How long does a bricklink order usually take?

[Brikkyy13]

I just made my first bricklink order(s) about 2 weeks ago. It was a few lots from 6 different sellers. I've received 3, 2 say shipped, but 1 still says "pending." I paid as soon as I received the invoice. Is it normal for a seller to leave an order pending for that long?

[Littleworlds]

It really depends on the individual seller and their TOS. I places one order a while ago and found out later that he by defau!t ships 1 week after you paid... 

In your case, if the TOS isnt saying anything about the time it takes to ship the goods, I would poke him about it in PM. Maybe it got dropped somehow. I usually dont want to give the sellers a bad rating for things like that, if they are responsive and try to satisfy their customer after their blunder.

[davee123]

Normal?  Probably not.  But it happens sometimes.  I actually took some stats recently.  For the last 10 bricklink orders with 10 different sellers, here's what my stats were:

Time to invoice (them), time to mark as paid (not including time for Paypal/bank to process), time to mark as shipped (includes time to process payment).  All times approximate to the nearest 10 minutes:

Seller 1: 270 min, 20 min, 1040 min

Seller 2: 150 min, 10 min, 290 min

Seller 3: 3360 min, 40 min, 9700 min (this seller explicitly stated in their splash page that they were slow)

Seller 4: 30 min, 20 min, 1190 min

Seller 5: 10 min, 10 min, 860 min

Seller 6: 410 min, 180 min, 240 min

Seller 7: 1270 min, 10 min, 840 min

Seller 8: 10 min, 930 min, 5570 min

Seller 9: 40 min, 40 min, 6420 min

Seller 10: 10 min, 590 min, 210 min

Average: 9 hours, 16 minutes to invoice, 3 hours, 5 minutes to pay, 1 day, 19 hours, 56 minutes to mark as shipped.

Most often, I think the ones who took longer to ship were waiting for payment to process through Paypal, which can take a few days.  In your case, if it's been a few weeks since you marked as "paid", the payment's probably gone through, and it's something else going on.  It could be that they shipped and forgot to mark it that way, or that they're busy, or that they found out they were missing something and are trying to correct the order before sending out.  Or whatever.  Check their splash page for any special considerations (sometimes people might take vacations or otherwise without notifying buyers, etc).

If it's been more than a few days since your payment completed, and everything else is normal, send them a ping.  Do that every couple of days until you get a response.  The BrickLink website requires that it's been at least a week before doing anything drastic, but I'd probably wait a bit longer than a week just in case there's really a valid problem.  (Once I actually tracked down a seller's phone number and called them, after they didn't reply to my messages!)  Try and give the seller the benefit of the doubt!

DaveE

[zux]

Well, if you start counting minutes I believe you need parts urgently? Why not to get in touch with seller before placing an order and clear processing/delivery times? Splash screen/T&C are good to expect too, but it doesn't reflect actual seller's load. Plus some of them work during standard working hours. So don't expect your order to be processed during the night or weekend.

In case you really need to make an order in particular shop and need it quicker - you could leave a comment during order checkout.

[davee123]

1 hour ago, zux said:

Well, if you start counting minutes I believe you need parts urgently?

I counted minutes mostly because I was curious.  I happened to have the data in my email, so I checked, and saved the info.  I had the timestamps from when orders were placed, when they were invoiced, and when I paid via PayPal.  I didn't always have an email regarding when orders were shipped, but I started grabbing that from BrickLink when possible, just so I'd have that data.

In the end, this is exactly the type of metric that I wanted, I just don't have nearly enough data points.  Personally, I'd love to see this data maintained for sellers and buyers for when I AM in a hurry.  If I have a choice between 47 BrickLink stores, and I need to make sure that the parts arrive before the end of the week, it's difficult to send a message to ALL of them asking if they can make my deadline, and then sit around waiting for them to reply, only to THEN submit my order.  Sometimes, I want to know not only who's reliable, but also who's got a good record for turnaround time.

Ever since I started doing this, I've decided it's probably a good idea for me personally, just in case I want to use that data later to make such a determination.  Also, it sets expectations, which is a good thing.  For the one self-admitted "slow" seller, I had no idea if "slow" meant 1 week for an invoice, or 3 days for an invoice.  Did it mean shipping would happen after 5 days or 15 days?  When should I start worrying?  Etc.

I can't say whether or not it would be a good metric for BrickLink to enact on all sellers, or even voluntarily-- it might be regarded as too invasive-- plus, when you DO have a busy period, it may be misleading or discouraging.  If you're 2 days slower than your average, will your buyer get angry due to certain expectations?  Etc.  But regardless, as a buyer, it's definitely something I'd like to use when evaluating potential sellers, even if it's flawed at a broader level.

DaveE

[dr_spock]

Past performance does not guarantee future results.  I have a seller who is always quick and fast.  Then I had one order placed with him in which I paid and the items didn't show up in the usual time. I tried contacting him and he wasn't answering emails. It turned out he had a death in the family.  He eventually got back and shipped out his backlog of orders.  He also covered the shipping costs for the delay.  I didn't ding him in the ratings since his service was good before and life happens. I think the problem with Bricklink is most stores are a one person shop without backups or extra staff to handle the business when life happens.

I would go with local sellers that offer local pick up when I have an urgent requirement.  That removes any potential issues with the postal system, your country's custom office, delivery guy dropping box off at the wrong house on the street, or wrong parts packaged as you can inspect the goods on the spot.

 

[davee123]

15 minutes ago, dr_spock said:

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Yeah, that's exactly why I was saying that it might not be a good system to implement universally at BL, since it might drive unrealistic expectations.  But regardless, it'd occasionally help me in choosing someone, which is why I started record keeping.  I won't personally hold it against someone if they break their trend, but if someone's consistently slow, and someone else is consistently fast, statistics will point me in a certain direction.

