Creating a Store


If you have some LEGO you wish to sell, we are happy to have you here at Brick Owl. We welcome all sellers large or small.

 

Stores can be created from the link at the bottom of the page while you are logged in. This will take you to a page where you need to enter your Store name and subdomain. You can name your store whatever you like provided it is not offensive and does not include the word 'Lego'. Your subdomain is the URL where your store is located, it is advisable to have it related to your store name, but it has the restriction that it can only include lowercase letters. For example, if your store name is 'Test Bricks' your subdomain could be 'testbricks'. You cannot use a store name or subdomain that is already taken. Once you have chosen a store name and filled in your subdomain, pressing the big 'Create Store' button will make you your Brick Owl Store.

If you have completed the above, Congratulations you are now a Brick Owl Store Holder.  But before you can get selling your Lego there are some settings that need to be filled in before you can recieve any orders and if you are wishing to make the Store your own we have included some other settings to allow you to personalise your store and make it just how you want it. You can control your store and manage your orders by clicking the 'My Store' tab which should appear when you are logged in on the top left. Within the My Store Page is a Settings Tab, which itself if split into four sections: Store Settings, Payment Methods, Shipping Methods and Inventory Settings accessed by clicking on the appropriate buttons. Starred fields are the most important. We have filled in many fields on your behalf with default options and data from your account, for example, we have set your store country based on the country associated with your username. This is to help you spend less time form filling and more time shipping Lego, if we've got any details wrong you can change any default options, by setting the field to the correct answer and then clicking the blue 'Save Changes' button at the bottom middle of the page.

Important Settings:

Store Information Section

  • Store Name -  Already Set up when creating a store, you do not need to add any extra information.
  • Country - Specifying a country is important for customers and for internal postage calculations. Your store country will be shown on your store with a nice big flag. We have filled this in for you based on the country associated with your username.
  • Currency - Stores can accept many currencies for payment (to be set up later) but they must have one currency which is the 'base' currency. We have hopefully filled this in correctly already based on the store country.
  • Tax - If you are VAT registered or registed for Sales Tax you need to set up a tax profile to ensure customers are charged the correct amount of tax. Click the option that corresponds to your countries tax rate, if we've missed any off let us know!
  • Minimum Order - Setting a minimum order will prevent customers from placing an order in your store if the order costs less than your minimum order. For example, if you have a minimum order of $4 then customers will not be able to place orders that cost less than $4. The value you entered should be in your store's base currency (see bullet point above), don't worry we'll handle any conversions to other currencies. Minimum orders can be helpful if you are busy and do not want to spend lots of time picking small orders, however they may lose you customers so we've set the default value to zero.
  • Store Status - You can open or close your entire store from here. Going on Holiday? Close your store so you can relax and not worry about new orders, all you have to do is remember to change it to open on your return. Closed stores can be viewed if you go directly to them but they will not appear in the buy tab and customers will not be able to make orders from them.
  • Despatch Time - Your despatch time is how long it will take you to pick, pack and get orders into the postal system. It does not include the time the package spends while in the postal system being shipped to the customer. A shorter despatch time is preferable for attracting customers so we've set it the minimum option 1-2 Days.
  • Mold Types - Some parts have slight variates depending on the mold that was used to create them, for example, tile 1 x 2 with bottom groove and tile 1 x 2 without bottom groove. If you differentiate between different mold variants you can let customers know in case they require a certain type. If you do not than you can also let customers know that the parts they recieve may be either of the two variants. If you do not sell Lego parts and so this does not apply to you, there is an option for that as well.
  • Smoke - If no one smokes in your household, we will proudly display this on your store. Please note, customers will be asked if parts smell of smoke when they leave feedback for an order.
  • Minifigure packaging - If you individually bag your minifigures it can help prevent them from getting scratched during shipping.

Payment Methods

It is important to set up payment methods so that you can recieve payment for any orders placed in your store. Customers will not be able to place any orders until you have set up at least one payment method. The options are:

  • Paypal - The favourite of many shoppers, link up your paypal account and you will recieve the payment direct from the customer into your paypal account as soon as they place the order. The customer will have paid before you have picked the order so you will not have a problem with non paying buyers.
  • Personal Cheque - It may take several days for a personal cheque to clear.
  • Money Order
  • IBAN
  • Cashiers Cheque
  • Cash on Delivery
  • Cash

For each payment method you set up you can choose which currencies you accept the payment in and which countries can use that payment method. You can select multiple countries or currencies by holding down the CTRL key while you click. For a quick way to fill in many countries you can select a region from the top drop down and it will add the countries that belong to the region to your list, you can then add or remove selections by pressing CTRL and clicking. To clear the selection change the top drop down to 'Select a Region' again. Be sure to press the submit button when you are done.

Shipping Methods

Before you can recieve any orders you must have at least one shipping method set up. The more shipping methods set up the better as it gives customers more options and allows more people to be able to buy from your store.

Inventory Settings

  • Default Price - When you list new items on Brick Owl we can automatically set the price for you based on which default price option you select.
  • Minimum Default Price - This is the minimum price you want any one item to sell for, for example, if you set it to $1 then all items on your store will cost $1 or more.

Extra Settings:

Store Information Section

  • Slogan / Tag Line - Got a catchy slogan or want to tell your customers you've got the best bricks in town, enter your slogan here and it will be displayed proudly next to your store name at the top of your store.
  • Store Color Scheme - Make your store stand out from the crowd by customising your store colour. Click the little square to begin, then slide the arrows to pick the colour you want e.g. green and then move the circle around the large left square to pick the shade you want e.g. dark green.
  • Header Logo - Give your store a professional look by uploading a store logo, this should be a rectangular image that displays your store name. JPEG, GIF and PNG pictures are allowed and will be automatically resized to fit in the store header replacing the current store name text.
  • Square Logo - Add a square logo and we will proudly display it for you when stores are listed, helping your store to stand out. JPEG, GIF and PNG pictures are allowed and will be automatically resized to fit. Your square logo will be displayed smaller than your header logo and does not need to include your store name.

 

Completed the above? Congratulations, I hope you are pleased with your brand new Brick Owl store. Well done for getting all your settings sorted, you can return to your settings and change them at any time, just remember to press the 'Save Changes' button.

The next step is to add some Lego for customers to buy, by clicking on the Inventory tab and importing items, by parting Lego Sets into your inventory or adding items directly to your store from the catalog. Check out the Inventory Help Page for more information.

From the My Store section you can manage your brand new Brick Owl Store. Get some cool stats from the Dashboard tab, view your orders from the Orders tab, entice customers with discounts from the Coupon tab, manage your inventory from the Inventory tab or attract customers by creating your very own store pages using the Pages tab. Welcome to Brick Owl!