Pick-a-Brick thread

[ctoddlight]

I do not have a Lego store within 200 miles of my house, but I try to visit them when I am traveling.  This past week I was in New Jersey with my family and we dropped into a store.  The result was the PaB cup described here.  My wife and I packed while the kids picked, so we have a very diverse assortment.

 

1 x 1 brick, dark green                    48

1 x 2 brick, dark red                         42

1 x 2 brick, trans-black                    15

1 x 4 brick, dark pink                       46

2 x 3 brick, lime                                6

2 x 4 brick, black                              1

2 x 4 brick, brown                             3

2 x 4 brick, light bluish gray           1

2 x 4 brick, lime                                4

2 x 4 brick, medium blue                3

2 x 4 brick, tan                                  2

2 x 4 brick, yellow                             8

2 x 6 brick, dark bluish gray           5

2 x 6 brick, red                                  2

2 x 6 brick, white                              2

2 x 8 brick, blue                                2

2 x 2 brick, modified with pin and axle hole, dark bluish gray             4

1 x 1 round brick, trans-green       10

1 x 1 round brick, trans-red                        12

1 x 1 plate, trans-red                       114

1 x 1 plate, trans-yellow                  1

1 x 3 plate, brown                            38

4 x 6 plate, red                                  1 

4 x 6 plate, yellow                            2

6 x 8 plate, green                             4

1 x 1 round plate, trans-yellow      76

2 x 2 plate, modified with wheels holder, black             2

1 x 2 tile, dark purple                       75

2 x 2 tile, yellow                                9

1 x 2 slope 45, green                      12

1 x 2 x 2.66 window with rounded top, brown                                                    10

1 x 2 x 2.66 window pane lattice diamond with rounded top, pearl gold      31

2 x 2 x 2 top opening box, dark bluish gray                     10

2 x 2 x 2 barrel, brown                     6

2 x 2 minfig chair, red                     6

6 x 5 plant leaves, green                                        2

1 x 1 x 1 plant with 3 bamboo leaves                   8

small flowers, sprue of four, white                                   6

small flowers, sprue of four, red                          1

Tire and tread 30.4 x 14 Offset tread, black                    4

Tire and tread smooth small wide slick, black              4

Wheel 30.4 x 14 with pin hole, fake bolts and shallow spokes, light bluish gray   4

Wheel 8mm x 9mm, hole notched for wheels holder pin, light bluish gray 4

 

 

646 total elements

 

I needed some of the dark red pieces for a current project; luckily they were one of the few things that were accurately represented on the BrickBuildr site (I have also updated their database after our visit).

It was really fun watching the kids work--they grabbed stuff and built things, we tore them apart and stacked into the cup.  All together, about 90 minutes of entertainment as well as the actual elements for our $15.

 

http://community.brickpicker.com/index.php?/gallery/album/100-/

[Guest eightbrick]

Nice packing ctoddlight, it seems you got a lot in there! I see you got a hold of some of those purple tiles!

[ctoddlight]

I see you got a hold of some of those purple tiles!

My son and daughter both love purple so there was no avoiding them!  I think they will be used a lot in our house, and they were certainly one of the more unusual elements on the wall.  If I had had the time I would have made another cup and they would have been featured even more.

[CNH1974]

As my Lego store seems to only have a limited selection, I usually end up in using the 1x1 round lights as my filler as they are often the only 1x1 pieces they have. I then sort them by colour and list them separately. I have always thought of these as a weak point in PAB pieces.

I was wondering, is there a magic number in the amount you get back on them. To me, smaller amounts seem to go for less per piece. For example.

 

PAB1

Red 105. Cost price

[Guest eightbrick]

interesting observations CNH... do you have the links to the auctions? I use bricklink's price guide for piece values, as that is where most people buy specific Lego pieces.

[CNH1974]

I just list them on ebay for either

[Guest eightbrick]

Interesting about the flowers. You could probably dump over 2000 into a cup.

[CNH1974]

The were some 1x1 Sand Green slopes. 125 went for

[jkris53406]

Went to the Woodfield mall store the other day and got 3 large cups. In them I got:

1000 2x2 smooth light gray tiles

50ish 1x2 brown log style bricks

425 red flower petal bunches

275 white flower petals

48 three leaves green

46 dark gray corners.

100 single stud smooth gray circles

Most happy with the smooth gray 2x2s

[sadowsk1]

My local store had 2 x 1 gray textured bricks like in Helm's Deep.  Filled a tightly packed smaller container with that good stuff.

[Guest eightbrick]

Masonary bricks? Nice score, I hope they become common on the walls soon, they are some of my favorite pieces. :)

[comicblast]

Masonary bricks? Nice score, I hope they become common on the walls soon, they are some of my favorite pieces.

