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NEW Online Syncing Tool (BrickOwl/BrickLink)
Since the start of the year, I have been working on a new online tool that will keep your BrickOwl and BrickLink inventory synchronised.
> I would like to state upfront that this will be a paid-for subscription service.
Here is a list of the features:
* Inventory Syncing across BrickOwl / BrickLink
* Instant Notification on questionable results
* Complete History of Changes
* Revert any Change in a Single Click
* Monitored 24/7
Trusting your LEGO inventory to a third-party tool that is manipulating your inventory is always a concern/risk.
This is why before you enable synchronisation you will be encouraged to run in Read-Only Mode (FREE). This will give you the confidence that everything is working before committing.
The plan is to go live at the beginning of March. If anyone is interested in testing it out before, please get in touch (https://www.brickowl.com/user/223831/contact).
A couple of features that I am already working on but will not be ready for release.
* Setting Pricing based on Store and Category
* Syncing your eBay Store
Thanks for your time, if you have any questions please ask away.
Steve
Brick Freedom
https://brickfreedom.com/founder
> I would like to state upfront that this will be a paid-for subscription service.
Here is a list of the features:
* Inventory Syncing across BrickOwl / BrickLink
* Instant Notification on questionable results
* Complete History of Changes
* Revert any Change in a Single Click
* Monitored 24/7
Trusting your LEGO inventory to a third-party tool that is manipulating your inventory is always a concern/risk.
This is why before you enable synchronisation you will be encouraged to run in Read-Only Mode (FREE). This will give you the confidence that everything is working before committing.
The plan is to go live at the beginning of March. If anyone is interested in testing it out before, please get in touch (https://www.brickowl.com/user/223831/contact).
A couple of features that I am already working on but will not be ready for release.
* Setting Pricing based on Store and Category
* Syncing your eBay Store
Thanks for your time, if you have any questions please ask away.
Steve
Brick Freedom
https://brickfreedom.com/founder
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Comments
1. Price? By month or year?
2. Is it an app like bricksync? or is it cloud based, or hosted by you?
3. How do you add inventory?
4. How do you modify inventory?
5. Compatibility with BrickStock?
Thanks!
> 1. Price? By month or year?
£9.99 Monthly - £59.99 Yearly
> 2. Is it an app like bricksync? or is it cloud based, or hosted by you?
Cloud Based. Amazon Infrastructure behind the scenes.
> 3. How do you add inventory?
> 4. How do you modify inventory?
You will choose a Master Store (BrickOwl or BrickLink) and then any changes to Master Store will get replicated to your Secondary store.
Any conflicts or concerns, for example removing something that has sold on your secondary store in that exact moment. You will get notified by e-mail instantly and sent to page with clear actions to rectify the issue.
Side note: Inventory Management I will attack later in the year. I have already been prototyping what I would like for myself.
> 5. Compatibility with BrickStock?
Yes and no.
Exporting pretty much anything *should* be available on release. (Orders, Any Changes, Inventory)
(Importing into your Stores/Updating pricing in your Stores) from a BrickStock File will take a little longer to get out the door, but will most definitely become available.
Thanks for your questions.
I have a worry regarding all the changes over at bricklink in regards to LEGO (though they have said they wont at this time) restricting access to the site to third party inventory programs. If this was to come to pass and LEGO stopped access to inventory programs where would that leave this program.
> Did you plan to set it up with a 1-mo trial?
No trial. Read only mode will be available though, this will give you an idea on how it all works.
@Abel's bricks
> I have a worry regarding all the changes over at bricklink in regards to LEGO (though they have said they wont at this time) restricting access to the site to third party inventory programs. If this was to come to pass and LEGO stopped access to inventory programs where would that leave this program.
Let's see what happens.
Now that LEGO has its name on BrickLink, shutting down the API and the third party inventory programs would be more of a PR mess than previously. Not that it will stop them if it comes to it. 🤞
@firestar246
> Bricklink has one used condition while brickowl has three (like-new, acceptable, good). How will this program transfer used lots from bricklink to brickowl?
The default will be 'like-new', but you will be able to change this in the settings.
Being cloud based, and under your control, means that you will have the combined data of all those who use the service, which could/would put you in a very advantageous position (as a seller) OR is it your intent to either
Make all the data available to all subscribers ?
Keep each stores data “private” to the individual store?
As to “what will LEGO do”, as with all things in the corporate world, all decisions will be based on $$$, I don’t believe buying BrickLink was anything about “how we can benefit you”. More like how you can be beneficial as a new revenue stream for us... but like they say “time will tell”
- For this to work, your service will need to store access keys for the shops that use this sync service. In effect, you will be handed full control over these shops. Potential customers need to be very aware this is equivalent to handing you their login name and password. This not only means that your customers must put faith in you not mis-using this access, but also that they must trust that your platform will be secure against bad guys trying to steal these keys.
