Discussion Forum: Messages by bagelboybugle (3408)
Redisplay Messages: Compact | Brief | All | Full      Show Messages: All | Without Replies

 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Jan 10, 2024 17:34
 Subject: Re: Important proposal regarding catalog variants
 Viewed: 69 times
 Topic: Catalog
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:

I'm a little out of touch with this so apologies if I've missed something.

Back in my selling days I got very frustrated with the amount of irrelevant variation
catalogued, especially when parting out sets or trying to buy parts. I fully
respect the need to find the exact variation when restoring a set or seeking
a specific aesthetic but when you're just building fire engines for your
kids you really do not care which variant you get, you just want to know where
you can buy 40 of them from the same place, even if that is 10 of a, 25 of b
and 5 of c. Perhaps where variants need to remain, undetermined from a wanted
list can calculate and aggregate if the user selects a box for "find all
variants"? that way a user can find someone who has 20 of one and 20 of the
other just by telling the system they need 40 and they don't mind which they
get.

Seats are a great example of something I would have bought more of when I was
building stuff had there been one product rather than two. There's a balance
between technical correctness (which is difficult because mold changes are often
gradual and more than one variant of a part can appear in some sets, giving significant
value to the undetermined variant being the right one to use when it is in fact
not known if a specific variant is intended at design or manufacture).

  Hello everyone,

As a platform, we have decided to take a hard look at some of the mold variants
that we are currently asking you to recognize. For sellers, more variants means
extra sorting and extra work while pulling orders, plus the issues that arise
from variant misunderstandings.

For buyers, excess variants mean that it's harder to assemble a wanted list,
find stores, and ultimately obtain the parts you are looking for.

I have put together a quick Help page to outline these proposed changes:

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2625

Notice the date on this is coming up quickly (Feb 1), so I'm not giving a
lot of time for discussion. I'm aiming for about 1 week of discussion and
then we'll give sellers 2 weeks to adjust the descriptions on affected items
if they wish to retain the distinctions.

I plan to construct a full FAQ page with answers to all your questions. This
will serve to inform users about what was done here in February 2024, and also
help point the catalog in the right direction in the future.

To get started, I'll list a few here:

1. This sounds like you're dumbing down the BrickLink catalog to make
it easier for new users. Is that what is going on?


Not really. There are many, many other variants we expect people to sort and
care about. These ones don't really seem to matter much, and some of them
(e.g., the minifigure heads) actually cause problems for the catalog that cannot
be corrected otherwise.

2. What if I really care about a certain variant that is going away? Can I
still buy and sell that variant?


Absolutely! You can add notes to your listings to make them as "determined"
as you wish. Buyers can still search within notes for extra details, or they
can simply observe them as they browse listings.

3. How do I know which exact variants will be merged? I only see one example
in each category.


Please ask in this thread and I can be very specific. Usually we are talking
about a handful of parts and the printed versions.

4. Has a merge like this ever been done before?

Yes, there was a precedent - the Headlight Brick with Slot:

https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1016584

It was marked for deletion a few years ago and was finally merged last August.

5. Are these the only parts up for consideration, or are there other variants
that will be merged as well?


This is all for now. Based on how well this goes, we may elect to remove other
entries later. However, we will keep all functional variants and important cosmetic
variants.
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Dec 6, 2021 17:28
 Subject: Re: Organizational change in BrickLink
 Viewed: 103 times
 Topic: Administrative
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:
  In Administrative, Stellar writes:
  In Administrative, CE_Tanja writes:

  
  
Thanks Tanja for sharing the Julia statement of what its happening within BL
top staff direction.

Hope you are well installed in your new location and see more communication with
the community soon.

This year there have been somethings that could have been implemented better
if they were shared with us and heard what real user know about the implications
of the changes.

