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Swordsalmon
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Post by Swordsalmon » Sun Sep 18, 2011 2:21 pm

So what are some recommended U.S sellers?
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Keldoclock wrote:Swordsalmon: Argues about the price of bits of plastic, yet happily forks over $1 for a quarter-sized bit of plastic that does nothing but look cool.

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Theblackdog
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Post by Theblackdog » Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:37 pm

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.
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Post by Zupponn » Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:48 pm

Theblackdog wrote: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.
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Post by Ben-Jammin » Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:10 pm

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.

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Post by Paco » Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:22 pm

If you're looking for some used sets at good prices (and really cheap shipping) "Thick as a Brick" is a great store.
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Swordsalmon
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Post by Swordsalmon » Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:14 am

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! :)
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Keldoclock wrote:Swordsalmon: Argues about the price of bits of plastic, yet happily forks over $1 for a quarter-sized bit of plastic that does nothing but look cool.

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Theblackdog
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Post by Theblackdog » Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:17 am

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.
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Post by RagnarokRose » Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:33 am

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

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Post by Hoboman » Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:54 am

Theblackdog wrote: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.
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Post by aoffan23 » Mon Sep 19, 2011 1:23 pm

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/wiredforso ... 898582256/
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Post by enders_shadow » Mon Sep 19, 2011 5:31 pm

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

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aoffan23
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Post by aoffan23 » Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:13 pm

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:
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Post by enders_shadow » Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:57 pm

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

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Post by Theblackdog » Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:23 am

aoffan23 wrote: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.
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Post by morganm » Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:26 pm

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.

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