Bricklink questions

[Andy D]

Sorry, but there was just one more question I had to ask about bricklink. How do people buy whole sets in the form of purchasing all the bricks individually, and not only afford it, but seem to save money, when each brick is from a different seller? Do they just do a lot of hard research and see what people have the most bricks from that particulat set and then hopefully minimize the amount of people they are ordering from, or something else? Thankyou.

I don't know about he saving money part, except on sets that are out of production an can only be had on he secondary market for very high prices.

What I did when I was building the Cafe Corner and Green Grocer via Bricklink was to shop various vendors to find who had the most parts that I needed, then order from them and then try to find the rest of the parts in quantity in as few stores as possible. There is a way to make a "wanted list" in Bricklink but I have not tried it and do not know the advantage, maybe someone else can speak to that

Hope this helps,

Andy Ad

Edited February 4, 2013 by Andy D

[Kristel]

A wanted list is the best option as you can then see the shops that have items on your wanted list, and rank them according to who has the most unique lots. See the "By Shop" tab under the "Wanted" tab.

Also, you can part out a set into a wanted list, so you don't have to go the process of adding each part manually to a wanted list. See the "Part Set" under the "Wanted" tab also.

[nathenderry]

Thanks.

[Hrw-Amen]

I also have never used a wanted list in Bricklink although I know they exist.

For my own MOCs I know pretty much the kind of bricks / plates / tiles I use a lot of and my orders are normally just to stock up on ones that the I am running low on, not for any specific set. Normally even though I go to my sellers of choice intending to buy say, a load of black, DBG, LBG plates and tiles, I inevitably find all sorts of other things that 'may' be useful in the future. I get the impression that this is what most Bricklink buyers do but I may be wrong? As a result I have thousands of unused bricks and stuff sitting in the containers, but one day they will get used for something.

[Andy D]

I also have never used a wanted list in Bricklink although I know they exist.

For my own MOCs I know pretty much the kind of bricks / plates / tiles I use a lot of and my orders are normally just to stock up on ones that the I am running low on, not for any specific set. Normally even though I go to my sellers of choice intending to buy say, a load of black, DBG, LBG plates and tiles, I inevitably find all sorts of other things that 'may' be useful in the future. I get the impression that this is what most Bricklink buyers do but I may be wrong? As a result I have thousands of unused bricks and stuff sitting in the containers, but one day they will get used for something.

This is pretty much what happens to me. I go looking for specifec bricks and such, then run across parts tht look interesting or useful and well, that's it, I go on a buying spree.

Andy D

[nathenderry]

So, just as another question, if I were to bricklink the UCS millenium falcon by buyibng the pieces semi-individually on bricklink instead of purchasing the set second-hand, how many stores or sellers would I need to buy from approximately? Thanks.

[Andy D]

So, just as another question, if I were to bricklink the UCS millenium falcon by buyibng the pieces semi-individually on bricklink instead of purchasing the set second-hand, how many stores or sellers would I need to buy from approximately? Thanks.

I don't know how many stores, I would have to say, it depends.

As for cheaper... It my be a lot of work, but you might want to get a good list of parts, stores and prices, then compre to what it would cost to just buy it. I found I spent almost $100 more through Bricklink with individul parts, vendors and shipping than it would have cost tat that time to just buy the st from eBay, an Amazon reseller, or a Bricklink store that had the complete set. Bricklink individual parts for a set is not always cheaper than buying the set, but it is fun to go through the process. I found a lot of great vendors that I still use today with the experience.

Andy D

Edited February 5, 2013 by Andy D

[bpbill]

So, just as another question, if I were to bricklink the UCS millenium falcon by buyibng the pieces semi-individually on bricklink instead of purchasing the set second-hand, how many stores or sellers would I need to buy from approximately? Thanks.

Part of the fun (for me) is going through the whole process of setting up wanted lists and sourcing the parts through Bricklink. It's a learning curve in how to keep the charges to a minimum etc. but it's certainly addictive.

Try using this topic Bricklink Questions you will probably get much more detailed answers :)

Edited February 5, 2013 by bpbill

[tomylord]

how do i buy the minifigs and its right accessories if they are not together?

[Luke_likes_Lego]

how do i buy the minifigs and its right accessories if they are not together?

Firstly. if you're talking about collectible minifigs, this can be a trap sometimes...

Eg. collectible minifigs are catalogued as a set (eg "Bunny Suit Guy - Complete Set")", and within the set - the assembled minifig is also catalogued with the familiar name (eg "Bride", "Bunny Suit Guy").....anyone could easily make the mistake of buying the minifig only if they see the latter name first.....only to realise - devastatingly - later

the base

the carrot

the flowers

the shield

etc.

weren't included - through no fault of the seller.

Occasionally, sellers add a warning to the description which is handy.

