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Posted

Put Simply, What are some shopping habits you guys have developped for shopping on Bricklink?I'm mostly curious cause Bricklink is all new to me and I'm curious to see what others think before I dive in myself. I'm mostly concerned about Making fewer Big orders OR Many smaller ones to get eh best pricing and/or locations...

But I think everyone can benefit from sharing tips and such!

Also sorry if this has been covered recently, I searcha bit but didn't find anything along the same theme.

Mike

Posted (edited)

I started out in October 2010. I needed a specific part for a MOC, found the two only stores that had the part. While buying I clicked around and put a few sets and some parts of colors I like to stock up on.

This opened up a whole new world and in eight days I had made eleven purchases. Some more parts for the MOC, some parts for an idea for another line of MOCs and parts for other peoples ideas I wanted to try my hands on.

Each time I looked after sets and colors.

It all got a bit crazy actually. :wacko:

Another ten orders in the same way in November but in December I slowed down and started looking for unique parts instead of color.

Now I try to promise myself to only make orders when I'm building something and actually need the parts to continue the MOC (but I'll keep looking for unique parts when ordering - having most types of parts at home will aid in prototyping which can then be ordered in correct colors for MOC completion)...

Edit: Looking through the list of parts released in 2010 resulted in a few "could be neat to have some day"-orders.

Edited by Tobbe Arnesson
Posted (edited)

If I order I try to keep the cost as low as possible. If I need 10 parts of 1 sort, and their cheaper by the 20 ( this is an example ) I'll buy the 20.

Mostly I try to get as many parts from one shop as possible , keeping S&H low, perhaps try to cut a deal with a seller if I want to buy a lot of parts.

It has been crazy for sometime when I was single, but now I take my time, trying to get more parts for my money.

Check check and dubblecheck !!! :sing:

Ow, forgot : If you keep buying small amounts of parts, you'll be running to bricklink later, more parts means less time ordering, thus buildingtime is better !! ( I always order more than I actualy need so when I run out , I've got a small backup , does not guaranty anything, I've got a nack for building MOC with the rarest of the rarest parts somehow :look: )

grtz Saint

Edited by Saint
Posted

I'm brand new to bricklink also. Just placed my first order a week or two ago and had a great experience. I had my design I made in LDD and after going through my bricks and sorting out what I all ready had, I ordered the rest of the bricks I needed to finish. I imagine this is how my future ordering habits will go as well.

Posted

Usually I look around for the part(s) I need and when I find them for a decent price I usually look around in the store to see if they have anything else I want. Usually they do and I've only spent around $10 in one go. So far I've made three orders and I'm quite happy with what I've gotten. :classic:

Posted

When on the hunt for a few specific parts for the lowest price in as few stores as possible this is a great program: http://www.tellblom.se/lego/getstores/ :wub:

That's looks like a pretty good tool. Better than 15 tabs and stores.

And actually, I've never used BL. My policy is to build based on what I buy, not buy based on what I build. This allows me to direct more of my LEGO budget towards sets. This'll probably change soon as I move to larger MOCs (2 feet and longer), and then I'll probably use BL.

Posted

It is addictive. I always start out with noble intentions, just a few pieces for a specificbuild then spot something cheap or something a bit hard to come by and before I know it I'm over budget and have visited ten stores and placed several orders. I often end up ordering things I already have enough of but have forgotten I've got. Though recently I've slowed down because of funds shortage and rising prices.

buying by the piece and part is my preferred method though. LEGO p.a.b. is poor in variety of pieces so Bricklink is plastic heaven for me.

Posted (edited)

I always compare prices between stores and I always try to look for a store within the US if possible (so it ships quicker). I do buy outside the US if needed. I always look for stores with its Minimum Buy at none or a low price. If I need more than one piece, I will always look for a store that has them together, even if I have to pay a bit more (and its tougt sometimes finding that store). I been shopping on Bricklink for years, and I magical with it.

Although when I do shop, I always add something to my cart if I think it is neat, even if I don't need the part. Cuz sooner or later, I will need that part.

-Omi

Edited by Omicron
Posted

The best feature on Bricklink that I found for buying parts I need is the "My Wanted List" tool. If you know the type and quantity of parts you are looking for, this is a great way to go. Once you have your wanted lists, you can "query shops" and it will give you a list of all the stores that have the parts you are looking for, beginning with the store(s) that have the most parts on your wanted list. Saves a TON of time!

Posted

This thread is extremely valuable to me. I browse Bricklink frequently, and there are certain parts I'd like to have handy because they are useful, but couldn't figure out how to best go about getting those parts. These tips will probably push me over the edge from browsing to buying. Thanks!

Posted

The best feature on Bricklink that I found for buying parts I need is the "My Wanted List" tool. If you know the type and quantity of parts you are looking for, this is a great way to go. Once you have your wanted lists, you can "query shops" and it will give you a list of all the stores that have the parts you are looking for, beginning with the store(s) that have the most parts on your wanted list. Saves a TON of time!

