836 replies to this topic

[Speedboat]

I bought my first PAB cup today in Cologne. I didn't have much time, so I guess I could have stuffed some more stuff in there, but all in all I'm pretty satisfied with my haul. If only I had a LEGO store close by, so I could do this more often.

Edited by Speedboat, 22 October 2012 - 04:34 PM.

[soccerkid6]

Speedboat, on 22 October 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

I bought my first PAB cup today in Cologne. I didn't have much time, so I guess I could have stuffed some more stuff in there, but all in all I'm pretty satisfied with my haul. If only I had a LEGO store close by, so I could do this more often.

Great pieces! I'm rather envious of all the leaves

[Redhead1982]

I'm planning a visit to Munich's LEGO store next week, and I'm hoping to get some of those greenery pieces. The inventory on Brickbuildr is a week old, and it's not complete, so I'm hoping for the best, to get something interesting.

Speedboat, on 22 October 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

I bought my first PAB cup today in Cologne. I didn't have much time, so I guess I could have stuffed some more stuff in there, but all in all I'm pretty satisfied with my haul. If only I had a LEGO store close by, so I could do this more often.

And I wish I had a LEGO store somewhere closer, to check on PAB more often.

[TheLegoDr]

I finally was able to visit a LEGO brand store and got my first Pick-a-brick cup. I will tally up the totals later to see what I ended up with. I was overwhelmed with the great piece overload. Although, I didn't notice any flowers or flower stalks there. They had a few leaves, but that is about it. They mostly had bricks, which was great. Looking back, I should have bought another cup, but I already did enough damage while I was there. I'll have to tally up the totals later tonight to share with everyone.

Edit: I finally tallied up my totals.

7 white 1x16 brick
7 white 2x2 brick
5 tan 2x2 brick
10 light blue gray 2x4 brick
15 reddish-brown 1x4 brick
27 light blue gray 1x4 brick
8 black 1x2 grill brick
18 yellow 1x2 brick
5 blue 1x4 plate
13 yellow 1x4 plate
7 yellow flower piece (not sprue)
12 dark blue gray 1x1 brick
39 med blue 1x2 brick
10 trans black 1x2 brick
8 trans clear 1x2x2 pane
22 trans clear 1x2 brick
25 tan 1x2 log brick
88 dark red 1x2 brick
10 tan 2x2 corner plate
3 black antennae
4 black 1x2 ladder hooks
2 green leaf pieces
6 trans red 1x1 tile
2 light blue gray 1x2 tile with gauges
3 dark trans blue 2x2 round brick
21 white 1x2 grill tile
4 light blue gray 1x2 plate with 1 finger
4 light blue gray 1x2 plate with 2 finger
20 trans clear 1x1 round plate
134 reddish-brown 1x4 tile

537 total pieces at approximately $0.03/piece. Not too shabby I would say. I was rushed at the end because we had a toddler with us, so I just tossed things in and didn't place them as I normally would have. Next time I will definitely be smarter about which pieces I want. This was my first outing so I was just grabbing everything I could. Putting everything back into the cup without stacking things I couldn't fit any dark red, medium blue, trans clear, trans black, or white bricks. So approximately 200 less pieces if I just tossed things in insouciantly.

I am excited to go back, but I will be sure and put these pieces to good use.

Edited by TheLegoDr, 26 October 2012 - 06:24 AM.

[meyerc13]

Isn't Pick-a-brick great?!?  Be careful, it starts with one cup, and before you know it you've bought dozens and dozens.  I'm afraid to count how many small and large cups I have around the house, and since I've used many of them more than once...  If I do count I better not do it while my wife is around.  It's interesting to see the pieces you selected.  Some of those I haven't seen yet (and I've visited 4 different LEGO stores this year, but only get to two regularly).  Others are regulars on the wall.  As you visit more often, you'll get a sense of which pieces are rare, and when you see them you'll stock up.  The Medium Blue and Dark Red bricks you found are great examples.  The one time I saw those I bought a whole bunch of each.  I've also bought a lot of brown and gray bricks from the wall, since those aren't very common in the brick boxes.  I tend to stay way from the common colors (Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, White) because I can always pick up one of the basic brick boxes if I want more of those.

