africa. I dearly relate to that, I
support education for children in Africa as well, and my children will too, so
I wrote him

He explainedme that the reason why he subscribed each of his children
to that program is that way they will grow understanding and being aware that
not all children in the world have the same opportunities they have. There is
no doubt in my mind that these children are going to be more sensitive to others
realities and less egoccentric.

We have to make the change we want to see in the world, to quote a poet.

I love good news, they sell to me. I spread good news. They sell to the people
I'm spreading. The bad, not really. Unless it is to allert to something potentially
nefarious.

I could go on with examples of playlists on the radio and tv shows, but maybe
some other day...

*There is no such thing as IMHO either, just political correctness

Well I agree with you both. I like thinking "that's just how the world is,
but at least it wasn't my fault"

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 21, 2019 05:38

Subject:

Re: Guardian " lego take ovrer BL"

Viewed:

105 times

Topic:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/dec/20/lego-accused-of-muscling-in-on-fans-after-bricklink-takeover

In General, stacey_love writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 14, 2019 17:00

Subject:

Re: Parts Category Tree

Viewed:

51 times

Topic:

In Catalog, mfav writes:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

I get (for the most part) what mfav and calsbricks are proposing, but it remains
to be seen the level of investment TLG is willing to sink into the catalog (and,
considering their own websites, what the results would be). Provided that the
site chooses to retain the hierarchical system, I think we all agree it can definitely
be improved.

Nope. It won't be improved. It will be different. This is just rearranging
the content on shelves in the supermarket.

If the last couple deployments of "site improvements and updates" aren't
enough to dissuade you from tinkering with the site, well...I don't know
what to think. Kind of feels like the wheels are coming off the stagecoach and
the horses are headed for the ravine.

I sincerely appreciate the time, thought, enthusiasm, and commitment you have
for the catalog. Sincerely, I do. That said, I recommend letting stuff settle
down a bit. I'm afraid anything you cook up at this point may be wasted effort.
Stuff that was working two days ago may not be working now.

But it's your effort to waste, so I respect that.

That is very well put, I second that. I appreciate the effort people are making,
but to be honest I feel like the results would mostly satisfy some people's
personal feeling of how things make the most sense, rather than actually have
basis in UX testing or answers to identified findability problems. I could also
imagine a new catalog that would seem perfect to myself, but probably others
could still struggle with it. Perfect for revamping your own storage, but imposing
it on a global marketplace is something else.

A new catalog would be the most dramatic reorganisation in my 15 year Bricklink
"career" and probably for some other category based sellers as well. While I'm
not asking for sympathy, we better make sure that changes are objective improvements
rather than just new alternative ideas. That way the ton of work that would go
into reorganising a store at least feels like a productive effort. And then there's
also the issue of compatibility with other marketplaces that we lose. So let's
not lose our heads in the enthusiasm...

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 14, 2019 16:20

Subject:

Re: Parts Category Tree

Viewed:

49 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

So I've given it more thought and I understand something that should have
been quite obvious before: why certain categories are themed. It's because
they are not compatible, generally speaking, with the standard building system.
Scala is a good example, although even in that category there are some, and
perhaps many, parts that belong elsewhere:

3031clip Scala Jewelry Plate, Modified 4 x 4 with Clip on Back
Parts: Scala

But Friends is an example of a parts category that should not exist. The Friends
line, generally speaking, is fully compatible with the classic building system.
And what you say about shape makes a lot of sense, too.

Good thinking. Anyway the category became outdated as it was conceived back when
we thought that minidolls would be Friends-only, but now we know they appear
in different themes. Would that make the accessories Minidoll,Utensil for example
or what do you propose?

In Technic, for example,
there are standard bricks with holes. Those are clearly just modified bricks.

You want to move technic bricks into Brick Modified?

Bad idea if you ask me.
Brick Modified is already pretty huge, and technic bricks are in my experience
almost always ordered together with other technic parts. This way it is convenient
for buyers to find, and convenient for sellers to pick. I know BrickOwl has Brick,Technic
but I don't like it. Seems strange to have "Technic" subcategories pop up
multiple times under Brick and Plate rather than a main Technic category once.
But Brick,Modified would be even worse - essential technic parts drowning in
a massive category of other parts.

Technic bricks, pins, axes, gears, these are things that belong together.
Besides, it's also conceptually a misinterpretation the way I see it. Technic
Bricks aren't modified; Within the realm of Technic, these are the standard
bricks.
Of all divisions in the catalog, I think Technic vs the rest is actually one
of the clearest most obvious ones... With the hierarchy improvement it would
be even nicer, with Technic Brick being one of the subcategories besides Liftarm
(which is a logical alternative to them), Pins (that fit in them), Axles, and
all those other parts that they are always used with.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 14, 2019 05:54

Subject:

Re: URGENT MESSAGE TO LEGO RE BRICKLINK

Viewed:

104 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Rob_and_Shelagh writes:

Before doing anything else with this site I suggest, as I have many, many times
before:-

There needs to be a proper 24/7 help desk and a proper SLA with members.

When something goes wrong with the site there is just no way of alerting anyone
out of USA working hours and even after that often nobody responds. This is no
way to run a global e-commerce site of this scale.

Currently I cannot access the BL catalog using any browser on PC or tablet...
and this has being the case for hours...surely this requires a response at least
from someone, somewhere!!!!!

Robert

+1! Should go without saying, but apparently it doesn't!

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 10, 2019 10:59

Subject:

Re: Parts Category Tree

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Catalog, 62Bricks writes:

What is the fundamental difference between a 1x2 plate with a hinge attached
and a 1x2 plate with a clip, or a pin hole, or a bar attached? They are all 1x2
plates with an extra type of attachment. But for some reason, the hinge attachment
has been singled out and given its own category. So some are defined by their
shape (plate), some by their type of attachment (hinge), and some by the theme
(Technic). Instead, they should all be placed in a top level category by the
same criteria. That doesn't have to be shape - it could be attachment type
or dimensions or something else, but it should be something common to all parts
and consistently applied.

I understand your reasoning, that's why I brought up the hinge vs plate modified
issue. There is no logic, but it's how we learned it, and I find it convenient
both when selling and buying. My point is that you could reform everything from
the ground up, but it would break with other sites. The question then is: Is
it worth it. In your opinion it is. In my opinion, it's only worth it if
it means we get a principally perfect system. But parts are not numbers that
you can order in one principally correct way. There is no "correct" way. There
will always be opinions and it's always a trade-off: Some want parts categorised
based on shape, others want them more based on thematic scopes, and there's
always a line to draw. It's like the dilemma in spelling reforms: etymology
vs phonology. So to throw away what common language we mananged to build up and
end up with a system that to you and some others will be ideal, and some others
may not be so ideal, to me isn't enough of an improvement to make it worth
it. I may even agree your system would be better and still it wouldn't outweigh
the universality for me. I guess our points are clear, we agree to disagree

As for selling across platforms, I don't see how the categories make any
difference to a seller. They don't match as it is, except for brick scout.

Actually that's not right, BrickOwl also uses the same system (as well as
my webshop). Some parts are moved around but these are details. 95% is the same,
for example the hinge vs plate modified logic. I'm sorting orders on a daily
basis on both platforms and my storage is A-Z, and usually there is only like
1 or 2 "jumps" in my BrickOwl orders because of some categories grouped together.
That's acceptable and easy enough to work around. But if it would be all
moved and the order turns into total random with all different categories names...
well you can blame my lack if ingenuity but to be honest I don't know how
I'd pick orders... unless Bricklink would have an option to allow me to view
everything in the classic categories.

If your system could be a parallel system, perhaps a tag based system, then to
me it would be a nice improvement that doesn't come with a sacrifice.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 10, 2019 07:46

Subject:

Re: Parts Category Tree

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

I think what's now in Vehicle Base is first of all intended for land vehicles on wheels. Bases for other vehicles are already in cockpit, or aircraft, or train, and perhaps others.

Well, but there're these:

35106 Aircraft Fuselage 4 x 16 x 1 with 2 x 10 Recessed Center and 8 x 4 Wings with Cutaways, 9 Holes
Parts: Aircraft

43979 Vehicle, Base 12 x 12 x 1 1/3 with 8 x 4 Recessed Center and 8 Holes
Parts: Vehicle, Base

42863 Aircraft Fuselage Forward Bottom Angular 4 x 18 x 1 1/3 with 2 x 14 Recessed Center and 13 Holes
Parts: Aircraft

And these could be used for a number of different kinds of vehicles:

30149 Vehicle, Base 6 x 5 x 2 with 2 Seats
Parts: Vehicle, Base

28324 Vehicle, Base 6 x 12 with 4 x 2 Recessed Center with Smooth Underside
Parts: Vehicle, Base

52037 Vehicle, Base 6 x 16 x 2/3 with 4 x 4 Recessed Center and 4 Holes
Parts: Vehicle, Base

I still think the latter 3 are ground-vehicle-with-wheels based but ok, Vehicle
Base is a pretty good category. Though it would be better to me if cockpit parts
are also moved in there.

I think all cockpit parts would do well there. Hard to explain the above are
Vehicle Base and this one isn't:

4597 Cockpit 6 x 6 x 1 1/3 Cabin Base
Parts: Cockpit

Again, I'm not a fan of reorganising too much, but peripheral categories
such as cockpit are fair game to me - I didn't even know it still existed
at all. Eliminating tiny categories like these is also a way of making the category
list more managable.

I think one level would already be enough.

I wouldn't want more than three levels. So two sublevels of menus seems
perfectly reasonable as an absolute limit, I think - the main category tree and
the possibility of up to two levels makes three total. That's one more than
you propose (the third level would probably only rarely be used).

I'll settle for that

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 10, 2019 05:38

Subject:

Re: Parts Category Tree

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

Have you considered this one? (or some variation of the idea)

No, I hadn't. Not at all. But I really like that idea. Some things would
be contentious for moving there, such as Crane, Monorail, Propeller, Tire & Tread,
Wheel, Wing, and Windscreen, but all of them would make sense in a way to find
under a Vehicle umbrella.

Sounds good to me!

I don't know that renaming Vehicle to Car would be a good idea, though.
I think Vehicle is sufficient since some of the items, especially those in Vehicle,
Base, can be used for building different kinds of vehicles.

Well, what makes it a little awkward is that vehicle is the term that contains
them all, so to me it feels like we'd need a word that's more specific
for what was previously called vehicle, which is a land vehicle on wheels. While
you could use it for other vehicles, I think what's now in Vehicle Base is
first of all intended for land vehicles on wheels. Bases for other vehicles are
already in cockpit, or aircraft, or train, and perhaps others. (Hmmm.. Maybe
keep it called Vehicle Base and move Cockpit in there, I don't think many
people are too attached to that category..)

I think a question that would need to be answered, by the way, is how many submenu
levels would be too many. I wouldn't want to click through ten submenus
to find something - there would have to be a limit imposed from the beginning
on how many levels would exist.

I think one level would already be enough. The lists you get when opening a node
will already be many times shorter than the main catalog anyway. So if you can
scan the main catalog, you can also scan a submenu with 10 items. Might be tempting
to group Vehicle Base under the group of Vehicle categories and then together
with Aircraft etc. in a main Vehicle category, but while it's conceptually
elegant I don't think it's practical.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 10, 2019 04:58

Subject:

Re: Parts Category Tree

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

I've been pondering the category trees.

Just as a side note on adding more parts categories, which submenus would allow:
Duplo has been split into 19 existing categories. The first one is titled simply
Duplo and contains 556 items. Those 556 items are essentially uncategorized
and the Duplo category functions at this point like an Other category.

So if there was an overarching Duplo category and clicking it opened a new set
of submenus showing only Duplo items, then those 500+ items could be separated
out into further categories without adding to the huge existing categories list
shown by default.

Some new categories this would allow based on some of the larger sections of
items now categorized only as Duplo:

Duplo, Ball Tube
Duplo, Building
Duplo, Container
Duplo, Door & Window
Duplo, Flag
Duplo, Hose
Duplo, Rattle
Duplo, Technic
Duplo, Tile
Duplo, Winch

Again, I get starting from scratch, but that could be accomplished with a tag
system. I'm mainly talking right now about ways to improve the functionality
and ease of use of the existing categories system.

And if we really wanted to get carried away (frankly, with the system I imagine
I see no reason not to) we could further separate by size. For example, the
Tile, Decorated category which currently contains 4,480 items could be divided
into:

Tile, Decorated 1 X 1
Tile, Decorated 1 X 2
Tile, Decorated 1 X 3
Tile, Decorated 1 X 4
Tile, Decorated 1 X 6
Tile, Decorated 1 X 8
etc.

With the ability to perform a keyword search (existing) and a tag system (hoped-for),
I really think the categories system would benefit from the kind of improvements
I'm proposing.

