Buying Issue: Bricklink

martyn

Looking for some advice really...

Earlier in the week I bought a part on Bricklink. I recieved a parcel today and what has been sent is not the part I orderd but a similar (and often used as a replaement by LEGO) part. This isn't what I ordered. I already have examples of the part sent and was looking to replace one of mine with the part that I ordered.

I have contacted the seller this morning, and am waiting for reply but just wondered what else I can do, as if they say they shipped the correct part it's my word against theirs.

I haven't used Bricklink that much but every transaction up to now has been really smooth!

Any advice?

thecleator

Hi Martyn
Many Bricklink seller will work with you to resolve a problem. If you included a bricklink catalog number for both the part you ordered and what they actually sent it may help.
As a seller myself I can promise you the when you are tracking 60,000 plus pieces in your inventory the occasional mistake does happen.

Good luck
Jon

martyn

Thanks Jon

In the mail I sent I noted the two parts down (the one I was expecting and the one I recieved), and really hope that this is just a case of picking up the wrong item to dispatch. I think it may however be a mis-clasification of the part as the seller does not list any stock of the part they sent. Guess that could be harder to rectify.

Martyn

harrelmusic

I've always been well taken care of by reputable Bricklink sellers. Once a correct part was shipped out immediately to replace the incorrect one, another time a refund was given and a third time a refund was given and the correct parts were sent.

BuriedinBricks

Most BL seller I've dealt with have gone above and beyond to make sure I was taken care of. I've only ever had one transaction (out like 20) where a part was missing, and that was promptly shipped out.

That said, if the buyer refuses to make it right, I believe there is a dispute process available on BL. Check under the "problem" tab.

dougts

yeah, my experiences buying on BrickLink have been great. Sellers with established history are going to make it right. Recently, I placed a somewhat large order. when checking it in, something like 3 of the 40 1x2 jumper plates were missing. I reported it to the seller, and said "no big deal, don't really need the 3, so no worries". He issued me a 10% my entire next order coupon. Wow, talk about WAY above and beyond. When I placed that next order and got the 10% off, he also ended up including those extra 3 jumpers in it to boot.

Kanohi

I agree with all of the above. I've had a few problems over the years with buying parts but every time it was taken care of through coupons, refunds, and/or replace parts. I've never had to leave a negative or neutral feedback as a buyer on bricklink.

As a seller, I am in a similar position to thecleator - I have a relatively large inventory and do make mistakes both with listing inaccurately and sending missing/wrong parts from time to time. I always issue a coupon for 2x the value of the part and then either send the correct piece(s) if I have it or a refund if I don't. A combination of good customer service and a genuine love of the hobby ensure that most problems can be solved satisfactory to both parties.

If it doesn't work out for you, you can register a complaint through the "Problems" tab. I do not believe Bricklink will reimburse you but if a seller (or buyer for that matter) gets 3 complaints against them they get banned from the site. Not as guaranteed as Amazon or eBay but it is what it is.

Good luck,
--Gary

graphite

You may want to check the sellers splash and terms pages as well. Some of them don't distinguish the interchangeable parts such as tiles with and without grooves, those wall pieces with and without supports that are in Cafe corner etc. They may specify it there that they dont separate those and that you need to indicate that it matters to you.

martyn

Thanks for all the really useful feedback. I will give the seller a few days to come back to me before I do anything else, but thanks for letting me know the options.

@graphite I checked the splash and terms pages, nothing about interchangable parts thankfully.

legomatt

This looks to me like a very honest mistake. Either the seller misclassified the part, due to it being very similar to another, OR had no idea that a near identical part even existed in his inventory. Might be the result of parting out a set.

I've never sold lego, but i imagine if i created a store, I would just let the automatic set part-out programing do the work for me, which would probably result in those tiny alternate parts sneaking into my inventory but not being listed, and i'd be none the wiser if the parts looked near identical.

martyn

Just as an update. I got a refund from the seller, very amicable settlement. So I went and bought from the next seller on the list...guess what, same issue, same wrong brick sent.
So it looks like I am going through the process again! I have sent a message to the 3rd seller on the list to see if it is the correct part in their inventory before I go down this road a third time!

Martyn

dougts

Maybe it would help if we knew what part you were talking about?

martyn

sorry, I wanted to be generic until it got sorted, I think it is now as the seller has found the correct part in their collection and is sending that. It was a 1 x 6 Arch, but being sent a 1 x 6 Raised Arch. Bricklinking CC and want to get it as accurate as possible.

dougts

wow, that would be surprising. Granted, it's a pretty recent change in arch style by LEGO, but you think diligent BL sellers would be well aware of the two differences. I suppose some smaller-sized and/or new sellers may not be however. Or perhaps the seller has some non-LEGO enthusiast doing the sorting/picking for them and that person doesn't know about the new arch yet. Who knows.

Glad you got it sorted.

martyn

It sounds like both the sellers parted out the burrow, where the raised arch is an alternate in later sets. I think this is where the problem has come from.

Anyway hopefully solved now.