BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Colors, Teup writes:

In Colors, mmookk61 writes:

In Colors, maxx3001 writes:

Since you all are discussing one private trade, should you both be discussing
this in pms?

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?

Btw, we were discussing this 2 hours ago on here and one of us is new to the
site.....

Relax and the symptons will subside.

Maxx

I apologize. You are right. Every transaction has a right to be discussed in
the forums and not via private messages, errr, I mean your PMS. We are all in
your circus and are your Monkeys

Note that private trades, as in: trades outside the Bricklink order system, are
not allowed, and are therefore not allowed to be discussed at all - whether in
the forum or in private messages. That would be fee avoidance. That's why
Maxx is asking for it to go via Bricklink order.

On the other hand, this isn't a transaction that involves money, and I'm
not entirely sure what the policy is on that.

There is actually a trade section of the forum, so they are allowed to be discussed
in the forum.

https://www.bricklink.com/messageList.asp?ID=75

The policy is straightforward: any trades must go through a (or at least one)
store as normal, as if money is trading hands. Just that instead of money, the
trade is sent in its place.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Oct 4, 2019 09:57

Subject:

Re: Please Rename Items

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

Part (973pb0805c01) to "Torso Space Silver Armor Breastplate with Vents and Lime
Dots and Black Octagon with Lime Letter 'B' (Blacktron II Logo) and Silver
and Dark Bluish Gray Belt Pattern / Black Arm and Hand Left / PDG Mech Arm and
Black Claw Right"

973pb0805c01 (Inv) Torso Space Silver Breastplate with Belt and Blacktron II Logo Pattern / Black Arm and Hand Left / Pearl Dark Gray Mech Arm and Black Claw Right
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

Is there any point in the abbreviation PDG? I just checked, only three parts
use that, so as a search term isn't it useless? And if people need to know
what the assembly includes, the "item consists of" tells them that.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Sep 30, 2019 09:18

Subject:

Re: Limit Shipping Method to One Customer

Viewed:

64 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, axaday writes:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

In Suggestions, axaday writes:

I just opened a shipping method that I keep closed to avoid confusion because
it allows an international customer to instant checkout using domestic shipping
rates. It is for international customers who have a friend or forwarding service
in the US, but I keep it closed to avoid accidental or intentional misuse. It
would be handy if I could limit that to a country or to a specific user.

Is it not easier to invoice manually for such situations.

Possibly. I used to get a lot of international orders made and then cancelled
because the shipping is over $20 over 8 ounces. Usually customers are willing
to pay the $13ish shipping for 1-8 oz, but rarely did an order over 9 ounces
go through. I so stopped offering wait for invoice for international orders
and capped the instant checkout at 7 ounces. Perhaps that is too strict and
I should think it over.

Yeah, I'm sure. I've stopped buying from the USA for that reason.

Maybe put a line in your terms about what it will cost for international orders
for a couple of weight bands and turn on quotes (if you haven't already)
to allow international buyers to ask for postage costs if they need to.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Sep 30, 2019 07:58

Subject:

Re: Limit Shipping Method to One Customer

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, axaday writes:

Is it not easier to invoice manually for such situations.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Sep 20, 2019 12:50

Subject:

Gear instructions

Viewed:

74 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

I notice that there are now a number of things like this in the catalogue under
GEAR:

[g=ST1]

[g=superman]

What are these meant to be?

Looking at Castle Byers, some people are usnig the listing to sell the set, some
the stickers, some sets with custom stickers, another the set with custom prints,
etc. No-one is actually selling just the instructions!

Is the intention that these should really just be the instructions given that
they come under a category called "Building Event Instructions"?

If so, why are they not listed like normal instructions? Is it because BL does
not recognise these as sets, and properly listed instructions must have sets
to go in?

I remember trying to add the Superman set long ago, and it was denied. But now
it seems the instructions do exist in BL's view, but the sets do not exist.