I like these ideas. It keeps things in tact while making it a lot easier to navigate.
Have you considered this one? (or some variation of the idea)

Vehicle
- Aircraft
- Boat
- Car base
- Car general
- Car mudguard
- Riding cycle
- Train

("Car" is just an idea - or just keep the current vehicle category names and
just move Aircraft, Boat, Riding cycle and Train under the Vehicle umbrella)

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 10, 2019 04:17

Subject:

Re: Parts Category Tree

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Catalog, 62Bricks writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

In Catalog, 62Bricks writes:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

I've been pondering the category trees. When you click on Parts from the
main catalog page you get hit with 230 categories. It's hard to justify
adding further categories, even though needed for some existing categories, because
there are already too many.

I've also been thinking about simple fixes that maintain the BrickLink look
and feel and imagined what it might be like with some submenus (the large image
below with the selections shrunk from 230 to only 85). The little plus signs
might not be the best way to do this - they just indicate for the purposes of
discussion that this category can be expanded or leads to another menu.

I've also imagined a Themed Parts menu and a Minifigure Items menu (those
menus happen when you select those options from the main menu) and added those
images.

Of course, I would always want to be able to see the entire category tree by
default if I chose that option.

Good things: you don't have so much to wade through - allows quicker selection
of exactly what you're looking for. Also, the categories within submenus
could be significantly expanded to make finding items even easier without fear
of adding to the existing mess.

Bad thing: you have to click into more menus to get where you're going.

Thoughts?

At a certain point - and we may be at that point now - it makes more sense to
start over rather than try to squeeze what has never been a hierarchical system
into a tree.

I think this is part of the cycle of this discussion: we spot imperfections,
changing them have implications, we imagine some deeper more principal changes,
realise we might as well start over, and then realise no system is perfect and
things are not all that bad the way they are..

Not saying it's necessarily a bad idea in every way.... but there's one
major drawback to starting over: By now the catalog transcends Bricklink. Some
form of it has been adopted by other websites for trading as well as for collection
organisation. And I think this is really great. People are talking about wanting
to be "independent" and fear that LEGO buying Bricklink will make them "lose
independence"... but I don't think being owned by a random billionare means
"independence" either. To me, independence means that we've created a universal
Lego vocabulary that we can use anywhere and we don't depend on any one site.

Everyone knows what a Brick,Modified or a Wedge or Slope,Curved is, or what
counts as a Hinge and what as a Plate,Modified. Isn't that great? I think
it's worth preserving and strengthening. Starting over will mean Bricklink's
taxonomy will be unique and not compatible with other sites, and one system is
already more than enough to learn. This means people will get stuck with one
site and the exchange between them will be reduced, which I think would be a
shame. We're stronger when we connect everything.

But Bricklink is not really connected to any other major site in that way. What
other catalogs use the category "plate, modified," or anything similar? Brickowl
(38 top-level categories) does not. Rebrickable (65 categories) does not. Brickset
uses tags based on Lego's own category system, which is very broad and has
no such category. LDraw (84 categories) does not have a similar category.

I disagree that Bricklink's category is a standard. In fact the three major
catalog sites that have appeared after Bricklink have much simpler categories.
Even LDraw, which is the Grandaddy from which Bricklink borrowed heavily in early
days, has many fewer categories.

I am thinking about BrickOwl, Brickscout and Rebrickable, which people also use
for buying. Are there any trading sides I'm not aware of that use a fundamentally
different catalog?

I would also point out that not everyone knows what a "plate, modified" is. Or
even a "hinge." I think regular Bricklink users imagine they know what
makes a hinge a hinge, for example, but maybe they rarely see these three parts
on the same page:

4626 Vehicle, Digger Bucket 2 x 3 Curved Bottom, Hollow, with 2 Fingers Hinge
Parts: Vehicle

51858 Crane Bucket Lift Basket 2 x 3 x 2 with Locking Hinge Fingers
Parts: Crane

30394 Vehicle, Digger Bucket 7 Teeth 3 x 6 with Locking 2 Finger Hinge
Parts: Vehicle

Of course, not in detail. But what I mean is that the general conceptual difference
between plate and hinge is understood.

(...) Under such a system, a part like

4276 Hinge Plate 1 x 2 with 2 Fingers on End (Undetermined Type)
Parts: Hinge

would be a "plate, hinge" not a "hinge plate."

Likewise, all the hinge bricks would move to the brick category.

That is exactly what I mean by the general concept, and how it would be lost
in such a system. So in your system, how do category based sellers keep on selling
across platforms? If the catalog similarities with what I am using elsewhere
are lost, I am not sure how I will continue to sell on Bricklink.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Dec 9, 2019 17:28

Subject:

Re: Parts Category Tree

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

In Catalog, 62Bricks writes:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

At a certain point - and we may be at that point now - it makes more sense to
start over rather than try to squeeze what has never been a hierarchical system
into a tree.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Nov 23, 2019 09:59

Subject:

Re: 4150 not dead?

Viewed:

77 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Hygrotus writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

That's funny. I just encountered 4 of these:

4150 Tile, Round 2 x 2
Parts: Tile, Round

With "X" bottom in Light Bluish Gray in some 2019 sets. I mixed together many
sets so unfortunately, I can't trace which one it's from. But it's
definitely a set from this year. According to the catalog, the part died out
in 2014.

Such things happen, some factory dig to old stock

but as Stuart9 said you need to have undoubtful proove.

Some example

4085b Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with U Clip Thin (Vertical Grip)
Parts: Plate, Modified

Used in 1980-1991 tne gap an agin reappear between 2004-2017
and recent one

42445 Bar 12L with 1 x 2 Plate End Solid Studs and 1 x 1 Round Plate End
Parts: Bar

2002-2013 and the suddenly in one 2019 set

Well, even if I have proof, maybe it is so rare that it's not worth complicating
the catalog for.

I parted out 2 copies of a lot of sets. Strangely, I have 4, and there is no
set in my list that contains 2. That means that either two different sets
with 1 each must have had them (unlikely) or they appeared in:

21316-1 (Inv) The Flintstones
732 Parts, 4 Minifigures, 2019
Sets: LEGO Ideas (CUUSOO)

(17 per set in total)
and/or

21318-1 (Inv) Tree House
3020 Parts, 4 Minifigures, 2019
Sets: LEGO Ideas (CUUSOO)

(3 per set in total)

...alongside the new type. It looks like they really just mixed in some old stock,
probably in the Flintstones one.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Nov 23, 2019 09:02

Subject:

4150 not dead?

Viewed:

176 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

That's funny. I just encountered 4 of these:

4150 Tile, Round 2 x 2
Parts: Tile, Round

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Nov 20, 2019 11:36

Subject:

Re: Mini minidolls?

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Hygrotus writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

minidoll

In catalog we write it separetly
"Mini Doll"
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogListOld.asp?q=Mini%20Doll
not
"Minidoll"
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogListOld.asp?q=Minidoll

I stand corrected

Then I vote Micro Doll

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Nov 20, 2019 11:04

Subject:

Re: Mini minidolls?

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Catalog, yorbrick writes:

So what are these things going to be called?

Mini minidolls
Microdolls
Pocket dolls or Polly dolls

other suggestions?

https://www.promobricks.de/lego-disney-princess-2020-bilder-und-infos-zu-den-ersten-sets/89267

I vote microdolls

Tiny versions of minifigs with regular minifig heads are called microfigures,
so logically you'd call tiny versions of minidolls with regular minidoll
heads microdolls.

85863 Body Microfigure Complete
Parts: Minifigure, Body Part

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 30, 2019 07:39

Subject:

Re: Adding box contents for sets?

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, sbpyrat writes:

I was wondering if there'd be a possibility of adding box contents to LEGO
sets on here. Something like listing the number of each bag, unmarked bags/unbagged
parts, etc.

I deal with a lot of secondhand sets and come across sets with open boxes (or
like today no boxes), but sealed bags of parts. Today I scored 14/17 numbered
backs for set 10237 Tower of Orthanc. I almost missed out on getting the second
bag #3 because it didn't obviously go with the other bags. Thankfully I
was able to find an old unboxing video on YouTube and figured out I'm missing
3 numbered bags (#1, #4, and one of the two #5s), plus the unnumbered eagle bag.
But usually when I'm in this situation, I haven't been so lucky. It's
especially tricky with sets that have unnumbered bags. I usually end up opening
them to do the inventory if I'm uncertain, but it would be nice to keep them
sealed and be able to know what was missing.

I'd be willing to provide the list for any new sets I open, if it might help
someone else out down the line. It seems like a fairly easy thing and I'm
surprised that, at least as far as I'm aware, there isn't somewhere to
find this information easily (at least for modern sets). Bricklink seems like
a natural place for this information to exist.

I'm not sure how many folks would be interested in that information, but
in the last year I've probably had questions on the contents for close to
10 different sets.

Anyway, I'm not even sure if this is the appropriate place to mention it,
but I thought I'd give it a shot.

I see why you need it, but I wouldn't count on this happening. Changing from
set inventories to bag inventories would mean multiplying the entire inventory
database by, what, a factor 5? Moreover, all set inventories will need to be
compiled manually without the help of the inventory list in instructions or on
boxes. It would be a heck of a lot of continuous work (are you going to do it?),
and per set it will only ever be consulted a handful of times (if ever).

You're not the only one who ran into this, and I'm not saying it's
necessarily a bad idea, but my advice would be.. I wouldn't wait for this

Besides, I think you can figure out what you're missing from the instructions?
As far as I know most sets are built a bag at a time, so if you follow through
the episode for the bags you're missing you should be able to get yourself
a list of parts you're missing. Haven't done this but could work?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 30, 2019 07:37

Subject:

Re: Adding box contents for sets?

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, sbpyrat writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 19, 2019 17:37

Subject:

Re: Same sticker sheet listed multiple times

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Catalog, randyipp writes:

In Catalog Requests, Teup writes:

In Catalog Requests, randyipp writes:

Any reason there are 6 entries for the same sticker sheet? Can the name not
contain all the different sets it comes from?

[p=8777stk01]
[p=8778stk01]
[p=8779stk01]
[p=8780stk01]
[p=8799stk01]
[p=8800stk01]

I prefer it this way. It's a rare occurrence and changing it would save only
a few entries while making the entire sticker sheet database inconsistent.
I see how it can be a problem when you're looking to buy one, but I wonder
how often this really happens?

So are you saying it is preferable for the database but not for buying and selling.
This seems like the better solution?

Would you have 6 entries on your own webshop?

Well, buyers seem OK with puzzling around with minifigs buying them either whole
or in parts. That's also a situation where people are searching for two things
in parallel that come down to the same thing and it's much more common.
It would mess up my syncing software, for one thing. And I think generally item
names being adaptable depending on what is released next is not a good situation.
So yeah, if I can choose, I'd have multiple entries, but that's just
my opinion.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 18, 2019 18:31

Subject:

Re: Same sticker sheet listed multiple times

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In Catalog Requests, randyipp writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 17, 2019 11:06

Subject:

Re: Very necessary suggestion?

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

That shouldn't affect the prices of sets sold as complete so there is no
reason to stop selling those. But yes, incomplete sets can be anything from almost
complete to a few bricks. But it means sellers must use common sense when pricing
them.

But isn't there only one single entry for used sets in the price guide, regardless
of completeness?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 17, 2019 09:44

Subject:

Re: Very necessary suggestion?

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, net1986 writes:

Hello! I'm net1986 from South Korea!
I would like to suggest something today.

First of all I apologize for my poor English grammar, please understand.

This is what I would suggest this time.

"I wish there was function to view information of just part product from the
set, Not whole set. And function to order those just part product."

For example,
1. I want to get only police swat van from set 60008 Museum Break-in.(don't
need any part like figs or Museum)
2. But there is only brick information for whole set(Unnecessary a lot of information
confuses me)
3. It takes a lot of hard work to analyze for only just the swat van.
4. And It's very hard to order each part brick for the van

What I mean is that I wish there was a function to view a only part product(just
swat van of set 60008)and I wish I would order those part in way "easy buy".

I know that the "east buy" function already exists.
It's very helpful for restorers.
But now, It adjust only set product or MOC product as I know.

So, I wish the "easy buy" function is more enhanced(add part product from set)

I hope you guys understand my words.
reply me, thanks.
Best regard,

It's probably a lot of catalog work to break sets into separate components,
but I see a huge advantage: It would solve the pricing problem with "incomplete"
sets. Currently people are listing sets for half of its value because minifigs
or other major parts of the set are missing. That messes up the priceguide completely
and is the main reason why I have abandoned selling sets completely. There are
just too many nonsensical listings.
If for starters there would be a separate entry for sets without the minifigs,
and an entry for the minifigs, that'd already help.

Maybe this would have drawbacks of its own, not sure if it's a good idea
but I'm just thinking out loud...

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 11, 2019 05:07

Subject:

Re: 49699 a Panel?!

