As a longtime buyer I wanted to share my experiences with bricklink for the rest
of you and also let you guys know the things that bother me the most about the
buyer experience. And I am also curious what you guys think, especially from
the other side (sellers).
There are a couple of things that still really annoy me about the shopping experience
on bricklink:
1. Fix that annoying ID mismatch bug already! Why after all these years do I
still have to wait around 5min every time to login to my account EVERY TIME I
turn on the computer? NOWHERE else online does this happen in 2024!
2. If you want to encourage people to only use the bricklink chat system then
why the hell after all this time are you still not able to send images and screenshots
as attachments? Never happened, but if there is a dispute and bricklink has to
get involved it is easy for them to check the internal chat history as evidence
while personal mails would probably not hold up.....
3. This one is mostly for the sellers but honestly one thing that ebay has way
better than bricklink is that there are always photos of sets and figures. I
do not expect sellers to picture every 2c piece but for sets and figures and
some expensive printed parts (I buy only used mind you) I would argue it should
be done as descriptions are based on opinions and subjective while photos are
not. And this whole message me for photos system is dumb as it just wastes time
for both parties if the image wasn't just uploaded or linked to in description
there would be no need.
4. I rarely use the Easy Buy or auto-select feature on parted out sets or other
wish lists because honestly if you are an experienced buyer it is horrible as
it will mostly select stores that have the most lots BUT these are usually VERY
expensive and I can 99% of the time get everything cheaper elsewhere even if
it if from 5 stores instead of that one. It also does not take into account the
shipping costs, so that means that I have to use my knowledge and manually search
for the rarest/most expensive parts and then work out combinations. I feel sorry
for new buyers and it would be great if this tool is improved.
5. Inconsistent and not flexible shipping costs are quite annoying. Shipping
costs are one of the main factors for me as a buyer and it it often annoying
how inflexible many sellers are about shipping costs. Just to give you an example
I can get 1.8e shipping from a certain store in holland to Slovenia for small
parts to 20g like torsos and heads but for most other Dutch stores shipping options
start at like 15e+ even for small sized low value orders from buyers with high
feedback like me with no exceptions, so I skip those while if they listed flexibility
in their terms I would probably order there. In over 650+ orders mostly inside
the EU (always use the cheapest shipping, unless it is a high value order of
100e+) only one 6e order from Poland was lost for me. A lot of my international
orders were about 20-50e in parts value. I would like to see more sellers offer
cheaper/untracked shipping options to high feedback buyers for low value orders
(some sellers list a order value threshold for untracked shipping which is good
approach IMO).
6. This one is quite specific but I would like Bricklink to add 2 filters to
the Buy from wanted list page. Add a used/new filter as I mabie I only want to
buy used parts or vice versa???? And please add a remove bulk lots filter as
mabie I want to buy x3 of a part and not a bulk lot of x50 of that part even
if the price per piece is cheaper???
Apart from that I really like shopping on bricklink. 99% of the buyers I've
dealt with were transparent and professional. As I mostly buy vintage parts I
am not so strict with the quality (obviously bitemarks and yellowing have to
be mentioned!) as it is subjective. In the cases where it is too bad for me and
not mentioned in comments I usually photo the parts and request a refund (always
got it). if it is a cornerstone piece of the order I ask for a refund of the
shipping cost as well (only happened like once or twice) and both times I got
it.
Regarding shipping times I have the philosophy that some things in life like
food and medicine are urgent when it comes to delivery, but lego isn't one
of them, so I am very patient when it comes to shipping the orders as all orders
come eventually and I feel that as a hobby it is more relaxed and better if I
do not rush it and begin the next phase when all orders arrive instead of impatiently
waiting and messaging sellers, especially since many times it is the seller or
the shipping companies who are taking their sweet time.
After 650+ orders I would like to give a big thank you to all the wonderful people
who run bricklink stores and helped me complete an amazing vintage lego collection
of hundreds of sets from my own massive childhood collection, "donations"
from friends and family plus a great many bulk lot buys. I have decided to call
it quits after sorting the rest of my remaining bulk and will be focusing on
other things as of next year.
