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| | | Author: | Teup  | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 03:10 | | Subject: | Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 149 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | | Status: | Open | | Vote: | [Yes|No] | |
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| Again, can Bricklink please do something about the way the mininum average lot
value is explained to the buyer? I am getting many messages about it and find
myself explaining the same thing over and over. Please improve these descriptions
in the interface. Maybe by including an example, and by changing the terminology.
As is evident from many forum posts as well, many fresh buyers don't even
know what a "lot" is supposed to mean, let alone they will understand the concept
of minimum average lot value.
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| | | | | Author: | Teup | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 03:16 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 33 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | Again, can Bricklink please do something about the way the mininum average lot
value is explained to the buyer? I am getting many messages about it and find
myself explaining the same thing over and over. Please improve these descriptions
in the interface. Maybe by including an example, and by changing the terminology.
As is evident from many forum posts as well, many fresh buyers don't even
know what a "lot" is supposed to mean, let alone they will understand the concept
of minimum average lot value.
|
Maybe add suggestions: "Try increasing the quantities of some items in your cart,
add a more valuable item, or remove some low value items from your cart."
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| | | | | Author: | uvt203 | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 03:21 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 28 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| +1 - YES!
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | Again, can Bricklink please do something about the way the mininum average lot
value is explained to the buyer? I am getting many messages about it and find
myself explaining the same thing over and over. Please improve these descriptions
in the interface. Maybe by including an example, and by changing the terminology.
As is evident from many forum posts as well, many fresh buyers don't even
know what a "lot" is supposed to mean, let alone they will understand the concept
of minimum average lot value.
|
|
|
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| | | | | Author: | bje | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 03:53 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 40 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | Again, can Bricklink please do something about the way the mininum average lot
value is explained to the buyer? I am getting many messages about it and find
myself explaining the same thing over and over. Please improve these descriptions
in the interface. Maybe by including an example, and by changing the terminology.
As is evident from many forum posts as well, many fresh buyers don't even
know what a "lot" is supposed to mean, let alone they will understand the concept
of minimum average lot value.
|
Walk into store to buy bread, get to till, no you MUST buy 1 kilogram of fillet
steak as well so that the average price of the goods you buy is more than what
the bread costs, which is the only thing you need. Leave bread, walk out.
It does not matter how good you explain it, buyers do not understand how you
have an item on the shelf you are not willing to sell for the price you are advertising
it at, or for which you need a degree in mathematics to work out how many you
must put in a cart before you can, well, pay for it at checkout.
I would rather BL take this away altogether. You already have minimum buys to
avoid small orders, you can already set a minimum lot quantity for purchase.
Why give an impression that an item can ship by itself, when you as the seller
is not willing to sell it like that? It confuses buyers when sellers willfully
shows prices for goods they are not willing to sell at.
Rather suggest, if sellers really want to use this, that the quantities the buyer
wants cannot be added to the cart unless the minimum average is met automatically.
That way the cart is managed for the buyer and nobody has to know the why and
the wherefores of why an item cannot be bought for the price it is listed at.
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| | | | | | | Author: | Teup | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 04:10 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 31 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | Again, can Bricklink please do something about the way the mininum average lot
value is explained to the buyer? I am getting many messages about it and find
myself explaining the same thing over and over. Please improve these descriptions
in the interface. Maybe by including an example, and by changing the terminology.
As is evident from many forum posts as well, many fresh buyers don't even
know what a "lot" is supposed to mean, let alone they will understand the concept
of minimum average lot value.
|
Walk into store to buy bread, get to till, no you MUST buy 1 kilogram of fillet
steak as well so that the average price of the goods you buy is more than what
the bread costs, which is the only thing you need. Leave bread, walk out.
It does not matter how good you explain it, buyers do not understand how you
have an item on the shelf you are not willing to sell for the price you are advertising
it at, or for which you need a degree in mathematics to work out how many you
must put in a cart before you can, well, pay for it at checkout.
