How to buy legos with out breaking the bank?

[warrenzevon12]

Simple question: how do I buy Legos without paying an immense amount of money? I understand official sets costing a lot because of licensing and such (though even then the prices can skyrocket it seems).  But even trying to buy parts is stupid expensive! I found a build for an unofficial model and it has 1.6k parts (I understand that’s a lot of parts), I go to look to see how much the parts cost and it’s around $1k, for parts! 

For example: The Onyx Cinder is about 300 parts less and cost less than $200. The big space wale Venator (which is over twice as many parts at 5.3k) is just under $700, how are parts so expensive?

[Murdoch17]

30 minutes ago, warrenzevon12 said:

Simple question: how do I buy legos without paying an immense amount of money?

I understand official sets costing a lot because of licensing and such.  But even trying to buy parts is stupid expensive! I found a build for an unofficial model and it has 1.6k parts (I understand that’s a lot of parts), I go to look to see how much the parts cost and it’s around $1k, for parts! 

For example: The Onyx Cinder is about 300 parts less and cost less than $200. The big space wale Venator (which is over twice as many parts at 5.3k) is just under $700, how are parts so expensive?

@warrenzevon12 Well, most bricks are made from ABS plastic, which is made from crude oil (through this is slowly changing) and that is expensive. Also, you are paying for the high production standards: LEGO is made to very high tolerances, and the molds to make them cost high amount. As an a side, 1.6k parts for 1000 dollars is 16 cents per part on average, which is not too high off the fan benchmark for good set value at 10 cents per piece. Sure, the model in question has a crap ton of parts costing a large amount of money - but that's why I stick to smaller, less detailed MOCs. A 1000 dollar MOC is great and all, but why not going with several smaller, more reasonably-priced ones instead?

Side note: Be glad you're not into brass HO scale models* - one unpainted locomotive engine can run several thousands of dollars... so be glad your hobby is rather cheap in comparison!

*I know some people who looked into getting these... not cheap!

[warrenzevon12]

1 minute ago, Murdoch17 said:

@warrenzevon12 Well, most bricks are made from ABS plastic, which is made from crude oil (through this is slowly changing) and that is expensive. Also, you are paying for the high production standards: LEGO is made to very high tolerances, and the molds to make them cost high amount. As an a side, 1.6k parts for 1000 dollars is 16 cents per part on average, which is not too high off the fan benchmark for good set value at 10 cents per piece. Sure, the model in question has a crap ton of parts costing a large amount of money - but that's why I stick to smaller, less detailed MOCs. A 1000 dollar MOC is great and all, but why not going with several smaller, more reasonably-priced ones instead?

Side note: Be glad you're not into brass HO scale models* - one unpainted locomotive engine can run several thousands of dollars... so be glad your hobby is rather cheap in comparison!

*I know some people who looked into getting these... not cheap!

So this MOC is for a star wars ship that has no official model from lego..... I was just looking for a model for my bookshelf, and I didn't bother looking at using existing kits cause those are all really expensive. Maybe I should look at that in stead.

 

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-132456/2bricksofficial/fondor-haulcraft-play-set-scale/?sort_parts_by=4&sort_parts_dir=D#buy_parts

[danth]

The stores that have the most parts always overcharge by insane amounts. 

I went to your rebrickable link. All you have to do is chose the second store on the list to save $600. Or the third to save $700. You can probably save more but if you break the order across too many sellers you start to lose money on shipping. 

Buy what you can from the cheapest store with most of what you need. Buy only what you have to from the expensive stores. 

[MAB]

9 hours ago, warrenzevon12 said:

Simple question: how do I buy Legos without paying an immense amount of money?

You can buy cheaper parts. Especially on the secondary market, popular parts are expensive whereas unpopular parts are cheap. Even for the same part, popular colours will cost way more than unpopular colours.

So if you want to buy cheap LEGO then build in colours that are less popular with adults.

[SpacePolice89]

Both bricks and sets are usually cheaper when buying from local thrift stores and local online marketplaces but they often have a limited inventory.

[Mylenium]

10 hours ago, warrenzevon12 said:

But even trying to buy parts is stupid expensive!

Well, including a printed Razor Crest cockpit that has been exclusive to a single set is for sure not going to be cheap. the piece alone can set you back 30 bucks. Same for the 6 x 6 half cylinder it is attached to. see? There are a few other expensive items that have only been in a handful of sets and are used in relatively high numbers. From that POV it's not really that miraculous your price explodes and will never be below a certain threshold. The rest has already been said by the others. Relying on the automated first option is rarely the best unless you're really super rich and don't care. Putting in the work and manually sifting through different offerings can be significantly cheaper even if you have to order from four or five shops with extra shipping cost. Of course this could take you the better half of an afternoon, but if you're really cost-conscious and don't already have a ton of pieces then it's definitely a worthwhile exercise.

Mylenium