Redisplay Messages: Compact | Brief | All | Full Show Messages: All | Without Replies| Author: | hedgehog_bricks  | | Posted: | Apr 16, 2024 02:58 | | Subject: | Re: Royal Mail Postage Changes | | Viewed: | 33 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
|
| In Shipping, yorbrick writes:
| | And it now costs £1.70 on top of the postage price to add signed for. Crazy.
|
Not as bad as some of the Special Delivery services which are now up to £10 more
than they were. The most expensive Special Delivery band is now £30.55!
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Apr 4, 2024 06:10 | | Subject: | Re: Incorrect parts price inflation | | Viewed: | 59 times | | Topic: | Selling | |
|
| In Selling, Leftoverbricks writes:
| | I observe that some parts are regularly offered for exorbitant prices when there
is actually no reason for this.
Take for example this part
|
The part is in a minifig, for which there is plentiful supply at prices much
lower than the individual part (from around $2.50-$3.00).
Jonathan
|
 |
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Feb 20, 2024 05:37 | | Subject: | Re: UK VAT threshold | | Viewed: | 30 times | | Topic: | Taxes | |
|
| In Taxes, XKLSVBRKS writes:
| | Oh wow, okay, that's one thing I somehow wasn't able to pick up by researching
this elsewhere. Basically, in order to remain below the threshold (if I don't
feel ready to deal with VAT yet) I would always have to make sure that I don't
surpass it within the next 30 days (by always knowing the numbers of the past
11 months)?
|
This is my understanding, yes.
| | All in all, it would probably be the best to initially get a professional advice
from an experienced accountant that specializes in similar businesses, find the
most appropriate software and learn all the processes for record keeping and
all the VAT related stuff before making the big step, am I +/- correct?
|
Yes, getting professional advice is wise. It's an interesting world, but
with some pitfalls, so they will help you avoid that.
While not a substitute for professional advice, I also recommend the book "Bookkeeping
and Accounting all-in-one for Dummies". It breaks things down quite nicely
and will help you get on your feet. There is a chapter on VAT.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Feb 19, 2024 17:14 | | Subject: | Re: UK VAT threshold | | Viewed: | 34 times | | Topic: | Taxes | |
|
| In Taxes, XKLSVBRKS writes:
| | Second, about the VAT period, does the count start with the first sale? If I
had my first order on first of July, for example, does the year refresh on 30th
of June the following year? And if one gets registered, do you remain VAT registered
for good, or as the year refreshes, you start fresh till you reach the threshold
again?
|
It's always a rolling year, so the count doesn't reset. Today it would
be your revenue from 20 Feb 2023. Tomorrow it would be from 21 Feb 2023.
The deregistration threshold is £83,000, so if you think you will never exceed
£83,000 again (e.g. if you were winding up the business) then you can request
to deregister. But hopefully you would still be looking at increasing your revenue
further!
Success with the extra admin work depends on how organised you are. Any reasonable
accounting software would simplify this for you, meaning that all you need to
do is record your purchases and sales and pay your VAT to HMRC at the end of
your accounting period. If you are organised then it won't be too much hassle.
I note that you didn't say how you are trading. For VAT it doesn't matter
if you're a sole trader or a limited company - the rules are the same.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Feb 19, 2024 03:18 | | Subject: | Re: UK VAT threshold | | Viewed: | 54 times | | Topic: | Taxes | |
|
| In Taxes, XKLSVBRKS writes:
| | Hi all. A couple of questions for UK based bricklink sellers that know a thing
or two about being VAT registered.
First of all, is it worth being VAT registered when selling on bricklink if the
store turnover is under the threshold?
And if not, is it worth going past the threshold where it's mandatory to
become VAT refistered if the store would only go past the threshold by a few
thousand pounds, or it's better to remain below the threshold and just stop
selling till the end of VAT year and resume selling when a new year begins?
I've been struggling to understand this stuff from info I find on gov pages
or other sources, would really like to hear about it from some of the fellow
sellers.
Thank you in advance!
|
To answer your first question, it would depend on several things. For me, it
would mean that I could use Royal Mail's Tracked 24/48 services for less
than conventional mail and that packaging would cost "less" as the ex.
VAT price is lower. But that only save a few tens or hundreds of pounds a year.