Greetings,
Sergio
Stellar Bricks

Hi Sergio,

You are welcome and thank you, I am very happy in California

We are very eager to engage with the BrickLink community! One of our priorities
this year has been to ensure ore transparency and collaboration and we are coming
to a point where any development on BrickLink is qualified and prioritized by
the community (aside from the changes we are obligated to implement due to legal
legislation which have been quite substantial this year).
We are doing so through surveys and community panels. The Panels currently exist
for Marketplace, Catalog and Studio and they have done a great job representing
the general BrickLink community in the sessions we have had so far! I Please
keep in mind, the Panels don't decide what is critical to the community,
the community does, the panels support us in qualifying the prioritization.

After the panel meetings we share newsletters with information about past and
planned changes, sometimes the newsletters include mini surveys to ensure we
get the prioritization just right.

This is a new initiative and likely not something we see the full impact of yet,
I do hope that going forward you and the rest of the BrickLink members will not
be left with the same feeling of not having been heard, and if so, please reach
out any time!

If you won't mind, please share an email with what you are mentioning above
reg. new implementations with me.

Tank you.

This is wonderful and my warm welcome to the new folks. These snippets of positive
engagement almost tempt me to start selling as a semi pro again.

Cheers
G

must resist... do not have space...
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Nov 27, 2021 15:08
 Subject: Entire store
 Viewed: 93 times
 Topic: Sales
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
Due to moving I'm looking to sell what remains of my stock (still keeping
my stuff, no dark ages here). The few items I have left are mostly quite competitively
priced but naturally with such a small selection, I don't get so many orders
these days. I've managed to move the odd bit on local marketplace sites.

Total 41 items in 30 lots in 10 categories.
My inventory total value (Original Price): GBP 258.35

So, does anyone want to buy the few bits that are left for the bargain price
of £100? Not only will you get all the stock you'll also get any extra bits
I decide I don't want to keep while packing.

If so, just add it all to cart and checkout (not instant) or request quote and
I will adjust the total on the quote for you.

https://www.bricklink.com/store/home.page?p=bagelboybugle&utm_content=globalnav

Cheers
G
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Jan 2, 2020 12:45
 Subject: Re: Policy change - Undetermined versus Unknown a
 Viewed: 37 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:
  My idea is a bit different. I feel that the marketplace needs to be unified,
and that standards should be set to gain maximum listing strength with the fewest
possible entries, while still providing enough entries for important variants.

Commercially yes, but BL's core appeal is the depth of its catalog.

I have always believed that scrapping undetermined was a bad idea. My argument
links very directly to set inventory - typically, when a part is changed (e.g.
a lip added to reduce the amount of plastic used to make a part) we may be able
to identify through inventory change requests which sets those parts were first
and last seen in, all the sets in between, because of how the parts mix at the
factory or old molds still may be in use, we literally cannot determine which
variant should be in a set. Thus, taking away undetermined made the BL catalog
less accurate.

The insistance by the catalog admins of removing all the undetermined entries,
especially for parts worth only a couple of pence, made it difficult for me as
a seller to offer those parts, it was simply too inefficient to invest the extra
30 minutes on a part out to individually check 1p parts for minor variances.
This played a big factor in my decision to wind up my store as a business and
only sell items that are excess from my own collection.

Perhaps a good way is to use a single entry, which is by default `undetermined`
for buyers and sellers alike who only wish to deal in one entry with variants
identified through a check box or drop down menu (3001old etc), the part out
and wanted screens wouldnt need to look too much different, undetermined options
could select as default, its then easy to select the correct/preferred varient.
It would be valuable if the price guide was also seperatable by the same parameters,
so that those who do choose to sell or buy a specific variant can search appropriately
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Aug 26, 2018 07:33
 Subject: Re: The plight of part 44567
 Viewed: 86 times
 Topic: Catalog
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Catalog, BrickCompulsion writes:
  Can understand why the change
May I suggest that you send a message to everyone that has listed the variants
in case they miss or simply don’t read the forum

I know I would be frustrated if I got beg feedback or sent out the wrong parts
through no fault of my own and had to pay postage or refund to put the error
right

Totally agree, in this scenario I would switch all listings to undetermined,
email all affected sellers and then its the sellers choice whether to check their
varients or leave it listed as undermined
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Jul 30, 2018 12:30
 Subject: Re: 4495, now 4495a and 4495b
 Viewed: 53 times
 Topic: Catalog
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Catalog, axaday writes:
  In Catalog, pitz8008 writes:
  In Catalog, runner.caller writes:
  There is seriously a differentiation now between RH and LH on such an invaluable
part?
What a chore it would be to try to sort and separate them given they look so
similar at first glance. Won't have the time or inventory drawer space to
bother trying to separate these. Guess they will be going in the "do not sell"
pile.


