Looks like they just upgraded with a large amount of new elements, and a lot of new color availability. Including the new wheelbarrow and the printed milk brick from the Friends series:

Just wanted to let everyone know.

I've never ordered from PaB. Every time I've gone there to check prices, I've found that BrickLink is much cheaper on just about every item possible - and of course the selection of bricks on BL is vastly superior. For that reason, I keep getting amazed every time PaB comes up as a serious alternative. Can somebody with experience with both please enlighten me on this subject? I'd love to know what the attraction to PaB actually is (and I'm serious, I'm not trying to be a wise-a**).

EDIT: I never realised that there was an automatic censorship function on this site - which replaced my three-letter word for the human behind with "megablocks"... Strange idea.

Edited February 1, 201213 yr by L@go

I've never ordered from PaB. Every time I've gone there to check prices, I've found that BrickLink is much cheaper on just about every item possible - and of course the selection of bricks on BL is vastly superior. For that reason, I keep getting amazed every time PaB comes up as a serious alternative. Can somebody with experience with both please enlighten me on this subject? I'd love to know what the attraction to PaB actually is (and I'm serious, I'm not trying to be a wise-a**).

EDIT: I never realised that there was an automatic censorship function on this site - which replaced my three-letter word for the human behind with "megablocks"... Strange idea.

I order the 2x2x4 75 degree corner slope from PAB (on the phone though) for .43 cents each. Those average $2.75 each on Bricklink.

I order the 2x2x4 75 degree corner slope from PAB (on the phone though) for .43 cents each. Those average $2.75 each on Bricklink.

I'm aware of that single piece, which is a pretty unique thing - but as you said, you had to order it by phone. Apart from that?

I've purchased a few parts on S@H that were cheaper than Bricklink. White lampost, new baseball cap, animal hero forge masks, those rubbery spike things used on Ninjago and hero forge, blank light bley torsos. Also it can be a lot cheaper on shipping if you need many parts in bulk versus bricklink where one store probably doesn't have all you need.

Additionally, earning VIP points.

Edited February 1, 201213 yr by darkdragon

I'm aware of that single piece, which is a pretty unique thing - but as you said, you had to order it by phone. Apart from that?

PaB is run by Lego, Bricklink is not. I was unaware of Bricklink until I joined this community. I imagine someone like my sister who has two young Lego-maniacs wanting to get some more pieces she's just going to go the lego site, see she can buy them and do so. She knows shes getting it from the official Lego site and doesn't have to search any further. Does it cost more, yes but, try to picture how the majority of lego purchasers (children and their parents, aka TLGs target market) would view Bricklink. To be clear I love Bricklink but its function over looks. It has no affiliation with TLG and so is someone who just wants to buy a few bricks going to look beyond PaB on the Lego website? I doubt it. If they do, are they going to go through the process of finding a store that has what they want and they go through the payment & shipping process, which is a multi-step process between the buyer and seller? Those of us who use Bricklink and regularly buy bricks don't think twice about it. As a one-off the convenience factor of PaB is going to win out. Its easy and its from the website of a company that has brand recognition and trust.

I was wondering why it was taking longer than usual for my PaB order to ship, and now that I've looked through the database, a number of the parts I ordered are gone.

Pick-A-Brick may be more expensive than Bricklink in most cases, but sometimes it's cheaper to accumulate certain parts in large quantities from Pick-A-Brick. I've noticed this with Hero Factory parts, which tend to come in few sets in particularly large quantities and which aren't valued especially highly by many AFOLs.

So glad to see so many new Hero Factory parts. I expect before long many of them will show up on Hero Recon Team, but Pick-A-Brick can be cheaper I think, especially since you can order parts in any combination you want rather than just in a combination that makes a fully-armored Hero figure.

Yeah everybody has different uses for different sites. I'd hate to send someone like my mom over to Bricklink, she'd be so confused.

Edited February 1, 201213 yr by darkdragon

New or uncommon parts can also be cheaper through PaB. The 1x1 printed milk carton isn't available for less than about 0.70$US on Bricklink, for example, which is over double the PaB price. Common parts usually are cheaper on BL, although on large orders the shipping can all add up, not to mention that it can just be down to pure convenience. The fact that you can order from PaB and be absolutely sure about the quality of pieces can also be a bit of a benefit if they're important parts.

L@go,

I've ordered from PaB when I needed a type of brick that was not available in the quantity I needed for one store. I also ordered a bunch of other bricks that are highly priced on BL. As others have said, the prices are typically higher on Pab, but there is no issue with the amount of bricks you need to purchase.

I generally order from BL before ordering from PaB.

EDIT: I never realised that there was an automatic censorship function on this site - which replaced my three-letter word for the human behind with "megablocks"... Strange idea.

I believe it was Hinckley that added that feature.

This does not belong in Town. I've moved it for you.

I was wondering why it was taking longer than usual for my PaB order to ship, and now that I've looked through the database, a number of the parts I ordered are gone.

Exactly! I'm thrilled about the new parts, but unfortunately several dark blue and dark red bricks are now no longer there...

Thanks for providing insightful and interesting answers!

Also it can be a lot cheaper on shipping if you need many parts in bulk versus bricklink where one store probably doesn't have all you need.

