Whats up with Shop@Home Pick A Brick?

[DarthPaka]

Whats up with Shop@Home Pick A Brick? Just before Christmas they had so many pieces and minifigs that I was interested in getting, and now their selection has been drastically reduced (at least in Canada)!! Anyone know if there is some sort of regularity to what time of year Lego restocks their Pick A Brick coffers, or is it just a random ebb and flow kinda thing? Not living near a Lego store, Im kinda dependant on Pick A Brick for my MOCing & I'm kicking myself for not picking up X Wing pilot & ninjago minifig pieces!

[lemus]

Just use Bricklink. Find a couple nice stores that will supply your needs for MOCs and you will save a ton with respect to online PAB. The only PAB I ever use is in store, as the price scheme is completely different.

[vynsane]

I've only used the online S@HPaB once, to supplement an order to get over the threshold for free shipping. There are some pieces (at least, there were at that time) that were still cheaper through them than BrickLink, and those were the ones I picked up (6x6 tiles, 1x3 curved slopes in pearl gold, 1x1 scoops of ice cream).

[DarthPaka]

Cool, thanx to both of you!! Ill check it out

[Brick & Blue]

I remember an interview with someone from Lego the first time LEGO changed / updated the online PaB. They explained that pieces are made all at once, normally for a set, and what PaB has are extras. Once they run out Lego might not be planning another run of the piece for awhile so it's removed.

LEGO PaB USA still has 1600 pieces so that's not bad. They even have butts and asses!

Animal No.11 Ass. I always thought it was a horse and not a donkey.

[Neo]

I noticed that the Lego Shop@home online PaB selection is no longer selling Train magnetic couplers and Train platforms ( they were available via PaB online last year). So yes - it does look like the selection is a bit smaller this year. This means I'll probably be hunting around brinklink more often...

That being said Lego Shop@Home online PaB is the most expensive way to buy Lego Parts. The Lego retail store PaB albeit a more limited selection can provide a better value - albeit that value can vary. Using the larger $15 container Lego PaB which provides the best value for the PaB deal - if one sticks to buying smaller pieces like 1x1 bricks, tiles, plates, plants, animal parts, and other finishing touches then one can get one's Lego at about $19 per pound of parts ( 0.79 pounds/$15 container). However, the value of a PaB container drops when one is buying the larger more conventional pieces like 2x2 to 2x8 bricks (about $59 per pound, 0.25 pounds of parts/container). If you are looking at just cost per pound, a new Technic set can easily cost $60 per pound in parts (.28 pounds/Lego 42002) . The Lego store's manager is the one in charge of selecting the bricks on the PaB wall (from the internet) - you need to talk to him/her if you feel he/she need to rethink his selection parameters. My local Lego store PaB is normally pick through (with about 2 to 5 bins completely empty!) by the end of the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday (so those are really bad times to go). I like going to the Lego stores on the weekdays when I don't have to compete with the kids. Brinklink not only has a much wider selection but it can also be cheaper than Lego S@H PaB. However, Lego S@H is more consistent and I've never had any trouble with any of my orders - while most of the Brinklink sellers are pretty good - once in a while my order gets messed up.

[Bbquicksilver]

I'm new to the whole brick link thing. Can someone shoot me a link to a good brinklink supplier around florida and give me some pointers for shopping on brick link. Sorry if I am taking this on a tangent.

[lemus]

^ If you are buying less than 13oz of parts it does not make much difference if you buy from BL stores in florida or in CA or in MA or in WA. If you are buying heavy orders, then yes the shipping cost varies. But many BL stores use flat rate boxes (as opposed to the awesome Regional boxes (which I use to ship my orders and save $$$ to the buyers)), so it ends up also not being a difference. Of course, if you eventually find a local BL store for local pick up it would be great!

That said, the best strategy is to make a wanted list on BL and order the results by shop. Look here for more info http://www.bricklink.com/messageThread. ... nID=699769" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now, if you just want a few recomendations of stores with overall great service, prices and selection, here are a couple:

http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Brock" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bricklink.com/feedback.asp?u=DadsAFOL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bricklink.com/feedback.asp?u=fosterbengoshi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bricklink.com/feedback.asp?u=HouseOfLogos" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oh! and from florida:
http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=BrickAThon" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bbquicksilver]

You are the best. Thanks!