Build It While You Can: LEGO To Cease Manufacturing by 2025; Goes ‘Online Only’

Posted on April 1, 2015 by BrickingTips

In an unexpected move, The LEGO Group unveiled a bold new business strategy today: online only LEGO by 2025. The iconic plastic bricks will cease all production by 2025, LEGO officials announced today in a press release, shifting resources to the burgeoning smartphone and tablet app market.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if LEGO becomes the next Atari’
Senior Business Analyst Josh Ng applauded LEGO’s announcement. “I think [The LEGO Group] is making a smart move here,” Ng said. “Smartphone and tablet usage is on the rise. Closing down the manufacturing plants will consolidate resources and free up capital to hire more top notch app developers and software engineers.” Ng said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if LEGO becomes the next Atari.”

Chicago mommy blogger Maxine Smart also praised the announcement. “You mean no more cleaning up my six year old’s LEGO messes? Count me in, ‘online only’ LEGO sounds like a godsend,” Smart wrote in a trending blog post. “I only wish 2025 came sooner. By then my kids will be grown.”

‘A LEGO for 21st Century’
Despite record sales of bricks and sets, the press release describes ending manufacturing as the first step in a bold new company strategy. “Bricks and plates just don’t hold the same relevance and appeal to these new generations of kids,” April Fells, Chief Marketing Director at The LEGO Company said in an interview. “Kids grow up with a tablet in one hand and mom’s iPhone in the other.”

A recent study found that as many as 72% of children under 8 used smartphones or tablets in 2014, a number forecasted to climb to 97% by 2020. By comparison, only 58% of children under 12 played with LEGO pieces in 2014.

Fells sees a bright future for digital LEGO on the horizon. “We need to become a LEGO for the 21st century,” Fells said, “and that means reaching this new generation of digital natives where they live: online.”

‘End of an era’
Despite praise from many parents and LEGO fans, not everyone is celebrating the online only announcement. Adam Leggodt, a self proclaimed AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO), dislikes the new strategy. “Call me old fashioned, but there’s just something special about the feel and heft of a 2×4 LEGO brick in palm of your hand,” Leggodt said. “The day the last LEGO plant closes truly will be the end of the era.”

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Dealing with Problem Orders: An eBay Buyer’s Guide in 4 Steps

Posted on March 26, 2015 by BrickingTips

Sometimes eBay orders go wrong. Here are a few tips how to follow up with your seller.

1. Contact the seller if there’s a problem
This may sound obvious, but sometimes unhappy buyers just jump ahead and leave a negative or neutral feedback for the seller without telling the seller there was a problem. If you don’t contact the seller about a problem, then you’re not giving the seller a chance to fix it.

2. Message Etiquette: Keep it simple and factual
When something goes wrong with an order, it’s easy to become upset, but keep emotion out of your message to the seller. Also, keep the message concise and factual. For example, write something like, “Hi, my order is missing 12 blue bricks” or “Hi, I haven’t received my order and it’s been 30 days”. Both of these messages clearly convey the problem and provide the seller with an opportunity to respond with a solution or explanation.

3. Wait Up to 7 Days for Response
Many sellers will respond to messages within a few days, but allow for up to a week for a response, depending on the seller. Also consider that some sellers may not answer messages on weekends. If a week has passed, consider sending the seller a followup message. You could write something like, “Hi, I sent you a message 7 days ago regarding the 12 blue bricks that were missing from my order.”

4. Non-responsive seller? Open a case on eBay or file a dispute on Paypal
If the seller isn’t answering any of your messages about the problem, then it’s time to open a case on eBay in the Resolution Center. If you bought the item somewhere else and paid with Paypal, then you can file a Paypal dispute.

A few final thoughts
Problem orders aren’t fun for anyone, but remember to stay calm throughout the process and keep the line of communication open with your seller. Sellers are people too and most of them will work with you to fix the problem. In the off chance the seller doesn’t work with you, both eBay and Paypal maintain strong policies to protect buyers.

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Paypal Fee Rate Reality Check: What a difference a $0.30 transaction fee makes

Posted on March 19, 2015 by BrickingTips

The standard Paypal fee rate for United States sellers is 2.9% + $0.30 for each domestic transaction. That means your Paypal fees are basically 2.9% and some change, right? Not exactly. That seemingly harmless $0.30 fee balloons your actual Paypal fee percentage to 9% on a $5 transaction. Ouch. Think about that next time you sell something for $5.00.

