Inventory Policies

Inventory Policies and Contingency Plans

In the unlikely [!] event an item that has been inventoried is not available, the amount unavailable will be promptly refunded. You will receive a notification from BrickOwl and your payment provider (usually PayPal, but also possibly Stripe). For example:

• • You ordered six (6) dark stone gray 8x8 plates, priced at $0.125 each for a total cost of $0.75; however, there were only five (5) in our inventory. In this case, you would be notified one (1) of these plates was not available and $0.125 (rounded to $0.13) would be promptly refunded to you.

Sometimes our store has correctly inventoried the number of parts, but may have erred in the selection of the color. On the color spectrum, some color pairings are very similar or close to one another in terms of hue, saturation and/or luminance. Over time, LEGO has both introduced many new colors and also made changes to the inks for pre-existing colors.

For instance, as noted by Tom Alphin, author of The LEGO Architect: 

• "In 2005 the LEGO Group made a number of cost cutting changes as part of their efforts to regain profitability. One of the changes was to retire many colors, and tweak a few of the colors to make the color palette more consistent and to address feedback from customers" (Brick Architect, https://brickarchitect.com/color/)

What does this mean? Some colors may be inadvertently mixed up, including, but not limited to the following pairs:

• • "light gray" from before the 1980s and "light gray" after the 1980s
• • "light gray" and "medium stone gray" (aka, "bluish gray")
• • "dark pink" and "light pink" and "magenta", depending on age or fading
• •  "dark gray" and "dark stone gray" (aka, "dark bluish gray")
• • "dark azure" and "medium blue"
• • "transparent neon orange" and "transparent bright orange"
• • "bright light orange" and "yellow"
   

We do our absolute best to ensure what you receive is precisely what you ordered, and we are very careful when inventorying colors– alas, we are only human! If we detect a possible error in color during packing and the color in question is not available, then we will promptly refund the difference.
For example:

• • You ordered twenty-five (25) "dark pink" 4x4 plates, priced at $0.04 each for a total of $1.00; however, five (5) of these 4x4 plates we believed were actually "magenta". In this case we would promptly refund you the amount of $0.20; and, in most cases, we would also still ship to you these additional pieces without any additional charge. Of course, you may certainly need a specific color and this won't help, but if the overall quantity was your concern then your build(s) may continue without delay!
• • ACTUAL CASE: You ordered numerous lots, including a shark, complete with body and jaw. The jaw piece was missing, and so the amount for this entire shark was promptly refunded. The body of the shark was included in the order, free of charge. On a subsequent order, our store had located the missing jaw piece. This jaw piece was included, free of charge, which made for a most pleasant surprise and delightful experience!
   

The worst-case scenario would be if a particular minifigure or part constituted a significant percentage of your order was, for whatever reason, not available. In thise case we would immediately contact you regarding this order.
For example:

• • You order two (2) Imperial Guard minifigures (with red epaullete, black shako and brown backpack), priced at $12.50 each (for a lot price of $25.00), a shipping price of $4.00, and a total order price of $29.00;
• • One (1) of the minifigures was unavailable, perhaps because it was missing, damaged, had been added twice, etc. In this case we would promptly refund you $12.50; moreover, we would immediately contact you about the remainder of your order to confirm you wish to proceed with the remainder of your order;
• • In this scenario (and having already refunded the amount for the missing item) our store will, at your instruction, either process the remainder of your order, or cancel the remainder of the order and also refund any and all payments received for the order, including shipping costs.
   

Of course, if – after having received your order – you should discover an issue not necessarily described herein, do not hesitate to contact our store so we can quickly work together with you to remedy the situation ASAP!

We want everything to be perfect, which is why we have already considered these and other contingency scenarios so we are well-prepared to provide you with timely, relevant and superlative quality service.Last Updated: 19 Feb 2022