To Differentiate Or Not To Differentiate

Loremonger

So as I was setting up my store, I came across the question "Do you differentiate between similar mold types?" Funny thing is, I never considered not doing so in my tenure on BL, because it wasn't really an option. So I just thought I'd throw this out to the community.

Do you or don't you differentiate?

What do you see as the advantages or disadvantages either way?

theHellmouth

I differentiated on Bricklink but stopped doing so here. It takes a huge amount of time when parting out sets. For every alternative you have to check which one it is and even then half the inventories list the wrong type. So in the end, when you get the orders, you have to inform your buyers that it's the other type and asking whether that is fine. Guess what: 99% of the customers don't care either way. They just want that part in that color. Who cares if there is a new mold as long as the functionality is there. So as a seller I say: don't differentiate. It safes time and nobody complains about it.

BWA

Mhhhh, good issue, for example a red brick 2 x 4 there are many variations with the same functionality. (pat, pending, grooves in (underside) studs etc...., my guess is this is interesting to certain collectors but not to general public. (who just care about function and color). Maybe a solution might be found in "differentiates on request"?

Example: we list 200 2x4 red brick.... buyer needs 10x old abs, pat pending, and puts in a quote?
We search our 2 x 4 inventory an can either fulfill or not...

So standard 2 x 4 bricks are linked to their subdivisions/variations... (pat.pend, grooves in (underside) studs etc). If the seller does not provide variations the buyer can ask....,

theHellmouth

I've had buyers asking for a specific type/mold of a part in the past (mostly panels without side supports). But it happens very rarely and for only a few parts. If the buyer is indeed looking for a specific part, communication is key.

BWA

Agreed (about 99%?, We wanna be able to cater to the remainder), maybe introducing, undetermined, determined, and on request would be useful....,?

2 x 4 bricks no one might care about, but hinge cylinder with or without hole might make a difference, where to draw the line?

theHellmouth

Hing cylinder example: that's functionality, not a mold difference (at least if you mean the 1 x 3 type).

Examples of stuff that buyers do not care about (in my opinion!) :

- plate modified 1 x 2 with single stud in middle: with or without groove
- headlight brick: with or without slot
- plate round 2 x 2 with axle hole: old or new type (same for the technic brick 1 x 2 with axle hole)
- various bricks with axle or stud holder
- variants in horizontal and vertical clips (except for the difference thin/thick): O or U shaped clips (even thick/thin doesn't matter to some people)
- various parts with open/blocked/recessed stud (I personally have no idea what is meant in either case as none of the variant pics actually show the difference)

The list goes on and on :-)

BWA

Again agreed...., question remains where to draw the line?

In this case I would argue that the "purists" are on their own, and need to ask before ordering if they can get the correct mold..., (Example plate modified with clip....)

IMHO this would result in a kind off Subset inventory for which there seems to be no current solution...., (like I have 25x plate modified with clip., 10x U ring, 15x O ring, or 25 undetermined).

theHellmouth

I would prefer a listing without the undetermined word in it. As a buyer I'm perfectly happy to see "plate modified with clip". I don't need to know about the type or whether the seller knows the type or not. As a purist I would want to know. So if some mechanism exists to display a small note like 'this part has mold variations, check with the seller to determine the correct type', that would be preferred to slamming undetermined behind every part.

Lawrence

Where I have linked parts up, the message is shown on stores saying the part may be one or the other type. The undetermined listings only exist for BL sellers, over time I will probably shift them onto a determined version and change the stores to does not differentiate or something but this will come much later.

Graham

So as I was setting up my store, I came across the question "Do you differentiate between similar mold types?" Funny thing is, I never considered not doing so in my tenure on BL, because it wasn't really an option. So I just thought I'd throw this out to the community.

Do you or don't you differentiate?

What do you see as the advantages or disadvantages either way?

I choose to keep the alternate parts seperate BUT my store shows that I don't differentiate - playing it safe.

