Bricklink/BrickOwl - Discussion, questions, & answers

[Vodium]

One thing I've always been curious about. When filling in the customs info. What country do you use for country of origin? 

I usually just say Mexico. But there's 5 different countries listed on most sets.

[Zelgazra]

I've never filled that in, and have never had anything bounce back because of insufficient customs info... only incorrect addresses. I leave it as Canada, that's the country this particular piece of merchandise has been purchased from. It doesn't state country of manufacture, just origin. The parcel the buyer is paying for originates here. 

[donbee]

^^ True of course, but many do manage to get away with it successfully for small orders (sending as lettermail). Which leads me to buying from Europe more often than the US if I end up needing to go outside of domestic sellers... despite the vastly increased distance, the shipping is often about half the price. Crazy what North American monopolies can get away with really....$9.50 for a bubble mailer is ridiculous by any kind of standards, kind of sucks for everyone, international buyers and US sellers alike. Alas. 

I guess if you have very small orders worth pennies.
It just seems really foolish to buy from an international seller and ask them to mail it in an untraceable method.
It seems even more foolish to sell someone something, and then mail it anywhere with out tracking. PayPal would settle that disputes very quickly.

[Zelgazra]

Each to their own experience I guess, what you call foolish I call saving money. I haven't been burned yet, shipping or receiving. But yes, we're talking about small orders worth only a few dollars anyway. When the shipping cost is 3x the order cost, I'm looking for cheaper (but potentially riskier) options, and since I'm not a scumbag, I'm not going to force a paypal chargeback on my seller if my order gets lost in transit, that's the risk I accept with the shipping option. I appreciate those that provide them when and where possible is all I was saying. I know it doesn't follow status quo methods; it was just a passing comment.   

[scatttcat]

Can you dispute feedback on Bricklink? or do anything to remedy it?

Long story short, I sold a parted out Thor Spaceship to a buyer... It was over a pound and I always tend to put parted out lego into a padded priority envelope anyway. SO I charge this buyer $7.10... plus my $1 fee (stated in my store policy). I also had this out for shipment within a DAY!.... The guy obviously agrees to the invoice and pays immediately....

THEN He leaves neutral feedback saying "The speed & accuracy made up for the hidden fee & exorbitant shipping price."

 

..... you're kidding me right?

[hockeyweasel]

On 6/9/2018 at 4:35 PM, Vodium said:

One thing I've always been curious about. When filling in the customs info. What country do you use for country of origin? 

I usually just say Mexico. But there's 5 different countries listed on most sets.

My understanding has always been that it's where a product is finished that determines its origin.  American clothes that are made in China are made in China, not the US, though American owned.  Honda or BMW cars manufactured in the United States may be foreign owned, but are American made.  North American LEGO may be Dane, but it is made in Mexico. If it's a factory sealed item, it's final place of manufacture would be its country of origin. So Mexico, not Denmark, for things with 'R' seal codes.  If it's used or you are selling parts, then you are the country of origin, so, in your case, Canada. Open box, I think you could make the case that you are now its country of origin.

[lego rules]

8 hours ago, scatttcat said:

Can you dispute feedback on Bricklink? or do anything to remedy it?

Long story short, I sold a parted out Thor Spaceship to a buyer... It was over a pound and I always tend to put parted out lego into a padded priority envelope anyway. SO I charge this buyer $7.10... plus my $1 fee (stated in my store policy). I also had this out for shipment within a DAY!.... The guy obviously agrees to the invoice and pays immediately....

THEN He leaves neutral feedback saying "The speed & accuracy made up for the hidden fee & exorbitant shipping price."

 

..... you're kidding me right?

You can only dispute feedback for certain reasons and for the majority of the time it works fine.  Except when you receive feedback like you have received.

You are able to comment on your feedback received.

You are able to change feedback you have written, so if it really bothers you,  try contacting the buyer and asking if you can improve their experience?

[BearCrash]

So about two months ago I sold a set to someone on Bricklink.
Last Saturday the set landed back on my doorstep claiming an incorrect address (which it wasn't).
I proposed to either send the set again using a different courier or else to refund the set.
The buyer opted for the refund. Is there a way to get my Bricklink fee back?