Let’s crunch some of the numbers in a sample Paypal fee chart:
$5.00 transaction
$0.15 (2.9%) + $0.30 (flat fee) = $0.45 –> 9%
7.50 transaction
$0.22 (2.9%) + $0.30 (flat fee) = $0.52 –> 7%
$10.00 transaction
$0.29 (2.9%) + $0.30 (flat fee) = $0.59 –> 5.9%
$20.00 transaction
$0.58 (2.9%) + $0.30 (flat fee) = $0.88 –> 4.4%
$50.00 transaction
$1.45 (2.9%) + $0.30 (flat fee) = $1.75 –> 3.5%
$100.00 transaction
$2.90 (2.9%) + $0.30 (flat fee) = $3.20 –> 3.2%
$200.00 transaction
$5.80 (2.9%) + $0.30 (flat fee) = $6.10 –> 3.1%
$500.00 transaction
$14.50 (2.9%) + $0.30 (flat fees) = $14.80 –> 3.0%

Making Sense of the Chart
Fees for transactions between $5.00 and $20 range from 4.4%-9.0% (a 4.6% spread). The fees for transactions between $50 and $500 transaction only range from 3.5%-3.0% (a 0.5% spread).

How can I pay less in Paypal fees?
Unfortunately, your options for paying lower Paypal fees are limited, but the Paypal Merchant Rate can save higher volume sellers at least 0.4% and using Paypal Micropayments (Business Accounts only) can save money on transactions under $10.

Paypal Merchant Rate
If you sell over $3000.00 each month, you can lower your Paypal fees from 2.9% + $0.30 to 2.5% + $0.30. Take a look at the article about The Hidden Paypal Merchant Rate for more information.

Paypal Micropayments (Paypal Business Accounts Only)
If most of the items you sell are priced under $10, then you might consider opening Paypal Micropayments. Paypal Micropayments provides an alternative fee structure of 5.0% + $0.05, which is more advantageous for low value items (under $10). You need to have a Paypal Business Account (not Personal or Premier) and fill out a one-time micropayments application. Once approved, the pricing structure automatically adjusts based on the size of the transaction. So a $5 transaction would cost 5% + 0.05 = $0.30 while a $100 transaction would cost 2.9% + $0.30 = $3.20.

Final Thought: The Flat Rate Portion of the Paypal fee is Non-Refundable
If your buyer returns an item or you send the buyer a full refund for any other reason, Paypal keeps $0.30 (on standard Paypal transactions) or $0.05 (on Paypal Micropayments).

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4 Tips for Packing Securely: It’s all about the tape and ink

Posted on March 12, 2015 by BrickingTips

Packing items securely can help decrease the number of lost and delayed packages during shipping. That means happier buyers (because they get the stuff they ordered) and fewer headaches for you (since your buyers get the stuff they ordered). Sounds good, right?

1. Use high quality ink, or use toner
Low quality ink can wear off the shipping label or smear or smudge during shipping if water is spilled onto it. If the address becomes damaged en route, the package could either get lost or be returned to you (if you’re lucky!).

2. Use DARK ink/toner
Sometimes as your printer is running out of ink, “black” ink will show up as gray. USPS scanners sometimes have trouble reading gray and light shades of ink or toner. As a result, tracking may only scan “delivered” instead of being scanned throughout the package’s journey, as usual. The only reason the faint ink is “scanned” as delivered is because the postal carrier punched in the delivery confirmation code by hand.

3. Patch all holes in reused boxes or envelopes
If you decide to reuse a box or envelope while shipping an order, be sure to tape over any tears or holes to the package. Existing holes can easily tear apart during shipping. Torn packages could result in loss of or damage to the contents inside.

4. Tape over the envelope opening (Optional, but recommended)
Even though most padded envelopes are self sealing, taping over the seal provides extra protection and piece of mind. A little redundancy doesn’t hurt.

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Nesting vs. Stacking: Packing LEGO Pieces the Smart Way

Posted on March 5, 2015 by BrickingTips
Nesting LEGO pieces saves space and allows for safer packing.

Nesting LEGO pieces saves space and allows for safer and more secure packing.

Many eBay and Bricklink buyers and sellers alike frown upon stacking LEGO pieces, especially if the pieces are sold as “new”. Brand new LEGO pieces, in theory, have never been assembled and stacking pieces is considered to be a form of assembly.