- I don't know about BO, but with BL there are limits as to how many requests can be made per day. At the moment, these limits are not actively enforced, but to make sure your server(s) will not get blocked for abuse of the BL API, you should discuss your setup and its expected use of the BL API with BrickLink (a while ago several BL users, including me, were blocked from BL because they deemed there were too many requests coming from a single IP address).
This is not meant to undermine your endeavour, but just some food for thought.
Niek.
> which could/would put you in a very advantageous position (as a seller)
Although I own a Store, believe it or not that is purely for me to "eat my own dog food" as they say. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_your_own_dog_food)
Plus the store is not under the BrickFreedom brand as I do not want people to think BrickFreedom is a seller of any kind.
My store is located at beckysbricks.brickowl.com and named after my partner. It will have limited stock and be overpriced.
> Make all the data available to all subscribers ?
Not keen on this.
> Keep each stores data “private” to the individual store?
More keen on this, within reason. For example a bit of data will be required for marketing purposes.
@qwertyboy
> This not only means that your customers must put faith in you not mis-using this access, but also that they must trust that your platform will be secure against bad guys trying to steal these keys.
Yeah as with all third party services an element of trust is required.
> I don't know about BO, but with BL there are limits as to how many requests can be made per day. At the moment, these limits are not actively enforced, but to make sure your server(s) will not get blocked for abuse of the BL API, you should discuss your setup and its expected use of the BL API with BrickLink (a while ago several BL users, including me, were blocked from BL because they deemed there were too many requests coming from a single IP address).
I expect a few problems and already have a few solutions in mind.
Thanks for the replies. I will consider your offering at a later date. To be honest, I would much prefer software that is under my control.
Graham
Agreed. It’s not perfect but very manageable and works well...
There aren’t many folks like @Stragus around, providing software free!
I like having the master inventory stored locally, under my control. Not too keen on giving complete control of my stores and inventory to a third party.
Hey @unbrickable
It's still working progress... was in the middle of releasing beta version when...
* A few family responsibilities that have taken priority.
* Moving my Team at work from the Office to the Home etc.
* Find Toilet Rolls! - I didn't expect this to be a reason to delay anything!
* Crazy times basically!!
That all said... working on side projects is the best answer to escaping from it. So expect an update in days (as opposed to weeks) as I am very close to finishing everything up.
I have a group of people who will have initial access, but expect it to be open to anyone soon after.
Once again sorry for the delay everyone.
Stay safe and wash your hands!
In the next day or two I will be getting in touch with the initial testers who come forward.
We will be in a test period for a week or two to make sure everything is running smoothly before opening up to everyone.
** Sneak Peek 🧐 **
Enabling Synchronisation is pretty simple.
Connect your stores and fetch your orders/inventory.
👀 Attached: ConnectAndFetch
Once that is done you can enable your Primary Store.
This will tell you what changes will be made to your stores if you enable synchronisation.
👀 Attached: EnablingBrickOwlPrimary
👀 Attached: EnablingBrickLinkPrimary
Then behind the scenes... a quick look at a page I knocked up to match items between BrickOwl and BrickLink.
This won't be accessible, but something like this will be so you can self-match if/when required.
👀 Attached: AdminPanelConnection
If you have any questions, please ask away.
See you soon with the next update. 👍
👀 Attached: Compatibility Overview
Let's keep in mind he only provided it for free because he stopped working on it. (don't get me wrong, that was very nice). From this point all work on it has to be done by others. If not the compatibility issues will increase.
My BL store is closed right now, but I will definitely try this when it's more mature. Screenshots look good and clean (like Brickowl ;-))
I wouldn't have a problem with the sync and master inventory being stored online. Both of the stores are already online, so why not the sync and master inventory?
> My BL store is closed right now, but I will definitely try this when it's more mature. Screenshots look good and clean (like Brickowl ;-))
Thank you.
------
Updates will be more frequent as I am moving a little faster now.
Invites to testers will be going out tomorrow afternoon
** Another Sneak Peek 🧐 **
Today I added Brick Stock export functionality.
👀 Attached: ExportBrickStock
It works on orders too
👀 Attached: OrdersExample
Yeah.
No reason you can pay one month get your export and cancel.
> may be worth paying for depending on the price
£9.99 a month, I was going to offer a yearly plan but that idea unfortunately has been scrapped.
I do have a few questions. Since I currently have two separate inventories, what would I need to do to initially sync the inventory?
Is there a demo or website currently available online to find out more about the service?
Also, what is the price in US dollars?
Thanks.
> Since I currently have two separate inventories, what would I need to do to initially sync the inventory?
When using the service you must pick a Primary store (BrickLink for you).
We will then attempt to match your BrickLink Inventory with your Secondary store inventory (BrickOwl).
