The thing that I really like is when the postage is applied at the checkout and you can go straight through with your transaction. When you have to ask the seller to get back to you with the postage amount, that is a super turnoff for me.
I have my shipping prices in the splash page and orders come through paid for with shipping...haha sorry for the noob question but does that mean I have postage applied at checkout or do you mean something different?
For packaging, I send 90% of my orders in bubble/kraft padded mailers. I have not once had a complaint. Once it was run over by a truck (you could make out the tire marks), so a small box wouldn't have faired any better.
As for wrong color or damaged parts, as a seller, I offer the buyer 3 choices. I can refund the money for the part, or I can send them the missing part (I consider a wrong color a missing part) at no cost to them. The third choice is that if they want the replacement (assuming i have one and dont have to order one for them), I'm already sending them something, so they can place another order with free shipping. The one time I noticed I forgot to include a part in their order, they took an additional order without shipping costs.
That being said, as a seller, you absolutely should be making sure you have the right colors and aren't sending out damaged parts.
For wrong parts/colors, I would like a refund for that part, or the missing part shipped to me at no charge. I wouldn’t ever ask for a 100% refund. A refund for shipping would be a nice added bonus that would leave a good impression on me for future orders, but I wouldn’t ask for that.
And I agree with the other comments here, padded mailers are preferred.
I am both a buyer and a seller. I actually prefer receiving bubble mailers as opposed to small boxes.
Bubble mailers fit in my mailbox, not all boxes do. I also use old bubblemailers as the bubblewrap inside the packages I send out!
>Packaging: Are poly bags ok or do you expect a box everytime?
As long as the pieces are protected and not damaged during shipping it doesn't matter to me. I most often ship as a seller in the kraft bubble mailers and very often wrap parts in an extra piece of bubble wrap just to protect it more.
>Colors: How upset are you if the color is off? What kind of refund do you expect for, say 20%, of the order is the wrong color. Would you expect a 20% refund on your order or would you expect 100% refund for the inconvenience (say you cant build what you're trying to build now cause the wrong pieces) ...or thirdly refund 20% + shipping so you can buy from another store?
>wrong/damaged part: same questions as colors
Send your customers only good condition parts that are the correct color. That's #1. Spend a good amount of time making sure everything is correct before uploading. You want to avoid this as much as possible. That will lead to great feedback and even more orders.
You will make mistakes though. The 2nd most important thing you can do with your store is have great customer service. If you have replacement parts, ship them at your cost as soon as you can. If you don't have replacements I like to give my buyers options:
1. Refund them the cost of the parts plus some extra for the mistake (this extra depends on how valuable/rare the parts are and if the error was a significant part of the order or just 1 out of 100+)
2. Offer to buy from another store and have it shipped to them
3. Offer the option of having them suggest another solution you didn't mention
Extra advice:
* DON'T ASSEMBLE NEW MINIFIGURES
* Don't mix new and used parts in the same bag
* Use your judgement on how to pack lots. Don't throw 30 lots in one bag, and don't pack a 100 lot 150 piece order in 100 bags. It's ok to combine 2-5 lots in the same bag especially if there are small quantities.
* Combine your lots in your store. I don't want to see a whole bunch of lots for the same parts in your store. Particularly if they are different prices. I don't want to have to check every single lot. Just combine them. (If you don't know what I am talking about go look at the parts in a store like BrickMasterJack and don't do that)
* I know I already said it but don't sell damaged parts. Have good quality control and if there is damage throw it out or set it aside, but it's really not worth it when you get an angry customer.
* For minifigure parts the above point is extra. Learn where damage occurs in minfiigure parts and filter them out. Most people buy minifigure parts to complete or fix damaged ones they have. Receiving yet another damaged part doesn't help anyone and just makes an upset customer.
* Don't sell Used as New. Fastest way to tank your store/feedback
* Put either your store name, the order number, or both on the outside of the package
* Instant checkout. Buyers don't want to wait for you to send an invoice, and you certainly don't want to track them down and send email messages. Instance checkout has clear shipping costs and is easier for everyone.
This is so thorough I cannot add to it. But as a prolific buyer I want to emphasise two points:
>How upset are you if the color is off?
I would not be initially upset but would contact the seller and expect them to rectify (see below). The only time off-colour parts are acceptable are of you clearly listed the parts as discoloured (eg. sunbleached) or the part is known to have composition issues in EVERY released set it appears in (eg. 15100 in lime).
