  
| Author: | Admin_Russell  | | Posted: | Jan 26, 2024 02:57 | | Subject: | Variants Thread - January 26 | | Viewed: | 1979 times | | Topic: | Catalog | | Status: | Open | |
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BrickLink
ID CardAdmin_Russell
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Location:  USA, California |
| Member Since |
Contact |
Type |
Status |
| May 9, 2017 |
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Admin |
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| BrickLink Administrator |
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| Hello again everyone,
My initial post on this subject earlier this month has garnered almost 700 replies,
which is right about the level of the BrickArms threads a few years ago. 
A New Thread
So I'm starting a new thread with some new information, and hopefully a few
links that will help you navigate through this complex discussion topic.
Here is the original post:
https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1447090
Here are three Help topics:
https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2625
https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2626
https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=2629
Here is a list of my replies on this subject:
https://www.bricklink.com/messageList.asp?overTP=Y&q=variants&qS=Y&msgID=&uName=admin_russell&ID=&status=&v=c&max=50
If you don't wish to read all 700 replies in the previous thread, you can
at least look through some of these for answers to most of the questions that
have been raised.
************************************
The Responses
We sent an email out to all active sellers a couple days ago and we expected
a flood of responses in the Forum. As much as it may seem to be an overwhelming
response, we do appreciate all the members who have posted and shared their feelings
about this project. Keep them coming. 
So far I have seen two YouTube videos addressing this issue, and I'll post
in this new thread to respond directly (and completely) to what they are saying.
I will be answering directly several of the more detailed replies over the next
day or two in an effort to clear up any misunderstandings.
************************************
The Research
The following is an example of the some of the research that has been done to
help determine the course of action we are taking.
When it comes to Frosted Bricks, we took a look at the price guide, the inventories
that contained these special bricks, and we studied the nature of the bricks,
at least as far as we could.
What we found was that bricks listed under the normal (umbrella) entries sold
on average for over twice the price, and the volume of sales was 17 times of
bricks listed under the frosted entries. In addition, sellers listing under the
main entries didn’t have to spend the time sorting out their parts. So from a
marketplace standpoint, these frosted entries are simply an inefficiency (see
image below).
In the inventories, there was only spotty information about which sets these
bricks are in. This is likely the main reason for the lower sales volume, because
the BrickLink inventory system drives sales for vintage parts. We started adding
frosted entries to the catalog over 20 years ago, but they are only reflected
in 24 inventories to date.
When it comes to the bricks themselves, there were actually more variants than
what are currently shown on BrickLink. And we’ve never been able to settle on
a reason for these peculiar markings. Some have suggested they are simply the
same patterns one would find on solid color bricks of the same era. Whatever
they are, though, this type of variant is typically found only in sellers’ notes
and not reflected in standalone BrickLink entries.
In fact, it is a peculiar thing that these entries were only for Transparent
versions of the part. We don’t really do that on BrickLink. Normally, all the
colors are placed under one entry.
But perhaps the best reason for removing these entries is the lack of a real
use case for any of our members. For new users, these entries clutter up important
basic parts categories, and if they end up on a wanted list, they can certainly
cause problems.
For the seller who wants to fill out vintage sets, these entries do not solve
their need completely, because there are serious color matching issues with older
transparent parts. It is not “plug and play” with these variants, and truth be
told, it would be easier to obtain the necessary selection of parts by using
the main entries.
For the hard core collector looking for information, BrickLink has very little
to offer in the case of the frosted bricks. We don’t need separate entries to
add representative photos and comparison images of variants, and we were likely
to never complete the “collection” of these entries due to the large number of
different patterns.
In order to preserve what knowledge we have, we plan to release new Help pages
for certain variants covered in this project. Stay tuned.