You will then be given a breakdown on what actions will be taken on your BrickOwl Inventory.
x items in x lots have been connected and will be untouched.
x items in x lots have been connected but do not match (eg. different quantity), these will be updated to match your Primary Store.
x items in x lots cannot be matched so will be removed.
Hope that helps.
> Is there a demo or website currently available online to find out more about the service?
Not yet as still in testing, but when released a full walk-through video will be released. Also I will be running a Discord channel to give users assistance with the on boarding process if they wish.
> Also, what is the price in US dollars?
It's just under $13 a month (using currency converter).
Although the conversion will vary ever so slightly.
-----------
@brickstackers
> How would you possibly sync with eBay?
I use the eBay API to post the item (everything is populated automatically), then use the eBay API to check if I have any orders which have been paid. When I have an order which is paid, Brick Freedom then removes it from all my other stores.
Please keep in mind that this is not going to be public for a while. It has some annoying limitations... Mainly that I can only use images provided by LEGO for automation (this limits the capability drasticaly).
My primary goal is to get BrickOwl / BrickLink synchronisation running smoothly first. Then we can introduce some additional functionality.
> Is this even possible?
Yes
I have over 600 items on eBay from when I was testing the system that I built to do the work.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/brickfreedom/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
But tomorrow we will have a sneak peek at importing a Brick Stock .bsx file directly into your Primary Store 👨💻🔥😎
Plus I have not sent out invites yet 🤦♂️
I am currently writing them as the invite email needs to be very clear and concise 👍 🤯
Good idea...
-------
** Sneak Peek 🧐 **
Importing from Brick Stock to your Primary Store.
👀 Attached: Imports and Import
Synchronisation Event Logs
👀 Attached: AllEvents and EventsWithoutPollingEvents
Synchronisation Home Page 🤓
👀 Attached: Home
-------
** What now? **
In the next few days I will be adding it so you can reverse any event (ie any changes that happen), and then the following few weeks will be just monitoring and addressing any problems that occur.
Once everything is running smoothly I can introduce a few additional features. 2 of them are already 80% completed 🔥👨💻
-------
** In Other News 🧐 **
I have been working with a friend on developing web-based Inventory Management for Brick Freedom.
It's still in prototype and I would say 6-8 weeks away from release, we are currently brute testing the foundations with the largest inventories we can imagine.
You know I like to give a sneak peek, but nothing until around mid-may I am afraid.
-------
** Patreon **
I am going to be setting up a Patreon account shortly, I am not certain on the Tiers just yet.
Possible tier rewards... Ability to turn on and off beta features before they get release. Early access to Sneak Peeks. Ability to vote on new upcoming features.
Thanks for your time.
Steve
Brick Freedom
I'm looking for software to auto-generate my paper invoice and sync BL & BO, sync with Bol.com or amazone would be fantastic.
I really don't like that this software is cloud base, and i think this is not in line with de european AVG-rules. because you will have acces to a lot of private information.
If it wasn't cloud base, i will have tested it. BUT it think it's better to give every one who wants to test your program a one month free ticket. this is the only way to test your software and to know if it suits our needs.
maybe you can make a little movie how the program works.
That said, I don't think a syncing service needs to store anything for long. And it doesn't even need to store the personal data at all. Just the products that are sold and the date/time on which that happened. And that's not personal information at all.
As Brick Freedom mentioned above, there's going to be a read-only mode for free, so you can in fact test it, when it's more finished.
> I'm looking for software to auto-generate my paper invoice.
Added to *possible features* list.
> sync with Bol.com or amazone would be fantastic.
Will be looking into eBay first, will see how that goes before moving on to any others. Plus I want to add additional features before expanding this way.
> maybe you can make a little movie how the program works.
When it's released to the public I will have a full walkthrough video available.
@MinifigMan
> That said, I don't think a syncing service needs to store anything for long. And it doesn't even need to store the personal data at all. Just the products that are sold and the date/time on which that happened. And that's not personal information at all.
Indeed.
--------------
*GDPR and Privacy*
I love Data Privacy!
The day after the GDPR law was announced I was one of them annoying people that contacted every single company for my data and requested its removal (if account no longer in use).
Weirdly I earned money from multiple companies for pointing out the mistakes they were making. 🤣
I would much prefer “someone” taking on bricksync AND BrickStock and creating an integrated platform, along with support and improvements.
I would have thought the demand enough for one of you tech folks to take it on, profitably, could be either sale or subscription based.
I’ve put money on keeping my store up and running during power outages, which is out at the moment. So a cloud based service wouldn’t be beneficial for me.
I don't understand this. Aren't Brickowl and Bricklink both cloud-based? What would a local syncing system change about that?
> What happens if (when) the servers go down? Happens to everyone at some point, even AWS.
Yeah I agree.
