Need help figuring out Bricklink

[Hive]

Hi

I'm new to Bricklink and is considering buying some pieces there, but is finding the system there quite cumbersome... can it really be that it's not possible to find out which shop has the most parts on your wanted list, or is it just me who fails to see it? I'd rather not have to manually, piece by piece, have to search for the vendor that happens to have the most of the parts I need... naturally, I would like this to be taken care of in as few orders as possible, due to shipping costs.

Also, is there no easy way to mass-change the colour of several pieces at once in your wanted lists...?

Thanks in advance. :)

[Haltiamieli]

can it really be that it's not possible to find out which shop has the most parts on your wanted list, or is it just me who fails to see it?

On the Wanted tab, there's a subtab called "By Shop" which should do exactly that. When there, it is imo best to change the sorting method to "Lots (Unique)".

[mikey]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, Bricklink does take a little time to fully engage with the interface. It is worth the initial problems because once you get comfortable with the system it is an intense resource, not only for buying parts, but for investigating sets, finding new elements etc.

Firstly if you have created a Wanted List, does it have the amount of parts you need? As this method will only work if you have filled in the 'Minimum Quantity' box. If so this will show you the shop that has the most number of lots (in the quantity you need) on your list:

Click on 'Wanted' tab, scroll down and you will see 'My Wanted List By Shop' link, this will display shops which have the items on your list, with the shop that has the most items at the top. Once you click that link the page will load and the drop down boxes should read 'In: ---All My Wanted Lists---' (or however you named your list), and 'Sort By: Lots (Total)'.

[Hive]

Thanks a lot guys, that helped immensely!

But now some new questions:

1) When in the shop, there seems to be several versions of the same brick, just with some different code at the end... and for different quantities and prices. For example, I saw 8 seemingly identical versions of 3036... what's that about?

2) Is there no way to just autofill what you need from the wanted list into the cart?

[davee123]

1) When in the shop, there seems to be several versions of the same brick, just with some different code at the end... and for different quantities and prices. For example, I saw 8 seemingly identical versions of 3036... what's that about?

Sometimes, it's because each one is of a different quality. Some may have tooth marks, some may be clean, but have a few scratches, some may be pristine. In such cases, sellers may devise a "quality rating" system, which could be the "code" you're seeing. If you want to see more information, you'll probably need to visit that shop's "Splash" page.

However, sometimes it's because sellers are lazy, or made a mistake. They add elements to their list without checking to see if it's already in their store, and BrickLink has no way of knowing that they ought to be combined, so it keeps them as separate lots.

And sometimes (probably rarely) it has to do with how they have the LEGO sorted out for sale. They may have a baggie with a particular label that helps them locate it in their collection, possibly because they're selling on behalf of someone else, and need to keep track of WHOSE parts are purchased.

If you have questions, ask the seller.

2) Is there no way to just autofill what you need from the wanted list into the cart?

Not that I'm aware. That could be dangerous, though, when there are multiple qualities and prices available in a store.

DaveE

[Hive]

Thanks for the reply. :)

[Henchmen4Hire]

Also, so you look out for it, some bricks have slight differences in construction. Some clips have different thicknesses, some tiles have grooves and some don't, some cylinders have "X" shaped holes and some have "+" shaped holes, you have to pay attention to that stuff.

[OrangeKNight]

Good to see these questions being answered and heres a tip based on my experience for my first couple of orders

Always try to keep in mind other projects you are or want to do, and heres a modified adage;

When shopping Brinklink you always have 3 things in mind;

1- Does this Shop have everything I need?

2- Is the Shop close to me?

3- Is the Shop's Prices good?

Pick 2 out of 3.

Meaning it'll be rare you find a good near-ish shop that has everything you need for a given project.

So I've picked up a bigger, Long Term Project(Metal Gear Rex) to go along with my Short Term Project(Microscale Gundams) so when I found 90-95% of the parts I need for my Gundam Project I still had like 4-5 different parts I need but not one shop that carries them all, so I fuind the shops that do, and throw in whatever parts they have form my Metal Gear project so that I meet the Min buy or whatever.

Also Having a program like BrickStore to manage your wanted lists and what not is handy as well.

Mike

[Chorduroy]

Hi

I'm new to Bricklink and is considering buying some pieces there, but is finding the system there quite cumbersome... can it really be that it's not possible to find out which shop has the most parts on your wanted list, or is it just me who fails to see it? I'd rather not have to manually, piece by piece, have to search for the vendor that happens to have the most of the parts I need... naturally, I would like this to be taken care of in as few orders as possible, due to shipping costs.

Also, is there no easy way to mass-change the colour of several pieces at once in your wanted lists...?

Thanks in advance. :)

Try clicking on "Price Guide" and entering the part number you want to search for. It tells you which stores have what quantity at what price.

What I can't figure out is the pricing. I always thought that economic theory holds that when you buy higher quantities, the price is lower. Yet on BL, the opposite is consistently true. Why is that? And who is paying nearly 10x the price per brick from Lego.com for some parts? It's ridiculous. Of course, I AM a noob, and you will probably set me straight.

Edited January 24, 2011 by Chorduroy

[Vincent Kessels]

2) Is there no way to just autofill what you need from the wanted list into the cart?

Yes, there is. When you enter the shop you selected from the 'By Shop' page, you see all the part available from your wanted list. At the top of this list are the options 'Auto-Fill Cart Max' and 'Auto-Fill Cart Min'. These fill the max or min amount you entered on your wanted list.

[OrangeKNight]

Yes, there is. When you enter the shop you selected from the 'By Shop' page, you see all the part available from your wanted list. At the top of this list are the options 'Auto-Fill Cart Max' and 'Auto-Fill Cart Min'. These fill the max or min amount you entered on your wanted list.

The problem is if it lists new and used, you'll end up with double the parts you need, half new half used, Honestly I prefer to just go throug and do it manually, more accurate and you can decide if you want to add in extra parts just incase(I do this with used parts for a bit of insurance or if I just want extra)

Mike

[sedna1000]

Great tips, I'm new-ish to BrinkLink and pretty much have it figured out, but it's always good to get advise! I think the OP was talking about the shops that will list the set number with the piece number, so in effect their listings will have, for example, 4 new black male short hair, but listed with different set numbers, so your wanted list believes they have 4 products you need, instead of 1. It seems quite a few shops does this.

[tellblom]

Great tips, I'm new-ish to BrinkLink and pretty much have it figured out, but it's always good to get advise! I think the OP was talking about the shops that will list the set number with the piece number, so in effect their listings will have, for example, 4 new black male short hair, but listed with different set numbers, so your wanted list believes they have 4 products you need, instead of 1. It seems quite a few shops does this.

If you still have problem I have written a windows program that downloads the data from bricklink and displays the shop with most parts to the lowes cost.

If you like to try it you can download it here GetStores

(I know theres a problem with the reports if you reside in US, but it will work in all European countrys)

/Martin