Redisplay Messages: Compact | Brief | All | Full Show Messages: All | Without Replies| Author: | VOTB  | | Posted: | Jul 29, 2023 16:33 | | Subject: | Re: 10% off coupon for your feedback | | Viewed: | 21 times | | Topic: | Sales | |
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| I have done this since the opening of my store. I state in the drive-through
email "All buyers that provide feedback will receive a coupon for your next
purchase." It would be against the rules to say give me positive feedback
and you will get XX off your next order. You may realize that I don't state
how much the coupon is. For customers that place large orders, the coupon tends
to be more worthwhile.
I don't know of anyone who would be motivated to give negative feedback to
get a coupon though.
I can tell you that I do not feel it significantly increases feedback. Of the
coupons sent out to date, only 4% have used the coupons.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Apr 24, 2023 20:23 | | Subject: | Re: Please guide me...don't know what to do | | Viewed: | 42 times | | Topic: | Problem | |
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| First off a "Non-Shipping Seller Alert" will be removed by BL. If he
has them, and says they are cracked, you obviously shipped them. As long as
you attempt to solve the problem, it will be removed. Even if they give negative
feedback, your attempt to solve the problem will show BL that it is not accurate.
I doubt that the figs were damaged in the mail. I am human and have missed a
crack myself. I had two orders where a crack was discovered, so I had two sets
of eyes looking at all my minifigs for a while. We did not find any for over
a year, so I went back to checking when I put them in inventory and when I sell
them.
For me, I would offer to send him a shipping label to send the damaged ones back.
Instruct them to take it to the counter at the PO and have the teller scan it.
Once the post office has scanned it he will not be liable for the package if
it is missing. By sending him the label you have accurate tracking info. Once
I had them I would refund the money. This will be zero cost for him and zero
profit if he plans on re-selling them. The label will likely cost you much less
than flat-out refunding him. Most likely they will just say forget it.
Above all else. Keep your side of the communication on the order (contact buyer
link on order page). Never take the conversation into emails or texts. Keep
it professional and kind. Have responses like "It has been a week since
I sent you the label to return the Minifigures. In order to refund you I will
need them back. If I don't hear anything from you by (date), I will assume
you are happy with them and will be keeping them." Provide deadlines and
reminders of deadlines. If they don't cooperate, BL will easily be able
to review your claim by seeing all the communication in one spot. I have even
copied emails sent by customers and put them in the order thread. You might
also want to watch their store to see if your figures pop up for sale. Then
you can add things to the conversation such as "I see you posted (figure)
for sale on your site, is that the same figure you are requesting a refund on?
Remember, if you send that back to me I am more than willing to refund the figure."
Once the date YOU set passes and they have not sent it back yet, contact BL to
fix any alerts and prevent them from providing feedback.
I wish you all the luck. Just remember to be kind but don't give in.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Sep 29, 2022 17:06 | | Subject: | Re: Selling - difficult buyer | | Viewed: | 79 times | | Topic: | Selling | |
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| I agree with Nubs. While I know there are some instances where a separate invoice
can lead to more sales, it certainly adds a lot of work. I dropped it shortly
after I opened.
At this point, I suggest communicating again and stipulating a timeframe to either
pay the remaining balance due, or request to cancel the order. I usually add
something to the effect of "If I do not hear from you by ____ date I will begin
the non-paying buyer process laid out by Bricklink." Then if I don't hear
from them by that date, I send one more message and say "In 24 hours I will be
submitting a NPB to BL to start the cancelation process."
It is also best to have all messaging on the order itself and not in email or
even the BL messages. By having it tied to the order it allows BL to quickly
see that you attempted and gave proper notice. I conduct all correspondence
on the order, even copy and paste their responses. It keeps it clean for me,
and has helped in a small handful of buyers that were not responsive.
The key is to over-communicate and protect your store.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Sep 26, 2022 14:19 | | Subject: | Re: Wedding Guest Minifigs | | Viewed: | 59 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| This is a great idea and I have heard of a few people doing this. I have a bunch
of used parts that I need to get into my store. I usually hang on to parts so
that I complete figures. Also, sales of individual body parts don't sell
that well. The way BL is set up you either know which part you are looking for,
or you browse a store you are visiting.
The best tool would be this one:
https://www.bricklink.com/calendar.asp?utm_content=subnav
This looks at uploads by date. You can narrow it down by saying show me all
the heads that were uploaded yesterday. You can then sort them by price, then
look at a few stores, hoping for more cheap parts.
It would be a lot of clicking but might yield some results.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Aug 6, 2022 14:37 | | Subject: | Re: Call for Help from EXPERIENCED sellers!! | | Viewed: | 60 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| In Help, BricksOfFaith writes:
| | Hello! I just wanted to ask for an inspection of my store!