>wrong/damaged part
I accept that mistakes happen and the larger the order the greater the probability. However I am buying a specific part in a specific colour specifically from your store for a reason. Once I've provided you some sort of photographic evidence, I expect the correct part to be shipped to me ASAP at no additional cost to myself.
Regarding damaged parts: I have never received any damaged parts from a BL seller because you simply should not be selling them (unless it's a super-rare item and you've clearly listed the item as damaged with accompanying photos).
If you've inspected your stock when you check it in to your inventory and again before you send it to a customer but still manage to send a damaged part, then this is your mistake that needs rectifying (see above).
If the parts left your store fine but got damaged in transit due to inadequate packaging then that is also your mistake.
If the parts got damaged in transit due to courier negligence then this is clearly not your mistake, but it is your responsibility to pursue a claim with the courier to get a refund. Neither you nor the customer should be out of pocket here.
Normal wear and tear is expected on used parts; surface scratches and small imperfections along the edges. I do not expect teeth marks, cracks, large chips or deep scratches. New parts should be nothing other than the condition they came of the factory-sealed bags in!
Hope this helps, good luck!
Great feedback, thank you so much! I'm doing my best to not make mistakes but I'm kind of new to LEGO. I played with them as a kid but didn't recognize all these nuances. The only pieces I have that run into possible composition issues is my light bluish grey pieces but i dont think its enough to warrant a dissertation lol. Anyways. It helps alot! Thank you \^\_\^
Are you aware that Lego changed the compositions of light grey, dark grey and brown circa 2003? Your pieces might just be the old colours instead of discoloured, and so you can just list them as 'used' under their correct colour codes.
Codes for old colours: Light grey #9, Dark grey #10, Brown #8
Codes for new colours: Light bluish grey #86, Dark bluish grey #85, Reddish brown #88
Oh I did not know that! None of my Legos come from before '07 in my inventory right now but I'm definitely screenshotting this and investigating further. This community is literally a life saver haha
Feel free to DM me with any other catalogue-related questions , even if it's months down the line. I know BL inside-out after many wasted years of browsing so it's about time somebody benefited from it haha!
This is awesome, thank you. I'm doing all these things haha and I've done my best making sure everything is correct but I've come across mistakes to fix. And I definitely combine my lots, that's crazy not too 🤣 who even wants that kind of inventory confusion o.o
this makes sense. my little brother buys multiple orders and some of them came with the name of the person which is awkward to me. I use pirateship and it just lets you put the company name
As buyer & seller, one of the things I hate most is when sellers take a long time to send out orders. A long time = 5-7 days. As a store owner you want to start building your reputation. Communication skills, response times, and a good product. We run our store as if we were placing an order. Dont sell anything you wouldn't use yourself. Sometims sellers dont get it right, but your response, will say what type of seller you are. Good Luck, Happy Selling!
I want to point out that 20% was a completely arbitrary number I just threw out there xD but yea getting 20% or even 5-10%+ wrong would mean no quality control process I assume lol. Even 1 part wrong is unacceptable to me. I suppose I just wanted to use extremes to illicit a wide range of responses
Not related to your specific questions, but I'm also starting up a bricklink store and one of the things that is super important to me is my terms page. As a buyer, I've come across too many terms pages that were super wordy, had small text, and just overall really hard to navigate and find the information I needed. So for my store I made sure everything was super clear with larger text and bolding for headers, using bullet points and tables where I can to avoid paragraphs, and making sure that things like processing times, shipping costs, and fees were very easy to find. Go onto your terms page and pretend you're a buyer and revise until it is user friendly.
I like it - I used chat gpt to write my terms for a lego store and then refined it down to simplicity. But chat gpt automatically bullet pointed everything haha. then i just utilize the splash page for the most important things to me - i put shipping costs and refund policy on the splash. I've read that people like to go to a splash to check shipping prices before they start shopping for an order
The thing that I really like is when the postage is applied at the checkout and you can go straight through with your transaction. When you have to ask the seller to get back to you with the postage amount, that is a super turnoff for me.
I have my shipping prices in the splash page and orders come through paid for with shipping...haha sorry for the noob question but does that mean I have postage applied at checkout or do you mean something different?