I would rather BL take this away altogether. You already have minimum buys to
avoid small orders, you can already set a minimum lot quantity for purchase.
Why give an impression that an item can ship by itself, when you as the seller
is not willing to sell it like that? It confuses buyers when sellers willfully
shows prices for goods they are not willing to sell at.
|
Trouble is, I wouldn't use it if it wasn't necessary - I just get flooded
with tiny lots if I don't use it. My pay per hour would make a huge drop.
In my own webshop I am not able to set such a minimum, and sometimes that really
gets me the "order from hell" that sucks up all the time of the day that I planned
to use for 10 other orders on my list, for only €50 pay. Not fun for me and not
fun for the other 10 buyers.
On the one hand, I fully understand that from an interface point of view it is
not really good (you do not get immediate feedback), on the other hand it's
simply necessary for me to do business. So we best look into ways of making the
interface help out as good as possible.
| | Rather suggest, if sellers really want to use this, that the quantities the buyer
wants cannot be added to the cart unless the minimum average is met automatically.
That way the cart is managed for the buyer and nobody has to know the why and
the wherefores of why an item cannot be bought for the price it is listed at.
|
Good suggestion, can't really decide right away whether this would be good
or bad, but it's definitely good to write such ideas down and investigate
them. (I guess the downside would be that your first lot immediately needs to
meet the criterium, which is unfortunate if you came for a small plate but also
plan to add a minifig). A colour marking in the cart of which lots are below
the threshold might also help.
Whatever improves the interface to make the buying experience more positive,
I'm all for it, so it's good to keep these ideas coming.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | bje | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 04:39 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 31 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
|
|
...
| |
Trouble is, I wouldn't use it if it wasn't necessary - I just get flooded
with tiny lots if I don't use it. My pay per hour would make a huge drop.
In my own webshop I am not able to set such a minimum, and sometimes that really
gets me the "order from hell" that sucks up all the time of the day that I planned
to use for 10 other orders on my list, for only €50 pay. Not fun for me and not
fun for the other 10 buyers.
|
Not fun or particular good use of time for a buyer to sit for two hours and still
cannot checkout either. I've had some of these where I sit for 30 minutes
and then go what the hell, let me buy everything in the store. Then I still cannot
checkout, because I still have not met the minimum lot average. I agree you need
a happy medium, but your pay per hour is dependent on your selling price less
overheads, not on buyers seeing listings at prices you are not willing to sell
at.
| |
On the one hand, I fully understand that from an interface point of view it is
not really good (you do not get immediate feedback), on the other hand it's
simply necessary for me to do business. So we best look into ways of making the
interface help out as good as possible.
|
On the balance of averages, does it help when buyers contact you and you explain
it to them better than BL does? In other words, do you close the sale to that
particular buyer once you have answered his question and do you get a return
for the effort you made to assist the buyer to checkout? Or do you never hear
from the buyer again?
| |
| | Rather suggest, if sellers really want to use this, that the quantities the buyer
wants cannot be added to the cart unless the minimum average is met automatically.
That way the cart is managed for the buyer and nobody has to know the why and
the wherefores of why an item cannot be bought for the price it is listed at.
|
Good suggestion, can't really decide right away whether this would be good
or bad, but it's definitely good to write such ideas down and investigate
them. (I guess the downside would be that your first lot immediately needs to
meet the criterium, which is unfortunate if you came for a small plate but also
plan to add a minifig).
|
Then your terms were not read
| | A colour marking in the cart of which lots are below
the threshold might also help.
|
Possibly, as long as the buyer knows immediately that there is some difference
and do not like, at present, either have to keep a running total in the head
or toggle between the store and the cart incessantly. In countries like my own
where data is expensive, this adds insult to an already horrible shopping experience.
| |
Whatever improves the interface to make the buying experience more positive,
I'm all for it, so it's good to keep these ideas coming.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Teup | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 05:32 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 25 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
|
|
...
| |
Trouble is, I wouldn't use it if it wasn't necessary - I just get flooded
with tiny lots if I don't use it. My pay per hour would make a huge drop.