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

In Catalog, DeLuca writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

Also, it doesn't make much sense to call this part a cylinder:

49949 Cylinder 6 x 10 x 4 1/3 with Open Sides and Pin Holes
Parts: Cylinder

When its own counterpart that fits into it is a Slope:

45411 Slope, Curved 6 x 8 x 2 Double
Parts: Slope, Curved

This actually makes a bit more sense, since Part (45411)'s original
counterpart is Part (45410), which is also classified as a Curved Slope. Both
Parts (45411) and (45410) could also be reclassified as Cylinders, though. 😐

45411 Slope, Curved 6 x 8 x 2 Double
Parts: Slope, Curved

45410 Slope, Curved 6 x 8 x 2 Inverted Double
Parts: Slope, Curved

Ok, yes, I can see why those should stick together.

Random idea: Changing Vehicle Base into Vehicle Base & Roof. Move all these parts
there, together with those car roofs that are currently in wedge but aren't
really that wedgy

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 10, 2019 11:29

Subject:

Re: 49699 a Panel?!

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:

In Catalog, Turez writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

49699 Panel 1 x 6 x 4 1/3 with Window and 4 Pin Holes
Parts: Panel

I can't discover anything panel-ish about this part. I'd say it's
window, door, technic, other, vehicle, or pretty much anything except a panel...

What do you think it should be?

Since

30528 Arch 1 x 8 x 6 (Portal)
Parts: Arch

is an arch, 49699 should perhaps just be a slope

I don’t quite follow the logic here

Half an arch might be a slope but, surely, an arch + an inverted arch is not
a slope, it’s a cylinder!

At least it has something in common with

30180 Slope 45 10 x 2 x 2 Double
Parts: Slope

Okay but then it should be a Slope AND a Slope Inverted. And both Double. So
does that make it Quadruple or Double-Double?

We really need a catmin who is used to deep and rigorous classifications.
I don’t know, maybe an entomologist or something like that?

So it's a door/window/panel/technic/vehicle/slope/arch/brick modified/cylinder..
I think this part just broke the catalog

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 10, 2019 10:10

Subject:

Re: 49699 a Panel?!

Viewed:

54 times

Topic:

In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:

In Catalog, firestar246 writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

49699 Panel 1 x 6 x 4 1/3 with Window and 4 Pin Holes
Parts: Panel

I can't discover anything panel-ish about this part. I'd say it's
window, door, technic, other, vehicle, or pretty much anything except a panel...

What do you think it should be?

My first thought is technic or window frame

Well:

1. Window (or door) frame implies you could put a glass or panel (or door)
inside. That seems very unlikely with the technic holes in the way.

2. It’s been used in System (City) sets for now BUT it sure looks like a Technic
Brick, yet not really.
So Technic could do but not really “Technic Brick” and there are no similar parts
(that I know of) in the other Technic categories, that would mean it should fall
in the general “Technic” category, which is already overpopulated.

I’m not envying the catmins

Yep certainly a tough one. It's very clear what it is: A hatch. But how to
catalog it in the existing categories?
I'm voting Door Frame. Alternatively, Vehicle. It may be used in space bases,
but the whole point of hatches is that things are built up from compartments
that have been vehicles at some point.
Hmm, anyone remember the days when we had a "Space" category?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 10, 2019 07:22

Subject:

Re: 49699 a Panel?!

Viewed:

67 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

49699 Panel 1 x 6 x 4 1/3 with Window and 4 Pin Holes
Parts: Panel

I can't discover anything panel-ish about this part. I'd say it's
window, door, technic, other, vehicle, or pretty much anything except a panel...

What do you think it should be?

Also, it doesn't make much sense to call this part a cylinder:

49949 Cylinder 6 x 10 x 4 1/3 with Open Sides and Pin Holes
Parts: Cylinder

When its own counterpart that fits into it is a Slope:

45411 Slope, Curved 6 x 8 x 2 Double
Parts: Slope, Curved

How about putting them both in Vehicle, Cylinder, or Aircraft?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 10, 2019 07:19

Subject:

49699 a Panel?!

Viewed:

163 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

49699 Panel 1 x 6 x 4 1/3 with Window and 4 Pin Holes
Parts: Panel

I can't discover anything panel-ish about this part. I'd say it's
window, door, technic, other, vehicle, or pretty much anything except a panel...

What do you think it should be?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 9, 2019 08:58

Subject:

Re: Negative Quantity / Stockroom

Viewed:

51 times

Topic:

Any admin to comment on this? I would also really like to know.

In Inventories, BrickFlo writes:

No reaction on any channel until now.

In Inventories, Leftoverbricks writes:

In Inventories, BrickFlo writes:

Good morning and Greetings from Germany

Tonight I got that order as shown. Every ordered part is physically in my shop
and I can do the order without problems.

But of course, I'm kind of scared about the negative quantity left?!?

With kind regards,
Florian

Nobody to comment on this?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 9, 2019 07:55

Subject:

Re: releasing items from the stockroom

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

In Inventories, kelmgo writes:

Is there any way of releasing (listing) the entire contents of a stockroom in
one hit or do I have to list every item individually

You wrote "a stockroom", so maybe you have the multiple stockrooms option switched
on, but if you only have one stockroom, this is how to change the availability
status:

On your inventory page, at the bottom there's "Update My Inventory:".
Select the radio button for "Change availability status to X Store Item Stockroom
Item"
In the dialog below, change "update only items in above selected categories"
to "Update my whole inventory". Then click "submit changes".
It's truly horrible interfacing, and extremely error-prone, but if you sit
tight you'll get through it

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 8, 2019 11:52

Subject:

Re: How rare is a flat silver 2x4 brick?

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Colors, Devil.R writes:

In Colors, Teup writes:

In Colors, Devil.R writes:

In Colors, tonnic writes:

In Colors, Devil.R writes:

In Colors, Teup writes:

In Colors, mmookk61 writes:

In Colors, maxx3001 writes:

Since you all are discussing one private trade, should you both be discussing
this in pms?

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?

Btw, we were discussing this 2 hours ago on here and one of us is new to the
site.....

Relax and the symptons will subside.

Maxx

I apologize. You are right. Every transaction has a right to be discussed in
the forums and not via private messages, errr, I mean your PMS. We are all in
your circus and are your Monkeys

Note that private trades, as in: trades outside the Bricklink order system, are
not allowed, and are therefore not allowed to be discussed at all - whether in
the forum or in private messages. That would be fee avoidance. That's why
Maxx is asking for it to go via Bricklink order.

On the other hand, this isn't a transaction that involves money, and I'm
not entirely sure what the policy is on that.

I will buy his listed items, he will pay fees, and we both hope the postman isn't
having a bad day?

A remark of this kind would worry me a bit.

I would send any client six pictures, before end-sale.
They would also receive the tracking number on that day.
Geez.

I'm not as discouraged as you're trying to make me.
If anything, this reflecting poorly on yourself.

I'm nothing but honest and upfront. I have provided multiple pictues for
any potential buyer - I am unsusceptible to bullying.

Admin should look into your behaviour?

If anything they'd be more concerned about some posting over 30 replies to
a single topic. The whole forum is flooded with your topic now, the others have
mostly disappeared at this point. A simple trade like this really shouldn't
take such massive amounts of messages...

I like to respond to every complainant personally, which I've done.
I don't see a single problem?
I haven't attended to this post in over thirty six hours.
Gee wizz.

I'm nothing but personable and accomodating, provided pictures and comments
to every single respondant - most of which have been nothing but positive.

I'm still not discouraged.

Bricklink can evaluate this entire thing however they want.
I still love a Bricklink.

Apparently.

And another seven messages - you don't get it yet so I will repeat my advice
again: Please use fewer messages for more content. It saves people time reading
these posts and it makes it much easier to navigate the forum. Thanks in advance.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 8, 2019 09:38

Subject:

Re: How rare is a flat silver 2x4 brick?

Viewed:

56 times

Topic:

In Colors, Devil.R writes:

In Colors, tonnic writes:

In Colors, Devil.R writes:

In Colors, Teup writes:

In Colors, mmookk61 writes:

In Colors, maxx3001 writes:

Since you all are discussing one private trade, should you both be discussing
this in pms?

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?

Btw, we were discussing this 2 hours ago on here and one of us is new to the
site.....

Relax and the symptons will subside.

Maxx

I apologize. You are right. Every transaction has a right to be discussed in
the forums and not via private messages, errr, I mean your PMS. We are all in
your circus and are your Monkeys

I will buy his listed items, he will pay fees, and we both hope the postman isn't
having a bad day?

A remark of this kind would worry me a bit.

I would send any client six pictures, before end-sale.
They would also receive the tracking number on that day.
Geez.

I'm not as discouraged as you're trying to make me.
If anything, this reflecting poorly on yourself.

I'm nothing but honest and upfront. I have provided multiple pictues for
any potential buyer - I am unsusceptible to bullying.

Admin should look into your behaviour?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Oct 6, 2019 17:07

Subject:

Re: How rare is a flat silver 2x4 brick?

Viewed:

100 times

Topic:

In Colors, mmookk61 writes:

In Colors, maxx3001 writes:

Since you all are discussing one private trade, should you both be discussing
this in pms?

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?

Btw, we were discussing this 2 hours ago on here and one of us is new to the
site.....

Relax and the symptons will subside.

Maxx

I apologize. You are right. Every transaction has a right to be discussed in
the forums and not via private messages, errr, I mean your PMS. We are all in
your circus and are your Monkeys

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 24, 2019 19:10

Subject:

Re: Search setting: seller location filter

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Nowaker writes:

You might be blocking out a huge part of Bricklink that could have just what you are looking for.

I value predictable shipping prices and fast delivery. I don't know what
to expect when ordering from other countries.

Go for the sellers with Instant Checkout. This is indicated by a lightning bolt
icon behind the store name. All added charges will be calculated realtime so
at checkout you see exactly what you will pay.

Normal sized orders from the NL to the US typically take 4 days to arrive. From
other countries it may be a bit longer, but anyway, a couple of days faster shipping
may not always outweigh the price difference.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 17, 2019 13:18

Subject:

Re: Request a Quote

Viewed:

51 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, kelmgo writes:

I am after a few pieces to complete a few kits and am going from one checkout
to another, then to another and then cancelling the orders (before payment) because
the vendors haven't got the "Request a Quote" provision set up.
Clearly it would save a lot of stuffing around if you know the full cost incl
P&H before hand.
Even better - there should be a little icon or something next to the vendors
name to indicate whether they send quotes or not so you don't have to go
through the checkouts to find out right at the end.
This is what I'm experiencing in Australia

Part of what you suggest exists: Stores with a thunderbolt icon have instant
checkout, which means that you see the grand total before you order. There isn't
an icon to distinguish quote sellers from non-quote sellers, however. But even
if there would be such an icon, I'm not sure it would do sellers justice,
as a non quote seller may have a very clear table of shipping costs, which could
be just as good or better than asking a quote.

I disagree and think it is a valid request to include an icon so shoppers know
they can get a quote from that store immediately instead of having to look for
it or go through the check-out phase.

Using IC is impossible to hit on every scenario and even sometimes the IC may
work, but a buyer still wants to use the Quote system because maybe the IC is
charging too much. There is nothing wrong with a buyer double-checking to see
if their order actually fits in a cheaper shipping option than what IC is calculating.

Those are problems of IC.. but a relevant point because it makes the thunderbolt
misleading. Maybe the system should be made such that if an order doesn't
qualify for IC, the seller by definition has to quote.
My IC works properly: It works on every order and the calculations are correct.
It is always possible to make IC work (if nothing else, you could even charge
1 rate for all orders, after all). But I agree it is not always desirable, for
those sellers who have very significant and unpredictable shipping charge fluctuations
because of a complicated postal service. I expect most of them will have no obligations
against quoting, so an obligatory quote alternative should be ok.. that way,
the thunderbolt is not misleading.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 17, 2019 12:38

Subject:

Re: Request a Quote

Viewed:

43 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, kelmgo writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 15, 2019 14:24

Subject:

Re: Search setting: seller location filter

Viewed:

57 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Nowaker writes:

I'm interested to see offers from United States only.

Each time I'm on a hunt for something, I have to open the filtering options
and select selector location United States.

Please make it possible to set a default filter for all searches. It should be
available here: https://www.bricklink.com/searchSettings.asp?viewFrom=P

This will improve the shopping experience immensely.

Thank you.
-Nowaker

If it would make that much difference, it sounds like you are constantly searching
US only. While I get that it is useful to filter on your own country some of
the time, are you sure that you never want to order something from sellers
in other countries? From what I understood US shipping is expensive, there are
no import duties (correct me if I'm wrong), you don't have to pay VAT,
so ordering abroad can get you some pretty good deals. You might be blocking
out a huge part of Bricklink that could have just what you are looking for.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 12, 2019 20:15

Subject:

Re: Change time zone

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, hpoort writes:

In Suggestions, HallBricks writes:

It would be great if I could change the time zone on BrickLink. Maybe not the
most necessary feature, but it feels like it wouldn't be that difficult of
a thing to implement.

Have you ever thought about it's complexity?

Very simple: everything is stored in UTC and presented in a local/chosen TZ.