That is a great feature. I just wish it would go the next step and display the total cost of the entire wanted list for each store. That would be awesome; not sure why they haven't implemented that yet. Maybe that's what the software referenced above does, but alas, it's for Windows, and I'm on a Mac. (Maybe I'll see if runs under Parallels..)

Posted

I just signed up to Bricklink - I brought some display cases for my Minifigures and needed some baseplates.

Nothing available locally, so I found a seller in Europe and purchased them that way.

I have now filled up my wanted list with all the sets I want and am starting to order them into purchase priority (Between saving, Transformers and Star Wars)

Posted

For anyone in the us, shipping should rarely be more than $5.00, and that's if you're ordering a bunch of stuff (smaller orders should be like $3.00 to ship). There's a Flat Rate Priority Envelope that costs only $5.00 and you can stuff a ton of LEGOs in there. Of course, that's assuming you don't mind not having any padding.

It's cheaper for me to buy most of what I need from one seller because I ask them to ship it flat rate, and they usually comply. If they don't then I move on.

Also for new users, pay attention to see if the seller has "lot limits" or charges extra for buying a lot of lots. Every unique LEGO you buy is considered one "lot" (5 studs is all one lot, 5 unique pieces are 5 separate lots).

Posted

Make sure you read the splash pages. Some dealers have some pretty wacky policies on there. I remember once I placed a large order (over $1000) with a shop. I forgot to add one cheap part (black police hats), so I added a few of them about 2 minutes after I placed the large order. Well, the seller tried to charge me a $25 fee to process the first order and another $25 fee to process the second order and insisted that the two ordered must be shipped (internationally) separately. I pointed out how ridiculous that policy is, but he would not budge. Said that the terms were on his splash page ($25 processing fee on each order and no order additions). When I refused to pay the extra for some black police hats, he hit me with a NPB.

Also, I found that shipping from European shops to the U.S. is all over the board. Some will charge a very reasonable amount. Others will charge exorbitant sums.

Posted

I think Bricklink is a great resource, and though I don't use it much the few orders I've placed have been some of my best Lego purchases. I think buying specifically for a MOC or whatever is the way to go, as I find it saves time as you tend to know what you need.

However as others have said you do have to be aware of overusing it. I think it was CGH who once nicknamed it 'cracklink' in reference to it's addictive properties.

Posted

Bricklink Rules!

When I build something, I usually have 1 big order for cheap new parts, and 2 small orders for a specified unique parts.

That way I can control my money, and leave details for the end, and if I am short on the money, I can live without the few details, which would be in the small order.

Posted

nicknamed it 'cracklink' in reference to it's addictive properties.

oh crap, that is so true! I spend hrs on there looking though all the set inventory's

Posted

I havent buy anything on bricklink yet, but i have thinked to place order soon. So i ask one question: Is anyone got cheated when they have buyed something and payed for it, but havent got anything? Im very careful when i buy something on internet.

Captain Becker

Posted

The best feature on Bricklink that I found for buying parts I need is the "My Wanted List" tool.

This is what I use as well. If I get a used set (off eBay/yard sale/etc.) and it is missing some pieces, I create a new wanted list with that set number as a name. I'm not sure how many different wanted list you can have, but I am up to around 15 or so different ones. It's great to do searches as well because you can search by price or location etc. I find trying to stay in the same country works the best as it is the cheapest postage. I've never had a problem with any seller and I have been doing it for about 7 years.

Posted

Just create an account on Bricklink a few weeks ago.

Since then I made two orders. The first only for minifigs, the second for a few different parts. At both orders I followed the same strategy. There was one part/fig I was looking for. I searched it in countries with my currency and then pick 3-4 stores with the lowest prices. After that I look around if the store offers something else which I'm interested in. Then I order at the store where I found the most interesting things. At the moment I think I will keep this strategy.

Posted

Okay, I'm going through my first Brcklink order, ane I got a question, when searching a specific shop with a wanted list, is seems to sow several copies of the same parts, based on thier inclusion of sets I think, but its a lot of work to go through and pick out one type of each, also is there also a way to see if stores have all of the items on my wanted list?

Mike

Posted

I havent buy anything on bricklink yet, but i have thinked to place order soon. So i ask one question: Is anyone got cheated when they have buyed something and payed for it, but havent got anything? Im very careful when i buy something on internet.

Captain Becker

i had one order never show up, emailed the seller and she said it must have gotten lost in the mail... no insurance, so I was screwed... she offered to send me a nice discount coupon but it never came...

Posted

Okay, I'm going through my first Brcklink order, ane I got a question, when searching a specific shop with a wanted list, is seems to sow several copies of the same parts, based on thier inclusion of sets I think, but its a lot of work to go through and pick out one type of each, also is there also a way to see if stores have all of the items on my wanted list?

Mike

I'm not normally one to bump threads, But I'm rather interested if anyone has any tips for dealing with this, because it can be rather frustrating to have to go in and properlly select each part type instead of being able to use the handy "Auto-Fill Cart Min" tool.

Mike

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