Bricklink/BrickOwl - Discussion, questions, & answers

[Huskers1236]

4 hours ago, Jackson said:

I placed my first two orders ever on Bricklink four days ago.

For one order, the seller has not bothered to send me the invoice so that I can pay.

For the other order, the seller sent me the invoice after a day of waiting. But he attached a weird message, so I had to respond before paying to ask what the heck he meant. He has not responded.

Is this crap normal for Bricklink? Seems too tedious to mess with.

I've made about 300 purchases on BL and rarely get a seller that takes more than a couple days to send invoice.  Usually their splash page will give you an idea of their promptness if they have other priorities that slow them down a bit.  I've gotten to the point that I have found a group of sellers that I like to stick to if they have what I need and it has worked well for me.  There are others that have what I need but won't succumb to their outrageous prices.

[thoroakenfelder]

Pretty irritated that the r4 head I need for 10215 has disappeared from all bl shops.

[LegoMan1212]

22 minutes ago, thoroakenfelder said:

Pretty irritated that the r4 head I need for 10215 has disappeared from all bl shops.

$150+ will get you one  

[donbee]

Pretty irritated that the r4 head I need for 10215 has disappeared from all bl shops.

Looks like one person has some, and knows it. $24, ouch.

[thoroakenfelder]

Time to put it on hold until the r4 moc craze goes away.

[donbee]

should i be more worried if he now wants it shipped to one of those dropshippers in delaware?

Do they have feedback of (2) ?
My Russian customer messaged me yesterday that the shipping was too expensive (which it is) and if I'd send it to DE instead.
I think I'll pass on this one...

[Kenxxx]

More BL noob questions:  I've built a Wanted list of some 98 different elements, and tried the "Auto-finder" function. Works nice.  The first store on the list has the largest portion of the order (over $100). I go to his flash page and it says something like, "my store is open about 3 days each month... and I answer emails 1 hour each weekend...", etc.  OK. I don't want to work with this guy. When I "deselect" him, all those items go back to my wanted list... how do I run the search again and "block" this store?

Also, many of the items I want are available at Lego.com Bricks & Pieces... is it wise just to purchase what I can there, and go to BL for the rest?  The entire list is maybe $200. I'm not scrimping for every last penny.  Maybe I'll spend 10%-20% more at Lego.com... but for the "fresh bricks", no hassle, trustworthy delivery... seems like it would be worth it... correct?

[thoroakenfelder]

1 hour ago, Kenxxx said:

More BL noob questions:  I've built a Wanted list of some 98 different elements, and tried the "Auto-finder" function. Works nice.  The first store on the list has the largest portion of the order (over $100). I go to his flash page and it says something like, "my store is open about 3 days each month... and I answer emails 1 hour each weekend...", etc.  OK. I don't want to work with this guy. When I "deselect" him, all those items go back to my wanted list... how do I run the search again and "block" this store?

Also, many of the items I want are available at Lego.com Bricks & Pieces... is it wise just to purchase what I can there, and go to BL for the rest?  The entire list is maybe $200. I'm not scrimping for every last penny.  Maybe I'll spend 10%-20% more at Lego.com... but for the "fresh bricks", no hassle, trustworthy delivery... seems like it would be worth it... correct?

On the one hand, you know what Lego customer service is like. It's not fast but it is thorough, accurate and responsive. You'd probably pay more, but no hassles with unresponsive people that may or may not be packing your parts naked in their filthy kitchen. On the other hand bricks and pieces won't have everything and their prices aren't as good in general. They ship from europe, so you're looking at several week lead time.

[Kenxxx]

Several weeks?  I think the site says 7-10 business days. .. I can live with 2 or 3 weeks. .. but 4... or 8? Too much. Anyone else with recent delivery from Bricksnpieces? 

[Vinetu]

1 hour ago, thoroakenfelder said:

On the one hand, you know what Lego customer service is like. It's not fast but it is thorough, accurate and responsive. You'd probably pay more, but no hassles with unresponsive people that may or may not be packing your parts naked in their filthy kitchen. On the other hand bricks and pieces won't have everything and their prices aren't as good in general. They ship from europe, so you're looking at several week lead time.

Oh come on, don't tell me you never packed an order in between food and...other activities ?

[thoroakenfelder]

45 minutes ago, Vinetu said:

Oh come on, don't tell me you never packed an order in between food and...other activities 

This is how I do everything LEGO related.

