BrickLink Discussion Forum

Thank you all for chiming in. I agree with your feedback and appreciate the
information on ways to improve and handle these situations.

Thank you again.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Dec 18, 2022 05:59

Subject:

Re: How do buyers predict shipping fees?

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

Shipping

The easiest way is to email the seller or ask for a quote. Sometimes these options
are not available, but for the most part they are.

In Shipping, SpearIt writes:

I’m new to the site and am wondering how/why buyers commit to a purchase before
knowing the shipping fees? I purchased about $15 in Lego to be shipped within
Canada, but the invoice asked for $25 in shipping fees. So I requested to cancel,
but the seller didn’t respond & I see BrickLink’s policy is that the seller doesn’t
have to agree to cancelling if they don’t want to.
So I may have to pay $40 for just $15 in Lego? I’m not really blaming the seller,
I just don’t understand why buyers are asked by BrickLink to commit to a purchase
before knowing the full cost, including shipping!
I deal with contractors in my job every day and before they send an invoice they
send an Order Confirmation which includes any fees on top of the product, like
shipping. Once I reply with agreement, I’m fully committed and they send the
invoice for payment.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 3, 2022 11:01

Subject:

Re: Suspicious Seller Possible Scammer

Viewed:

67 times

Topic:

Thank you so much, Russell! I was so concerned over this. One of my first
experiences on BL, and my first post ever, was about being scammed. I know what
that feels like and I was really worried about it.

I feel relieved to know that there is a process in place to alert you and others.
Thank you for your efforts.

In General, Admin_Russell writes:

In General, Gingerela writes:

https://store.bricklink.com/rector77777#/shop

Does anyone else notice anything odd about this store? They had zero sales as
of yesterday afternoon. They had 4 Green Grocer sets listed which sold out overnight.
Today they posted several more. They also added more high end sets like the
Black Pearl, all in numerous quantities.

They only have two reviews for sales which only took place yesterday. Both reviewers
have zero feedback. Also, they are offering free FED-EX shipping anywhere in
the world. I have a strong suspicion this may be a scammer. If you agree, please
help by reporting this to the admins so they can check it out.

Thanks to all who reported this store. 5 of the orders and about half of the
value was from sockpuppet accounts which left fake feedback. Since all payment
was completed onsite, people should be able to get their money back.

We are quite sure this attack is from a former BrickLink seller who was recently
shut down for dropshipping.

We will do our best to make sure these orders are removed from the price guide.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 3, 2022 10:20

Subject:

Re: Suspicious Seller Possible Scammer

Viewed:

63 times

Topic:

When I first spotted this store, they had zero sales. I believe they have now
surpassed the $20K mark in just over 48 hours. I reported it yesterday, not
quite 24 hours ago. These scammers know how things work here and are well aware
that BL doesn't have the manpower to intervene quickly enough.

Buyers are probably banking on PayPal's buyer protection plan should the
deal be too good to be true. I wonder how long that protection plan is going
to be available. PayPal has been chipping away at it for the past two years.
It may be a matter of time before they offer it up for an additional fee.

In General, jennnifer writes:

In General, rab1234 writes:

looks like they've already scammed people to the tune of 15 to 20 thousand
dollars.... people sure are greedy and lose common sense when they think they're
getting a deal.

In General, Gingerela writes:

34 orders already. Good grief people! Have some healthy skepticism...

Jen

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 3, 2022 00:36

Subject:

Re: Suspicious Seller Possible Scammer

Viewed:

65 times

Topic:

Done. Thank you.

In General, 1001bricks writes:

In General, Gingerela writes:

How does one reach Russell?

For example replying to one of his posts:
https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1343732

Or asking Forum mods to push this if they can (but I don't know):
https://www.bricklink.com/contact.asp?adminType=Discussions%20Moderator&adminCode=6

In General, 1001bricks writes:

In General, Gingerela writes:

https://store.bricklink.com/rector77777#/shop

Does anyone else notice anything odd about this store?

It's fishier than fishes themselves

If you agree, please
help by reporting this to the admins so they can check it out.

Please send a message to Russell, he posted an hour ago?

Or report one of the lots saying the whole seems bizarre?

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 2, 2022 22:46

Subject:

Re: Suspicious Seller Possible Scammer

Viewed:

63 times

Topic:

How does one reach Russell?

In General, 1001bricks writes:

In General, Gingerela writes:

https://store.bricklink.com/rector77777#/shop

Does anyone else notice anything odd about this store?

It's fishier than fishes themselves

If you agree, please
help by reporting this to the admins so they can check it out.

Please send a message to Russell, he posted an hour ago?

Or report one of the lots saying the whole seems bizarre?

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 2, 2022 20:42

Subject:

Suspicious Seller Possible Scammer

Viewed:

399 times

Topic:

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 2, 2022 07:20

Subject:

Re: Suspicious Store/Seller?

Viewed:

108 times

Topic:

Thank you for the link.

In Selling, wildchicken13 writes:

Report the member of suspected scam or fraud: https://www.bricklink.com/problemMember.asp

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 1, 2022 22:13

Subject:

Re: Suspicious Store/Seller?

