Spare parts important?

[El Wray]

I have a question regarding used sets and collecting.

I recently bought the Back to the Future DeLorean set and it was sold without the box. It was sold a a plastic bag and labeled as ''Like New''.

When I finished the build I realized that some of the spare parts were missing. Now I know they are spare parts, and not really bothered by the fact but wondering how that impacts the worth of the set as a whole and if spare parts are considered ''an essential'' when it comes to collecting.

Like if you were going to sell a set on ebay, could you still consider a set that's missing the spare parts as a ''complete'' set or would you have to disclose the missing spare parts and how would that affect the value if so.

Thank you very much and have a nice day!

[rollermonkey]

Are you sure they were spares? The BTTF Delorean has... what, 3 alternate builds? If none of the parts required for the alternates are missing, I guess it isn't a huge deal... typically the 'spare parts' are 1x1 plates and tiles and Technic pins, none of which are terribly valuable. You are probably out less than $0.50 - $1. Not nice of the seller, but not devastating.

Did the listing say that the box wouldn't be included?

[Deathleech]

I don't think spare parts are usually included when someone sells a "complete" used set. They aren't even listed in any of the official material like the instructions. About the only way to find out what parts are spares and should be in the set is the find a review and hope it has them listed. I doubt most people selling a set are going to go through this trouble, especially when the parts aren't essential to building a set. I could be wrong though.

[El Wray]

Oh yes it has the spare red wheels, the orange hood, the white thingy and everything just missing some 1x1s and a few other minor parts... I bought it in person so I was aware the box was missing its just I was wondering how missing a few spare parts would affect "collectibility" if at all.

[chuychu]

Pretty much you get what you paid for. That's why I buy most of my older, no longer in production sets brand new still in box. But I don't think spare parts is a big deal. Unless it's a Creator set. Seems like some of their builds don't use all the parts for other builds.

[legoguy1984]

I think it would depend on the intent of the seller. When most people sell a set that they have built or played with the spare parts probably landed up in the greater collection. When they want to sell the set later it would be very difficult to know exactly what pieces were extra with the set unless you are able to find a review which shows them. My Delorean I bought purely for display and I have kept all spare parts for it completely seperate from the rest of my collection. If I sold it, it would include all spare parts because they are already seperate, any other set would not have the extra parts and I would not think that I had done someone a disservice likewise when buying a second hand set I would not expect it to have the extra parts.

[HandofBobb]

Are the 'spare parts' even consistant between sets?

Since they are spare, and not included in the parts list in the instructions, I wouldn't really expect them in any set I bought secondhand that wasn't sealed.

[rollermonkey]

I believe they are fairly consistent across all copies of the same set. Each 1x1 tile or plate, or short Technic pin, will typically have one extra of each, in each bag where the part is included. (Ex: if 2 bags have black 1x1 plates, both bags will have an extra) If there's a bigger part in excess, like projectiles for flick-fires or spring-shooters, usually everybody gets the same amount of extras.

As for the collectibility of a set, it went much further down because you don't have the box than it will because it doesn't have the extra parts.

[El Wray]

As for the collectibility of a set, it went much further down because you don't have the box than it will because it doesn't have the extra parts.

Not planning to resell anyway to be frank. I was just bummed because they said all the parts were there and it was missing a few spare parts, but if that's common practice I'm fine with it as well.. Like others said as long as the set is complete..

[MAB]

On Bricklink, the definition is ...

Complete - Set contains all parts necessary to build all of the models (including alternate models) in the instructions but does not have to contain the original box/packaging and/or extra parts

I think it is fairly standard not to include extra parts, since they are not in the instruction list.

[Sammael]

BL set inventory includes spare parts, so it's easy to see what you are missing and then order any missing pieces (if they are important to you).

[Captain Dee]

I always just assumed that a used set listed as "complete" included only those parts necessary to complete the set or any alternates, especially considering that many sellers list spares specifically if they have them. I can't see the absence of spares as having a significant effect on set value. And I definitely don't see it effecting collectability if the buyer intends to build the set, either for display or as part of a bigger collection, since those parts aren't part of the final product. Usually I hide spares somewhere on finished sets - and when I tear it down for sorting the spares get sorted too. If selling I would try to include them but sometimes it would be difficult to know how many of a common part to include without looking up the set.

[Giantorange]

I don't think I've ever bought a second hand set that included the original spare parts.

I've generally found ebay sellers reliable when describing sets as complete. Only once I had a problem with a 6080 when some minifigs were incorrect, and some bricks were missing or substituted with other colours. I had an argument which I gave up on with the seller as his opinion was that if the set could be built. Colour didn't matter.

[ShaydDeGrai]

If something is described as mint in box, I expect to get everything in unopened condition, including both intentional and random spare parts.

The next tier down in my mind would be 'complete' -- as in, every part listed in the inventory is there (including parts for alternate models), but if the part wasn't documented as being in the original box from an official source, the part's absence doesn't count against the "completeness" of the kit.

Below that, all bets are off, I think the best you can hope for is to focus on knowing exactly what you're buying and getting a fair price for it.

While I've never done an exhaustive study, I've always assumed that the extra parts in kits consist of both intentional and accidental spares (as is common with other automated part counting systems).

An intentional spare is something that the company knows ahead of time will be in the box. This might be extra flick fire missile parts (since you just know some kid is going to lose one) or it might be a symmetry issue based on how the production line fills bags. In the symmetry case, for example, you might have a technic model that needs 149 friction pins, and have filling stations that can put up to 75 pins in a bag. In a case like this, it might be cheaper for the company to just fill two bags at 75 pins each on one machine (and ship an extra pin) than to have to tie up two filling stations with one filling to 75 and the other to 74. These are packaging decisions and, while just a conjecture on my part, would account to the high degree of consistency in so called "spare" parts.

Accidental extras are random (and infrequent these days) additions based on the way filling stations usually operate. Basically a filling station only adds one type of part (and is part of a production line with many stations to fill a bag) the machine knows the weight of the part it's supposed to add so when a bag comes in, the bag gets weighed and parts drop in (ideally one at a time) until the weight of the bag meets (or exceeds) it's initial weight plus the total weight of the new parts to be added. With very small parts on a quick production line, it's possible that an extra part drops now and then as part of the last "intended" release, resulting in a random "spare". As far as kit completeness is concerned, since they are there inconsistently in factory sealed boxes, there's really no way of saying if something is "missing"

[badbob001]

There is a pair of books that detail how to build 20 vehicles from only the parts of set 5867 Lego Creator Super Speedster. These builds do actually use the spare parts. This set is no longer sold in the store so when bought the pieces individually, I also included the spares.

Edited June 19, 2015 by badbob001