BrickLink Buying Guide: Tips for Smart LEGO Shopping
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How to buy LEGO parts, minifigures and retired sets on BrickLink, the marketplace the LEGO Group owns, using Wanted Lists and Easy Buy, reading store terms and keeping shipping down.
BrickLink is the largest marketplace for individual LEGO parts, minifigures and retired sets, and the LEGO Group has owned it since November 2019. Independent stores sell on it, so buying well comes down to three habits: put everything you need on one Wanted List, let Easy Buy choose the stores, and read each store's terms before you pay.
What BrickLink is
BrickLink started in June 2000, when Dan Jezek opened the site that grew from his own LEGO store, and the LEGO Group bought it on November 26, 2019. It is a marketplace: independent stores list new and used parts, minifigures, sets, instructions and boxes, and you buy from them, not from LEGO. That is why it carries parts and colors LEGO stopped making long ago, and why prices, condition and shipping vary from store to store.
BrickLink also runs BrickLink Studio, a free design program, and the BrickLink Designer Program, which turns selected fan designs into sets sold for a limited time.
Step 1: find the right part
Search the catalog by part number, name or category, then pick the color. If you have the set the part came from, the set's inventory page is often the fastest way to the exact part and color. For a missing piece from a set you own, our Missing Piece Checker shows the set's parts and the element IDs to search for.
Step 2: build a Wanted List
A Wanted List holds every part, color, quantity and condition you need. Add parts from the catalog, or export them from a digital model: BrickLink Studio sends a model's parts straight to a Wanted List. Our BrickLink Studio tutorial shows how.
Step 3: let Easy Buy choose the stores
Easy Buy fills your carts to buy the whole Wanted List in a few clicks. It compares item prices and estimated shipping across stores to find a combination with the lowest total. Auto-select does the same job with more options to choose from. Either way, look at the result before paying: a slightly higher item price from a store in your own country can beat a cheaper part that ships from abroad.
Step 4: read the store terms
Every store has its own terms. Before ordering, check:
- Minimum order: many stores set a minimum order value or a minimum number of items.
- Shipping: methods, whether tracking is offered, and whether shipping is calculated at checkout or quoted afterwards.
- Feedback: the store's feedback history from other buyers, read for recent comments, not only the score.
- Condition notes: what the store means by used, and for sets whether the box and instructions are included.
Step 5: pay and track
Complete checkout, pay within the store's stated window and keep messages about the order on BrickLink. If something arrives wrong or missing, contact the store first through the order.
New or used parts
Used parts usually cost less and are fine for structure and hidden areas. For visible surfaces, especially tiles in a mosaic, new parts avoid scratches and color variation. Used parts from different stores can also differ slightly in shade, so buy a visible color from one store where you can.
Customizing a LEGO Art mosaic
BrickLink is the usual way to change a LEGO Art mosaic: you can buy extra tiles or plates in colors the set does not include, or enough to build a second design. The current LEGO Art sets below are built largely from plates and tiles. To plan a mosaic from your own photo in LEGO Art colors, try our Brick Mosaic Maker, which lists the pieces each color needs.
A current LEGO Art landscape built mostly from plates and tiles, a good base for adding your own colors.
The Milky Way Galaxy, a layered LEGO Art piece whose tiles and plates suit custom color changes.
Buying retired sets
Retired sets appear new and used, often with notes on the box, instructions and completeness. For an expensive set, read the condition notes closely, ask the store questions before buying, and check its feedback. Our guide to retired LEGO sets worth buying covers which ones hold their value.
Use Our Tools to Go Further
Get more insights about the sets mentioned in this article with our free LEGO tools