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Request to sellers
As a buyer who has done a lot of business recently, can I vent a few small frustrations that I'm sure other buyers must have experienced at some time. I am receiving vast amounts of parcels lately (for a new project) and most parcels arrive with no reference to the supplier and no shipping list. Unless I can remember what I ordered from whom, I have to open all my orders one by one to discover who the sender is and check the quantities received.
The service I have received here has been far superior to any other site I use, indeed I prefer to order using Brickowl suppliers.
All the orders have been exactly what I ordered and of the highest quality until now. In the last month I have had 4 orders arrive with incorrect quantities...I hope this trend isn't going to continue. Hopefully it is just a blip to what is normally a quality service.
I would implore suppliers to include a packing note though.....please!!
The service I have received here has been far superior to any other site I use, indeed I prefer to order using Brickowl suppliers.
All the orders have been exactly what I ordered and of the highest quality until now. In the last month I have had 4 orders arrive with incorrect quantities...I hope this trend isn't going to continue. Hopefully it is just a blip to what is normally a quality service.
I would implore suppliers to include a packing note though.....please!!
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Comments
I only normally include a list if it's over about 10-15 items otherwise I use a lot of paper sending a list out with each order. Point noted though and if you order from me again, I'll include a slip.
If you order from my store I will be sure to add one though.
Em, your orders have never been an issue as I always know it's from you.
At the end of the day, I have to log on anyway simply to leave feedback.
I think every order should contain an invoice. It is just plain good customer service to me.
Do these increase our costs? Yes
Does this make packages heavier? Sure does
Are we going to still do it anyways? Most definitely!
Chris
As a rule I won't print this stuff, hey save the planet, go green, the digital office and all that
But will make exceptions for those who request it.
I generally include the packing list, except when it would push the weight into the next bracket and increase postage.
When asked at a store where I have purchased a few items, watched the info appear on the screen, and signed/approved the purchase, I usually decline the paper receipt.
However, if I receive a package in the mail containing (hopefully) what I ordered and paid for several days ago, if I don't have a packing slip (minimally) or and invoice (optimally), I do not have a feeling of closure like I do with the B&M transaction. What DID I order? What did I pay for each piece? When did I place the order? Of course without the invoice, I can see all of this info by logging in and searching for the store name or some other identifiable info in in/or the package.
Finally, I form either a positive or negative (rarely neutral) feeling about the transaction and the seller. With an enclosed invoice, I can quickly see what I wanted, what I paid for, what I got, and how quickly I got it....AND who did that for me.
If I have to dig and search and finally resolve that I got what I paid for, well...I usually wonder why the seller didn't try to make the END of the transaction more pleasant and satisfying. This is the easiest objective for sellers to achieve: when the buyer receives and opens a package of Legos (!!!), providing confirmation rather than frustration will cement a positive closure...and (I hope) lots of repeat business.
Anyway, as my daughter reminds me more and more...I'm getting old. Maybe, but it may pay off to retain some things.
Also, if I didn't enclose a paper invoice, where would the handwritten 'Thank You' note go? (Yes, I also send an email with 'thanks' and the tracking info. A foot in both worlds. :-*
If yes, fully agreed with your point. If not, hmmmm... disagree. I think it's a bit much to expect a seller to print out a packing list on their own accord. Digitalisation is getting more and more the standard in life by now. If I want monthly bank statements, I have to explicitly ask for it. If not, it's assumed that a digital version is enough. Digital invoices are preferred over analog ones by the authorities as well. If there's something that'd bother me, it be sellers that do not send a legal invoice at all - neither digitally or on paper. Well, I don't know if people ever do that around here because I haven't bought here yet, but elsewhere that has happened a few times.
I send out legally correct digital invoices and will include a paper one on request. In my experience it's extremely rare for people to ask for it or to tell me they would've wanted that. Not saying that it's not totally OK to want it, just that it would be shooting at a mosquito with a shotgun to do it every single time, as we'd say that in Dutch
I get that if you place a lot of orders it's tough to figure out what is what. I have that experience too. While it's a biiiit of a.... well... first world problem ("oh no, I have so much stuff, I have to look at it to see what is what")
(Besides, the population that wants to be able to check for fraud fall under the digital category, because a seller could easily change that in the paperwork. So the uses of the paperwork are limited to checking for errors and identifying orders)
As for recognisability, like I said I agree an order # could be convenient. Like I said I think most customers don't care but the effort+cost of it is really minimal, so why not.
