Brick Owl Seller Review - Brick Takeover

Sometimes you are left shaking your head at how some people can run their businesses.  I'll try not to make this an inflammatory post.  I had (keyword, *had*) an amazing large creation planned.  I couldn't get all the parts I wanted off the secondary markets so I went straight to LEGO.  They completely boffed the numbers, timing, and other factors such that they eliminated themselves.  Off to the secondary markets it was!  So I finally found a German seller who had a good portion of the parts I needed!  Joyous day!  The price was a little more but I was willing to bite.  Then I got bitten.

Profile
Seller: Brick Takeover
Store: Not linking to them
Feedback (at time of writing): 15928
Feedback Ratio: 99.68% positive on Bricklink
Location: Germany, Bayern
Prices: Higher than 6 month average.

My Order
Order Size: 6912 pieces, 9 lots (freaking huge)
Condition: 100% New
Shipping Charge: DHL rates
Extra Fees: Per Bricklink charges Paypal fees plus 5.99Euro to fill out a customs form!
Other: $2.03 minimum lot average
Final Cost per Part: $0.22.  Yes, I was prepared to drop over $1500.

Timeline
Order Date: Dec 31
Invoice Date: Dec 31 (Instant Checkout)
Payment Date: Dec 31
Shipping Date:
Delivery Date:
Cancelled Date: Jan 1 - Why would I note this and still review the non-order?

Order Details
Why this store: Had all the parts I needed.  Verified inventories with the seller beforehand.
Packaging: n/a
Part condition: n/a
Communication: Very good
Feedback left: n/a
Odd telltale signs: n/a
Issues: Yes.  Despite verifying with the seller that his inventory was correct, there was a problem.  Apparently his inventory WASN'T correct.  He cancelled my order and refunded.  I told him it would have been highly preferential to cancel just the items he didn't have instead of the whole order.  But I saw why he acted the way he did.  Once he got his inventory corrected he let me know.  I went to rebuild it only to find that he had DOUBLED the price on the huge quantity item I wanted.

Recommendation
To be sure, Brick Takeover has a high positive transaction count.  I've seen way worse.  But the terms page is a huge blockade of regulations with fees buried in the text.  Other German sellers have much cleaner terms.  Also, given the cancel/price-hike/relist scam, I can say that I find this seller to be less than honorable.

There, I said it.

2 comments:

  1. I think they also break EU law by differing their price depending on how someone chooses to pay. They must be rolling in cash if they can cancel a $1,500 order...

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  2. Not familiar enough with EU law to speak on that. It seemed that they saw a willing buyer for all their stock of pieces, a good reason to cancel the order (incorrect inventory) and a potential way to make even MORE money from the willing buyer by bringing their prices right above the average historic sales price. Regarding cancelling a high value order, they are a large seller so I don't think it was a detrimental loss. Still, to lose all that by trying to squeeze another $250 was not very bright.

    Best part? A week later I found all the pieces I needed at an amazing price from a more than willing seller. Ha!

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