The UTC → local TZ conversion is done with a standard, well tested library.

There. The complexity is outsourced.

Besides, it’s just about presentation. Official times are those in the database,
on the server, in UTC.

See Tom Scott's YouTube
episode about implementing time zones in programming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wpm-gesOY

I stopped watching after he began talking about DST (“autumn in England”).

And that’s absurd. He talks about a programmer who:
1. doesn’t know what TZs are,
2. adds cases one by one instead of, finally, learning what’s it about,
3. and thus reinvents the wheel, spoke by spoke.

Yes, timezones are complex (and involve politics, therefore also totally insane)
and that’s why you don’t cobble up something in your garage.

Yes, timezones change frequently (remember, politics), but you just update the
TZ data the library uses.

One could do the same kind of video about 3D geometry or any other complex or
complicated but already well known feature.

Just showing a given UTC time in a chosen TZ should be easy peasy.

I thought it would be a sarcastic video. As you say, there's really no need
to reinvent the wheel, this has been done so many times over there must be plenty
of resources you can use very easily.
BrickOwl has timezones, other market platforms have timezones, forums have timezones,
social media have timezones.. and it all works without issues. Bricklink is really
the odd one out.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 12, 2019 12:52

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, mscheaf writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

I had enough of these in the last few weeks that waiting 2 full weeks is painful
to complete them.

I don't mind the 1 week to pay before it is started. But another full 7 days
to complete the NPB is not necessary.

I would propose 3 additional days and that is it. Let us get our stock back
in our stores to sell to someone else instead of being held at our will for 14
full days when 10 is plenty enough.

I can't be the only one that feels this way and 14 days might have worked
10-15 years ago when access to Smart-Phones wasn't as widespread, but these
days, you can't go far without having the ability to respond. Thanks

I don't know about other countries but over here 14 days is a widely accepted
standard term for invoices to be paid. Sometimes it's longer, but it's
never less than 14 days. I wouldn't find it professional if a company gave
me an invoice that had to be paid in less than 14 days.
Also, inventory moves slowly and parts typically take over a year to sell. I
don't see how a few extra days for a fraction of the inventory are so important.
Bricklink downtime should be a way bigger concern.

In USA bills due upon receipt are quite common, especially for medical bills.
Also, I often get bills in the mail for various things that are due in less than
2 weeks. Again, if you can't afford it, don't buy it. This isn't
water or medicine or food. It's a freaking luxury item toy.

Maybe it's a cultural difference. If the code of conduct is different in
the US, then I do understand you'd expect Bricklink to match with that.

As for freaking luxury toys, today I got an invoice from Lego.com in the mail
that is due in 18 days. That's pretty usual to me. I wouldn't want to
seem less professional than Lego.com. An invoice with a number below 14 days
would feel pushy to me based on what I am used to.

Anyway I do question how big a deal it is. Customer service costs money. And
of all aspects of customer service, patience is pretty much the cheapest one.
The average value of a Bricklink order is approximately $20. Let's say you
are always having one NPB going on constantly all throughout your Bricklink career.
I would say: Spend $10 (part selling value: $20) one time on a set, and call
it the NPB buffer. That compensates the $20 worth of inventory that is constantly
being blocked by NPBs. Maybe I'm too clinical and calculating but as far
as I can see that solves the problem

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 12, 2019 11:26

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, manganschlamm writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

OK then in return I propose that we buyers can initiate and complete NRS and
NSS after proportionally shorter time. If sellers want to give us buyers less
time to make the payment, then they should also have less time to issue invoices
and ship. Something for something. As a side note, I would like to mention that
in Europe many payments are still made by conventional bank transfer, which may
take few days to complete (and will only be processed on business days).

Final comment: Sellers that want to push for high-speed payment should accept
the fact that for 99% of buyers this is a hobby whereas for a considerable fraction
of sellers it is a full- or part-time business. We buyers typically have a normal
job and need to find the time to do things related to BL.

+1

14 days is the basic level of customer service. And if nothing is defined in
the terms, the legal term is even 30 days.

14 days is also the legal amount of time a buyer has to change their mind about
an order and return it. It wouldn't make much sense to me to on the one hand
force a buyer to pay quicker than 14 days when after that they still have a couple
of days they can get their money back.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 12, 2019 11:21

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 12, 2019 11:16

Subject:

Re: Change time zone

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, HallBricks writes:

It would be great if I could change the time zone on BrickLink. Maybe not the
most necessary feature, but it feels like it wouldn't be that difficult of
a thing to implement.

...and actually know when stuff happened on Bricklink? Like knowing when messages
between buyers and sellers were sent, or when an order status changed?! No
way, don't mess with cultural heritage! The internet's last forum without
timezones. It's like living in history! (also because, well, the time stamps
always indicate an earlier time than it is here)

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 11, 2019 09:02

Subject:

Re: Can we have another order status?

Viewed:

47 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, edk writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, irdroid3 writes:

It would be useful to have an Order status to go between "Received" and "Complete"
- something like "Queried" or "Querying" - for when I have started a communication
with the vendor - it's almost complete, but maybe a part missing?
Cheers, Ian
.

Yes, this has been suggested several times over the years and it would definitely
have been a useful feature. Also (maybe especially?) for me from a seller's
perspective, because I feel uncomfortable when I've asked the buyer a question
and I am not sure if they are waiting for their order or if they are aware that
I am asking a question first.
I'd call it "awaiting response". Maybe a dual one to make it clear who's
the one who should be responding

But I think just one should've worked
too. Could be connected to the green dot notification in the upper right corner,
to the party who's supposed to respond.

Not assuming Bricklink will change anything, but perhaps we'll see it in
some future under a different management or something like that.

Then add.

invoiced
payment pending
payment in the mail
payment iniated
awaiting buyer response

Those mostly already exist in the interface - invoiced by the invoice icon, payment
pending by the grand total in regular letters, payment initiated by the grand
total in bold letters (but it's a bit cryptic.. interface could've been
better..).

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 11, 2019 07:59

Subject:

Re: Can we have another order status?

Viewed:

47 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, irdroid3 writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 9, 2019 16:51

Subject:

Re: More stockrooms!

Viewed:

47 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

We won't be signing up for xp either - it isn't aimed at our type of
store - its target is a large one - the 'Soccer Moms' so to speak who
want a set for little Johnny for xmas and do not need the complications of Bricklink
to hamper them.

(...)

Apparently xp requires Instant Checkout (not a problem for some), also requires
Paypal for Marketplaces (Again not a problem for some) but little else is known
about it.

And this is where it goes totally wrong. On the one hand, they seem to aim at
the broad casual consumer market, on the other hand, they force a highly specific
online-business-insiders-only payment method. If I would go to the local supermarket
and ask random people if they have bought something online last week, lots of
them are going to say "yes". If I ask them if they used PayPal, pretty much all
of them are going to respond "what's PayPal?"
And then I haven't even touched on PayPal's plan to dramatically increase
transaction fees by next month, which ruins their competitiveness compared to
other payment methods (but they are trying to circumvent the free market principle
by forcing sellers not to disclose the fees to buyers in as many countries as
possible, and encouraging the buyers to ask for PayPal because it is "free")

If they will implement a relevant payment method, then I will participate in
XP (for the Dutch market, the 4th largest country on Bricklink, this is iDeal).
If they don't, I won't. I'm done trying to make Bricklink see reason.
iDeal is one of the main reasons that I set up my own webshop, and now that I
have it, I don't really care what Bricklink does anymore. If they are not
going to add iDeal, that's just going to be more Dutch consumers for me in
my webshop

Hi Teup

Never heard of Ideal - is that Dutch only? Irrespective of that the business
model of xp does not suit our store and we wouldn't adopt it whatever happens.
We are not into selling large one-off sets at bargain prices - ours is a part
shop from top to bottom. Our orders average several hundred items and over 50
lots - that isn't going to be bought by a google search result which is what
we believe BL are trying to bring about. Instant checkout doesn't' work
for our store either and with over 40,000 items without dimensions in the catalogue
it is fair to say, probably never will - it is not designed well around shipping
methods and was not built to be adaptable (zip code pricing in the USA - The
largest market on BL), volume and weight based in the UK and most of Europe.
We have 14 different box sizes 3 large letters, and 11 small parcels, we never
ship a medium parcel as that is too costly so we are using multiple small parcels
to deal with weights over 2Kg and yes I know this could be set up but what a
hassle a different delivery method for each box type (each box has a different
tare).

We also have no concept of Bricklink dealing with our funds by way of Marketplace.
Far too many things against it for us to even consider it,((we know they have
claimed they are not into that, but who knows what might happen if we all give
them the right to do that)). but then it might suit some - that will only be
found out as and when they launch it, as unfortunately no communications is the
norm for the site - so no one will know what it is about til they launch it and
based on previous launches it will be some time before it would be 'bug free'
so to speak.

IC, in our view, needed to be regionalised and much more flexible in its design.
It works for some and that is great, and not for others, which is a shame, but
that is how they have done it. No talking, no discussion, no customer agreement,
here it is - if you don't like it tough, - that is what you are getting.
And the funny thing is BO launched with it and it is much smoother over there
and far fewer complaints about missing bits.

I can say without reservation that we will not be adopting xp at any time.

I see, I think all in all it's a fair bottom line that this is just a plan
that was cooked up at someone's desk who just figured this would be kinda
cool - ignoring the massive wealth of knowledge, needs, suggestions, etc etc
that the community can offer, if you are looking for inspiration of what direction
to take Bricklink.

IDeal is Dutch only, yes. It's not a 3rd party by the way, it's simply
the default online interface for bank transfer, which is the preferred (and free!)
payment method. So every Dutch citizen has it, it does not require setting up
an account (other than a bank account), it does not require anything, all people
readily have it and can use it very easily. The transaction costs that I pay
for it in my webshop are €0.29 fixed price. Way cheaper than PayPal, and for
larger businesses I think it's virtually free.

That's my example of Bricklink doing its own thing without caring to listen,
and I am sure a lot of us have such examples. That's why I prefer Bricklink
just keeps on sleeping and not come up with ideas. They just don't seem to
be thought through in a professional way. An admin recently mentioned that Bricklink
is considering prices here to be really low. If anything, a bit too low. What
do you think will happen with XP where the individual store is all but taken
out of the equation? Even more downward pressure on prices. If you want higher
prices, you need to give stores space to profile themselves as unique individuals,
instead of stripping all that away and comparing them by price only.

I'm not talking about what I want here, I just see that Bricklink
wishes prices to be higher and at the same time develop something which will
push prices down. The MOC shop, the Chinese translation if anyone remembers that,
Bricklink XP, and - according to some of the members - the AFOL Designer program:
Just random side projects that weren't thought through and don't have
any consistent vision behind them in terms of what direction to take Bricklink.

Well enough talk about Bricklink from me for now, I'm back to order picking
and I don't want to be framed like someone who just complains. Alot about
Bricklink is pretty awesome. I just prefer it to be left alone if the alternative
is random changes that are not serious and not professional. And I have some
good hope it will. XP is not here yet, so so far everything is just fine and
business as usual

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 9, 2019 16:30

Subject:

Re: More stockrooms!

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, runner.caller writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:
And then I haven't even touched on PayPal's plan to dramatically increase
transaction fees by next month,

WHAT!? Are you talking the 2.2% to 2.9%?

Nope, the 3% to 5%

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 9, 2019 09:55

Subject:

Re: More stockrooms!

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

(...)

Apparently xp requires Instant Checkout (not a problem for some), also requires
Paypal for Marketplaces (Again not a problem for some) but little else is known
about it.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 9, 2019 06:44

Subject:

Re: More stockrooms!

Viewed:

49 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, nologolego writes:

But most importantly, it is sad to think we have no pilot or crew for Bricklink.
Is it fated to crash and burn eventually? Do we need to get our parachutes
ready?

I think it will be ok

I am more afraid of stupid changes than of Bricklink's
inertia. I'm not going to participate in this new Bricklink XP they're
developing, and I wish they hadn't come up with that idea. Anyway, as long
as Bricklink is just asleep it's fine by me. It's not dying, just sleeping

It generates money so if anything would happen to it, even the least interested
management would take measures keep it running.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 9, 2019 05:28

Subject:

Re: More stockrooms!

Viewed:

57 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Shintaku writes:

I personally am fine with three but I've heard people complaining that 3
stockrooms are very few, as you can have a lot of wanted lists, a lot of featured
items, it's limitating that you only have 3.

I don't think it would be dramatic to increaase this number.

What do you thinK?

I don't get the idea of "multiple stockrooms" in the first place. The way
I see it, it is a binary thing: something can either be for sale or not for sale.
(Maybe a second Schrödinger's stockroom for items that are neither for sale
nor not for sale?

