Now here's another Lego puzzle for you.

[Vee]

I am assembling my Haunted House, almost done. I am very pleased with the set, beautiful, and with my special 32x32 base that I have developed for it, it looks even better. But, this thread is not about the HH itself but about what happened while building it.

When my daughter opened the box, sealed and bought from Lego itself (S@H), one of the plastic bags, a #3 one, was ripped, the pieces scattered inside the box. The box was pristine, so I thought: this should be no problem.

Upon assembling the set, we, that had the ripped #3 bag always apart from the rest, just in case, found a missing piece, a 2x4 black plate (used on top of the windows in the set) that was supposed to be in that bag. First time ever I find a missing piece in a new Lego set.

Well, I go to the Lego website, Bricks and Pieces, and I want to order the missing piece. Fortunately, I had one, just one, from my loose parts, and I was able to proceed with the build. But I wanted my piece from Lego anyway! Guess what? The piece is SOLD OUT! I was like, WHAT? A simple black 2x4 plate is sold out!!!??? Makes no sense (again... Lego never makes sense...).

Well, I added it to the list and ordered it. They have to have it! Then I go to Pick a Brick and look for the same part, same code, 302026, and guess what? you guessed right, it is there, available, ready to sell!

Then, some many hours later, I get an email from Lego Customer Support:

Please, tell me that Lego is NOT trying to drive me crazy! :laugh:

[tkatt]

If the part was missing from your set, Lego should replace it free of charge. You should call the customer service number and talk to them about it.

[Vee]

That's what I did, but via their website, they have a special page dedicated to missing parts, like the screenshot above shows. I think if I had used the phone the answer would be the same: "we are surprisingly sold out on this part and so it will take longer...unless you want to pay for it...".

But they should, eventually, send me the part free of charge. I don't need it but I want it, I paid for it. (and I may need it in the future...)

[62Bricks]

Pick a Brick is a separate operation from Bricks and Pieces. The Bricks and Pieces program is part of the Customer Service department, and is mainly for replacing missing and broken parts. If you read the support pages at Bricks and Pieces, they say "We’re sorry, but we can’t combine your bags from Pick a Brick and Bricks & Pieces." That suggests that the Bricks and Pieces program gets parts from a different location than Pick-a-Brick, meaning it is possible for a piece to be out of stock at one place but in stock at another.

[Jim]

And/or maybe Pick a Brick doesn't have online stock management. So they check the stock after placing an order.

[TheLegoDr]

If you look at the replacement part service, there are a lot of pieces currently out of stock. Simple, random parts. They probably just ran out of their supply or it is low enough they can't guarantee enough supply so they put it on backorder until their new production run hits the mark.

I've had plenty of missing pieces from brand new sealed sets, so lucky for you this is the only one you've experienced. Sometimes they will make me run through hoops to prove that I do indeed own the set (because I really want to screw TLG out of a 1x2 inverted slope...) and other times will send it without question. Very odd. I basically gave up asking for my free missing part because of the hassle.

As far as ordering, I just ordered some bricks and pieces and the order went through fine. Then later they stated which pieces were out of stock, even though they were in stock at the time of purchase. Probably just a production supply issue. They'll send it to you when they can.

[Lego Otaku]

Don't forget recent holiday means lots of kids are playing with their LEGO they got as gift, and that could mean a spike in report of missing part replacement request.

[rollermonkey]

Missing pieces are fulfilled by TLG in Denmark. I've gotten a few international DHL envelopes from there.

Pick-A-Brick orders are fulfilled by your region's main distribution facility. (For US, it's a Mississippi location that my FedEx packages for both PAB and S@H are sent from.)

So, one could absolutely be out of stock while the other still has plenty.

[talos]

I just saw this thread, but it reminded me of my Haunted House set, it had a broken bag as well, with about half of its contents spilled out inside the box. I didn't have anything missing, there was one extra 1x2 brick in the green color. You don't usually get that as an extra piece.

Also, I made a pick a brick order, and it's on it's way here now. The tracking I got has it being shipped from Poland. So I think all the PAB orders come out of that Lego location regardless of where the order was placed.