BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Catalog, axaday writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

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?

I sometimes have trouble guessing where something is, but the categories aren't
too long and I have memorized some things that were hard before.

It could definitely be improved.

Just call it all technic.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 15, 2019 23:14

Subject:

Re: Interesting

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

Colors

In Colors, Adjour writes:

UVs don’t tan the plastic. UVs accelerate or make possible some chemical reactions
in the plastic.
Other things may accelerate the reactions. And the reactions also occur all
by themselves.

Came here to say this.

so yeah. This.

Came here to say this.

"This"

Sorry, just cracked me up. It's been a long week.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 3, 2019 17:52

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

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38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, manganschlamm 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

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.

Not a problem and I 100% see the buyer side and Agree. As a buyer myself too,
it is frustrating when you are sitting there waiting and waiting for an invoice,
which is why as a seller, I send them out asap or if it is going to take some
time (like up to 2-3 days), I send communication with the buyer so they are fully
aware that I will get be sending it soon. Although, many times I have simply
estimate the shipping, refund if I over-estimated and take the hit if I under-estimated
just to get the invoice out asap still.

It would be wonderful if sellers had stats that showed how quickly invoices are
sent out and how quickly shipments are sent as I feel the NPB should start when
the invoice is sent and not determined on how many days pass from the date of
purchase.

Overall, Yes to Both sides. Hold Sellers and Buyers accountable. +1

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 3, 2019 11:59

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

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35 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Bricklord writes:

I fully agree, it is far too long to deal with the deadbeats here on BL. 8 days
to me would be best, 4 and 4 and cancel. Frees up inventory.

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Yes, it's a slow start to the movement but this can be done!!!

I really wish the clock could start when the invoice is sent, but don't want
to make this a "huge" undertaking with coding.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 3, 2019 01:13

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

62 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Use instant checkout and instant payment or enable the checkbox for Use instant
checkout for low feedback buyers in the Store settings.

Instant Checkout- I already have this enabled, but this is not possible to enable
for every scenario, let alone Zone within the USA.

Forcing Low Feedback Buyers - Absolutely Not. I will not stop a new buyer from
selecting something that is outside the IC restraints. There are way too many
New Buyers that come to my store that have a 0 rating and come and go just fine.
I would not want to deter any new buyer from BL in any way. Could you imagine
how frustrating it would be if you went on Amazon or Walmart to buy something
and were restricted in anyway? Why would anyone return to that site if they
had issues checking out? So, I will never, refuse service, to a new buyer simply
because their order falls outside of an IC method. I wouldn't want to lose
the business and neither should BL.

The issue is not only with low feedback buyers too. This can occur with any buyer
at any level. I still would like to see this looked into and possibly changed.
10 days is more than enough time to pay for an item, especially when I am providing
and invoice within 24 hours and many times within minutes of an order coming
in.

Possibly the NPB should start 7 days after an invoice is generated, and at that
time sellers wouldn't have to wait another 3 or 7 days for a buyer to respond.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 2, 2019 21:02

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, udenbricks writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Things can happen.
I had an NPB last weeks. Suddenly 4 days after starting NPB (so the order is
12 days old, the buyer reacts.
There was an internet outage and his dayly business get all his attention. He
didnt check Bricklink and forgot his order. Now all was working again and he
give his apologies. He paid and I removed the NPB (will give positive feedback).
So the timeline 7 days plus 7 days is ok for me.

JustMy2Cts

Not enough of a reason for me to back down on the request to move up things by
4 days. The buyer can rebuy, or reach out at anytime beyond the 10 day mark
with communication to make things right. Why hold our inventory hostage?

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

May 2, 2019 18:05

Subject:

Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

210 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Feb 16, 2019 19:12

Subject:

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

Viewed:

48 times

Topic:

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.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Feb 6, 2019 17:05

Subject:

Re: New and Used: more shades of grey are needed

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Suggestions, runner.caller writes:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

In Suggestions, JusTiCe8 writes:

Hi,

as a buyer, I found having only two choices for parts condition is far too basic
and not useful, mostly for buyers, but also for sellers who seek accuracy and
honesty regarding their inventory.

I mean, for now a seller can only pick new or used, but pretty much everyone
has his/her own standard and I got some used parts which are like new, some others
which are closer to the one way ticket to trash, if you see what I mean

.