Even if the parts aren’t new, breaking apart stacked pieces takes the buyer extra effort. I once bought a few hundred LEGO flower pieces and the seller shipped them stacked. Ugh. About a half hour and two sore thumbs later, I’d managed to pry apart all of the flowers. To be fair, the seller’s terms stated that parts could be shipped stacked, but in retrospect saving a few cents per flower wasn’t worth my extra time, effort or thumb soreness.

Why stack LEGO pieces?
The main reasons a seller will stack LEGO pieces are for easy counting and for tighter packing. If you stack up bricks in groups of tens, you can easily count to one hundred with confidence. You can visually verify your counting accuracy and prevent sending the buyer 98 or 102 bricks by mistake. Stacked pieces pack more tightly than loose pieces. Tight packing not only saves space, but can also prevent pieces from scratching or rubbing against each other.

Why nest LEGO pieces?
Although stacking seems to have several attractive benefits, many of the same benefits arise from nesting LEGO pieces as well. Like stacking, nesting secures the pieces, saves space, and allows for easy counting. Unlike stacking, nesting doesn’t burden the buyer with the headache (and thumb ache) of prying the pieces apart. Also, nesting makes the order look clean and organized, leaving a positive impression on the buyer.

The Takeaway
If you must stack pieces, only stack used LEGO pieces. Also, tell the buyer in advance that the pieces will be shipped stacked. Write that you stack LEGO pieces in the item description or in the store terms and make sure your stacking disclaimer is clearly visible.

You don’t need to tell buyers that you nest pieces since the pieces are neither assembled nor require the buyer to pry pieces apart.

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8 Reasons NOT to Ship Internationally

Posted on February 26, 2015 by BrickingTips
To ship or not to ship internationally? More buyers await beyond the U.S. borders, but more risks await as well.

To ship or not to ship internationally? More buyers await beyond the U.S. borders, but consider the additional risks as well.

I’m a supporter of shipping internationally. In fact, my three largest value orders ever came from Australia, France, and Norway and they all arrived safe and sound.

That said, shipping internationally does carry some extra risks that you rarely (if ever) see when you ship exclusively within the United States.

Here’s a list of some common reasons why you might reconsider shipping internationally.

1. Customs Delays and Fees
Most First Class International packages will arrive in the buyer’s country with in a week or two. But packages of any size and value can easily become snagged in customs, sometimes for as long as a month or even more!

2. Shipping Delays
Once the package arrives in the buyer’s country and the package clears customs (which can take 30 days), the package is handled and delivered by the local postal service. Speed and reliability of international postal services varies widely from country to country.

3. Lost Packages
Although lost packages are rarity, even when shipping packages internationally, the majority of your lost packages will likely be international shipments. Due to Paypal’s buyer protection policies, if the buy doesn’t receive their order, you must refund them (unless the package was scanned as “delivered”). That means, if the package is not insured, then you’re out the cost of the items, cost of shipping and sometimes even out the cost of your eBay final values fees (if you don’t request a fee refund within 30 days). Ouch.

4. Higher Paypal Fees and Ebay Final Value Fees
The standard domestic Paypal fee rate is 2.9% + $0.30, unless you qualify for the hidden Paypal merchant rate. By contrast, the standard international rate is 1% higher at 3.9% + $0.30.

Ebay fees are almost always higher for international orders since eBay charges a final value fee on the shipping price. International shipping costs more than domestic. For example, a USPS Priority Mail Padded Flat Rate Envelope costs $6.10 to ship domestically and $24.74 to ship internationally. Let’s do the math for a minute. If your final value fee rate is 10%, then you’re paying a $0.61 final value fee for shipping the item to a United States buyer and paying a $2.47 final value fee for shipping the item abroad.

5. Sporadic (if any) Delivery Confirmation
If you’re mailing your international orders via USPS First Class International, you’ll only get delivery confirmation for a handful of countries. What does this mean for you as seller? It means that your packages will disappear off the grid for a while. If you’re lucky, the package will be scanned as delivered…eventually. Basically you just have to wait and hope that USPS First Class International packages arrive and hope you’re not dealing with an unscrupulous buyer that will claim they never received the item. If the package isn’t scanned as delivered, then eBay will rule in favor of the buyer, should they choose to open an “item not received” case.

