Bricklink/BrickOwl - Discussion, questions, & answers

[LegoMan1212]

10 hours ago, scatttcat said:

Yeah, I've contacted him twice now and no response back yet. I just told him we can figure it out and I will file any claim he wants me to on my end, so we'll see what he says. I would assume he's actively looking into it right now!

Thanks for the helpful advice and not immediately assuming I don't know how to use tape.... haha 

The only thing I don't understand and it is probably just piling on, but who rips open a box, takes "bags" inside and leaves the box?  Everyone just steals the box.  Thieves don't care what is on the inside.  Also, how the box is "opened" doesn't make sense either, it's just too much hassle to go through ripping tape off out in the open air where everyone can see you. 

SIde conversation: Is that just "normal" packing tape?  If it is, I suggest buying the Heavy Duty stuff.  Costco, 8 packs for $20 or so, you can get it on special a couple times a year for $15 I think it is.  That's when I stock up.

Hope it works out for you.

[Thumper]

probably shouldn't ship in reused Amazon boxes, they are instantly recognizable & just scream "Hey I ordered something brand new, come & get it!"

Edited January 12, 2018 by Thumper

[DadsAFOL]

3 hours ago, TANV said:

Just ran into a problem right now. Buyers want to buy a large sized SC sealed set from me.  However, the shipping options aren't leeting them buy it. What Shipping options do you guys use for larger oversized sets for both domestic and international?

Is this BL or BO? BL should just let the order go through to manual invoice.  I prefer FedEx for domestic large boxes because they have better insurance and are less likely to beat them up during transport.  I'm sure others have other opinions though.

 

[TANV]

9 minutes ago, DadsAFOL said:

Is this BL or BO? BL should just let the order go through to manual invoice.  I prefer FedEx for domestic large boxes because they have better insurance and are less likely to beat them up during transport.  I'm sure others have other opinions though.

 

BrickLink. I managed to solve it by fixing the shipping table and essentially creating my own. I'm shipping internationally likely so I prefer USPS just for ease of tracking and also price. 

[TANV]

I just ran into a BrickLink issue of sorts, guys.  This is a first of its kind.

I had a buyer just buy a SC from me.  However, rather than waiting for an invoice, he somehow went ahead and sent me the money for the SC.  At first, I thought it was a PayPal Scam but then I checked my PayPal account on my phone and lo and behold, there was money from the order already.

EXCEPT I never invoiced the order and I didn't have shipping set to automatically fill it in.  The invoice was never sent out as it is.  I believe he just sent it via the automatic Order Generation message BL usually provides by copying and pasting my email address.

What's the best way to properly address this?  The guy looks to be associated with US Military since the address is to an APO. He also has one feedback score.   I'm trying to figure out how to say it was premature and I plan to refund him the money and cancel the order.

[Phil B]

I just ran into a BrickLink issue of sorts, guys.  This is a first of its kind.
I had a buyer just buy a SC from me.  However, rather than waiting for an invoice, he somehow went ahead and sent me the money for the SC.  At first, I thought it was a PayPal Scam but then I checked my PayPal account on my phone and lo and behold, there was money from the order already.
EXCEPT I never invoiced the order and I didn't have shipping set to automatically fill it in.  The invoice was never sent out as it is.  I believe he just sent it via the automatic Order Generation message BL usually provides by copying and pasting my email address.
What's the best way to properly address this?  The guy looks to be associated with US Military since the address is to an APO. He also has one feedback score.   I'm trying to figure out how to say it was premature and I plan to refund him the money and cancel the order.

Can't you just explain the process, send him an invoice and somehow deduct what he already paid? Sounds like just a newbie mistake....no need to cancel the order straightaway

[TANV]

49 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Can't you just explain the process, send him an invoice and somehow deduct what he already paid? Sounds like just a newbie mistake....no need to cancel the order straightaway

That sounds reasonable. I sent him a message asking him if he wanted to do that or another different options.  Thanks, @Phil B for your assistance.

[Huskers1236]

Send a refund and explain that you need to charge shipping fees along with the price of the set.  Since he's a newb he probably doesn't know better.  