In my own webshop I am not able to set such a minimum, and sometimes that really
gets me the "order from hell" that sucks up all the time of the day that I planned
to use for 10 other orders on my list, for only €50 pay. Not fun for me and not
fun for the other 10 buyers.
|
Not fun or particular good use of time for a buyer to sit for two hours and still
cannot checkout either. I've had some of these where I sit for 30 minutes
and then go what the hell, let me buy everything in the store. Then I still cannot
checkout, because I still have not met the minimum lot average. I agree you need
a happy medium, but your pay per hour is dependent on your selling price less
overheads, not on buyers seeing listings at prices you are not willing to sell
at.
|
I understand that, and I get the comparison to buying at the supermarket. But
let's also appreciate how awesome it is that this is a marketplace where
you have thousands of items to pick from that are all just a few cents each,
and you can mostly buy whatever quantity you like. It's a rather unique webshop
experience and at least in my opinion, when I think about it, it's pretty
impressive that it all works. All that a seller like me would ask for, is that
if you're only going for several different tiny plates, then at least take
10 and not 3. I get that a supermarket doesn't force you to buy several of
an item, but on the other hand they offer packs of rice and not individual grains
of rice. You may not get ultimate freedom, but IMO you do get a heck of
a lot of freedom to buy what you want on Bricklink.
I think key here is of course interfacing, but it also might be the height of
the mininum average lot value. I get that it can lead to unpleasant surprises
and a lot of work for nothing as a buyer if you bump into a minimum of €1
or more. Then I agree with your point of view. But if it's something like
€0.50, then it's really just to cut out that minority of orders that spoil
the business a little. Yes, a seller can increase prices, but if 90% of the orders
are just fine, I wouldn't want to be charging those buyers extra for that
1 in 10 order that I rather decline. While I currently have it a little higher,
I wouldn't mind if Bricklink decided to cap it at €0.50 if that would save
a lot of frustration on a daily basis.
| | On the balance of averages, does it help when buyers contact you and you explain
it to them better than BL does? In other words, do you close the sale to that
particular buyer once you have answered his question and do you get a return
for the effort you made to assist the buyer to checkout? Or do you never hear
from the buyer again?
|
I think it's about 50-50..
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 05:44 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 21 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| | | I get that a supermarket doesn't force you to buy several of
an item, but on the other hand they offer packs of rice and not individual grains
of rice. You may not get ultimate freedom, but IMO you do get a heck of
a lot of freedom to buy what you want on Bricklink.
|
I guess you could try going into a supermarket and going to the deli counter
where they put each item into a different plastic pot when you ask for them and
then ask for one green olive, one black olive, one olive with a little bit of
pepper in it, one sun-dried tomato, a single slice of salami, a prawn, 5g Cheddar,
5g Edam, 5g Stilton, etc.
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | bje | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 06:36 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 26 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
|
|
|
...
I understand that, and I get the comparison to buying at the supermarket. But
let's also appreciate how awesome it is that this is a marketplace where
you have thousands of items to pick from that are all just a few cents each,
and you can mostly buy whatever quantity you like. It's a rather unique webshop
experience and at least in my opinion, when I think about it, it's pretty
impressive that it all works. All that a seller like me would ask for, is that
if you're only going for several different tiny plates, then at least take
10 and not 3. I get that a supermarket doesn't force you to buy several of
an item, but on the other hand they offer packs of rice and not individual grains
of rice. You may not get ultimate freedom, but IMO you do get a heck of
a lot of freedom to buy what you want on Bricklink.
|
My example was hyperbolic.
I do from time to time need beads for fishing rigs and lures, for that I visit
bead shops. I've never been charged extra for buying exact quantities or
for not buying in pre-packs only or being forced to buy more than what I need.
