| Discussion Forum: Thread 167419 |
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| | | Author: | ToriHada  | | Posted: | Mar 18, 2014 09:59 | | Subject: | Combating the Inventory Gremlins | | Viewed: | 224 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | | Status: | Open | | Vote: | [Yes|No] | |
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| All BrickLink sellers will eventually come across errors in their inventory that
make no sense and leave them scratching their heads. While almost all of these
are the result of human error, some may be at least partly due to system bugs.
As David pointed out in another thread this morning(1): "One problem that exists
is when a set is inventoried, then you part it out, and then a mistake is found
and the set's inventory is modified. You do not get notified and so your
inventory is wrong. Notifications should go out for anyone that has parted out
that set."
Sellers have suggested for years that they be notified if a set they parted out
has had its inventory changed or corrected. Yet BL has inexplicably declined
to implement this suggestion. It may be because the suggestion is not as easy
to implement as some might think. Or because it may overwhelm the system and
send out too many notices. For example, how far back do you want to go? If you
parted out a set 18 months ago and still have some of those parts in your inventory,
do you still get a notice? Does the system have to check your entire inventory
to see if you still have any parts from this set before deciding whether to send
you that notice? What if those parts are also available in numerous other sets
(as most parts are)? This could be a quite a lot of work for the system to handle.
Many sellers each part out hundreds of different sets each year.
I think a more practical doable feature would be a page where sellers could occasionally
visit once every few weeks to check on this themselves. This page would ask the
seller to input the set numbers for sets they have parted out since their last
visit. The system would then check if the inventories for those sets were changed
or corrected and let the seller know what, if any, changes or corrections were
made. The system could also tell the seller if his inventory still has (or should
have) any of the parts affected by those changes and corrections. It would then
be up to the seller to check and correct their own inventory as a part of their
normal routine inventory maintenance. This would seem to be a much less resource-hungry
tool than the system automatically checking and comparing every seller's
inventories and sending out automated notices to every seller for every set they
parted out.
Thor
(1) http://www.bricklink.com/messageThread.asp?ID=167412
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| | | | | Author: | 1977_mauro | | Posted: | Mar 18, 2014 10:10 | | Subject: | Re: Combating the Inventory Gremlins | | Viewed: | 54 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| No, the problem here is that it is not necessary to remember for the system who
has parted which set, with your suggestion it would be essential... Beside this
when you have parted a set 2 years ago, you still want to be notified??
Where should be the timeline?
So I assume at all it is not such easy as you describe here from logical point
of view.
Mauro
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| | | | | | | Author: | ToriHada | | Posted: | Mar 18, 2014 10:32 | | Subject: | Re: Combating the Inventory Gremlins | | Viewed: | 53 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, 1977_mauro writes:
| | No, the problem here is that it is not necessary to remember for the system who
has parted which set, with your suggestion it would be essential... Beside this
when you have parted a set 2 years ago, you still want to be notified??
Where should be the timeline?
So I assume at all it is not such easy as you describe here from logical point
of view.
Mauro
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I think you misunderstand my suggestion. I am NOT asking for automated notices.
My suggestion is an alternative to the automated notices people have been requesting
for years.
Under my suggestion, the system does not have to "remember" anything. It is not
automated. Instead, the seller goes to this new page and manually enters the
numbers of those sets he has recently parted out(1). The system will then tell
him which of those sets had their inventories changed and how. This information
is already in the system. This page just makes it easy for the seller to get
that information at one time for all sets they ask about. He does not have to
separately check each set or manually sift through hundreds of approved inventory
change requests.
As an additional step the seller could then ask the system to show if any of
those changes affect the seller's current inventory. During this second step,
the system would compare the listed changes (if any) with the seller's inventory
and tell the seller if he should have more or less of something in stock.