Accessing wholesalers may also be easier as they typically want to see proof
of VAT registration.
The other benefit of registering before you reach the threshold is that you can
control how and when you do that. If you go over the £85,000 threshold or expect
to within the next 30 days you have to register within 30 days and then you have
to start doing VAT returns in line with your accounting period (e.g. every 3
months). Note that the threshold of £85,000 applies to any rolling 12-month period
and not just to your financial or tax year (April-April).
The overhead of VAT is what can make things complicated. It adds an administration
and record-keeping burden that can be hard to manage if not planned for and done
properly.
If you are unsure, your best bet is to talk to a local accountant. Make sure
that they have experience of dealing with businesses that do selling via online
marketplaces, particularly if you are selling internationally.
Importantly, I am not an accountant, so do your own research, etc. 
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Feb 7, 2024 04:01 | | Subject: | Sequential orders! | | Viewed: | 122 times | | Topic: | General | |
|
| Today, after nearly 2,500 orders, I received my first sequential orders, placed
just 5.5 seconds apart.
The even stranger thing is that they are going to two different places less than
5 miles apart!
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Jan 18, 2024 04:20 | | Subject: | Re: Zip lock bags | | Viewed: | 43 times | | Topic: | General | |
|
| In General, oak73 writes:
| | Wondering what size Ziplock bags do you recommend to someone new to selling Legos?
|
I use Gripwell bags which I get from a local UK-based wholesaler. They are pretty
cheap, from 1/5th of a penny for the smallest (1.5" x 2.5" up to 8.3
pence for the largest (15" x 20". I assume they are available in the
US as they're made in China. I use 12 different sizes so that I can minimise
my costs.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Jan 11, 2024 03:13 | | Subject: | Re: Total produced or released | | Viewed: | 53 times | | Topic: | General | |
|
| In General, rdukker writes:
| | Is it an idea to also add to the sets how many were produced by Lego?
Can we find these quantities somewhere?
|
I recently attended a webinar by the Lego Group on demand forecasting (which
is very interesting in itself!). In it, they used an example of one of the larger
botanical collection sets (like 10280) where they produced over two million of
them. So that gives a sense of scale of just one example set!
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Dec 21, 2023 19:02 | | Subject: | Re: API to update Status of Placed Order | | Viewed: | 33 times | | Topic: | Related Software | |
|
| In Related Software, OurBricks writes:
| | Has anyone had success using the Update Order Status API call to update the status
of a Placed order? I'm trying to use almost the exact same code that
I use to update the status of Received orders, but I keep getting a "The
remote server returned an error: (404) Not Found." error.
|
It works fine for me, using PUT https://api.bricklink.com/api/store/v1/orders/12345678/status
where 12345678 is the order number.
Make sure you're using the PUT method.
The body should look like
{
"field": "status",
"value": "PACKED"
}
replacing "PACKED" with the status you want.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Dec 18, 2023 03:40 | | Subject: | Re: Proof of postage but not arrived | | Viewed: | 54 times | | Topic: | Help | |
|
| In Help, Nikmate writes:
| | Hi,
Can you help? What is the procedure when a buyer says the items have not arrived
but I have proof of postage? My buyer is asking for a refund.
Do I refund or do I wait for result from postal service and then refund?
I cannot find a procedure in seller help. My buyer says I have a contract with
him and I have a contract with the postal service. He feels I should refund him
and then wait for refund from postal service.
|
Your buyer is correct in saying that their contract is with you. You are responsible
for ensuring that it arrives, or handling the situation if it does not arrive.
If you sent with Royal Mail, they require that you wait 10 working days plus
the delivery target (1 day for 1st class, 3 days for 2nd class) before you can
start a claim. The proof of postage is needed for the claim. See https://www.royalmail.com/help/lost-items-parcels-letters
for more details.
I ask my buyers to wait this time, and if they still have not received anything,
I give the buyer the option of sending the items again (if they're in my
inventory) or a full refund. Both options will leave me a little out of pocket,
particularly if Royal Mail don't uphold the claim.
Out of over 2,000 orders, I've only ever had one that didn't arrive.