Additionally, earning VIP points.

Those are good points, especially the VIP ones :) Didn't think of those.

I was unaware of Bricklink until I joined this community.

But 98% of the people here know about it, which is why I've thought it strange every time I see somebody on this forum talking about PaB - I've assumed that if you knew about BL, you wouldn't use PaB.

New or uncommon parts can also be cheaper through PaB. The 1x1 printed milk carton isn't available for less than about 0.70$US on Bricklink, for example, which is over double the PaB price.

Valid point - Lego's prices are probably more based on production cost than on rarity, which the BrickLink prices are not.

I believe it was Hinckley that added that feature.

Does it work with other words, too? Now I feel like trying :)

One bonus not mentioned as an advantage to PAB is everything is guaranteed brand new as if straight from a set box.

Bricklink sellers can be a little wishy washy about what is called "new" condition.

I'm mixed about it. They took out a lot of good elements... such as dark tan 1x2 tiles, dark blue brick as a whole, and dark blue tile and plate 1x2.

Though, I'm not a LEGO PAB buyer anymore, and I haven't bought a brick from them online since 2007. I won't disclose what I have taken to (which many AFOL are a part of) but otherwise store PAB is a bigger chunk. BL is good in that you can get it cheaper, and yes the wishywashiness in new-vs-used is there, but in my willing case I like to go for newer parts which show less wear (ie. dark tan, dark blue, et al)

New or uncommon parts can also be cheaper through PaB. The 1x1 printed milk carton isn't available for less than about 0.70$US on Bricklink, for example, which is over double the PaB price.

This is the main advantage of PAB (and the Lego Direct service as well). Even common parts that are newly released take around a year to become cheap on Bricklink, and rare parts stay expensive indefinitely. PAB can have slow and expensive shipping though, and is easier to justify if you're buying some regular Lego sets at the same time.

Bricklink sellers can be a little wishy washy about what is called "new" condition.

I have had this happen quite a few times lately, although the sellers cooperated when I complained. However, the major BL sellers with very large selections are pretty accurate in describing their parts. It's more of an issue with small sellers who have discontinued specialty parts.

oh I like that printed milk cartoon.

I'm absolutely thrilled that the rat is finally in Pick-a-Brick, though I do wish it were less expensive.

I think I'm going to place another PAB order this weekend. I know there are also lots of things in Bricklink I want, many of them less expensive, but I can't quite bring myself to trust the secondhand market yet when it comes to LEGO. Perhaps I should, I know, but... I just can't.

Thanks for talking about bricklink. I am new/old to the world of lego. When I originally collected they didnt have PAB or bricklink. I had made a couple orders with PAB and was happy however after reading about bricklink I think I am happier to use it. I will still more then likely use both.

I'm aware of that single piece, which is a pretty unique thing - but as you said, you had to order it by phone. Apart from that?

Including what others have mentioned:

- guaranteed new pieces.

- much larger selection than any individual bricklink store, which can save on shipping.

- certain pieces can be bought in large quantity while, on BL, it would take many orders from many vendors.

- some pieces are cheaper.

- VIP points, especially nice if you're not just ordering pieces, but other sets, too.

I've never ordered from PaB. Every time I've gone there to check prices, I've found that BrickLink is much cheaper on just about every item possible - and of course the selection of bricks on BL is vastly superior. For that reason, I keep getting amazed every time PaB comes up as a serious alternative. Can somebody with experience with both please enlighten me on this subject? I'd love to know what the attraction to PaB actually is (and I'm serious, I'm not trying to be a wise-a**).

I shop extensively for minifig parts and I can tell you that PAB is very often much lower priced. For example, the white horse used to be priced at $0.75 on PAB (now it is $1) while BL prices were about double that. The castle helmet is a color not readily available on BL and it is priced at about 50-75% cheaper than BL. Not to mention the fact that I could add 999 of them to my cart. Only a few BL shops have the kind of quantities I want. I could go on, but you get the point.

PaB is a great way to top off your order if you are under the free shipping limit (it's a wonder Lego doesn't have some sort of free shipping offer all the time; nearly all online retailers do, including those that sell Lego! ) Some pieces are priced close to Bricklink prices, so it's quite convenient in that regard.

I'm looking through PaB right now, and there are a couple of more new items like Ninjago minifig parts and PotC bottle. Oddly, I can't find the wheel for the wheel barrow!

I've never ordered from PaB. Every time I've gone there to check prices, I've found that BrickLink is much cheaper on just about every item possible - and of course the selection of bricks on BL is vastly superior. For that reason, I keep getting amazed every time PaB comes up as a serious alternative. Can somebody with experience with both please enlighten me on this subject? I'd love to know what the attraction to PaB actually is (and I'm serious, I'm not trying to be a wise-a**).

I just ordered enough bricks from PAB to get the free shipping rather than pay for delivery on bricklink. In particular I got some 'Dark stone grey' 2x2 tiles for 6p each wheareas it was 10p+ on bricklink for larger quantities. Also got some plates with rails for alot cheaper. They have also got brown 2x2 windows of which I bought plenty. There are definately some savings to be made on PAB just not on the standard 2x4 or 1x8 bricks etc!