The strange thing is, when I got my Superman, they were using laser copy / printed
instruction sheets and you could get the PDF if you wanted it, but they did not
have "genuine" instruction sheets.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Sep 18, 2019 04:22

Subject:

Re: Request a Quote

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:

In Suggestions, kelmgo writes:

I am after a few pieces to complete a few kits and am going from one checkout
to another, then to another and then cancelling the orders (before payment) because
the vendors haven't got the "Request a Quote" provision set up.

You can always use the Contact Store button and inquire about the shipping costs.

That doesn't necessarily work. There are light but high volume parts (like
some windscreens), so if you tell the seller the weight it can be misleading.

Then there are the sellers that have a shipping table based on weight, but refuse
to allow buyers to see the weight of a cart.

I'd like to see a "allows quotes" icon, or better still force all sellers
to allow quotes (better) or order cancellations (worse).

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Sep 12, 2019 13:17

Subject:

Re: Change NPB Timeline

Viewed:

31 times

Topic:

Once again a constant thread and everyone agrees with it except Bricklink for
some strange reason. Why should we have to let our inventory be tied up for two
weeks or longer when someone isn't going to pay for their order.

Bring the business side of the site into the 21st century, please - IC doesn't
work for all and for those that do not use it this is a real pain and totally
unnecessary.

That is probably why they will never do anything about it - it is another push
for non-IC adopters to adopt IC.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Sep 11, 2019 07:55

Subject:

Re: Can we have another order status?

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, irdroid3 writes:

It would be useful to have an Order status to go between "Received" and "Complete"
- something like "Queried" or "Querying" - for when I have started a communication
with the vendor - it's almost complete, but maybe a part missing?
Cheers, Ian
.

For something so specific, why not use the order notes and leave it as "received"?

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Sep 2, 2019 06:45

Subject:

Re: Elements Exclusive to BaM

Viewed:

60 times

Topic:

In Catalog, constructibles writes:

Just to add to the never-ending "identify this part" questions, it's now
been semi-officially confirmed that LEGO has created exclusive elements for the
BaM (Build a Minifgure) bins in LBR stores. I'm sure this will give more
people headaches for authenticating parts, since they will not appear in any
inventories. Looks interesting though, and I hope they keep introducing new
elements.

It looks like there are other exclsuive parts that are going to cause some confusion.
These pics are on eurobricks. Look at the vampire torso, very similar to Lord
Vampyre's but a different colour waistcoat and tie. So a BAM exclusive that
will probably be confused with an existing one.

The spiderwoman - look at the large spider print, it used to be located lower
and was printed across the torso and dress. So that's another two parts very
similar to existing ones from sets but exclusive to BAM.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 26, 2019 15:32

Subject:

Re: Do part numbers change?

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Teup writes:

I'm working on my own webshop and want it to synchronise well with my Bricklink
store. My software seems to work pretty well, but now I'm wondering, does
it happen that names/numbers of parts change on Bricklink, and if so, how often
does that occur? I want to gauge how necessary it is to do some extra coding
to accommodate for this.

I imagine most parts now have the correct numbers but minifigure can change,
like the extra 0 in SW figs.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 22, 2019 06:45

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

44 times

Topic:

There is another one here if you need it that I happen to have on my desk.

I wasn't sure how to upload a part containing parts and how you are collating
the sets they came in.

From set 79012 contains one standard DARK RED cape

522 Minifigure Cape Cloth, Standard - Traditional Starched Fabric - 4.0cm Height
Parts: Minifigure, Body Wear

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 22, 2019 05:01

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

55 times

Topic:

It is most definitely *not* a stupid question. If I was king around here, there
would be a place we could test this stuff without affecting the live data and
have sellers/buyers give feedback. Unfortunately, we don't have that. Maybe
we will someday...

I said stupid question mainly because if you were needing to work on the live
site (hence affecting any users that have any interaction with the sets / parts
you are changing) then the answer is very likely to be that there isn't such
a test server.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 21, 2019 16:13

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

56 times

Topic:

A user found out while the idea was being tested in the first two days. An announcement
was planned for today or tomorrow once the initial work was done. So, a total
of maybe four days from initial work to completion of testing work to communicating
with the user base for feedback. A pretty short timetable that was interrupted
by a user that was "snooping" around.

