Just made a BrickLink Account

[Swordsalmon]

So what are some recommended U.S sellers?

[Theblackdog]

It varies wildly depending on what parts you need. Generally I do a search by parts for the 'rarest' piece I'm going to need, then see if the seller has all the other ones.

[Zupponn]

Generally I do a search by parts for the 'rarest' piece I'm going to need, then see if the seller has all the other ones.

Yes. Generally the fewer sellers you buy from in one go, the better.

[Ben-Jammin]

I do the same. It can be very efficient, in this manner I only have to buy from around 2-3 stores at a time instead of 5 or 6.

[Paco]

If you're looking for some used sets at good prices (and really cheap shipping) "Thick as a Brick" is a great store.

[Swordsalmon]

Thanks, everyone. ^_^ I'm mainly looking for minifigure and rare parts; I can use PAB for bulk pieces. I found a nice store with cheap Squidhead heads; just what I need!

[Theblackdog]

re: Bricklink vs. PAB: does anyone know which is usually cheaper, and how much variety does PAB have? If it doesn't have minifigs but does have a lot of rare parts, I might switch.

[Ross_Varn]

PAB is far more expensive in comparison. Briklink has everything. It depends on how many shops you purchase from though.

[Hoboman]

re: Bricklink vs. PAB: does anyone know which is usually cheaper, and how much variety does PAB have? If it doesn't have minifigs but does have a lot of rare parts, I might switch.

PAB has been more costly in every case so far where I looked at both and found the item in PAB.

[aoffan23]

PAB is much better in the actual Lego stores, where it's one fixed cost for however many pieces you can fit in a container. Online, they charge per piece, which means that some pieces are more expensive.

The problem with stores: lack of selection. Unless you go to a Legoland store, the selection is veeeerrry limited. Fortunately, they switch some of the pieces every now and then, and some of them are quite interesting. For example, I managed to pick up some dark blue corner slopes, as well as some dark red wings.

Example of Legoland's selection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredforsound23/5898582256/

[enders_shadow]

That is a lot of stuff..... And just think about the minifigure selection!

[aoffan23]

Just noticed something else good about Pick-a-Brick: Tommy guns are 5 cents cheaper than the cheapest ones on Bricklink.

Needless to say, I'm very tempted to stock up on those now.

[enders_shadow]

go for it. those are pretty much the only TLC guns I can stand, and they're brilliant (if a little large). Those would be wonderful mainline-troop weapons, as well

[Theblackdog]

Just noticed something else good about Pick-a-Brick: Tommy guns are 5 cents cheaper than the cheapest ones on Bricklink.

Needless to say, I'm very tempted to stock up on those now. :lol:

OK, that's definitely a point for PAB.

Lego stores are useful if you want bulk building materials, like a whole pile of gray for a fort or SHIP. Gray bricks are often sold out on Bricklink.

[morganm]

I've looked at PaB at Legoland in Mall of America quite a few times... rarely anything there that would compel me to buy. If you want lots of 2x4 briks, long plates, palm tree leaves, windows, and flowers then it's an OK deal.

The Build a Minifig isn't that great either. You can make 3 figures for $10 + tax. Sure they now have all the parts from the series 1 collectible minifigures but none of the rare ones worth any money and none of the cool accessories are there. You can easily pick up the collectible minifigs on BrickLink cheaper. Besides those it's generic city worker, generic farmer, and generic citiot.