Bricklink/BrickOwl - Discussion, questions, & answers

[donbee]

I found the table top scanners are a bit of a time consumer if you do allot at one time, better to just get one of those cheap little pass-through business card scanners (like the hockey card collectors use) that will direct pdf/ocr-file your receipts for you, ya just keep feeding the slips through like it was a tiny shredder.  

Yeah that's what I was thinking. Anyone use one that links with QB?

[Cozei]

For you business gentlemen. Do you have one of those table top scanners for receipts? I decided to get a business license so I can write off this inventory I'm accumulating. But I loathe typing in all the receipts into QB. Any advice would greatly be appreciated.

I use a smaller Fujitsu scanner. Have had it quite a while for office and full size docs. It can do automated pdf/ocr. Works fine for receipts with a small amount of attention. The less you crush them between store and scanner the easier it is. I find it doesn't like really long receipts and i cut off the survey etc extra stuff.

Never used the business card scanners so if you don't also want to scan larger items maybe that is best.

[donbee]

Still having problems with my Spanish customer. You may recall I sold a large bundle to a guy in Spain. He complained that I reported the value of the order appropriately.
We've exchanged several messages since then, and he's been acting ignorant. Saying the post office doesn't know where his package is and it hasn't been delivered.
Which seems contrary to his initial complaint that he had to pay a heavy tax on it.
So I assume he went to the post office, saw the cost and just left it there.
According to tracking, it's still in the customs office in Spain.

My fear is that he will try to get his money back through PayPal or something. Do I have options? Anyone familiar with the Spanish postal service?

Desperately need advice.

[DadsAFOL]

If he doesn't pay the customs tax, it will get returned to you.  Might take 3-4 months though, as international parcel returns are at the bottom of every postal service's priority list.  

[donbee]

If he doesn't pay the customs tax, it will get returned to you.  Might take 3-4 months though, as international parcel returns are at the bottom of every postal service's priority list.  

I was afraid of something like that.
Does BrickLink have a policy, if it gets returned like this, I can still charge him for the shipping? A partial return of his money? Restocking fee?
It is pretty clear by his over reaction in his first message that it is because he doesn't want to pay, not because the package is not deliverable.

[DadsAFOL]

8 minutes ago, donbee said:

I was afraid of something like that.
Does BrickLink have a policy, if it gets returned like this, I can still charge him for the shipping? A partial return of his money? Restocking fee?
It is pretty clear by his over reaction in his first message that it is because he doesn't want to pay, not because the package is not deliverable.

BL will just tell you to work it out with the buyer.  I would not refund the shipping, but be up front in your communication.  Just say you'll be happy to refund them for the purchase less shipping as soon as the item is received back to you.  I had this exact scenario with a UK buyer (who turned around and placed a smaller order to avoid the customs).

[newbie77]

7 minutes ago, DadsAFOL said:

BL will just tell you to work it out with the buyer.  I would not refund the shipping, but be up front in your communication.  Just say you'll be happy to refund them for the purchase less shipping as soon as the item is received back to you.  I had this exact scenario with a UK buyer (who turned around and placed a smaller order to avoid the customs).

how would paypal dispute work in these situation if buyer files non-receipt?

 

[DadsAFOL]

1 hour ago, newbie77 said:

how would paypal dispute work in these situation if buyer files non-receipt?

 

Not really sure.   Likely you'd be able to fight it long enough until the item is returned, but then you would settle it.  I assume that the tracking shows that its in customs and you could use that as documentation against a case.

[Phil B]

6 hours ago, DadsAFOL said:

Not really sure.   Likely you'd be able to fight it long enough until the item is returned, but then you would settle it.  I assume that the tracking shows that its in customs and you could use that as documentation against a case.

I would assume you could use the messages you've exchanged with the buyer as well as proof that the package got refused by the buyer.

[donbee]

Got a new problem. A South African ,with 0 feedback, that ordered a $12 Bionicle which cost like $15 to ship. He chose USPS first class, even though I told him it was less secure. About a week later and he starts sending me emails asking where his package is. I told him I don't know, there's no tracking on the option he chose, Politely. Another week goes by and he starts asking me again, so I apologetically explain how it works, USPS delivers it to his country and then his country delivers to him. Can't track it from then on. He totally flips on that, ranting about how terrible his country's mail service is. I continue to be apologetic and sympathetic and let him know that it can take as much as 2 months.
Now it's been 3 weeks and he wrote me a long message which seemed... Rehearsed. I say that because he responded to things I never said, and accused me of using some cheap "3rd party delivery" service.