[donbee]

That sounds reasonable. I sent him a message asking him if he wanted to do that or another different options.  Thanks, [mention=60440]Phil B[/mention] for your assistance.

That has happened to me once. I had to send an awkward email that explained he needed to pay for shipping too.

It worked out in the end.

[minicoopers11]

1 hour ago, TANV said:

That sounds reasonable. I sent him a message asking him if he wanted to do that or another different options.  Thanks, @Phil B for your assistance.

Yep. Had this same issue before, once as well. Just explained and invoiced them for shipping. 

[DadsAFOL]

Best practice is to refund the original payment, and have them repay in full, not try to pay the incremental amount separately.  This avoids issues with NPB/NSS claims, and if for some reason you needed to claim seller protection reimbursement from PayPal, they would likely only pay one of the amounts.

[Alpinemaps]

2 hours ago, DadsAFOL said:

Best practice is to refund the original payment, and have them repay in full, not try to pay the incremental amount separately.  This avoids issues with NPB/NSS claims, and if for some reason you needed to claim seller protection reimbursement from PayPal, they would likely only pay one of the amounts.

Came here to say this.  Agree with @DadsAFOL.  Best to refund them their amount, and ask them to send based off the invoice.  Let them know you're doing that.  That way, you're not holding their money hostage, and they can't come back and say anything bad about you.

Worst case, they won't pay the invoice, and you're not dealing with them.  Otherwise, you open yourself up to all sorts of complications you just don't need.

[TANV]

5 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

Came here to say this.  Agree with @DadsAFOL.  Best to refund them their amount, and ask them to send based off the invoice.  Let them know you're doing that.  That way, you're not holding their money hostage, and they can't come back and say anything bad about you.

Worst case, they won't pay the invoice, and you're not dealing with them.  Otherwise, you open yourself up to all sorts of complications you just don't need.

Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. I contacted them offering them both options, paying incrementally OR just refunding and invoicing.  In retrospect, I should've just done the refund right away. If I don't get a response in 24 hours of my contact, I'll automatically refund them.

[TANV]

All right. I got it resolved peachily. Refunded him in full and invoiced him. Then he re-sent me the monies so I'll send out the order tomorrow.

Thanks again for your assistance, @Alpinemaps, @DadsAFOL, @Huskers1236.

[lego rules]

9 minutes ago, TANV said:

All right. I got it resolved peachily. Refunded him in full and invoiced him. Then he re-sent me the monies so I'll send out the order tomorrow.

Thanks again for your assistance, @Alpinemaps, @DadsAFOL, @Huskers1236.

Its just annoying paypal gets to keep the $.30 fee ?

 

[Phil B]

1 minute ago, lego rules said:

Its just annoying paypal gets to keep the $.30 fee

 

Be happy they don't charge an  additional $0.30 fee for processing the refund .....

[Phil B]

So I updated my BL Shipping methods last week to reflect the new Paypal pricing. All I did was update the numbers (and create a few bands in my First Class method). Nothing else.

Today I get a potential buyer who messages me saying Checkout tells him "No Shipping Method Available" when he tries to check out from my store. Only way I can resolve this is by turning Instant Checkout on (by setting all my shipping methods to "Automatic" from the previous "Manual"). I've done that for now to get this sale going through, but does anyone know why this happened? Was working fine before I changed the rates. Is there a hidden setting somewhere I should have enabled recently to continue to avoid Instant Checkout?

BTW: Only way I could check this out is by creating a dummy account and trying to buy from my own store. Is that really the only way to test your BL store?

[LegoMan1212]

11 minutes ago, Phil B said:

So I updated my BL Shipping methods last week to reflect the new Paypal pricing. All I did was update the numbers (and create a few bands in my First Class method). Nothing else.

Today I get a potential buyer who messages me saying Checkout tells him "No Shipping Method Available" when he tries to check out from my store. Only way I can resolve this is by turning Instant Checkout on (by setting all my shipping methods to "Automatic" from the previous "Manual"). I've done that for now to get this sale going through, but does anyone know why this happened? Was working fine before I changed the rates. Is there a hidden setting somewhere I should have enabled recently to continue to avoid Instant Checkout?