I would like a few experienced sellers to go through and tell me what I’m doing
wrong and what I’m doing right! Every little thing. I’d be extremely appreciative!
Thanks!
-Bricks of Faith
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It is a nice store with a good variety. I have a small store too, you will find
getting up to about 5,000 parts will get you regular orders. I am a bit behind
due to some family illnesses but will hopefully get it back up.
I would suggest not listing "NISB! Will remove from set upon order!" This tells
a buyer that you are not ready to package their order. I would do the work and
organize the parts ready to pick. You will end up with several sets open and
you're randomly hunting through bags looking for parts. There is a higher
risk of losing some or sending the wrong color. I would be happy to share
with you how I organize my small store if you would like.
As for the religious aspect, I would agree with many of the comments and already,
and I see you are already making edits. The new logo is much better!
I am not religious but was raised religious and have studied several world religions
over the last 30 years.
I miss the 80s and 90s when businesses would put the Jesus Fish subtlety on their
marketing. This was not to promote the word but to show by example what a "good
Christian" was. You may be lowering the number of sales you get, but then again
a steadfast believer may choose your store over others just because of your devotion.
I believe this is your intent, but due to politics, and the fact that many denominations
have forgotten to "love their neighbor," I would expect you to lose some customers.
I would NOT send literature. Maybe a sticker on the box, or a handwritten God
Bless on the invoice would be fine. The most important thing is to behave the
way your religion tells you and be a good steward of your faith. This is more
powerful than door-knocking or chasing people down on the street.
The one change I would do is to adjust the "Spreading the Good News Through Lego
- John 3:16." In none of the translations did I see "LEGO." While innocent,
you may end up alienating some of your audience. The easy thing to do is take
off the verse reference. You can also change it to "Spreading love through LEGO"
this takes the religion out and promotes love and kindness.
Hope this helps.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Jun 24, 2022 18:49 | | Subject: | Re: How it’s gonna pan out ~ update | | Viewed: | 83 times | | Topic: | Retail | |
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| Just so you know.
The star at the top of the price tag means that the price is not likely going
to get any better. That usually means the item is being cleared out for another
product. On a certain date the remaining product will be sold by the pallet
to a thrid party distributor. Rarely are these sent back to the manufacturer.
If a price ends in .99 it is usually the highest price Costco is allowed to sell
it for. Managers always have the authority to discount any item they want.
However, the instant discount with the star means that it is the lowest price
you can expect.
Both these discounts will likely vary throughout the US. Some stores may not
have another product to replace the pallet, and thus keep it at full price for
any profit they can get from it.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Dec 16, 2021 21:35 | | Subject: | Re: Is there a way to report spam messages | | Viewed: | 49 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| I have been hit twice. I replied back asking for clarification. "Are you looking
to buy some of the items in my store, are are you looking to buy stock I have
not posted?" My hope was that they would reply and I could report them with
solid evidence that they were trying to avoid the BL system.
Those that don't follow simple rules drive me bonkers.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Nov 23, 2021 19:45 | | Subject: | Re: Easy way to calculate value of a collection? | | Viewed: | 92 times | | Topic: | Price Guide | |
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| I recently found https://www.brickeconomy.com/
This is what you get when you mix an economist with an AFOL. You can make lists
of your collection, indicate what is new or used, and see the current "market"
price, as well as predicted growth. The system has the original MSRP in the
calculation so you can see how much the product has grown over the years. The
best part is I can see, month to month what the value of my investment is, and
where it is going.
For a lot of people, there may be too much data here. It can get overwhelming
if you are not used to looking at things from multiple angles. Considering you
can look up a set or minifig and see what MSRP was, what market value is, what
the lowest price is at LEGO, Amazon, eBay and StockX. Plus you are given the
high and low price for Bricklink.
It is all done with algorithms and AI, so it is only as good as the data. But
it has been going long enough to be able to predict when sets will likely retire.
I have watched a few retire within a month of the prediction.
I think it is a great tool for any AFOL and especially for BL buyers and sellers.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Jun 18, 2021 10:52 | | Subject: | Re: Let's think about LEGO storage solutions | | Viewed: | 63 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| This is the closest I have seen someone do that I have in my head. It is nice
to see one done to visualize. It looks to me like you used some angle metal
as drawer slides. Am I correct in that the whole drawer can come out and move
to your work station if needed?
I am impressed by the paper containers. I don't have the skill or patience
for that. But I do have a 3D printer.
Thanks for sharing
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Jun 1, 2021 14:59 | | Subject: | Re: Marketplace Panel meeting minutes | | Viewed: | 77 times | | Topic: | Administrative | |
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| Thank you Tanja for summarizing the new panel and a brief look at what transpired.
