BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Technical Issues, 1001bricks writes:

BrickLink silent, unplanned, uncommunicated, capricious and arbitrary changes
freighten me 100000x more than all the all-times hackers united.

+1

Couldn't have said it better. Not kidding: I don't even report bugs anymore
because I am afraid they'll break something if they find it. If I do a count
over my reported issues over the years, the chance they break something has been
greater than the chance that they actually fix what I reported. I guess there's
a good side to Bricklink's general inertia

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Mar 6, 2024 14:08

Subject:

Re: Seriously?

Viewed:

83 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Tracyd writes:

In Catalog, BrickCompulsion writes:

No idea. But they people who get to make the decision are for it.

OK -
well the general feeling I got was that most posters were not for it and seeing
issues with doing it.

Therefore I suggest that "they" were hearing but not listening

If you own something, do you solicit others' opinions on what to do with
it? If you want to do X, but a lot of people say no do Y with it, do you do
what you want or what they want? They don't have to listen, that they have
changed some doesn't mean they have to change all.
Again, they can do anything they want as they own the website. Or for the pedantic,
they work for the owner of the website.

Ok, I was planning to let this whole discussion go, but it's just really
getting on my nerves now. Not so much personally, but I really feel for Axaday,
Randy and the other great contributors. Secondly, for the people who are just
sincerely bummed by this and keep on having their feelings invalidated by such
replies. This wall of text is not directed specifically towards the previous
poster or anyone in particular so feel free to stop reading anywhere you like

I see people complaining it's getting repetitive, but in my opinion, the
whole "they own it so they can do whatever they want" is the most repetitive
thought-terminating cliché in the whole discussion. And not only in this one.
It keeps popping up whenever something happens on Bricklink. Here's the deal:
It doesn't actually work like that. Legally speaking, yes, it does. But not
everything that is legal is right. Bricklink isn't a hotdog stand where if
you don't like the mustard (Bricklink forum reference unintended) you just
walk on to the next one and everything is fair.

Interestingly, the people who bring this up - "they can do what they want,
you are free to go elsewhere", etc - only seem to apply this logic to companies.
Never to people. They would probably never say: "Well darling, I am an adult,
so I can do whatever I like. If you don't like my choices, then you are free
to leave. Nobody is forcing you to be with me. Go vote with your feet". Again
this is legally 100% correct, but people have every right to say this person
is a son-of-a-brick. And moreover, they'd be right. The argument does not
excuse any actions.

Companies have responsibilities too. They can't just treat workers in whatever
way they like. The are agreements with trade unions and governments on how people
should be treated. Now, the users here may not be employees of Bricklink, but
Bricklink is not a free service either. In some form or shape, there is a cooperation
going on between Bricklink on the one side and the users on the other. There
is a mutual investment. That may not bring along hard legal obligations outlined
in agreements, but it does bring along soft rules. Like respect, decency, and
reliability. Willingness to cooperate. Dialog. Sure, Bricklink has the legal
right to change this whole site into a Barbie marketplace overnight, but
people who are invested in Bricklink (whether as contributors or as people trying
to provide for their families) will be right to be extremely disappointed if
that happened. Doing that without any notice, without valid reasons, would not
be a decent way of treating people. Letting contributors work on this particular
thing for years and then throwing it away is not a decent way of treating people.
Making big changes in a confusing way with poor communication where timing, order,
promises, and reasons keep on changing, is not a decent way of treating people.
By the way: There are plenty of examples where even free services cannot do "whatever
they want because they own it". Facebook still has obligations to combat
fake news, hate speech and scams. Because companies are a part of this world
and influence people's lives.

I've noticed this argument - "if you don't like it, just don't
use it" - is often heard in poor countries with dysfunctional systems by
people trying to defend the status quo. I'm not suggesting it's the same
type of people as the ones bringing up on Bricklink, but the effect is the same:
It's a progress-undermining attitude. People may say it about prices ("if
it's too expensive, just don't buy it then"

or services like public
transport ("if you think it's always late, then just use another means
of transportation"

. With an air of "stop being so negative" around
it. But the actual negative thing is to invalidate people's sincere complaints
and take a position against them. The positive thing is to complain, constructively,
in order to show empathy and to facilitate some kind of progress. Typically people
keep repeating the mantra and meanwhile their situation gets worse and worse.
In my opinion it's really quite sad to see community members not backing
each other up on this kind of thing. Even if everyone's preferences and concerns
are not the same. We all are a little different from one another but all of our
wants and needs are equally valid. I could go to a Playmobil forum and laugh
at every topic because I don't care about Playmobil, but that doesn't
mean I am right and they are wrong.

