Article: The Bargain Hunter's Guide to LEGO

[Eilif]

The Bargain Hunters Guide to LEGO: A true cheapskate reveals his "penny-per-piece" secrets.

Everyone wants cheap LEGO right? Especially in these trying economic times, the search is on for LEGO bargains. Ebay, Craiglist, Shop-at-Home sales, everyone is trying to find LEGO that fits their budget, and unfortunately in most cases, it's not that cheap anymore. The purpose of this article is simple: To show you new venues and methods for acquiring LEGO brick for less than the price of one cent a piece!

The article is divided up into 6 parts.

1) Do you have what it takes?

2) Resale Shops

3) Garage Sales.

4) Trading.

5) Quick cleaning of Dirty and Smokey bricks

6) Addenda: A brief mention of Craiglist, and Ebay.

1. Do you have what it takes?

Getting cheap LEGO doesn't take much. It requires very little money (that's the point after all), few social skills, and only the most rudimentary intelligence. In short, anyone can do it, as long as you have two things: Time and Patience. Getting cheap LEGO is a process. Whether it's making the rounds of thrift stores, waiting for someone to come through on a trade, or sorting and cleaning used brick, the cheap LEGO game is all about patience. If you are one who is used to stopping by Bricklink or Ebay: -getting exactly what you need, and getting it quickly- you may find it tedious. However, if you are already a bargain hunter, or you like the hunt almost as much as the find, you're going to love it. I'll expound upon time and patience throughout this article, but I mention it here so that those for whom this sounds tedious, can stop reading now and go off to Toys 'R' Us to pick up the latest Clone Wars Set.

One last thing, you have to like loose brick. The LEGO bargain hunter does find sets from time to time, but most of what is out there in the locales that this article explores is loose brick.

2) Resale Shops

Resale Shops are the best place to find loose cheap LEGO. I visit Resale Shops often, and have found deals on LEGO that boggle the mind. As an added bonus, since you are visiting in person, there's no shipping costs involved. In fact, many times the items you purchase at a resale shop will cost less than the cost of shipping a similar item in an Ebay transaction. The key with resale shops is to look hard, look often, and keep your expectations reasonable.

Looking hard means digging through that bin of random junky toys and feeling around for a bin of LEGO, or a box that rattles like LEGO. Don't look just for LEGO buckets/bins, or boxes. Most of the best deals I've gotten have been from unmarked boxes or storage tubs that simply had a price written on them. Charity shops and donors often put LEGO in whatever container they have handy. Sometimes the shop will dump whatever loose LEGO they receive in a box and put it out for sale when it is full. That pink hatbox in the toy section, might just be filled with LEGO. Take a look.

Looking often. Unless you have a friend at the shop who will call you when they get LEGO (I know someone who does this, and she scores tons of LEGO that way), you will not find LEGO every time you visit a shop. At my favorite resale shop, I still find LEGO only about 1/3 of the time. I stop by that shop as often as I can, sometimes more than once a week. Making a stop at your favorite resale shops part of your routine is a solid strategy that will reap lots of LEGO rewards over the long haul.

Keep your expectations reasonable. As was mentioned, you will not find LEGO every time. Sometimes I will go for weeks without finding any LEGO. Also, do not expect to find the latest sets or pieces. Alternatively, don't expect to necessarily find classic Castle minifigs every 4th time you visit the shop. Enjoy the hunt, expect some dry times, and expect to be pleasantly surprised at what you will find.

3) Garage Sales (Boot Sales, Yard Sales, Estate Sales, Junk Sales, Flea Markets)

Venues where individuals sell their own possessions are great ways to find LEGO. The same suggestions as resale shops apply, with a few others.

First, don't be afraid to bargain. Most (but not all) resale shops have firm prices, but Garage Sales are wide open for bargaining. Try it, the worst they can say is No.

Secondly, because the people are selling their own stuff, you can usually determine if they have LEGO much quicker, simply by asking. Asking is a great tool also, because it gives them a chance to think if they have any LEGO in the house that they may have forgotten to bring out. A shrewd LEGO hunter can quickly make the rounds of a neighborhood group garage sale or Flea Market, just by passing each seller and asking if they have any LEGO.

Third, when you arrive at a Garage sale is also key. For the large sales put on by churches and charities, arriving early is a necessity. For these large sales, it is worthwhile to arrive as much as an hour before it starts. I acquired a nearly complete 6991 Unitron Monorail Transport Base for 10 dollars this way. Conversely, arriving at the end of a sale, usually finds the sellers in a mood to bargain, and some great deals can be had this way, though much more rarely. Finally, if a garage sale has an advertisement up that mentions LEGO, you may be able to call and arrive early in the week and purchase the LEGO before the sale even occurs.