Anyways. Long story short, I don't like to be threatened, and I don't like to be cheated.
All you BL customers. If you see a negative feedback, do you check to see who left it?
Or should I say, if you saw a seller with only one instance of negative feedback, and it was from a 0 feedback South African, would you be deterred from buying from that seller?

[minicoopers11]

1 hour ago, donbee said:

Got a new problem. A South African ,with 0 feedback, that ordered a $12 Bionicle which cost like $15 to ship. He chose USPS first class, even though I told him it was less secure. About a week later and he starts sending me emails asking where his package is. I told him I don't know, there's no tracking on the option he chose, Politely. Another week goes by and he starts asking me again, so I apologetically explain how it works, USPS delivers it to his country and then his country delivers to him. Can't track it from then on. He totally flips on that, ranting about how terrible his country's mail service is. I continue to be apologetic and sympathetic and let him know that it can take as much as 2 months.
Now it's been 3 weeks and he wrote me a long message which seemed... Rehearsed. I say that because he responded to things I never said, and accused me of using some cheap "3rd party delivery" service.

Anyways. Long story short, I don't like to be threatened, and I don't like to be cheated.
All you BL customers. If you see a negative feedback, do you check to see who left it?
Or should I say, if you saw a seller with only one instance of negative feedback, and it was from a 0 feedback South African, would you be deterred from buying from that seller?

Depends how much positive feedback you had. At least 90% doesn't deter me.

Now, to make you feel better about USPS First Class to South Africa...I sold a polybag and shipped there. One month later, buyer contacted me asking the status. I didn't know, it should have arrived by then, so I offered to send another and did. Two months later, buyer received the first polybag and thanks me. One month later beyond that, buyer received the second polybag and offered to pay for it and did. Worked out in the end, but three months for a first class package in two separate instances...yikes.

[BearCrash]

13 hours ago, donbee said:

Anyways. Long story short, I don't like to be threatened, and I don't like to be cheated.
All you BL customers. If you see a negative feedback, do you check to see who left it?
Or should I say, if you saw a seller with only one instance of negative feedback, and it was from a 0 feedback South African, would you be deterred from buying from that seller?

I always check who gave the negative feedback and what kind of profile they have. Most of the time 'revenge feedback' stands out pretty clearly and I completely ignore that.

Don't be afraid to give negative feedback if it's completely justified. Just don't start swearing or anything

[donbee]

Depends how much positive feedback you had. At least 90% doesn't deter me.
Now, to make you feel better about USPS First Class to South Africa...I sold a polybag and shipped there. One month later, buyer contacted me asking the status. I didn't know, it should have arrived by then, so I offered to send another and did. Two months later, buyer received the first polybag and thanks me. One month later beyond that, buyer received the second polybag and offered to pay for it and did. Worked out in the end, but three months for a first class package in two separate instances...yikes.

I've had a similar shipping time for packages to Singapore. I've just never been blamed for using USPS before and feel like he's making things up. He says Amazon brings things to his door step in less than 2 weeks.
I'm hoping his impatience is a result of his inexperience and disproportionate expectations, rather than a shady dealing.

I do feel better hearing that your package took so long to deliver. At least it is not out of the ordinary.

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

14 hours ago, donbee said:

All you BL customers. If you see a negative feedback, do you check to see who left it?
Or should I say, if you saw a seller with only one instance of negative feedback, and it was from a 0 feedback South African, would you be deterred from buying from that seller?

I buy a lot from BL and a few dings on the feedback has never stopped me.  the customer is not always right. 

[BearCrash]

I sold a couple of small sets on BL to someone from the US. My girlfriend is traveling to New York next week. Any reason why I shouldn't have her send out the sets from New York instead of shipping them from Belgium? Shipping would be much lower obviously (slightly less PayPal fees for me) but the return address would be the hotel she's staying at. Any pitfalls?

Edited November 29, 2016 by BearCrash

[Phil B]

1 minute ago, BearCrash said:

I sold a couple of small sets on BL to someone from the US. My girlfriend is traveling to New York next week. Any reason why I shouldn't have her send out the sets from New York instead of shipping them from Belgium? Shipping would be much lower obviously (less PayPal fees for me) but the return address would be the hotel she's staying at. Any pitfalls?

