How can I know the full price of something on Bricklink upfront?

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Still not knowing my full way around Bricklink, I'm confused as to how I know/calculate the full costs of a set with everything like shipping included without going up to nearly buy the set. Any help here please?

[JopieK]

Well, how should we answer that? Bricklink is a forum of private and commercial sellers all around the world. So it totally depends on the location of the seller vs. your location, also on the particular seller, etc. etc. etc. only way is asking the seller and looking on their terms page.

[Risgrynsgrot]

You really can't. Best is just to message the seller and ask him the total.

After that it's just trying to read trough the splash page and make an estimate on total including shipping and other charges. It's better to message the seller tough.

[smkaemp]

I usually go to the sellers splash page and see the shipping and handling and materials prices

[TheLegoDr]

Like others have stated, there should be information on the splash page. You usually can estimate the total based on weight plus packing materials. I haven't made a ton of purchases (17 total) but shipping has never been over $5, and is usually closer to $3.50 or so. But it depends on what you are actually buying and location, as stated.

[rollermonkey]

My favorite is when the splash page mentions nothing about insurance and handling charges, then adds like $10 to a $15 order.

I respond with a block to crappy moves like that.

[Sid Sidious]

If you want to know shipping beforehand, use Brickowl. It also has a search function that works well.

[Orange Leader]

Splashpages are the way to go, but keep in mind shipping costs keep changing all the time. Sometimes a seller has an outdated splashpage and might forget to update current shipping costs. Always ask If you're not sure.

Also be careful with elements that are in some way bigger then 3 centimeters, doesn't fit through the mail box. At least in Europe. Big Panels and Windscreens for example are most of the time packaged instead sent in an envelope, making the shipping costs rise!

My favorite is when the splash page mentions nothing about insurance and handling charges, then adds like $10 to a $15 order.

I respond with a block to crappy moves like that.

I feel bad for you. Don't you get negative feedback or doesn't that happen when you block a seller (also didn't know you could do that though)?

Edited August 24, 2014 by Orange Leader

[naf]

When buying sets, I usually ask the seller for a total including shipping before placing my order. For smaller bricks and pieces, it's usually sent first class mail and is around $3-5.

[RTZX9R]

I'll offer my perspective as well, as I have been on BL for over 12 years both buying and selling.

As noted above, all stores are different and as a result you need to investigate the store before you commit to buy. Check the splash page / store terms pages and see what the seller will charge for shipping, if they charge a paypal fee (outside USA), if they charge a handling fee, lot fees, etc. You should be able to estimate your total including shipping within < $1.00 if the store terms are clearly laid out by looking at the shopping cart weight and adding to that for packaging supplies based on order size / contents. If they are not clear, I would skip that store to reduce your chance of a rogue order total.

If you do the above and get an obscure price for the order (eg they threw in a mandatory $5.00 insurance charge or anything NOT on the store splash / store terms pages, you have the right to cancel the order.Hope that helps!

PS - here are my store terms - I try to be up front about ALL charges a buyer would need to include. http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=rtzx9r

[talos]

I try to stick with sellers that have all the costs on the splash page or store terms page. I have tried a few times to find out what the actual shipping would be for sets, and have only gotten about 50% success rate. Some sellers, apparently, don't think its worth their while to actually respond to an inquiry. I just make note of them, and then avoid in the future.

My one peeve with BL, is that most sellers base what they charge on shipping on the weight of the purchased parts. When you are ordering though, the weight info is not included. So it would be a tedious task to add up all the weights to get a total...I just guess, and have not felt I was charged extra most of the time. I try to only use sellers that don't tack on some ridiculous handling fee, there are plenty of sellers that don't do that.

[fred67]

My one peeve with BL, is that most sellers base what they charge on shipping on the weight of the purchased parts. When you are ordering though, the weight info is not included. So it would be a tedious task to add up all the weights to get a total...I just guess, and have not felt I was charged extra most of the time. I try to only use sellers that don't tack on some ridiculous handling fee, there are plenty of sellers that don't do that.