I did phone the owner of a beading store a few minutes ago and asked her if she
would consider such imitations for her customers given that her inventory is
a lot of small low priced loose items which must be packed and counted at the
till. She thought the idea utterly without merit. Maybe we are just less sophisticated
here when it comes to the amount of work we do for whatever money.
And BL also gives you the option to charge an extra fee per shipping option on
average minimum lot value, so if it is important to you that a buyer values your
time, make the buyer pay for it with proper disclosure. Granted, some buyers
are going to moan about the fee, but at least they can see it in the cart and
can check out easier.
...
| |
| | On the balance of averages, does it help when buyers contact you and you explain
it to them better than BL does? In other words, do you close the sale to that
particular buyer once you have answered his question and do you get a return
for the effort you made to assist the buyer to checkout? Or do you never hear
from the buyer again?
|
I think it's about 50-50..
|
So in that case, for the buyers who already contact you about this issue, 50%
walk away regardless of how well you as the store owner explain it to them and
you do not get increased sales as a result. I really thought it would be less
than that number and that a good explanation and some understanding would make
buyers appreciate the extra effort.
And do not get me wrong, I fully understand where you are coming from. But I
still think customers would rather pay more than have restrictions or things
they do not understand. This is a really good example:
A large supermarket chain here sell garlic loose at R199.99 per kilogram.
They also sell two bulbs in a prepacked netted bag for R39.99 (the price per
kilo is not shown, it shown as R39.99 ea)
The only advantage the customer has to use the netted bag option, is that the
garlic they want do not have to be weighed. It is the same product.
Now, I asked 12 customers in the store the other day which is cheaper. EVERY
ONE of them said the R39.99 item is the cheaper and they would buy that one.
The fresh produce manager told me they sell more of those netted bags than loose
garlic at any time.
I did not speak further. The sad fact is that the pre-packed bag weighs about
75 grams. 75 grams of loose garlic is R14.99, including a packet to carry it
in. The price difference is 166%, which shoppers all happily pay because it is
convenient.
I give this example not to say that customers are stupid, but there is a lot
to be said for making a thing convenient and easily accessible.
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Teup | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 07:23 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 27 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
|
|
|
...
I understand that, and I get the comparison to buying at the supermarket. But
let's also appreciate how awesome it is that this is a marketplace where
you have thousands of items to pick from that are all just a few cents each,
and you can mostly buy whatever quantity you like. It's a rather unique webshop
experience and at least in my opinion, when I think about it, it's pretty
impressive that it all works. All that a seller like me would ask for, is that
if you're only going for several different tiny plates, then at least take
10 and not 3. I get that a supermarket doesn't force you to buy several of
an item, but on the other hand they offer packs of rice and not individual grains
of rice. You may not get ultimate freedom, but IMO you do get a heck of
a lot of freedom to buy what you want on Bricklink.
|
My example was hyperbolic.
I do from time to time need beads for fishing rigs and lures, for that I visit
bead shops. I've never been charged extra for buying exact quantities or
for not buying in pre-packs only or being forced to buy more than what I need.
I did phone the owner of a beading store a few minutes ago and asked her if she
would consider such imitations for her customers given that her inventory is
a lot of small low priced loose items which must be packed and counted at the
till. She thought the idea utterly without merit. Maybe we are just less sophisticated
here when it comes to the amount of work we do for whatever money.
And BL also gives you the option to charge an extra fee per shipping option on
average minimum lot value, so if it is important to you that a buyer values your
time, make the buyer pay for it with proper disclosure. Granted, some buyers
are going to moan about the fee, but at least they can see it in the cart and
can check out easier.
...
| |
| | On the balance of averages, does it help when buyers contact you and you explain
it to them better than BL does? In other words, do you close the sale to that
particular buyer once you have answered his question and do you get a return
for the effort you made to assist the buyer to checkout? Or do you never hear
from the buyer again?
|
I think it's about 50-50..
|
So in that case, for the buyers who already contact you about this issue, 50%
walk away regardless of how well you as the store owner explain it to them and
you do not get increased sales as a result. I really thought it would be less
than that number and that a good explanation and some understanding would make
buyers appreciate the extra effort.
