Bricksetters' Bricklink stores

elspankdog

Just checked, and I'm around 62% and 20% for feedback left for BL and BO respectively for the last 6 months...and I bust my butt.  I never ask for feedback, remedy all problems by sending missing parts at no charge or refunds with overage for stuff I don't have, and I give coupons to folks who leave me feedback.  Really don't think any of it matters.  What it does hopefully gain is repeat customers.

I think a lot of the feedback on BO is from the feedback boost thing they give to new sellers where they give you a bogus feedback starting score from your ebay profile or the like.  I didn't even realize that existed when I started and missed out.  To be honest, both sites need to revamp their system.  I would prefer some additional measures like ebay has to score folks on hidden fees, turnaround time, communication, etc.

elspankdog

TheFew said:

@ColoradoBricks ah ok! I must just be very nice as I ensure all the purchases I make have feedback and are set to complete :-)

You wait until you get scolded for changing somebody's order from shipped or received to complete.  Trust me, those folks are out there.

ColoradoBricks

The "new" updated eBay feedback page,m only has Positive or Negative with an optional comment... seems to be going backward.

I would just to see on BL, BO, eBay, etc, an automatic positive feedback 1 year after the transaction if no feedback was posted

TheFew

elspankdog said:

TheFew said:

@ColoradoBricks ah ok! I must just be very nice as I ensure all the purchases I make have feedback and are set to complete :-)

You wait until you get scolded for changing somebody's order from shipped or received to complete.  Trust me, those folks are out there.

oops just done that to a few old ones :-)

elspankdog

ColoradoBricks said:

The "new" updated eBay feedback page,m only has Positive or Negative with an optional comment... seems to be going backward.

I would just to see on BL, BO, eBay, etc, an automatic positive feedback 1 year after the transaction if no feedback was posted

Well haha, just saw that.  Tells you how much I know.

Aleydita

Finally found a compromise in order to re-open my store. To recap, I closed it last year when my wife fell pregnant with triplets. Quickly became clear that I wouldn't be able to spend the time picking orders as they came in.

My girls are now 6-months old. I've realised that although I'm crazy busy, there are rare occasions when I have an hour or two to spare. My compromise is that I've recently been spending that time counting all my parts into lot sizes of 10/25/50, depending on part size, and have listed them for sale in those lot sizes. This makes picking seriously quick as there's no counting to be done. I've had a few orders on BO/BL so it seems to have been well received.

I realise this will massively reduce the number of potential buyers but at least I can start shifting some of the stuff I have, even if it's slow. The beauty of it is that I can add stock as and when I have a spare hour, and I don't have to stress about finding time to pick a large order. A 600-part order might have taken 30 minutes to pick previously, depending on the number of lots, but now it takes a minute or two at most. It takes longer to pack than it does to pick now, which is a new experience :)

ras.brickowl.com

asrfarinha

elspankdog said:

Just checked, and I'm around 62% and 20% for feedback left for BL and BO respectively for the last 6 months...and I bust my butt.  I never ask for feedback, remedy all problems by sending missing parts at no charge or refunds with overage for stuff I don't have, and I give coupons to folks who leave me feedback.  Really don't think any of it matters.  What it does hopefully gain is repeat customers.

Same here. The difference between BL and BO is huge. I think it has to do with the fact that BO attracts mostly casual buyers, who don't bother participating in the process after their purchase is done. Fair enough, because how often do any of us leave feedback on our online purchases? In BL there's more of a sense of community, I guess.

elspankdog said:

I think a lot of the feedback on BO is from the feedback boost thing they give to new sellers where they give you a bogus feedback starting score from your ebay profile or the like.  I didn't even realize that existed when I started and missed out.

Yep, I did that, and got a boost of 100 feedback from having that much on BL already.

