Author:  clrv4000  Posted:  Jan 25, 2024 00:08  Subject:  Re: Important proposal regarding catalog variants  Viewed:  59 times  Topic:  Catalog Cancel Reply

BrickLink ID Card clrv4000 (118) Location:  Canada, Ontario Member Since Contact Type Status Jul 22, 2017 Buyer

I am quite displeased with this change. I already have enough trouble ordering the correct variants for completing sets accurately, as many sellers are too lazy to separate variants. (Like every one of you who doesn't check for broken ball-joint sockets on used Bionicle parts before entering them into your inventory - it's incredibly frustrating that I keep receiving so many broken parts over and over. It's literally the majority of the parts I receive.) Some of these changes matter a lot when trying to complete vintage sets correctly. I've also found axle clutch differences, sometimes significantly, between hole profile variants. Even just considering appearance, I recently needed a number of 1x2 technic bricks with '+' axle hole. There are three different versions of the mold, and I needed them to actually look the same in ten repetitious positions on a detailed model. The function was visual, not physical. Thankfully I already had enough that matched, as I could have ordered them over and over again and never ended up with all of them matching. Another example of something that needs to be distinguished, but most sellers are often not even aware of it, is between parts 15672 and 92946. When they are used side by side, it definitely matters which one is used so they all line up right. I've nearly given up trying to order the right variants for set completion, as I now have a ton of the wrong ones I have little use for. I tire of having to ask sellers ahead of time about this so often, and then still have to go through the headache of explaining the difference nearly every time. Now that the onus is on the sellers to fill in extended descriptions for so many variants, you can be sure that most will not bother. This ruins the usefulness and reputation of this marketplace and reference database, and it sets a bad precedent that will surely result in more unsolicited/unwanted regressions. There needs to be a clear indicator provided in store name headers that shows whether a seller actually makes the effort to separate variants. I shouldn't have to open a store and read through their terms in hopes of finding whether or not they even mention it. Simply put, if buyers want a simplified buying/browsing experience, give them a checkbox option to ignore/merge variants. Instead, you've forced everyone to have the same dumbed-down experience. Would it have been so hard to offer a 'Basic' and 'Advanced' version of the website UI? If sellers prefer a simplified experience, perhaps they are in the wrong place. Why not just go sell bulk lots on eBay rather than cluttering up the listings here. I understand that it takes an enormous effort and commitment to run a Bricklink store, but surely you all knew what you were signing up for if you were here in the first place, right? I use Bricklink as my primary reference and buying source because of its history as a detail oriented and community-friendly entity, and for it's extensive completeness of historical reference material. If you're going to break this experience, I honestly don't know how much longer I can stick around. The question remains, who actually asked for this? I most certainly didn't.

Message is in Reply To:

Important proposal regarding catalog variants - Admin_Russell

Hello everyone, As a platform, we have decided to take a hard look at some of the mold variants that we are currently asking you to recognize. For sellers, more variants means [...] (5 months ago, Jan 9, 2024, to Catalog)

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