4) Trading

Trading is a less common way of acquiring LEGO, but it has recently become my favorite. I am not speaking of trading LEGO with other AFOL's, though this can be a great way to acquire LEGO. Rather, I am speaking of trading something you already have for someone else's LEGO. . The keys to getting cheap LEGO's this way are: Venue, and Exchange rate.

Venue:

The most successful Venue I have found is to go through other niche hobbies and acquire LEGO from folks who are not AFOL's. The most successful niche hobby I've found is the online community of tabletop gamers, though any online community “especially one where you already have a presence- offers the opportunity for this kind of trading. For me, putting up ads in such places as Bartertown (a gaming trading site) has allowed me to trade gaming materiel to an audience that greatly values such items, in exchange for LEGO, which that particular group of people tends not to value. The gaming community is not the only venue where this works. Any group of people where you can offer something they are interested in, in exchange for their old LEGOs (which they are usually not interested in), can be a prime point of cheap LEGO acquisition.

Though I use the online communities as an example, such trades can also be in person, with friends, family, clubs or acquaintances.

Exchange Rate:

When you are trading LEGO, it is in your best interest, NOT to put a direct monetary Value on the LEGO. It is far better simply to offer a specific item or lot of items in trade for a specific Volume of LEGO. A highly effective method that I've used here in the states is to put together a defined Lot of items in exchange for a Post Office Flat Rate Box of LEGO. Everyone has access to these type of boxes, the shipping is reasonable, and it ends up being quite a lot of LEGO. This type of Volume trading usually leads you to acquire an amount of LEGO that greatly exceeds the value of the items you are trading, and as a plus, you usually end up with a very happy trader on the other end who views the transaction as him/her receiving something they want in exchange for some old toys out of their basement. The picture below represents the contents of one standard sized post office flat rate box. You can fit a lot of brick in one of those.

5) Cleaning that used LEGO.

Let's be honest. Sometimes there's a reason that that cheap LEGO is so cheap. Often, it's dirty or smells of smoke. The LEGO pictured in the below example was purchased for only $6.00. However, it smelled very heavily of smoke. Cleaning away smoke and dirt sounds daunting, but is actually quite easy, and can be done in an afternoon while doing other household chores, or relaxing at home. The lot shown was sorted, cleaned and dried in one afternoon.

-Sort

Dump out the LEGO and sort out stickered LEGO, printed LEGO, Translucent LEGO, other toys, and junk that often creep into these lots.

Mini-sidetrack: I suggest bagging up the random toys and clone brick in a ziplock even if they are small- and donating them back to the resale shop. That bag of crap, can fetch a buck or two for a charity. In this world every cent counts, and every bit that goes back to the shop is a bit that doesn't end in a landfill.

-Wash

Anyway, put the non-translucent, unstickered, and unprinted LEGO in pillowcases, or mesh delicates bag, tie securely, and drop in the washing machine. Warm water, a generous amount of soap, the "delicate" setting and a higher water level than normal are the best for this process.

-Dry

Lay out a large, lint-free, towel, mat or sheet, and dump the LEGO out. Direct a fan or two over the LEGO. Every half hour or so run your hands through the LEGO to turn the pieces over. The LEGO will be completely clean and dry in a couple of hours.

Printed and translucent pieces can be dumped into a basin or bowl of warm soapy water, and stirred about (sometimes I actually use a big spoon and agitate the water like soup), Unless the bricks are extremely filthy, I don't bother scrubbing them individually. After the wash, rinse them and dry as above, with a fan. Stickered pieces are another story. A little soap and water usually won't hurt them, but I usally choose not to wash them unless they are particularly dirty, or smelly.. Usually printed, trans, and stickered LEGO will only be a small portion of the LEGO you acquire, and cleaning them only takes a short time.

6) Addendum: a Brief Mention of Craigslist and Ebay.

-Craigslist. I have found some good deals on Craislist, but it has become a known market, with lots of folks advertising that they will buy used LEGO, and likely for more than I want to pay. However, deals are there to be had, if one searches often, replies promptly, and is available to pick up the LEGO A.S.A.P.

-Ebay. Honestly, I have little use for Ebay. However, searching often, using obscure search terms, and being patient has worked out well for some folks I know.

Conclusion:

Well, that's it, thanks for reading this long winded article, I hope you have found useful information, and I wish you all the best in your search for cheap LEGO. Remember, if you are patient and persistent, ANYONE can find cheap LEGO.

This is my first article, and is not a fixed document, and I welcome suggestions for improvement of both the content and the form.

