BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Catalog, yorbrick writes:

Just to note, you have snipped the image starting with the 2x4 brick but not
included its dimensions. I got confused with the first set of dimensions x, y
and z until I realised they are for the slope and not the brick.

Sorry about that. Here is another screenshot:

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Apr 6, 2021 01:30

Subject:

New Packing Dimensions Feature

Viewed:

321 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

We are pleased to announce that a major new feature was deployed to the catalog
today - Packing Dimensions!

We started a Packaging Dimensions Topic in the Forum in the Fall of 2017 so that
members could input dimensions to help Instant Checkout work properly. It was
only supposed to be a temporary solution, and it took a lot of time and dedication
for both contributors and admins to handle each request manually.

Now there is much better way - just input the data like you would any other catalog
data. Notice the upgrade to the Change Item form:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogReq.asp?itemType=P

The first thing, though, that we want to tell you about this new feature is that
it's only a start. This is actually just phase 1 out of 3 phases. We did
it this way so we could get the basic functionality opened up as soon as possible.

This means that the Add Item form does not have Packing Dimensions input fields,
and we haven't touched the seller interface either which still shows millimeters
and only allows the upload of custom dimensions.

We are also a bit behind on the new Help Page:

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2510

There are 4 areas we still need to tackle with the Help Page: Minifigures, Gear,
Books, and Catalogs. Those sections will be filled out over the next few days.
If you could please hold off on uploading dimensions for those Item Types until
the Help Pages are finished, it would be appreciated.

As you may have noticed, we changed the name from Packaging Dimensions to Packing
Dimensions. Let us know what you think and of course report any bugs. And there
is no need to post in the Packaging Dimensions Topic any more. We'll keep
it there for a while in case something happens to our new system, but when we
wrap up with phase 3, we will officially decommission that part of the Forum.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Apr 2, 2021 08:08

Subject:

Re: Lego/Bricklink-Very frustrated with you

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Topic:

In Suggestions, jdinklage writes:

In Suggestions, calebfishn writes:

In Suggestions, jdinklage writes:

Please stop blocking my access to the parts I need. I am extremely annoyed that
you won't allow me to buy items from so many sellers I need to because they
aren't paying my taxes. They "don't support orders that ship to Massachusetts".
You are literally screwing up my access to rare parts that are only available
on this site. You are hurting part of this hobby for me. STOP IT! I am only
a buyer and not a seller. I understand you must be going through some growing
pains trying to get all the sellers to pay taxes, but don't take it out on
the buyers. Seriously stop blocking my access to the parts I need. Not allowing
me to ship items to my home from sellers who are willing to ship them to me is
a legitimate reason for me to be pissed. You are forcing me to go buy clone
parts off site when I don't really want to as an immediate direct result
of this action.

If you don't want to pay your sales taxes to the great state of Massachusetts
then I suggest you use your democratic rights to elect legislators who will change
the law.
Or, you could move to a different jurisdiction that doesn't charge sales
tax.

I WANT to pay my taxes. I have no problem with paying my taxes.

The problem is that we (BrickLink) cannot pay those taxes unless the seller chooses
to use an onsite payment method. We cannot force sellers to make this choice,
so it is up to these sellers to open themselves up to the larger market.

This is why some other members in this thread are advising you to contact sellers
you wish to buy from and kindly ask if they would adopt an onsite method. It
is not a lengthy process - it takes just a few minutes for those who already
have an account.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Apr 1, 2021 20:09

Subject:

Re: Lego/Bricklink-Very frustrated with you

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Topic:

In Suggestions, jennnifer writes:

In Suggestions, cosmicray writes:

The trick there, is that IC only supports PP and Stripe. You can't do IBAN
with IC and collect the sales tax.

Nita Rae

Is IBAN an onsite payment method?

Jen

It is possible in theory to incorporate IBAN into an onsite solution, but apparently
it is very difficult and potentially unstable. So we consider IBAN to be offsite
only.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Apr 1, 2021 10:54

Subject:

Re: Items Moved Today

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Catalog, firestar246 writes:

In Catalog, Turez writes:

And am I seeing it right that there are some additions (especially the category
changes) which were not part of the original list that was published one month
ago? Despite the fact that it was said there would not be any additions to that
list after March 1st?

Yeah, that cross plate was NOT in the list before; I'm certain. Also the
Arch name change; they literally had a statement on that page a couple days ago
saying that no category name changes or additions would be approved.