And do not get me wrong, I fully understand where you are coming from. But I
still think customers would rather pay more than have restrictions or things
they do not understand. This is a really good example:
A large supermarket chain here sell garlic loose at R199.99 per kilogram.
They also sell two bulbs in a prepacked netted bag for R39.99 (the price per
kilo is not shown, it shown as R39.99 ea)
The only advantage the customer has to use the netted bag option, is that the
garlic they want do not have to be weighed. It is the same product.
Now, I asked 12 customers in the store the other day which is cheaper. EVERY
ONE of them said the R39.99 item is the cheaper and they would buy that one.
The fresh produce manager told me they sell more of those netted bags than loose
garlic at any time.
I did not speak further. The sad fact is that the pre-packed bag weighs about
75 grams. 75 grams of loose garlic is R14.99, including a packet to carry it
in. The price difference is 166%, which shoppers all happily pay because it is
convenient.
I give this example not to say that customers are stupid, but there is a lot
to be said for making a thing convenient and easily accessible.
|
Well, for a physical store it would not make sense to consider restrictions since
the opening hours is their work time anyway. The thing about a webshop is that
the worktime is determined by the amount of work - basically by the number of
lots.
As for the garlic example, yes, that makes perfect sense. But you also noted:
It is convenient for everybody in that case to "overprice" a little for
convenience. Here I'm talking about a situation where a select few buyers
take up a lot of my order processing capacity. I really don't want to offer
more convenience at higher prices if that convenience is not relevant for 90%
of the buyers.
Now, if there would be a way to offer both the convenience at cost, and
the restricted way at lower price, that would be nice. I know there is tiered
pricing and bulk amounts, but such things are difficult to manange when you have
1 million parts (Bricklink, are you listening? It would be easier if the tiered
pricing parameters were not absolute prices but discount percentages, so that
you can modify the base price without having to mess with the tiers)
Best thing I can think of is to let the buyer unlock the option to waive the
min lot average by paying an extra fee, but I'm doubting whether that'd
be a good thing, as fees tend to make things unclear..
As for buyers not going through with the order after my explanation: I really
don't mind that. I was just requesting this feature so that both me and the
buyers don't need to keep sending these messages. If their choice is to walk
away, then that is fine, because I have enough work to do. On the other hand
I agree we shouldn't waste the buyer's time, that's why I don't
set my min average lot to €1, which from my selfish perspective would be best
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| | | | | | | Author: | M_R | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 04:24 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 25 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, bje writes:
| |
Rather suggest, if sellers really want to use this, that the quantities the buyer
wants cannot be added to the cart unless the minimum average is met automatically.
That way the cart is managed for the buyer and nobody has to know the why and
the wherefores of why an item cannot be bought for the price it is listed at.
|
But that would lead to other problems. Like Teup wrote about the first
item has to be over the minimum average. And the orders real minimum average
isn´t calculated until the buyer has filled the cart with all the things he/she
wants so having a block on adding lover priced items, and without explaination,
will cause even more frustration. The only way around that suggestion is to make
the buyr add the items in the "right" order - most expensive lot first and downwards
until they´re add the minimum average limit, a block there would work. But it
seems highly unlikely that it is an easy and good way to solve the "problem"
at hand.
|
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 04:36 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 22 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, M_R writes:
| | In Suggestions, bje writes:
| |
Rather suggest, if sellers really want to use this, that the quantities the buyer
wants cannot be added to the cart unless the minimum average is met automatically.