)

If I understand it correctly, multiple stockrooms are kind of like tagging items
with remarks. The remarks feature already exists. It's overlapping functionality.
I'm guessing multiple stockrooms are needed for inventory operations that
apply to one tag only, and the remarks field is not available for this operation?
Then Bricklink should have made the remarks field available to that operation.
That way, the whole multiple stockrooms thing could have been abolished and at
the same time you would have kept all the functionality. It's like you can
define an infinite number of "stockrooms", but in your remarks.

(Bricklink's cockpit is abandoned and we're left to our own devices,
it's not like it will change of course.. so I say "could have been"

)

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 7, 2019 13:00

Subject:

Re: found wrong category

Viewed:

29 times

Topic:

In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

[…]
So if printed parts never even have a different category than their parent part,
why is it apparently needed that these parts are assigned a category manually? […]

There are lots of reasons why something isn’t automatized. The main ones are:
1. You have to realize it’s stupid work.
2. “You can automatize that?!” The users don’t even know they can ask for it
to be done.
3. And, of course, “there’s something else more urgent to do.”

You thought about it because you’re lazy (in a good way

) and you needed to
do the job yourself.

You're probably right, a lot if this may have to do with the fact that catalog
work is unpaid work for Bricklink. Why waste time on making something that's
free less work?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 7, 2019 11:38

Subject:

Re: found wrong category

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Catalog, FloathBricks writes:

Hello everybody,

Hope the post is right here. I found an article that is listed in the wrong category:

3626cpb2423 is listed under "Mini Doll, Head". Should actually under "Minifigure,
Head"

Greetings
Florian

Interesting. Why can printed versions of parts even have different categories
than their parent part? Is there even a case where that is needed? I can think
of one case: 2 x 2 x 2 Slopes with dress prints could go under Minifig,Bodypart
(or better: change the "legs assembly" category in "lower body" and move all
short legs, mermaid tails and ghost lower bodies there too). But even in this
case, those parts are simply "slope".

So if printed parts never even have a different category than their parent part,
why is it apparently needed that these parts are assigned a category manually?
It's just extra work and extra risk of error. In my own webshop's catalog,
the data of the non printed parent part is used as much as possible. That saved
me a whole lot of work.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 4, 2019 18:11

Subject:

Re: Add "Part Out Value" Link to Set Entry Page

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

Ah, I didn't read properly

Yes, that should already cause a whole lot
less burden.

Good thing that at least the link to the part out value result page is directly
accessible and editable without having to go through the "get value" button.
That way, at least some of us that have some programming or perhaps Excel or
other skills are able to save a bunch of clicks. Seller tools aren't coming
to it seems we all have to make our own

But yes, I think I agree this would
be a good feature.

In Suggestions, speshy writes:

In this suggestion I'm suggesting a simple link at each set's page (probably
the better function would be a button). Clicking on it would provide the same
function as navigating through Market Price Guide entering the set's
number, then clicking "Get Value". It doesn't need to be information saved
on the page, but if I'm looking at a set on BL and wondering what its part
out value is, I should be able to find out quicker than taking the above steps.

K

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, speshy writes:

I'd like to suggest that each set's "Part Out Value" be linked directly
from its Set Entry page (assuming 6 mo. value of "new" parts). It would remove
a few annoying clicks to obtain a set's part out value after browsing it
in the catalog.

Thanks,

K

I'm not an expert but I think this would be too heavy for the website. Even
asking 1 part out value the system needs to process all priceguide data of all
parts in that set. If a totally random user would be browsing through 10 sets,
that whole process has to happen 10 times. It's only useful for sellers and
only at those moments that they want to purchase something, so I think it would
be an overkill of constant processing on the server for a small advantage.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 4, 2019 16:52

Subject:

Re: Add "Part Out Value" Link to Set Entry Page

Viewed:

21 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, speshy writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 3, 2019 13:28

Subject:

Re: download as XML actually saves as a TXT file

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Inventories, Jallington59 writes:

In Inventories, Teup writes:

In Inventories, Jallington59 writes:

Hi,
Trying to export my inventory into an xML file.
The download option offers XML as a format, but when the file saves, it is a
.txt file.

I cannot use TXT files with other sites so I need to know if there is a way to
truly pull my inventory as XML.

thanks

XML is not a file type, it just refers to a way to structure data in plain text.
It only means that item data is placed in between tags with pointy brackets.
A file in XML formatting can have any kind of extension: txt, xls, html, ...

If you need another extension, you can just rename the file. If that doesn't
work, then probably you need something else than an XML formatted file. What
do you need it for?

Thank you.
I am trying to copy my inventory over to Brickowl. They ask for XML files.
I get "Lot ID" errors from every format I've used

Ah yes. I've written my own converter for this. But you can use Brickstock:
Brickstock can read Bricklink xml formatted files, and save them as bsx. That
bsx file should be fit for upload on BrickOwl.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Sep 2, 2019 18:27

Subject:

Re: download as XML actually saves as a TXT file

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Inventories, Jallington59 writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 30, 2019 16:39

Subject:

Technic heads: Do the categories make sense?

Viewed:

93 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

I'm not super technical and as a kid I was terrible at making anything out
of Technic Lego so in spite of my dad's efforts I quickly abandoned it and
never picked it up again. But I'm seriously wondering if the Technic categories
make any sense at all. I'm not good at the jargon and especially not in English,
but here's my observation:

- There's a category called "Link", which includes belt/chain items as well
as suspension parts. Is that just a random semantic, well, "link" between these
parts?
- It seems like there's a whole family of parts that have to do with driving/gears
- clutches, gearboxes, driving rings, changeover catch.. all of these parts are
scattered across categories but I think they are supposed to work together.
- There's a category called steering but it seems to be about wheel suspension
as well as, well, steers. And then there are suspension arms in both "Link" and
in the generic "Technic" category that I think are equally involved in this stuff.
- There's a generic "Technic" category which includes very random items.
While there was a fanatic impulse of emptying out the "(other)" category, apparently
the "Technic" category is still full of randomness. And it's now the biggest
Technic category (if you don't count decorations). That isn't very helpful
is it?

So... I never used this stuff, but a question to the Technic pros: Do you find
that the Technic categories make sense to you, or is it just a fairly random
division that you just memorised the way it is? Should it be improved?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 26, 2019 19:04

Subject:

Re: Do part numbers change?

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

[…]
€20 I spent on a programmer

That’s what, one pizza and a coke?

The programmer only asked for €13 for the tasks I gave him but I added a tip,
considering that programmers are usually too expensive and too busy

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 26, 2019 19:01

Subject:

Re: Do part numbers change?

Viewed:

47 times

Topic:

In Catalog, 62Bricks writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

I'm working on my own webshop and want it to synchronise well with my Bricklink
store. My software seems to work pretty well, but now I'm wondering, does
it happen that names/numbers of parts change on Bricklink, and if so, how often
does that occur? I want to gauge how necessary it is to do some extra coding
to accommodate for this.

Possibly you should be made aware that Bricklink considers its part names and
numbers to be its own proprietary information, and that using them on your own
commerce site might draw unneeded problems. They have taken action at least once
in the past to require another site to stop using the Bricklink part numbers.

As a result, other sites choose to come up with their own part numbering system,
or they use the LDraw names and numbers, which can be used freely with the proper
attribution.

Of course many BL numbers are the numbers actually molded on the parts by LEGO,
and these are probably safe to use. Also, many BL part names and numbers are
from LDraw. These should also be safe to use.

Thanks for the advice. Actually I'm not "using" Bricklink part numbers -
my sync system just needs to know what is what, so for that part, it's essential
that my software is able to "speak Bricklinkish" - I imagine that's the same
for BrickOwl and for Brickstock. I don't use it in the shop itself for the
customers. Names/descriptions I'm not using at all, I've described them
in Dutch (which was the most exhausting part of the job

)

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 26, 2019 17:05

Subject:

Re: Do part numbers change?

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Andrsv writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

I'm eager to hear more about your webshop. As far as I've understood
you've been dreaming about it for quite some time now, and finally your on
the way. Do you have something to show? Screenshot? Do you have a markedplan?
How do you decide which features to add? How big development team have you managed
to put together?

Good luck

Thanks! You're right! Someone I know put me on the right track with a content
management system that's featured in my hosting package. I'm essentially
able to do it all by myself, thanks to the versatile system, a bit of programming
skills I do have, and €20 I spent on a programmer to tweak some things

It
has been a huge amount of work so far, 1. tweaking the store, 2. writing software
that turns inventory files that I download from Bricklink into the format I need,
3. writing an entire database of all parts and 4. finding rights free pictures
of everything. I really don't want to take anything from Bricklink that was
given by contributers and isn't mine, so I'm really working like crazy
these weeks

I won't go sharing much of it, as I don't want to border on inviting
to buy outside of Bricklink. But anyway my main idea is to make a very white,
minimal site with good overview, and make it all Dutch. I'm going to try
to focus on the Dutch market, since I believe there's an untapped market
there for people who aren't insiders but would buy from a friendly accessable
webstore they can understand easily, and use the payment method they're comfortable
with that isn't featured on Bricklink. Also, having my own store means I
can go and advertise it everywhere. That's alot better than constantly having
to tell people that my store is on some platform called Bricklink.

I don't know if I'm right. I could be wrong, but if so, it'll just
mean one wasted summer

If I am right, I could be having some great business
and stability for many years to come. But probably I will be having to boost
my inventory alot more in order for my store to be significant enough by itself.
I hope hierachical category system and independent filters for many part properties
are going to be selling points.

I was willing to gamble some €2000 on having someone build me a store, so if
everything fails, I'm fine with just having wasted a lot of time and still
have all my money - except from the €20

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 26, 2019 16:52

Subject:

Re: Do part numbers change?

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Hygrotus writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

Here you can check how frequently item numbers are changed

all logs from the beggining of Bricklink
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogReqList.asp?nID=&viewDate=Y&viewType=E&viewStatus=A&viewAction=I
In this time was 23844 changes in numbers

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogLogs.asp?utm_content=subnav

Thanks Marek, that's useful! Looks quite intimidating anyway, all those changes.
I've now put a module into place that recognises "new" parts that have new
part numbers but are linked to previously existing LotIDs in my inventory. It
then adds the new part and updates the lot with the old part number to zero quantity.
I think that should do the trick

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 26, 2019 15:37

Subject:

Re: Do part numbers change?

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Catalog, yorbrick writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

I imagine most parts now have the correct numbers but minifigure can change,
like the extra 0 in SW figs.

Yes, I noticed some added 0's in the pattern numbers of some parts, because
the Bricklink number did not match with what Rebrickable thought was the Bricklink
number. I wonder how regularly such things happen. If it's a rare thing then
I should be fine just whiping and reuploading my entire webshop once in a while,
but if it's regular I should think of some way to update these items specifically.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 26, 2019 15:27

Subject:

Do part numbers change?

Viewed:

125 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 18, 2019 10:39

Subject:

Re: Specific Lots -> Specific Countries

Viewed:

17 times

Topic:

In Inventories, WhiteHorseMatt writes:

In Inventories, Cheshire_Bricks writes:

Hi,

Just wondering if you're able to make specific lots only available to specific
countries?

I'm looking to sell some sets but I want to set them to UK only (if you can
do this then how?)

Thank you in advance for any help!

How about manually setting the dimensions of the sets to something huge, and
then allocating a postage method for that size that's UK only. And adding
something in the comments to that effect as well.

Matt

The part will still show up in the listings however, together with a "seller
ships to me" message. It's clever but it also kind of breaks the Bricklink
interface.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Aug 13, 2019 13:24

Subject:

Re: Why can't I enlarge pics anymore?

Viewed:

58 times

Topic:

In Catalog, QA_Rachel writes:

In Catalog, firestar246 writes:

So you used to be able to click on the picture of a piece in the catalog, sort
of a quick view. You'd see the years it was made, any sets/minifigures the
piece was in, etc. You all know what I'm talking about. Well, a few days
ago I couldn't do it anymore. I've tried three different devices.

Why would they make such a horrible change for? I rely on that heavily when listing
minifigure parts to make sure I have the correct listing. This is going to make
this job twice as long now.

The zoom-in bug was fixed a few weeks ago but it seems that a recent site update
may have reverted the fix. I'll forward the information to someone on our
development team to take a look. I'll let you know once we've resolved
the issue.

Thank you!

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jul 26, 2019 11:19

Subject:

Re: Either a bonafide brain-fart, or a seizure...

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, cycbuild writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, cycbuild writes:

Sylvain has spent a lot of time familiarizing himself with BrickLink, and is
a frequent contributor here. There's no need to be so relentlessly dismissive.

I agree. But in all fairness we can't ignore the question in the back of
our minds: When is this guy finally going to buy some more LEGO?

My wallet has the reverse question

Though getting around 700€ of LEGO for around 15€ thanks to coupons and destocking
made us both quite happy a couple months ago

Wow!

Then my question changes... Why is this guy not selling any LEGO?

What, with all the problems you sellers continuously whine about on the forum?

Besides, MY precious, MINE!

You're here discussing its problems out of your own free will, who's
silly now?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jul 26, 2019 10:08

Subject:

Re: Either a bonafide brain-fart, or a seizure...