 

[Alpinemaps]

Several weeks?  I think the site says 7-10 business days. .. I can live with 2 or 3 weeks. .. but 4... or 8? Too much. Anyone else with recent delivery from Bricksnpieces? 

I always expect 3 weeks, but I've gotten things in 7-10 business days pretty regularly. I know I'm always surprised at how quick my orders get here.

To answer your other questions...

Put the shop on your blocked stores list. Or least favorite stores list. (I can't remember which it's called). A quick google search for "Bricklink blocked stores list" or something like that will get you to the right page.

When you do the auto finder you'll have an option to exclude stores on your blocked list.

When deciding between B&P and BL here's what I do: I look at what each part is selling for and pick a price that's my top end price. I then put that into my want list (there's a price field).

Then I look at my want list and B&P and start adding things to my cart that don't exceed (or grossly exceed) my top BL price.

If I'm only saving a few pennies I won't worry about it. But it has saved me in the past when I've wanted Tiger large quantities of parts (100+).

[LegoMan1212]

I had my first large order that was delivered to me and feel like some of the pieces were marked as New but possibly (cause I can't say definitively) Used.  A picture below is one of the "new" pieces I ordered and the black that I've gone through (tile pieces) don't have that shine you expect and just look to have an awful lot of surface scratches on them.  I understand some here and there as I'm as seller to but these look like they came from my kids bin.  I don't want to be a total ******* but also am not entirely sure what I can really do.  If the seller claims they are new and it must have happened in shipment, then what?  I'll let the picture speak for itself but when you can feel the scratches without looking for them, that is a bargain bin piece to me.  This is a 4 x 4 tile piece with 4 studs on one side.  Those marks are all the way up that entire side.  

Overall, I feel I shouldn't have to inspect every god damn piece to make sure it meets New standards.  They should come that way or at least very close to it.  And I don't care if they were on sale or not, New is suppose to be NEW.  Thoughts? 

[Phil B]

1 hour ago, LegoMan1212 said:

I had my first large order that was delivered to me and feel like some of the pieces were marked as New but possibly (cause I can't say definitively) Used.  A picture below is one of the "new" pieces I ordered and the black that I've gone through (tile pieces) don't have that shine you expect and just look to have an awful lot of surface scratches on them.  I understand some here and there as I'm as seller to but these look like they came from my kids bin.  I don't want to be a total ******* but also am not entirely sure what I can really do.  If the seller claims they are new and it must have happened in shipment, then what?  I'll let the picture speak for itself but when you can feel the scratches without looking for them, that is a bargain bin piece to me.  This is a 4 x 4 tile piece with 4 studs on one side.  Those marks are all the way up that entire side.  

Overall, I feel I shouldn't have to inspect every god damn piece to make sure it meets New standards.  They should come that way or at least very close to it.  And I don't care if they were on sale or not, New is suppose to be NEW.  Thoughts? 

 

Write to the seller, explain what you've found and don't be too demanding. Include a picture and nicely ask if there's something they can do. Most likely they will gladly ship you a new piece (or more if the problem is wide-spread). If they are difficult about it, then it might be time to escalate and/or leave negative feedback.

[donbee]

Write to the seller, explain what you've found and don't be too demanding. Include a picture and nicely ask if there's something they can do. Most likely they will gladly ship you a new piece (or more if the problem is wide-spread). If they are difficult about it, then it might be time to escalate and/or leave negative feedback.

I concur.
Give the seller the opportunity to remedy the situation. Then act accordingly.

[Huskers1236]

The store didn't say they were new but factory seconds did they?  I know of at least one store from past searches that sold these but they were up front about condition.  If all the parts have scratches like that there is something definitely wrong here.

[LegoMan1212]

15 minutes ago, Huskers1236 said:

The store didn't say they were new but factory seconds did they?  I know of at least one store from past searches that sold these but they were up front about condition.  If all the parts have scratches like that there is something definitely wrong here.

No, says straight from the new bags.  They are not all like that one but that's just an example of one.  The Lime Bricks look to have different tones throughout as well which I do not think is normal.  I've never even seen a Lime brick fading but when you stack them up like they came several stick out immediately that are not the same shade as others.  I just don't think that is normal either for New bricks.  They should all match very very closely I would think, right?  I mean you should barely be able to tell there are 10 bricks as the color should easily blend in with the one's above and below right?  I'm not wrong in thinking this am I?