I know in the past that attempts like these have fallen flat, and disappointed
those that have been around much longer than I have.
I am excited about the life that TLG is breathing back into BL. I know it all
takes time and a metered approach is going to be the most beneficial long term.
I have appreciated this update as well as the catalog newsletter, and look forward
to other updates and ways we can help participate in this platform.
I have had personal conversations in the past, with a few of the panelists and
feel that some great choices were made for the first round.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | May 29, 2021 18:46 | | Subject: | Re: 3940a vs 3940b 3 times ordered frustrating | | Viewed: | 67 times | | Topic: | Problem Order | |
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| The specific part that you are looking for would be prone to errors. Especially
if someone was manually sorting and saw the description for 3940a. If I am ever
unsure about an a/b identity I usually say so in the description "Identified
as 3940a, but there is a possibility it could be 3940b."
If I were you, and was looking for a particular mould variation I would contact
the seller and ask them to confirm before ordering, or maybe sending a photo.
As long as people are polite I usually don't have an issue doing a little
extra work. The worst that would happen is the seller says I can't do that,
then you know to move on to the next one.
I hope you get your part!
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Jul 31, 2020 14:30 | | Subject: | Re: Avoid orders from buyers with 0 fedback | | Viewed: | 66 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| I encourage you to prevent users with 0 feedback from seeing your store. It
sounds like it will be a good move for you.
For every store that has new buyers blocked the more likely I will be to get
a sale. New buyers provide feedback at a much higher rate than experienced buyers.
I ship fast, and love to be their first package from BL. I also have a high
rate of new buyers place a second order within 24hrs of receiving their package.
I love new buyers!!
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Feb 26, 2020 20:17 | | Subject: | Re: Add to Community Experts group | | Viewed: | 67 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| Thanks, Bill for putting this up. I know we have had some great conversations
off-forum about this.
While I know that some may be opposed to the CAP I am glad that you posted it
to the community. I feel it may be one of the best ways for sellers to have a
better voice with BL. Currently, it seems that people send their request out
into the ether of the forum, some never to be heard except by other forum members.
Others scream and yell and get a response. The goal would be to have a group
who could gather concerns, ideas, and support from the community, and deliver
it in a cohesive manner to BL and TLG. The hope is that everyone's voices
will be heard, not just the loudest. Secondly, the hope would be that (in time)
BL and TLG may ask for feedback before things go public, so that a representative
group may help in identifying concerns before things go to a boiling point.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Oct 31, 2019 20:25 | | Subject: | Re: Adding box contents for sets? | | Viewed: | 47 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| I have a source where occasionally I have just a giant tub of bags (no boxes
no instructions). The price per pound is only worth it if they are decent so
I want to hunt out the good ones.
The best I have come up with identifying a set by looking at some unique parts.
Then on brothersbrick.com find their review. They usually will lay out all
the bags and take a photo. I can usually identify what I have pretty easily.
I scored the last time and spent $70 and got $890 worth of parted out pieces.
This is not normal but it just worked out. On the other hand, I have just grabbed
$50 by weight and parted them out for $75.
When you have a full set it is much easier to part out than one bag of an unidentified
set. Plus multiple bags will usually lead to higher lot counts.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Oct 1, 2019 13:56 | | Subject: | Re: Pulling Data For Reference | | Viewed: | 41 times | | Topic: | Catalog | |
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| I have been working on a way to do this. There are a few ways to go, one with
macros, another with web scrapers, having an API with the data would be helpful.
The main issue I come against is the server draw. I am pretty convinced this
is one of the reasons we get so many 500 errors. There are those out there pulling
pricing for hundreds or thousands of parts every day. This draws the BL server
down. I read somewhere that bots and spiders are not permitted. Therefore if
found out you could be banned. Currently, I have only scrapers pulling pricing
from retail locations, then I manually go in and pull pricing from BL on items
I feel may be profitable.
It would be nice if BL would simply publish a daily csv file that included all
the pricing of each piece. Then we could just plug that into a spreadsheet or
google doc with vlookup and have a really good simple pricing tool.
Not to get too many people riled up, but I am hopeful that XP will have some
updates that will help us in this regard.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Sep 13, 2019 10:10 | | Subject: | Re: We have a new Catalog Associate! | | Viewed: | 74 times | | Topic: | Catalog | |
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| In Catalog, Admin_Russell writes:
| | Hello everyone,
I'm very pleased to announce that we have appointed longtime member BricksThatStick
to the Catalog Associate position. Paul served as the site's 4th Inventories
Admin during 2010 to 2011 alongside Emma (SimplyBricks). He effectively replaced
Dan Jezek, the site's founder, who had a special fondness for inventories
work and who of course left very big shoes to fill.