Thor
(1) If you want to put a time limit on this inquiry, OK. But I don't see
why the system could not tell you if a specific set had its inventory changed
even from two years ago. When entering the set numbers he wants the system to
check, perhaps there could be a drop down box asking the time period for the
system to check. E.g. Past 90 days, since the last check by this seller, or since
the set was first inventoried and added to the catalog.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | 1977_mauro | | Posted: | Mar 18, 2014 16:02 | | Subject: | Re: Combating the Inventory Gremlins | | Viewed: | 32 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| Ok, I understood. Then there is no automatism...
Mauro
In Suggestions, fosterbengoshi writes:
| | In Suggestions, 1977_mauro writes:
| | No, the problem here is that it is not necessary to remember for the system who
has parted which set, with your suggestion it would be essential... Beside this
when you have parted a set 2 years ago, you still want to be notified??
Where should be the timeline?
So I assume at all it is not such easy as you describe here from logical point
of view.
Mauro
|
I think you misunderstand my suggestion. I am NOT asking for automated notices.
My suggestion is an alternative to the automated notices people have been requesting
for years.
Under my suggestion, the system does not have to "remember" anything. It is not
automated. Instead, the seller goes to this new page and manually enters the
numbers of those sets he has recently parted out(1). The system will then tell
him which of those sets had their inventories changed and how. This information
is already in the system. This page just makes it easy for the seller to get
that information at one time for all sets they ask about. He does not have to
separately check each set or manually sift through hundreds of approved inventory
change requests.
As an additional step the seller could then ask the system to show if any of
those changes affect the seller's current inventory. During this second step,
the system would compare the listed changes (if any) with the seller's inventory
and tell the seller if he should have more or less of something in stock.
Thor
(1) If you want to put a time limit on this inquiry, OK. But I don't see
why the system could not tell you if a specific set had its inventory changed
even from two years ago. When entering the set numbers he wants the system to
check, perhaps there could be a drop down box asking the time period for the
system to check. E.g. Past 90 days, since the last check by this seller, or since
the set was first inventoried and added to the catalog.
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| | | | | Author: | enig | | Posted: | Mar 18, 2014 11:37 | | Subject: | Re: Combating the Inventory Gremlins | | Viewed: | 40 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, fosterbengoshi writes:
| | All BrickLink sellers will eventually come across errors in their inventory that
make no sense and leave them scratching their heads. While almost all of these
are the result of human error, some may be at least partly due to system bugs.
As David pointed out in another thread this morning(1): "One problem that exists
is when a set is inventoried, then you part it out, and then a mistake is found
and the set's inventory is modified. You do not get notified and so your
inventory is wrong. Notifications should go out for anyone that has parted out
that set."
Sellers have suggested for years that they be notified if a set they parted out
has had its inventory changed or corrected. Yet BL has inexplicably declined
to implement this suggestion. It may be because the suggestion is not as easy
to implement as some might think. Or because it may overwhelm the system and
send out too many notices. For example, how far back do you want to go? If you
parted out a set 18 months ago and still have some of those parts in your inventory,
do you still get a notice? Does the system have to check your entire inventory
to see if you still have any parts from this set before deciding whether to send
you that notice? What if those parts are also available in numerous other sets
(as most parts are)? This could be a quite a lot of work for the system to handle.
Many sellers each part out hundreds of different sets each year.
I think a more practical doable feature would be a page where sellers could occasionally
visit once every few weeks to check on this themselves. This page would ask the
seller to input the set numbers for sets they have parted out since their last
visit. The system would then check if the inventories for those sets were changed
or corrected and let the seller know what, if any, changes or corrections were
made. The system could also tell the seller if his inventory still has (or should
have) any of the parts affected by those changes and corrections. It would then
be up to the seller to check and correct their own inventory as a part of their
normal routine inventory maintenance. This would seem to be a much less resource-hungry
tool than the system automatically checking and comparing every seller's
inventories and sending out automated notices to every seller for every set they
parted out.