Anyway, back to your question - ......two ways:

• (if it's indeed related to collectible minifigs) make sure it definitely says "complete set" (you can even check the inventory to make sure it's what you expect); or
  
• check inventories in the catalogue and just buy all the parts individually (then check your cart shows all you expect)
  

Cheers,

LLL

[legofan14]

Hi,

I am new to Lego and to the forum and bricklink etc.

I was hoping you experts out there could give me some guidance with regards to Bricklinks.

I was amazed at how good bricklinks is, it has got me even more addicted to creating a huge collection.

I am trying to start getting items ticked off of my wanted list, I have selected an order from a potential seller, let's say for example I have selected 100 bricks for a price of £3. If this is an average price then I can complete my wanted list for around £250, a large saving from buying the set as a whole from eBay etc.

The question I need answering is, on average, what are the usual costs for postage? ( when ordering from the same country that I live in) I'm assuming that most people make their money from postage costs and so suddenly the total price isn't such a great saving.

Is my guess correct? Does anyone have any tips or advice?

Any help would be great.

Thanks in advance

Edited February 12, 2013 by legofan14

[Andy D]

I don't think most Bricklink sellers make money on postage. Shipping is just expensive, and in many cases the seller has to purchase shipping materials as well.

As an example I recently sold some Technic sets (big one's) and the packaging and shipping costs to me were around $100. Fortunately the buyer agreed to pay half the shipping costs (around $80) but, I still had to pay the packing costs, thus cutting into what I received for the sale of the sets (which was below market value).

Some sellers on eBay do seem to make money on shipping, but I have not yet had that experience with Bricklink. On eBay I just watch shipping charges and factor it into the total cost, if it is too much, it is too much. If the cost of the item including shipping is in my range that I feel the item is worth I will pay the price, if not then I don't purchase.

I feel that there are more reputable vendors on Bricklink than on eBay, and prices are usually better on Bricklink.

Andy D

Edited February 12, 2013 by Andy D

[Hrw-Amen]

I don't think Bricklink charges for postage are a huge problem especially if you stick to your own country. They are certainly no where near as bad as on e-bay. A lot of sellers tell you what their policy is in the 'Splash' about the store. The ones I have used usually ownly charge the actual cost of postage and materials. For example over the weekend I place an order for bricks that came to around £60.00 (UK.) and even then the grand total with postage was only £63.00 so the postage element was a tiny add on really.

Sometimes when I have a large order, especially if you use the same sellers a lot they send it out by 'recorded delivery' and 'signed for' and all that stuff and it is still really cheap or they add no extra cost for that bit.

But I think the important point is to read the 'Splash' as i said. I did nearly come a cropper when I was looking at a store that charged for each different category you bought, so for Black 1X4 plates it would be an add on and for black 1X3 another one and black 1X6 another one and so on. Needless to say I did not use them.

You can usually get an idea from reading a bit of the feedback as well. It is often telling by what people don't say as opposed to what they do. People may say 'Items came well packed' for example. They may well of done, but it says nothing about the cost of the postage and packing or how long the customer had to wait to receive the items. If it is an odd post like that and most are OK I tend to ignore it, but if there are pages and pages that whilst being positive omit to say certain things then it may be telling you something about the service.

Overall though Bricklink sellers are fine. I would find a couple or three you like and get good deals with for what you want, if they give you a good price and service then try to stick with them as much as possible and won't go far wrong.

[legofan14]

Thanks guys thats a great help. I will have a look and see what I can find :-)

[Yeow]

As for cheaper... It my be a lot of work, but you might want to get a good list of parts, stores and prices, then compre to what it would cost to just buy it. I found I spent almost $100 more through Bricklink with individul parts, vendors and shipping than it would have cost tat that time to just buy the st from eBay, an Amazon reseller, or a Bricklink store that had the complete set. Bricklink individual parts for a set is not always cheaper than buying the set, but it is fun to go through the process. I found a lot of great vendors that I still use today with the experience.

It probably depends on the set. A quick look on eBay and Bricklink shows that the cheapest UCS millennium falcon is 1,850 USD (!!). Bricklinking it will almost certainly be cheaper, and there's a lot of suspense, waiting for all those parts, and slowly watching them build up. It's quite the exciting journey.

A note of warning about trying to cut down on shipping costs though. I'm currently Bricklinking a Market Street, and one thing I've noticed is that trying to use the fewest sellers isn't always the best idea. Currently, the store with the second most unique lots for me currently has a particular piece for 0.43 each. I need 29 of them, which comes out to 12.47. However, nearly every other seller that has at least 29 has them priced at ~0.08 each, which comes out to 2.40, a significant savings. I personally don't find the 10 dollar difference to be worth it. I'd rather pay postage from several different sellers at that rate.