Really should have at least put the "undetermined" option for this.

Yeah, I think the inventories should be corrected to specific flags, but I think
this is probably a case where the undetermined wouldn't need to be deleted.
A majority of the market will not care which way the flag is waving.

The additional key point on this is that the undetermined is an accurate representation
for inventories where both have appeared. Counterpart is fine to an extent, but
gives the impression that it should be one over the other, where in reality it
does not matter to most buyers of a set and did not matter to TLG when they changed
the mold
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Mar 1, 2018 16:18
 Subject: Re: Getting Frustrated Now With Bricklink
 Viewed: 91 times
 Topic: Problem
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Problem, SylvainLS writes:
  In Problem, bagelboybugle writes:
  In Problem, legoman77 writes:

  
Then why not hire someone that is capable of dealing with older coding or whatever
it is called?

I seem to recall it was mentioned long before the current team joined us that
it is not so much the coding thats the issue, its that there isnt a map of the
codes architecture (sorry I cant remember the proper technical words) which makes
it hard, even for experts to unpick when redesigning because its hard to know
which bit of code does what? or something like that.

A web application has multiple entry points (= pages), so it’s a bit more loose
and confusing than an application (which generally has only one main executable).
But frankly, starting from the database, the code, and actual use cases (just
asking users what they do and how they do it), you can reverse engineer and document
any system.
You just need someone with the proper skills.

From that point, YOU DON’T PATCH the mess, you rewrite it cleanly. (You might
have a team who patches the blurb while you redesign the system, but you don’t
make the new version from the previous one’s spaghetti code, especially not if
you’re still in the “what’s that stuff?” phase.)

Think about an old stone bridge, with a few houses haphazardly built on its top,
that you want to upgrade. You don’t replace every stone arch with a new steel
one one at a time (even though with computers, you can do that magically and
instantaneously). You build a brand new bridge, with brand new, well structured
houses, with all the modern stuff, a bit farther, and when it’s ready, you move
people and trafic to it, just before blowing up the old one.

People have trouble abandoning the old bridge’s stones / the old code. They
don’t understand the stones aren’t really important, it’s the bridge that is.
The knowledge, the processes, the database, all are important, not the code.

(Yes, I’ve done this a few times.)

I think I remembered a right comment from the admins of the time but my lack
of code knowledge led to me asking a totally out of context question, appreciate
the pointer, thankyou
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Mar 1, 2018 13:48
 Subject: Re: Getting Frustrated Now With Bricklink
 Viewed: 102 times
 Topic: Problem
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Problem, legoman77 writes:

  
Then why not hire someone that is capable of dealing with older coding or whatever
it is called?

I seem to recall it was mentioned long before the current team joined us that
it is not so much the coding thats the issue, its that there isnt a map of the
codes architecture (sorry I cant remember the proper technical words) which makes
it hard, even for experts to unpick when redesigning because its hard to know
which bit of code does what? or something like that.

Gareth
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Jan 23, 2018 15:20
 Subject: Re: Politics, LEGO and Bricklink
 Viewed: 76 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In General, laurenyves writes:
  I just had an enquiry from somebody in Cyprus asking me why I would not ship
to him, though Cyprus is in the EU and I apply shipping rates for ALL EU countries.
Why was Cyprus not included in my list ? Cyprus it seems is included in the Middle
East region for Bricklink and hence I did not include Cyprus. This needs to be
corrected immediately.
As for the case of the rest of the island, I cannot comment wheter the UN allows
or not to ship LEGO.