BL can be hard to use... I've publicly stated on their forum it looks like a site from 1996, but the real problem is it ACTS like a site from 1996, too.

However, when I shop, I DO see the weights. Perhaps it's a setting I've triggered somewhere and now forget how, perhaps some stores have enabled it... I don't know, but as others have stated, most sellers seem to be upfront about shipping costs and will give a table by weight on their terms page. When I check the shopping cart, it tells useful information at the bottom of the page... how many lots and what the total is, how far away I am from any store minimum there might be, and the estimated total weight in both grams and ounces.

[talos]

BL can be hard to use... I've publicly stated on their forum it looks like a site from 1996, but the real problem is it ACTS like a site from 1996, too.

However, when I shop, I DO see the weights. Perhaps it's a setting I've triggered somewhere and now forget how, perhaps some stores have enabled it... I don't know, but as others have stated, most sellers seem to be upfront about shipping costs and will give a table by weight on their terms page. When I check the shopping cart, it tells useful information at the bottom of the page... how many lots and what the total is, how far away I am from any store minimum there might be, and the estimated total weight in both grams and ounces.

Thanks for the help! I checked again and it is settings you can change, I never thought you could make those changes. I found what my settings are, which must be the defaults, because I haven't ever looked at the settings tab...duh..LOL I will turn on all those stats to see them next time. (got to love the way they spell Chinese on there...LOL)

Edited August 25, 2014 by talos

[tkatt]

If you want to know shipping beforehand, use Brickowl. It also has a search function that works well.

I like Brickowl. It looks and works better than Bricklink. But Bricklink has a greater selection, and often better prices. It would be nice if Bricklink's stores were all on Brickowl.

[fred67]

I like Brickowl. It looks and works better than Bricklink. But Bricklink has a greater selection, and often better prices. It would be nice if Bricklink's stores were all on Brickowl.

Really? I have a Brick Owl account and while it looks a lot better than Bricklink, I find it really difficult and awkward to use.

After I had my first few BL orders, I realized the way to go was to have an up to date wanted list with less immediate needs on it; that way when I had immediate needs, I could bulk up smaller orders with things on my wanted list, and in general, I could limit my searches to North America. I don't always exclusively buy from N.A., but generally have a lot of smaller orders where shipping will kill you otherwise.

You can't limit your searches on BO to a region or country... I even asked in the forum and was completely ignored - not even a "you can't do that." I can't search for all wanted lists at the same time. (EDIT: I guess you can... it just didn't seem obvious to me how to do it... but now that I know, I agree it's better than BL, which limits you to searching for all or one of your wishlists, while BO let's you select which ones) Even building my wanted lists seems awkward. (EDIT: yes and no... I discovered some things are easier than BL, like adding a number of the same item in different colors)

I admit (as I often have stated) that BL not only looks like it's from 1996, but operates like it, too... you look at your orders page and there's a bunch of icons next to your order that you don't know what the hell it is until you hover over it... but the fact is that most of the features you want are there.

BO looks pretty, but seems more awkward to use, for me.

I guess, ultimately, I look around and don't buy much because my wanted lists are so strange (even BL has a hard time giving me good options); few stores on BO have more than a couple of things that would only result in like a $0.50 order.

I guess I wish there was something that was like a half BO, half BL. I had hopes for BL, but the new owners wasted no time in doing stuff nobody asked for instead of actually making the site more usable.

Edited August 26, 2014 by fred67

[tkatt]

I've made several orders through Brickowl in the past year and I've become accustomed to it, I think its very easy to use.

There are a few reasons I think BO works better. Brickowl shows the shipping charges in your cart as you're building your order.

The carts stay open until you delete them, closing the browser doesn't empty the cart.

I really like that you check out with paypal right through the site.

I still use Bricklink if the price is better and if I can't find what I want from a BO store. Usually for rarer parts and minifigures.