 

 

My local store had 2 x 1 gray textured bricks like in Helm's Deep.  Filled a tightly packed smaller container with that good stuff.

What brick is it? Is it the one that has vertical lines on one side and horizontal lines on the other? I love making cool patterns with those pieces.

[Guest eightbrick]

Yep, the one that looks like a bunch of bricks. Cool stuff.

[Scissorino]

You've made me want to go PAB now!

[Tommahas8012]

So I have just started in selling individual bricks and not just sets. I dont live that close to a Lego store but when I do go what are the "no brainer" things to put in my cup. What pieces tend to get the most bang for your buck?

[Guest eightbrick]

So I have just started in selling individual bricks and not just sets. I dont live that close to a Lego store but when I do go what are the "no brainer" things to put in my cup. What pieces tend to get the most bang for your buck?

I would generally say go smaller because you can pack way more into a cup. A small 1x1 plate is probably going to be worth a fifth or so the value of a 2x4 brick, but you can pack 24 into the same volume you can pack one 2x4. I did an article on PAB here: http://community.brickpicker.com/blog/4/entry-242-pick-a-brick-cups-can-you-pack-an-investing-punch/ and it has some theoretical investment returns on different pieces and such. Good luck!

[Raykong]

Today I found the best assortment at the PAB ever! Green leafs, masonry bricks, palm tree leaves, olive green slopes (cheese wedges)

I filled three cups and plan on going back this weekend for more. This was the first time I found leaves or masonry bricks at the PAB.

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

From experience the regular leaves will sell fast, the palm leaves haven't moved at all (8 palm leaves/$3)

[akohns]

Yep, the one that looks like a bunch of bricks. Cool stuff.

Dang I was looking for these.

 

This week I tried my hand at my first PAB cup. I had every little time but I've been looking for the Log bricks as I want to make more custom western forts. The store I was at finally had the 1x4 bricks so I got 195 of those plus 40 light blue 1x2 bricks and 105 dark green 1x1 bricks. I didn't really have to to "pack" the cup but I did fill the bottom with 1x4 bricks vertically then I poured layers of the 3 different bricks so they would "mesh" so the smaller bricks would fill in the spaces.

[CNH1974]

I would generally say go smaller because you can pack way more into a cup. A small 1x1 plate is probably going to be worth a fifth or so the value of a 2x4 brick, but you can pack 24 into the same volume you can pack one 2x4. I did an article on PAB here: http://community.brickpicker.com/blog/4/entry-242-pick-a-brick-cups-can-you-pack-an-investing-punch/ and it has some theoretical investment returns on different pieces and such. Good luck!

 

From my (limited) experience, if you are reselling, 2x2 gray tiles go well, as do flowers and flower stalks.

The 1x1 round lights seem to be a bit hit and miss.

1x1 Olive Green slopes also did very well, but they only had them once.

 

I have just listed 7 PAB lots

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290977131708?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649#ht_843wt_1328

We'll how it goes this time

[Scissorino]

Went to the Leeds, UK store today and got this.

Took my time in packing it and am pretty pleased. I got:

296 grey masonry bricks 1 X 2

32 dark red bricks 1 X 2

32 black trans bricks 1 X 2

31 dark grey bricks 1 X 1

22 tan plates 2 X 8

23 blue 1 X 4 plates

5 palm leaves

13 white smooth plates (?) 1 X 8

2 grey trans windscreens 2 X 6

many many olive green cheese slopes

a few pink studs 1 X 1

without counting studs and cheese slopes that's 456 pieces. I paid

[Scissorino]

So, most of my pieces were small pieces that stacking doesn't give you that much extra room. Here's what did and didn't fit in the cup.

For those who, for example, wanted a load of he masonry bricks and not much else you could get way over 300, close to 400 without stacking at all. Not bad at all. Worth bearing in mind if you're in a rush.

However, I'm glad I was able to get all the cheese slopes etc too.

[CNH1974]

So, most of my pieces were small pieces that stacking doesn't give you that much extra room. Here's what did and didn't fit in the cup.

For those who, for example, wanted a load of he masonry bricks and not much else you could get way over 300, close to 400 without stacking at all. Not bad at all. Worth bearing in mind if you're in a rush.

However, I'm glad I was able to get all the cheese slopes etc too.

 

Sounds like Leeds has a greater range than Milton Keynes.

 

No fair, you got more Olive Green 1x1 slopes  . They go for lots.

[Scissorino]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721841@N04/9805404543/sizes/o/in/photostream/ - altogether what I got.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721841@N04/9805404543/sizes/o/in/photostream/ - what didn't fit in the cup without stacking

[Scissorino]

Not sure about range, at the moment it's just a lot of standard 4x2 and 2x2 bricks and a fair selection of studs.