Am I correct to put that forward ?

Yes.
Even if the status of the North of the island might be problematic (though the
state is only recognised by one country (Turkey)), there’re absolutely no controversies
on the fact the Republic of Cyprus is in EU.

Though, I’m not sure a forum post (with “politics” in the title) will help.
Did you file a bug report / contact Help Desk?

It did indeed grab my attention, but as long as conversation does not delve into
the actual politics of the situation there is no reason to remove it. I have
moved the thread to suggestions, although contacting the help desk get a quicker
resolution.

Cheers
G
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Nov 30, 2017 13:53
 Subject: Re: No Instant Checkout = Force must offer Quote
 Viewed: 71 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:
  I believe in instant checkout even though I still have a few problems with it
that are still not being addressed. However:

I believe you should know the cost upfront of your cart, fees and shipping before
being obliged to pay.

Absolutely, added fees should be a defence in the NPB system, its been a couple
of years since I weighed in on a debate of this nature, but when I last did I
looked at a hundred or so stores and noticed that sellers charging daft fees
had a significantly higher rate of negative feedback left for NPB, coincidence?
I think not.

  I recently placed an order and again the fees and extra are so buried within
the terms the parts cost become 34% more! also I was invoiced for the larger
box option, and I know if using the instant checkout the parts would have easily
fit into the smaller letter rate. I read the terms 3 times and still some fees
were still easily missed.

This happens over and over again, its not a one off.

This is also a reason I have only bought once here in well over a year.

  I think it should be mandatory by Bricklink that any seller not using Instant
checkout will

Automatically will have the Quote option enabled.

What is the harm in that?

Some sellers dont like it apparantly. Incidentally, a similar % of sellers were
well set against introducing a multi-currency platform, funnily enough not many
of them packed up shop in protest when it was implemented. Its a different idea
of course.

  Every customer can make a decision up front if the fees and postage are reasonable
and acceptable. When im invoiced a total random bunch of fees I am not entered
into the contact agreement before knowing them.

Given the nature of what we do here is quite different to most other places on
the interwebs that people shop, it makes sense to have greater pre-order transparancy
where possible.

I understand that people don't want to pick orders to get a shipping estimate
before the order is confirmed, but you know what, if you don't know your
product well enough to figure out a reasonably accurate estimate from the information
you have in the quote request, you probably shouldnt be selling that product
to start with. Its not hard, overestimate slightly, you can always drop a partial
refund if you get to the post office and the cost ends up being a bit lower

G
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Feb 2, 2017 14:57
 Subject: Re: Orders Placed page - add horizontal lines
 Viewed: 23 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, WhiteVanMan writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, brisbane_qld writes:
  It would be very helpful if you could include some horizontal lines (and possibly
an alternating light background shade) on the "Orders Placed" page between the
listed orders so the eye can easily track from the order number on the left to
the Status & Feedback fields to ensure buyers are changing the Status and adding
feedback to the correct order.

Agree. I still don't understand the new BL's love for contrasting white
with extremely light gray. This applies to set inventories, part-outs, etc. as
well. It's hard to enough to sell Lego just having to figure out Light Gray,
Light Bluish Gray, Pearl Light Gray, Flat Silver...!

I can see each order without any issues.

Maybe you could change the contrast on your computer screen?

Paul

I cant see the difference in colours on mine either, id actually completely forgot
they were ever alternate colours, having a tiny store it isnt an issue for me
either.

But I will say this much, even though this one doesnt affect me, user changing
the computer screen contrast is inconvenient if the user has their monitor set
up to specific settings for a particular reason as it would have to be changed
back every time the other reason comes into play.

I personally dont see any harm in making lines available, even if its on an optional
toggle on/off basis from store settings, that way BL can very easily help users
out with no extra fuss

G
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Jan 30, 2017 16:50
 Subject: Stats: Don't count buyer cancellations
 Viewed: 188 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Discarded
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
On the feedback page we now have a part which says how many cancelled orders
a seller has

The problem is, I look at that as a buyer and assume the seller cancelled it
and that makes me wobble a bit about buying.