Lobot

I've reached another milestone for my store with 250 Star Wars minifigures now in stock!  I've also got 30% off all parts at the moment:

https://store.bricklink.com/Lobot1626#/splash

Please mention your Brickset username in your order and I'll discount the postage :-)

uriel

bought 10x #75091 (19$ each) and 21x #75099 (12.5$ each). all sealed. good deal :)

a bit slow on setting shipping on BO and also running a 20% off on parts :) 
https://store.bricklink.com/vsimovic

KingAlanI

1stflabuyer said:

To get NEW pizza box, just ask at the pizza place - they will gladly give you 1.

Worth a try, but I'm afraid I'll get a non-empty box while I'm there. :P

VorpalRyu said:

KingAlanI said:

My old computer bit the dust (perhaps literally as it overheated). Amongst other things, this is slowing down my store management, but I've been able to somewhat keep up using other people's computers. I need to print out shipping labels of course but I've also printed out order details for orders to complex to read off my phone screen. it helps that my store is relatively slow right now.
Added a #30608 (the Kendo Lloyd promo from GameStop) and another N-POP Girl

Hate to think how much trouble that is causing you, when our old Laptop died a couple of months ago, it completely screwed me over & I'm not even running a BrickLink store. I'm still trying to find a Windows 7 disc so I can get everything running the way I had it on the old machine (the machine was meant to be windows 8 machine, but when I powered it up there was windows 10 staring back at me).

I didn't mind getting Windows 10, since the hardware can handle it. It's such a relief to have ordinary stuff running smoothly. There was an interface difference I didn't like, but I found a setting that was similar to what I was used to. The computers I borrowed were both Windows 10 which helped me get used to it.

ColoradoBricks said:

@TheFew , I would just let it go. Harassing buyer for feedback is never good, some bribe with coupons. If you think 60% is low on BL, wait to see what it is on BO, it hovers at about 25%...

Yeah, I figure asking for feedback could backfire, as it might not be positive. If something went wrong I'll settle for no comment. Orders Received page 1 has 41 orders shipped before yesterday, 19 with feedback (46%). Page 2 has exactly half with feedback. never thought of keeping track of that before.

-

Store is still busy, but I did get caught up on sorting last night - all of several 40165 (listed the 6 I hadn't yet), and bag 5s from 40161.

KingAlanI

With the new computer, it's so much easier to look through the catalog to check prices, especially when doing several for a part out. My home internet connection is still flaky sometimes, but now when it works it runs much smoother.

Parted out #41305, okay deal as part of a clearance #66558
Added 2 #30354, 12 #30476, 5 #30478, 6 #30524 and 11 #5004928.
Found some 40161 5-bags I didn't get to in the last batch, sorted those and the 3-bags.

The internet connection is fixed. Totally caught up on orders right now, and sorted the most recent one before payment; that's what I use the Ready status for.

asrfarinha

Wondering how sales have been for others, as mine have really slowed down in November. To about half of what's been "normal" until now this year, both in number of orders and in overall "revenue".
Is anyone noticing something similar?

KingAlanI

@asrfarinha no. halfway through the month, my sales are about half of my average whole month total. maybe slightly lower, but that could be a fluke.

Just passed $10,000 in revenue for the year, noticed when I had to expand the relevant Excel column. Profit is only a few hundred, but I've also added a few thousand in inventory.

Hopefully I can free up plenty of space for the $20 #10704 and #10854 I plan to get at WalMart on Thanksgiving. Besides what I sell, sorted parts take up less space than (partially) unsorted sets, and I need to catch up on that anyway.

Daragh

^^ number of orders is about the same, but the value is way down, also loads of big lot orders for few parts and they are so time consuming. I am seriously thinking of introducing average lot value, although I really don't want to do that. But when you get an order for over 100 lots and the postage is greater than the parts price...... 

uriel

https://darthdanko.brickowl.com/  
finally opened a BrickOwl store. I do not like the design but the automated shipping pricing is very easy so do. :)

@KingAlanI how do you rate the parts from the Creative boxes? I can get #10705 for 28 euro each and I'm thinking of pulling the gun and getting 5 or 10 but I do not know if its worth it. 