As for the fully fledged packing list / invoice; Another idea (besides letting customer specify it in their profile) could be allowing customers to add it to their cart or to provide a checkbox for it at check-out. Optionally at a cost for the seller to specify. (Some sellers have cheap copying methods and ship out mostly large orders and may want to provide it for free, while I have this expensive ink printer that I have to keep switched on day and night because otherwise it's going to clean and waste a couple of bucks worth of ink for each task before even starting to print :@:P)
I find it annoying to NOT get an invoice from internet sales - anywhere.
TLG include such. Contrary to above 90% of my Amazon orders have included a receipt/invoice. Even eBay sellers generally include same… so why should it be different here?
To those worried about "the Planet" - simply reduce invoice to 2 pages per page and print double sided, to those worried about cost - print using draft quality in black and white… now I am assuming y'all use the "invoice" tab to generate the list without pictures?
@JHawkins - I always include an invoice unless asked not to - or on occaision "forget" - then I usually catch it and send a pdf of the invoice to the customers PP em address.
As a seller I include one no matter how small the order is. I actually use the list as a final check that everything is in the package and manually mark each item. Nobody has complained so far about receiving a shipping list.
If a buyer explicitly asks for an invoice, I will send it with my order (and with the big ones, when the shipment is by parcel, because weight does not matter in that case.
An A4-paper weighs more than a Minifig. In the lowest shipping band I can ship 2 minifigs. With an invoice included just 1 (max 20 grams). So it's pretty critical with those small weighbands we are using in the Netherlands.
Frank
It's funny though you should mention TLG..... out of all the places I have ever ordered anything, TLG has been the only one to consistently NOT send an invoice. At all. Weird or what?? I stopped shopping with them because I simply can't get my tax returns if they're like that. It's pretty weird because they're violating the law and you would think they´re a pretty professional biz..
But a packing slip is not a 'bill'(or invoice), so I understand Teup's concerns as he runs his store as a 'business' and needs to attach such to his book keeping.
I can however go into my account and print out any order which does show all important information, and hopefully that is enough for the tax man.
And yes, it is always hit and miss if I'm actually going to get the order confirmation email or not.
Katie
@Admin Perhaps consider adding a "send invoice" (digitally) button - at the moment it's only possible to send a digital invoice to buyers who use PayPal, and then it requires a print to pdf before locating the transaction and sending an invoice to their PP email address.
Personally, I would still include a list with the order as it provides a physical means to check an order received by a customer.
Unless you could provide the customer with a sorta "reverse" picking list with check boxes.
The only place I shop where I routinely DON'T get an invoice is(was) "you know where" and on occaision Amazon's robots forget to stick it in the package.
TLG S@H even provide a pict-o-graphic list for ease of checking!
If you're a registered business, you are legally obligated to send every customer an accurate invoice on every sale. Otherwise if the tax agency comes and check on you, you're in trouble. The only exception being if you are explicitly recognized as a small guy who only does it more on a hobby kind of basis. - That's the rules here in the NL, at least, but I assume it's similar in the rest of the EU.
Every business I have ever encountered in my life outputs a proper invoice when I buy (anything from a webstore to your local bakery) save for TLG. I find that really surprising and pretty awkward..
Where a VAT invoice is required it is permissible to issue it electronically.
It is technically a requirement to issue a VAT invoice if your customer is a VAT-registered business irrespective of whether they ask for one, but the way the legislation is set up allows you to assume that your customer is not VAT-registered.
I think the point is that VAT record-keeping is complicated enough to make it outside the scope of Brick Owl.
From a customer's point of view, as I said above, if you require a VAT invoice it is always better to ask before placing your order, because the store you're buying from might not be able to comply.
Until just a few years ago VAT was part of Customs and Excise, and that department was notorious for chasing down every last penny of money owed and twisting your arms until you paid up! It has since merged with the Inland Revenue and resources have been drained from its enforcement arm. Nonetheless, most businesses and sole-traders who have been around long enough to experience the old department often give meticulous attention to their VAT record keeping
So apparently it's true TLG can sell me things and the sale can never be cross referenced and it's just up to them to keep a record of it or to have the system "accidentally" eat it..