Edited October 7, 2008 by Eilif

[Zorro]

I must say I find this very usefull indeed.

Thank you for posting this...NOW GIVE US YOUR REAL BUYING MARKETS where are ya buying ya cheap stuff, mate?

[Eilif]

I must say I find this very usefull indeed.

Thank you for posting this...NOW GIVE US YOUR REAL BUYING MARKETS where are ya buying ya cheap stuff, mate?

Just like I say, I have a few local resale shops (these I will unfortunately not be revealing ), and I do some exchanging on Bartertown.com . Beyond that, I leave it up to the reader to discover their own local markets.

Of course there's always the bribing of LEGO employees, and the LEGO that "falls of the truck"...

...but that's the subject of another article.

[eti]

Great article, thanks! The main reason why it won't work for me is because I don't have much time since I work and I have a family...

And I think it might help a bit that you're in the US, too.

Let me share my experience in these 6 fields:

1. Do you have what it takes?

As I said, no time except late at night...

2) Resale Shops

I should go there more often. If I had time. But not the ones in the city, which have grown so expensive that they now charge the same prices as new items for their useless junks. There are some resale shops (you mean the big halls with piled up 70's furniture and dolls with one arm, etc, etc, right?) in small towns out of the city and that's where I should go. They tend to have opening hours such as 'tuesday through thursday 10.00 - 13.00 but not during school vacations...)

3) Garage Sales (Boot Sales, Yard Sales, Estate Sales, Junk Sales, Flea Markets

In my country, flea markets (we don't really have garage sales) are notorious for not having Lego because EVERYBODY keeps it for the grandkids or sells it at a place where they think they can make more money (see point 6)

4 Trading

Never thought of that. Don't know if I have anything worth trading, actually.

5) Cleaning that used LEGO.[/b]

Of course I'll wash it if it's dirty, not a big deal.

6) Addendum: a Brief Mention of Craigslist and Ebay

I think Craigslist = Marktplaats in my country: a place to post small ads for free. It has auctions so you can bid but often you can also directly mail or call the seller with an offer.

A good place for good deals - recently I got 17 minifigs, some trees and a cypress for 12,50. Not bad, but not a flea market type of deal either. And when buying sets this way, more often than not they're incomplete.

Ebay can be good for items nobody wants - like Star wars sets with no minifigs. The remaining bricks can be really cheap.

[CP5670]

-Ebay. Honestly, I have little use for Ebay. However, searching often, using obscure search terms, and being patient has worked out well for some folks I know.

I'm one of them. Almost all of my best deals have come off there.

One other good place to look is the clearance section on S@H, which they bring up every now and then. I've gotten numerous sets from there for half price over the years.

[Dadster]

Very nicely done and accurate! I'm one of those folks that is able to make a couple trips "out and about" in search of goodies (and not just Lego...) a couple times per week. There are few if any tips I might add...the only one that comes to mind right away is checking different kinds of stores. I used to find Lego sets in "Music and Entertainment stores" such as Media Play, Suncoast, etc.

[Fluyt]

A very nice guide , very usefull.

For these large sales, it is worthwhile to arrive as much as an hour before it starts. I acquired a nearly complete 6991 Unitron Monorail Transport Base for 10 dollars this way.

You lucky bastard. Sometimes I get some good deals (even though some "bad" deals, because I really need a particular item, easily even it out), but none come even close, to coming close to that.

[Eilif]

Thanks for the replies folks. You've made some good suggestions, and I'm glad you've found the article usefull. Perhaps I should do a followup for good deals in the 5 cents per piece range.

eti,

Sorry that the markets are so scarce where you are. Where are you? As for trading, look around, you'd be surprised what you have to exhange. The key is to find where the people who like that item congregate.

You are right though, that living in a large US city is beneficial. Along with other private shops, we have three large chains of Resale Shops here in Chicago. Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Village Discount Outlet. Both have large locations, cheap prices, multiple stores, and night/evening hours.

Dadster,

Good suggestion. I never thought to look in music stores. I do find good deals at the "Tuesday Morning" line of outlet stores. There prices are often half of retail, but my best deal there has never approached the one-cent-per piece "Cheapskate" goal.

CP5670,

Glad that Ebay is working out for you. The LEGO online sales and deals is definatley a good resource. Last year, I picked up Arkham assylum, Viking fortress, Viking army, Hobby Train, Holiday Train, alot of 9v train stuff, and others that I'm probably forgeting for half off. It also doesn't approch the "cheapskate" price-per-piece, but it is definatley a favorite of mine. When I make half-off purchases, it's also a good excuse to order rare pieces from PAB online.