Viewed:

69 times

Topic:

Update: Since I posted this message a few hours ago, the store now has 4 orders,
and 1 new feedback. The feedback is from a buyer with 0 feedback and reads something
like 'I was skeptical but item came thru'.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 1, 2022 22:09

Subject:

Re: Suspicious Store/Seller?

Viewed:

61 times

Topic:

My gut instinct tells me something is off.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 1, 2022 20:15

Subject:

Re: Suspicious Store/Seller?

Viewed:

72 times

Topic:

I completely agree that most of the sellers are BL are the real deal. I've
befriended some in real life and we buy and sell to each other. One even lives
in my neighborhood.

I had no intention of buying from this store. I just couldn't help but notice
all the red flags. There is little to lead me to believe it is a legit store
as a result. I know what it felt like to be scammed, and I would hate for that
to happen to anyone else.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 1, 2022 18:53

Subject:

Suspicious Store/Seller?

Viewed:

248 times

Topic:

Years ago, when I first shopped on BL as a new customer, I found the set I was
looking for in a new store for a great price. The price was too good to be true.
The seller had a good number of the set I was looking for along with a few other
highly sought after sets. Long story short, the seller was a scammer and I had
to file a claim with PayPal to get my money back. I remember posting the issue
here on this forum and getting laughed at for falling for a scam. True story!

I came across a store just now that is set up the same exact way and it gives
out the same vibe: all expensive, highly collectable sets with a quantity of
3 to 5 of each, small inventory, no loose parts or minifigs, no feedback, brand
new store, and the biggest red flag: free shipping via Fedex.

I've been away from BL since pre-covid so it's been awhile. From my
understanding, new stores aren't easy to open here anymore. This one may
very well be legit, but it certainly seems very suspicious. I would hate to
call out an honest seller so I won't name the store here, but I would like
to know if that sort of thing still happens, and if something seems off, what
is the correct procedure to follow, if any?

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jun 1, 2022 18:24

Subject:

Re: Pricing Sets: New vs New and Sealed

Viewed:

15 times

Topic:

I have several hundred. I've never sold sets in my store before though I
have amassed a good number of them.

How many different sets are you listing at once? When listing a set, I tend to
check prices of local competition anyway rather than rely on a global average,
so new vs sealed new is just one extra click. I find the extra 60 seconds or
so to check local prices is often worthwhile.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

May 31, 2022 21:38

Subject:

Re: Pricing Sets: New vs New and Sealed

Viewed:

30 times

Topic:

There are quite a number of them out there listed in that manner.

In Selling, peregrinator writes:

In Selling, Gingerela writes:

A set without minifigs is surely incomplete - and if it isn't listed as such,
ought to be reported.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

May 31, 2022 21:36

Subject:

Re: Pricing Sets: New vs New and Sealed

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

You are indeed correct, but there is still a price difference, especially for
highly collectable sets. I was hoping to be able to distinguish between them
since they are not exactly the same thing. The definition of 'New' seems
to vary as mentioned above, and so does the pricing of such. I was hoping to
differentiate between the subcategories.

In Selling, yorbrick writes:

In Selling, Gingerela writes:

I am trying to figure out how to price my new and sealed sets using Brickseller
or similar. The problem I am running into is that there is no way of pricing
within the subcategory of New vs New AND Sealed. Depending on the seller, 'New'
may be defined as a just the sealed bags sans the box, and/or instructions, or
in other cases, without minifigs.

From my understanding, the API does not provide access to this distinction.
Given that there is definitely a price difference between these, how do other
sellers automate their pricing without having to check each item one by one?
That's not an option when you have hundreds of new sets.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

New and new and sealed are almost the same if you price based on complete. New
Sealed obviously means new and sealed whereas New (complete) is exactly the same
contents, just that the box / bags are no longer sealed.

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

May 31, 2022 10:02

Subject:

Pricing Sets: New vs New and Sealed

Viewed:

106 times

Topic:

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jan 5, 2022 08:51

Subject:

Re: Price Guide for US Based Inventory Only

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

Related Software

Rick, thank you so much for this info. I just watched all the videos. Is there
a specific setting to direct the specific API call for U.S. inventory pricing
only?

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jan 4, 2022 11:18

Subject:

Re: Price Guide for US Based Inventory Only

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

Related Software

How about when using Brickstore to update inventory pricing?

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Dec 31, 2021 16:52

Subject:

Price Guide for US Based Inventory Only

Viewed:

103 times

Topic:

Related Software

I have asked this question in the past but there wasn't a solution. I am
hoping someone may have been able to find one since then.

For sellers like myself who only sell to US customers and want to price their
items based strictly on available US inventory, BL's price guide returns
very inaccurate results, usually below the lowest prices.

Has anyone figured out a workaround to this issue so that a seller could extract
pricing based solely on inventory located in the US?

Author:

Gingerela

Posted:

Jul 16, 2021 12:56

Subject:

Re: How long is long enough?

Viewed:

71 times

Topic:

Problem Order