[lego rules]

3 hours ago, BearCrash said:

So about two months ago I sold a set to someone on Bricklink.
Last Saturday the set landed back on my doorstep claiming an incorrect address (which it wasn't).
I proposed to either send the set again using a different courier or else to refund the set.
The buyer opted for the refund. Is there a way to get my Bricklink fee back?

Change state back to processing and then initiate the cancellation process.

[BearCrash]

26 minutes ago, lego rules said:

Change state back to processing and then initiate the cancellation process.

Thanks, I didn't notice you could process an order back to a previous state once it had already shipped.

Pretty obvious if you think about it

[Huskers1236]

I put this question on the community board on Bricklink, but thought I'd try here as well.  I have an order going to Canada and can't seem to find the HS code for customs.  It's a cloth sail, so would it be a toy or a piece of cloth according to customs?  Any of you ship there often enough to have this written down or memorized?  A good website for looking these up?  I shipped to the UK a few weeks ago and my search brought me to the right place right away but Canada is not serving me as well.  Thanks in advance. 

[Thumper]

13 hours ago, Huskers1236 said:

I put this question on the community board on Bricklink, but thought I'd try here as well.  I have an order going to Canada and can't seem to find the HS code for customs.  It's a cloth sail, so would it be a toy or a piece of cloth according to customs?  Any of you ship there often enough to have this written down or memorized?  A good website for looking these up?  I shipped to the UK a few weeks ago and my search brought me to the right place right away but Canada is not serving me as well.  Thanks in advance. 

Not really sure on this, but my understanding is that it would be best to ship it as a toy part (950300)   - this is basically because if you send it as a cloth/clothing it becomes a textile & therefore may be subject to customs duty in addition to just the taxes (assuming your total shipment is over $25)…  always have to snicker at the border crossing when the CBSA agent asks "have any alcohol, firearms, tobacco or children's clothing"

[DadsAFOL]

Is this the only thing in the order? Just mail it in an envelope with no customs form. If it’s being sent with other parts, we’ve only ever entered one line that says “plastic toy parts” quantity 1, 950300. Never had an issue.

[Huskers1236]

2 hours ago, DadsAFOL said:

Is this the only thing in the order? Just mail it in an envelope with no customs form. If it’s being sent with other parts, we’ve only ever entered one line that says “plastic toy parts” quantity 1, 950300. Never had an issue.

Does not everything need a customs form?  The boat sail was the only part and yes, it went in a bubble mailer sent as a parcel package.  

If I send as an envelope, is it not subjected to customs?  I also had cardboard to keep it from being mangled, does that affect shipping in an envelope?  

I rarely ship internationally, mainly because I was scammed on it through ebay, but mostly don't understand all the rules and don't want to mess up.  The couple I have sent in the past couple months have gone off without a hitch but I'm always wondering if I'm doing it right.  

[mizeur]

If you're trying to comply with Customs requirements, then it needs a form. The sail came from a toy set. You're selling it as a toy. You can complete the form with the code for a toy. If you're concerned, include a printed copy of the invoice from Bricklink which should satisfy any Customs agent who really wanted to investigate.

[Anomander]

My first time using Bricklink trying to buy a few bits.

The seller states in their Terms that the only way they want to be paid by PayPal is by them issuing an invoice via PayPal.

I filled my shopping cart, picked a shipping method and chose PayPal. This then brings me into PayPal and their proceed to payment - no automatic invoice!

 

I sent the seller a message asking them to send an invoice several days ago but no response. I left my shopping cart full on their Bricklink store page.

Can they see my order from that? Is sending a message standard when the seller only wants to be paid by invoice? Am I missing something with PayPal. 

How else can a seller know an order is placed if you don't complete the PayPal payment?

 

 

[Huskers1236]

44 minutes ago, Anomander said:

My first time using Bricklink trying to buy a few bits.

The seller states in their Terms that the only way they want to be paid by PayPal is by them issuing an invoice via PayPal.

I filled my shopping cart, picked a shipping method and chose PayPal. This then brings me into PayPal and their proceed to payment - no automatic invoice!

 

I sent the seller a message asking them to send an invoice several days ago but no response. I left my shopping cart full on their Bricklink store page.

Can they see my order from that? Is sending a message standard when the seller only wants to be paid by invoice? Am I missing something with PayPal. 

How else can a seller know an order is placed if you don't complete the PayPal payment?

