Newbie Questions

Hello,

New here just posted up my introduction

Was just wondering if anyone knows of any good sites to purchase lego online? (Besides Ebay, and is it safe to buy from say the states on ebay?)

Something that has a decent range as i will want to collect quite a bit.

Also what is the best way for me to start collecting simply minifigs? Like stormtroopers etc.. Do they come in single packs or is ebay the best for that type of thing?

Thanks in advance!!

Bricklink.com is the go for buying on the net. Ive found that its not worth buying single figs off ebay. generally cost to much better of bulk lots or better yet go to bricklink.

Thanks for the site looks good

How is shipping calculated if buying from overseas though? And are items paid by paypal? :P

PayPal is Bricklink's primaary payment gateway. Shipping wise, often the buyer will have shipping costs on their store homepage, but you can always send them a message before you buy to confirm.

ok cool

One more thing, do you guys bother with insurance? Or do you only get insurance on bigger orders?

Depends a bit on your local postie and where it is coming from. Ours likes to leave parcels in plain view on our veranda. Sometimes insurance is quite cheap too, other times not so much. Since Bricklink is a bunch of mostly small private sellers terms and costs vary widely so it's always depends. Just check out whichever store you want to buy from. Collecting old Star Wars minifigs will probably be quite expensive so it's probably worth insurance to avoid ripoffs (insurance means the seller has to help you get your money back).

I've mainly ordered from local sellers and never had any problems, there was one order where one lot was missing from the order a quick email with a picture showing what was there and it was fixed and I had the missing parts 2 days later.
Bricklink really is a great site, as Peterab mentioned make sure you read each stores terms and conditions some will have minimum purchases some will not or they will be that low it doesnt matter while others will need a minimum $50 order. Read their rules they are always clear and if you arent sure just email the seller

ok done

I always like to look for Australian Sellers but sometimes there is no choice but to buy from overseas, so do you guys order confidently from overseas? If the seller has a good review obviously...

I found some decent deals at Big W today

I got my first sets

7913 - Clone Trooper Battle Pack -$18
7914 - Mandalorian Death Watch - $18
7915 - Imperial V-Wing Fighter - $37

So it begins i guess :D

I've only had one BL order not arrive and it was from a local seller.
All my international orders have been fine and postage is not much if any higher than local post.

Cool thanks taz!

Apart from one seller who is in Mugs and delivers to the meeting for free, most of my orders have been from overseas. I've only had trouble once, but I believe it was because of the postie rather than the seller. I've since used the same seller with no problems. The US has the cheapest lego prices so buying new from there is great if you dont mind not getting the boxes, so they can all be packed together to save on postage. Might not be so good for set collecting purposes, but fine for parts (or just minifigs).

Well my famous story is that with the help of a friend I managed to get Cafe Corner, Green Grocer and Firehouse all in one order for $500 AUD including postage from the states. Definitely the cheapest way to go.

I have only had one parcel go missing, but that is because the chap who delivered the parcels to my old unit, left them at the front door (maybe ok if you live somewhere secure, but my front door was on the staircase that went to other units).

I do order from Bricklink, mostly overseas to be honest because of the prices.

We also recently did an order through Barnes and Noble in the US (they sell and ship to Aus), they had a % off lego coupon going around.

I also sometimes order through Ebay (not for a while now) I went though a fabuland/Mickey Lego phase and I found it easier to source from the UK through ebay.

I sometimes think of utilising one of those 'hopshopgo' type arrangements so I can order from Lego.com (or walmart/kmart US) at US Lego prices. But I get nervous if I can't see how much it will cost me in total (if anyone else has used one of those 'American address' services, i would love to hear how it went).

But mostly I await local sales and clearances because it is easier and I get my Lego immediatly.

I've had over 500 Cracklink orders and only one (maybe two soon ) that have gone missing.

I only insure if it is over $100, I have saved more by not paying insurance than I have lost from undelivered packages over time.

Intrastella

TazManiac wrote:I've only had one BL order not arrive and it was from a local seller.
All my international orders have been fine and postage is not much if any higher than local post.

So make that one that never made it, from an Aussie seller. One package from the U.S. arrived today after being posted 5 weeks ago.

[quote="Intrastella"]I've had over 500 Cracklink orders and only one (maybe two soon ) that have gone missing.

haha glad you received it!

AnitaE wrote:I sometimes think of utilising one of those 'hopshopgo' type arrangements so I can order from Lego.com (or walmart/kmart US) at US Lego prices. But I get nervous if I can't see how much it will cost me in total (if anyone else has used one of those 'American address' services, i would love to hear how it went).

I've used shipito to get a couple of Fire Brigades, and saved money compared to RRP here. I could have saved more if I didn't want the boxes. The shipping prices are pretty good because they get bulk pricing, but it is best for small items that fit into standard size shipping boxes. Every time I've recommended shipito on a forum, a new member will pop up and slag them off, so I think their competitors are astroturfing. If that happens here where I'm a mod, I'm likely to swing the ban-hammer, so regular members be warned.