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| | | Author: | zzed  | | Posted: | Nov 11, 2023 03:00 | | Subject: | Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 253 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| This week I made a very expensive mistake in Bricklink. I'm so angry with
myself. Nobody did anything "wrong". I just wasn't savvy with knowing
the ropes.
I'd like to spin it positive and see your tips so others can avoid pitfalls.
Or maybe just take a moment to laugh at our silly selves.
So, what Bricklink lessons have you learned.... or possibly had burned into your
brain?
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| | | | | Author: | kittybrickz | | Posted: | Nov 11, 2023 03:22 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 127 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| I'm a new store in Canada, and got my first EU customer the day BL shut down.
Thought i was doing my customer a favor when i quoted and shipped the item outside
BL, as after 2 days i wasn't sure when it would reopen.
I didn't know about EU VAT tax and the documentation process, so i had to
refund them so BL cod collect VAT. But because I didn't send the documentation
i
With the parcel, they will probably pay VAT twice.
It was thankfully just a minifig, but no one is here to lose money.
Have an epic day!
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| | | | | | | Author: | zzed | | Posted: | Nov 11, 2023 06:15 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 98 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| My lesson was about the Auto-select tool. Shopping would be overwhelming without
this great tool.
Among the pieces in my wish list, I needed 16 of a particular part of which most
shops had only 1 or 2. Auto-select chose a store with a large quantity. That
store’s price was $3.80 each for a 30 cent part, and as I said, I needed 16.
Other parts in that cart were priced high too. But I trusted that the Auto-select
had calculated the best option, considering that shipping can add up fast.
I paid for my carts. Then, out of curiosity, I bookmarked the expensive shop
as disliked to eliminate it from selection and then ran the Auto-select tool
again for the same wish lists. To my horror, it then selected a combination
totaling $143 (with shipping) instead of the $244 I just paid.
Lesson: In the future, if Auto-select chooses an unusually expensive
shop, I’m going to un-like it and run the tool a second time to confirm it was
the best choice before buying.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | abriggs | | Posted: | Nov 11, 2023 09:45 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 89 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, zzed writes:
| | My lesson was about the Auto-select tool. Shopping would be overwhelming without
this great tool.
Among the pieces in my wish list, I needed 16 of a particular part of which most
shops had only 1 or 2. Auto-select chose a store with a large quantity. That
store’s price was $3.80 each for a 30 cent part, and as I said, I needed 16.
Other parts in that cart were priced high too. But I trusted that the Auto-select
had calculated the best option, considering that shipping can add up fast.
I paid for my carts. Then, out of curiosity, I bookmarked the expensive shop
as disliked to eliminate it from selection and then ran the Auto-select tool
again for the same wish lists. To my horror, it then selected a combination
totaling $143 (with shipping) instead of the $244 I just paid.
Lesson: In the future, if Auto-select chooses an unusually expensive
shop, I’m going to un-like it and run the tool a second time to confirm it was
the best choice before buying.
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Thanks for sharing! That is an expensive mistake but you're going to make
other users smarter on how to use Auto-select. I get frustrated when it pops
up expensive stores.
My most expensive mistake was shipping a minifig to the wrong address. I was
dealing with multiple orders and wasn't careful. Luckily the recipient was
willing to work with me. I sent him a shipping label to send it back but ended
up refunding the intended buyer the purchase price and lost the sale.
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| | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Nov 11, 2023 22:31 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 91 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, zzed writes:
| | This week I made a very expensive mistake in Bricklink. I'm so angry with
myself. Nobody did anything "wrong". I just wasn't savvy with knowing
the ropes.
I'd like to spin it positive and see your tips so others can avoid pitfalls.
Or maybe just take a moment to laugh at our silly selves.
So, what Bricklink lessons have you learned.... or possibly had burned into your
brain?
|
Never order pineapple on pizza: https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1438123
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| | | | | Author: | Shiny_Stuff | | Posted: | Nov 11, 2023 23:01 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 99 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, zzed writes:
| | This week I made a very expensive mistake in Bricklink. I'm so angry with
myself. Nobody did anything "wrong". I just wasn't savvy with knowing
the ropes.
I'd like to spin it positive and see your tips so others can avoid pitfalls.
Or maybe just take a moment to laugh at our silly selves.
So, what Bricklink lessons have you learned.... or possibly had burned into your
brain?
|
Despite very careful pricing, errors are still possible. Especially when switching
from pricing 5 cent parts to 5 dollar parts. Decimal Points and all that.
