Complaint Thread

[Phil B]

Sellers who still don't use Instant Checkout on BrickLink, and then proceed to quote retail USPS rates instead of the discounted shipping they get via Paypal or Stamps.com/Endicia. I get it if you are just starting, but I'm having an argument right now with a seller who has 5000+ feedback and pulls these kinds of stunts.

And if that's someone on here, let's PM.

[Voltron]

31 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Sellers who still don't use Instant Checkout on BrickLink, and then proceed to quote retail USPS rates instead of the discounted shipping they get via Paypal or Stamps.com/Endicia. I get it if you are just starting, but I'm having an argument right now with a seller who has 5000+ feedback and pulls these kinds of stunts.

And if that's someone on here, let's PM.

I dont have instant check out enabled.  Problem i was having was that people were ordering big quantities, and instant checkout was keep on selecting the wrong postage method, not taking into account max parcel size of postage level etc.

So I have it turned off, probably lose some sales, but had too many orders with lower postage selected, and always an uphill battle explaining to buyer wrong postage, so I just ate the difference.

[Phil B]

9 minutes ago, Voltron said:

I dont have instant check out enabled.  Problem i was having was that people were ordering big quantities, and instant checkout was keep on selecting the wrong postage method, not taking into account max parcel size of postage level etc.

So I have it turned off, probably lose some sales, but had too many orders with lower postage selected, and always an uphill battle explaining to buyer wrong postage, so I just ate the difference.

My beef is not with not having Instant Checkout. I get that this doesn't work for some people, but most sellers then proceed to have a clear shipping rates table and clear conditions. I bought a small order of parts from a seller ($5-6) who has this as his/her shipping terms:

Order Shipping Cost = Actual Shipping Cost plus $1.50 for packaging materials.
Minimum shipping: $4.50 US and International

This forces me to make assumptions. My assumption was: around $3 for shipping, plus $1.50 for packaging, nicely hits around the $4.50 minimum, so I made my buying decision based on this. Seller proceeds to charge me $4.50 PLUS $1.50. I've requested a cancellation but it wasn't immediately granted, instead the argument was that shipping was at least $4.20 as a base cost, which is utter bollocks. I checked in Paypal for the exact address-to-address shipping and it is $3.18.

I order from other stores who have no instant checkout, but typically my deduction of fees is pretty much spot on with what is in their terms. 

If we go nowhere with this I'll eat it and add the store to my Least Favorite list, but I don't like being ripped off. And yes, I could have requested a quote, but their terms seemed to be clear enough to not have to do this. Shame on me I guess. End Rant.

 

Edited October 10, 2020 by Phil B

[mrsl8r]

1 hour ago, Phil B said:

Sellers who still don't use Instant Checkout on BrickLink, and then proceed to quote retail USPS rates instead of the discounted shipping they get via Paypal or Stamps.com/Endicia. I get it if you are just starting, but I'm having an argument right now with a seller who has 5000+ feedback and pulls these kinds of stunts.

And if that's someone on here, let's PM.

Just my two cents but I don't see an issue with charging USPS retail rates, unless you're also charging a packaging/handling fee.  Typically the difference in cost between USPS rates and the discounted shipping via Paypal accounts for packaging costs in my experience.

The only way I'd see adding an additional fee is if you get high lot/low value orders, and need that built in just to make it worth the time it takes to pull an order.  Some people are willing to pay a little extra for that, and if a seller is willing to take the time to do so I wouldn't fault them for it.  For me, I'd rather set a minimum purchase and avg lot value to weed out orders that end up costing me money/time (not saying that's the case here, I don't know what this order looks like).   

Short story:

$5 order with 5 lots $1 avg lot cost = not cool to add a fee

$5 order with 50 lots $0.10 avg lot cost = I'd understand an additional fee

Again, just my take on it (BL seller with over 1k orders).  Sellers are certainly free to charge whatever they want and buyers will either support that or not.  I also definitely agree it should be completely clear in the terms that the additional fee is on top of the retail shipping.