Special thanks and a shout out to SMPLANET and BRXSTORE in Slovenia!
[…]
4. I rarely use the Easy Buy or auto-select feature […]
It also does not take into account the
shipping costs,[…]
Not exactly true. The shipping costs are taken into account… somehow:
“For both Easy Buy and Wanted List Auto-select, estimated shipping fees are calculated
based on the recent six-month average shipping price between seller and buyer
countries. Estimated shipping fees are used for calculation, but the fees are
not shown to members.” — https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2457
[…]
6. This one is quite specific but I would like Bricklink to add 2 filters to
the Buy from wanted list page. Add a used/new filter as I mabie I only want to
buy used parts or vice versa????
I don’t understand this one. You can choose the condition of your parts in the
Wanted List: New / Used / any. And you can set the default condition when you
add an item (https://www.bricklink.com/wantedSettingsAdd.asp ).
And please add a remove bulk lots filter as
mabie I want to buy x3 of a part and not a bulk lot of x50 of that part even
if the price per piece is cheaper???
It’s annoying but it’s not the price per piece that is cheaper, it’s the total
(as in, it’s cheaper to buy 50 at €0.01 than 3 at €0.17).
(Well, it’s also not exactly about what is “cheaper” but what is “better,” which
is an unknown combination of price and good standing.)
1. Regarding your first point, I did not know that. It's just from my experience
whenever I used those features it was never a good combination for me and I would
always get it cheaper by manually searching stores and figuring out combinations,
which takes way longer but in the end is worth it. But that is something that
is hard for new buyers. And some stores with many pieces are really price gougers
IMO and rely on unknowing buyers using these features when their prices can be
x 5 of the average or even more! My logic is my favorite two domestic stores
first, other domestic stores that are not the very expensive ones if there are
enough parts and then international (EU) which usually leaves just the rare parts
and outliers.
2. Yeah you are right, I always part out or make a wanted list very quickly and
usually forget to indicate used in the beginning so I get the cheapest option
for both new/used when on the wanted list buy page. The stores I buy from have
mostly used so its not a big issue. You learn something new everyday. Thanks
for pointing it out!
3. I don't think the logic works that way, its hardly ever that cheaper when
you want 3 instead of 50 or 100 of the same piece. I know from my 2nd favorite
store ever since they started doing bulk lots I have to remove it on the wanted
list buy page every time and then find the other listing for separate x1 lots
int the store and add the desired quantity there manually, which is annoying.
[…]
3. I don't think the logic works that way, its hardly ever that cheaper when
you want 3 instead of 50 or 100 of the same piece.
Two things to take into account:
1. As I said, it’s not “purely cheaper,” it’s “better,” for the algorithm’s definition
of “better.”
2. It’s not only about “better/cheaper” for the part, it’s also about “better/cheaper”
for the whole. For instance, buying this part in bulk may allow better prices
for other parts or/and prevent having to add another shop. At least in the space
of possibilities the algorithm can search (it has to cut corners, or it’d be
too long).
But again, I agree it’s annoying. Especially when it mess(ed?) the completion
percentage (as it count(ed?) 50 fulfilled instead of 3, thus making a percentage
above 100% and/or hiding that 47 parts are missing).
I know from my 2nd favorite
store ever since they started doing bulk lots I have to remove it on the wanted
list buy page every time and then find the other listing for separate x1 lots
int the store and add the desired quantity there manually, which is annoying.
IMHO, one should:
— never use EasyBuy but the Buy page,
— never Auto-select one’s whole WL but start with the difficult to find parts
(= rare or high quantities), and then try options and add items, and when one’s
found good stores, complete the carts,
— try again the next day or the next week.
But strategy and tactics also depend on the wanted items….
As a longtime buyer I wanted to share my experiences with bricklink for the rest
of you and also let you guys know the things that bother me the most about the
buyer experience. And I am also curious what you guys think, especially from
the other side (sellers).
There are a couple of things that still really annoy me about the shopping experience
on bricklink:
1. Fix that annoying ID mismatch bug already! Why after all these years do I
still have to wait around 5min every time to login to my account EVERY TIME I
turn on the computer? NOWHERE else online does this happen in 2024!