Then there's another thing. Besides the difference in opinion, there's
also the matter of: Is Bricklink correct? Will the action achieve what they aim
to achieve? This is not certain at all, and owning this site does not automatically
mean you're right about everything. They may need some input on this Russell
already mentioned people in the office were surprised and caught off-guard by
the responses to this decision. That already shows (besides of course a rich
track-record of unfortunate decisions) that Bricklink is not always correct in
what they believe. (For exmaple: Personally I believe it's not a good decision.
I think that not wanting to be the ultimate encyclopedic resource will result
in not being the ultimate marketplace either. Because the catalog really is Bricklink's
only selling point compared to other marketplaces. But that's just my estimation).
People are right to raise questions about it and are also right to consider it
wrong if Bricklink rushes this update without allowing that dialog that could
expose any mistakes in the reasoning and lead to better choices. (Bricklink did
allow this to a very limited extent, though they didn't plan to at first)

And as for: "If you don't like it, sell somewhere else" - many people
don't have this opportunity. This would be the same as saying "Facebook
has no obligations to society and if you don't like it, post somewhere else"
- it doesn't work like that, because you can't just start your own social
media like that. There is a dependency as a result of the actions of the company.
I was able to move away from Bricklink and sell elsewhere, but not everyone has
that opportunity. Years of feeling bad (sick, to a point) about what Bricklink
was and wasn't doing has lead me to take my business elsewhere. I implemented
everything I asked for on Bricklink for years, and as a result the business is
much more succesful than it ever was. But do I feel like I "won"? Not
really. I really would have preferred to keep everything on Bricklink, if Bricklink
only didn't cause me that many sleepless nights. And Bricklink didn't
win either, because they're out on $1500 in fees a year from me. Voting with
your feet isn't a win for anyone.

TLDR: Bricklink belongs to Bricklink in the strict legal sense, but otherwise,
Bricklink belongs to everyone who is involved in it and who makes it what it
is. There, that was more than enough from me for a while I think. Back to some
selling

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Mar 4, 2024 09:15

Subject:

Re: Seriously?

Viewed:

88 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Saitobricks.ca writes:

As far as I know no one has received a email. I never got one

I got one from Russell with an overview Excel sheet outlining round 1, which
I really did appreciate at that point. It said "Please contact me with any
questions.", which I did. Guess it would have saved me time if it said "Please
don't bother if you have any questions", lol.

In Catalog, popsicle writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

And for the other comments in this thread with concerns that the project is being
executed in a careless or haphazard way, I am working line by line through a
spreadsheet that was prepared and proofread weeks ago. Nothing has been merged
by mistake, and nothing will be.

Line by line? Then why did several parts get merged while the decorated 2x2 tiles
are somewhere stuck halfway?

Even accepting all the inaccuracies and uncertainties that we got on our plates
over the past several weeks, I thought that at least the ONE thing that we could
sort of hold on to, was the email that you sent me outlining what was supposed
to be round one, but now even THAT turned out to be not true.

"When does it start? When does it finish? What round comes next? How many
rounds are there?" These and several other questions that I've asked
never got any answer, and I accepted that as the way it is. But the ONE thing
Bricklink could at least do, is stick to finishing round one before moving on
to the next rounds. The way all of this is going..... I couldn't make this
up. Things keep on changing and the provided reasons also keep on changing. It
is really like a lot of thought has gone into trying to make this whole process
as confusing and difficult as possible. There's really no reason I can think
of why Bricklink can't simply stick to the promised order and continue doing
the tiles, and then move on to the next rounds. (besides the obvious fact all
of this should have been a single overnight update, going live when all changes
are ready)

You make some solid and well argued points

I guess I will again stop visiting this forum

Heard this type of declaration many times before here in the forum, though inevitable
lacking followthrough, and therefore such carries little weight anymore. If followed
through, I for one would sadly miss your inputs and presence. So stick around

because nothing I have said has been listened to and nothing that I've read turned out to be true.