It's not good nor practical to force seller to put actual picture(s) of all
the used parts, both hobbyist and professional has better use of their time I
guess.
Plus, asking for every single part before ordering is not good either, some sellers
didn't took time to reply to potential buyer's question already.

And when seller put description, it's quite subjective, one adjective is
far to describe actual shape of a part: "bite marks, yellowish", ok but how many
marks, how deep ?
how much "yellowished" is the brick ?
Some may claims "quite good", some other "I can't send them to trash".

A quality score could be added to a used part. It would be used as well to set
the sell price, as trash-ready used parts can lower the infamous "average 6 months"
and lower ALL prices, which is very unfair for like new parts.

Any thoughts ?

The other site that has various categories of Used was the #1 reason I will never
use it, unless BL goes away. I do not want to have to make my judgment call
and "hope" that the buyer has the same judgment call on what category of "used"
I selected.

Here is my advice when buying Used. Buy from various sources, when you find
a source that sells you crap compared to others... don't buy from the crap
store anymore and continue buying from the stores that treat you well. For example,
a large % of my Used pieces I am confident I could put down "like-new" and maybe
even sell them as "new" and no one would know the difference. I surely don't
do that but I'm trying to make a point. I don't make too many comments
on Used Items because it isn't necessary. Buyers that purchase from me multiple
times know what to expect, that a large percentage of Used items will be in good-great
condition unless I did make a notation about a specific dent, scratch, etc...
but didn't want to toss the piece as it has value to it, however, still have
the notation that it any piece is Used and could have been played with.

I don't think we need any Buyer Rating system either. This will only cause
uproar when our opinions are ever so slightly different.

Each Store can make their own process as they see fit. I have no issue with anyone
taking the time to do this. I certainly do not have the time to "judge" every
piece though. It would literally be sorting everything once which takes long
enough, and then sorting them all again and instead of having 2 main locations
for items stored (new and used) you would need 4 or 5 or who knows how many to
make sure you are pulling from the correct drawer, bag or akro-mill slot, etc...

There is Positive, Neutral and Negative Feedback available if, as a buyer, anyone
does not agree with what they received from what they purchased.

I understand your argument but I, and I assume many others here, do not have
another 4-8 hours per day to put into subjective scoring. Thanks

Thank you, I appreciate that.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Feb 6, 2019 16:18

Subject:

Re: New and Used: more shades of grey are needed

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, JusTiCe8 writes:

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Jan 3, 2019 17:12

Subject:

Re: part 4073: catalog statisics mistake

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

In Catalog, StormChaser writes:

In Catalog, yoavheskia writes:

i counted only 51 known colors, not 52 as mentioned in catalog statisics.

That is odd. I cannot explain it. I thought the statistics were real-time data.
Even if not, I don't see any recent changes which could have caused this
discrepancy.

Must have counted itself as one. Silly catalog, you are not a color.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 3, 2018 14:54

Subject:

Re: Home page - more stages shown

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:

Currently it says
Invoices
Shipments
Drove-thru

Would like to see
Orders
Invoiced
Paid
Packed
Shipped

Orders -- these need to be invoiced
Invoiced-- seller has sent the invoice
Paid --- buyer has paid
Packed-- seller has packed the order
Shipped -- seller has shipped the order, and can complete drive thru here
to move it out of the shipped bucket

Same for buyers. Not sure why everything was condensed to three options when
there are more stages than this and with IC, items move quickly through the stages
and skip some.

Thanks for the consideration.

Kind of surprised there is zero support or feedback on this. It can't
be just me whom dislikes having so many orders within the same bucket (Shipments)
when they have been paid for but not packed or they are packed and ready to print
the shipping label. Personally, I don't pack an order then go print the
shipping info right afterwards. I, and I assume many others, pack all orders
or as many as they can get to, then go print all shipping labels at one time.