Viewed:

47 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, cycbuild writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, cycbuild writes:

Sylvain has spent a lot of time familiarizing himself with BrickLink, and is
a frequent contributor here. There's no need to be so relentlessly dismissive.

I agree. But in all fairness we can't ignore the question in the back of
our minds: When is this guy finally going to buy some more LEGO?

My wallet has the reverse question

Though getting around 700€ of LEGO for around 15€ thanks to coupons and destocking
made us both quite happy a couple months ago

Wow!

Then my question changes... Why is this guy not selling any LEGO?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jul 26, 2019 09:09

Subject:

Re: Either a bonafide brain-fart, or a seizure...

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, cycbuild writes:

Sylvain has spent a lot of time familiarizing himself with BrickLink, and is
a frequent contributor here. There's no need to be so relentlessly dismissive.

I agree. But in all fairness we can't ignore the question in the back of
our minds: When is this guy finally going to buy some more LEGO?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jul 25, 2019 18:36

Subject:

Re: Either a bonafide brain-fart, or a seizure...

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, popsicle writes:

In Suggestions, randyf writes:

In Suggestions, popsicle writes:

Wayne's post and others like it, https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1150409
brings to mind an idea that briefly visited my headspace some time ago:

A type of reverse want list. That is, a way that sellers could peruse the current
want lists to specific buyer's needs, to then as a seller, proactively engage
members like Wayne with offers on items they have on their want list.

Kinda like amping-up the want list and selling process, by getting the sellers
more involved in increasing their sales by actually selling

It's just a rough draft of an idea. Limitations, restriction and other refinements
of the idea, expected.

But hey, BL shot-callers, it speaks directly to upping the sales numbers!

-Cory

As long as I could opt out of it, I would be all for it. I don't need sellers
spamming me with offers of things on my want list.

Of course, always the ability to opt-out, I agree.

Very good input, Randy

I think it would rather be on an opt in basis, because doing it by default would
be privacy violation. Reminds me of the trouble Amazon is in over looking into
its sellers sales data. Anyway, not a bad idea, when it's based on buyers
explicitly choosing to publish their wanted list.
Anyway, seller tools was cancelled, so there's not much chance for this
or any other smart suggestion over the past years to see the light of day. Better
to try it over at BO, they certainly like to discuss such ideas and look into
options of implementation.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jul 24, 2019 06:50

Subject:

Re: Plant 2417?

Viewed:

50 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Biscuit_head writes:

Sustainability: avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain
an ecological balance.
They're using less crude oil by no longer using it to make plant peices.
They could possibly make all of the parts from plants instead of oil once they
find enough sugar cane farms that can keep up with the demand.

I guess producing crude oil generates a lot of emissions. But I wonder how much
less emissions their new production process really involves. I guess it kind
of stands or falls with that.
The end result is the same: polyethylene, which is basically a polluting substance.
But that's if you throw it away, of course, and thankfully LEGO is far from
single use. But the amount of parts LEGO pumps out of their machines per day
is staggering and it has to go somewhere eventually.

I would be more impressed if LEGO invested in degrading plastic. Not making parts
that degrade, I mean, but degrading the durable high quality parts with some
special process. I don't know about ABS but scientists already discovered
caterpillars that are able to digest polyethylene. If LEGO had some scheme you
could send in old and broken parts in exchange for some VIP points of whatever,
and they'd degrade or recycle it, then we'd be talking.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jul 23, 2019 17:47

Subject:

Re: Plant 2417?

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

In Catalog, TallyToyBricks writes:

How are the 2417 plant leaves different from the "plant based" 2417?

Thanks

It's the same plastic: Polyethylene. It's just made from fresh plants
rather than from dinosaurs (oil). But it isn't biodegradable in any way and
as far as I can see doesn't have much merit in terms of sustainability or
the environment.

"The new sustainable LEGO elements are made from polyethylene, which is a soft,
durable and flexible plastic, and while they are based on sugar-cane material,
they are technically identical to those produced using conventional plastic."
(and a bit of marketing blabla about sustainability)

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2018/march/pfp

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jun 11, 2019 19:25

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, skybound13 writes:

As a recent new member, would I have paid $5.00 (or whatever) for a lifetime
BrickLink membership? The concept would have bothered me a little at first,
but yeah, I would have paid because I wanted buyer privileges. If that fee were
refunded back after so many orders, great, if not, not a big deal really.

Hmm, as I think more about it, such a payment would at least confirm that a buyer
is a real person and has a means by which to pay for orders online.

I think you may be pretty exceptional in this. While you are right it could be
a good decision to pay it, I think that the vast majority of people will not
realize it and be turned away by it. The current situation with so many consumers
unwilling to sign up for Bricklink is bad enough as it is.. even creating an
account and learning to navigate the site is already too much for alot of regular
consumers. Let's not make Bricklink's weak point even weaker. People
want to find their products and then buy them by clicking on them and entering
their address. Not go through some strange process of paying a fee for "being
a member" of something they don't (yet) care about..

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Jun 11, 2019 19:19

Subject:

Re: Have all members pay BL $1 to buy and/or sell

Viewed:

63 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, firestar246 writes:

Don't agree with this at all. This will do nothing except make a lot of people
mad. Ever since I set up instant checkout about a year ago, I've had only
2 NPBs I can think of; one of them what an international buyer, that when I contact,
said that the shipping was too high so I cancelled. The other I never got a response.

So non-paying buyers aren't really a big deal if you have your store set
up correctly.

Agreed. It sounds absurdly consumer unfriendly and frankly hard to take seriously.
Imagine going to the supermarket and being charged $1 upon entry that will not
be refunded. In the EU, consumers can cancel or return purchases for full refunds.
It's considered a vital part of commerce. It would certainly scare off buyers
if they were forced to agree to this. Also, it would require new buyers to set
up a PayPal account and send money to it before placing their first order, which
they are just not going to do.

And yes, NPB's are just not really a big deal. All stores have to deal with
returns, it's part of business. Wanting to eliminate it 100% sounds like
lazy thinking from the seller's perspective. What's next? "Let's
trap all buyers inside of this mall so they don't go out without buying our
products"

Author:

Teup

Posted:

May 13, 2019 14:45

Subject:

Re: Fair, safe and legal trading = BL principles

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

- Full acceptance of cancellation without penalty and without reason required

This issue has been around for years (as has the thread!). There is no legal
right to cancellation without penalty. The buyer has a right to cancel,
but that does not mean that they can order, then cancel. Order, then cancel.
And so on without penalty. If a buyer becomes a problem for a store (whether
on BL or elsewhere), the store is legally entitled to stop selling to them. It
is the same with feedback - feedback does not affect the right to cancellation.
Just because a buyer has a right to cancel, it does not take away the right a
seller has to leave feedback or file a NPB. Of course, if a buyer is responsive
and asks for a cancellation, then many decent sellers will allow cancellations
and they may be more lenient than if the buyer just doesn't pay. But if a
buyer orders then cancels, orders then cancels, orders then cancels, it wouldn't
surprise me if the buyer gets blocked from buying from that store.

Well, yes, you are right. The seller has to cancel when requested but is entitled
to taking any measures they like. Especially since this Bricklink world is slightly
different from regular online retail as a lot of labour goes into getting an
order together.
Maybe the "without penalty" part wasn't phrased to well. At least I would
like the language to change. Because right now some sellers write things in their
terms like "I don't accept cancellation requests" or "orders are legally
binding contracts" or stuff like that. I think there's an important distinction
between discouraging it / considering it rude or something like that on the one
hand, and making buyers believe they have no actual choice but to pay up on the
other hand. The latter is basically misinformation about the rights that consumers
have. I think vulnerable/naive consumers should be protected by at least being
offered store terms that don't obscure their rights.

And last but not least:

- Being responsible for lost shipments - meaning full refund or resend if anything
goes missing

And no problem there, and this holds if the buyer pays with paypal anyway. Although
if BL start asking for proof of delivery routinely, this may change smaller orders
as sellers start charging for this.

I think Bricklink could do two things in all this: 1. Enforcing by being involved
with the actual transactions, which might be complicated and costly (although
that is not an excuse it is not needed - perhaps it is) and/or 2. Simply moderate
store terms ahead of any transactions a store may be involved in. That's
not too much manual work, and we live in an age where computers can recognize
actual people in photographs, so I'm pretty sure some algorithms can be put
together to spot illegal store term claims. Even with a simple search operation
it's easy to spot them.
I think the main problem has to do with stores having illegal terms more than
store having legal terms but not keeping to them. Once the store terms are sound,
buyers will be able to call out and spot bad sellers pretty easily whenever they
cause trouble that's not in line with their own terms.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

May 13, 2019 04:52

Subject:

Re: Fair, safe and legal trading = BL principles

Viewed:

103 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Rob_and_Shelagh writes:

This suggestion is a summary of my recommendations, plus input from others' many
private messages I received on this over the last few days that I would like
Admin to consider in the site upgrade.

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION:-

The BrickLink site has always required its' members, both buyers and sellers,
to trade legally and fairly. This is an essential aspect of the site's reputation
which makes it an attractive venue for buyers and sellers to trade here with
confidence and safety. The continued success of the site and enjoyment of it
experienced by its' members both depend heavilly on this being maintained.

The site continues to grow rapidly and welcomes many mew members, both buyers
and sellers every day. The financial success of the site has indeed secured its'
future beyond the loss of its' inspired founder. In the early days, this site
was a small community and the founder members and early adopters clearly did
a great job in building the principles of the site and policing it in a self-regulatory
way. For the most part this still works today but, as is demonstrated in the
many threads recently, some (buyers and sellers) are falling short of those principles
and indeed the law! This may be driven by the vast increase in membership which
makes this place less "personal" for some and combined with this; the laws and
regulations covering internet trading become more and more complex as governments
focus on the explosion of such trading and their need to close tax loopholes
and try to protect their consumers from substandard trading and scams.

I believe the site and ALL its' members (except for any that come here to do
unfair or illegal trading) will benefit from a more developed policy on safe
and legal trading for both their own protection and for the reputation of the
site in general which should help promote its' continued growth and success.

The following suggestions are simply my thougths on "how" some of the issues
might be addressed taking into account the direct input I have had from several
other members as well as many forum threads over the years but some recent ones
in particular:-

SUGGESTION #1 - EXPAND ON THIS IN TOS:-

TOS #11 REQUIRES the following.

"General Compliance with Laws:
You shall comply with all applicable laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations
regarding your use of our service and your listing, purchase and sale of items."

Whilst this "covers" the site in demonstrating to authorities its' intent not
to encourage illegal behaviour, in practice it does little or nothing to:

1. Help inform its' members about what those laws might be and where to find
out about them. Many of the problems here (for buyers and sellers) are caused
by a complete lack of knowledge on the relevent laws.

2. Provides no penalty for breaking them which unfortunately is the reason why
some of the intentional law breakers are comming here.

I suggest changing the TOS #11 to spell out some of the specific laws that members
need to comply with, namely:

Customs - sellers are required to complete customs documents as required by law
honestly and accurately which, for the purpose of selling here, means declaring
the sales value of the goods as stated on the invoice and NOT misprepresenting
commercial sales as gifts.

Compliance with local advertising, selling and consumer protection laws - sellers
are required to comply with all relevent laws applicable to their selling activities.

Taxation - prior to listing any items for sale, sellers are advised to check
the rules in their country relating to any taxation they may need to charge their
customers (e.g. sales tax, VAT as applicable) and any requirements to declare
to their tax authorities any sales activity they conduct on this site.

SUGGESTION #2 - MAKE CUSTOMS FRAUD A REPORTABLE OFFENCE:-

Just as we can report listings that do not comply with the TOS, have a similar
funtion where:

1. Sellers can report (with evidence e.g. private message) to Admin that a buyer
requested a fraudulent customs declaration.

2. Buyers can report (with evidence e.g. private message or something in sellers'
terms) that a seller is offering a fraudulent customs declaration.

3. If a penalty is given, just like an NPB or NSS, a buyer or seller can have
feedback removed if it was given in relation to a transaction subject to the
penalty.

4. A buyer or seller has the right to cancel an order without penalty if subject
to a validated request for customs fraud.

Validated reports would result in a penalty ranging from 1st warning, through
temporary suspension of buying or selling rights, to membership termination for
repeat offenders.

SUGGESTION #3 - HAVE A HELP GUIDE ON SAFETY AND THE LAW

Which members have to declare they have read before they can buy or sell on the
site.

Unlike eBay which has legal resources in many of its' markets, BL has a central
Administration which cannot be expected to be expert on these matter in all geographies.

Perhaps we cound have voluntary "country Admins" for this purpose who would be
responsible for maintaining content with an opening statement relevent to their
market and a number of (official government only) links to any laws relating
to internet buying and selling in their country and the official taxation and
customs sites for their country. This must have a legal disclaimer saying these
Admins and the site are not giving legal advice and it is the ultimate responsibility
of the individual member to ensure he/she complies with all applicable laws.

