|
 |
| | | Author: | timhook22  | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 11:26 | | Subject: | Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 224 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | | Status: | Open | | Vote: | [Yes|No] | |
|
| I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
|
| | | | | |
| | | | | Author: | Fonebone | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 11:44 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 75 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
Although I agree something of this nature would be useful, I think a straight
cost/#of parts is too simplistic a model to really help. Consider that if I
buy a set with 995 pieces and 5 minifigs for $100, for purposes of tracking profit
margin I don't want to say I paid 10 cents each for the minifigs and 10 cents
each for 1x1 round plates. I have to apportion more of the cost to the more
expensive pieces and less of the cost to less expensive pieces. If I don't,
and only the minifigs sell, my profit looks like I earned 2.40 per piece, because
I haven't sold any of the pieces for which I will take a loss (the 1x1 round
plates, for example).
I have a spreadsheet I use that apportions the total cost of the set proportionally
to individual pieces based on the ratio of the price of each piece to the total
sale price of all the pieces. If Bricklink were to implement something like
that, I would be all over it. 
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Author: | Brettj666 | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 11:49 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 63 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, Fonebone writes:
| | In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
Although I agree something of this nature would be useful, I think a straight
cost/#of parts is too simplistic a model to really help. Consider that if I
buy a set with 995 pieces and 5 minifigs for $100, for purposes of tracking profit
margin I don't want to say I paid 10 cents each for the minifigs and 10 cents
each for 1x1 round plates. I have to apportion more of the cost to the more
expensive pieces and less of the cost to less expensive pieces. If I don't,
and only the minifigs sell, my profit looks like I earned 2.40 per piece, because
I haven't sold any of the pieces for which I will take a loss (the 1x1 round
plates, for example).
I have a spreadsheet I use that apportions the total cost of the set proportionally
to individual pieces based on the ratio of the price of each piece to the total
sale price of all the pieces. If Bricklink were to implement something like
that, I would be all over it.
|
I'm usually on the no side to a lot of suggestions, however, I don't think anyone
would program it that way.
If you bought a 995 piece set for $100, it would likely look at the part out
value (say it's $250) and then put the cost as the six month average (or whatever
you choice to price at) * Cost/Part out value.
So, if a mini-fig was worth $10 in that $250 part out set, that cost to the mini-fig
would be $4
If a part sells for 25 cents, the cost would be 10 cents.
|
|
|
| | | | | |
| | | | | Author: | Rob_and_Shelagh | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 11:46 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 59 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
If it would be just an average cost per part I'm not sure how useful that will
be as some parts will then show huge profit but others a loss. This would anyway
be an easy calculation to do yourself. Better would be for the system to allocate
cost to each part separately.:-
(cost price of part) = (listed price of part) x (price paid for set) / (total
parted out listed price of set)
of course even this calculation assumes that you look to make the same margin
an all parts from a set which might not be reality.
Robert
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Author: | Rob_and_Shelagh | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 11:50 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 52 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, Rob_and_Shelagh writes:
| | In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
If it would be just an average cost per part I'm not sure how useful that will
be as some parts will then show huge profit but others a loss. This would anyway
be an easy calculation to do yourself. Better would be for the system to allocate
cost to each part separately.:-
(cost price of part) = (listed price of part) x (price paid for set) / (total
parted out listed price of set)
of course even this calculation assumes that you look to make the same margin
an all parts from a set which might not be reality.
Robert
|
Also.. this type of accounting is "fools gold" because you only REALLY make that
profit on any part IF/WHEN you sell ALL the others, the cost of any unsold parts
has to come out of the imaginary margin you calculated on the ones you sold...
the mathematics of all this become quite interesting!
Robert
|
|
|
| | | | | |
| | | | | Author: | ash_274 | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 11:59 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 76 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
I've thought about the same thing, but then the math isn't as simple as it seems.
Take a set like
(MSRP + CA sales tax = $64.64)
There are 376 parts and whole minifigs (we'll exclude extra parts for now)
If you split the cost equally across all of the lots the average is a
little over $0.17 each. Now, set the prices to the 6-month sales average:
That's a great profit margin for the Shaak Ti minifigure, but it also makes the
lowest 74 lots (out of 110) selling at a loss.
The better way would be to weight the "cost" of each part relative to the comparative
value to other parts in the same set.
Shaak Ti (avg. price $13.76) would have a 14.89% share of the whole set's part-out
value ($92.44) so its "cost" would be $9.625
The white 1x2 technic brick, listed for $0.051, would have a "cost" of $0.00079;
which beats $.17
That's a lot of math that requires some input from you each time:
What did you pay for the whole set?
