bricklink help

[willy431]

I was hoping someone would write an article on how to use bricklink...but no luck yet.  I am very confused..there has to be an easier way.

 

My current situation.....

I need 4 reddish grills and 2 1x8 reddish bricks for an mtt

Need a trans blue fire for the potter ship, as well as a mag glass, and some light blue tiles and bricks.

 

Is the best way to find one vendor for all parts to create a want list..then shop that?  Seems like it takes forever to create a want list.  Is there a huge vendor that  many of you use and can suggest for my issue?  I don't care about price..but would prefer us seller.  I ended up using toyburg for this order...and one  other small vendor for the 1x8. Also..do the menus in store fronts not drill filter?  Like say I want to look at reddish bricks. I click reddish...brings me to 125k parts...is there now a way to select say tile?

 

My list was much longer..those were the few that stuck in my mind and wanted to color the issue a bit with real world flavor.  I've used bricklink at least 15 times now...but everytime I order it takes  a long time...and I always feel like I am missing something.

Thanks for any advise.

[Guest eightbrick]

Hi Willy

 

I don't use any of the want list features and stuff because I find it easier to just search up stuff yourself. Now, to look for a piece, you have several options. The best is to go through "buy"-> "parts" select the part category, and then browse the stores that have that piece. From there, you can choose color and sort  them by price and condition (I am assuming you want new). If you click more filter options you can choose only sellers from USA as well.

 

I did some searching and here are the links to all the US stores with those pieces new, sorted by price:

Reddish Brown 1x8 Brick:

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?pg=1&colorID=88&itemID=310&sz=10&searchSort=P

Reddish Brown Grille:

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?pg=1&colorID=88&itemID=10632&sz=10&searchSort=P

Magnifying Glass:

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?pg=1&colorID=11&invNew=******&itemID=358&viewFrom=sf&sz=500&searchSort=P

Trans Blue Fire"

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?pg=1&colorID=15&itemID=1453&sz=10&searchSort=P

 

lol sorry about that short break, I had to go do something.

[willy431]

I already made the order...I am just wondering what the best way to get all or most from 1 supplier. I don't care much about saving on shipping...but it is nice to deal with one person..one transaction...and have all parts come together. And it's easier to hit the minimum order without running up the tab for nothing.

[Fcbarcelona101]

The best way I know is just create the wanted list and then sort by shop (unique lots). Other than that, the store "edeevo" has a pretty large selection and I have ordered several times from him. Great seller in my opinion.

[Huskers1236]

At least in your case you know what sets they are from.  When this is the case, select the set in the "catalog" and go to inventory.  When you see the part you need, select it and add it to your "wanted list" in the necessary color and amount needed.  Rinse and repeat with all parts needed.  Yes, it can get a bit tedious, but when you have the parts inserted into your wanted list you can then select the tab "by shop" under the "wanted" tab.  This will then show you a descending list of shops that have the parts you need.  It is very helpful to see who has what you need and how many possible orders you will need to make.  Hope this makes sense.  Bricklink takes time to learn, God knows it took me a while to figure out how to do the lists, but they make the site much more convenient.

[nolanfan34]

Great topic Willy. I have wondered the same thing. The amount of stuff you have to fill out to add something to the Wanted list is quite confusing.

[nolanfan34]

OK, Huskers, that is helpful. The recent item I needed I ended up adding a bunch of random parts to meet the minimum. Stuff I wanted but didn't "need".

[Huskers1236]

OK, Huskers, that is helpful. The recent item I needed I ended up adding a bunch of random parts to meet the minimum. Stuff I wanted but didn't "need".

I understand why shops have minimums, but it can be a pain adding crap you don't "need" to fill the minimum order.  This is another factor of mine that goes into who gets my business.  I am lucky to have a local Bricklink store that has a pretty good inventory and she helps me out by meeting me so that I don't have to pay shipping and in turn, I do a fair amount of business with her.  I have found a good group of stores that I usually order from because they have good prices and good parts. 

 

Hopefully Bricklink 2.0 will be easier to use, as I don't think the site can be clunkier.  It's not pretty, but it gets the job done.

[willy431]

The wanted list takes forever to fill out...and even though I swear I check not to email me about availability, at least half don't take and I always get a full mailbox the next day telling me parts I already ordered are now in stock.....x50 emails for each part sometimes! I still love it and have no idea why people are willing to do this. If I find the part I need and it's like 2 or 10 cents...I usually buy the persons inventory so they don't have to count them out! I can't imagine have say 72 gray cones for 3 cents each....sure I only want 15....but for a few bucks...just give me all of them...don't sit there counting them out!

[Huskers1236]

The wanted list takes forever to fill out...and even though I swear I check not to email me about availability, at least half don't take and I always get a full mailbox the next day telling me parts I already ordered are now in stock.....x50 emails for each part sometimes! I still love it and have no idea why people are willing to do this. If I find the part I need and it's like 2 or 10 cents...I usually buy the persons inventory so they don't have to count them out! I can't imagine have say 72 gray cones for 3 cents each....sure I only want 15....but for a few bucks...just give me all of them...don't sit there counting them out!

You can go back to your wanted list after the fact and edit out the boxes that are checked for contacting you via email.  I got tired of this function, too, so I never get emails unless it is a very rare item that I want know has been added to an inventory.

 

I'm not a huge proponent of Bricklink, don't even have a store, but it's the best there is out there and you can find about any piece imaginable.  Once you get better at streamlining the process of what you need it gets faster and faster.  I usually try to get a wanted list built up before making an order so that I can keep my orders and shipping costs down.  Nothing worse than ordering $1 of parts and having to pay $3.50 for shipping to get it to you.  I know a few bucks isn't the end of the world, but it still sucks to eat that cost on just a couple parts worth a few cents.