SUGGESTION #4 - HAVE SOME FUNCTION TO PROMPT BUYERS WHEN BUYING INTERNATIONALLY
-

When you put something in a cart of a store not in your country, you are prompted
to look at a page that says something like:-

"You are about to purchase from a store located outside of your country, you
are advised to check if you may be liable for any customs charges relating to
importing this item into your country WHICH ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY before committing
to this purchase. Purchasing from overseas may also limit your rights as a buyer."

Obviously, this needs some more thought! I would not want this message for EVERY
item I put in a store cart, maybe just the 1st one for example. Maybe give an
option "do not show this message again" after a couple of hits on it within a
certain time period.

SUMMING IT UP FOR ME:-

None of this changes anything that is not the intent of the current TOS.

It is not to differentiate between "private" or "business" sellers for any purpose
of promoting one above the other, although for UK at least and many EU countries,
Gareth's suggestion on that would help keep sellers on the right side of the
law so I still support that too. There does seem to be some differences of definition
on that between countries which would need to be addressed further.

This is intended to HELP buyers and sellers comply with their laws and avoid
some of the risks many are taking now through ignorance of them. Being reported
for falling foul of a law or being caught not complying with it in most cases
carries penalties that most people would be pleased to avoid if given a chance
and informing them better simply helps to avoid that possibility

I would be happy to do more work on this if required as I am passionate about
keeping this a safe, respected place with trading standards that we can ALL be
proud of and enjoy.

CONGRATUALTIONS YOU GOT TO THE END OF THIS POST -

Thank you very much for your time!

Robert

I very much agree with your introduction, and I can't say I disagree with
the rest, but to me the issue of customs delcarations seems really minor and
anecdotal - people are usually talking more about the issue in theory than about
actual occurences of it, and I wonder how much money in the history of Bricklink
has been actually saved by inaccurate forms.

For me much more immediate concerns that comes to mind when reading your introduction
are the following, because when I go over various random EU store's terms
MORE THAN HALF of the sample is not legally compliant with at least
one and usually multiple ones of the following rules:

- Full acceptance of cancellation without penalty and without reason required

- Accepting returns and refunding the buyer including the postage cost and the
postage cost of sending it back

- Not charging more for transaction fees than the transactions actually cost

And last but not least:

- Being responsible for lost shipments - meaning full refund or resend if anything
goes missing

These laws apply to all EU stores, regardless of the legal form of the store.
Here on Bricklink we sell in stores (selling through the forum is not even allowed).
Therefore, all of the above is applicable and in my opinion should be enforced
by Bricklink.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

May 2, 2019 04:40

Subject:

Re: Coral

Viewed:

58 times

Topic:

In Colors, qwertyboy writes:

FYI -

Just came across a bunch of these parts in color coral:

27507 Tile, Round Corner 4 x 4 Macaroni Wide
Parts: Tile, Round

It looks like there are two distinct shades. One exactly matches coral color
for this part we have:

41740 Plate, Modified 1 x 4 with 2 Studs with Groove
Parts: Plate, Modified

The other one is lighter - less saturated. TLG calls the new color "vibrant coral".
The lighter shade could almost be called "regular coral".

Or of course another
instance of bad quality control.

I can see if I can make a pic later.

Niek.

Coral: What an unfortunate name for a colour. If there's one thing in the
world that can have every colour imaginable... it's coral. But apparently
that's just me, because Google tells me it's a thing. I'd go for
salmon or something like that.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Apr 22, 2019 12:06

Subject:

Re: Random Stockroom Items

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Inventories, antiquer88 writes:

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me why random items show up as stockroom
items in my inventory. I have no items I have intentionally marked for retention
in stockroom, yet every Monday I go to my inventory and delete random items that
have shown up as zero count stockroom items.

Is this something I have done in error, or is it a system problem?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Stan.

It's one of those persistent problems that Bricklink is trying to fix. I
think something is really wrong in the bug fixing department, it seems their
ability to isolate a problem and target it effectively with a fix is really compromised.
Previously there was an issue with remark fields being deleted and it also took
a very long time and was also "fixed" in an "ok this time it really seems to
work but if you have problems let us know" way.
Several people have reported this issue. Hope for you guys they will do something
about it.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Apr 20, 2019 09:32

Subject:

Re: What do the ! and * symbols mean under image?

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Inventories, Naughty_UK writes:

Thanks, yeah, I see those tips now when I view the 3D part in "Quick Help Tips:",
dunno how I missed them before... I was slightly confused before that though
because when I was looking at a set inventory, part 3023 in black had a ! beneath
it but the same part in light grey didn't have one...

How is it confusing? Everybody knows that an asterisk is the symbol for "large"
and an exclamation mark the universal symbol for 3D, right? Can't see why
new users complain Bricklink is not intuitive

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Apr 17, 2019 05:41

Subject:

Re: Lengths in “L” and 18654

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Catalog, randyf writes:

In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:

I’m wondering what’s the rationale for having changed the name (and dimensions)
of

18654 Technic, Liftarm Thick 1 x 1 (Spacer)
Parts: Technic, Liftarm

from “1 L” to “2/3 L”.

I can’t see where it’s 0.67L.

Especially if I compare it to

62462 Technic, Pin Connector Round 2L with Slot (Pin Joiner Round)
Parts: Technic, Connector

6538 Technic, Axle Connector 2L (Ridged Undetermined Type)
Parts: Technic, Connector

and their variants, or with

43857 Technic, Liftarm Thick 1 x 2
Parts: Technic, Liftarm

and other liftarms/beams, or all the connectors with “# L” in their descriptions.

In the same way, its new dimensions are 1 x 1 x 0.67. As it’s a cylinder, it
means the 0.67 is supposed to apply to its height. But its height is exactly
1 stud, which is 5/6th = 0.83 brick, not 2/3rd = 0.67, and, anyway, “L” means
stud, not brick, so 1 = 1.

Therefore, I strongly believe its name should have stayed “Technic, Pin Connector
Round 1 L” and its dimensions should be 1 x 1 x 0.83.
(Actually, its diameter is a shy less than 1 stud, so its dimensions should be
0.9something x 0.9something x 0.83 but all the liftarms have the same width and
are said to be 1 stud wide.)

Not filing a proper catalogue change request because I really would want to know
the reasoning here, not play ping-pong.

I don't really care too much right now about the dimensions of the part.
What I care about more is how it is named and categorized. I have never thought
of it as a "Pin Connector" because it actually can't connect pins at all.
It is basically a 1L bushing for pins in the same way

3713 Technic Bush
Parts: Technic

is a 1L bushing for axles.

Cheers,
Randy

How can factual correctness be less important than a choice of how to categorise
it? I'd say #1 is to get the facts straight, and after that, we can go and
organise it. But what SylvainLS points out here is a real mistake that should
be corrected. It's a small thing in itself, but the correctness of the catalog
is one of the core features that drive Bricklink. I'd say it's the main
selling point of Bricklink compared to BrickOwl.

Maybe someone thought it was 2 plates high, thus 2/3.. but it really raises the
question why it was ever approved.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Apr 9, 2019 14:39

Subject:

Re: inconsistencies

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:

In Catalog, Hygrotus writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

Either
way, if you don't have principal characteristics of what constitutes a tile
or plate (for example groove = tile), any classification is going to be inconsistent
and a matter of opinion.

I like this sentence.

Me too.
Well, except for the example, as there are plates with grooves

3030a Plate 4 x 10 with Groove
Parts: Plate

and tiles/plates variants with and without groove

41740 Plate, Modified 1 x 4 with 2 Studs with Groove
Parts: Plate, Modified

92593 Plate, Modified 1 x 4 with 2 Studs without Groove
Parts: Plate, Modified

(And the jumpers too….)

Yeah... the fact that there's a variation that would span across categories
if you take the groove as the defining factor, kind of kills that idea pretty
effectively.

Anyway, in my opinion it's not a huge deal that it's not perfect. TileMod
and PlateMod are two fairly big categories, nicely sized if you ask me. God forbid
someone would decide to merge them together because there's no principal
distinction possible. I'd rather put up with a bit of inconsistency that's
very easy to learn, than one huge category that is difficult to manage, both
in terms of browsing it online as well as storing it for me and other stores
who have category based sorting..
And we have the forum for venting inconsistency frustrations, which works pretty
well too

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Apr 9, 2019 14:15

Subject:

Re: inconsistencies

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Catalog, yorbrick writes:

In Catalog, edk writes:

why is

6576 Plate, Modified 4 x 8 with Studs in Center
Parts: Plate, Modified

a plate modified when

88646 Tile, Modified 3 x 4 with 4 Studs in Center
Parts: Tile, Modified

is a tile modified?

There is no consistency, both could be either.

You could say the parent of 6576 is either a 4x8 plate or 4x8 tile, but the 4x8
tile doesn't exist so 6576 must be a modified plate.

Or you could say you add 12 studs to the tile or remove 20 studs from the plate,
so it is closer to being a tile than a plate.

For 88646, neither the parent tile or plate exist. You add 4 studs to the tile,
but remove 8 from the plate and also have to shift them. So does that make it
a modified tile rather than modified plate?

If so, then the 1x2 jumper should be a modified tile (add one stud, vs remove
and move one stud). Similarly a 2x2 jumper is definitely closer to a tile than
a plate but is still a modified plate. Worse still, this pack of jumper bricks:

10115-1 (Inv) Jumper Bricks
80 Parts, 2001
Sets: Bulk Bricks

contains no bricks at all.

33909 Tile, Modified 2 x 2 with Studs on Edge
Parts: Tile, Modified

is clearly a 2x2 plate with two studs removed, but it is a modified tile.

6180 Tile, Modified 4 x 6 with Studs on Edges
Parts: Tile, Modified

is also a modified tile rather than plate (compare to 6576).

Exactly, the jumpers always seemed much more tile-like to me than that "tile".

I guess the only relevant answer to this issue is: This was acknowledged by the
previous catmin Stormchaser, he said the concepts of plate and tile needed to
be principally redefined before these things could be classified properly. If
that's also what the new catalog management will do is not yet clear. Either
way, if you don't have principal characteristics of what constitutes a tile
or plate (for example groove = tile), any classification is going to be inconsistent
and a matter of opinion.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 28, 2019 09:33

Subject:

Re: Brickstock questions

Viewed:

23 times

Topic:

In Inventories, calsbricks writes:

In Inventories, Teup writes:

In Inventories, calsbricks writes:

In Inventories, wilton1975 writes:

Guys,

Appreciate both your responses as they shed some much needed light. It is a little
strange that BrickStock doesn't seem to have a Help section explaining all
this.

HI there sorry I missed this thread earlier

Please bear in mind that Teup's comments do not really apply to the UK.

Well.... it does. I'm just saying that the averge price that you see here
in Bricklink is not equal to the average price in Brickstock. These do not match.
Parting out a set at average price on Bricklink will result in you having higher
priced items than parting out that same set at average price in Brickstock.

Whether you wish to match the price of other stores including VAT, or whether
you want to compare yourself to their prices ex VAT... yeah, here you're
right, those are all your own business decisions.

But the fact is that the Bricklink priceguide does not match the Brickstock priceguide.
It's important to be aware of this. Pricing at the Brickstock average is
pricing below the Bricklink average.

As I said or at least implied - average pricing in the UK includes VAT and once
you adjust the downloaded price in Brickstock it matches as close as can be expected.
Nothing is perfect and Brickstock could use work on this but so could Bricklink.
The currency conversion is a bigger issue than vat as it applies to all apart
from the USA. Bricklink could do a lot more there and haven't.

Do USA prices include sales tax ? That differs depending on whether you ship
in state or out of state. So the whole pricing scenario based on Bricklink is
a bit shaky - it should be used as a guideline only not a 'real figure'.

Do the last 6 months sales prices include tzes of any kind or is it net. If something
sells at 10p that is the price that should be reflected. If you are vat registered
and can claim back the vat go for it - but for the majority of UK sellers that
is not the position - what you see is what you pay and that is what your cost
is. Pricing needs to be based on cost + not some weird price guide which no one
fully understands. They can tell you how it works but when you look at it you
only see a single figure not how that figures has been made up.

Again for example 1000 units sold at 8p one month but 10p the next month so average
is 9p, but that is not remotely accurate. If the currency conversion rate has
fluctuated then they might be selling at a totally different price, or the same
price.

The price guide needs major re-working and I do not believe that is going to
happen. It currently is a very crude tool which has to be manipulated to get
anywhere near reality.

If the design of the system is anywhere near what it should be there is only
one table with prices and those are converted from an exchange rate table each
time they are displayed, Somehow I doubt that.

Well, I guess that's all true enough. Some take the priceguide as just a
guide, some ignore it, some take it as some holy prescription. I tend to be kind
of the latter type... but that's not because I think these numbers are inherently
all so correct (you pointed out some of its shortcomings) but I just remember
that when I was a buyer I'd check the priceguide on everything and buy things
depending on them being at or below average. So it's more a presentation
matter that I want my prices to line up with that reference than that I give
that reference any "scientific" credit. So the priceguide is my starting point
and from there I decide what to buy. Instead of first buying, and then based
on what I spent deciding what my prices should be.