Sorry, but this is a child's position. Give more credence to my will or I'm
not playing with you guys anymore.

I didn't mean it as a "threat" or in some childish way, I'm just
looking at this logically: If I find that my input is not heard (regardless of
whether or not that's fair - there are thousands of stores of course), and
I find that all the information that I read always turns out to be not accurate
in the end (regardless of whether that's Bricklink being whimsical, lying
or just making mistakes), well... then it doesn't really make a difference
if I come here or not. Maybe I'm better off using that time buying a crystal
ball and using that to figure out what Bricklink is going to do next

(No offense
to the community btw, the users here are almost always amazingly helpful. But
there's of course only so much even the most helpful users can do/know.)

I'll stick to the facebook group, it's much better for my mood and my sanity.

Facebook "much better for your mood and sanity?" Need to process that

Haha

Yeah... good point.. never thought I'd end up saying that. #brandnewsentence

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Mar 3, 2024 08:10

Subject:

Re: Seriously?

Viewed:

113 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 17, 2024 20:12

Subject:

Re: Reaction to the R.R. Slugger video

Viewed:

66 times

Topic:

In Catalog, randyf writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

In Catalog, Nubs_Select writes:

(and I thought variants were going to be merged on 15 feb but looks like nothing
has been merged

)

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogReqList.asp?viewYear=&viewMonth=&viewGeDate=&q=&viewStatus=1.2&itemType=&viewAction=*
It’s started but they said it will take while. Up to several months if I remember
correctly until every last part of this merge is done

Ah thanks, will bookmark that link. I know renumbering the decorated pieces takes
long (initially posed as "this way it will be easier for people and services
to adapt", later admitted it's just because they don't have any upload
capabilities so they have to do it all manually).
But I really thought at least the merging of the variants (just a handful of
entries, like a bunch of 7-teeth and 9-teeth hinges) would actually happen on
the indicated date. Even if you do it all manually it shouldn't take too
long. Well, at least they did... 3 entries it seems

Every part that gets merged is attached to inventories, so all of the inventories
that contain it have to also be manually updated one by one (remove duplicate
entry, update Match IDs, possibly update inventory notes, etc.). It is a painstaking
process, so it can take a bit to just get through one part merger. I am glad
that I don't have to do it.

Oh.. wow

I had no idea. Well, that does explain (not excuse) the delay.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 17, 2024 03:59

Subject:

Re: Reaction to the R.R. Slugger video

Viewed:

110 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Nubs_Select writes:

(and I thought variants were going to be merged on 15 feb but looks like nothing
has been merged

)

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 17, 2024 03:08

Subject:

Re: Reaction to the R.R. Slugger video

Viewed:

77 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

Hello again everyone,

This is my official response to the video from R.R. Slugger concerning the merging
of part variants in the BrickLink catalog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGRxNX8Cg_o&t=1s

Here is an initial response to the video, specifically regarding the set inventory
for the Core Magnetizer:

6989-1 (Inv) Mega Core Magnetizer / Multi Core Magnetizer
473 Parts, 3 Minifigures, 1990
Sets: Space: M:Tron

https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1450164

Here is today's response:

*************************************

I’ll start with a couple points I actually agree with Slugger on:

1) BrickLink certainly is an invaluable tool, and one of the things that has
motivated me to invest in the catalog over the years, long before I became a
community admin or started working in the BrickLink office, was knowing that
whatever corrections or additions I would make would instantly circle the globe
and potentially benefit thousands of fans everywhere.

2) Regarding the suggestion to double down on accuracy – that is actually what
we’re doing, if you look at the big picture. I remember discussing with one of
the authors of the LEGO Collector books that came out a few years ago:

810003 Collector's Guide - 50 Years of Play 1st Edition
Books: Informational Book

9783935976640 Collector's Guide 2nd Edition
Books: Informational Book

and one of the points we discussed was why certain things weren’t included in
a publication that was so comprehensive. The answer was that if a particular
data field didn’t have at least 80% of the data, then there were questions raised
as to how useful that field would be.