Daragh

@uriel
I have bought them several times and each time I swear never again, there are so few parts in any quantity and so many parts in colours that just don't sell well, if ever. I think you are better looking for a set you can get multiples off and part that out instead - assuming the price is right.  Just my opinion. 

KingAlanI

I'm often in a rush to mail late Saturday, especially today - something mailed next week might face Thanksgiving delays, and it took longer than usual to get a package ready.
Mailman was concerned about the label getting wet. Usually I tape over the address but only had time for the edges. I was concerned about taping over the barcode, mailman said that should be OK with clear tape, he felt USPS was warning against opaque tape.

@Daragh I too am tempted to introduce a minimum average lot value. If I did, it would be at least 25c except on orders that are small overall.

@uriel #10705 for 28 euro? Hmm. That's about $33. If I parted out 10705, total price would be $78.41, ratio 2.3761 - that's borderline. Multiples like 5 or 10 help whatever the set. I'm not sure how your prices differ besides exchange rate.
Daragh, "so few parts in any quantity" isn't true by my calculation. 10705 has 1000 pieces in 257 lots, ratio 3.89, similar to other Creator brick assortments. The average for all sets I've looked at is 2.77. Colors that don't sell well, if ever, isn't something I've considered; not selling for as much is built into the calculation. They don't have minifigures but that means there's less risk on the value of a particular lot. They're bagged by related colors which is easier to sort than the build sequence bags of regular sets.

KingAlanI

Listed 13 #5004934, when I got them there hadn't been a BrickLink entry yet.
One buyer lives so close to me pickup was actually easier/quicker than mailing, and it's fun to talk shop.

I have loads of #10704 to part out and the scale is staggering.
The quantity requires large bags even for relatively small pieces, so I restocked on those. I've used more small storage bins. I don't think
It took a couple hours just for the shopping trips, including repacking for a more compact load (would've had to open and flatten boxes anyway), not including biking to/from WalMart (I need the exercise). I'm still not done sorting the oranges and yellows after nearly 4 hours and there are 7 other color groups to go.

elspankdog

So I had a buyer today ask for a discount on a large order; actually said they expected it.  Was no biggie since I routinely send coupons just for leaving feedback, but I wondered how everybody else felt about this practice and how you would respond.  Buyer was already receiving free shipping and a store freebie for the size of the order.

Aleydita

I never offer a discount until/unless someone has bought from me. I've only been asked about 5 times, and I'm sure all placed orders anyway.

KingAlanI

@elspankdog I've rarely had buyers ask for a discount. I am open to negotiation. One asked after already ordering, that annoyed me on principle but I wasn't going to fight him over it. My prices are low to begin with. Sometimes the problem is postage which I can't control.

Sometimes I can't find a part, this is the first time the buyer wanted to cancel because of it. Usually a refund or other pieces works. Some buyers wanted to wait until I found/got the piece, but this part isn't current so that wouldn't be feasible. I think it got confused with a similar mold.

I'm almost done sorting the 10704 yellows, I'll go ahead and list just those rather than wait til I sort the other bags. I need to turn over all this inventory.

KingAlanI

Listed the bright light yellow, bright orange and regular orange, including price updates, $231.35 added to inventory

KingAlanI

Listed a #40254. Fortunately S@H got it to me with the box in great shape. I put it into a ziploc bag to prevent scuffing and it fits snugly into a number 2 bubblemailer. I made the item description very clear. If ordered by itself or with a small volume of other items, I'd ship right in that mailer. If in a larger order, I'd put that mailer into a larger one. I don't have cardboard boxes handy that are small enough.

Updated various prices, some of those lots are in 10704 and some aren't. Further loosened up which price increments I use.