[MinifigW]

3 hours ago, mrsl8r said:

Just my two cents but I don't see an issue with charging USPS retail rates, unless you're also charging a packaging/handling fee.  Typically the difference in cost between USPS rates and the discounted shipping via Paypal accounts for packaging costs in my experience.

The only way I'd see adding an additional fee is if you get high lot/low value orders, and need that built in just to make it worth the time it takes to pull an order.  Some people are willing to pay a little extra for that, and if a seller is willing to take the time to do so I wouldn't fault them for it.  For me, I'd rather set a minimum purchase and avg lot value to weed out orders that end up costing me money/time (not saying that's the case here, I don't know what this order looks like).   

Short story:

$5 order with 5 lots $1 avg lot cost = not cool to add a fee

$5 order with 50 lots $0.10 avg lot cost = I'd understand an additional fee

Again, just my take on it (BL seller with over 1k orders).  Sellers are certainly free to charge whatever they want and buyers will either support that or not.  I also definitely agree it should be completely clear in the terms that the additional fee is on top of the retail shipping.

I agree with this, $4.50 for shipping for a small order isn't unreasonable. That probably pays for the $0.35 PayPal fee and maybe the bubble mailer with the overage. The additional $1.50 fee is a bit excessive to be honest. 

I just typically charge whatever the discounted USPS rate is rounded up to the nearest dollar to help pay for the shipping materials. Although my shipping rates for smaller orders are a little less favorable, starting at a minimum of $4.99 to $7.99, since instant checkout is pretty bad at guessing weights and I have to eat overage maybe 15% of the time. 

[Alpinemaps]

I’ve spent the last 12 hours cleaning my garage from top to bottom because I discovered we have rats. Killed 6 of them, but as I was assembling the garage again, spotted another one!

The rats are a lovely parting gift from my next door neighbor. This is the neighbor who, as a 40 year old woman, harassed my daughter. Her daughter also bullied my daughter. I was literally filling out a restraining order when COVID hit. I only stopped because I knew she and her daughter wouldn’t have access to my daughter anymore.

Well, they finally moved to another house in my neighborhood. But we discovered from the neighbors on the opposite side that they have a mountain of trash on the other side of the house. So bad the people in that side can’t open their windows.

And we talked with guys doing the renovations on the house (before it sells) and they said they are having to rip the entire house apart because of the rat problem inside.

Just insane.

[CsabaLazlo]

7 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

I’ve spent the last 12 hours cleaning my garage from top to bottom because I discovered we have rats. Killed 6 of them, but as I was assembling the garage again, spotted another one!

The rats are a lovely parting gift from my next door neighbor. This is the neighbor who, as a 40 year old woman, harassed my daughter. Her daughter also bullied my daughter. I was literally filling out a restraining order when COVID hit. I only stopped because I knew she and her daughter wouldn’t have access to my daughter anymore.

Well, they finally moved to another house in my neighborhood. But we discovered from the neighbors on the opposite side that they have a mountain of trash on the other side of the house. So bad the people in that side can’t open their windows.

And we talked with guys doing the renovations on the house (before it sells) and they said they are having to rip the entire house apart because of the rat problem inside.

Just insane.

Sounds like something out of an episode of Hoarders.

[Voltron]

1 hour ago, CsabaLazlo said:

Sounds like something out of an episode of Hoarders.

Hoarders sounds alot like brickpicker members 

[marcandre]

9 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

I’ve spent the last 12 hours cleaning my garage from top to bottom because I discovered we have rats. Killed 6 of them, but as I was assembling the garage again, spotted another one!

So your the guy in the Geico commercial? 

[Darth_Raichu]

My ordering skill is slipping. I used to be able to look for deals, order them, and be snarky on BP at the same time

[KShine]

The USPS Temporary Price Increase During Peak 2020 Season.

Bull$%$!

 

[ichiroll]

30 minutes ago, KShine said:

The USPS Temporary Price Increase During Peak 2020 Season.

Bull$%$!

 

Doesn't UPS and FedEx do this as well every year.  UPS doesn't even let you claim service guarantees.

[Shortbus311]

When you buy a used lot that has quite a few great disassembled sets in a big tub, but as you are going through sorting it out, every minifigure has had their arms, hands or legs or a combination of the above removed and lost.... or "colored" with a marker.

Luckily there is enough in my latest purchase to sell without the minifigures and still make a good profit, but oh what it could have been if the minifigures weren't destroyed.

[exracer327]

1 hour ago, Shortbus311 said:

When you buy a used lot that has quite a few great disassembled sets in a big tub, but as you are going through sorting it out, every minifigure has had their arms, hands or legs or a combination of the above removed and lost.... or "colored" with a marker.

Luckily there is enough in my latest purchase to sell without the minifigures and still make a good profit, but oh what it could have been if the minifigures weren't destroyed.

I hear you - it's painful.  To be honest, if I find an intact minifigure in a used lot I consider myself lucky.

[Mark Twain]

Since moving to managed payments on eBay my monthly sales reports no longer include a detailed breakdown of item sold, shipping, etc. they’re lumped together as a single sum because eBay is now taking there fees out of shipping, too.

Has anyone found a way to generate a detailed report? This is going to make taxes ridiculous.

[odysea11]

Since moving to managed payments on eBay my monthly sales reports no longer include a detailed breakdown of item sold, shipping, etc. they’re lumped together as a single sum because eBay is now taking there fees out of shipping, too.

Has anyone found a way to generate a detailed report? This is going to make taxes ridiculous.

My bookkeeper (wife) hates the new payout system. Change is always tough, but this new system overcomplicates the bookkeeping aspect. Liked it better through PayPal...

[Bold-Arrow]

RIP Sean Connery

 

[gmpirate]

1 hour ago, Bold-Arrow said:

RIP Sean Connery

 

crazy, didn't realize he was 90

[KShine]

12 minutes ago, gmpirate said:

crazy, didn't realize he was 90

That's because ne never stopped looking like the coolest person in the room.

[Bold-Arrow]

moving on plz.. any posts in regards to citrus fruits or blueberries will be deleted going fwd. 

[Darth_Raichu]

I hate that since my eyes are opened to all of the BS, I cannot close them back and just ignore everything like in November 2019

[lazuli16]

Someone has a email address that's very similar to mine and I get almost all of his bank/phone/promotional correspondence.  I've tried responding to the senders but they keep asking me for his personal information, which I obviously don't know, before they'll even discuss anything with me. 

[Phil B]

3 minutes ago, lazuli16 said:

Someone has a email address that's very similar to mine and I get almost all of his bank/phone/promotional correspondence.  I've tried responding to the senders but they keep asking me for his personal information, which I obviously don't know, before they'll even discuss anything with me. 

Is your name John Smith and do you have an aol.com account? I'm sorry for all the spam ....

[fuzzy_bricks]

5 minutes ago, lazuli16 said:

Someone has a email address that's very similar to mine and I get almost all of his bank/phone/promotional correspondence.  I've tried responding to the senders but they keep asking me for his personal information, which I obviously don't know, before they'll even discuss anything with me. 

I worked at a place that had a fax number with two numbers transposed from a large insurance company.  We got endless amounts of personal information.  Some places do not consider anything but fax and actual mail "secure", ie no email, I always laugh at these places when I think of all the different identities I could be running around with.

[lazuli16]

18 minutes ago, House Schubert said:

Gosh... I want to ask you to elaborate so bad, but...also...that’s the last thing I want to do. 

I can translate for you.

BS is short for bricks e ek. He hates going to bs to see all the sets that are on clearance at his local Walmart. Since 2020 is corona time, he can't go, unlike 2019 when he was free to go whenever he wanted. 

Edited November 6, 2020 by lazuli16