 

 

It's possible the seller hasn't updated their terms since automatic payment became a reality a few months ago.  If they have automatic payment, you will be prompted automatically to paypal to finish the transaction.  Since my store does not have this feature, I have to send an invoice which you would pay from.  Unfortunately, this seller doesn't seem to be bothered by being asked a question about their store.  If you just had items in a shopping cart and never finalized the checkout, they will disappear at some point and no, the seller cannot see that there is a shopping cart out there, at least I've never seen one in my store.  

[mizeur]

I agree with Huskers 

Also, I'd probably just find another seller if they haven't replied to a message for several days. You could always check their feedback history to see how active they are and how recently they completed a sale.

[Anomander]

19 minutes ago, Huskers1236 said:

It's possible the seller hasn't updated their terms since automatic payment became a reality a few months ago.  If they have automatic payment, you will be prompted automatically to paypal to finish the transaction.  Since my store does not have this feature, I have to send an invoice which you would pay from.  Unfortunately, this seller doesn't seem to be bothered by being asked a question about their store.  If you just had items in a shopping cart and never finalized the checkout, they will disappear at some point and no, the seller cannot see that there is a shopping cart out there, at least I've never seen one in my store.  

Thanks.

This is their Terms on their Bricklink:

Quote

By placing an order, you agree that you have viewed this page and you agree with all conditions in it.

Minimum Buy is 10.0€

All payment must be paid by: Bank Transfer, IBAN or PayPal + 4% (paypal fees). You may not send the payment before you’ve received the invoice.

It's not possible to cancel an order after you have placed it. The only way to cancel an order is by mutual agreement or if the item is listed wrong.

I'm wondering how do you place an order if proceeding with the checkout process only leads to PalPal payment? You say you send invoices as you haven't direct payment set up on your shop.  How can you see orders? Do buyers fill their cart and message you or does Bricklink have another mechanism for invoices or is it done by private messages once the buyer fills their cart?

[Huskers1236]

35 minutes ago, Anomander said:

Thanks.

This is their Terms on their Bricklink:

I'm wondering how do you place an order if proceeding with the checkout process only leads to PalPal payment? You say you send invoices as you haven't direct payment set up on your shop.  How can you see orders? Do buyers fill their cart and message you or does Bricklink have another mechanism for invoices or is it done by private messages once the buyer fills their cart?

If you fill your cart and checkout in my store, you will have the option of "request invoice", which this sends me an email and my store an order showing what you have ordered.  I fill out the shipping costs and then send you the invoice.  You pay the invoice through Paypal and when I show that the invoice is paid I send the parts. 

Since you are not seeing the option to have an invoice sent to you and are being prompted to Paypal for instant checkout, it appears that is the only process for payment that this seller has set up and has not updated their terms that they are showing. 

If this store really has what you need, and you agree to the shipping charges that show up on the order page, go ahead and process the order through Paypal.  It's really simple.  I haven't set up instant checkout simply because there were some bugs when it was new so I waited them out but have yet to get around to setting it up. 

[teamhappyfrog]

What is the cheapest way for first class international mail? It used to be relatively cheap.  To send 3 figures to New Zealand the cost is $13.75.  

[longshot]

2 minutes ago, teamhappyfrog said:

What is the cheapest way for first class international mail? It used to be relatively cheap.  To send 3 figures to New Zealand the cost is $13.75.  

Thats pretty much it.......... Shipping over seas is cost prohibitive unless you are sending to a US overseas zip code......military base, embassy, etc.

[teamhappyfrog]

8 minutes ago, longshot said:

Thats pretty much it.......... Shipping over seas is cost prohibitive unless you are sending to a US overseas zip code......military base, embassy, etc.

It seems like the past year is when they had a huge price increase.

[SageFly]

16 minutes ago, teamhappyfrog said:

What is the cheapest way for first class international mail? It used to be relatively cheap.  To send 3 figures to New Zealand the cost is $13.75.  

You used to be able to send large envelopes overseas for ≈$4 as long as they were under 3/4" thick, but this was changed earlier this year to be for documents only.

[Phil B]

22 minutes ago, SageFly said:

You used to be able to send large envelopes overseas for ≈$4 as long as they were under 3/4" thick, but this was changed earlier this year to be for documents only.

But you had to give up tracking ... correct?