BTW: Only way I could check this out is by creating a dummy account and trying to buy from my own store. Is that really the only way to test your BL store?

Sorry Phil I don't think I can fully answer your questions, however.  Yes to the BTW. This is the only way I have been able to test my own store.  However, if you have instant checkout, I believe you have to have a non-instant checkout option available too so that it can default to something if the purchase is not within the parameters that your Instant Checkout has available.  There are many items that automatically make a small order that weighs nothing into an invoice required because the system doesn't know what the weight/size of some items are.

I have a question for you though, what are the new Paypal fees? I am not finding anything about this.  Is it not 2.9% + .30 still?

[Phil B]

Sorry Phil I don't think I can fully answer your questions, however.  Yes to the BTW. This is the only way I have been able to test my own store.  However, if you have instant checkout, I believe you have to have a non-instant checkout option available too so that it can default to something if the purchase is not within the parameters that your Instant Checkout has available.  There are many items that automatically make a small order that weighs nothing into an invoice required because the system doesn't know what the weight/size of some items are.
I have a question for you though, what are the new Paypal fees? I am not finding anything about this.  Is it not 2.9% + .30 still?

I meant the USPS shipping fees charged through PayPal.

[ascedt]

Have a question regarding bricklink. I read through some of the pages and didn't see the answer, so was hoping one of the seasoned guys could help out quicker. I am looking for some older minifigures to finish a set i got at a yardsale. I have really only seen them from buyers outside the USA. If i buy them do i have to pay any fees or do any paperwork for the US for bringing them in since they very little value. Thanks for any information on this.

[Vinetu]

Just now, ascedt said:

Have a question regarding bricklink. I read through some of the pages and didn't see the answer, so was hoping one of the seasoned guys could help out quicker. I am looking for some older minifigures to finish a set i got at a yardsale. I have really only seen them from buyers outside the USA. If i buy them do i have to pay any fees or do any paperwork for the US for bringing them in since they very little value. Thanks for any information on this.

In principle, when you import anything from outside your country/customs union you are subject to customs. However, bubble mailers (padded envelopes) very seldom get checked by customs, generally only parcels are subject to detailed customs declarations. I ship a ton of letter shipments to US and besides sometimes tedious shipping times, letter shipments almost never get checked. The advantage for you is double actually: if you purchase small quantities from say an EU seller, Bricklink will automatically subtract EU VAT because you are a non-EU buyer. In principle again you should pay customs (who then charge you your country's sales tax), but as I said, small shipments rarely get caught in the net.

Parcels are a different story though. I am legally required to put a customs declaration on parcels, with clear indication of the value of the contents. On parcel, you would almost certainly have to pay customs duty, but even these customs duties are, I believe, only imposed beyond a certain value threshold.

[DadsAFOL]

I believe EU allows up to €100 value to be sent to you with no fees, but you should check your county's rules before ordering.  Unfortunately for British buyers, theirs is the most restrictive as anything over £15 gets fees imposed. 

[Guest betsy805]

I have this showing up when someone is trying to checkout on my page:

Order summary

No shipping methods available

I'm sorry, but the seller can't ship your order with any of the shipping method available.

 

Do you know why or how I can fix it?  They're looking to buy sets and I've never had this issue before so I don't know what changed?!!

[Phil B]

Just now, betsy805 said:

I have this showing up when someone is trying to checkout on my page:

Order summary

No shipping methods available

I'm sorry, but the seller can't ship your order with any of the shipping method available.

 

Do you know why or how I can fix it?  They're looking to buy sets and I've never had this issue before so I don't know what changed?!!

I don't know what changed, but I reported the same a few weeks ago. I switched to Instant Checkout and the issue went away. You might want to try that.

[Guest betsy805]

1 minute ago, Phil B said:

I don't know what changed, but I reported the same a few weeks ago. I switched to Instant Checkout and the issue went away. You might want to try that.

I think I have instant checkout for orders in first class packaging range......how would you do it to accomodate larger sets?