Of course different people will see this number in different ways and alot of
folks wont even consider it at all.

So, I received an order and a couple of days later receive this email

"Thank you but I have sourced the parts from another seller with a different
order but he had stated at first he had none but it was I that was putting in
the wrong colour sorry to of wasted your time"

Fair enough, new user, small order, more than happy to cancel, its good customer
service

But, now, because of my willingness to be helpful I have this statistic on my
profile that suggests I cancel more than 5% of my orders and that makes me look
bad as a seller, my suggestion is simple:

Please consider either:
changing the cancellations counter so that it does not include circumstances
where the order has been cancelled by and OCR initiated by the buyer
OR (almost as good)
Seperate buyer and seller initiated cancellations so that buyers can make a more
educated choice as to whether a seller with lots of cancellations is providing
good customer service or is unreliable at fulfilling orders
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Jun 8, 2016 19:23
 Subject: Adjust VAT bit for non-VAT registered stores
 Viewed: 63 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
 Vote:[Yes|No]
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
A VAT bit has appeared on the terms stores, this seems to be on all stores in
VAT countries.

VAT Seller's VAT
ID: NULL
Base store prices include 0.00. Prices shown to buyers located inside the European
Union include VAT, outside the European Union excluding VAT depending on the
buyer's country.


Please change this.
I would most prefer it to be removed completely where it has no relevance.

but, if we are going to insist on the VAT banner for non-VAT registered stores
can we at least have something which looks right, perhaps along the lines of

This seller has not specified a VAT registration as part of their bricklink membership,
this may be because they are not VAT registered, please contact the seller directly
if you need clarification.

Thanks
G
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Mar 2, 2016 17:12
 Subject: Re: Self-Insurance Disclosure
 Viewed: 48 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  
the Queen has a sticky backside.

That might explain why she doesn't walk very far these days
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Mar 1, 2016 17:34
 Subject: Re: Self-Insurance Disclosure
 Viewed: 36 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, WhiteVanMan writes:
is an extra that we have to pay for.
  
Besides, how the heck are we in the UK, able to find a 3rd party insurer to cover
a package that might not get lost?

Generally its always an optional extra on the shipping providers price.

But, it is covered by some (not all, it depends on the terms) public/product
liability insurance policies*

G




*incidentally, if your selling LEGO as a business you really should invest in
one of these, when I was trading proper I paid about £20 a year and was covered
for practically everything.
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: May 26, 2015 15:13
 Subject: Re: Note Whether Official or Non-Official Post
 Viewed: 55 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, fosterbengoshi writes:
  Forum moderators are not just forum moderators. They are sellers, buyers, BL
members and AFOLs just like the rest of us. And they have their own personal
opinions on many things, just like the rest of us. However, it is sometimes confusing
to know whether a forum moderator is posting in their official capacity as a
BrickLink forum moderator or in their own personal capacity as a seller, buyer,
member or AFOL. Therefore, I propose having a checbox moderators should check
only if they are posting in their official capacity as a BrickLink forum moderator.
If the box is not checked, then their post can be considered their own opinion
or comment, rather than BrickLink's. Of course, for this to work, we need
a little icon next to their name if this checkbox has been checked.

Come to think of it, this suggestion might equally apply to other BrickLink admins
and sub-admins as well. It would be helpful and will avoid misunderstandings
to know if someone with dual capacity as an official BrickLink representative
and private BL member is posting on behalf of BrickLink or themselves. Among
other things, this may help BrickLink avoid legal issues, such as being held
accountable for the personal comments of its representatives.

Thor

I voted yes

The question has already been flagged privately

Many folks who have been around for a long time may remember me being heavily
involved in heated debates before I was a moderator on currency exchange rates
and so on. I do find that being a forum mod means I often keep my personal opinion
on the subjects being discussed to myself as I am concious of the appropriateness
of expressing a personal view on some topics.

