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Rebrickable External Source Buyers
I received this message from a buyer today, via email rather than on Brick Owl messages. It was in my junk folder, good thing I saw it.
"We purchased a lego gun from you and it is missing pieces.
I would like your information to send it back to you and get a refund"
The buyer left their name and phone, didn't even reference the order number. I put 2 and 2 together and realized it was an order with Rebrickable as the external source. It was a $78 parts order with 625 items in 137 lots, and free shipping. I had no idea they were buying parts for a "lego gun". They apparently thought they were buying the entire MOC. Maybe they expected it with the instructions and a fancy box too, who knows.
I noticed a previous thread in the forum from March 31 ("Feature to slow down fresh rebrickable clients"), I see that it was closed or I would've added my comment there instead. I'm not suggesting that we should limit brand new BO members from ordering, I'm happy to take their business, and most new buyers are great. However, would it be possible to remind external source buyers, during the checkout process, that they may not be receiving the entire MOC, that it's their responsibility to determine which parts they need to order from each store?
I'm not sure what this reminder would look like, or if it could be done from the Brick Owl end or if it would need implementation on Rebrickable. I know this is a rare situation, first time it's happened to me out of 409 orders, but clearly it's happened to others before. I don't think it's fair to have to eat the cost for that order, plus the time spent picking & packing, plus the time we'd spend processing it back into inventory, just because a buyer doesn't understand how Rebrickable works.
I'm sending the buyer a polite email reply, attempting to explain the process and to say that if anything they had actually purchased from us was in fact missing, we'd of course be happy to ship the item(s) to them immediately. Hopefully they will admit their mistake, I can even help them source the extra pieces if they want.
"We purchased a lego gun from you and it is missing pieces.
I would like your information to send it back to you and get a refund"
The buyer left their name and phone, didn't even reference the order number. I put 2 and 2 together and realized it was an order with Rebrickable as the external source. It was a $78 parts order with 625 items in 137 lots, and free shipping. I had no idea they were buying parts for a "lego gun". They apparently thought they were buying the entire MOC. Maybe they expected it with the instructions and a fancy box too, who knows.
I noticed a previous thread in the forum from March 31 ("Feature to slow down fresh rebrickable clients"), I see that it was closed or I would've added my comment there instead. I'm not suggesting that we should limit brand new BO members from ordering, I'm happy to take their business, and most new buyers are great. However, would it be possible to remind external source buyers, during the checkout process, that they may not be receiving the entire MOC, that it's their responsibility to determine which parts they need to order from each store?
I'm not sure what this reminder would look like, or if it could be done from the Brick Owl end or if it would need implementation on Rebrickable. I know this is a rare situation, first time it's happened to me out of 409 orders, but clearly it's happened to others before. I don't think it's fair to have to eat the cost for that order, plus the time spent picking & packing, plus the time we'd spend processing it back into inventory, just because a buyer doesn't understand how Rebrickable works.
I'm sending the buyer a polite email reply, attempting to explain the process and to say that if anything they had actually purchased from us was in fact missing, we'd of course be happy to ship the item(s) to them immediately. Hopefully they will admit their mistake, I can even help them source the extra pieces if they want.
This discussion has been closed.
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Tyson.
I do think it totally sucks that this happened to you! You sound like a terrific, courteous seller! Definitely a risk of doing business though, unfortunately... I would remind the buyer also that all BO communications need to be via BO, not over email - that protects you both. :-)
I suspect they are new and simply do not understand the process. While there's a chance this may be an issue with them after you've explained it, most people are honest and will do a head-thunk IMHO. :-) And if not? That obviously sucks rocks, but if you're in the US on the plus side, you can write off any loss on your taxes as a small help. :-(
This situation was not worth the headache considering it's something that could be 100% preventable with a disclaimer during the checkout process stating:
"you are buying parts to build a MOC. You as the buyer are responsible for determining what parts you need, the BO seller does not even know what build you're sourcing parts for, nor do they know what % of that build you're buying from their store."
They are a brand new buyer. Account created same day as the order. Clearly they don't understand anything about how Rebrickable or Brick Owl works, because even though I attached a copy of their invoice to the email reply I sent, they responded today "I ordered a specific Lego from you and it is missing specific parts please tell me where to send it back and I would want my money refunded."
