How do you use your money effectively to sustain and grow your hobby in Australia?

Hi all,

As Intrastella pointed out to me at BrickExpo, I am going through a very expensive stage of the hobby!; The period that is directly after having come out of the Dark Ages!!!

I seem to be spending as much money on postage as I do on sets and parts!!! (Not really but you know what I mean!)

I just picked up a parcel posted from US and the postage on it was USD125!!! It seems like a waste!!! Don't get me wrong, I still saved money on what the stuff I bought would have cost here! and I am grateful to the US seller for having what I was after for the right price. (and the package is 7.9kgs!!! )

Though, still can't see past how much money I am spending on postage!!!

Is there a false perceived economy here? Should I just wait for the local sales in my area with the restricted choices of sets?

What do you pros do?

I'm not a pro at all, but I usually wait until the item is available here. This can lead to some anxious waiting and frustration at the markets overseas brimming with the items I would like. For me though, the wait is worth it. I also smash the local retailers during sales time. For Bricklink orders, I try and buy what I can from one supplier to save on the postage.

It all depends on how quickly I require the parts if it is from Bricklink. If it is urgent, I will use a local supplier whom I know posts quickly. If I think I have time, I will order from overseas, but you can never be sure of how long it will take to arrive. I put in an order nearly a month ago from Germany that has not arrived, but was needed for our display at BrickExpo (thankfully I borrowed the parts from another Sydlug member). When it comes to sets, you are better to buy locally and wait for good deals on shipping as the shipping cost form the US can be $60-$100 for a basic set off Ebay.

To reduce shipping costs get the seller to remove the boxes. I got four sets set over from the US for US$35 without the boxes. Since the price of Lego in the US is sometimes as little as half the Aussie price it's well worth doing.

Also you can order from US S@H and use a remailer service (so you have a US address for S@H). They can also be instructed to remove the boxes and repack.

In the past I bought a lot of collectable 70's lego, and certain makets have more available and thus lower prices, so I made use of German eBay a lot.

Certain countries have high postage costs (the UK) and certain sellers will charge more for postage/extras than they should. I avoid both.