Are you excluding any items? (that you are keeping for yourself or just not selling)
What pricing method are pricing the items at? (current inventory avg., sales
avg. etc.)
I like it, but it's a little more complicated than it seems... but not impossible!
-Ash
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Author: | jeslego | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 12:13 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 53 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, ash_274 writes:
| | In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
I've thought about the same thing, but then the math isn't as simple as it seems.
Take a set like
(MSRP + CA sales tax = $64.64)
There are 376 parts and whole minifigs (we'll exclude extra parts for now)
If you split the cost equally across all of the lots the average is a
little over $0.17 each. Now, set the prices to the 6-month sales average:
That's a great profit margin for the Shaak Ti minifigure, but it also makes the
lowest 74 lots (out of 110) selling at a loss.
The better way would be to weight the "cost" of each part relative to the comparative
value to other parts in the same set.
Shaak Ti (avg. price $13.76) would have a 14.89% share of the whole set's part-out
value ($92.44) so its "cost" would be $9.625
The white 1x2 technic brick, listed for $0.051, would have a "cost" of $0.00079;
which beats $.17
That's a lot of math that requires some input from you each time:
What did you pay for the whole set?
Are you excluding any items? (that you are keeping for yourself or just not selling)
What pricing method are pricing the items at? (current inventory avg., sales
avg. etc.)
I like it, but it's a little more complicated than it seems... but not impossible!
-Ash
|
Ash:
You nailed this one. Can you please post it as a suggestion that we can vote
on (only to have our hopes crushed when nothing happens)?
thanks
jes
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Author: | timhook22 | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 12:16 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 61 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, bljesprop writes:
| | In Suggestions, ash_274 writes:
| | In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
I've thought about the same thing, but then the math isn't as simple as it seems.
Take a set like
(MSRP + CA sales tax = $64.64)
There are 376 parts and whole minifigs (we'll exclude extra parts for now)
If you split the cost equally across all of the lots the average is a
little over $0.17 each. Now, set the prices to the 6-month sales average:
That's a great profit margin for the Shaak Ti minifigure, but it also makes the
lowest 74 lots (out of 110) selling at a loss.
The better way would be to weight the "cost" of each part relative to the comparative
value to other parts in the same set.
Shaak Ti (avg. price $13.76) would have a 14.89% share of the whole set's part-out
value ($92.44) so its "cost" would be $9.625
The white 1x2 technic brick, listed for $0.051, would have a "cost" of $0.00079;
which beats $.17
That's a lot of math that requires some input from you each time:
What did you pay for the whole set?
Are you excluding any items? (that you are keeping for yourself or just not selling)
What pricing method are pricing the items at? (current inventory avg., sales
avg. etc.)
I like it, but it's a little more complicated than it seems... but not impossible!
-Ash
|
Ash:
You nailed this one. Can you please post it as a suggestion that we can vote
on (only to have our hopes crushed when nothing happens)?
thanks
jes
|
I definitely wasn't thinking this would so involved, but I see that you are saying
about some parts being worth more than others, ie minifigs. It would be awesome
to implement so I wouldn't have to maintain a separate spreadsheet and put even
more time/effort into this hobby! Not that I am complaining, but my wife might
KILL me! haha
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Author: | Give.Me.A.Brick | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 22:54 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 44 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, ash_274 writes:
| | The better way would be to weight the "cost" of each part relative to the comparative
value to other parts in the same set.
Shaak Ti (avg. price $13.76) would have a 14.89% share of the whole set's part-out
value ($92.44) so its "cost" would be $9.625
The white 1x2 technic brick, listed for $0.051, would have a "cost" of $0.00079;
which beats $.17
That's a lot of math that requires some input from you each time:
What did you pay for the whole set?
Are you excluding any items? (that you are keeping for yourself or just not selling)
What pricing method are pricing the items at? (current inventory avg., sales
avg. etc.)
I like it, but it's a little more complicated than it seems... but not impossible!
-Ash
|
Ash,
If I understood your weight method correctly that's a plain simple rule of three,
which is in my opinion the best method indeed. There is not much math in it,
it's a simple formula with two main variables which are input by the user (Cost
of the Set and Pricing method). The formula for each part would look like this:
CostOfPart = (CostOfSet * PriceOfPart) / PriceOfSet
Where the CostOfSet is what you payed for your set, PriceOfPart is the price
you are selling the parts from that set using whatever Pricing method you're
using and PriceOfSet is the sum of the Price of all the parts within that set.
Taking your example, you payed $64,64 for your set and you'll be using Current
Avg Pricing method, which gives $92,44 and one specific Part is listed, according
to the Pricing method you chose, for $13,76.