Listed the trans yellow and regular yellow from 10704

Aleydita

Grab some popcorn and head over to the Bricklink forum - they've officially opened the catalog/marketplace to Brickarms items, and are open to adding additional brands if this goes well...

stlux

The BL admin is doing a great job addressing concerns and avoiding to inflame things further in that thread:

Are we planning on adding more brands (such as Lepin or Megablox) after this?

No. Are we open to it? Yes! 

I guess I'll have a look at BrickOwl.

Sven_F

They are calling L**in a brand now? 
Today was the first time I had a look at BrickOwl in 2 years.

If it stays with just Brickarms, it might still be ok. I don't think many self-respectable stores will sell it anyway. It was always present as a niche market for kids, they were just listed as custom items.  Maybe if we ignore it, it goes away.

Mr_Cross

I totally and unapologetically abhor the idea that BL might start allowing Lepin to be listed. I'm less bothered by some stores selling MB, so long as it's very, very clearly labelled and kept almost entirely separate. Personally, I would boycott stores that decided to stock Lepin and I would certainly think twice about buying from a MB stockist. The problem for me is the danger of cross-pollination of parts by the seller and the increased risk of my own errors when ordering.

CCC

If you read all the admin posts, they are not going to be opening it up to sell Lepin. They are open to other custom parts companies though.

Sven_F said:

If it stays with just Brickarms, it might still be ok. I don't think many self-respectable stores will sell it anyway. It was always present as a niche market for kids, they were just listed as custom items.  Maybe if we ignore it, it goes away.

Brick arms isn't really a niche market for kids. Their products are aimed more towards the adult side of the market.

elspankdog

This part is yet to be seen:

"Simply put, we want our sellers to thrive,
not just survive. By offering a wider selection of high-quality brick products,
BrickLink will develop into a one-stop destination for brick enthusiasts of all
kinds. We hope you’ll join us in our battle for positive change and welcome this
brand with open arms."

My guess is few stores will actually sell BrickArm items so I don't see a bump for most folks there.  The advanced marketplace bringing in more buyers I'm not really buying at this moment.

KingAlanI

In general, other brands are okay for stuff TLG doesn't offer, including BrickArms or MB licenses. Never thought about them being on BL though.

I haven't gotten many orders lately, and they've been simple, but that's still cut into my sorting time.
Generally I mix duplicates of a bag together and pick out the largest.

3 more 10704 arrived recently. Sorted and listed the yellows/oranges from those, including a couple lots I missed last time.

Now working on 40161, my other big sorting job. I actually had 14 to part out rather than 9. Listed much of it lot by lot including the minfigs and accessories.

Lowered prices on most polybags and minifigures. Stopped using Retain on most fig lots as it's unlikely I'd get more and it just cluttered my inventory.

I label bags with Sharpie, sometimes directly on the plastic and sometimes on a blank address label. I've long since done the latter for contrast with very dark color pieces. Lately I'm doing that with any color, as it would be easy to transfer the sticker if I need a different size bag. This reduces bag usage and doesn't require storing written-on bags for reuse.

CCC

Yes, I doubt many sellers will have brickarmsstuff, since they will have to get it from resellers, who are already selling on BL in some cases. There won't be any profit on them.
 

datsunrobbie

If they make it easy to filter searches by brand, I like the idea of having parts from other brands available at Bricklink. It would increase the variety of items available, and people who are not interested in products from other brands would be able to ignore them, just like when going to a physical store. 

For those opposed, do you only buy new LEGO sets at LEGO brand stores, or do you also shop at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc. that carry other brands of building toys?

Aleydita

CCC said:

If you read all the admin posts, they are not going to be opening it up to sell Lepin. They are open to other custom parts companies though.

Not quite what was said:

"Are we planning on adding more brands (such as Lepin or Megablox) after this?
No. Are we open to it? Yes! However, for another brand to even be considered
it would have to reach what BrickArms has achieved as far as quality and popularity."

Not planning on it, but open to it. Read into that what you will.

vwong19

I would like to see MB offered. Bricklink has the infrastructure in place. I would buy and sell. Not sure why anyone would feel threatened by increased options. You already have to navigate through Bricklink stores that sell used-smoked infested parts. 

