Buying licensed minifigs through bricklink

[Mercury]

I'm pretty new to the AFOL world, and after collecting for a couple months now I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't just be buying individual minifigs through bricklink. Buying sets is getting expensive, and bricklink prices look really good. Are these sellers reliable? I am looking for New condition minifigs with their respective accessories, basically pulled from the sets. Some sets I like(Green Lantern vs Sinestro was awesome) but most of the Avengers sets I don't care to have, I just want the figs. Is buying from bricklink sellers a good way to do this?

Sorry if this has been posted before, I couldn't find a thread close to what I wanted to ask.

[mediumsnowman]

Bricklink sellers are generally pretty reliable, but costs for exclusive minifigures can get pretty outrageous. If they don't deliver you can always file a NSS with Bricklink or a moneyback claim if you used PayPal.

EDIT: Yay! 1000 posts! I'm a count now!

Edited December 29, 2015 by mediumsnowman

[Mercury]

Thanks for the reply!

The minifigs I'm looking at are pretty cheap on bricklink. Like around half the price of Amazon or Ebay. I've bought individual minifigs off Amazon, but at around $12 a pop it adds up quick. Vision cost me around $17 or so. Right now I'm wanting Red Skull but I don't care to spend $20 on the set, because like most Avengers sets I don't like the set at all. I can get all three figs off bricklink for 60% of the cost. It's funny, I absolutely LOVE the Avengers minifigs, but the sets are lukewarm to me.

I do have an Amazon gift card I need to burn right now, and there are some other figs and sets I could get for the $50 I have burning a hole in my pocket.

[AmperZand]

I've been getting minifigs through BrickLink (BL) for years and have hardly had any issues. Look for sellers with good feedback. If they have any negative feedbacks, check what - sometimes the buyer is at fault and using feedback unfairly.

I once had a BL seller who failed to mention that his parts would stink of cigarettes. And a few times, a seller has made a mistake and sent the wrong part - but they've always been good about putting things right.

You do need to check that accessories are included: they normally aren't. Also, if the minifig has a cape, I always ask that it not be attached to the minifig and that it be sandwiched between pieces of card or in its original box for protection.

Hope that helps!

[BlockLogo]

Do BL sellers usually send figs full assembled when they're listed as new? I've only bough a dozen or so CMFs from BL and they always came as loose parts in the original blind bag.

[Mercury]

Thanks for the reply! I am looking hard at getting some of the retired ones from the Avengers on BL. I just can't bring myself to buy the Quinjet aerial battle for over $90 when I really only want the Iron man armor variant that's in it.

[mediumsnowman]

Thanks for the reply! I am looking hard at getting some of the retired ones from the Avengers on BL. I just can't bring myself to buy the Quinjet aerial battle for over $90 when I really only want the Iron man armor variant that's in it.

The circle reactor variant also comes in a Juniors set this summer.

Edited January 1, 2016 by mediumsnowman

[Mercury]

Awesome! I didn't know that, I might just wait then. I am hankering to pick up as many variants as I can. I caved and ordered an Iron Patriot polybag. It was $25, but I really like the fig. I am by no means a completionist, because I hate the exclusive aspect, but if I really like the fig and it's a reasonable price(under $30) then I don't see why I shouldn't have it. After my next batch comes in next week, I will only be short the toy fair variant and one or two others. I will never have the Toy fair one, I refuse to spend that much.

[Mercury]

I just bought my son a fake Iron patriot. He's 7, and wouldn't leave me alone about the one I just ordered. I figure it's a good chance to see how good the fakes are while allowing him to have a cool looking minifig.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

I've been collecting licensed figures for years and never had a problem. If you buy them at the right time, you can get them at an average of approximately $10 each. Still kinda expensive, but minifigure collecting is an expensive hobby.

[AmperZand]

Do BL sellers usually send figs full assembled when they're listed as new? I've only bough a dozen or so CMFs from BL and they always came as loose parts in the original blind bag.

Depends on the seller. Most will send the minifig loose, but assembled is not uncommon. If you have a preference, you can ask the seller. BL sellers are usually happy to accommodate requests of that kind. They are AFOLs themselves and tend to be understanding of fussy buyers. The same can't always be said of Ebay sellers.

[Mercury]

After reviewing some more prices on BL, I can't imagine trying to Ebay all of these minifigs. The cost difference is amazing.

[masterX244]

After reviewing some more prices on BL, I can't imagine trying to Ebay all of these minifigs. The cost difference is amazing.

I always think the sellers at ebay got a sort of "newbie-premium" price since unexperienced buyers don't know of the cheaper bricklink sources.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

After reviewing some more prices on BL, I can't imagine trying to Ebay all of these minifigs. The cost difference is amazing.

I always think the sellers at ebay got a sort of "newbie-premium" price since unexperienced buyers don't know of the cheaper bricklink sources.

I've actually found the lowest price for some figures most often on Bricklink, but also sometimes on eBay and a couple of times on Amazon. Especially if you're looking for a rare/expensive/highly sought figure, you should check all of your options. I got a Lex Luthor polybag for approximately $20 from some guy in Greece about a year ago, and the zombie bride near $35 including shipping from Amazon once.

[Mercury]

I like checking all my options, it's the most prudent thing to do. I overpaid for two of the Ultron figs and Vision because at the time I didn't really know about bricklink.

[Mercury]

That Iron Patriot poly bag I got was damaged. There was a nick in the paint on the faceplate right over the right eye. Returned. Luckily, they have more in stock.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

That Iron Patriot poly bag I got was damaged. There was a nick in the paint on the faceplate right over the right eye. Returned. Luckily, they have more in stock.

Where are you getting the $25 Iron Patriot from? I already have one but that sounds kinda tempting.

[MAB]

I sell on both BL and eBay. I tend to price eBay sales about 33-50% higher than on BL, at least at the start. The fees are higher there, buyer fraud is more common and (some) people don't care about price so much. You don't have to price to appeal to everyone, just the top end.

[Mercury]

Where are you getting the $25 Iron Patriot from? I already have one but that sounds kinda tempting.

Amazon. Hopefully it's still in stock once I get my refund so I can order another.

I sell on both BL and eBay. I tend to price eBay sales about 33-50% higher than on BL, at least at the start. The fees are higher there, buyer fraud is more common and (some) people don't care about price so much. You don't have to price to appeal to everyone, just the top end.

Yea, I've looked into the realities of selling on ebay and the higher price is(sad to say) quite justified. It's hard to make any money using ebay unless your volume is massive.

[Robianco]

It depends how much you want to make.

I order quite a lot from BL and pretty much always look for minifig parts so supplement orders. I also know there are certain sellers that have parts that can make up recent figures for much less than eBay prices so I tend to order those too then sell them on to make my BL order money back. That way I get anything from BL pretty much free or sometimes with a little profit.

It's not so much a money making thing as just a way of helping to fund the rest of my Lego stuff.

[Mercury]

I snagged an Iron Man 3 set with War Machine in it today off Amazon for $22. After pricing all three figs on Bricklink, I think I came out a buck or two ahead by ordering it on Amazon, and now I get the Lego bricks from the set as a bonus. I never count the bricks in the set as a cost item when buying minifigs for my collection, the Lego is just a bonus. So far I have something like 10 sets where I may have slightly overpaid for the minifigs but I have around 2,000 pieces of essentially free Lego.

I also got my refund today for the damaged Iron Patriot and reordered from Amazon. It's still in stock at $24.99 if anyone is interested.