[Jones]

Great article! Patience is really the number one thing that is needed when trolling resale shops and Garage sales. It's true that weeks can go by without any Lego showing up anywhere. Then I'll need more bricks for a project and just can't hold out any longer, and I'll go out pay for the pieces on Bricklink.

Then it never fails, right after I'll suddenly hit a huge score at a garage sale and bring home 20 lbs of Legos for a few bucks that has all the pieces I need in it. Usually the day I bring it home, a little box from a Bricklink seller is waiting for me that has that same handful of pieces in it that I paid several times more for, than the huge box I'm lugging in from the car!

But of course, you can't overlook the fun factor in garage sales and estate sales, you just never know what you're going to get. I only buy town stuff so I have very little knowledge of what's going on in other lines. Then I'll bring home a big mixed box and it'll have all this Spiderman or Mars Mission stuff I didn't even know about so it's so fun to be introduced to new bricks, minifigs, et., that I never would have owned otherwise.

The sorting and cleaning can also be kind of fun, but after a while it also gets kind of tedious. Some filthy bricks can be really gross!

[simonjedi]

Fantastic article,

For ebay purcases its worth a look at a site called fat fingers:

http://www.fatfingers.com/

It scans ebay for possible mispellings of search terms, and i've found 6845 Cosmic charger for about £4 here

[Eilif]

Simonjedi,

Thanks for the link, I'll have to remember that next time I'm looking for something on Ebay.

Jones,

I totally agree with you about finding things you didn't know existed. I think I have a pretty good idea about what LEGO exists across most ranges over the last 20 years, but I still routinely find pieces that I've never seen before. Some of it is crazy <insert that tiresome argument> 1990's stuff, but alot of it is surprising and usefull.

A couple of semi-related observations.

Alot of the lots I find seem to balance each other out in very wierd ways. For example, two lots ago, I ended up with a few minifigs with no heads, and then my last lot had way more heads and headgear than minifigs.

If you take the time to sort the brick you find, it's a pleasant realization suddenly realize that though you didn't even realize you were acquiring them, you now have enough of a given type of brick to make it useful.

[CP5670]

Fantastic article,

For ebay purcases its worth a look at a site called fat fingers:

http://www.fatfingers.com/

It scans ebay for possible mispellings of search terms, and i've found 6845 Cosmic charger for about £4 here

This could be very useful. Thanks for the link. I've found numerous such items in the past that went for very low prices due to some quirk with the auction, but I usually stumbled into them by accident and simply got lucky.

Edited October 7, 2008 by CP5670

[Derek]

the only one that comes to mind right away is checking different kinds of stores. I used to find Lego sets in "Music and Entertainment stores" such as Media Play, Suncoast, etc.

If I Might add, that I got some of my best Lego deals at Mediaplay before they went out of business. I rememeber they had a half off sale, and I got a few Harry Potter sets, which in fact got me hooked on LEGO. Also check close out stores, as they often have stuff there. Around Christmas time last year I got a Batmobile set there for $20. I saw one on eBay not too long ago that went for $250. They had a few other sets there, but after the holidays they didnt have any. I dont know if any of you are near any Christmas Tree Shops , but they had some 2007 Racers there in the summer. They were also the only place I could find the Impulse sets around here.

Hope this helps!

darthperson

Edited October 7, 2008 by darthperson

[Eilif]

note: I just edited the cleaning section. upon closer inspection, it looks like the fabreeze is leaving a residue on the stickered bricks. I've revised it back to reflect a recomended process of washing them the same as printed bricks.

Darthperson,

Good suggestions. I'd never heard of Christmas tree shops before. As I mentioned before, all these discount store, ebay, etc. suggestions I am getting could really form the basis for an article on getting LEGO in the 5 cents per piece range.

[JimBee]

Thanks a lot for this article, Strawberry! I found that the yard sales part was most useful to me, because a lot of those are around my neighborhood. Unfortunately, I don't have many retail stores around, so that won't be an option for me... but thanks for bringing this to my attention, I always wanted some older sets.

[blueandwhite]

There are alot of ways to get alot of bricks for cheap. This article is pretty good as it touches on some basic brick-buying techinques. I think one of the overlooked benefit of buying second hand is that it is a good way to acquire rare or discontinued parts (pitchforks, classic-space, etc.).

The one real omission here is Bricklink. While many people seem to shy away from Bricklink, I've found that it is one of the best ways to accumulate a large collection of valuable parts for a small cost. The key of course is to avoid in-demand items. Many useful bits on bricklink can be had for one or two cents a brick. These items are often overlooked as casual buyers look to purchase the most in-demand items from a set (a rare brick or minifig). It's the items that aren't in demand that can be had for a bargain. A savy Bricklink shopper should be able to acquire a huge haul for an absolute steal.