Royal Mail claimed it was delivered and refused to do anything about it. The
value of the order wasn't enough to justify chasing any further.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Nov 1, 2023 18:37 | | Subject: | Re: Buying pieces from a list | | Viewed: | 20 times | | Topic: | Help | |
|
| In Help, Adrienhb writes:
| | So let's I have a list with 100 lots. I find a store where I can buy 50 lots.
I add them to my cart.
Is there a way to select another store and to look for the 50 other lots from
the same list.
|
The way I do this is to place the first order. Once the order is placed then
you can use the "Apply order" button on the wanted list. This will update
the "have" counts for all the items in the order that are on the wanted
list.
I then place the second order, and so on.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Oct 1, 2023 09:58 | | Subject: | Inventory Change Request for Set 10305-1 | | Viewed: | 86 times | | Topic: | Inventories Requests (Entry) | | Status: | Open | |
|
| Please make changes to the following inventory:
* Add 1 Part 2821 Medium Nougat Container, Box 2 x 2 x 1 - Top Opening with Raised Inner Bottom (Alternate) (match ID 2)
* Change 1 Part Medium Nougat 35700 Container, Box 2 x 2 x 1 - Top Opening with Flat Inner Bottom {match ID 0 to 2}
Comments from Submitter:
Two copies of the set being parted out - one bought when the set was released and the other bought last week.
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Jul 5, 2023 05:37 | | Subject: | Re: Thoughts on best way to setup storage | | Viewed: | 33 times | | Topic: | Help | |
|
| In Help, kyz1981 writes:
| | My wife, rightly so, wants her house back and for the lego to only be in one
room, coupled with recently being made redundant, I am thinking this could be
the time for a change of jobs. So was thinking along the lines of a large store
professional racking/storage solution and what would people advise if they started
again from scratch and had a room to use as the 'office'
|
When scaling up my store, I purchased a load of Raaco 1260-00 drawers with dividers
and Really Useful scrapbook drawers with dividers. I also have some Really Useful
drawers and boxes for larger pieces. It's not cheap, but if you plan to scale
then picking and sorting orders needs to be fast.
The Raaco drawers are good for Lego - they are the perfect size for parts up
to six studs wide and 16 studs long. I got them from Rapid Online and negotiated
a reduced price for them as I was buying a large quantity.
I got a local carpenter to put up the drawers and install cheap kitchen worktop
to work on.
It's a big outlay, though!
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Jul 3, 2023 08:18 | | Subject: | Re: Buyer Not Changing Status From Received | | Viewed: | 47 times | | Topic: | Help | |
|
| In Help, gawd83 writes:
| | I've got a buyer not changing that status of their order from received, its
been at this stage since the 17/05/2023, I've contacted the buyer 2 or 3
time and yet it remains unchanged. How can I get the sale closed out?
|
Looking at my order history, about 20% of orders never get changed by the buyer
from Shipped to Received or Received to Completed. Some leave feedback saying
they're happy without changing the status.
I just ignore it - there's no sense in chasing them up. However, they don't
get feedback from me unless they've also given me feedback as Bricklink only
notifies of orders that are Completed.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Jul 1, 2023 18:04 | | Subject: | Re: API - postman | | Viewed: | 44 times | | Topic: | Technical Issues | |
|
| In Technical Issues, JeLi writes:
| | Hi all,
I am trying to get the API to work, but I am struggling
I have a proper connection in my vb.net code, f.e. to get the price guide for
a part.
But when trying to add parameters (f.e. the new_or_used=U) my request fails.
I tried searching the forum over here and found the postman app to test the API
calls.
|
This is a valid request for price guide info that uses the new_and_used parameter:
https://api.bricklink.com/api/store/v1/items/PART/76959/price?color_id=1&guide_type=stock&new_or_used=N&vat=N
| | Any1 who can help me to set this up, so I can try to figure out my original problem
myself (or help me with the parameters is also fine ofc )
|
This works for me with Postman:
GET https://api.bricklink.com/api/store/v1/orders
In the Authorization tab:
Type: OAuth 1.0
Add authorization data to: Request headers
Signature Method: HMAC-SHA1
Consumer Key: Your BL consumer key "ConsumerKey"
Consumer Secret: Your BL consumer secret "ConsumerSecret"
Access Token: Your BL access token value "TokenValue"
Token Secret: Your BL access token secret "TokenSecret"
Postman should handle the timestamp, nonce and signature as they are part of
the OAuth 1.0 standard.