BrickLink API 🤦♂️ 😭 and even the BrickOwl API had a blip last week *once* 🙇♂️ 🤣
I work in the industry and a key part of my job is to respond and give solutions for this kind of thing. I also have resources (people with technical knowledge) available to 'pull on' if it comes to it.
> I would much prefer “someone” taking on BrickSync AND BrickStock and creating an integrated platform, along with support and improvements.
Good luck with that.
This started last November as a solution just for me! In January I made the decision to start from scratch and make a solution for everyone.
My point is anyone delivering a solution will need resource to waste or have a passion for just building it.
Finally an integrated platform
No chance.. My platforms (syncing / inventory) will be two entities. If one breaks I don't want it breaking the other. (For anyone reading they will still work smoothly together, just two different platforms, servers, etc)
@MinifigMan
> I don't understand this. Aren't Brickowl and Bricklink both cloud-based? What would a local syncing system change about that?
The cloud based solution would just keep syncing stores.
Exactly! And the locally installed system? Not much you can do. Maybe process orders that have already synced before the outage? But then it depends on what data is in the local system. Mostly you will need BL and BO to process orders.
I think my main issue is that I'm not sure how inventory updates would work. If BO is my master store, and I add a load of inventory to it, as I understand it this automatically gets uploaded to BL. But how? Does the service download my store inventory from BO and BL every x minutes to compare them?
My BL store has been closed for a year now so this is moot for me, but I'd be interested to know for the future.
Also the price, I'm a little unsure if I see value in £120ish a year, I'm a relatively small store and I think it might chafe a little that those stores with millions of items were paying the same as me despite being more resource intensive.
Integration for other platforms would certainly be appealing, but I'd want to ability to select which items were available for sale, an option to increase the price for those platforms to take into account platform-specific charges/options.
"If the service disappears it's reasonably easy to close one store and check that recent inventory changes have been taken into account on the other."
I always have in the back of my mind that it could stop (for reasons that I cannot control). For this reason I will no longer take yearly payments only monthly.
Exporting your stores in BrickStock will already be available. Exporting in BrickLink and BrickOwl raw import formats will be coming soon after.
"I think my main issue is that I'm not sure how inventory updates would work. If BO is my master store, and I add a load of inventory to it, as I understand it this automatically gets uploaded to BL. But how? Does the service download my store inventory from BO and BL every x minutes to compare them?"
The inventory updates hourly, but you will have a button you can push that will force an inventory check. This can be pushed after you made changes.
Although if you are using BrickStock, then you can just save the .bsx file and import directly into your Master Store from Brick Freedom. 😎
"Also the price, I'm a little unsure if I see value in £120ish a year, I'm a relatively small store and I think it might chafe a little that those stores with millions of items were paying the same as me despite being more resource intensive."
Yeah I have had a few people mention this to me. I will have a think about it before the platform goes live.
"Integration for other platforms would certainly be appealing, but I'd want to ability to select which items were available for sale, an option to increase the price for those platforms to take into account platform-specific charges/options."
I have an eBay integration already, but it has a lot of quirks and will need work before going public.
But it does do the following already:
* ability to select which items were available for sale
* increase the price for other platforms to take into account platform-specific charges/options
It's to keep brick sync functioning, and allows me to do whatever I need locally. We have periodic power outages, during storms. So nothing to do with BO/BL
Is there a way to keep a local master copy of a BSX file?
I agree with tiered pricing, suggest perhaps a % of months sales?
"Is there a way to keep a local master copy of a BSX file?"
Not really.
------------
re: Pricing
I am heading towards multiple plans that offer different levels of service:
£4.99, £9.99 and £19.99
Lowest plan will have max lot limit and not have such high frequency on orders and inventory checks.
Highest plan will have unique features that cost me more resources. For example, updating your store prices against 6 month average every x days.
It has been two weeks since the testers started syncing their stores.
* Over 30,000 lots have been synced between BrickOwl and BrickLink.
* Over 100 orders have been processed.
* Over 2 million server log events have been produced. I was logging absolutely everything to start with 🤣
* 11 bugs have been fixed 🔥 👨💻
**Pricing**
Pricing is close to being finalised and I can confirm plans will be based on the amount of lots you have. Will announce pricing in the next few days.
**Going Live 🎉**
We will be open to the public from Sunday 3rd May.
Unfortunately I will be implementing a queueing system for the first month so that I can control and monitor resource usage. The last thing I want is users already on the system having order processing problems etc.
Interested, keep an eye on this post as I will add all the details for signing up in the next few days.
**Thank You**
Thanks to for all the people who joined me for testing 🙇♂️
Anyway, your app looks great so far. It's light-years beyond where I am.
Release announcement here https://www.brickowl.com/forum#/discussion/9751/synchronisation-tool-brickowl-bricklink/p1
Sorry about that, your email was in my Spam Folder.
The password reset issue was fixed only a few minutes after you produced the error too