For this, it would have all been explained in our announcement message that did
not get a chance to materialize due to someone interrupting the process.

Yeah, we heard that. That is why things have already been rolled back due to
the feedback. I took almost three hours of my personal time last night doing
this by myself ASAP. See, us volunteer admins can get stuff done quickly, unlike
the corporate employees. We also take the feedback we get seriously and try to
work with everyone as best we can as we try to add new things to the catalog.

The volunteer admins have no choice but to move forward with ideas that are needed
for the catalog. We have the time and energy to try and make positive changes
for the user base. The corporate side does not. Eventually, the corporate side
will catch up (from things I have started to hear), but us volunteers have no
say and no way to do what is necessary to the code. We work in the systems we
have.

It is probably a stupid question, but does BL have a test server where such changes
can be tried out without affecting how regular users use the site or allowing
regular users to snoop or interrupt the testing of ideas?

It seems crazy that any ideas that get tried out (that do affect regular users)
need to be made on the client facing server.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 20, 2019 15:06

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

46 times

Topic:

In Inventories, randyf writes:

In Inventories, yorbrick writes:

In Inventories, randyf writes:

In Inventories, yorbrick writes:

But what happens when more sets come along that use this sleeve? They need to
be added to the part description. Why not just call it "Cardboard Sleeve 4580966"
removing the set names?

Thank you for this suggestion. We were trying to come up with a way to not have
to repeat information in the names, but I think this idea is the easiest solution.
We will have to come up with another way to track what sets these come in in
the meantime. I am guessing the additional notes for the sleeves will probably
be the way to go.

Cheers,
Randy

If the actual parts in the sleeve are listed in the inventory and the (sealed)
sleeves are listed as an alternate for each of the sets they are in, won't
that information already be stored in the catalogue in a meaningful way? Then
someone can look up the number on the sleeve and search for it. It won't
be in any sets as a regular part but will be listed as an alternate for all the
sets it appears in. That way, the set numbers need not be kept in the title or
as additional notes.

Or have I totally misunderstood how alternates work?

Yes, you have misunderstood alternates. Alternate parts are parts that are completely
substituted for other parts in a set. These sleeves come in every set they came
in.

As Russell said, we will need to wait for new functionality before we can ever
add these to inventories in a meaningful way that makes it easy for sellers to
part them.

Cheers,
Randy

Sorry I got confused. I meant actually counterpart and not alternate.

So as an example could you have

4580966 (Inv) Cardboard Sleeve 4580966 with Contents
Parts: Cardboard Sleeve

as a counterpart to having four of these
[x1687]

???

Of course, this doesn't meet the current definition of what a counterpart
is either - although in a way it does, if you open the sleeve then you have permanently
changed it. But this would mean listing the filled sleeve as the regular unperturbed
item and the four rods as counterparts (and what to do with the empty sleeve,
throw it away like an unused sprue?).

Again I may well have it wrong, as I tend to focus on which parts LEGO gives
us rather than how LEGO packages them in the box.

I can see it is a mess, trying to fit something new(ish) around existing rules
that were not put in place to do what is needed.

If you look up those axles you get told they are in 24 sets (and also 3 parts).
If I wanted to know which sets that axle came from I would naturally look at
the 24 sets but probably not look at the parts they come from. I wouldn't
find that they come in set 60051 when in reality they do.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 20, 2019 14:12

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Inventories, randyf writes:

In Inventories, yorbrick writes:

But what happens when more sets come along that use this sleeve? They need to
be added to the part description. Why not just call it "Cardboard Sleeve 4580966"
removing the set names?

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 20, 2019 13:15

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

Because our partout system is not yet capable of handling subparts, we're
probably not going to be able to add these sleeves to the regular section of
inventories. Maybe if we change the image and description we can do it, but right
now sellers will end up listing things in their store that buyers cannot identify.