Relatable. That is a very weird bug that happens and I hope one day it’s fixed
3. This one is mostly for the sellers but honestly one thing that ebay has way
better than bricklink is that there are always photos of sets and figures. I
do not expect sellers to picture every 2c piece but for sets and figures and
some expensive printed parts (I buy only used mind you) I would argue it should
be done as descriptions are based on opinions and subjective while photos are
not. And this whole message me for photos system is dumb as it just wastes time
for both parties if the image wasn't just uploaded or linked to in description
there would be no need.
Things will sell without pictures and most buyers don’t want custom pictures.
Personally, aside from very rare cases I never send pictures. Even if it’s a
$50 minifigure I don’t as i know someone will buy it and taking photos that show
the damage (if any) takes a lot of time for a high likely hood they won’t lead
to a sale. if bricklink was at the point that it was “expected” for “high value”
figures and parts to require custom images then many sellers would be pushed
away as that is lots of work and images are highly subjective, unless you take
6+ images for each item then it only show 1 side, depending on lighting potentially
show 0% of the damage on the part, set false expectations for buyers who would
then look at images and ignore descriptions, etc. using bricklinks images in
combination of detailed descriptions is the best way to go
Thanks for your feedback Nubs select! Regarding photos of sets and figures I
wanted to clarify my view as a buyer of vintage used lego:
I would say that most buyers would want custom pictures on listings for used
lego when it comes to sets, figures and expensive printed parts. For example
where I really hated this lack of photos was when trying to buy white classic
spacemen with good gold moon. For many listings there is no description or just
a "good condition" comment I am skeptical to whether it meets my expectations
or not while a picture reassures me that it does, even if many times I have the
same expectation of quality as the seller. Once I bought from a listing that
said gold moon in good condition and it was very faded IMO and I would not of
have bought it if I saw a picture.
Having pictures of used sets, figures and expensive printed parts just reinforces
the confidence of the buyer of the condition and is good policy IMO, but so few
sellers do it on this platform. On the bright side it makes you stand out if
you do it. Plus in my subjective opinion if you have the set and are a lego enthusiast
why not build it at least once? And if you do just take a photo and there you
go.
I was never referring to taking dozens of photos of a figure, just one of the
front. And even the sets I have, if I were ever to sell them I would post 1-3
photos max per set. Even if it is not built you can picture the printed pieces
and figures and the common bricks mixed on a pile. For a buyer of used sets that
would be a great indication of quality for used vintage sets and make it more
likely for me to buy from you than just seeing the generic image and a subjective
good condition comment and that is all.
Thanks for your feedback Nubs select! Regarding photos of sets and figures I
wanted to clarify my view as a buyer of vintage used lego:
I would say that most buyers would want custom pictures on listings for used
lego when it comes to sets, figures and expensive printed parts. For example
where I really hated this lack of photos was when trying to buy white classic
spacemen with good gold moon. For many listings there is no description or just
a "good condition" comment I am skeptical to whether it meets my expectations
or not while a picture reassures me that it does, even if many times I have the
same expectation of quality as the seller. Once I bought from a listing that
said gold moon in good condition and it was very faded IMO and I would not of
have bought it if I saw a picture.
Having pictures of used sets, figures and expensive printed parts just reinforces
the confidence of the buyer of the condition and is good policy IMO, but so few
sellers do it on this platform. On the bright side it makes you stand out if
you do it. Plus in my subjective opinion if you have the set and are a lego enthusiast
why not build it at least once? And if you do just take a photo and there you
go.
I was never referring to taking dozens of photos of a figure, just one of the
front. And even the sets I have, if I were ever to sell them I would post 1-3
photos max per set. Even if it is not built you can picture the printed pieces
and figures and the common bricks mixed on a pile. For a buyer of used sets that
would be a great indication of quality for used vintage sets and make it more
likely for me to buy from you than just seeing the generic image and a subjective
good condition comment and that is all.