But that's just a personal decision of course. You could invent any kind
of pricing policy for yourself and there are good arguments for all of them.
Maybe in some of them it is actually a blessing that Brickstock downloads the
ex.VAT value.

But in what ever case, no matter what your pricing policy is, and no matter whether
you are VAT registered, no matter if you're a buyer or a seller, if you live
in the area where Bricklink displays prices including VAT for, for all these
people, it is just important to know this difference: priceguide on BL includes
VAT, priceguide downloaded through Brickstock excludes VAT. Then you can do whatever
you want with that information. But knowing it is important as it prevents us
from sleepwalking into a race to the bottom.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 28, 2019 05:25

Subject:

Re: Brickstock questions

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Inventories, calsbricks writes:

In Inventories, wilton1975 writes:

Guys,

Appreciate both your responses as they shed some much needed light. It is a little
strange that BrickStock doesn't seem to have a Help section explaining all
this.

HI there sorry I missed this thread earlier

Please bear in mind that Teup's comments do not really apply to the UK.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 26, 2019 16:15

Subject:

Re: Brickstock questions

Viewed:

57 times

Topic:

In Inventories, greenman writes:

In Inventories, wilton1975 writes:

Hello all,

I have a couple of questions on Brickstock which someone might know the answer
to.

My store uses EURO and in Brickstock I have ticked Currency, Use the local currency
$1 = €1.

I have changed my asking price in Brickstock to the Last 6 months sales (average).

Question 1: Is my setting local currency $1 = €1 correct? I am not trying to
convert my store currency as it is in Euro now and I wish it remains so.

Question 2: Is the revalued asking price the Last 6 month sales average in Euro?
I read other forum posts that stated that BrickStock only uses sales data in
USD to compute its averages.

Question 3: if indeed the above is correct (in relation to USD and sales data)
is there any means to determine the actual average 6 month Sales data for the
World or European market?

Thanks for any help with either of these queries.

The prices you see in BrickScout are in Dollars.
So, if you let BS set your prices to the Average, you see (with 1 = 1) Dollar
prices.

In BS under "edit"-"price"-"incr or decr" you have to lower your prices with
about 10% to come to the Euro prices, as shown in BrickLink.

....but it´s never as accurate as you would like it to be, the DollarEuro
exchange rate is fluctuating all the time.

Klaas

Brickstock prices are excluding VAT.. that is why I definitely recommend NOT
using Brickstock for pricing if you are in the EU. You'll never be able to
retrieve the true priceguide prices that you see on Bricklink, no matter what
conversion factor you enter.

(And I still have no response from the author of Brickstock about this....)

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 21, 2019 06:45

Subject:

Re: Fine print regarding lot quanities

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, JONAK_Toys writes:

In Suggestions, wrightcrystal50 writes:

I just wasted 6 hours placing an order just find out fine print stated I could
only buy lots in quantities of a $1. If this is a stipulation of a seller I
shouldn’t have to sift through fine print to find it. Likely I will not use
this site again until this is fixed. I quickly learned (100) meant quantities
divisible by 100 and when I miss that I am warned which is great and very helpful.
It should be the same when sellers have a stupid rule similar to described.
If a seller wants to have a stupid rule so be it, but it should be more obvious
to the buyer when selecting quantities to purchase.

When a store has that option enabled, it will show up on that grey line next
to the green cart button. Even then, it is always best to read through a stores
terms before preparing a cart.

Sounds a bit like this store has the rule only in text without having the option
enabled :/
In that case, I would just go ahead and place the order in that case, screw them,
they can't just waste your time like that. They can choose to either process
or accept non positive feedback

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 20, 2019 07:25

Subject:

Re: We need a modern way to part out sets.

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

It doesn't work, because not all items have the same distribution globally.
Some are prevalent in the VAT zone (closer to 20% difference with the BL priceguide),
some more outside of it (closer to no difference with the BL priceguide). Any
+% would be an estimation that will be off. Maybe not by a whole lot, but a 5
cent difference off the average can already make alot of difference in terms
of your place in the rankings and how fast the item will be sold.

It's not difficult at all, and there is no dilemma or tradeoff. The Brickstick
priceguide prices simply have to be identical to the Bricklink priceguide prices.
To do this, Brickstock simply has to access the priceguide including VAT. That
is a parameter that already exists. Either Brickstock has to perform a very simple
update, or, if this parameter is not available to them, Bricklink should make
it available in the API. It's really very simple.

I think it's very problematic doesn't even warn sellers, so they could
be underpricing without being aware of it.

In Suggestions, Thunor writes:

Why not update imported BrickStock prices using the +% feature?

It would be useless to business users if it included tax, with all the different
tax rates globally it wouldn’t work for anyone.

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

In Suggestions, HallBricks writes:

The "Part Out" tool feels very outdated, and is tedious to use. One accidental
click on a link, and you loose every data you have put in for each lot.

I know there are third party software used to upload parts to your inventory,
but think a much more powerful way to part out set should be offered by BrickLink.
Maybe a software you download to your computer, but it could also just be a massive
redesign of the existing tool online.

What I miss the most is easier ways to manage lots that already exist in my inventory.
I don't want to open a new page just to check the remarks for a certain lot,
because if I forget to open that link in a new tab I will loose all progress
made with the other lots. This information should be visible on the same page,
or I should be able to open it in a pop-up window.

When parting out huge sets with thousands of pieces, it would also be nice to
be able to save the progress and continue later. Maybe there should be one upload
button for each lot, so I don't have to go through the entire list first
and then submit all changes at once.

There are of course lots of different features that could be implemented to make
the Part Out tool even more powerful, like more advanced ways to set up automatic
prices, like 10% below average etc.

Brickstock. Best $20 I spent. Super Easy. Do I wish it did more, of course,
but it does enough to satisfy me.

Yep, Brickstock is US oriented so it works for you, not for us

Prices exclude
VAT, so it renders it useless to me. I'd rather go through the Bricklink
part out process, have it crash, throw away my progress with a misclick, and
some other frustrations than to end up with prices that are off. It sounds like
everyone has slightly different wishes about what they like to see exactly in
the update, but making the BL part out process have all the benefits of Brickstock
would probably be a great place to start. That way European sellers can benefit
from all the benefits of Brickstock as well.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 17, 2019 04:53

Subject:

Re: We need a modern way to part out sets.

Viewed:

72 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

In Suggestions, HallBricks writes:

Brickstock. Best $20 I spent. Super Easy. Do I wish it did more, of course,
but it does enough to satisfy me.

Yep, Brickstock is US oriented so it works for you, not for us

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 16, 2019 14:30

Subject:

Re: We need a modern way to part out sets.

Viewed:

67 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, bje writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, ToriHada writes:

In Suggestions, HallBricks writes:

...

There are of course lots of different features that could be implemented to make
the Part Out tool even more powerful, like more advanced ways to set up automatic
prices, like 10% below average etc.

When I was selling here I was very strongly opposed to the idea of automating
pricing to undercut the Price Guide Average. My thinking then was that nothing
would increase downward pressure on prices or accelerate the "race to the bottom"
some sellers here engage in more than giving them a way to automatically, easily,
quickly and repeatedly price thousands and thousands of lots BELOW the Price
Guide Average. The tedious manual process was one significant check that reduced
the downward pressure on prices.

But since I am very unlikely to ever sell here again, and quite likely to resume
buying at some point, I would LOVE to see a feature that helps to reduce prices
even more. So I would vote yes if this were a formal suggestion.

Foster

Agreed. Actually, the system as it is is already working in your favour as a
buyer - thee part out system being so poorly designed and unstable drives alot
of sellers to use Brickstock. Brickstock retrieves prices WITHOUT VAT - which
means that for all European sellers, it retrieves prices that are significantly
lower than what you get parting out on the Bricklink website. The result is sellers
underpricing without being aware of it, fuelling the global race to the bottom.

Maybe, maybe not. There are a lot of sellers in that bottom end of the market
that make up prices with fees and charges. You cannot compare prices in the price
guide without factoring fees etc. If the average is 10c and the minimum price
is 7c, if one seller sells at 10c with no fees, he is no different to the seller
at the bottom at 7c with charges and fees that knocks the price back over 11c.

I had me one like that just last week: no fees on the terms page when I got the
invoice, fees and charges excluding shipping were 40% of the order value, knocking
all of the individual prices that seller was asking on those parts from the bottom
5% to way over the average price.

When you actually spend some time really looking at those prices, virtually all
of them are exclusive of fees and charges - meaning the price guide is actually
just false advertising since hardly any of those sellers are actually prepared
to sell at the price they have listed at. And those are just the ones that are
honest enough to tell you upfront about extra fees, there are still a large volume
of sellers who charge those fees included in the shipping charge, sometimes an
extra 50% over and above the actual shipping charge. They are very very aware
of where they are pricing, and it has nothing to do with a race to the bottom,
but everything to do with luring unwary buyers.

You're right, that issue of fees not being represented in search listings,
enabling sellers to pretend they are cheap, must be one of the factors in the
race to the bottom as well. Which factors are the biggest is hard to tell. But
what I find particularly worrying about Brickstock, is that any other factor
- like pretending to be cheap and then charging fees - is compounded and
amplified with the fact that Brickstock retrieves lower than average prices to
begin with, and presents them as average. So someone who already plans to undercut
is given a price guide figure that is already below average but presented to
them as "average", and the seller then undercuts on that, to push it down even
further.

And: it is a loop. Let's say I am the only seller of a €10 item and I update
my price to "stay average" many times. What happens? It just drops down and down.
The first time I list it at €10. Next I ask Brickstock what the average price
is. Brickstock, ignoring VAT, says it's €8. I say "OK, let's go with
that". Retrieve the price again. Now Brickstock, again ignoring VAT, says it's
now €6.50. You can see the downward spiral here. Imagine what happens if all
European sellers update their prices with Brickstock on a regular basis.. (I
get that they adjust to their liking, but if you start off modifying taking an
ever dropping price as the starting point, on the whole prices just drop and
drop)

(I know I'm a bit of a broken record on this topic, but I can't emphasize
it enough. And I did write the author about it. Hopefully he will act soon, or
I am going to remain a broken record for a while..)

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 16, 2019 13:36

Subject:

Re: We need a modern way to part out sets.

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, DallasBricks writes:

Bricklink as a whole has not left the hobby status. Although there are many
sellers that are business minded in their processes, scale, and earnings, they
are left using outdated hobby like business practices.

The parting out process is a dinosaur. It is fraught with failure potholes that
can cause you to loose a lot of work in an instant. It is difficult to update
and maintain your inventory. The whole alternate mold/part thing is still a
mess. It is very easy to screw up your inventory using BL tools or the ones
that try to interface with BL.

I don't see these things changing in the future. Bricklink made it clear
that the site would have a few changes but would not be updated to a professional
level. A few features that nobody wanted were added, (Moc shop, Brick arms,
Stud.io)
The payment and shipping side are still limping along after over 3 years of attempted
updates.

Bricklink is more trouble than it is worth for many sellers. I stopped selling
parts several years ago and am glad I did so. Now I have a huge inventory to
build with.

Oh, and don't get me started on the wanted list thing. It is improved, but
there are so many improvements that could be made. Large projects are incredibly
complicated and require spreadsheets, tools, and lots of time and effort. Bricklink
offers little in the way of effective tools.

But I'm still here buying and such.

David

+1 That's a very good way to put it - it's at hobby level. Nothing more
or less. This is why for all hobby users, Bricklink work fine and they are nothing
but glad to use it, and with good reasons. For professional users, it's incredibly
frustrating at times, and their complaints are poorly understood by the hobby
users. Since there are more buyers than sellers, the voice for people to stop
"complaining" is sometimes louder than the voice that wants change. That doesn't
really help development either (although BL hardly seems to read the forum, let
alone be influenced by it).

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 16, 2019 13:31

Subject:

Re: We need a modern way to part out sets.

Viewed:

59 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, ToriHada writes:

In Suggestions, HallBricks writes:

...

There are of course lots of different features that could be implemented to make
the Part Out tool even more powerful, like more advanced ways to set up automatic
prices, like 10% below average etc.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 16, 2019 05:37

Subject:

Re: We need a modern way to part out sets.

Viewed:

72 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, HallBricks writes:

You're completely right, it should have been redone many years ago. If you
compare the wanted list part-out screen with the seller's part-out screen,
it becomes very clear that sellers are the lowest of low priorities..

BL said however that seller tools are just around the corner, if this is true
then some update in the part-out system must be included as well. I guess it
just comes down to whether you believe that statement or not - some users do,
some don't.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 12, 2019 13:07

Subject:

Re: Allow AFOLs to "Bricklink" the ADP sets

Viewed:

52 times

Topic: