The Age-Old Minifigure Accessory Problem

Loremonger

I found a couple inconsistencies in the catalog.

The Wolverine minifigure is pictured with his claws (from Brickset), but the inventory and compiled image do not include his claws.

The Grizzam minifigure includes his gorilla fists. Seems appropriate, but those are technically handheld accessories.

Has there been a change in the catalog concerning minifigure inventories?

Enoch

Lawrence

I will get both of those fixed.

Loremonger

So if I wanted to sell a minifigure with accessories, would I just submit a custom catalog item?

Hoddie

I have sold some figures with accessories, and I just included the item #s in the public note.

Lawrence

I would do as Hoddie suggests for now

Loremonger

What would you think about allowing alternate variations that include accessories in the catalog. So you could have Wolverine without Claws and Wolverine with Claws. You could even extend it to include weapons and accessories as pictured in the instructions.

Advantages:
More accurate price history. If I'm bundling accessories in the public note, I'm probably charging more, which inflates the sales averages for a minifigure.
Less confusion for buyers. If a minifigure title includes "without Accessories," then buyers won't wonder where the accessories are when they receive their items.
Backwards compatibility. By keeping the older versions in the catalog, you won't upset any existing inventories.

This would create some challenges in the way of adding "without Accessories" to the titles of existing minifigures and figuring out set inventories. And probably other stuff I haven't thought of. It's kind of a big deal, though. I have entertained the idea of opening my own web site called "Minifigures the Right Way" or some such for the sole purpose of breaking free from the old BrickLink way of cataloging minifigures (and not paying eBay 10%).

Enoch

Loremonger

Oh, and the Grizzam catalog image still has the gorilla fists. The inventory is fixed, though.

Lawrence

I do intend to deal with the issue, probably by pairing up the accessories, and then if stores have them in stock, making it easy for customers to add both to the cart. Like some online shops do with accessories.

Loremonger

Sorry to bring it up again, but the picture for Grizzam still includes the gorilla fists.

Lawrence

I believe it may just be cached, I tried it on a new browser and it shows the correct image, so it is either cached on your computer, or somewhere along the way.