I do concur that a simple description like “good condition” is often not helpful
in the slightest however simply providing an image of the front would only help
in very specific cases such as the moon situation but even with that if the seller
takes the picture in poor lighting, with a poor camera, or at a bad angle then
the resulting images would be just as good as a comment that says “good condition”.
The best solution would be if more sellers spent time to accurately check and
describe (especially minifigure parts and such) to check each foot, arms, front,
back, sides of the torso, neck of the head, etc for cracks and describe those
if applicable along with bite marks, wear on patterns (such as the moon one)
etc. I think the biggest game changer would be if every seller had a high quality
led light in their listing area as it would help them much better in seeing damage
and such which would benefit all parties involved
Not to try to cause disagrements but you said most buyers who buy used (presumably
vintage) Lego would prefer pictures. However I’ve sold hundreds-thousands of
vintage parts and tens of thousands of parts 10+ years old however almost every
request I get for pictures is for something less then 10-15 years old and I don’t
know if I’ve even gotten a single request for images of vintage parts (maybe
1 or 2 max) even tho I’ve sold many vintage space torsos, rare vintage bricks,
etc. in the past I’ve requested images of items to check quality before buying
them (at this time I still sent photos when buyers asked) and despite the items
looking good in the images they were still badly damaged on arrival and after
several cases of that I stopped sending images and stopped asking for them as
they ended up being pretty useless unless one had many pictures at many angles
in perfect lighting
Thanks for elaborating on your earlier post! No worries about any disagreements,
I enjoy reading other people's opinions and sometimes even learning something
new! I am a buyer only so do not have the point of view of a seller like you
(at least on BL). I am one of those buyers who will replace cracked arms and
even fix cracked torsos with superglue (still annoyed if not described at least
for torsos). I guess my opinions were shaped by my nature as a visually oriented
person and a few very specific examples like with classic space torsos that made
me weary of descriptions. But in the end I think what we both agree on it comes
down to accuracy and detail. If a picture is in bad lighting it is like a bland
"good" comment in the description which doesn't tell the buyer much.
Good pictures and accurate descriptions (at least one, both is better) would
go a long way with buyer confidence and preventing misunderstandings around condition
which is something some sellers should take a note of. I guess that instead of
thinking sellers should post pictures they should be a bricklink rule that each
seller should swear to buy a good LED light! Thanks for sharing your experiences!
If you really think the quality (of the front of the minifig) is important you
can ask for pictures.
If the seller don't provide pictures, then you can choose not to order at
that place. For sets and expensive minifigs I always send pictures, but for smaller
things I won't send them. If you really to be sure that you will got the
best quality then you can buy them new.
The rest of the arguments are allready told in other commennt,
Tim
In General, bricketycricket writes:
Thanks for your feedback Nubs select! Regarding photos of sets and figures I
wanted to clarify my view as a buyer of vintage used lego:
I would say that most buyers would want custom pictures on listings for used
lego when it comes to sets, figures and expensive printed parts. For example
where I really hated this lack of photos was when trying to buy white classic
spacemen with good gold moon. For many listings there is no description or just
a "good condition" comment I am skeptical to whether it meets my expectations
or not while a picture reassures me that it does, even if many times I have the
same expectation of quality as the seller. Once I bought from a listing that
said gold moon in good condition and it was very faded IMO and I would not of
have bought it if I saw a picture.
Having pictures of used sets, figures and expensive printed parts just reinforces
the confidence of the buyer of the condition and is good policy IMO, but so few
sellers do it on this platform. On the bright side it makes you stand out if
you do it. Plus in my subjective opinion if you have the set and are a lego enthusiast
why not build it at least once? And if you do just take a photo and there you
go.
I was never referring to taking dozens of photos of a figure, just one of the
front. And even the sets I have, if I were ever to sell them I would post 1-3
photos max per set. Even if it is not built you can picture the printed pieces
and figures and the common bricks mixed on a pile. For a buyer of used sets that
would be a great indication of quality for used vintage sets and make it more
likely for me to buy from you than just seeing the generic image and a subjective
good condition comment and that is all.
If you really think the quality (of the front of the minifig) is important you
can ask for pictures.