When you send a message to a moderator (or catalaog admin etc) you have the option
of contact that person as a individual or contact them as a whichever role they
have, if you select the role, all admins in that role will receive the message.
The same option is given to us on replying to the message, so you receive a message
from discussions moderator rather than an individual.

Being able to post as discussions moderator would allow us to:
1) Post generic warnings where threads get out of control but no specific individual
is to blame to an extent that justifies a private more directed contact;
2) Make clear announcements relating to rules changes or general messages
that the team would like to portray; and
3) Answer relevant questions about forum rules

The added positive for other forum users is it becomes easier to identify such
important messages and search the forum for messages posted by `discussions moderator`
(or other role as relevant) without having to pick out the day to day postings
of formins as is current.

Although one catalog admin has already stated a no vote, I do also believe a
similar approach for catmins would be helpful as it could be useful to search
posts by catmin if you have a question you want to ask about the catalog or catalog
policy but want to find out if its already been answered first.

Gareth
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Feb 21, 2015 08:20
 Subject: Re: Ask for feedback before implementing…
 Viewed: 77 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, mabccc writes:
  People on the forum are not the largest buyers or sellers.

No, but forum users represent a reasonable cross section of small and large in
both buyers and sellers. There is also nothing to say that if consulting they
have to use the forum, there are other methods, including contacting selected
or random individuals inviting them to do a survey and of course discussing ideas
at events. The latter of course means they can talk to people who are not current
bricklink customers, we may probably never know for sure but its possible this
idea was brought out of consultation to find out why some big buyers or sellers
are not using bricklink.

It is actually normal for companies to run pilots, betas and trials before releasing
new products or services. I took part in market research relating to the dulux
paint pod several months before it was released.

To use John's example, my local doctors consulted patients before changing
their appointment system.

UK Government frequently consults on proposed changes to the law and how best
to implement changes that are coming whether we like it or not.
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Sep 17, 2014 14:59
 Subject: Re: BrickLink China店鋪微博推廣活動誠邀您的加入
 Viewed: 83 times
 Topic: Problem
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Problem, ToddMyers writes:
  Reported cs_china as a fraud account. If this were a legit account, it should
be listed as "BrickLink Administrator" (as is done with other legitimate cs accounts).

I agree and there are no announcements on the issue so this thread can be unlocked
by cs team later if it is genuine

Gareth
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Aug 11, 2014 14:48
 Subject: Re: Minifigure Utensiles/Weapons
 Viewed: 40 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, tyjgibby writes:
  Yes it may not be that easy but isn't this the kind of stuff brick link needs
to do to stay on top and make sure it stays there?

It is a very good idea and should be a relatively simple bit of database work
for the programmers.

The main complexity is that some minifigures appear in multiple sets and therefore
have different utensils, however if the linking is set up correctly the appearance
could be very simple.

As long as the rules are strict in the sense that the link can only be made where
the instructions show the minifig with that utensil then it should be very do-able

Gareth
 Author: bagelboybugle View Messages Posted By bagelboybugle
 Posted: Jun 13, 2014 20:09
 Subject: Re: Seller Indexes
 Viewed: 34 times
 Topic: Suggestions
View Message
View
Cancel Message
Cancel
Reply to Message
Reply
BrickLink
ID Card

bagelboybugle (3408)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 5, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bagels clearout
In Suggestions, kzinti writes:
  In Suggestions, brickreservoir writes:
  Beyond the feedback system, which has its nuances. I'd be great to see stats
for sellers, in particular:

- Average time to invoice
- Average time to ship from payment
- Average time to respond to buyer emails

Ranking sellers on this as a badge (i.e. Top 10%, etc), would help buyers beyond
the Feedback system.

I offer a HOLD OPEN option for Buyers who need a bit of time to get their project
lists loaded, so how would that be taken into consideration?

If the open order shipping option were to be built in as a default option (can
be opted in or out of) that could prevent the timer being switched until the
buyer checks out and selects a postage tariff

Gareth

Next Page: 5 More | 10 More | 25 More | 50 More | 100 More