That way the cart is managed for the buyer and nobody has to know the why and
the wherefores of why an item cannot be bought for the price it is listed at.
|
But that would lead to other problems. Like Teup wrote about the first
item has to be over the minimum average. And the orders real minimum average
isn´t calculated until the buyer has filled the cart with all the things he/she
wants so having a block on adding lover priced items, and without explaination,
will cause even more frustration. The only way around that suggestion is to make
the buyr add the items in the "right" order - most expensive lot first and downwards
until they´re add the minimum average limit, a block there would work. But it
seems highly unlikely that it is an easy and good way to solve the "problem"
at hand.
|
Very true. Maybe an alternative is to have a warning sign like a red triangle
with a ! in it in the cart to show that you will not be able to checkout with
the current cart if you do not meet minimum order values, minimum lot values,
and so on.
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| | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 04:44 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 18 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| | | I would rather BL take this away altogether. You already have minimum buys to
avoid small orders, you can already set a minimum lot quantity for purchase.
Why give an impression that an item can ship by itself, when you as the seller
is not willing to sell it like that? It confuses buyers when sellers willfully
shows prices for goods they are not willing to sell at.
|
That doesn't always help though.
If a store has a $10 minimum and a $1 lot average, then a buyer can buy a $10
item plus another 9 1c items and checkout.
If they have just a $10 minimum, then another buyer can buy 1000 different 1c
items. What a terrible order to pick. Of course, a seller can bag those 1c items
up to sell in quantities of 100, with a $10 minimum. So now a buyer can buy 10
bags of 100 parts but hav no choice to buy less if that is all they need.
But what if the buyer only wants one cheap item to go along with their expensive
part? They are forced to buy 100 of the cheap part even though they only want
one, or not buy that part at all.
I have a minimum lot value and a store minimum but I frequently sell low numbers
of cheap parts to those people that are also buying more expensive parts. I don't
mind those orders. However, I don't want orders that are for many different
low priced parts, even if they meet the order minimum. The minimum lot value
stops those.
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| | | | | Author: | popsicle | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 04:51 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 45 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | Again, can Bricklink please do something about the way the mininum average lot
value is explained to the buyer? I am getting many messages about it and find
myself explaining the same thing over and over. Please improve these descriptions
in the interface. Maybe by including an example, and by changing the terminology.
As is evident from many forum posts as well, many fresh buyers don't even
know what a "lot" is supposed to mean, let alone they will understand the concept
of minimum average lot value.
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I agree. It's been a reoccurring expressed confusion for some time.
Start with a more concise definition of the term "lot" and it's specific
applications for both buyer and seller on BL.
I also like your idea of suggestions as examples in a popup window. Examples
tend to paint picture in our minds for a more visceral understanding, and why
we use them.
-popsicle
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| | | | | | | Author: | yensid | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 05:22 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 31 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| What about being able to increase the handling fee based on the lot count? I
agree that the average lot limit is confusion for customers and ultimately leads
to a poor customer experience and potential loss of sales. But I also agree
that pulling an order with 700 lots of 1-2 pieces each is labor intensive. Being
able to increase the handling fee after 200 lots, for example, would cover the
added labor and i think be clear to the customer.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | Teup | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 05:38 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 23 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, yensid writes:
| | What about being able to increase the handling fee based on the lot count? I
agree that the average lot limit is confusion for customers and ultimately leads
to a poor customer experience and potential loss of sales. But I also agree
that pulling an order with 700 lots of 1-2 pieces each is labor intensive. Being
able to increase the handling fee after 200 lots, for example, would cover the
added labor and i think be clear to the customer.
|
From the seller's persective that would be a great solution, but for the
buyer it would be frustrating because it wouldn't be transparent what they
are going to be paying. I prefer to offer buyers just the price of the items
and 1 single charge for shipping&handling that they can see in advance, to keep
it a smooth shopping experience.
Just thinking out loud - One way it can be done, is if the buyer could
choose to accept an extra handling fee. The system could say "your order does
not meet the minimum lot average etc., in order to continue, change it or accept
this added charge". But if course, that can lead to exploitation by sellers who
will force that extra charge onto buyers whenever their lot average is under
€10...