And then still show the orders that have been invoiced but a payment hasn't
come through yet. I think this is the most important one as a non-paid for order
can get buried quickly so it would be nice to see that you have an order you've
invoiced and check up on it without having to dig for it.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 1, 2018 23:59

Subject:

Re: Automatic price while listing items

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Rainey writes:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

In Suggestions, Rainey writes:

I just bought a MacBook Pro and it is very fast! But it has got me wishing that
Bricklink had a seller feature that would automatically have the average price
(or what ever price you set it as) put in the box while adding items like brickOwl
does. I also love how brickOwl has the option to add the same part in multiple
colors at the same time and I really wish Bricklink had the same! I also like
it that if I posted a suggestion in the BrickOwl Forum for a new seller feature,
it would be done in a matter of a few minutes (most likely). I hope this seller
feature suggestion can be acted upon quickly and not years later to never.
Rainey

This already exists, use your default selling settings: https://www.bricklink.com/invOptionsAdd.asp

I didn't see any setting for adding individual items. There is only one
for parting out sets.
Rainey

Use brickstock. If the average is automatically put in then it is one more thing
that needs to be deleted before typing in the price you want, thus takes more
time.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Dec 1, 2018 21:45

Subject:

Home page - more stages shown

Viewed:

86 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Nov 12, 2018 21:40

Subject:

Re: List only USA items in "Items for Sale" tab

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, gregmgallup writes:

When I want to buy something under the “Items for Sale” tab, all of the items
from all of the countries are listed.

It would be nice to see only USA sellers.

Under the “Price Guide” tab there is a way to change the settings to see only
USA prices.

Can that also be applied to “Items for Sale?

Thanks

Greg

Click on "More Options" and you'll see this already exists.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Nov 12, 2018 13:42

Subject:

Parting Out - Items We Do Not Have

Viewed:

157 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

I used Brickstock to Load my stock into the store but the Price Guide that BL
has is a wonderful estimate to what I would do using Brickstock.

However, a piece of the parting out could be pushed to one degree further if
only you were able to have the BL system tell you what the items are that you
do not have.

In the attachment, off of a random set, I have the majority of the lots in my
store, but do not stock 4 of them. This is where it would be wonderful to have
a quick way of knowing what those 4 Lots are. Is there a way this already exists?
The only want I know of to check on this is to run an upload from Brickstock
into BL, take it to the verify screen and review the items that are not being
consolidated. Is there another way that is helpful?

Thank you

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Nov 9, 2018 20:28

Subject:

Re: Wondering if part 53588 exists - want to buy

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28 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Brickitty writes:

In Catalog, MidwestBrick writes:

In Catalog, Brickitty writes:

In Catalog, mfav writes:

https://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/EXTN/1481.png?0

Clearly it's marbled in the set image.

You're right, it is. Perhaps the catalog admin should change this and consolidate
both parts under 53588pb01, in Dark Gray or Dark Bluish Gray, then?

And possibly purchase some items at those two stores to make amends?

I'll definitely send a message to the sellers I messaged before, to let them
know they should relist the parts appropriately. But I'm curious why you
think I'm in any way responsible for the catalog error or receiving refunds
for what I could only assume were mistakes? I was just going off of the catalog,
and it's only the difficulties during this last week that led me to believe
that the part might not exist in a non-marbled version.

Guess tough crowd to crack a joke within, I'll keep my fun thoughts to myself
next time.

(I'm smiling and having a chuckle while I write this). Best
of luck in your investigation.

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Nov 9, 2018 17:07

Subject:

Re: Wondering if part 53588 exists - want to buy

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Brickitty writes:

In Catalog, mfav writes:

https://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/EXTN/1481.png?0

Clearly it's marbled in the set image.

You're right, it is. Perhaps the catalog admin should change this and consolidate
both parts under 53588pb01, in Dark Gray or Dark Bluish Gray, then?

And possibly purchase some items at those two stores to make amends?

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Oct 31, 2018 20:57

Subject:

Re: Catalog Project Request "Bar" vs. "Weapon"

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In Catalog, DeLuca writes:

One bit of inconsistency that has been bothering me for a while, is that, though
part (64567) is classified as a "Minifig, Weapon", its modified variant, part
(92690), is listed in "Bar".
Though I do not care where these parts are reclassified, I do want
to see them in the same category.

64567 Minifigure, Weapon Lightsaber Hilt Straight
Parts: Minifigure, Weapon

92690 Bar 1L with Top Stud and 2 Side Studs (Connector Perpendicular)
Parts: Bar

Fixed. What's next?

92690 Minifig Weapon, 3 sided Hollow Hammer
Parts: Minifig, Weapon

Author:

MidwestBrick

Posted:

Oct 5, 2018 00:17

Subject:

Re: Restrictions kill sales! I'm outta here!

Viewed:

116 times

Topic: