Do you check inventory lists before buying LEGO?

[Mister Phes]

Bloody Jay raised an interesting point in another thread. He wrote that "Most AFOL read inventory lists before purchasing a LEGO". The thought never occurred to me, which is most likely because I rarely buy brand new LEGO sets at present. And when I was buying them (15 years ago) online inventory lists did not exist!

So I am curious to know how many actually do check inventories before buying a set? Does anyone use inventories to confirm their descision?

[xwingyoda]

Ahhhh, another Phes investigation :D

I voted no, never ;) The majority of the sets I buy is for collecting (SW,vikings,designers). I also buy other sets, but I act on impulse. The sets I tend to buy for parts, I buy them on sales and I only need the pics on the box to make my decision !!! The thought of checking inventories before buying sets would not have occured to me. I rely a lot more on instinct and impulse ("seize the day").

For specific parts, I use Bricklink ;)

[snefroe]

that's a very good question, pirate!

i voted "yes always", cos i do, always...

i buy lego because i want to build models, i almost never buy sets and keep them assembled for a certain time. at best, i assemble a model, and once i've seen it, i usually dismantle it again. i also try not to buy sets with lots of useless , very often <insert that tiresome argument>, parts, i already have a blue bucket filled with these, so i try to avoid getting more of those, unless the model is really really good. i never assemble a second, third,... example of a set. i immediately sort the parts.

[Hobbes]

Never. Too much stress.

I do buy sets for parts, though. But I go by the pictures on the box and if it's a display-worthy set. Sometimes I'm in the mood to build something off an instruction and not start a MOC. In this case the set has to have some display-value. If not I buy parts on ebay or bricklink.

Then again, I am not an AFOL in the sense many (American) builders think of the term. What I sometimes read on LUGNET what some guys go through to build something... no thanks. It's a hobby, not an obsession...

[ImperialJohn]

Sometimes.

Depends on the purpose of the purchas ;)