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| | | Author: | bb414973  | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 02:55 | | Subject: | Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 258 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | | Status: | Open | | Vote: | [Yes|No] | |
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| As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
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| | | | | Author: | RobErNat | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 12:43 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 104 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays) 
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
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| | | | | | | Author: | SylvainLS | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 12:57 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 79 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week,
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I was said it was more like 6x as many people (to cover holidays and health leaves
and such stuff). And that’s not accounting for night/week-end/holydays pay bonuses.
But, well, that may only apply to my French comrades
| | I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
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| | | | | | | Author: | Hypertrophy | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 13:01 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 83 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
There have been almost 1.3 million orders in the last 12 months. At a $40 per
order average, that's $52,000,000. The 3% fee on that is $1,560,000 USD.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | nectara | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 13:11 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 74 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, Hypertrophy writes:
| | In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
There have been almost 1.3 million orders in the last 12 months. At a $40 per
order average, that's $52,000,000. The 3% fee on that is $1,560,000 USD.
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Average order is much lower
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | axaday | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 13:25 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 70 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, nectara writes:
| | In Suggestions, Hypertrophy writes:
| | In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
There have been almost 1.3 million orders in the last 12 months. At a $40 per
order average, that's $52,000,000. The 3% fee on that is $1,560,000 USD.
|
Average order is much lower
|
Mine certainly is.
What is the big emergency that can't wait for the Admins to finish sleeping
and have their breakfast?
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | imanarchy | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 15:16 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 56 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, axaday writes:
| | In Suggestions, nectara writes:
| | In Suggestions, Hypertrophy writes:
| | In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
There have been almost 1.3 million orders in the last 12 months. At a $40 per
order average, that's $52,000,000. The 3% fee on that is $1,560,000 USD.
|
Average order is much lower
|
Mine certainly is.
What is the big emergency that can't wait for the Admins to finish sleeping
and have their breakfast?
|
It is not a matter of finishing sleep and having breakfast. The auto-finder
tool, an integral part of the site and an essential tool for buyers finding your
parts, is often down. In this particular case, it has been down since Friday...
I myself have submitted two different tickets, one under Help and one under Bug
Report, and i have yet to receive a response or any sort of ticket number to
follow up on.
As a new seller myself, this is concerning to me, and it makes me wonder if I
should bother investing time in building up a store on this site, or if doesn't
make sense
to try and use another site like BrickOwl.
As a relatively new user to both buying and selling, i'd like more experience
users to chime in. Is there really no recourse? Anyone have an email of the
admins?
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Brickwilbo | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 15:27 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 51 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, imanarchy writes:
| | In Suggestions, axaday writes:
| | In Suggestions, nectara writes:
| | In Suggestions, Hypertrophy writes:
| | In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
There have been almost 1.3 million orders in the last 12 months. At a $40 per
order average, that's $52,000,000. The 3% fee on that is $1,560,000 USD.
|
Average order is much lower
|
Mine certainly is.
What is the big emergency that can't wait for the Admins to finish sleeping
and have their breakfast?
|
It is not a matter of finishing sleep and having breakfast. The auto-finder
tool, an integral part of the site and an essential tool for buyers finding your
parts, is often down. In this particular case, it has been down since Friday...
I myself have submitted two different tickets, one under Help and one under Bug
Report, and i have yet to receive a response or any sort of ticket number to
follow up on.
As a new seller myself, this is concerning to me, and it makes me wonder if I
should bother investing time in building up a store on this site, or if doesn't
make sense
to try and use another site like BrickOwl.
As a relatively new user to both buying and selling, i'd like more experience
users to chime in. Is there really no recourse? Anyone have an email of the
admins?
|
Luckily they haven't removed the good old Classic By Shop, it is still available
and works: https://www.bricklink.com/wantedShop.asp?showOld=Y&wantedMoreMultiple=Y&qs=
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | SylvainLS | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 15:37 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 67 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:
It’s “Auto-Finder” and “Easy-Buy” that don’t work.
“Buy,” the new version of “By Shop,” still works and still provides more options
than “By Shop.”
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Hypertrophy | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 13:25 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 65 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, nectara writes:
| | In Suggestions, Hypertrophy writes:
| | In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
There have been almost 1.3 million orders in the last 12 months. At a $40 per
order average, that's $52,000,000. The 3% fee on that is $1,560,000 USD.
|
Average order is much lower
|
Based on what info? Not arguing, just curious. That's lower than my average
to factor in that I have a fairly large store.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | RobErNat | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 14:11 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 74 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, nectara writes:
| | In Suggestions, Hypertrophy writes:
| | In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
There have been almost 1.3 million orders in the last 12 months. At a $40 per
order average, that's $52,000,000. The 3% fee on that is $1,560,000 USD.
|
Average order is much lower
|
Most likely yes, It's probably $40 (or more) on average for a very small
amount of sellers. The large batch of smaller and average sized sellers probably
have average orders between the $10 and $30. This drops the total amount of montly
charged fees quite a bit...