Of course this case does not cover all of the changes being made to the BrickLink
catalog, but it does pertain to some of them. The smooth slopes and frosted bricks,
even after 20 years of accepting data from the community, have a very weak connection
to our inventory system. Many of the parts are not represented even a single
time, and of those that are represented, there are serious questions as to the
accuracy of the inventory change requests.

The biggest obstacle in separating variants on BrickLink, especially the older
ones, is lack of real data. So the question comes up, should we have entries
on BrickLink that can’t or never will be represented sufficiently in the inventory
system?

Being orphaned or partially orphaned from the system is a bad thing, and our
stance on that is one of the things that has really changed since Dan built the
inventory system in the early 2000s. It used to be acceptable to have entries
floating around just for buying and selling, but over time we have realized the
power of our inventory system, to the extent that we now use artificial inventories
to represent certain parts (like BAM parts):

bam2023-1 (Inv) Build-a-Minifigure (BAM) 2023 Parts
39 Parts, 2023
Sets: LEGO Brand: LEGO Brand Store: Build-A-Minifigure
Marked for Deletion

By removing some of these variants, the accuracy and inclusiveness of the inventory
system goes up, and that is the primary driving force behind these current changes.
Why not just fill out the data instead of consolidating entries? Because we simply
do not have the data, and if we did, we couldn’t handle it all anyway. There
is no way we can add thousands of new minifigure inventories to the system simply
to accommodate different types of studs.

Next I’d like to give an actual example or something that WILL be lost in
the transition.

Slugger is right – just because the example he gave may not have been the perfect
example, it doesn’t negate the point that something will be lost. So here goes:

Set 7171 from 1999 (Mos Espa Podrace):

7171-1 (Inv) Mos Espa Podrace
831 Parts, 10 Minifigures, 1999
Sets: Star Wars: Star Wars Episode 1

is one of the celebrated early Star Wars sets and as such we may consider it
to be at the pinnacle of collector interest. In that set is a yellow dome with
a “blocked open stud” which is part no. 30151a:

[p=30151a,3]

The next version of that part by all accounts was introduced around 2010,
[p=30151b]

and by that time, the Mos Espa Podrace had long been retired. So we can say with
reasonable certainty that this set came originally with domes with blocked open
studs. If you see a copy of the set sitting on someone’s shelf and the domes
on Anakin’s podracer have hollow studs (no little Mercedes symbol), that is a
sure sign that the parts, and maybe even the whole set, is not original.

So if the BrickLink catalog stops distinguishing the “a” from the “b” version,
someone might build it wrong and wouldn’t even know it! However, as a quiz question
for savvy readers, why would this scenario never actually happen in the real
world? What do we know about these the 30151 variants that puts this problem
completely into the realm of the hypothetical?

Next example, set 4778-1 from 2005 (Desert Biplane):

4778-1 (Inv) Desert Biplane
104 Parts, 1 Minifigure, 2005
Sets: Town: Classic Town: Airport

This is not Star Wars buts it’s still a classic in my book. There is a different
kind of dome on the front of this plane (553), but it has the same issues as
the previously mentioned dome part.

[p=553b,5]

This set is from 2005, so it’s not likely that it ever came with the “c” variant.
The 2008 appearance is in the first UCS Death Star which had a really long production
run and has over 50 lines of variants in the BrickLink inventory:

10188-1 (Inv) Death Star - UCS
3696 Parts, 24 Minifigures, 2008
Sets: Star Wars: Ultimate Collector Series: Star Wars Episode 4/5/6

But if this little set were produced up through 2010, there might be a real possibility
of seeing one with a “c” variant.
[p=553c,5]

So with the current merges, this is data that would be lost. People wouldn’t
know about the stud variants, and someone could get any of 3 different stud types
– blocked open, hollow, or even vented. All three exist in red.

[p=3262,5]

Next up is set 6745-1 from 2009 (Propeller Power).