Hopefully the new method that Stormchaser has mentioned will help with this confusion.

I'm preparing a statement about this current round of changes that will help
explain the decisions that were made. But real quick, while I am reading this,
I can let you know that all three of those parts WERE included in the original
list. They were listed under the 2 x 2 corner as related parts that would also
be moved.

2639 Plate 4 x 4 Corner
Parts: Plate

15397 Plate, Modified 3 x 3 Cross
Parts: Plate, Modified

73831 Plate, Modified 2 x 3 with 1 x 1 Cutout
Parts: Plate, Modified

Two of them were moved, and two remained behind.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 31, 2021 15:38

Subject:

Re: 252 Locomotive with Driver and Pssengers

Viewed:

52 times

Topic:

Inventories

In Inventories, TugiBrick writes:

Hi there,

as I'm not sure but want to know how it is I'd like to ask for the colour
of the male hair X197. Lego always displayed all parts on the box also as in
the instruction. Here in Bricklink it's described as Brown but in
the instruction is shown as Black. Peeron also describes part X197 as
Black. Even in my collection the hair part X197 also is Black.

So perhaps someone can verify this detail of this beautiful elderly set of Homemaker
series? I cannot imagine the colour other as Black.

Thanks so lot for your answers.

Claudia

There are two versions of the brown hairpiece - one is a mellow brown and the
other is a dark brown. We don't know which came first or if there is even
a reliable timeline for the variation, but we chose not to use the BrickLink
system Dark Brown, because that color was not officially introduced until 2008.

I have verified the color of this part from a sealed set. My personal username
is viejos, which you can see at the foot of the inventory:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=252-1

Sometimes in photos this dark brown part does appear to be black. You can also
see that it is brown in this inventory of its sister set:

196-1 (Inv) Antique Car
115 Parts, 1975
Sets: Building Set with People: Traffic

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 30, 2021 12:44

Subject:

Re: Why so few changes approved?

Viewed:

66 times

Topic:

In Catalog, firestar246 writes:

Since it was only a couple days before April 1st, we decided to start organizing
the pieces by the new changes that were going to be done April 1st. https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2487

Now today, I notice that a ton of them say not approved, including many that
made sense. So is there a reason?

Everything on that page is tentative at this point. But I can confirm that all
the ones that currently are marked APPROVED will approved April 1. The other
ones are still under review.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 29, 2021 01:36

Subject:

Re: Inventory Change Request for Set 6602-1

Viewed:

28 times

Topic:

Inventories Requests

In Inventories Requests, SezaR writes:

Please make changes to the following inventory:

6602-1 (Inv) Fire Unit 1
17 Parts, 1 Minifigure, 1981
Sets: Town: Classic Town: Fire

* Add 1 Part 3062b Trans-Dark Blue Brick, Round 1 x 1 Open Stud (Alternate) (match ID 1)
* Change 1 Part Trans-Dark Blue 3062a Brick, Round 1 x 1 Solid Stud {match ID 0 to 1}

Comments from Submitter:
I own two copies both come with 3062b.
1978-9 is the transition time from 3062a to 3062b.

Keep in mind that transition years are not fixed and are in many cases dependent
on color.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 19, 2021 22:08

Subject:

Re: Searching catalog removes words. Why?

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Topic:

In Catalog, C0lsanders_ writes:

For example, I have tile 98138pb033, a soda can top. So I search "can". Catalog
returns "The following keywords were excluded from your search: can". I then
have to search with the quotation marks for " "can" ", so it finds it. Why does
the catalog search function decide to not search the word? I've had it do
the same thing with numbers. Is it a length issue, ie, has to be a minimum of
4 characters, or something?

Thanks,
Miles (C0lsanders_)

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=29

I think originally it had to do with optimizing site performance.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 16, 2021 13:57

Subject:

Re: Two Weeks?!

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Catalog, yorbrick writes:

In Catalog, popsicle writes:

In Catalog, peregrinator writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

Do you have Marketing emails checked? This is a new setting as of last year sometime.
The default setting is OFF:

https://www.bricklink.com/pref_contact.asp

Mine was off indeed, but I have to say, this doesn't exactly strike me as
a Marketing email.