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | yensid | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 06:22 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 24 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, yensid writes:
| | What about being able to increase the handling fee based on the lot count? I
agree that the average lot limit is confusion for customers and ultimately leads
to a poor customer experience and potential loss of sales. But I also agree
that pulling an order with 700 lots of 1-2 pieces each is labor intensive. Being
able to increase the handling fee after 200 lots, for example, would cover the
added labor and i think be clear to the customer.
|
From the seller's persective that would be a great solution, but for the
buyer it would be frustrating because it wouldn't be transparent what they
are going to be paying. I prefer to offer buyers just the price of the items
and 1 single charge for shipping&handling that they can see in advance, to keep
it a smooth shopping experience.
Just thinking out loud - One way it can be done, is if the buyer could
choose to accept an extra handling fee. The system could say "your order does
not meet the minimum lot average etc., in order to continue, change it or accept
this added charge". But if course, that can lead to exploitation by sellers who
will force that extra charge onto buyers whenever their lot average is under
€10...
|
You could define it in clearly in your terms page, just like you do now with
S&H. Similar to having shipping cost based on weight, handling based on lot
count. For those customer that do not read the terms, they wouldn’t know any
different. When they check out, it would just be $3 instead of $2. They key
being that there would not be any error preventing checkout and irritating the
customer. Any hurtle for the customer to overcome is a potential for them to
give up and a lost sale.
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | bje | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 06:39 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 21 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
|
| In Suggestions, yensid writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, yensid writes:
| | What about being able to increase the handling fee based on the lot count? I
agree that the average lot limit is confusion for customers and ultimately leads
to a poor customer experience and potential loss of sales. But I also agree
that pulling an order with 700 lots of 1-2 pieces each is labor intensive. Being
able to increase the handling fee after 200 lots, for example, would cover the
added labor and i think be clear to the customer.
|
From the seller's persective that would be a great solution, but for the
buyer it would be frustrating because it wouldn't be transparent what they
are going to be paying. I prefer to offer buyers just the price of the items
and 1 single charge for shipping&handling that they can see in advance, to keep
it a smooth shopping experience.
Just thinking out loud - One way it can be done, is if the buyer could
choose to accept an extra handling fee. The system could say "your order does
not meet the minimum lot average etc., in order to continue, change it or accept
this added charge". But if course, that can lead to exploitation by sellers who
will force that extra charge onto buyers whenever their lot average is under
€10...
|
You could define it in clearly in your terms page, just like you do now with
S&H. Similar to having shipping cost based on weight, handling based on lot
count. For those customer that do not read the terms, they wouldn’t know any
different. When they check out, it would just be $3 instead of $2. They key
being that there would not be any error preventing checkout and irritating the
customer. Any hurtle for the customer to overcome is a potential for them to
give up and a lost sale.
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It is already available, per shipping method...
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | yensid | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 17:24 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 42 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, bje writes:
| | In Suggestions, yensid writes:
| | In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | In Suggestions, yensid writes:
| | What about being able to increase the handling fee based on the lot count? I
agree that the average lot limit is confusion for customers and ultimately leads
to a poor customer experience and potential loss of sales. But I also agree
that pulling an order with 700 lots of 1-2 pieces each is labor intensive. Being
able to increase the handling fee after 200 lots, for example, would cover the
added labor and i think be clear to the customer.
|
From the seller's persective that would be a great solution, but for the
buyer it would be frustrating because it wouldn't be transparent what they
are going to be paying. I prefer to offer buyers just the price of the items
and 1 single charge for shipping&handling that they can see in advance, to keep
it a smooth shopping experience.