Too late, you are already doing it!

Please have patience as we make some adjustments.

Why not get the partout system for sellers and buyers to handle it correctly,
then make the changes. As it is, anyone parting out a set with these sleeves
in needs to manually delete each sleeve from the part out, then go back and part
out any sleeves or similar.

Although from the comment above, I assume you don't know that these are already
being added as sleeves rather than as the component parts. If the sleeves are
added but not as regular parts, and the parts are still in the regular section,
then it is fine and easy to ignore. But that isn't the case.

Also parting out as a part doesn't work quite right. You have to select a
colour for the part to be able to part it out, even if you have already selected
Not Applicable as the colour on the part's page before parting out. So this
adds yet another click to the parting out a sleeve process.

Although shouldn't the colour of most of these sleeves be white rather than
not applicable? After all, they are white!

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 20, 2019 08:16

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

Wow! Just seeing that cardboard cape boxes have been added to the catalog.
I usually would prefer to refrain from making a derogatory comment on something
so trivial, but I have to say, that is a new kind of stupid. Give me a break.

It is truly bizarre. There is this sleeve, for example:

6268510 (Inv) Cardboard Sleeve 6268510 with Contents
Parts: Cardboard Sleeve

which contains two minifigure capes. However, this sleeve which is called "Cardboard
Sleeve for Set 70837" doesn't actually appear in set 70837 since it contains
minifigure parts, which are listed with the minifigures. So we now have an entry
for a part that is not included in any sets and so is unlikely to ever be listed
in that way.

Then we have the same where the sleeves contain a single cape, for example:

6259727 (Inv) Cardboard Sleeve 6259727 with Contents
Parts: Cardboard Sleeve

Again it doesn't belong to any sets despite the name, since it belongs to
a minifigure.

It seems to be a case of making a rule then insisting on sticking to it for all
parts and sets, no matter how stupid the application of the rule is.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 20, 2019 07:51

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

Is there any demand to purchase open, empty cardboard sleeves?

I don't think you can buy the empty sleeve because as soon as you open it,
you have the parts inside but the sleeve itself is not in the inventory of the
sleeve. Just as a sprue contains parts on it but not the sprue itself, a sleeve
does not contain the sleeve once opened. There is no listing for the sleeve only,
only a full (unopened) sleeve.

However, I guess some sellers will open the sleeves to check the parts inside
and sell them as new with "opened" in the comments. Although I imagine the parts
will sell better than the parts in the sleeve*. It would also be possible to
list the sleeve with comments saying "no parts inside, just the sleeve" if someone
really wanted to sell just the sleeve.

* This is where there might be a problem for wants lists. I imagine most people
putting a set together want the parts, not the parts in the sleeves. However,
parting the set out to a wants list (or parting out when selling) defaults to
the user wanting the parts in a sleeve and so they may well miss sellers that
have the parts that they want as they don't have them in the sleeve. It is
the problem of having multiple entries for the same part (or parts) just differing
in whether they are in some sort of useless packaging.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 20, 2019 05:59

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

This will also screw about with the price guide and wants lists, with decisions
about how to sell the part in the sleeve.

Do you sell a single part in a cardboard sleeve or do you sell it as the part?
These are two different entries with two different price guides.

It is like sets that contain a single part or minifigure - just introducing more
difficulty for users to sell / find what they want.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 20, 2019 05:39

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

41 times

Topic:

Also it seems parting out sets is now broken. Will there be an option added (like
break sets in set) to break parts in sleeves / multipacks? Selecting break sets
in set does not open up the multipacks or sleeves.

Try parting out a set, and the only option seems to be to list the sleeve, not
is what is actually in the sleeve. To list the parts you now need to do that
manually.

This is a really bad decision, Bricklink! BL should make things easier for sellers
to sell parts, not make it increasingly difficult.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 20, 2019 05:34

Subject:

Re: Cardboard sleeves in inventories

Viewed:

59 times

Topic:

In Inventories, Turez writes:

Hi everyone,

is that really necessary? With these cardboard sleeves in inventories it is no
longer possible to see the complete part list at once. You always have to open
an extra inventory to look up what is inside the cardboard sleeve (or sometimes
even two or more extra inventories). Not very user-friendly, imho...