Thor
(1) http://www.bricklink.com/messageThread.asp?ID=167412
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My point of view - check what you are listing for sale. It is that simple. Eventually
it will probably take you less time than going back and forth in checking if
set inv. changes/corrections affect your inventory.
And while you are at it - submit an inv. change request for the set inv. if you
find something, instead of relying on other people to do that work for you.
The gremlins that show up in sellers' inventories are mostly a simple human
error - misplacing a part and similar.
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| | | | | | | Author: | BLUSER_29702 | | Posted: | Mar 18, 2014 19:07 | | Subject: | Re: Combating the Inventory Gremlins | | Viewed: | 29 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, enig writes:
| |
And while you are at it - submit an inv. change request for the set inv. if you
find something, instead of relying on other people to do that work for you.
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I have a question about this. Why can anyone add or change an inventory, but
only an official "Inventories Verifier" can verify an inventory?
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| | | | | Author: | steekstra | | Posted: | Mar 18, 2014 12:54 | | Subject: | (Cancelled) | | Viewed: | 43 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| | (Cancelled) |
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| | | | | Author: | QCBricks | | Posted: | Mar 18, 2014 20:05 | | Subject: | Re: Combating the Inventory Gremlins | | Viewed: | 46 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, fosterbengoshi writes:
| | All BrickLink sellers will eventually come across errors in their inventory that
make no sense and leave them scratching their heads. While almost all of these
are the result of human error, some may be at least partly due to system bugs.
As David pointed out in another thread this morning(1): "One problem that exists
is when a set is inventoried, then you part it out, and then a mistake is found
and the set's inventory is modified. You do not get notified and so your
inventory is wrong. Notifications should go out for anyone that has parted out
that set."
Sellers have suggested for years that they be notified if a set they parted out
has had its inventory changed or corrected. Yet BL has inexplicably declined
to implement this suggestion. It may be because the suggestion is not as easy
to implement as some might think. Or because it may overwhelm the system and
send out too many notices. For example, how far back do you want to go? If you
parted out a set 18 months ago and still have some of those parts in your inventory,
do you still get a notice? Does the system have to check your entire inventory
to see if you still have any parts from this set before deciding whether to send
you that notice? What if those parts are also available in numerous other sets
(as most parts are)? This could be a quite a lot of work for the system to handle.
Many sellers each part out hundreds of different sets each year.
I think a more practical doable feature would be a page where sellers could occasionally
visit once every few weeks to check on this themselves. This page would ask the
seller to input the set numbers for sets they have parted out since their last
visit. The system would then check if the inventories for those sets were changed
or corrected and let the seller know what, if any, changes or corrections were
made. The system could also tell the seller if his inventory still has (or should
have) any of the parts affected by those changes and corrections. It would then
be up to the seller to check and correct their own inventory as a part of their
normal routine inventory maintenance. This would seem to be a much less resource-hungry
tool than the system automatically checking and comparing every seller's
inventories and sending out automated notices to every seller for every set they
parted out.
Thor
(1) http://www.bricklink.com/messageThread.asp?ID=167412
|
Voted no. I am in favor of automated notices in some form. It doesn't have
to be automatically on every single change, but an opt in would be nice.
I think the automated notices should be mandatory in at least two cases:
1.) A part that does not exist gets added mistakenly to an inventory and then
gets removed. (There was a Chima set some time ago that had the wrong hinge
in Dark Red in the inventory...the part doesn't exist, yet hundreds were
still listed after the inventory change) I think I had to message about 35 sellers
myself to let them know about the error.
2.) A long out of print part is added initially and then removed or changed.
(One that I remember was particularly slow to die was the old v. new Technic
competition arrow) The change happened in 2006, but it popped back into inventories
in 2010. Not at all surprisingly, the same user inventoried the two sets where
it "reappeared".
Not meant to be all inclusive, but those are two areas where I think everyone
needs to know about the error via email once discovered.
Scott
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USA, North Carolina
Germany, Baden-Württemberg
Lithuania, Panevėžys
Netherlands, Friesland