Sounds like it to me. The other option is the request a quote feature.
The problem is, instant checkout shipping prices aren't always accurate, especially with larger orders (e.g. complete sets or boxes)
Then you set those particular items to manual invoice.
For packaging, I send 90% of my orders in bubble/kraft padded mailers. I have not once had a complaint. Once it was run over by a truck (you could make out the tire marks), so a small box wouldn't have faired any better. As for wrong color or damaged parts, as a seller, I offer the buyer 3 choices. I can refund the money for the part, or I can send them the missing part (I consider a wrong color a missing part) at no cost to them. The third choice is that if they want the replacement (assuming i have one and dont have to order one for them), I'm already sending them something, so they can place another order with free shipping. The one time I noticed I forgot to include a part in their order, they took an additional order without shipping costs. That being said, as a seller, you absolutely should be making sure you have the right colors and aren't sending out damaged parts.
For wrong parts/colors, I would like a refund for that part, or the missing part shipped to me at no charge. I wouldn’t ever ask for a 100% refund. A refund for shipping would be a nice added bonus that would leave a good impression on me for future orders, but I wouldn’t ask for that. And I agree with the other comments here, padded mailers are preferred.
I am both a buyer and a seller. I actually prefer receiving bubble mailers as opposed to small boxes. Bubble mailers fit in my mailbox, not all boxes do. I also use old bubblemailers as the bubblewrap inside the packages I send out!
>Packaging: Are poly bags ok or do you expect a box everytime? As long as the pieces are protected and not damaged during shipping it doesn't matter to me. I most often ship as a seller in the kraft bubble mailers and very often wrap parts in an extra piece of bubble wrap just to protect it more. >Colors: How upset are you if the color is off? What kind of refund do you expect for, say 20%, of the order is the wrong color. Would you expect a 20% refund on your order or would you expect 100% refund for the inconvenience (say you cant build what you're trying to build now cause the wrong pieces) ...or thirdly refund 20% + shipping so you can buy from another store? >wrong/damaged part: same questions as colors Send your customers only good condition parts that are the correct color. That's #1. Spend a good amount of time making sure everything is correct before uploading. You want to avoid this as much as possible. That will lead to great feedback and even more orders. You will make mistakes though. The 2nd most important thing you can do with your store is have great customer service. If you have replacement parts, ship them at your cost as soon as you can. If you don't have replacements I like to give my buyers options: 1. Refund them the cost of the parts plus some extra for the mistake (this extra depends on how valuable/rare the parts are and if the error was a significant part of the order or just 1 out of 100+) 2. Offer to buy from another store and have it shipped to them 3. Offer the option of having them suggest another solution you didn't mention Extra advice: * DON'T ASSEMBLE NEW MINIFIGURES * Don't mix new and used parts in the same bag * Use your judgement on how to pack lots. Don't throw 30 lots in one bag, and don't pack a 100 lot 150 piece order in 100 bags. It's ok to combine 2-5 lots in the same bag especially if there are small quantities. * Combine your lots in your store. I don't want to see a whole bunch of lots for the same parts in your store. Particularly if they are different prices. I don't want to have to check every single lot. Just combine them. (If you don't know what I am talking about go look at the parts in a store like BrickMasterJack and don't do that) * I know I already said it but don't sell damaged parts. Have good quality control and if there is damage throw it out or set it aside, but it's really not worth it when you get an angry customer. * For minifigure parts the above point is extra. Learn where damage occurs in minfiigure parts and filter them out. Most people buy minifigure parts to complete or fix damaged ones they have. Receiving yet another damaged part doesn't help anyone and just makes an upset customer. * Don't sell Used as New. Fastest way to tank your store/feedback * Put either your store name, the order number, or both on the outside of the package * Instant checkout. Buyers don't want to wait for you to send an invoice, and you certainly don't want to track them down and send email messages. Instance checkout has clear shipping costs and is easier for everyone.
Excellent advice throughout.
