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Mold Variations

fitbricksfitbricks
in General Vote Up0Vote Down
I don't differentiate mold variations - it states this on my store's main page.
A customer is claiming he ordered a different variation to the one I sent him, and that I have posted out the wrong type.
When I click the item link, it does go to the solid stud version, but because I clearly don't differentiate, I simply pick according to the invoice, which shows: Transparent (30065 / 35394) Dish 4 x 4
LEGO Parts / Dish
BOID: 456218-97
No mention of solid stud. I will refund for this, but I don't feel liable. Even if I had checked the BOID, I don't differentiate so I would still send the type I have. How is the customer allowed to differentiate at their end from a store that clearly does not?

Comments

  • 9 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • HoddieHoddie
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    They're not, and this is a bit of a flaw on Brick Owl's part. The customer should not expect a particular mold variation when buying from a store that does not differentiate, but as you say, if the customer clicks through a link they may see the mold they think they're going to get - and in my opinion Brick Owl doesn't make a big enough song and dance about whether or not a particular store differentiates.

    It is good customer service to refund them, so kudos for that, but you shouldn't really have to.
  • fitbricksfitbricks
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Cheers, @Hoddie. I had to refund shipping too. The whole order. It wasn't massive. Royal Mail charged the customer an additional £3.50 for the delivery. It was well within the dimensions - I've been using the same packaging for years, and it weighed only 45 grams. It was £1.87 via my click & drop account, (all data entered correctly), but for some reason, the customer had to stump up an additional £3.50!! I'm baffled, but awaiting photos, and a receipt.

    As it all went tits up for the customer, I've issued a full refund to the total the customer paid for the order, and lost on shipping. It cost me nearly £8 for a £3 plus order. Hopefully, Royal Mail will compensate me.
  • fitbricksfitbricks
    edited February 2023 Vote Up0Vote Down
    Cheers, @Hoddie. I had to refund shipping too. The whole order. It wasn't massive. Royal Mail charged the customer an additional £3.50 for the delivery. It was well within the dimensions - I've been using the same packaging for years, and it weighed only 45 grams. It was £1.87 via my click & drop account, (all data entered correctly), but for some reason, the customer had to stump up an additional £3.50!! I'm baffled, but awaiting photos, and a receipt.

    As it all went tits up for the customer, I've issued a full refund to the total the customer paid for the order, and lost on shipping. It cost me nearly £8 for a £3 plus order. Hopefully, Royal Mail will compensate me.
  • LawrenceLawrence
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    It's a bit challenging from a UI perspective how to deal with mold variations. I can confirm there is a note about this on the item page in your store. Their order details wont specify which variation it is. But of course customers can always miss this and it could always be clearer.

    We don't really have a way to show a generic part with no variation specified, as we wouldnt be able to show any image.
  • HoddieHoddie
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Would it be possible to add a note at the order confirmation page along the lines of:

    "Your order contains parts that Lego has produced in different mold variations, but this store does not differentiate between them. In most cases the variations are minor and would usually only be important to certain buyers."
  • LawrenceLawrence
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Certainly, but that would probably apply to most orders. You're certainly welcome to post that as a suggestion in the suggestions section of the forum.
  • CalibrickCalibrick
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    One thing I have seen some sellers do is use the public note comment (only for parts that have variations) to put a reminder that the store does not differentiate, you will receive whatever variant they have on hand when ordering that item... just a thought as a temp solution? I know that's not the easiest way, but it would be SUPER clear then...
  • P6tuP6tu
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    Hello,

    As a customer in this type of scenarios I have stumbled on it on multiple occasions. So far I have accepted the loss in most cases with one exception. But the problems that we have from customers side:

    1. The "does not differentiate in mold variation" is not very well noticable and can be concidered more like a fine print on some ToS documents far at the bottom.
    2. If a wrong mold variation is ordered, then I also noticed that the correct mold variation isn't removed from the wishlist (thus causing multiple orders - I have so many blue airplane small windows with one hole at the bottom... I wanted the double hole version).
    3. As a beginner (as I was), I may not be even aware of different mold variations nor make any sense about it or how it would affect me in general.

    How have I coped with this nowadays when I'm not a beginner any more :P:
    1. I always doublecheck, if the seller does differentiate in mold variations or not.
    2. If the seller differentiates in mold variations, then this is not an issue (except if the wishlist condition does not match with the sellers item condition - therefor I have all my wishlist parts accepted in ANY condition).
    3. SInce I have experience already and I know how to check the mold variation differences, then I know, what to pay attention to. There are some parts where one variation is concidered a lot more expencive and if the seller is selling it a bit low compared to others, then I double check with the seller, if they actually have the correct mold variation.

    How this could be made clear for buyers, well:
    - one option could be educate buyers and make it clear for a first time buyer, what a mold variation is for example when making an order, then it may be a simple one step in completing the order (like after placing everything in the cart and then after that comes those three-four steps of checking the payment method, delivery address, confirmation and etc - one step could be just a note that
    "Lego pieces have mold variations, which means that a part may have similar, but not exactly the same type or parts under the same part number. Are you sure that the ordered parts have the correct mold variation?" Yeah, I know the part numbers aren't same, but the first time buyers may not know it and may think that if the part looks same from the first glance, then it is. But the text has to be short and simple. Otherwise people would just scroll over it or place the tick without actually reading the text.
    - second option would be to have an extra notification for stores that do not differentiate in mold variations and this may also be for example in the note after finalizing the order. Or maybe a big red text at the bottom of the cart page that the seller does not differentiate in mold variations (same location where customers can see the weight and count of different lots and etc.)
    - third option may be to have a notification at the parts descriptions or something that if the part has a mold variation, then it would be made clear that there are differences for that specific part.

    With regards,
    P6tu
  • Bricks-ShopBricks-Shop
    Vote Up0Vote Down
    We use the public field as @Calibrick has mentioned to show that we do not differentiate mold variants for specific parts. This public note is everywhere visible: in our shop, in the shopping cart and also on the order summary page. We have never had the problem with a claim caused by wrong mold variants or wrong interpretation/expectation.
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