Then, the Cost of that Part is = 64,64 * 13,76 / 92,44 = $9,622 (which is the
same number you got only you rounded up the 14,885% to 14,89%.
BTW, trying the white 1x2 technic brick, it should give $0,036, right?
Of course other variables could be taken into account, like excluded items, but
that would be pretty easy too.
Anyway, Bricklink should have more seller friendly tools, I humbly think. (One
that would be nice as well was to know how much have you made so far with a parted
out set. And pretty easy to implement too!)
Cheers,
Paulo-Renato
|
|
|
| | | | | |
| | | | | Author: | FigBits | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 18:57 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 70 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
I use BrickStore for this.
When I get a new set, or if I have a BrickLink order that I've placed specifically
to resell, I upload it all in to BrickStore, part-out everything that I need
to, then set the prices of everything to the average sales prices. I sometimes
do some manual adjusting, mostly by lowering the prices on torsos.
I then apply a % adjustment to everything, so that it matches the price that
I paid. The resulting prices are thus my actual costs for each part, proportionally
determined based on BrickLink average prices.
I then export the BrickStore file and use a text editor to change Price to MyCost,
and upload.
--
Marc.
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Author: | Give.Me.A.Brick | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 22:59 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 51 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, FigBits writes:
| | In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
I use BrickStore for this.
When I get a new set, or if I have a BrickLink order that I've placed specifically
to resell, I upload it all in to BrickStore, part-out everything that I need
to, then set the prices of everything to the average sales prices. I sometimes
do some manual adjusting, mostly by lowering the prices on torsos.
I then apply a % adjustment to everything, so that it matches the price that
I paid. The resulting prices are thus my actual costs for each part, proportionally
determined based on BrickLink average prices.
I then export the BrickStore file and use a text editor to change Price to MyCost,
and upload.
|
Ingenious And the very same simple-rule-of-three Ash and I exposed above. It's
a shame one has to use Brickstore for this though...
Cheers,
PR
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Author: | FigBits | | Posted: | May 23, 2012 23:22 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 52 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, paulorenato writes:
| | In Suggestions, FigBits writes:
| | In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
I use BrickStore for this.
When I get a new set, or if I have a BrickLink order that I've placed specifically
to resell, I upload it all in to BrickStore, part-out everything that I need
to, then set the prices of everything to the average sales prices. I sometimes
do some manual adjusting, mostly by lowering the prices on torsos.
I then apply a % adjustment to everything, so that it matches the price that
I paid. The resulting prices are thus my actual costs for each part, proportionally
determined based on BrickLink average prices.
I then export the BrickStore file and use a text editor to change Price to MyCost,
and upload.
|
Ingenious And the very same simple-rule-of-three Ash and I exposed above. It's
a shame one has to use Brickstore for this though...
|
What's also annoying is that BrickStore doesn't directly support MyCost, so there
are annoying extra steps involved. Simplifying this process was at the top of
my list when I was thinking of developing some BL-assistant software a little
while back.
--
Marc.
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | kzinti | | Posted: | May 24, 2012 00:51 | | Subject: | Re: Parting Out a Set - "My Cost" Distribution | | Viewed: | 69 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, FigBits writes:
| | In Suggestions, paulorenato writes:
| | In Suggestions, FigBits writes:
| | In Suggestions, timhook22 writes:
| | I was wondering if there was a capability of BrickLink to take the amount that
I paid for a set, dividing it up by the number of parts in that set, and automatically
entering that amount in the "My Cost" field. If there isn't I think this would
be a VERY useful feature to track profit margins when selling on BrickLink.
|
I use BrickStore for this.
When I get a new set, or if I have a BrickLink order that I've placed specifically
to resell, I upload it all in to BrickStore, part-out everything that I need
to, then set the prices of everything to the average sales prices. I sometimes
do some manual adjusting, mostly by lowering the prices on torsos.
I then apply a % adjustment to everything, so that it matches the price that
I paid. The resulting prices are thus my actual costs for each part, proportionally
determined based on BrickLink average prices.
I then export the BrickStore file and use a text editor to change Price to MyCost,
and upload.
|
Ingenious And the very same simple-rule-of-three Ash and I exposed above. It's
a shame one has to use Brickstore for this though...
|
What's also annoying is that BrickStore doesn't directly support MyCost, so there
are annoying extra steps involved. Simplifying this process was at the top of
my list when I was thinking of developing some BL-assistant software a little
while back.
--
Marc.
|
I do pretty much the same but I use Excel for a lot of stuff. It can be set with
visual basic to web-scrape the info off BrickLink similar to Brickstore, but
fully customizable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
USA, Michigan
Canada, Ontario
United Kingdom, England
Portugal