Just thinking out loud - One way it can be done, is if the buyer could
choose to accept an extra handling fee. The system could say "your order does
not meet the minimum lot average etc., in order to continue, change it or accept
this added charge". But if course, that can lead to exploitation by sellers who
will force that extra charge onto buyers whenever their lot average is under
€10...
|
You could define it in clearly in your terms page, just like you do now with
S&H. Similar to having shipping cost based on weight, handling based on lot
count. For those customer that do not read the terms, they wouldn’t know any
different. When they check out, it would just be $3 instead of $2. They key
being that there would not be any error preventing checkout and irritating the
customer. Any hurtle for the customer to overcome is a potential for them to
give up and a lost sale.
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It is already available, per shipping method...
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That is on lot "value" not lot "count". It's hard to explain to a customer
that is your average lot value is under a certain amount, you will get a fee.
Most customers do not understand lot value.
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| | | | | Author: | DamoB | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 08:16 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 28 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | Again, can Bricklink please do something about the way the mininum average lot
value is explained to the buyer? I am getting many messages about it and find
myself explaining the same thing over and over. Please improve these descriptions
in the interface. Maybe by including an example, and by changing the terminology.
As is evident from many forum posts as well, many fresh buyers don't even
know what a "lot" is supposed to mean, let alone they will understand the concept
of minimum average lot value.
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Minimum average lot value is a massive turn off for me as a buyer. I have disliked
two stores in the last week because of minimum average lot value meaning that
they will no longer turn up on my store filter, and as I usually buy small amounts
I can see me disliking any more that I come across. It's frustrating when
I've carefully built up my carts to find that I haven't met minimum average
and have to dislike the store and start over.
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| | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 09:17 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 30 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| | | Minimum average lot value is a massive turn off for me as a buyer. I have disliked
two stores in the last week because of minimum average lot value meaning that
they will no longer turn up on my store filter, and as I usually buy small amounts
I can see me disliking any more that I come across. It's frustrating when
I've carefully built up my carts to find that I haven't met minimum average
and have to dislike the store and start over.
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As soon as you enter a store, any minimum lot value is display right next to
the cart. If you look there first then you don't need to waste time building
a cart just to find this out at checkout.
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| | | | | Author: | montana_girl | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 10:17 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 36 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| In Suggestions, Teup writes:
| | Again, can Bricklink please do something about the way the mininum average lot
value is explained to the buyer? I am getting many messages about it and find
myself explaining the same thing over and over. Please improve these descriptions
in the interface. Maybe by including an example, and by changing the terminology.
As is evident from many forum posts as well, many fresh buyers don't even
know what a "lot" is supposed to mean, let alone they will understand the concept
of minimum average lot value.
|
As a seller, I get it. I have a small store, so I don't use this option,
but I can see it being useful for bigger stores that don't want to use their
time to pull orders with 1 - 3 part per lot. (I've spent hours pulling 400+
orders that had 200-300 lots)
As a buyer, it's a major turnoff for me and will usually back out of a store
that has this set up. When I buy, I am looking for just one or two parts per
lot to complete a set, so I never make the average lot amount.
Basically, I think this is great option for bigger stores that are selling more
bulk parts than individual parts. But not a great option for smaller stores
that don't have much inventory to begin with.
And to the original post - a better explanation with examples would be helpful
to the buyer. 
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| | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Sep 18, 2020 11:33 | | Subject: | Re: Please improve min average lot explanation | | Viewed: | 28 times | | Topic: | Suggestions | |
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| | | As a buyer, it's a major turnoff for me and will usually back out of a store
that has this set up. When I buy, I am looking for just one or two parts per
lot to complete a set, so I never make the average lot amount.
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In this case, the feature is working as it should. If the buyer only wants to
buy 1-2 parts of many cheap lots, and the seller doesn't want to sell only
1-2 parts of many cheap lots, then the minimum lot value should send the buyer
elsewhere. The seller doesn't want the type of order the buyer is wanting
to place. Buyers may be turned off by minimum lot values, but then sellers are
turned off by high lot count but low value orders. If there is no common ground,
there is no sale.
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Netherlands, Utrecht
Denmark
South Africa, Western Cape
United Kingdom, England
Sweden, Södermanland
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