The person already accepted they'd pay for shipping from Belgium. Why would you risk the sets getting damaged, plus give your girlfriend the hassle of having to post these in the US (during christmas time, when all Post Offices are swamped with hour-long lines) to save yourself 50 cents in paypal fees?

[BearCrash]

Just now, Phil B said:

The person already accepted they'd pay for shipping from Belgium. Why would you risk the sets getting damaged, plus give your girlfriend the hassle of having to post these in the US (during christmas time, when all Post Offices are swamped with hour-long lines) to save yourself 50 cents in paypal fees?

Hour-long lines is a good reason no to do it. Didn't think of that.

Dunno, the PayPal fees aren't really the issue. I figured the chance of the sets getting damaged would be lower rather than higher. That's why I'd consider it. Why do you think they're more likely to get damaged?

[lego rules]

11 minutes ago, BearCrash said:

I sold a couple of small sets on BL to someone from the US. My girlfriend is traveling to New York next week. Any reason why I shouldn't have her send out the sets from New York instead of shipping them from Belgium? Shipping would be much lower obviously (slightly less PayPal fees for me) but the return address would be the hotel she's staying at. Any pitfalls?

I would post your Belgium address as return address.

[Phil B]

7 minutes ago, BearCrash said:

Hour-long lines is a good reason no to do it. Didn't think of that.

Dunno, the PayPal fees aren't really the issue. I figured the chance of the sets getting damaged would be lower rather than higher. That's why I'd consider it. Why do you think they're more likely to get damaged?

If the sets get damaged because the shipping box they are in gets damaged, you or your buyer can file an insurance claim with the shipping company. If your sets get damaged in your girlfriend's suitcase (her hairdryer banging into it, TSA personnel rummaging through her stuff, makeup bottle bursting open etc.) and you ship those damaged sets in a pristine box from the US, what do you think is going to happen?

5 minutes ago, lego rules said:

I would post your Belgium address as return address.

Now that would be an easy way to ship internationally without paying for it, wouldn't it? I ship to my buddy down the street, put an address in Brazil as the return address, and he just declines the package and off it goes!

[BearCrash]

2 minutes ago, Phil B said:

If the sets get damaged because the shipping box they are in gets damaged, you or your buyer can file an insurance claim with the shipping company. If your sets get damaged in your girlfriend's suitcase (her hairdryer banging into it, TSA personnel rummaging through her stuff, makeup bottle bursting open etc.) and you ship those damaged sets in a pristine box from the US, what do you think is going to happen?

All valid points; thanks. That's why I asked here first

[lego rules]

6 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Now that would be an easy way to ship internationally without paying for it, wouldn't it? I ship to my buddy down the street, put an address in Brazil as the return address, and he just declines the package and off it goes!

In Canada, the sender has to pay for return postage so I assumed it would be the same using USPS into Belgium.

I have never done this, but I know people who sell from Canada and ship into the US from the US.  I am assuming they use their Canadian address as return?

[Phil B]

Quick question: For >$100 items sold via BL, do I need to add insurance? I don't want to overcharge my customer, but also want to make sure I'm covered for anything that might go wrong. On EBay, adding insurance is a no-brainer, because of the buyer protection clauses. Does the same hold for BrickLink?

Edited December 2, 2016 by Phil B

[BrickLegacy]

Quick question: For >$100 items sold via BL, do I need to add insurance? I don't want to overcharge my customer, but also want to make sure I'm covered for anything that might go wrong. On EBay, adding insurance is a no-brainer, because of the buyer protection clauses. Does the same hold for BrickLink?

I require insurance for anything over $300. I make sure to include that in my shipping policy.

I might pay for it out of pocket depending on the circumstances.

[Phil B]

1 minute ago, BrickLegacy said:

 

I require insurance for anything over $300. I make sure to include that in my shipping policy.

I might pay for it out of pocket depending on the circumstances.

Right, so it is protecting ME as the seller, not the buyer. So I need to decide if I'm willing to eat the cost of a lost package, or the cost of insurance. Thanks!

[BrickLegacy]

Right, so it is protecting ME as the seller, not the buyer. So I need to decide if I'm willing to eat the cost of a lost package, or the cost of insurance. Thanks!

Yeah, that's a personal decision really. Depends on how many packages you ship and your risk tolerance. I've only had one package lost or misplaced so far (100s shipped) and that was marked as delivered but (allegedly) stolen before customer received it.

High price items I always get it, mostly for piece of mind.