I agree, not from our end, the catalog user. But from their (TLG) end it may
fall within the framework of needed legalese. As well as being the purpose for
the fairly new feature, I assume: https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1259089

Maybe they need one for "important service updates" too. Then they could also
email things like changes in policy concerning removing incomplete minifigures,
changes in tax collections, and so on. Things that get asked here again and again
that one email telling users what is going on might help clear up.

That will be the Marketplace newsletter. BrickLink is now broken into 5 subgroups
that operate somewhat independently: Platform, Catalog, Marketplace, Studio,
and Crowd. The first Marketplace newsletter will probably come out around the
end of this month.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 16, 2021 11:07

Subject:

Re: Two Weeks?!

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Catalog, BricksThatStick writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

Catalog Newsletter which went out yesterday.

Guess my copy is stuck in the postal system somewhere...

Do you have Marketing emails checked? This is a new setting as of last year sometime.
The default setting is OFF:

https://www.bricklink.com/pref_contact.asp

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 16, 2021 11:02

Subject:

Re: Two Weeks?!

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Topic:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

This is not a big deal for me personally as I am not currently selling here,
so I can plan it when I want.. but... really?!

The catalog changes are scheduled for April 1. That's only 2 weeks away.
I noticed that this is a DRAMATIC catalog update that will throw the entire store
upside down. Definitely won't be able to take my entire 1.2 million parts
store apart and piece it back together just casually within these next two weeks
between sorting orders. Especially moving all the wedges will be be fun puzzle.

Not gonna object against any changes, they seem alright to me. Except that there's
one change clearly missing from that list: Moving the 2x2 corner brick to Brick,
Modified.. (since plate and tile are there)

I hope this really was THE update everyone was waiting for, and now we're
satisfied..

The list you see is of the PROPOSED changes, not SCHEDULED changes. There are
only six items on the list so far that can officially be considered approved
by admin, and those are the six examples listed in the Catalog Newsletter which
went out yesterday.

Oh, whoa, thanks Russell, that's an important addition here. That's not
the way I read it at all, but now I see.

Does this mean the other proposed changes are going to trickle through at random
moments later on, or will they be implemented in one go with the next edition
in October?

Well, I don't know how it is for other users, but looking at my situation
it definitely is about how often and not how much.

Regular updates at specific times seems to be the path forward with these types
of changes. That way, there is a reference point people can look back on and
make adjustments.

OK, so if I understand correctly, the changes that are still in proposed status
will be listed for a future update (provided they are accepted), with a future
announcement like this one. So, this list of six is exactly what is going to
change 1 April - nothing more. In that case, makes sense.

I mean, it would be awkward to make a clear annoucement for 6 parts with a clear
date, only to suddenly implement moving all wedges to brick/plate/slope the week
after unannounced

No, there are still 2 weeks to approve the other proposals for the April 1 deadline.
All of them might be approved, but it isn't certain. The only certain thing
at this point are the six listed in the newsletter, because we didn't want
the newsletter highlighting things that weren't going to change.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 16, 2021 10:59

Subject:

Re: Two Weeks?!

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

[…]
Regular updates at specific times seems to be the path forward with these types
of changes. That way, there is a reference point people can look back on and
make adjustments.

It could also help Studio follow the catalogue changes in a more timely fashion….

All proposed changes have been shared with the Studio team for input and they
plan to make the necessary adjustments before the next update.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 16, 2021 10:56

Subject:

Re: Two Weeks?!

Viewed:

144 times

Topic:

In Catalog, bje writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

Catalogue Newsletter? Can you please send me the copy because I've never
received such a thing (back issues would be nice as well ta).

Yesterday was the first issue. To get future issues, please select "Yes" to marketing
emails on this page:

https://www.bricklink.com/pref_contact.asp

and be sure to whitelist @bricklink.com in your email settings.

I have attached a screenshot of the March newsletter. We are also planning to
start an archive where old issues can be looked up.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 16, 2021 09:47

Subject:

Re: Two Weeks?!

Viewed:

81 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

No, it means a decision on those items has not been made yet. If something is
rejected, it doesn't mean it can't happen at another time, or that it
will happen at another time. But the bigger question is more about how much of
this moving around the community can accept in a given period of time.

Regular updates at specific times seems to be the path forward with these types
of changes. That way, there is a reference point people can look back on and
make adjustments.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Mar 16, 2021 09:33

Subject:

Re: Two Weeks?!

Viewed:

94 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 25, 2021 21:18

Subject:

Re: How are catalog colors made?