It's definitely fun, and I love reading about other people's discoveries here because the closest stores are 2-5 hours away so I only get there every couple of months.  LEGO always runs a promo in November-December where you can get a pick-a-brick box with a minimum purchase (I think it's $75).  You can't fill the box until after the holidays, but the boxes are a great way to get basic 1x and 2x bricks.  You can stack a lot in the box, I seem to recall that the box is 11 studs square.  Last time I stocked up on Gray, Orange, and Brown bricks with my box.  This year I'm hoping to earn a few boxes.

[mostlytechnic]

Can't WAIT for the holiday box promo to start later this week. Have hundreds of $$$ I'm planning to spend, which means lots of free boxes. Just have to do it in many visits (limit 1 free box per visit) but that's ok since I have a lego store in town.

I think last year I ended up with 6 or so free boxes.

[Redhead1982]

I'm fairly new to buying LEGO at the official stores. Just curiosity, how do you 'qualify' for holiday box promos?

mostlytechnic, on 29 October 2012 - 12:07 PM, said:

Can't WAIT for the holiday box promo to start later this week.

[kibosh]

Redhead1982, on 29 October 2012 - 01:50 PM, said:

I'm fairly new to buying LEGO at the official stores. Just curiosity, how do you 'qualify' for holiday box promos?

Usually by spending $75+.  I hope to hit the LEGO store today to get the Winter Village set, and check out the PaB wall.

[Penkid11]

Redhead1982, on 29 October 2012 - 01:50 PM, said:

I'm fairly new to buying LEGO at the official stores. Just curiosity, how do you 'qualify' for holiday box promos?

You spend the required amount. If you are supposed to spend $75, the you must check out with at least $75 worth of product. And usually, every interval of $75 gets you one depending on the kind of employees at the store you have, so potentially you could get more then one. This is just an example and doesn't just apply to USD.

Edited by Penkid11, 29 October 2012 - 03:12 PM.

[Redhead1982]

Thanks for the info.

kibosh, on 29 October 2012 - 02:10 PM, said:

Usually by spending $75+.  I hope to hit the LEGO store today to get the Winter Village set, and check out the PaB wall.

Penkid11, on 29 October 2012 - 03:11 PM, said:

You spend the required amount. If you are supposed to spend $75, the you must check out with at least $75 worth of product. And usually, every interval of $75 gets you one depending on the kind of employees at the store you have, so potentially you could get more then one. This is just an example and doesn't just apply to USD.

When does the holiday box promo starts? In November?

[mostlytechnic]

Yep, holiday box starts Nov 1. And whether you can get multiple depends on your store, so might wanna ask before buying a ton of stuff. My store only gives 1 per purchase, so I just stop in multiple times :)

[Redhead1982]

Thanks for the info. The closest store is 6,5 hrs away by train (one way), and I just returned from the trip a couple hours ago (it started at midnight), so I'm not in the mood to go back there soon. (more in the mood to sleep in). Also, I forgot to ask about the promo box, and the lady at the counter didn't said anything.

To stay on topic, I got two big and one small cup at PAB, and I was quiet happy with the selection.   Got some usefull bricks for my next 'experiment'. The bricks need to be sorted, so I'll post pics later. In case anyone is interested, I updated the Munich's wall at BrickBuildr.

EDIT: So, I've finally made it through the PAB cups. In total, 3 big and 1 small cup were full. I had very little time to fill them, so I could probably stuff them better. Anyway, here are the pictures.

Edited by Redhead1982, 01 November 2012 - 12:31 AM.

[dr_spock]

2 cups.   Mainly to get white bricks for a music album build.    Happy, that I finally got some horses.

[dr_spock]

Saw some windows and couldn't resist.

[meyerc13]

I had the same reaction when I spotted those windows.  :-)

[Redhead1982]

Lucky you! I'd like those as well...

dr_spock, on 03 November 2012 - 02:08 AM, said:

Saw some windows and couldn't resist.