Umm, no, you ordered a 137 lot parts order, not a "specific Lego." I tried to explain the process carefully, and they still don't get it. Not sure they even read my email carefully or looked at the attached invoice.
It's not even the $78 that bothers me, it's the time my wife and I spent picking, packing, and probably returning these 137 lots to inventory. Also that I'll probably get an unjustified negative feedback.
Also, whatever clarification there needs to be, if there needs to be clarification, should probably be happening at Rebrickable.
I don't know if there's active tracking from Rebrickable to BO, but if there is, then the disclaimer you suggest might warrant specific programming to show or hide the Rebrickable-flavored message lest you start off-putting those customers who do know what they are buying. Programming that would be a bag of pain for someone.
I realize you're a little hot under the collar at the moment, but as a buyer, if I saw your proposed message on checkout at your store, I would probably abandon the cart. If the message was nice and not angry, then I might consider differently.
Obviously any message/disclaimer would need some careful wording. However this is at least the 2nd time this has happened to someone in recent months (from reading past forum threads), so I think some solution is warranted.
I think the information could be posted on either Rebrickable, or BO, or both. When you are in the "Buy Parts" tab of a MOC on Rebrickable, if you click "Add to Cart" for a specific store, it
redirects you into a shopping cart on whichever platform that seller is from. So it wouldn't hurt to have something in both places.
Maybe more of a list of FAQs, that could appear on that shopping cart page? If a buyer is coming from Rebrickable, they may not be familiar with BO, and it could even be their first time on Rebrickable too, so some details or FAQs about the process could be helpful. Maybe make it an expandable list, an experienced buyer wouldn't need to click if they don't want to.
I'm just trying to put some ideas out there, I'm sure the specifics could be worked out, just so long as there's something to (hopefully) avoid future misunderstandings. To me it looks obvious what you're getting, but if you're new to all of this I can see how it would be confusing.
I think some of the confusion could be that the % of the build each store has is shown on Rebrickable, but after you are redirected to the shopping cart on BO (or other platform too), there's no details showing what % of the build is in your cart. It just says "X lots loaded successfully."
Also I see that the parts in stock for each store is accurate to within 24 hours or less, so it's conceivable that it could show 96% on Rebrickable, but then when the cart is created, could be less if some of those items have sold that day.
Someone could be easily tripped up, if they don't think to cross reference their cart(s) with the full parts list for their build.
Unfortunately you'll never be able to legislate for stupidity.
You'll always have people who buy a model car on Amazon and then leave a negative review because their kid couldn't sit inside it, or it didn't have batteries, or the lights didn't turn on. Stupid people tend to be in more of a hurry and don't take time to understand whatever it is they're spending money on. And the really stupid blame others for their own inadequacies.
We've shipped over 3000 orders between this platform and elsewhere. First time I've been told it was garbage.
I agree, can't fix stupidity, this person clearly isn't reading what I've said in my emails, so she probably wouldn't read FAQs or "how-to" information about ordering parts either. I also agree both sites are pretty straight forward, but most of us are experienced users, it could be confusing to someone who is brand new. I still think having something there during the checkout process can't hurt.
I do agree, there should be some sort of explanation/disclaimer as to how this all works when a buyer comes from Rebrickable. If I were in your position, I would agree to the return, but the buyer is paying for the return shipping and a refund would not be sent until all parts ordered were in my hands in the same condition in which they were shipped.
Even if I refuse to refund due to condition or nor receiving it back, she might just file a charge back anyways. I don't think there's a scenario where I win with this one. Oh well, moving on. Most buyers, including brand new ones, are awesome.
My guess is she became fully aware at some point that this was HER "bad" (if you will) and is just being, well, a raging B about it (I'm female too, I can say that without having to duck <s>) and taking her foolishness out on you. Wildly wrong and nasty - it's a sad thing, but there are just horrible people out there like that. :-( Or she is clueless and doesn't care to understand better which to me is just as bad if not worse in some ways. It's easier to just be nasty for some awful people.