There are way to many inventories entered "elsewhere" with errors - due to the rush to be the first to get brownie points (I imagine)

On the parts that I come across with alternates I add a statement in public comments saying something like "if you want a specific variant please ask"

Which of course looses me some sales to the folks that are particular, but is a safer option.

On the other place - (when I wanted a certain variant) I had too many incorrect orders that I placed, for whatever reason. One which was really annoying is the 1x2 jumper with/without groove - they look ghastly if mixed up!

Now DadsAFOL has a really nice cross reference page on the other place - which I would love to see integrated here.

Any chance?

G

BWA

Hi G...,

Have a link to "DadsAFOL has a really nice cross reference page on the other place"?

J & D

theHellmouth

Here you go: https://www.dadsafol.com/newvar.php

BWA

Thanx Hellmouth,

@G great option love the wording and setup,

One point though...., it mentions " Please note that if the part variation DOES have a functional difference, we will keep it separate and it will not be listed here."

So the hinge cylinder with or without whole is listed or not? Again who is to determine if an items gets on the list or not....

Nathvw

Nice guide, just what I was after too, thanks for that.

Would be nice if could have a Brick Owl version like @Thunor said.

Happy to contribute if I can.

Lawrence

That's sheet is pretty handy, I will use that to see if I have missed any variants.

With regards to who is to determine what is a variation, I do. Stores will later be able to disable the variation warning on a per item basis so your store can in general be set to not differentiate, but specific items can be set to differentiate.

Lawrence

If you do want to contribute, if you find two items that are variations of each other, you can create a relationship between them using the mold variation relationship type on the edit form. Furthermore, you can set the base name of the item to for example "Tile 1 x 2" and the variation description to "with Groove"

Nathvw

That's sheet is pretty handy, I will use that to see if I have missed any variants.

With regards to who is to determine what is a variation, I do. Stores will later be able to disable the variation warning on a per item basis so your store can in general be set to not differentiate, but specific items can be set to differentiate.

Nice.

:-bd

theHellmouth

Wow, Lawrence, I was typing exactly that suggestion, but you already implemented it. Way to go!

Could there be some option or mechanism added for buyers too? Now if I look at the catalog for tile 1 x 2 I can choose with groove and without groove. The undetermined type is not listed on that same page. Or is that because no relation was created. How certain am I that the tile without groove is actually without groove when I toggle it? I would like as a buyer to be able to say: I don't care about mold variations, just show me all shops having the tile 1 x 2 without me having to click multiple variants. Is something like that possible?

BWA

Indeed a nice handy sheet... Wonder how DadsAFOL updates/maintains his splashpage on the other si(t/d)e...

Nathvw

If you do want to contribute, if you find two items that are variations of each other, you can create a relationship between them using the mold variation relationship type on the edit form. Furthermore, you can set the base name of the item to for example "Tile 1 x 2" and the variation description to "with Groove"

I shall take a look and do what I can.

Lawrence

@Hellmouth, will be done, code is 90% of the way there, distracted by other stuff since.

Nathvw

Note to self, stop distracting Lawrence.

Lawrence

Work in progress, but for example on this page http://brickowl.com/catalog/lego-black-tile-1-x-2-with-groove-3069 if you look at the titles on the buy tab you can see which stores differentiate and which don't. Also thanks to @Nathvw for linking some items up

Loremonger

When adding relationships to the catalog, do we need to add one from part A to part B, and then add one from part B to part A?

Lawrence

No, the relationships are directional, but depending on the relationship type, I treat it as bidirectional. in this case, you only need to do it in one direction

Loremonger

Work in progress, but for example on this page http://brickowl.com/catalog/lego-black-tile-1-x-2-with-groove-3069 if you look at the titles on the buy tab you can see which stores differentiate and which don't. Also thanks to @Nathvw for linking some items up

OK. That is pretty freakin' cool. Is this going to carry over to wishlist shopping? I personally spend quite a bit of time sorting out mold variations, making sure I add them all, but trying to make sure that I don't double up by buying both variations when filling a wishlist.

Lawrence

I actually hadn't thought about that, that's another one for the list. Will probably be a bit tricky though but definitely something that needs to be done.