Parting Out - Newbie Q&A

[billybell991]

Hey folks!  I'm relatively new here and have, up to this point, just been selling complete new and used sets.  It's been going okay, but I think I'm ready to get serious about parting out some of my sets.  I hope I'm posting this in the right spot, but I figured I'd start a thread which is a bit of a Q&A for Newbie Parter-Outers like myself.  I've read quite a few threads (on Brickpicker) and articles, but I have a few extra questions that weren't addressed.

A few questions I have to begin with:

1) New vs Used (Bricklink) - I'm seeing where it's around a 20-30% difference in Part-out value when you specify whether your pieces are new or used.  Now, obviously "New" would mean you just took them out of the bags and put them into a bubble mailer.  But, a ton of my "Used" parts look (and smell) new because Lego is near indestructible.  Is it completely taboo to say they're New since they APPEAR that way, when in reality you know they aren't?

2) Boxes - Is it worth including them in set Part-Outs?  It seems like they're only worth a very small fraction and would be the biggest pain to ship.

3) Sorting method idea.  I find the biggest "fear" I have about this is sorting and keeping things organized.  The typical fashion seems to be to have each piece/color/type in its own little bin, in order to make finding/picking easier.  I had an idea though, given that I've been dealing mainly with sets.  I thought I'd use the "Part out a Set" feature on Bricklink, like everyone else.  But, on there, I'd make use of the Remarks field to simply indicate the Set # it comes from.  I would then keep these sets together in my home storage.  When I get an order, I simply go find the pieces in their respective set bags or whatnot, instead of having 100s of separate containers.  Is this a feasible option?

Thanks in advance.  I honestly hope this thread helps other noobs like myself. 

[KShine]

Those are pretty much bad ideas across the board.

1. Is it ok to lie about my item, with the hope that the buyer doesn't realize it - no.

2. Boxes have value (some end up having a lot of value) - If you can keep them, keep them (you can flatten them, if you need to).

3. Unless your plan is to stay small - in the long run it won't be beneficial (which is why parter outers separate the pieces).

Edited April 26, 2015 by KShine

[billybell991]

Haha!  Alright, well that was brutally honest and to the point.  I did mention I was new at this.  They were more questions than "ideas".

Edited April 26, 2015 by billybell991

[MartinP]

Here are my responses to the three questions:

1.) Never lie about the condition of the pieces you are selling. If you have taken the pieces directly out of the bag, they are new. All the others are used.

2.) Boxes do have some value, but typically not a lot, and they take a while to sell depending on the set.

3.) IMO, if you are beginning your adventure of parting out, start out being super organized. It may be hard in the beginning, but when you have more inventory and have more customers, being super organized will help you in the long run.

[billybell991]

Cool.  Thanks for the advice, MartinP!  Clears up a bit of fog with this, for me.

[justafrog]

Agreed with posts above, and just an addendum - by far the most time-consuming aspect of the new parts sellers job is the picking of orders you receive. It is worth every penny and every moment of time you spend in organizing that down to the nth degree, to save yourself countless hours of hassle and searching for parts once you get an order.

Remember, once you get an order, you're on the clock to get that order out the door as quickly as you can - customer service matters not just for your own satisfaction at doing the job well, but for your feedback and your repeat customer ratio.

Everything else you do - sorting, filing, uploading parts - is "off" that customer service clock. It doesn't matter how long any of that takes you (as far as your customers are concerned), so efficiency at the after-order end is the place to start and the most important to maintain.

*Edited to clarify - pulling orders is by far the most time-consuming aspect of the new parts seller's job - a used parts seller has a huge time sink at the sorting end, too.

Edited April 26, 2015 by justafrog
clarification

[thoroakenfelder]

What's the typical ROI on sets? I know that if I part out a set on Bricklink, it shows me this higher value, but then I wonder if the timeframe on this to fully sell through means that the ROI is actually much lower and the opportunity cost is much higher as I would then have to deal with sorting and storing everything.

[DadsAFOL]

You answered your own question. The part out value doesn't factor time or liquidity (what you might have to mark down to get it to actually sell). You just have to do a few and get a feel for it. Good luck!

[thoroakenfelder]

Is there much value in pick a brick for parts sales? I bought an entire tub for a project that never got off the ground,so I assume those could still be labeled as new.

[newbie77]

Is there much value in pick a brick for parts sales? I bought an entire tub for a project that never got off the ground,so I assume those could still be labeled as new.

depends on what you got and your cost price. if your cost price is less than 0.05/brick then it might be worth it but again totally depends on what you got.

if i remember correctly, somewhere it was mentioned that someone was fitting about 180 or 190 (something like that) 2X4 brick on one of those 9.99 cups. so there you go

[thoroakenfelder]

depends on what you got and your cost price. if your cost price is less than 0.05/brick then it might be worth it but again totally depends on what you got.

if i remember correctly, somewhere it was mentioned that someone was fitting about 180 or 190 (something like that) 2X4 brick on one of those 9.99 cups. so there you go

I think I wound up with a ton of 1x1x2/3 clear cheese wedges, blue jewels, 2x4 plates in a sort of uncommon blue that I can't quite figure out which one it falls under on BL. Plus some common 2x2 and 1x4 bricks and plates.

[justapilgrim]

I have bought entire pick a bricks cups of horses and stairs. Broke down to $30-$40 a cup, and I kept the filler pieces

[thoroakenfelder]

I have bought entire pick a bricks cups of horses and stairs. Broke down to $30-$40 a cup, and I kept the filler pieces

I have never seen horses in pick a brick locally

 

[tacsniper]

Does anyone know how long does it take for the BrickStore App to include new sets? I don't see the Jurassic World sets in the app and the database is up to date when I click update.

[Victorymike18]

I think I wound up with a ton of 1x1x2/3 clear cheese wedges, blue jewels, 2x4 plates in a sort of uncommon blue that I can't quite figure out which one it falls under on BL. Plus some common 2x2 and 1x4 bricks and plates.

Regarding the unknown color:  You're probably best off walking around the store and trying to find a set that has that color piece, then looking it up on BL and figuring it out.

* Has anyone created (for sale) a color reference "chart" made from real bricks?  That would be super-helpful!

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

I have never seen horses in pick a brick locally

 

I have in Baltimore, just the once. Only once saw and loaded up the green leaf.  Rare items do pop up.

 

http://alpha.bricklink.com/pages/clone/catalogitem.page?P=2417#T=P

[dustyshelf]

Does anyone know how long does it take for the BrickStore App to include new sets? I don't see the Jurassic World sets in the app and the database is up to date when I click update.

Is BrickStore still supported? I'm running BrickStock and the updated database does include the JW sets.

 

EDIT: Sorry, didn't see how old your post was, lol.

Edited September 26, 2015 by dustyshelf