[TheLegoDr]

I would have bought many many windows had there been any when I was in my local (3+ hours away) store. I can't wait to see what you can build with them!

[kibosh]

My store only gives one promotional item as well.

[eurotrash]

I just got back from my closest Lego Store (Kansas City, about 2 hours away) and managed to grab/stuff/pack the following into two PAB Large Cups ($14.99 +tax each).  

93 @ 1 x 2 Bricks, Modified Log
57 @ 1 x 2 Tile, Mod Grille
80 @ 1 x 2 Trans Clear Bricks
77 @ Trans Clear 1 x 2 x 2 Panels
121 @ 2 x 2 Yellow Tiles
137 @ 2 x 2 Red Tiles
35 @ 1 x 8 Red Tiles
12 @ 4 x 4 Yellow Plates,
4 @ 4 x 6 Yellow Plates
52 @ 1 x 4 Lt Gray Bricks
12 @ 1 x 10 White Brick
24 @ 1 x 16 White Bricks
....and to fill up all the gaps around my carefully packed structures 630 Trans Clear 1 x 1 Round

So, #488 Bricks in one cup and #846 in the other for a total of 1334 pieces costing $30.   Win!

Chris

p.s. Despite it being a busy Saturday the Store's associates were really helpful about suggesting different packing strategies :)

[dr_spock]

TheLegoDr, on 03 November 2012 - 08:30 PM, said:

I would have bought many many windows had there been any when I was in my local (3+ hours away) store. I can't wait to see what you can build with them!

I can't wait either but I'm having builder's cramp at the moment.  You guys are putting pressure on me.  

========

Mother always say eat your greens.   I wonder if this counts?  

[Kristel]

eurotrash, on 11 November 2012 - 02:42 AM, said:

So, #488 Bricks in one cup and #846 in the other for a total of 1334 pieces costing $30.   Win!

dr_spock, on 11 November 2012 - 06:22 AM, said:

Mother always say eat your greens.   I wonder if this counts?  

dr_spock, on 03 November 2012 - 02:08 AM, said:

Saw some windows and couldn't resist.

Redhead1982, on 30 October 2012 - 08:34 PM, said:

So, I've finally made it through the PAB cups. In total, 3 big and 1 small cup were full.

I am so jealous right now.  When, oh when, is LEGO going to open a store in Australia?

[Legobrandon]

It took me 1.5 hours, but I got it done! With some help from the excellent staff at the Vancouver store. :) I can finally finish my Canadian Flag flower mosaic.

Edited by Legobrandon, 12 November 2012 - 07:55 AM.

[Toadtorrent]

dr_spock, on 03 November 2012 - 02:08 AM, said:

Saw some windows and couldn't resist.

I was just at Fairview today...were you able to fit all those windows PLUS the horses and other parts in 2 cups total??

[dr_spock]

Toadtorrent, on 12 November 2012 - 11:49 PM, said:

I was just at Fairview today...were you able to fit all those windows PLUS the horses and other parts in 2 cups total??

All the horses fit in one cup.   The windows fit into another cup.   I had windows in two 4x5 stacks and the rest in 1x5 and smaller stacks.   Some times I wish the cups were squarish.  


Kristel, you could take a Lego shopping vacation to Canada.  We're part of the Commonwealth.

[Kristel]

dr_spock, on 14 November 2012 - 04:32 AM, said:

Kristel, you could take a Lego shopping vacation to Canada.  We're part of the Commonwealth.

Would love to!  I spend three weeks in Canada in 2008, covering Vancouver, the Rockies, Toronto and Montreal.  The best holiday I ever had.  Canada was just beautiful.   This was part of a bigger USA and Canada trip that also included a week in New York and a couple of nights in Seattle.  This was before I came out of my dark age, so I probably walked past a number of LEGO stores and didn't even realise.  More interested in buying clothes and shoes at that time!

Canada may be part of the Commonwealth, but there are a couple of major obstacles - a big ditch of water and a lack of funds!