DaveE

[fire117]

I ordered something on Bricklink, it says the product was shipped a few days, now nearly a week since I ordered the product. It still hasn't arrived yet. i got the invoice and paid for the product. How will it be before I get it?

[Brikkyy13]

11 hours ago, fire117 said:

I ordered something on Bricklink, it says the product was shipped a few days, now nearly a week since I ordered the product. It still hasn't arrived yet. i got the invoice and paid for the product. How will it be before I get it?

If it says shipped already you'll need to check with the seller to see what postal service they used. 

[fire117]

3 hours ago, Brikkyy13 said:

If it says shipped already you'll need to check with the seller to see what postal service they used. 

I'll do that if it doesn't show up tomorrow.

[Criosphynx]

If its under 13 oz (or 16, they keep changing it) it will be shipped first class and that usually takes a week or less.

 

I've have 16 BL orders now fwiw, only one was slow, and it was very slow, but it did show up.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Criosphynx

[zux]

21 hours ago, fire117 said:

I ordered something on Bricklink, it says the product was shipped a few days, now nearly a week since I ordered the product. It still hasn't arrived yet. i got the invoice and paid for the product. How will it be before I get it?

It is hard to tell since we don't know the country you live in and the location location of BL shop you've ordered your parts. 

[fire117]

2 minutes ago, zux said:

It is hard to tell since we don't know the country you live in and the location location of BL shop you've ordered your parts. 

I live in Ireland and what I ordered is coming from the UK. 

[zux]

1 minute ago, fire117 said:

I live in Ireland and what I ordered is coming from the UK. 

Ah, it seems to be pretty close. Anyway any order coming from EU usually takes me 5-6 working days to receive. I wouldn't worry much if it would take another week (this happens for me sometimes).

[fire117]

Just now, zux said:

Ah, it seems to be pretty close. Anyway any order coming from EU usually takes me 5-6 working days to receive. I wouldn't worry much if it would take another week (this happens for me sometimes).

Well it shipped on Monday earlier this week, as i ordered what I want late last Friday. If I get what I ordered I'll use the site again, this is a test run.

Well due to today being St Patrick's Day I'll have to wait till Monday to get the post. Maybe I'll receive the order then,

[Sven F]

Anything more than 4 days from payment to shipping is too long for me unless it's time around Christmas. I would never rate a store badly for taking longer,  but would avoid ordering in the future. 

Marking the order as shipped and actually shipped often don't correspond though. 

[zux]

4 hours ago, fire117 said:

If I get what I ordered I'll use the site again, this is a test run.

Don't judge by single order. Bricklink generally is a good place to buy bricks you need. My overall experience is great, but it happens sometimes order doesn't go well as expected. It is laso good practise to check store terms (some people state they are shipping during specific time during a week or with a couple days of delay) and their feedback. 

Not sure how long it usually takes to receive a package from UK to Ireland, but, as I mentioned earlier, if you are not in rush of the items you've ordered I wouldn't worry much if order won't come within a week. If you actually needed parts pretty quick, it is a good practise to mention this in comments, while submitting an order.

[dulsi]

I've always been impressed at the speed of delivery. I've never bothered to check how long a store takes and wouldn't avoid a store simply because of slow speed. The only time speed mattered for me was for the Best of Batman contest. I ordered some bat figures for my destroyed Batcave. I suspected they would arrive in time to take pictures but if they hadn't I would have gone with what I had. For the mini-builds for my kids birthday parties, I order them well ahead of time. I wouldn't worry about an order unless it was probably two weeks. If you need something in a hurry, it will probably be fast enough in most cases but I wouldn't plan on it.

[ColletArrow]

Most of my orders have been pretty quick, but that's because I live in the UK and only order from stores in the UK, typically 1st class postage. I don't need the parts urgently, it's just satisfying when it all comes through.

[ctx1769]

I've had 29 bricklink most came with a few days, 1 took 2 weeks.

[dr_spock]

I don't know if Ireland does it.  Some countries' customs office will randomly hold imported packages for inspection.  Some may also apply duty to imported goods above a certain dollar amount.  There can be some risk with international orders getting the "special treatment" delays. 

 

 

 

[Giantorange]

First class to Ireland would be 3-4 working days from UK..

I have had a package get to France next day though.

Bear in mind that won't include w/e and bank holidays.  If it was posted after 12pm Saturday, the Post Office won't do anything with it until the Monday.

Also the Post Office won't class it as lost until 21days.

 

I'd ping a message to the sender if it's been a week since it was marked as sent.  The store terms page should show you which postal method was used. (although you could probably work that out from how much you paid for shipping)  Did you pay  for tracking on the parcel?

 

[fire117]

On 3/17/2017 at 2:50 PM, zux said:

Don't judge by single order. Bricklink generally is a good place to buy bricks you need. My overall experience is great, but it happens sometimes order doesn't go well as expected. It is laso good practise to check store terms (some people state they are shipping during specific time during a week or with a couple days of delay) and their feedback. 

Not sure how long it usually takes to receive a package from UK to Ireland, but, as I mentioned earlier, if you are not in rush of the items you've ordered I wouldn't worry much if order won't come within a week. If you actually needed parts pretty quick, it is a good practise to mention this in comments, while submitting an order.

Well what I ordered is a big fig of Thanos and if I don't get it in the post tomorrow I'll contact the seller and get some answers.

[fire117]

I just got the order and it's what I wanted. Now I know Bricklink is reliable, I'll use it again in the future.

[Brick Boy HD]

 I just ordered something off of brick link On April 28 2017  from a seller named your favorite brick who's page said that he is from Maryland how long will it take to ship ?