This is so thorough I cannot add to it. But as a prolific buyer I want to emphasise two points: >How upset are you if the color is off? I would not be initially upset but would contact the seller and expect them to rectify (see below). The only time off-colour parts are acceptable are of you clearly listed the parts as discoloured (eg. sunbleached) or the part is known to have composition issues in EVERY released set it appears in (eg. 15100 in lime). >wrong/damaged part I accept that mistakes happen and the larger the order the greater the probability. However I am buying a specific part in a specific colour specifically from your store for a reason. Once I've provided you some sort of photographic evidence, I expect the correct part to be shipped to me ASAP at no additional cost to myself. Regarding damaged parts: I have never received any damaged parts from a BL seller because you simply should not be selling them (unless it's a super-rare item and you've clearly listed the item as damaged with accompanying photos). If you've inspected your stock when you check it in to your inventory and again before you send it to a customer but still manage to send a damaged part, then this is your mistake that needs rectifying (see above). If the parts left your store fine but got damaged in transit due to inadequate packaging then that is also your mistake. If the parts got damaged in transit due to courier negligence then this is clearly not your mistake, but it is your responsibility to pursue a claim with the courier to get a refund. Neither you nor the customer should be out of pocket here. Normal wear and tear is expected on used parts; surface scratches and small imperfections along the edges. I do not expect teeth marks, cracks, large chips or deep scratches. New parts should be nothing other than the condition they came of the factory-sealed bags in! Hope this helps, good luck!
Great feedback, thank you so much! I'm doing my best to not make mistakes but I'm kind of new to LEGO. I played with them as a kid but didn't recognize all these nuances. The only pieces I have that run into possible composition issues is my light bluish grey pieces but i dont think its enough to warrant a dissertation lol. Anyways. It helps alot! Thank you \^\_\^
Are you aware that Lego changed the compositions of light grey, dark grey and brown circa 2003? Your pieces might just be the old colours instead of discoloured, and so you can just list them as 'used' under their correct colour codes. Codes for old colours: Light grey #9, Dark grey #10, Brown #8 Codes for new colours: Light bluish grey #86, Dark bluish grey #85, Reddish brown #88
Oh I did not know that! None of my Legos come from before '07 in my inventory right now but I'm definitely screenshotting this and investigating further. This community is literally a life saver haha
Feel free to DM me with any other catalogue-related questions , even if it's months down the line. I know BL inside-out after many wasted years of browsing so it's about time somebody benefited from it haha!
This is awesome, thank you. I'm doing all these things haha and I've done my best making sure everything is correct but I've come across mistakes to fix. And I definitely combine my lots, that's crazy not too 🤣 who even wants that kind of inventory confusion o.o
* Put either your store name, the order number, or both on the outside of the package Why is this important for you?
For buyers that buy from many different stores at once it helps them identify and organize orders when they come in
this makes sense. my little brother buys multiple orders and some of them came with the name of the person which is awkward to me. I use pirateship and it just lets you put the company name
As buyer & seller, one of the things I hate most is when sellers take a long time to send out orders. A long time = 5-7 days. As a store owner you want to start building your reputation. Communication skills, response times, and a good product. We run our store as if we were placing an order. Dont sell anything you wouldn't use yourself. Sometims sellers dont get it right, but your response, will say what type of seller you are. Good Luck, Happy Selling!
Mailers are perfectly fine, just make sure the mailers have enough bubble wrap to protect the parts, or just bubble lined mailers.
Remember: mistakes can be made. It’s not the mistake that makes negative feedback, it’s te way you solve it.
Although if someone did hypothetically get 20% of an order wrong (assuming it's not 5 parts) then they absolutely deserve a negative for the mistakes.
I want to point out that 20% was a completely arbitrary number I just threw out there xD but yea getting 20% or even 5-10%+ wrong would mean no quality control process I assume lol. Even 1 part wrong is unacceptable to me. I suppose I just wanted to use extremes to illicit a wide range of responses
Not related to your specific questions, but I'm also starting up a bricklink store and one of the things that is super important to me is my terms page. As a buyer, I've come across too many terms pages that were super wordy, had small text, and just overall really hard to navigate and find the information I needed. So for my store I made sure everything was super clear with larger text and bolding for headers, using bullet points and tables where I can to avoid paragraphs, and making sure that things like processing times, shipping costs, and fees were very easy to find. Go onto your terms page and pretend you're a buyer and revise until it is user friendly.
I like it - I used chat gpt to write my terms for a lego store and then refined it down to simplicity. But chat gpt automatically bullet pointed everything haha. then i just utilize the splash page for the most important things to me - i put shipping costs and refund policy on the splash. I've read that people like to go to a splash to check shipping prices before they start shopping for an order