[Alpinemaps]

Hate to say it, but double check to make sure all those bricks are LEGO.

[LegoMan1212]

8 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

Hate to say it, but double check to make sure all those bricks are LEGO.

Barely want to think about that possibility but thanks for mentioning.  

Who pays return shipping if I ultimately decide to just mail it back, not that I want to pay for 3-4 lbs of Lego, but sometimes taking the small hit might be the best solution?  Is this an option I have?  I don't see why it wouldn't be.

Edited May 18, 2017 by LegoMan1212

[donbee]

No, says straight from the new bags.  They are not all like that one but that's just an example of one.  The Lime Bricks look to have different tones throughout as well which I do not think is normal.  I've never even seen a Lime brick fading but when you stack them up like they came several stick out immediately that are not the same shade as others.  I just don't think that is normal either for New bricks.  They should all match very very closely I would think, right?  I mean you should barely be able to tell there are 10 bricks as the color should easily blend in with the one's above and below right?  I'm not wrong in thinking this am I?

I have seen discrepancies in lime green. It's annoying, but not uncommon in recent years. Could be different manufacturing countries.
Tiles are very hard to keep nice, and they can come Pre-scratched from the bag. Nevertheless, I wouldn't sell an overly scratched tile as new, despite how fresh from the bag it was. New is a condition, not a timetable. If enough of them were scratched badly that you can easily see at a glance, then the seller should've seen It too while packing and ignored. Color discrepancies may be harder for some people to see. If the scratches happened during shipping, then you could argue poor packaging.

Typically on eBay, and sometimes Amazon, the buyer pays for return shipping. Depending on the reason. In this case, you'll probably have to if you want a full refund.

[TomOOO]

Looking at the picture they look like metal (or something of hardness 2-3 points up from ABS on the hardness scale) on plastic scratches, not plastic on plastic in a bag.  Therefore these could not be from a new bag of bricks.  Always email people first, most sellers I have used on bricklink are really helpful and make sure things are put right.  

Lime green is a problem colour at the moment (and yellow technic), there is a lot of natural variation in the lego parts with respect to this colour.  Fake lego often has a different clutch, it can feel "brittle" when fitting together with too much of a snap, or can feel consistently loose with other parts.  The colour is also often "weak" and the bricks a bit translucent though recent lego technic has this problem too.

[Huskers1236]

I wouldn't worry much about color discrepancies.  They are pretty apparent in a plethora of colors these days and not a sellers fault.  It's frustrating but the way it is with them using multiple plants.  Dark Red is one that really comes to mind for me. 

[LegoMan1212]

3 hours ago, TomOOO said:

Looking at the picture they look like metal (or something of hardness 2-3 points up from ABS on the hardness scale) on plastic scratches, not plastic on plastic in a bag.  Therefore these could not be from a new bag of bricks.  Always email people first, most sellers I have used on bricklink are really helpful and make sure things are put right.  

Lime green is a problem colour at the moment (and yellow technic), there is a lot of natural variation in the lego parts with respect to this colour.  Fake lego often has a different clutch, it can feel "brittle" when fitting together with too much of a snap, or can feel consistently loose with other parts.  The colour is also often "weak" and the bricks a bit translucent though recent lego technic has this problem too.

I don't think I have to deal with Fake Lego here, but is there Fake Lego with the Lego imprint on the studs out there? I'm just curious in general about that question.  I'm well aware of all the other brands but have not heard of another competitor slapping on the Lego stamp in the same place Real Lego would go.

[justgod]

Hello all

I am thinking of liquidating by BrickLink inventory. I really just don't have the time to deal with it at this point. I am not a fan of ebay (I know, probably the only one here who isn't) and would prefer to sell it all as one lot, although I might break it up between parts and minifigs. Looking for advice as to where to start. Is this something that can be thrown on BP Classifieds and is that the next best option? Any help would be appreciated. Store name is AVLIS Bricks if anyone wants to take a look.

[LegoMan1212]

When you see someone's parts for sale and it has (X10) after it, does that mean if you buy quantity of 1, you get 10 instead?  Just need to ask as some sellers seem to have the numbers equal each other, while others are all over the place.  Thanks

Example I'm looking at right now.

Quantity 58 (x58)

Next item

Quantity: 57 (x10)

 

I don't understand the reasoning here which makes me feel like it is false if what I stated above is true,

Edited May 20, 2017 by LegoMan1212