6. Language Barrier
When you ship internationally, your buyer may not be a native English speaker. If there’s ever a problem or any confusion, then one or both of you may become frustrated by the language barrier. As good as Google Translate and other online translators are becoming, some words and phrases still get bungled in translation.

7. Tricker Returns Process
Should the buyer wish to send the item back to you, the international returns process is both trickier and pricier than domestic returns. If the buyer is return the item because they don’t want it anymore, then they will pay the return shipping cost. If the buyer is returning the item because you screwed something up (i.e. sent them the wrong item), then you should pay the return shipping cost. Depending on the value of the item, you might consider telling the buyer just to keep the item.

8. International buyers will pressure you to lie on the customs form
Customs forms falsification requests are mostly a minor nuisance, nevertheless, they are requests you’ll never hear from a domestic buyer. Falsifying customs forms is illegal, yet some otherwise law abiding buyers will ask you to mark the item as “Gift” (instead of “Merchandise”) or mark a lower value on the form than they paid. Don’t do it! Either ignore falsification requests or respond that you only write accurate information on customs forms. Also, if your order is valued at $200, but you only write $50 on the customs form, then that order can only be insured for $50.

——————–

Have you been scared away from selling internationally yet? Many sellers do get scared away from international shipping because of one or many of the reasons described above. But remember that greater risk bears greater rewards as well. Some of my best buyers reside beyond the borders of the United States which is why I choose to sell internationally. Will you?

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LEGO for Sale: 4 Reasons Why You Should Start Selling LEGO Pieces

Posted on February 19, 2015 by BrickingTips
mixed LEGO pieces

Everybody’s got a few leftover LEGO pieces lying around. Why not sell extra pieces to a fellow LEGO fan?

You’re a LEGO person and who isn’t these days? You buy LEGO sets. Maybe you even buy some LEGO pieces through LEGO Shop at Home or on eBay. If you’ve ever felt a sliver of curiosity about selling LEGO pieces on eBay, BrickLink, BrickOwl and beyond, then consider these 4 Reasons Why You Should Start Selling LEGO Pieces.

1. Selling off extra pieces can fund your hobby
What better way to fund your LEGO hobby AND clear out your leftover pieces than to sell them online? You’ve already built up (ha!) some LEGO expertise, so why not funnel some of the knowledge into selling LEGO pieces to fellow LEGO fans?

2. Build Your Minifigure Army
If you want to build up an army of LEGO stormtrooper minifigures, sometimes the cheapest route may be to buy multiples of the same set. The only problem is you end up with a bunch of other pieces you don’t need. Not when you’re a LEGO seller. Just keep the minifigures or pieces you need and sell off the rest.

3. LEGO Pieces Don’t Take Up Much Storage Space
If you’re selling LEGO pieces, your entire inventory may only take up a box, a bookshelf or part of room. That means even if you’re living in a cramped studio apartment you can still keep a modest inventory of LEGO pieces without feeling like the inventory is swallowing up all of your living space. Now if you start investing in and selling LEGO sets, that’s a whole different story. An inventory of LEGO sets likely demands a whole room or basement.

4. Teach your kids (or yourself) about running a business
Do you have an entrepreneurial streak? Great, because selling LEGO pieces online is a business. You can teach your kids about demand, pricing, shipping, customer service and other other aspects of running a business. You can also show them how to help you. The key word is ‘help’. Feel free to talk with them about pricing and customer service strategies, but remember you’re still the boss.

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Unboxing Checkinglist for Buyers: How to Open Your Online LEGO Purchases from eBay

Posted on February 12, 2015 by BrickingTips

The only thing more exciting than buying LEGO pieces on eBay is finding your order in the mailbox or at the doorstep. Before your tear into the package, hold on! Take a few precautions to make sure the contents of the package arrived undamaged.

1. Inspect the package for damage to the envelope or box
Before you even open up your eBay package, look at the envelope or box to see if it’s ripped or crunched. Take a picture of any major damage BEFORE opening the package. You may need to send these photos as evidence of damage to the seller or the insurance company.

2. Open the package carefully
Padded envelopes
Rip any tape off the sealed side of the envelope, then gently rip open the sealed end. Use caution with scissors since you could accidentally cut the items inside the envelope.