Nice article with some good common sense. Thank you for posting it.

[Dragonator]

Thanks for the great article Eilif, it is very useful. Unfortunately in NZ, most people are selling their Lego on TradeMe as they know they can get good money on there for it. e just don't have that many garage sales any more. Still, I think I might try some of your tips next time I'm out and about. I need to see if can find any of these resale shops you speak of.

[Eilif]

There are alot of ways to get alot of bricks for cheap. This article is pretty good as it touches on some basic brick-buying techinques. I think one of the overlooked benefit of buying second hand is that it is a good way to acquire rare or discontinued parts (pitchforks, classic-space, etc.).

The one real omission here is Bricklink. While many people seem to shy away from Bricklink, I've found that it is one of the best ways to accumulate a large collection of valuable parts for a small cost. The key of course is to avoid in-demand items. Many useful bits on bricklink can be had for one or two cents a brick. These items are often overlooked as casual buyers look to purchase the most in-demand items from a set (a rare brick or minifig). It's the items that aren't in demand that can be had for a bargain. A savy Bricklink shopper should be able to acquire a huge haul for an absolute steal.

Nice article with some good common sense. Thank you for posting it.

Thanks for that, Blue and White, I had no idea about such deals on BL. I might like to add a paragraph on that to the article. Are their specific searches one can do on BL to find which pieces are listed so low?

[blueandwhite]

Thanks for that, blueandwhite, I had no idea about such deals on BL. I might like to add a paragraph on that to the article. Are their specific searches one can do on BL to find which pieces are listed so low?

Unfortunately, I don't think you can search the entire database by price. That being said, it's simple enough to search mannually through stores that have high brick counts (usually 500,000+). These stores frequently have hundreds of hidden jems that can be had for a few cents making it very easy to pick up 3000 or more bricks for about $100. It's actually a really good way to get bricks you want (or can use) for cheap. That being said; beggars can't be choosers. This method of shopping isn't going to get you in-demand bricks. Still, a few years back I was able to acquire over 5000 1x2 grey bricks for just over $100 (that would never happen today). For people looking to build big, bricklink is still probably the cheapest source for large quantities of bricks as you get exactly what you want.

Garage sales, online auctions, flea markets and second-hand shops are all fantastic buying ideas. Bricklink is simply another tool that if used effectively can net you a major haul. You may not get exactly what you want, but if your willing to be flexible you'll definitely pick up some good deals.

[Skelotic]

Due to reading this article a few days ago I decided to look in my paper for yard sales since I have never thought of it before. Sure enough one of the first yard sales said LEGO bricks ( I know correct grammar )at the end of it. I called early and sure enough they let me come over a day before it started and I picked up 7693, 7250, 6206, and 8141 MISB for $24. They also had a bionicle but I'm not into those anymore. So thank you Eilif for making me look in the paper.

[Shtick]

Great article! Inspires me to tell my recent story.

I just found a Spongebob Bikini Bottom Express set at a Goodwill store for USD$5.00. The box was trashed, but the set was complete. Now mind you, I had no use for the set itself, but I figured even a box of orange pieces will come in handy somehow. ;)

[Eilif]

I'm glad I checked in on this thread. I'm very happy to hear that folks are getting some use out of my article. Great find, Skelotic!

[martinsuper]

95% of my loose items are from garage sales.

When I was a kid, maybe EVERY OTHER garage sale had at least a few LEGOs at them. I remember one time my mom spent $40 (which was a lot back then), but I got several boxes of LEGOs including maybe 7 or 8 BIG space sets. I didn't care what they were, the parts were priceless to me.

I still watch garage sales like a hound, but you are dead on when you say that Craigs List has been combed through and over run. I put ads out anyway, just in case. I havent had any luck with it though.

-Martin

[martinsuper]

I'm glad I checked in on this thread. I'm very happy to hear that folks are getting some use out of my article. Great find, Skelotic!

Update, I went on craigslist today, and among "buying lego" posts, i found one about legos for sale. I got three boxes of them for $20!

SCORE! It happened right after I read your article. BE PROUD!

[Peppermint_M]

Another suggestion is bankrupt stock re-sellers, I have got old, discontinued and uncommon sets from shops like TKMaxx (TJMaxx in the US) and smaller resellers that are more commercial.

Look in odd places, I don't know about your area's but my stamping grounds have numerouse indoor markets and newsagents that have smaller impulse sets from years ago sat around at a very good prices.

Lastly keep an eye on big supermarkets and toy shops, really old sets sometimes turn up reduced.