If you take the time to scroll through Paul's 900+ inventories changes:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogInvChangeItem.asp?chgUserID=44744&v=3
...you will notice a sea of green, followed by a sea of blue, followed by another
sea of green. This means he continued to contribute to the catalog after having
once been an admin, which is (unfortunately) something rather uncommon. But it
demonstrates a great and correct attitude, the kind of attitude we wish to model
for all of our other contributors out there, especially the ones still cutting
their teeth.
Paul has, over the years, been very active as a seller and many of you will know
him also from his activity in the Forum. We look forward to his practical insights
and we are confident he will play a vital role in our growing catalog team.
Please welcome him back! 
Russell
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Thanks for the announcement! And I am greatful for everyone's hard work!
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Jul 31, 2019 12:44 | | Subject: | Re: How to compare parts lists with my inventory | | Viewed: | 22 times | | Topic: | Inventories | |
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| If you put all the items you want into a "want list" you can visit your own store
and see what parts you have that are on that want list.
At the top of the page under your "Shop," "Terms," and "Feedback" tabs you will
see "Wanted List." If you click on that you can cycle through your want lists
and see what you have.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Aug 28, 2018 15:17 | | Subject: | Re: Ability to Sort Inventory by Total Size | | Viewed: | 20 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, MidwestBrick writes:
| | One of the many ways that I personally change my pricing is simply based on how
much space those items take up to store them. An example is, I believe I have
about 200 6x6 plates. This takes up a good amount of room to hold these, of
which, maybe I would want to price these lower to possibly move them to free
up space. Another example is large Wheels. Regardless, it would be beneficial;
to other than knowing what items are large but also to know how much space is
being used in comparison to others if they were able to sort by total Size which
would be Quantity times the sizes that BL already has established. This would
help compare space being used for 2 x 4 plates vs 6 x6 plates vs 1x1 round plates
and also be another way to run sales on items that are large that maybe we forgot
we even had.
Thanks for the consideration.
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The real question is the size of a piece listed as a data point or simple
text. It seems like this could get pretty complicated describing so many three
dimensional pieces. Once you start looking at slopes and brackets shape and
volume get harder to calculate. I guess a 3D Studio model of each piece could
do the work.
I am still fairly new to this system but could sorting by weight/piece and weight/lot
do this? (I know this is not a current feature)
- A heavier piece would likely be bigger and take up more space.
- A heavier lot would likely take up more space, even if the piece is small.
This would let you see that drawer of 1000 1x1 bricks is likely taking more space
than the 2000 1x1 tile.
This utilizes an existing data point. The only thing is that some wheels are
hollow and are quite large, but a smaller tire could weigh more. From what I
have experienced so far, wheels and tires just take up a lot of space no matter
what.
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| Author: | VOTB | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2018 13:39 | | Subject: | Re: Visual Guide | | Viewed: | 38 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, macr237 writes:
| | This may have been asked a number of times, but as I am a n00b, I have not been
aware of it. What is the possibility of dragging information out of the database
automagically to create a visual guide to all parts? Basically one page that
has 1 image of each block with the part number that goes to a search on that
part number.
Some of the parts that I have seen, I really have no experience in describing
them and Lego can have some different naming conventions to name things that
are similar or even knowing if it is 6x5 or 5x6 (random numbers used).
I've tried looking to see if Lego have a catalogue or someone else and
no one seems to have something like this and this being the best repository for
parts, it could be a great asset.
Regards
Macr
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I am a n00b as well. And still getting my feet wet in getting all the parts
I have categorized. While I have enjoyed Lego for 30+ years it has not been
until recently that I have started working on using the proper lexicon. That
is the challenge. I still catch myself calling a plate a tile and knowing when
a modified brick turns into a bracket.
https://swooshable.com/how-to-start-building-lego
The article above is very elementary but it seems to be universal based on what
site you go to. Just having the basics down has really helped me. I also purchased
several new sets and parted them out to start. This automatically categorizes
all the parts for you. It has helped drill in the terms and names of the different
parts. I am also in the process of making my own color guide from actual bricks.
I have not been doing this long enough to pull a used brick from a pile and
tell the difference between light gray and light bluish gray.
I have started logging a HUGE lot of used tires and wheels I bought years ago.
I thought it would be a baby step into sorting used parts. Mostly because there
are fewer colors to deal with. One trick that Bricklink does have is the ability
to look at the catalog as a thumbnail gallery. It dramatically reduces the amount
of screen space and lets you see one version over the other. I can't tell
you how much time this has saved.
I have also really enjoyed those that have come before me and added photos to
parts that are commonly misidentified.
I don't know if that ramble was too much or if it even helped the topic,
but thanks for reading.
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