KingAlanI

Finished sorting and listing the red in 40161 - many lots are shared with the blue bags, I'll list those when all done, and I have the bins/bags ready. Will probably do reds or blues when back to working on 10704 even though only a few lots overlap.
Counted physical inventory for many lots I've worked on

CCC

vwong19 said:

You already have to navigate through Bricklink stores that sell used-smoked infested parts. 

If you are buying relatively modern parts, I find it easier just to restrict searches to new. New does not always cost that much more than used and you avoid the smelly, dirty, broken parts that some sellers think they can get away with by calling it used. It is not so bad at brickowl as at least there is some grading there whereas at bricklink used can mean anything from used once by an adult through to found in a public sandpit.

KingAlanI

I use item description for particularly good or bad condition of used parts, but many sellers neglect to do so.

From my latest LEGO Store purchase:
Listed 2 #40220 Mini London Bus, another tan baseplate
Have more to part out - 3 40161, 2 40165, a #41233 Lashina Tank

USPS prices are going up with the new year
Most rates are going up slightly, and 5/6/7/8 ounce 1st class packages have different prices rather than the same rate between 4 and 8. Besides the cost increase itself, that might be hard to keep track of. For orders near a weight limit, I need to double check the estimate, and this creates more such edge cases.

In practice, the new rates will apply to orders paid for in 2017 after I could mail late on Saturday the 30th, about 4 PM or earlier for complex orders. I would re-invoice unpaid orders then. If the buyer pays in plenty of time and I'm not ready, then I'll pay the difference. I'll update my terms to this extent as that gets closer.

https://pe.usps.com/resources/PriceChange/January 2018 - Price Files.xlsx

In some ways I prefer the spreadsheet format to saving a copy of the Notice 123 webpage. I made a version that shows just Commercial Base, the rates available through PayPal - https://www.mediafire.com/file/5nxrgkobddyks52/USPS 2018 prices CommBase.xlsx

M_Boss

I'm in need of help right now. I just set up my BrickOwl Store, and so I need to set up BrickSync to keep the two inventories in sync. I need an API key, but my tech knowledge is somewhat limited. When I go to BrickLink and register for an API it asks what IP address I want to access from. Should I do my home IP or do all zeros for access from anywhere? (BL says this is unsafe). Also do I need to mess with IP Mask or Callback URL?
Thanks

elspankdog

You might try posting on the BO forums since stragus (the bricksync author) posts over there quite frequently

Aleydita

You need to use the IP address of the PC that will be running BrickSync. Open Google and ask "what is my ip address?"

plasmodium

Over the course of this thread there have been a fair few BL sellers saying they will offer Brickset members a small discount. Without wanting to sound crass, is there a list of what their store names are? Plus, I'd like to support Brickset members' stores anyway. :)

Daragh

plasmodium said:

Over the course of this thread there have been a fair few BL sellers saying they will offer Brickset members a small discount. Without wanting to sound crass, is there a list of what their store names are? Plus, I'd like to support Brickset members' stores anyway. :)

It would be good to have a sticky with all Bricklink and Brickowl stores run by Brickset members listed and any discounts that they are offering. There was a list somewhere back in this thread, but I don't think it is complete or easy to find. 

Personally I don't offer additional discounts anymore as I would prefer to offer lowest prices to everyone and now for a shameless plug: www.xsbricks.com

:-)

Aleydita

Managed to get hold of a lot of plain minifg heads, including some of the still pretty rare light aqua. ras.brickowl.com

77ncaachamps

Looking for US based BL sellers who are having a sale on basic bricks (1x1 - 1x10) for a classroom project. If you have what I need, I may just clean them out.

Please reply to this post so I can check out your store! Thank you!

KingAlanI

Daragh said:

Personally I don't offer additional discounts anymore as I would prefer to offer lowest prices to everyone

Also my thoughts.

