Restoring Old Sets - Is Bricklink the Way to Go?

[xboxtravis7992]

Although its something I might not start for a while, I am putting thought into restoring a lot of my old sets. 15 years of use has taken a toll on a lot of my early 2001-2003 Bionicle figures. Some have dented pieces from my dogs getting a hold of them... Others have broken ball cup holders from years of use. A few missing pieces here and there. And a few pieces such as Tahu's flame sword are bent.

I have used Bricklink before to order new parts to replace the originals (my Turaga Vakama's current firestaff is from a Bricklink replacement order, a teething Shi-Tzu ruined his original). But I want to know if it is the best way to go at this? It seems hunting down every random part from every seller who has such different rules and guidlines and shipping prices might take more money than I would want to spend on it. And it is also likely after I finish restoring Bionicle sets I might have to go on and tackle the challenge of the System sets to... So what is the most cost effective way to do this?

[JekPorkchops]

I'd say use BrickLink. Just make a wanted list of the specific parts you want and see if a seller has multiple of those, that way you can save some money on shipping (you probably was planning on doing that so this is kinda useless to say). The only other advice I can give you is that if you think the price is getting just a little too high for your liking, just go through with it. Spend those couple of extra bucks to get the parts you want, because restoring the things you have is a lot more important than buying new sets. Especially since those pieces might be harder to come by in the future.

[jkexbx]

Definitely bricklink. I've been using brickficiency to help find the cheapest store combination for the bricks. Just make sure to look at the storm terms once you have a combination that works.

[Sydorack]

Yeah bricklink is 100% the way to go. Sometimes you get lucky on eBay, but if you have patience, bricklink is the best way to get parts and even full sets.

[avatarbrickman]

You can get full sets from ebay, You can get just what you want from Bricklink, but 99% of the old bionicle stuff I get is from garage sales!