Again, SO sorry... ::virtual hug::
I have no experience from the buyer POV on rebrickable, but Hoddie finds it pretty straightforward, which is good enough for me...
In your shoes, I would strongly consider reaching out to Rebrickable, advise the situation you've been put in and the buyer/invoice involved, and recommend that code that simple verification onto their pages to avoid it in the future. It's good for them and does them a service, too!
This fixes nothing for this situation, I know. Sometimes we just have to accept that uncool people are around us and work around it. :-( I suspect if you also used Contact Us at the link at the bottom of the page and fully filled the admin in or pointed to this thread, if retaliatory feedback came in that possibly could be addressed in these unique circumstances, ya know?
Just some thoughts!
> Clearly they don't understand anything about how Rebrickable or Brick Owl works, because even though I attached a copy of their invoice to the email reply I sent, they responded today "I ordered a specific Lego from you and it is missing specific parts please tell me where to send it back and I would want my money refunded."
So, BO is being used as a component part of Rebrickable. IOW, Rebrickable is good (possibly great) at getting traffic, and is using BO as a way to fulfil that traffic’s needs (i.e. the LEGO pcs).
While you are pretty much correct, where I have a concern is about “how does this promote BO ?” If all it’s doing is making Rebrickable more important, then Rebrickable is behaving like a one-stop-shop that can fulfil all your LEGO needs/desires. They continue to be the landing page, not BO.
I don’t have a magic answer for this, but it is a problem that I have tried long and hard to deflect, first with Amazon resellers then eBay resellers, both trying to list things they did not have for sale, and trying to use me as their fulfillment mechanism.
Possibly the more pertinent question is … What is Rebrickable accomplishing that BO is not, and how could BO step up to the plate and begin to take that traffic from Rebrickable.
There are pros and cons here for BO to attempt to step into the service Rebrickable provides. The data elements are primarily there (e.g., at least modern LEGO set inventories, an ability to upload your collection), so the effort would be coding a new site service and tying it into the existing Wishlist options somehow.
The con of course is that Rebrickable is a well-established location for this content today. There may be a non-compete agreement between BO and Rebrickable... also, Rebrickable allows the upload of custom works and instructions (for example, I got - for free - instructions on a custom Pikachu LEGO art that I then tweaked and made for my adult daughter who never outgrew her Pokemon love <s>).
So the business POV question for BO as a whole is the value of going after this kind of business and promoting it vs. losing the relationship with Rebrickable, as I can't fathom they'd want to link to a competitor.
While I'm getting off topic now, I think for long-term on BO, I think I'd rather maintain the Rebrickable relationship (as they do that business pretty well and are well-established in the community) but open BO up to the possibility of people uploading and selling custom MOC instructions and inventories and links to parts needed from across BO (kind of custom wish lists).
Again, I got way off topic - mea culpa!
I get that, I really do. But Rebrickable would/could cease to exist without viable sources of pcs. So the problem that really needs to be addressed is how to get Rebrickable to better explain to click thru buyers the entire cost of obtaining/building this custom MOC. Apparently buyers may not be getting the message.
All of this was my fault of course!
Also, I like Rebrickable a lot. I've found a lot of MOCs there that I've ended up sourcing parts for, though I prefer to import a wanted list which I then edit quite a bit prior to ordering parts (subbing less expensive colors/molds where it won't show, etc). I had actually never tried uploading a Rebrickable parts list directly into a shopping cart on BO or BL until this issue occurred. I don't mind that Rebrickable is where the buyer might be spending most of their time, and if Rebrickable is able to make things more user friendly to less experienced buyers, then maybe that will attract orders that may not have happened otherwise. Which is great so long as those buyers are well informed.
It definitely looks obvious to me on Rebrickable that what you're about to order is an assortment of loose parts, and that multiple stores may be necessary, but maybe if you're on your first MOC, it's not as obvious. It could probably be made clearer both on the Rebrickable end, as well as once you get navigated onto BO to purchase the cart (BO should be able to implement the later portion). Just a polite reminder that what they're ordering is parts, not a kit or instructions, and that it may not be the entire build that they would need to check their cart(s) against the parts list for the MOC.