6745-1 (Inv) Propeller Power
247 Parts, 2009
Sets: Creator: Model: Airport

This also has a red 533 on the nose of the plane, but here the inventory system
says it could have either the “b” or “c” variant. Check the change log to see
if you recognize any of the people who added these variants to the set:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogInvChangeItem.asp?itemType=S&itemNo=6745-1&viewDate=Y&viewStatus=1

We’re pretty sure this came with both “b” and “c” types. It didn’t come with
a vented stud, and someone might mistakenly put one on this model if BrickLink
doesn’t educate them about it, right? That is the premise on why we need these
variants in the catalog, correct?

The thing is, how can we tolerate the difference of stud type in this model,
and not in other models where it is historically incorrect? In this plane model
from 2009, both are correct, so what does that say about the mixing of variants
in other models?

True collectors know that there actually is no replacement part that will ever
perfectly replace a part that is lost. The only truly correct part is the part
the set originally came with. It’s nice to get as close as possible to a correct
replacement part, but it’s a futile attempt.

So I will admit that something is lost in the catalog by harmonizing all the
hollow studs types. But the second message is that whatever is lost is quite
unimportant in relation to the effort it takes for the BrickLink community to
recognize these variants.

We weighed it up, and decided that stud types are not important enough. They
have some importance, and there are some workarounds available for the people
who really want to go down that path. But overall, what we seem to be losing
is less than what we believe we are gaining.

**************************************

One more detail about the video – in navigating around the BrickLink catalog,
I noticed Slugger used the new inventory tab on the catalog page instead of the
proper inventory page accessible by the link at the top of the page.

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=6989-1

There are multiple problems with this version of the inventory. First, there
is no link to the change log, which for specialists is a must. Reading the change
log lets you determine the accuracy of the data you are consuming.

Second, the match IDs do not line up with the inventory notes, so any mention,
for example, of “match ID 99” (which is critical to understanding variant inventories)
doesn’t make any sense.

Indispensable

Some of my colleagues were surprised to see such a strong reaction from our users
on this topic. But the fact is, variants are an indispensable feature of the
BrickLink catalog and they are one of the main reasons for the “sealed set” standard
we maintain for new inventories. Keeping this standard comes at a cost, and it’s
important for people to know that all of this work and energy is appreciated.

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=1103

BrickLink is not descending into a parts oblivion where nothing is distinguished.
I made that very clear from the very first announcement. This is simply a mid-way
correction to enable us to do better at what we already do. I trust that over
the coming months and years you will come around to believing me on that point.

Russell, in case you missed my other replies: Could you please send me a list
of the heads - old and new numbers? Just like the one you sent for the tiles.
And if possible the (rough) start date for that phase.

(and I thought variants were going to be merged on 15 feb but looks like nothing
has been merged

)

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 16, 2024 04:54

Subject:

Re: Variants Thread - February 12

Viewed:

90 times

Topic:

In Catalog, brickerking writes:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

Hello again everyone,

Today the catalog team got a message (in all caps) protesting the variant merges.
Some of the points have not been addressed yet, so I thought I would take this
opportunity to answer these before we get started with merging.

Not sure why you would respond to a message in all-caps and post it here making
this person out to be crazy. This person is actually quite passionate for BrickLink
and you are crushing them. Your tone in the response is very tone-deaf in my
opinion. You literally have people shouting at you to stop merging variants,
yet your response is: we are right and you are obviously wrong - gaslighting
the folks who are trying to make their point - which is a valid point. Not a
good look.

Look, you're (BrickLink) obviously making this change and not going back.
At the same time you are obviously burning bridges with many people. Take time
to consider the humans behind this site and that their passion is your bottom
line. What's more important, catalog changes or relationships with people
and communities that support your bottom line? Is this all really worth the relationships
that are being strained and even broken? This public humiliation (even though
the writer may have given you permission or we will never know who they are)
is not putting out any fires, it's just fanning the flames.

I understand that the most vocal forum members on here are supporters of this
variant merger. And a post like this may make everyone feel better about themselves
and this decision. But don't forget about those people you don't hear
from very often or ever that don't support this merger. You may think this
is a great idea and so may many of your colleagues, but there are also many users
of this site that don't agree.