What I Learned: To always check my own shop after doing a bunch of manual adds
or file uploads. Sort my shop by Lowest Price and then by Highest Price to check
for possible pricing mistakes. [1]
Reason: I once priced an item at 12 cents that was supposed to be 12 dollars.
I had 40 pieces. The price had been like that for several days after I added
the item. Another BL seller caught it before I did. I honored the sale. It
cost me potential income of $480.
The worst part is -- It was a Left piece, for which I also had the Right
piece. So, I not only lost out on possibly $480, but I had also devalued the
matching piece by no longer having both in stock for buyers.
Also, be careful with decimal points when instituting Bulk Pricing. I once added
too many zero to a bulk price, making the selling price .0004 cents instead of
.04
This error, on an item of very high quantity, also cost me a significant sum.
But, I honored the price and completed the sale.
* * *
[1] For many years, BL always displayed shop items in the EXACTLY the order they
were added or uploaded, by Lot ID number. So, it was somewhat easier to spot
errors. Nowadays, tho, BL shows shop items in random, shuffled order (the order
of which changes from day to day). The shuffle makes it tougher to spot errors,
I think.
____
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| | | | | | | Author: | Nubs_Select | | Posted: | Nov 11, 2023 23:27 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 96 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| | | Also, be careful with decimal points when instituting Bulk Pricing. I once added
too many zero to a bulk price, making the selling price .0004 cents instead of
.04
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I remember buying a lot like that I got over 300
for sub 1 cent each do to an error like that
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | zzed | | Posted: | Nov 12, 2023 03:50 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 79 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| Ah yes, bulk. Last summer, my wish lists included a couple leaves and a couple
cheese slopes. I failed to notice that Auto-select chose one lot of 200 leaves
and one lot of 200 trans-orange cheese slopes. I didn’t even know that was a
thing. Fortunately, they were inexpensive parts. It gave me a laugh.
Lesson: Check the carts not only for unexpectedly high prices but also
for unexpectedly high quantities.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | LeeGo73 | | Posted: | Nov 12, 2023 05:46 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 62 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, Nubs_Select writes:
| | | | Also, be careful with decimal points when instituting Bulk Pricing. I once added
too many zero to a bulk price, making the selling price .0004 cents instead of
.04
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I remember buying a lot like that I got over 300
for sub 1 cent each do to an error like that
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Why not inform the seller instead?
I once found a seller offering 80 sets of 75187 for £1 each. Clearly a mistake.
Contacted him to inform him before somebody took his offer.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Nubs_Select | | Posted: | Nov 13, 2023 00:11 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 68 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, LeeGo73 writes:
| | In General, Nubs_Select writes:
| | | | Also, be careful with decimal points when instituting Bulk Pricing. I once added
too many zero to a bulk price, making the selling price .0004 cents instead of
.04
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I remember buying a lot like that I got over 300
for sub 1 cent each do to an error like that
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Why not inform the seller instead?
I once found a seller offering 80 sets of 75187 for £1 each. Clearly a mistake.
Contacted him to inform him before somebody took his offer.
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I was spending hundreds with them and if they messaged me about it I would have
canceled that item but they had had them for sale for a long time and they were
only like 20 cents each at the prior bulk amount (plus whenever possible I avoid
sending messages out) so I thought I’d take a chance and they shipped them out
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| | | | | | | Author: | Stellar | | Posted: | Nov 12, 2023 05:40 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 61 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, Shiny_Stuff writes:
| | In General, zzed writes:
| | This week I made a very expensive mistake in Bricklink. I'm so angry with
myself. Nobody did anything "wrong". I just wasn't savvy with knowing
the ropes.
I'd like to spin it positive and see your tips so others can avoid pitfalls.
Or maybe just take a moment to laugh at our silly selves.
So, what Bricklink lessons have you learned.... or possibly had burned into your
brain?
|
Despite very careful pricing, errors are still possible. Especially when switching
from pricing 5 cent parts to 5 dollar parts. Decimal Points and all that.
What I Learned: To always check my own shop after doing a bunch of manual adds
or file uploads. Sort my shop by Lowest Price and then by Highest Price to check
for possible pricing mistakes. [1]
Reason: I once priced an item at 12 cents that was supposed to be 12 dollars.