I also don't see a technical reason why cardboard sleeves should be part
of an inventory. They are not listed in official part lists and if they contain
more than one part, adding them will bring the piece count down.

Examples:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=60052-1
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=10220-1
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=41381-1

New guideline: https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=1562#regularItems

Regards,
Jonas

There is also an issue with the naming. For example:

4580966 (Inv) Cardboard Sleeve 4580966 with Contents
Parts: Cardboard Sleeve

is currently called "Cardboard Sleeve for Sets 60051, 60052". It has exactly
the same name as

4580964 (Inv) Cardboard Sleeve 4580964 with Contents
Parts: Cardboard Sleeve

But what happens when more sets come along that use this sleeve? They need to
be added to the part description. Why not just call it "Cardboard Sleeve 4580966"
removing the set names?

6049732 (Inv) Cardboard Sleeve 6049732 with Contents
Parts: Cardboard Sleeve

already has five set numbers in the name, what will the limit be? If it appears
in 100 sets, will they all be named in the description?

And isn't a natural extension of this to catalogue, for example, bag 1 from
set XXXX, bag 2 from set XXXX, and so on (where these bags do not contain any
minifigure parts)? After all, that is how LEGO supplies them in a set. They are
not individual parts in a box, they are multiple parts in a defined bag in a
box. How big does a bag have to be before it is no longer a multipack? So when
a set contains a small bag of 1x1 parts in a larger bag, is that now considered
a multipack or is it the parts in a bag?

And what about instructions when they are supplied with a sticker sheet inside
a polythene bag and a piece of card? Is that a cardboard sleeve / multipack or
just the instructions and a sticker sheet?

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 11, 2019 17:15

Subject:

Re: Elements Exclusive to BaM

Viewed:

24 times

Topic:

Is it possible that in German or USA LEGO Brand stores it is sell with glove?

Also it would not surprise me if some torsos are sold without glove, and so it
would be good to have the gloveless entry, as otherwise some sellers might have
to sell them as missing a glove when in reality it isn't.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 11, 2019 17:12

Subject:

Re: Elements Exclusive to BaM

Viewed:

38 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Hygrotus writes:

In Catalog, yorbrick writes:

In Catalog, Hygrotus writes:

In Catalog, constructibles writes:

From month ago

https://www.promobricks.de/lego-store-neuheiten-minifigur-station/83292

Some of them are alrady in the catalog

973pb3600c01 (Inv) Torso T-Shirt with Red Trim and 'CHAMPS' Logo Pattern (BAM) / Red Arms / Yellow Hand Right / Reddish Brown Baseball Glove Left
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

That one isn't in the BAM. The BAM versions I have seen all come in a gloveless
form and the buyer adds the glove to it.

Is it possible that in German or USA LEGO Brand stores it is sell with glove?

I assume the boxes they come in are the same. All the ones I have seen in the
UK have been without glove. Of course, staff or other customers could add the
gloves then leave the assembly.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 11, 2019 17:03

Subject:

Re: Elements Exclusive to BaM

Viewed:

39 times

Topic:

In Catalog, Hygrotus writes:

In Catalog, constructibles writes:

From month ago

https://www.promobricks.de/lego-store-neuheiten-minifigur-station/83292

Some of them are alrady in the catalog

973pb3600c01 (Inv) Torso T-Shirt with Red Trim and 'CHAMPS' Logo Pattern (BAM) / Red Arms / Yellow Hand Right / Reddish Brown Baseball Glove Left
Parts: Minifigure, Torso Assembly, Decor.

That one isn't in the BAM. The BAM versions I have seen all come in a gloveless
form and the buyer adds the glove to it.

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Aug 4, 2019 17:49

Subject:

973pb3600c01

Viewed:

73 times

Topic:

Status:

Open