Especially for vintage figures, the sides are just as important if you want to
see if they are cracked. The seller should say if there is damage but then they
should do that for the print too.
1. Pictures can be easily altered/photoshopped.
2. Storage Space. If Bricklink would have to house all of those images, that
would most likely increease the fees/cost to do business on the site.
3. 3rd party image hosting sites could work, but should their be any dispute,
I don't believe Bricklink would have any legal jurisdiction to request information/access/etc.
to that 3rd party.
What would stop a scammer from posting a excellent quality photo (real or altered)
then replacing the with a damaged item photo right after it sold?
1. Pictures can be easily altered/photoshopped.
2. Storage Space. If Bricklink would have to house all of those images, that
would most likely increease the fees/cost to do business on the site.
3. 3rd party image hosting sites could work, but should their be any dispute,
I don't believe Bricklink would have any legal jurisdiction to request information/access/etc.
to that 3rd party.
What would stop a scammer from posting a excellent quality photo (real or altered)
then replacing the with a damaged item photo right after it sold?
+1. Also multi quantity listings would be a nightmare. If you had say 10 space
torsos with faded moons in roughly the same condition instead of just having
1 listing with a Good description you would need 10 separate listings with 10
separate images otherwise buyers would see the image and not be happy if they
get one of the other 9
1. Pictures can be easily altered/photoshopped.
2. Storage Space. If Bricklink would have to house all of those images, that
would most likely increease the fees/cost to do business on the site.
3. 3rd party image hosting sites could work, but should their be any dispute,
I don't believe Bricklink would have any legal jurisdiction to request information/access/etc.
to that 3rd party.
What would stop a scammer from posting a excellent quality photo (real or altered)
then replacing the with a damaged item photo right after it sold?
+1. Also multi quantity listings would be a nightmare. If you had say 10 space
torsos with faded moons in roughly the same condition instead of just having
1 listing with a Good description you would need 10 separate listings with 10
separate images otherwise buyers would see the image and not be happy if they
get one of the other 9
And each time one is sold, you'd need to pick the correct one for that photo.
Regarding point 3: Pictures for sets (especially vintage/classics) should be
standard, that and a accurate description. I had a few buys where I trusted the
description and then got a set with yellowed/chewed bricks. I do ask for pictures
of pricier sets but more often than not the seller can't be bothered so I
just end up putting them on my dislike list.
Point 2: You should think they would have managed that by now, but I guess it
saves server space/costs.
Point 5: That is annoying, I assume it makes it easier for the seller and I guess
they do that to avoid small orders (but for small orders I anyway go local).
But all in all even with the "annoyances" I find that most sellers (sans
a few) are honest and do care about what they sell.
Regarding point 3: Pictures for sets (especially vintage/classics) should be
standard, that and a accurate description. I had a few buys where I trusted the
description and then got a set with yellowed/chewed bricks. I do ask for pictures
of pricier sets but more often than not the seller can't be bothered so I
just end up putting them on my dislike list.
Would you be able to tell if there were damaged or yellowed bricks in a picture
of a set taken by a seller?
Regarding point 3: Pictures for sets (especially vintage/classics) should be
standard, that and a accurate description. I had a few buys where I trusted the
description and then got a set with yellowed/chewed bricks. I do ask for pictures
of pricier sets but more often than not the seller can't be bothered so I
just end up putting them on my dislike list.
Would you be able to tell if there were damaged or yellowed bricks in a picture
of a set taken by a seller?
Regarding point 3: Pictures for sets (especially vintage/classics) should be
standard, that and a accurate description. I had a few buys where I trusted the
description and then got a set with yellowed/chewed bricks. I do ask for pictures
of pricier sets but more often than not the seller can't be bothered so I
just end up putting them on my dislike list.
Would you be able to tell if there were damaged or yellowed bricks in a picture
of a set taken by a seller?
If the pictures are properly taken yes.
You only get one picture here. To show all bricks from all sides.
Slovenia
France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Canada, Ontario
Netherlands, Noord-Brabant
United Kingdom, England
USA, Pennsylvania
Austria, Niederösterreich