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Message Has 29 Replies:  Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - WOLKsite (13) | The frosted bricks I can understand, as I fully believe that they are the same as the many variants of internal supports found on the opaque bricks, and yeah, the data is simply [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - StormChaser (569) | [...] I would like an official response on why the website is choosing not to implement the suggestion many have recommended for years. Many of us would like to see a redesign [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - oukexergon (328)  | What am I missing? "We don't account for every single possible variance, so we are doing away with what the community has collectively accounted for that has worked for [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - BaronBlackbird (1) | Howdy, I'll keep this brief. If Bricklink is going to switch over in mere days this had to be something which has been in discussion internally for some time; I would hope. [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - ghyde (203) | [...] Would it be possible for a representative from The LEGO Group to respond with what their thoughts and insights on these bricks people thought were "frosted" bricks? [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - WoutR (920) | [...] The "frosted" appearance is caused by increased roughness of the inner surface of the brick. During moulding, bricks can stick on the wrong half of the mould [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - Emperor_Penguin (1361) | Still love the variant changes, there's so many super-small changes in variants that it fills the site with multiple listings with small # listings/sales that it confuses [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - tmtomh (231) | [...] Thank you for this follow-up post - much appreciated. I think the above-quoted part of your post is the key issue that is not being sufficiently considered here: as you [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - DDSEnt (7259) | PHASE II The removal of all discontinued parts regardless of mold variations as "these entries clutter up important basic parts" for the new users. This may sound crazy, [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - sampo (165) | I'm sure that this has been said here before, but REPEAT is sometimes the only that can do and hope that somebody would listen. PLEASE: If this kind of merging of variants [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 26, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - dsimpsonugcs (37) | [...] You do realize this proposed change affects not only sellers, but buyers and catalog browsers as well. What attempts have been made to contact other affected users and [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - dsimpsonugcs (37) | [...] There are some clear errors in your research data. You are counting the sales of the standard variants of the bricks multiple times. For instance, there are three frosted [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - the.yet (0) | The focus on streamlining the site, since it was acquired by the LEGO group I find troubling. I do understand attempting to make site easier for sellers to use; however, as an [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - DeLuca (286) | I am not sure that there is anything I can say that has not already been said; merging significant part variants makes the Catalog more confusing and less comprehensive (and [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - j1t1 (0) | I am in agreement that the pieces should be kept separate to ensure that there is accuracy and consistency within the website. Without these distinctions, some older parts could [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - Tarkur (124) | I can't for the life of me understand how this clarifies or adresses any of the concerns from the last thread unless you've just chery-picked examples from those who [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - Admin_Russell | [...] [...] [...] The two YouTube videos I have seen are these: R.R. Slugger: There's a BAD Bricklink Update Coming... (URL) DuckBricks: Why Would Bricklink Do This? [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - popsicle (6665) | As I thought "a tough tackle" (URL) With most matters that have been kicked-down-the-road, coalitions of perceived consensus are created over time around the 'issue' [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - WoutR (920) | I just made some photos of the hinges with 7 and 9 teeth. They show why they click into the same positions. I read a comment here on the forum that the 9 teeth hinge might be [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 27, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - brickbiters (134) | sorry, your excuses won't change my mind. to sellers who are crying about it taking too long to pull orders, they just want to make an easy buck and probably won't even [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 28, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - StormChaser (569) | [...] Yes, there was strong objection from members to adding BrickArms. But the site added these items to the catalog anyway. Not too terribly long thereafter, the site removed [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 28, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - dsimpsonugcs (37) | [...] Apologies for the multiple long posts. I finally figured out on my own how the BL admins collected and analyzed their posted research data. It isn't as bad as I [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 28, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - BUC (9708) | Instead of merging, why not bring back the "undetermined type" entries for those who don't care about distinguishing variants? The 'parent id' for the UT [...]
(4 months ago, Jan 28, 2024, to Catalog) |
| Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - SnarkBricks (9838) | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX These variants ALL have different price points. Some are vital to re-creating the authenticity of the older [...]
(4 months ago, Feb 1, 2024, to Catalog) |
Re: Variants Thread - January 26 - thebrickmonster (92) | Wow this update is way worse than anticipated. This has made google search useless and to top it off Studio pointless. I literally cant find anything about a 1x2 tile
(4 months ago, Feb 3, 2024, to Catalog) |
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