What I also don't really understand is why Bricklink would suddenly decide
to address:
- a random email
- on the same day
- with a really elaborate reply
- to questions that don't lead to much interesting or new information, or
have already been discussed ad nauseam (the whole "what Dan would have wanted"
topic is such an eye roller - Nobody knows what Dan would have thought and done
in 2024, nor does it matter)

- when that effort could have gone into detailing the facts: any info on what
changes into what precise, and the timeline?
- when there are so many helpdesk tickets / problems / bugs that go unanswered
and unsolved in the meantime

It seems to be a pattern for Bricklink to concentrate on things that Bricklink
has decided are interesting, rather than addressing real and more pressing problems..

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 15, 2024 05:49

Subject:

Re: Variants Thread - February 12

Viewed:

61 times

Topic:

Russell could you send me another email with a similar list for the heads? (old
numbers and new)
And if possible a start date for that phase. Thanks.

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

Hello again everyone,

Below I have listed the general groups of variants we are tackling and the results
of the deliberation over the last month. I was originally planning to provide
a schedule for when these changes will happen, but based on the progress with
the tiles since February 1, I am hesitant to commit to any timeline except that
we will not change anything on this list prior to February 15.

Frosted bricks

These will be merged as planned, and a new Help Page is being written on this
topic.

Smooth slopes

These will be merged as planned, and a new Help Page is being written on this
topic.

Connections between studs

This whole class of variants will NOT be merged as part of this project. Complete
research needs to be done for the related 1 x 3 inverted slopes and the differing
angles, plus more work to understand how the 2 x 2 inverted slope relates to
these parts.

Sprue marks

The minifigure chair was the only one in this category and it will be merged
as planned.

Torsos with ribs

This whole class of variants will NOT be merged as part of this project. However,
we will rename these parts to remove the “ribs” depending on if we can get some
better photos. We will also place a moratorium on any new torsos distinguished
by underside ribs.

Inside supports

We will merge 46212 (Brick 1 x 2 x 5) as planned, but as part of this project
we will not be touching 32064c (Brick 1 x 2 with Axle Hole and Side Supports)
or 10247 (Plate Modified 2 x 2 with Pin Hole). More research needs to be done
in regards to the practical use cases of the parts and their actual use in LEGO
sets. As part of this project, however, we will also mark part 772 for deletion
(with a 3 month time frame before a merge), even though it wasn’t on the original
list. This variant likely does not even exist and it’s similar in class to the
46212.

X-shaped axle holes

These will be merged as planned.

Hinges with teeth

These will be merged as planned, and a new Help Page is being written on this
topic.

Duplo bricks with bottom tubes

These will be merged as planned.

Blocked and vented studs

These will be merged as planned, and a new Help Page is being written on this
topic.

Determined entries for very common parts

Update: We are well on our way through the decorated versions of 3 out of the
4 parts. Another 250 of these are scheduled to be changed on Tuesday (tomorrow).

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 14, 2024 12:07

Subject:

Re: Ideal as a payment method

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, 1001bricks writes:

Card payments in France make up 52% of the French transactions:
https://www.statista.com/graphic/1/1218504/online-payments-breakdown-france.jpg

While making up 8% of Dutch transactions. Very few people have a credit card
and our debit cards usually do not have numbers:
https://www.internetkassa.nu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Gebruik-iDAL-2022-Betaalvereniging-Nederland.png

And if store numbers are a fair indication, the NL is a bigger presence on Bricklink
than France is (1214 against 629). It's just an instant traffic boost for
all sellers who have Dutch customers.

Agreed with everything - but why would BrickLink better implement a specific
Country payment method, than more generic other one(s)?

And IIRC, Ideal is possible with Stripe? Or something has to be set up by BrickLink
to make it accepted? As I said in another post...

But I can't deny it'd be easier for you guys, no problem with that.

Yeah, if the one you mentioned is worth adding too (considering how many people
use it vs what it'd cost to implement), then definitely. I think as a rule
of thumb, in each country Bricklink does business, it should just offer the #1
payment method (or maybe top 3 payment methods if possible) that people expect
to find when they go online shopping. Wouldn't be surprised if there are
payment methods in the Asian market that are really important there but we/I
don't know about.