I had 40 pieces. The price had been like that for several days after I added
the item. Another BL seller caught it before I did. I honored the sale. It
cost me potential income of $480.
The worst part is -- It was a Left piece, for which I also had the Right
piece. So, I not only lost out on possibly $480, but I had also devalued the
matching piece by no longer having both in stock for buyers.
Also, be careful with decimal points when instituting Bulk Pricing. I once added
too many zero to a bulk price, making the selling price .0004 cents instead of
.04
This error, on an item of very high quantity, also cost me a significant sum.
But, I honored the price and completed the sale.
* * *
[1] For many years, BL always displayed shop items in the EXACTLY the order they
were added or uploaded, by Lot ID number. So, it was somewhat easier to spot
errors. Nowadays, tho, BL shows shop items in random, shuffled order (the order
of which changes from day to day). The shuffle makes it tougher to spot errors,
I think.
____
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I also mistakenly priced some lots to 0.01 and noticed when sold, I too honored
the sale.
BTW regarding your [1] if you go to your store front page you can sort by Date
Added - Down to see new lots. Also on your store inventory page you can sort
by Date Listed.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | Shiny_Stuff | | Posted: | Nov 12, 2023 09:28 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 52 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, Stellar writes:
| |
BTW regarding your [1] if you go to your store front page you can sort by Date
Added - Down to see new lots. Also on your store inventory page you can sort
by Date Listed.
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Yes, I do that. But even when listed by date, the lots are in shuffled, mixed
up order and NOT in order by Lot ID number.
Example from my shop:
Lot ID: 3757 16260
Lot ID: 3757 16327
Lot ID: 3755 73304
Lot ID: 3756 30464
Lot ID: 3755 73287
Lot ID: 3755 73286
Lot ID: 3756 30462
Lot ID: 3757 16262
Lot ID: 3757 16261
Lot ID: 3756 30771
Lot ID: 3756 30463
That is obviously NOT the order in which I uploaded or added the items. There
are only two pairs of items listed in sequential order.
That is not order at all but random chaos.
It has been explained to me in previous forum posts (many months ago) why this
occurs and why it will never go back to the way it was previously with all lots
in exact numerical order. But that does NOT mean that I LIKE the explanation
or the reason for it.
I don't even have OCD (much). I like randomness in life; I like organized
chaos. Strict organization is not my thing. But there are times when I like
numbered items to be IN ORDER. That is why they are numbered.
____
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| | | | | | | Author: | abriggs | | Posted: | Nov 12, 2023 11:12 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 59 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| That's sad the buyer didn't contact you to let you know the mistake and
took advantage instead. The buyer had to have known what he was getting and
that it was a "steal" of a deal.
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| | | | | Author: | pcthurman | | Posted: | Nov 20, 2023 13:18 | | Subject: | Re: Bricklink lessons you learned the hard way? | | Viewed: | 51 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, zzed writes:
| | This week I made a very expensive mistake in Bricklink. I'm so angry with
myself. Nobody did anything "wrong". I just wasn't savvy with knowing
the ropes.
I'd like to spin it positive and see your tips so others can avoid pitfalls.
Or maybe just take a moment to laugh at our silly selves.
So, what Bricklink lessons have you learned.... or possibly had burned into your
brain?
|
My biggest mistake was to order an item thinking the store I was ordering from
had the part listed correctly. I receive my order and realize the part was the
wrong variant. I contact the store, but they do not have to correct part.
This was for and I needed 3. I had also placed 2 other
orders at the same time and when those orders arrived, I was horrified to find
that those stores also sent me the wrong part. So now I had 3 that
I didn't need and none of the shops I had ordered from had the correct part.
I found another shop that had the x264 listed and contacted them to verify they
had the correct part. They assured me they did and so I ordered. It was the wrong
part again but this time the store actually said they would source it for me
and send it on to me when they got it. That part finally arrived and again it
was the wrong part.
I did finally find a shop that had all 3 but they didn't ship to the USA,
so I contacted them and asked if they could send me a picture of the 3 parts
they had listed. They did, and they were the correct ones, and that shop owner
was willing to ship an order to me!
All told, it cost me somewhere between $40-$50 to finally get the 3 parts I needed.
The moral of the story is, IF you need a specific variant of part, contact the
shop and ask them to verify the part variant and maybe send pictures to prove
it is correct.
Cass T
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USA, Indiana
Canada, British Columbia
Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
Spain, Comunidad Valenciana