Boxes
Use scissors or a box cutter to slice through the tape. Be sure to cut through the tape only, and don’t slice too deeply into the box or else you may damage the items inside the envelope.

3. Remove and inspect package contents
Take the items out of the box or envelope. If anything in the package looks damaged, take a picture BEFORE counting to make sure everything you ordered is there.

4. Count to make sure everything your is there
Sometime LEGO orders on eBay, BrickLink or BrickOwl are missing a few pieces. Look at the paper invoice or the order page online and count everything to make sure you received all of the pieces you ordered. Pay attention to the condition of the items as well. If you ordered new LEGO pieces, make sure the pieces are not dirty or overly scratched up. Some sellers may send you multiple packages for the same order but they might not always tell you. If your order is missing a large quantity of pieces, contact the seller to find out if you should expect a second package.

5A. Leave Positive Feedback
If you’ve counted all of the pieces and assessed the condition of the items and everything looks good, leave the seller positive feedback. If there’s a problem, see 5B.

5B. Contact the seller about a problem
Something with your order went wrong! Contact your seller about the problem as soon as you can and give the seller the chance to fix it. Let’s look at some common problems.

Incomplete order
You counted up the pieces and 5 were missing. Or 10. Or 100 (yikes!). Send the seller a simple message like, “Hi, my order is missing 5 minifig blasters.” The seller should reply with some solutions to problem.

Condition
The items were advertised as new, but what you received looks used. Take a photo of the damage (for larger items) or a scan of the item (for smaller items). Sometimes damages doesn’t show up very well in photos or scans. In this case, send the seller a message describing the damage. For example, “Hi, these minifig heads were advertised as new, but they are dusty and the paint is scratched.” Give the seller a chance to fix the problem.

Damaged through shipping
Receiving items damaged through shipping is not common unless the seller did a poor job packing the items. Gather together your photo of the damaged box or envelope and your photo of the damaged item and email the seller something like, “Hi, my items were damaged in mailing.”

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Amazon, eBay, LEGO.com and Beyond: Where to Buy New LEGO Sets Online

Posted on February 5, 2015 by BrickingTips
Shop.LEGO.com, the official LEGO website, offers some great sale prices and exclusive sets and promos.

Shop.LEGO.com, the official LEGO store website, offers some great sale and clearance prices along with exclusive sets and promos.

If you’ve got a LEGO maniac at home, or maybe you are one yourself, then you are probably wondering where are the best places to buy new LEGO sets. Let’s explore some of your options for buying brand new LEGO sets online.

BUYING LEGO SETS FROM MAJOR ONLINE RETAILERS

Shop.LEGO.com
The official LEGO store website offers a wide selection of LEGO sets and a few hard to find and exclusive sets as well. There clearance section sometimes features some generously discounted sets.
In-store pickup: No.
Sales tax: Collected in 39 states (as of Jan. 2015) including: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin
Shipping: Free shipping on orders over $75.

Amazon.com
Amazon offers a wide selection of LEGO sets sold directly from Amazon. On the whole, Amazon LEGO sets can be among the lowest priced sets on the market, although prices vary by set and theme and also often fluctuate.
In-store pickup: No
Sales tax: Collected in 23 states (as of Jan. 2015) including: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin
Shipping: Free shipping on Amazon orders above $35; Amazon Prime Members get free 2 day shipping on orders of any size

Target.com
Target offers a wide selection of sets with some nicely priced sale and clearance items.
In-store pickup: Yes
Sales tax: Collected everywhere except Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon (states without sales tax)
Shipping: Free shipping on Target.com orders above $50

Walmart.com
Like Target, Walmart also offers a variety and good sale and clearance items. Walmart also sells a few exclusive items.
In-store pickup: Yes
Sales tax: Collected everywhere except Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon (states without sales tax)
Shipping: Free shipping on Walmart.com orders of $50 or more. Orders under $50.00 pay a flat rate of $4.97.

ToysRUs.com
ToysRUs.com sells a wide variety of LEGO sets at the list price and some sets above the list price. Check out their sales and clearance items for better deals. They also offer promotional and exclusive LEGO sets.
In-store pickup: Yes
Sales tax: Collected everywhere except Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon (states without sales tax) or Wyoming
Shipping: Free shipping on ToysRUs.com orders of $49 or more.