The neat thing about Stripe is that it offers so many. People were mentioning
Swish here the other day, seems Stripe has it too. The way Stripe does it - offer
everything and funnel it all into one account, acting as a total black box to
the account owner, is awesome IMO. And probably the way forward.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 14, 2024 06:36

Subject:

Re: Ideal as a payment method

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

It's just an instant traffic boost for
all sellers who have Dutch customers.

But there’s no Dutch buyers! It’s only sellers in NL!

Well we do have a disproportionally large seller's mentality

"my old
left sandal? as good as new, just one strap missing? oh, I could EASILY sell
that on the Kingsday market for at least €5! This old comic book I found in the
attic? It must be a super excusive collector's item! If I describe it like
that on Marktplaats I'm sure I can catch at least €100!"

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 14, 2024 05:32

Subject:

Re: Ideal as a payment method

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Teup writes:

In Suggestions, 1001bricks writes:

Probably Lego.com doesn't care about or need the Dutch market.

No, but yes, in that Ideal is for what, one Country?

Yes. Why run a Dutch version of the lego site at all then? Why translate the
whole site, for just what, one country? (well, two) Either you do business somewhere
or you don't. Sending people emails with manual payment instructions is just
silly. They actually check all those payments manually and it's a ton of
work for them, they told me on the phone more than once. Keep in mind Dutch people
do not have credit cards or debit cards with card numbers like you guys do.

In France BNP has a local payment system also. So the, BrickLink would implement
a different payment method PER Country?

Not implement, just check the box in Stripe. BrickOwl did it. I did it in my
own webshop. I get Klarna payments without even knowing what Klarna is. Stripe
supports a ton of methods. You just need to check the box and that's it.
Would you like more buyers from the Netherlands? Just enable iDeal and they will
increase instantly. You don't ever have to know what iDeal even is or how
it looks or works.
And the neat thing: iDeal takes no percentage fee, just a fixed €0.29. The sellers
and Bricklink itself will 1. save money on the PayPal fees and 2. attract a lot
more Dutch users, as PayPal is really not popular or well known here, and again,
card payment is not possible for the vast majority of Dutch residents.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 14, 2024 05:24

Subject:

Re: Ideal as a payment method

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, 1001bricks writes:

Probably Lego.com doesn't care about or need the Dutch market.

No, but yes, in that Ideal is for what, one Country?

In France BNP has a local payment system also. So the, BrickLink would implement
a different payment method PER Country?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 13, 2024 16:05

Subject:

Re: Ideal as a payment method

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

Yup, it's just wild how the only 2 e-commerce sites that I know that don't
have iDeal are Bricklink.com and Lego.com. And somehow they found each other

It's 2024. Why are they so stuck on offsite payments? Who sends bank transfers
anyway? Not even private trading places like Marktplaats rely on manual offsite
payments anymore. It's increasingly strange, and soon it will even seem suspicious
to new members.

Probably Lego.com doesn't care about or need the Dutch market. People are
better off buying sets in stores rather than waiting for an invoice and then
hope Lego will spot the bank transfer in a reasonable timeframe. If people buy
in stores, Lego still wins, so that makes sense. But Bricklink?

In Suggestions, Familybuild writes:

True, i did not even realise the extra (free) money generation for bricklink
this brings.

Also it is stated across forums lately that bricklink is a market before a catalog..
Viewing through a markets perspective, not having these methods to accept payment
feels off.

Also Ideal and other payment methods are not accepted at lego themselves.
So i do suspect getting even small changes done has to go through so many corporate
levels
That makes the process most likely very slow..

Well i figured if one seller with forum spams can accumulate into a actual change
be it in policy.. we just gotta dig in and hold on..

I do hope this wont have to go to an day 365 or beyond asking for ideal and other
payment methods for stripe though..

See ya tomorrow

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 13, 2024 15:53

Subject:

Re: Variants Thread - February 12

Viewed:

80 times

Topic:

In Catalog, randyf writes:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

Is there any info or estimation on when the renumbering of the decorated heads
is going to begin and finish?