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Catalog, ybtfbiwgw writes:

What's the process for color selection when making the little "swatch" next
to every color in the catalog? My guess is taking a picture of a part and eyedropping
the color in Photoshop. For the less straightforward colors like trans, chrome,
speckled, etc. how do you decide what's the best representation of them as
one solid color?

Going along with that, I think it would be cool if those special colors had more
unique swatches. For example, glitter's look like regular colors, so I think
there should be little shiny dots to separate it from the solid colors. Speckled
should be speckled with their respective colors. Obviously it would be a ridiculous
priority for admins, but it would be a nice detail maybe someday.

We just enter an RGB code - that's it. And most of these have been there
for about 15 years. We make manual adjustments in cases where the swatches could
be misleading.

This is something we could consider. I'll change this thread to a suggestion
so we don't lose it.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 22, 2021 11:44

Subject:

Re: Changing old minifig pics?

Viewed:

47 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Leftoverbricks writes:

There are many old minifig pics in the catalog. Made with 2010 digital cameras
or so.

So I wonder: does it make sense to update those old - and often not so very clear
- pictures with newer ones?
I understand that the first person who submits the picture receives the credit
for the picture, so this might be a sensitive area.

Today I scanned

twn155 (Inv) Mayor
Minifigures: Town

with my Instabrick. With very minor modifications the result is the attached
picture.
Personally I think this is a better picture than the one currently in the catalog.

What do you think?

How true is the color of the tie in your photo?

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 22, 2021 11:26

Subject:

Re: 40450 Amelia Earhart - add to catalog??

Viewed:

89 times

Topic:

In Catalog, platinum_lego writes:

Hi all,

I was just wondering what the deal is with adding a new set to the catalog.

After visiting a Lego certified store today I received the 40450 Amelia Earhart
tribute set, which will be available from February 22 until stocks last. As far
as I can tell, this set has not been submitted to the catalog and no pending
details are available.

Can I add this set to the catalog?

Thanks,

Steve

40450-1 (Inv) Amelia Earhart Tribute
198 Parts, 1 Minifigure, 2021
Sets: LEGO Brand: LEGO Brand Store: Model: Airport

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 21, 2021 04:31

Subject:

Re: Brexit

Viewed:

155 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, patpendlego writes:

In Suggestions, bje writes:

In Suggestions, patpendlego writes:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

In Suggestions, mvfisker writes:

Just wondering.
Chose "European Union" as seller - and Great Britain sellers still came up. Shouldn't
that be changed now after Brexit?
Cheers, Morten

Bricklink time is currently somewhere in about 2004.

I think they already had websites with timezones in 2004..

TLG had big plans with BrickLink but is choking now..

BrickLink is busy with USA sales taxes, we really should not expect multitasking
in their attempts to break things. They did say they will address the Brexit
issues before 5 February (they did not say which aeon though).

No, we should expect. After all we pay fees for this site. It was long time known
Brexit was coming, they should have been ready for it.

As almost everyone on this forum knows I am not Bricklink's biggest fan as
far as developmenet work goes however I think in this case it is fair to say
that the UK hasn't yet got it right and neither does the rest of the EU -
Just look at the below from a site we use regularly. (Don't forget we still
have VAT to look forward to

I recently promised more details on our Brexit solution, but I will just be frank
with you, that what you have described is exactly the case. We are waiting to
hear from our tax professionals as to how we need to proceed, and they are waiting
to hear from the authorities. It feels as if we are actually further from a solution
at this point than we were at the beginning of the year.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 19, 2021 14:58

Subject:

Re: 3700pb02 Doesn't Look White to Me

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Colors, axaday writes:

In Colors, Admin_Russell writes:

In Colors, axaday writes:

3700pb02 Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Hole and Lufthansa Logo Pattern on Both Ends (Stickers) - Set 40146
Parts: Technic, Brick {White}

This doesn't look white to my eyes

I reprocessed the pics. I'm waiting to hear from the photographer and admins
about submitting them and letting the credit stay in the original name.

I actually reprocessed them as well. I will go through your submissions and see
if they offer improvement over mine. I notice in some of yours, the Dark Blue
has turned to Black.

Image credit of course will be given to the original submitter.

I thought it WAS black. If all of those sticker prints are dark blue, I don't
have the skills to take the orange out and leave the blue. I masked off some
obvious colors and then took the color out entirely.