BN.com
Barnes and Noble is not just for books–they also offer a selection of LEGO. Unfortunately, many of their coupons exclude LEGO and their sets are generally priced at list value, but you might stumbled onto a discount on occasion.
In-store pickup: Yes
Sales tax: Collected everywhere except Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon (states without sales tax)
Shipping: Free shipping on BN.com orders of $25 or more.

BUYING LEGO SETS FROM ONLINE MARKETPLACES
eBay.com
The king of all online marketplaces, eBay boasts one of the largest selections of almost anything you could possibly want, let alone LEGO sets. Although most sellers are honest, some are not. Watch out for signs of a suspicious eBay listing.

BrickLink.com
BrickLink is the go to unofficial online marketplace for LEGO sets and pieces. If you can’t find a retired set on Amazon or eBay, give BrickLink a try.

BrickOwl.com
Established in May 2013, BrickOwl is a online marketplace similar to BrickLink, but with fewer users since the site is still under two years old.

Amazon.com Third-Party Sellers
Amazon.com Third-Party sellers are the people or companies that sell and ship items themselves on Amazon.com. Third-party sellers offer some retired and harder to find sets.

Bonanza.com
Bonanza is an general online marketplace that’s trying to give eBay some competition, nevertheless the site remains quite the David to eBay’s Goliath. Still, you can find a few LEGO sets for sale there.

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How and Where to Buy Authentic LEGO Minifigures

Posted on January 29, 2015 by BrickingTips
LEGO Minifigures Series 1

Authentic LEGO packaging for Minifigures Series 1. Note the presence of the LEGO logo.

Knockoff alert! The packaging looks like LEGO, but these "minifigures" are NOT genuine LEGO. Note the missing LEGO logo.

Knockoff alert! The packaging looks like LEGO, but these “minifigures” are NOT genuine LEGO. Note the missing LEGO logo.

Searching for authentic LEGO minifigures can sometimes be a bit of challenge. Some clones (i.e. LEGO knockoffs), counterfeits and custom figures look strikingly similar to the iconic LEGO minifigure. Here are a few tips on how and where to buy genuine LEGO minifigures.

1. Buy directly from LEGO
If you live near a LEGO store (lucky you!) you can buy minifigures from the build your own minifigure stand. You or your kids can mix and match a variety of headgear, heads, torsos, legs and accessories in order to assemble your very own LEGO minifigure. Kids have tons of fun with the build your own minifig stand. Prices and available LEGO parts vary.

Also, you can search for “LEGO Minifigures” on LEGO.com to find their current minifigure offerings.

2. Use caution when buying minifigures on eBay
Ebay is a mixed bag. You’ll be able to purchase a variety of authentic LEGO minifigures on eBay. Unfortunately, eBay also features a variety of knockoffs and custom items. Read the item’s title and listing carefully. If the listing uses terms like “custom” or “LEGO like”, then that figure is NOT LEGO! Always check the seller’s recent feedback comments before buying.

If you buy an item advertised as LEGO and receive a fake, open a case in eBay’s Resolution Center and select “I received an item that does not match the seller’s description”.

3. Try Bricklink.com or BrickOwl.com
Bricklink and BrickOwl are online marketplaces similar to eBay except that users on both sites sell and buy LEGO pieces (BrickLink was actually originally called BrickBay until eBay issued a cease and desist letter!). A few sellers offer custom items on the site, but the item should clearly state custom in the title. The vast majority of the items for sale on Bricklink and BrickOwl should be official LEGO product. Since they are marketplaces and you will be buying from individual sellers, always check the seller’s feedback and reputation before placing an order, just as you would on eBay.

4. Sometimes buying a LEGO set is the same price or cheaper than buying the minifigures
I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but sometimes you can actually save money by buying a set instead of the individual minifigures, especially on sets under $20 or so. Strange but true. This is not a hard and fast rule, but something to consider before buying minifigures. You can use the extra LEGO pieces for other projects or sell spare on sites like eBay, BrickLink or BrickOwl to help you pay for the minifigures.

5. Check out the LEGO Minifigures Series’
LEGO produces lines of individual minifigs sealed inside mystery bags. As of the writing of this article, the current line is LEGO Minifigures, Series 13. You can find the individually wrapped mystery bags at some retail store, like Target. You can also check LEGO.com, eBay, BrickLink and BrickOwl. Make sure the bag your are buying says LEGO. If the bag or box doesn’t say LEGO, then the minifigure is NOT LEGO.

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