No, but considering the amount of work it represents, it will most likely be
the last group of items to be handled on the list. I would be surprised if the
site starts merging any of the decorated heads in the next two months with everything
else that needs to also happen.

Cheers,
Randy

Thanks, Russell previously also mentioned it could take until May, so yes, that
seems to make sense then. Hopefully it will indeed be the last group, so that
at least everything else is in place within the foreseeable future.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 13, 2024 06:15

Subject:

Re: Variants Thread - February 12

Viewed:

89 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

Hello again everyone,

Thanks for the update. Since you mention the timeline is not certain, I will
consider my email and message (https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1454060)
answered.

Is there any info or estimation on when the renumbering of the decorated heads
is going to begin and finish?

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 13, 2024 05:09

Subject:

Re: Ideal as a payment method

Viewed:

60 times

Topic:

They were trying to do exactly this some 4-5 years ago, they actually told me
they were. Somehow, they failed.

One thing though that we can not accuse Bricklink of is being greedy. The day
they'd enable iDeal, they themselves would already save a ton of money on
PayPal fees on fee payments Dutch sellers. Add Klarna for Belgium, Swish for
Sweden, etc.... and you're getting tons of extra revenue every year without
having to do anything extra for it. I guess there's nobody in the decision
making chain who actually wants Bricklink to earn more.

In Suggestions, Familybuild writes:

Recently i've been again in contact with stripe.

all that needs to happen for sellers to start using other payment methods:

- the holder of the account for bricklink(administrator account) has to log in.

- switch on wich payments methods are also to be accepted/processed through stripe.

- if these settings are problematic ; there 24/7 customer service is amazing..

This enables individual sellers to start turning these payments methods on
in their accounts

No excisting changes have to be made in coding.

Bricklink and stripe already are Api connected, so all these extra methods can
come on the fly!

Offered features will instantly be improved as payment methods as alipay wechat
ideal
and more, are available

Also i would like to add the note that a catalog merge is way more complex then
this.
By now people have been requesting these addional payment methods for years,
left and right.

Way longer that i have been here, thats for sure.

since bricklink is still the number one marketplace for our hobby. It's a
good business practice to watch what competition does offer, and they can see
they do accept these trusted methods.

Best of wishes.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 11, 2024 13:41

Subject:

Re: Sharing wanted list feature coming soon

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

Wanted

In Wanted, Leftoverbricks writes:

So I wonder: what is 'soon' in the perception of Bricklink?

Russell told me they'd fix something "next week" and we're now
3 years and counting

3 years of browsing set inventories that have their parts
listed in totally random order within each category, rather than by the dimensions
of the parts.

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 10, 2024 06:44

Subject:

Re: Adding to the Problem

Viewed:

106 times

Topic:

Technical Issues

https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1454036

In Technical Issues, Teup writes:

I'm trying to post a reply but I get error 403: Forbidden. Let's see
if this works.

Okay, this works. Then I guess I will reply this way.

In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

Russell, since you didn't answer my email yet (you invited me to ask questions,
which I did): could you please let me know - either here in by email - whatever
is currently known about the timeline of the changes? Like, how many phases,
which order, how long will they each take, are there pauses between the phases..

We are currently still closed because of all this. I am not going to raise any
more complaints in response, I will accept that Bricklink might not know everything
yet. I just need to know the facts so I know if/how/when we can reopen.

My opinion is clear I think, the last thing I will say on that is these 3 recommendations
for such updates in the future:

1. TIMELY: Inform us all 30 days before a change. This was not an urgent situation.
2. CLEAR: Complete info available of what exactly will change into what. Descriptions
that have been proofread to avoid confusion. (This saves you guys time too, as
the number of replies that are based on misunderstanding for you to work through
will be much much smaller)
3. CLEAN: Make the changes go live on the announced date in a single, clean update

This would greatly help not just me but probably everyone, every service and
every website in the Lego fan ecosystem that is in some way involved with part
numbers.

With that out of the way, looking forward to getting whatever info is currently
available, thanks!

Author:

Teup

Posted:

Feb 10, 2024 06:41

Subject:

Forum down?

Viewed:

129 times

Topic:

Technical Issues