Double check that you're using the correct access token values for your current
IP address (I have a fixed IP address to make this easier).
Hope that helps!
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Apr 3, 2023 08:22 | | Subject: | Re: Royal Mail | | Viewed: | 22 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
|
| In Shipping, SezaR writes:
| | Is Royal mail working normally, i.e. without delay?
If a package arrives in UK and if it should go to customs to get processed for
import charges, how long does it take them to contact recipient to pay import
fees?
|
There are no delays on receiving mail via Royal Mail. If there is a charge to
pay (e.g. customs duty or VAT) then a letter is sent to the recipient which can
take 2-3 days to arrive. They then need to pay and delivery would be a day or
two after that. With prompt payment, expect it to take a week or so.
Note that some orders (larger or higher-value) will be processed by Parcelforce
instead, but the timescale would be similar.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Mar 14, 2023 17:52 | | Subject: | Re: Shipping to UK | | Viewed: | 29 times | | Topic: | Selling | |
|
| In Selling, SylvainLS writes:
| | AFAIK, there’s no “double-VATing” problems with UK (when Customs don’t see VAT
was already paid to BL and charge the buyer again).
|
I had this with an order that I bought recently. It was shipped using UPS who
clearly just double-charge the VAT and add an extortionate brokerage fee on which
meant I paid the equivalent of 135% VAT. They also have the temerity to demand
payment at the doorstep which is a very high-pressure tactic.
No problems with anything else that I've bought from Europe sent by regular
mail though.
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Mar 13, 2023 13:29 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink API using Excel VBA | | Viewed: | 37 times | | Topic: | General | |
|
| In General, ianshires writes:
| | I would be interested to know if anyone uses API for pulling data from BL into
Excel using VBA. It would be great to automate mass upload / pricing but I don’t
know where to start with API (although I’m pretty proficient at VB…)
Would anyone share some basic VBA code to pull data?
|
Perhaps this could be useful? https://github.com/VBA-tools/VBA-Web
It looks a bit old (no updates in 3.5 years), but does at least look like it
handles the authentication part which is the most non-trivial bit. Also, I haven't
used VBA for 25 years, so I'm unlikely to be able to help any more!
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Mar 3, 2023 14:23 | | Subject: | Re: UK Royal Mail prices increase from April | | Viewed: | 31 times | | Topic: | General | |
|
| In General, tpr writes:
| | UK Royal Mail to increase prices from 3rd April
|
The updated prices are available here: https://www.royalmail.com/prices2023
1st class small parcel is going down from £3.95 to £3.69
2nd class small parcel is going up from £2.85 to £2.99
1st class large letter (up to 100g) up from £1.45 to £1.60
1st class large letter (101-250g) up from £2.05 to £2.25
1st class large letter (251-500g) up from £2.65 to £2.95
1st class large letter (501-750g) stays the same at £3.30
2nd class large letter (up to 100g) up from £1.05 to £1.15
2nd class large letter (101-250g) up from £1.65 to £1.85
2nd class large letter (251-500g) up from £2.15 to £2.40
2nd class large letter (501-750g) stays the same at £2.70
Jonathan
|
|
| Author: | hedgehog_bricks | | Posted: | Mar 1, 2023 02:13 | | Subject: | Re: Inventory check. | | Viewed: | 47 times | | Topic: | Problem Order | |
|
| In Problem Order, LadyWolfpack writes:
| | In all the years before Ive NEVER had so much orders being changed due to lack
of keeping track of inventory….it’s starting to really piss me off.
|
Inventory errors do happen. It's just how they are dealt with that can be
problematic. I placed an order recently and a part was missing, but the seller
just refunded the cost of the part and didn't even bother to tell me, so
I only found out when I was checking it.
As a seller, I very occasionally find a problem, so I try to give my buyers an
option of what to do. Most often they are happy to wait while I source replacement
parts, but that only works if the parts aren't too specialised.
Having said that, it's also a problem generally - I recently went to a local
toy store to buy some 48x48 baseplates that they claimed to have 11 of on their
website only to find that they had zero!
Jonathan
|
|
Next Page: 5 More | 10 More | 25 More | 50 More | 100 More
|
United Kingdom, England