Besides, even if it would be the case, 1,5 M is not 'several million'
And certainly not enough to have a 30 or 40 persons staff (about 10-12 now?)around
if one counts all people (including cadmins/IA's/moderators).
Count servers and offices and computers, phonelines, Inet, softwares, cellphones,
cars maybe, and dozens of other costs, then taxes, and even a couple of million
ain't enough to have such a crowd around, even if only part of the crowd
would be on 24/7 service
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | randyipp | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 15:39 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 66 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, nectara writes:
| | In Suggestions, Hypertrophy writes:
| | In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
There have been almost 1.3 million orders in the last 12 months. At a $40 per
order average, that's $52,000,000. The 3% fee on that is $1,560,000 USD.
|
Average order is much lower
|
Most likely yes, It's probably $40 (or more) on average for a very small
amount of sellers. The large batch of smaller and average sized sellers probably
have average orders between the $10 and $30. This drops the total amount of montly
charged fees quite a bit...
Besides, even if it would be the case, 1,5 M is not 'several million'
And certainly not enough to have a 30 or 40 persons staff (about 10-12 now?)around
if one counts all people (including cadmins/IA's/moderators).
Count servers and offices and computers, phonelines, Inet, softwares, cellphones,
cars maybe, and dozens of other costs, then taxes, and even a couple of million
ain't enough to have such a crowd around, even if only part of the crowd
would be on 24/7 service
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But just think about the cash they are saving limiting order history to 6 months!
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| | | | | | | Author: | bb414973 | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 14:51 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 64 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, RobErNat writes:
| | In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
| | As I understand it, BL sellers and buyers are earning BL several million quid
a year via commission. Can I humbly suggest that some of this profit is redirected
into giving the platform an active customer support staff that is available 24-hours
per day. That such a site relies on volunteers to keep the wheels greased is
a bit perverse given the circumstances.
|
The site does not run on volunteers, only the forum and the catalog does (translators
of pages as well).
Development and Admin tasks are run by 'professionals' (= paid staff).
A 24/7 service just on the Admin team would require 4x as much people (8 in stead
of 2) to cover a full week, I doubt Bricklink is making enough to cover that
(considering there is also an IT team working during workdays)
And if you check online, BL is not making 'several' million per year.
I can't access US tax reports, but I'm sure a larger US seller can obtain
actual figures?
|
BL needs a dose of professionalism. If what I've read from the forum over
the last few days is correct, BL is a technology company whose tech is failing
left and right. Clearly 2 employed people are not enough. Tickets to the help
desk are often ignored, forum posts regarding errors and problems are ignored,
issues between buyers and sellers are not always moderated according to BL's
rules, etc. I simply don't believe that BL doesn't earn enough to provide
a genuine and effective increase in the level of customer support being offered.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | tEoS | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 15:12 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 69 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| "You get what you pay for." Since I've been a BL member I've seen the
cost of living skyrocket, yet BL has kept the fee structure the same. Be careful
what you ask for.
| | BL needs a dose of professionalism. If what I've read from the forum over
the last few days is correct, BL is a technology company whose tech is failing
left and right. Clearly 2 employed people are not enough. Tickets to the help
desk are often ignored, forum posts regarding errors and problems are ignored,
issues between buyers and sellers are not always moderated according to BL's
rules, etc. I simply don't believe that BL doesn't earn enough to provide
a genuine and effective increase in the level of customer support being offered.
|
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Hypertrophy | | Posted: | Jul 19, 2017 16:13 | | Subject: | Re: Employ real support staff | | Viewed: | 65 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, tEoS writes:
| | "You get what you pay for." Since I've been a BL member I've seen the
cost of living skyrocket, yet BL has kept the fee structure the same. Be careful
what you ask for.
| | BL needs a dose of professionalism. If what I've read from the forum over
the last few days is correct, BL is a technology company whose tech is failing
left and right. Clearly 2 employed people are not enough. Tickets to the help
desk are often ignored, forum posts regarding errors and problems are ignored,
issues between buyers and sellers are not always moderated according to BL's
rules, etc. I simply don't believe that BL doesn't earn enough to provide
a genuine and effective increase in the level of customer support being offered.
|
|
I'm certainly not for a baseless fee increase but, if the current structure
is not adequate, then something has to change. What if we started paying 4% three
years ago and that meant we were two years ahead with ongoing and finished developments
like Stud.io, Instant Checkout, Seller Tools, BL 2.0...etc...? I would have signed
up for that. My frustration is that deadlines are repeatedly missed and communication
is extremely poor. That's not a healthy way to operate a business.
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Belgium, Flemish Brabant
France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
USA, Georgia
United Kingdom, England
Netherlands, Gelderland