Edited February 16, 2013 by Yeow

[badbob001]

On Bricklink, Wanted > By Shop will rank the stores by how much of my Wanted List they have, but since no one store has everything I want, it's hard to figure out what items are missing from one store and needs to be bought from another. I also have my list on BrickStore and was hoping that it could import several shopping carts so I can visually see which store has what (is that what the Tier 1, Tier 2, etc stuff in BrickStore is for?) but shopping cart importing is not working.

I did convert the BrickStore file to Excel and started to go through each vendor store and mark off what items they have from the list, but stopped because I wanted to see if there is a better way. Do people just open up several browser windows and start comparing that way?

[tomylord]

thanks LLL for the info!

[Artanis I]

Do people just open up several browser windows and start comparing that way?

I do something like that. I either bring up all the items from the specific list for each store or I put everything I'm interested in in each store's cart and print out the carts. I then compare prices between them and take note of what is missing (open up more stores if so) before deciding what I'll go with. Not optimal, but that's life.

[Calabar]

A question about multiple Wanted Lists.

When I automatically search for items in my wanted list in a shop, the search is made including ALL my wanted lists.

I'd like to select only some of these lists, is it possible?

EDIT: forget the question, I found the "Show Multiple Wanted Selection Lists as Multiple Options in Stores and My Wanted Items By Shop" option in the My Wanted List Settings.

Otherwise, is there a fast way to export a wanted list? I've seen is there a textfield for massive upload, but what about save the list, so that I can delete is and later restore it?

Still talking about the use of wanted lists in a shop, it there a way to show the list of available pieces divided by wanted list?

Thanks!

[PsyKater]

A question about multiple Wanted Lists.

When I automatically search for items in my wanted list in a shop, the search is made including ALL my wanted lists.

I'd like to select only some of these lists, is it possible?

Otherwise, is there a fast way to export a wanted list? I've seen is there a textfield for massive upload, but what about save the list, so that I can delete is and later restore it?

Still talking about the use of wanted lists in a shop, it there a way to show the list of available pieces divided by wanted list?

Thanks!

You can select one Wanted List. If you are on the page "Items On My Main Wanted List" (you get there from "Show All Items this store has on my Wanted List" or by going from the Wanted List itself), you can choose the wanted list on the top of the list of items. You cannot choose multiple lists though.

EDIT: forget the question, I found the "Show Multiple Wanted Selection Lists as Multiple Options in Stores and My Wanted Items By Shop" option in the My Wanted List Settings.

This is new to me.

Edited February 22, 2013 by PsyKater

[Zeya]

Before I start placing BL orders to complete some older sets I have... I'm wondering what the etiquette is on ordering a long list of parts with low counts for each. Imagine I place an order for 200 different parts, but most of them I'm only asking maybe 1-10 of that particular part. Do BL stores usually specify if this is okay? I've read sellers over there complaining about people who do this, and I don't want to anger anyone or cause trouble. I'm thinking if the part is low-cost enough (1-5 cents), maybe I can just round up and order 10 of those types of parts to make it worth their while. Suggestions?

[Kristel]

Suggestions?

There are plenty of sellers who are happy for you to order as much or as little as you want, with no lot fees. Always check their splash and terms & conditions pages - the tone used there will tell you a lot about the seller. Personally, I avoid anyone with a lot limit, unless they are the only one with the part I want and I don't have to go out of my way to meet the lot limits.

Most of my orders have been with small lot sizes and I haven't yet had any negative feedback. My username there is kjw010 if you want to see who I have been buying from.

[Artanis I]

Suggestions?

Always check their splash and terms & conditions pages

Sometimes sellers (who are in a hurry) don't like to include small amounts of many different lots, and will make that clear with some kind of unique lot restriction mentioned on their splash/t&c pages. Either there must be an average of x total parts per unique lot or an average of x price per unique lot. And some will throw in surcharges.

If they don't, order whatever the heck you want - the customer is always right. Just be patient because for most sellers Lego is a hobby before a business, and long orders with small lots can take more time & effort to fill. Remember though, they aren't "doing you a favour", they're getting paid.

Edited February 27, 2013 by Artanis I

[Zeya]

Kristel & Artanis: Thank you. I'll just have to make sure to read the splash pages carefully before placing my orders.

[Rare White Ape]

Hi everyone.

I would like to know if anyone has a good suggestion for the best way to deal fairly with a problem with a buyer. The situation is this:

I am in Australia and the buyer is in the USA. He purchased something from me worth $5, but did not make enquiries beforehand regarding the shipping cost.

I invoiced him $13.70 for postage, which is the cheapest and easiest shipping option (I make no profit from this myself) bringing the total to $18.70.

This morning I recieved a message telling me to cancel it bcasue the shipping cost is "rediculous." I have not yet responded or taken any action.

What should my next step be?