77ncaachamps said:

Looking for US based BL sellers who are having a sale on basic bricks (1x1 - 1x10) for a classroom project. If you have what I need, I may just clean them out.

Please reply to this post so I can check out your store! Thank you!

Note above comment, but I have loads. Also, I have dozens of #10704 to list, if you want some particular color/size from that I can hurry up with those.

-

Sold all of all the minifigures from 40161 except the female doctor. Buyer paid in only a day and half but I was still worried on such a large order. I needed that after all the Thanksgiving week sales and December LEGO Store/S@H promos.

Added another 1250 white 2x1 curved slope, conservative estimate of how many were in my PAB cup

Target Cartwheel has 10% off plastic storage bins this week, intended to get a couple 16qt, got a 3 drawer cabinet - each about the size of a 16qt tub and didn't cost much more. Usually compartmentalized storage is way more per volume. With these I won't have to move top bins to get at lower ones. The cabinets aren't quite stackable, though.

Made huge progress on sorting and listing 40161. Only have 3 bag 4 (mostly red) and most of 17 bag 6 (mostly blue) to go.

KingAlanI

Daragh said:

Personally I don't offer additional discounts anymore as I would prefer to offer lowest prices to everyone

Also my thoughts.

77ncaachamps said:

Looking for US based BL sellers who are having a sale on basic bricks (1x1 - 1x10) for a classroom project. If you have what I need, I may just clean them out.

Please reply to this post so I can check out your store! Thank you!

Note above comment, but I have loads. Also, I have dozens of #10704 to list, if you want some particular color/size from that I can hurry up with those.

-

Sold all of all the minifigures from 40161 except the female doctor. Buyer paid in only a day and half but I was still worried on such a large order. I needed that after all the Thanksgiving week sales and December LEGO Store/S@H promos.

Added another 1250 white 2x1 curved slope, conservative estimate of how many were in my PAB cup

Target Cartwheel has 10% off plastic storage bins this week, intended to get a couple 16qt, got a 3 drawer cabinet - each about the size of a 16qt tub and didn't cost much more. Usually compartmentalized storage is way more per volume. With these I won't have to move top bins to get at lower ones. The cabinets aren't quite stackable, though.

Made huge progress on sorting and listing 40161. Only have 3 bag 4 (mostly red) and most of 17 bag 6 (mostly blue) to go.

77ncaachamps

@KingAlanI I'll check your store out. Thanks!

KingAlanI

77ncaachamps said:

@KingAlanI I'll check your store out. Thanks!

Thank you, though I have general low price rather than special sales/discounts, I an in general open to negotiation.
so far tonight been packing orders rather than sorting

KingAlanI

As @Switchfoot55 said on the LEGO Status thread:

I didn't want to start a whole new thread for this type of question, but couldn't necessarily find it in my search efforts. I figured this might be a good place to come. 

Is there an easy way to find sellers on BL who offer bulk purchase discounts on certain parts? In my most recent purchase, one of the sellers offered some pretty significant discounts when buying in multiples of 100's or 1000's. I have a few parts that would be nice to have some rather large quantities of, but rarely hit my local PaB wall. The difference between $.02 per part and 100 parts for $.0075 adds up rather quickly!

Admittedly, my BL experience is rather limited, so this might be an easy filter I'm missing?

BrickLink calls that tiered pricing.

I don't know a way to search for that. Search results are sorted by main price but do have a little black price tag icon you can hover over to see tiered pricing.

My store The Brick Baron does use that feature - http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=KingAlanI
I use it for most lots of at least quantity 10 where someone buys all of them, and for larger lots I have intermediate levels, usually 42 and 100.
My discounts are more like 5%-15% rather than the 62.5% in your example.

BrinkLink uses Bulk X for where you have to buy in increments of X, that I don't use.

Switchfoot55

Thank you @KingAlanI, i'll have a poke around your store today!