I believe the Lufthansa logo is always Dark Blue:

https://brickset.com/sets/40146-1

The windows are black though.

I used Irfanview, and in half the cases, Auto-Adjust Colors did the trick. In
the other ones I used the Color Corrections feature. If you click on an area
in the left image that is supposed to be white, it makes the adjustment for you.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 19, 2021 12:49

Subject:

Re: 3700pb02 Doesn't Look White to Me

Viewed:

65 times

Topic:

In Colors, axaday writes:

3700pb02 Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Hole and Lufthansa Logo Pattern on Both Ends (Stickers) - Set 40146
Parts: Technic, Brick {White}

This doesn't look white to my eyes

I reprocessed the pics. I'm waiting to hear from the photographer and admins
about submitting them and letting the credit stay in the original name.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 19, 2021 01:24

Subject:

Re: White or LBG....can you see it?

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Colors, RecycledBrick writes:

I like the old renders because they are better for color. Where did the pictures
for the categories in BL XP come from? They are crisp and the colors seem decent.

The edge lines on the representative renders on XP came as a result of tens of
thousands of Studio renders being set aside during the 2017 image project. Here's
one of the ones that made it through:

3020 Plate 2 x 4
Parts: Plate {Dark Gray}

With no edge lines and only a minimal amount of shading, a majority of those
images lacked enough definition at a small size to be an improvement over the
classic "black line" render. So in most cases, official LEGO renders were used
instead:

3020 Plate 2 x 4
Parts: Plate {Light Bluish Gray}

The standard rendering engine on Studio is configured more for entire models
than single parts, so for those XP images, we used a special processing system
that is not part of the regular Studio package. They were not batch produced
- each one was hand crafted.

The trouble with renders is that line-drawn renders like those representative
images are "tuned" to an optimal size. Troy's renders were given edge lines
just thick enough to look great at 80 x 60. If they would be shown smaller or
bigger than that you would need to adjust the line thickness. Those of you who
have used LDraw and some of the popular rendering tools associated with it, you
may be familiar with that setting.

In modern web design, images are often expected to be used at a variety of sizes.
The old BrickLink did not have that challenge. All part images on the site were
small and exactly the same standard size, except for the large "see it closer"
images which would open in another setting and were often a different image entirely
from the "thumbnail". I hesitate to even call those images thumbnails because
they actually were the standard for the site. All the catalog list pages, inventories,
order detail pages, etc (and even the Forum macro tags) were only shown at that
standard. Yes, there are/were ways to see the large images in some different
views, but most of the time people were looking at the small ones.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 18, 2021 18:35

Subject:

Re: White or LBG....can you see it?

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Colors, dcarmine writes:

This has been bugging me for a while. Many years ago the color of the rendering
images was changed. Ever since, I have had trouble telling the difference between
some color images. I know others complained about it also. Because of this,
I make mistakes when pulling the right color parts.

I have no trouble telling the difference between any colors of real bricks or
any of the photo images. It is only the part renderings. Maybe if enough people
can't tell either, we can get it changed to something that is easier to see.

So, who can tell the difference between these two images? One is white and one
is LBG. They are screen shots of rendered parts without any editing. What say
you?

Donna

You may be able to solve the problem partially by adjusting the brightness of
your screen. I have mine set at 50% and it's perfect.

However, this does bring up a larger point about which types of images serve
our users the best. To be honest, the old renders with black lines were terrific
at the 80 x 60 size, and I've long considered the idea of bringing them back
as an option, specifically for sellers picking orders.

The trouble we have with White images now is that the definition of the brick
is created not by hard lines but by shading. The old renders had no shading,
so the color was perfectly clear and consistent throughout the image. Although
some of the larger parts had interference from the heavy black stud lines.

With the new LEGO renders, they are bigger of course, and are superior from a
marketing standpoint because of the elegant shading, which sort of puts them
halfway between a render and a photo. But I'm thinking they are not so great
when it comes to hardcore order pulling where you want to keep the images small
so you get more inventory lines per screen.

For newer users, take a look here to see what the old renders looked like:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogColors.asp?itemType=P&itemNo=3001special&v=2

If enough people think they are an improvement over what we have now, we could
maybe give an option to select one or the other depending on preference.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Feb 18, 2021 16:42

Subject:

Re: White or LBG....can you see it?

Viewed:

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Topic: