Lego Store VS Bricklink

[Cyberbricker]

Hi guys,

Recently I've started building Castle MOC's and Star Wars Moc's again, but only in LDD so far. Now I have a good amount of bricks but not enough (<< is that even possible??)

So I'm going to need some more and I was wondering what is the best way to go about it considering I need a lot and don't want to spend too much money, watch for a good price and order on bricklink, or go to the lego shop and take them from the pick a brick wall...

They have 50/60% of the bricks I need in my local lego store, most of them in the back, but the people of the store always get me what I need if I give them a list of what bricks I'm looking for.

[TheLegGodt]

Why not use PAB? You have a lot more choice and can get exactly what you need (as long as it's on the PAB list, which is quite extensive).

I think I must have spent close to 500 euros over various PAB orders, always very happy how fast it arrives. Tip: use PAB to fill up your basket to 55 euros to get free postage (e.g. Exosuit, Research Inst. and PAB - my last order ;-)

[smkaemp]

online pic a brick is a rip off thats why

[talos]

In my experience, PAB didn't have nearly any of what I needed. I found everything on BL. I guess it all depends on what you need. The time delay and extra hassle with PAB are other negatives for me using it.

[dr_spock]

Pick A Brick wall.

Online PAB or BrickLink. You would have to compare prices and shipping. Some times it is easier through LEGO PAB. Other times through BrickLink.

[AwesomeBantha]

Well, BL has every part, so if you're building from a LDD file, that's what I'd do.

Sure, you have to buy from various sellers and pay shipping. You'll also have to wait until the parts arrive.

But it's less of a hassle than going to various stores and wasting time not finding the parts you need.

The PAB wall is useful if you want to buy large quantities of common parts. ex. red 2x4. But it's not, IMO, useful for a MOC.

Don't use online PAB. The prices are outrageous and the selection isn't great.

[TheLegGodt]

online pic a brick is a rip off thats why

Can you be more specific?

[AFOLguy1970]

Online PAB has nothing below 10 cents. Those pieces are of course the ones such as 1x1 plates, flat tiles, and some others. You pay a whopping 35 cents for just one 2x4 brick. 1x2 bricks are 15 cents. You can easily beat these prices on Bricklink.

Bricklink supplies most of the bricks for my MOCS due to better prices and selection than online PAB

The PAB wall in the Lego Store can be a good deal IF they happen to have enough of the part types you need to fill a cup.

I sometimes use online PAB on a very limited scale. If I need to round out an order to 75 dollars in order to get the free shipping, then I might get a few bricks.

Edited August 11, 2014 by AFOLguy1970

[KringlesBricks]

I would suggest bricklink; but, there are pieces on bricklink that come to be about the same price on PaB like the 1x2 flat plates for example.

What I usually do is a price comparison and ask the question where can I get the best price per piece at - PaB, Bricklink, or in bulk at the LEGO store.

The advantage of buying on PaB is the VIP points - order in October for double points if you go this route. I placed an order close to $1000 in PaB pieces and the VIP points were nice I used the points towards another Haunted House that is now my warehouse to my train station.

[ummester]

Bricklink is more tailored towards filling a LDD MOC order, I find.

There are some useful programs, like LDD manager, that can help with sorting part lists for large MOCs.

A word from personal experience - try to over order. Unless it is a particularly large or expensive part, it never hurts to get extras and generally doesn't change the postage price or overall order price by that much.

[Yzalirk]

BrickLink because the pieces are cheap and there are a lot of sellers to choose from.

[brickbuilder711]

It depends strictly on the part type. But I can say this, do not do online Pick-A-Brick because it is just plain expensive.

There are various factors that I have brought down to a science myself, since I am digging through the various sources. The factors also determine the case for even thinking whether Bricklink is the correct route to go.

The first is you have to of course compare prices. You need to have a rule of thumb that defines average cost per part on PAB in-store that you get when filling (mine is $0.02-0.05, the higher in rare cases). You need to know what you want and if you are seeking to get it in bulk (ie. 1000 of a certain brick). When regarding a BL Order, look at the shipping prices atop the part price. When regarding in-store Pick-A-Brick, think of the gas and any additional expense that may come from the trip. For me, unfortunately I do have to consider the trip expense as my nearest stores are 20/30 miles away. It rounds up to about a quarter to half tank of fuel which is no more than $25-30.

The second, you really, really need to be on top of the selections. It will help to know what is available at the LEGO Store on the wall based on their now seasonal rotations and what they normally have. Knowing people that work helps even more. It's benefiting me as I speak as I can save trips if what I want isn't there.

My main example is off topic for Castle, but is on point with my writing.

I am currently building the

. The moc is very, very hungry for parts. Mainly MdBlue brick, white 1x1, and clear elements.

I Bricklinked, recently, white 1x2 plate (not available in wall), white 1x1x5 brick (sporadic availability) and clear 1x2 brick (available sporadically, but now does not appear to be available). I was unfortunately forced to Bricklink mdblue 2x4 brick, which was previously available in PAB but now isn't according to my contact.

But I have gone to and will head to the store to PAB 1x2 brick in MdBlue. This is a brick I will need cuploads of to finish the tower. Out of all the MdBlue brick I have had over the last 10 years, I am down to 2/3 a small PAB cup of 1x2, 1x4, 1x1 and 2x2 brick and I still have 9 floors worth of building to fill in. One cup will not do it as it will only cover about 2/3 of the remaining fill-in, so two will. This is kind of the key here.

The part sells for no less than $0.05 on Bricklink. A cup (counted in June 2014 to have 683 bricks) plus gas will equate the same or even more. But getting that second cup brings more bang for buck as the gas expense is fixed and doesn't change. This is just one way of looking at it albeit anecdotal.

Of course, it's BL no question for parts that aren't available on the wall. Or if you find a set to be a very very good parts pack (which is rare), it helps.

Unfortunately, the store isn't available for many people so BL remains the best option when logistical expenses top the base expense of getting PAB In-store. It takes some research but once you get the hang of it, you should have a great shopping experience.

Happy building!

Edited August 12, 2014 by brickbuilder711

[TheLegGodt]

I feel certain barrier to ordering over BrickLink. Perhaps it's a case of it simply being unknown to me, i have never ordered through BL before. Perhaps in some people's books that does not make me a serious AFOL/MOCcer? ;-)

But if you do order on BL, do you buy from multiple sellers or not? I kind of expect it to be a hassle and honestly I am quite prepared to pay a bit more to aboid that. Judging by othere replies here that you can easily match a list from LDD to BL (is that really the caee?) for people designing in LDD first i can imagine that convinience is worth something however, which kind of balances this point?

Then there's the selection argument and I pretty sure you guys are right that BL wins hands down there.

Then the picing, this surprises me most since in theory there are more 'middle men' in the BL process who all want to earn their share of income for their trouble of scavenging through sets, putting their 'wares' out there and dealing with orders, payments and logistics. I would have thought TLG must be more efficient at this since they eliminates the need for the middle man. Also, as someone pointed out, you get VIP points. Has anyone really compared the prices between BL and PAB and how much do they really differ on average?

Also, what about returns policies? I have never questioned an order through PAB online but they do mention if you have any concerns to immediately contact customer service. Given my other experiences in this regard, i would think you will receive new parts if the ones delivered are damaged/incomplete. Has anyone any experiences in this regard concerning an online PAB order? What is that like for BL orders?

Finally quality: the pieces ordered from PAB are all spankingly brand new. Can the same be said for orders through BL and how can you determine / trust upfront the quality?

As it stands for now I personally have not heard enough convincing arguments to change my preference for online PAB orders unless the parts I want are not abailable. But perhaps I am not seeing the whole picture?

It depends strictly on the part type. But I can say this, do not do online Pick-A-Brick because it is just plain expensive.

There are various factors that I have brought down to a science myself, since I am digging through the various sources. The factors also determine the case for even thinking whether Bricklink is the correct route to go.

The first is you have to of course compare prices. You need to have a rule of thumb that defines average cost per part on PAB in-store that you get when filling (mine is $0.02-0.05, the higher in rare cases). You need to know what you want and if you are seeking to get it in bulk (ie. 1000 of a certain brick). When regarding a BL Order, look at the shipping prices atop the part price. When regarding in-store Pick-A-Brick, think of the gas and any additional expense that may come from the trip. For me, unfortunately I do have to consider the trip expense as my nearest stores are 20/30 miles away. It rounds up to about a quarter to half tank of fuel which is no more than $25-30.

The second, you really, really need to be on top of the selections. It will help to know what is available at the LEGO Store on the wall based on their now seasonal rotations and what they normally have. Knowing people that work helps even more. It's benefiting me as I speak as I can save trips if what I want isn't there.

My main example is off topic for Castle, but is on point with my writing.

I am currently building the

. The moc is very, very hungry for parts. Mainly MdBlue brick, white 1x1, and clear elements.

I Bricklinked, recently, white 1x2 plate (not available in wall), white 1x1x5 brick (sporadic availability) and clear 1x2 brick (available sporadically, but now does not appear to be available). I was unfortunately forced to Bricklink mdblue 2x4 brick, which was previously available in PAB but now isn't according to my contact.

But I have gone to and will head to the store to PAB 1x2 brick in MdBlue. This is a brick I will need cuploads of to finish the tower. Out of all the MdBlue brick I have had over the last 10 years, I am down to 2/3 a small PAB cup of 1x2, 1x4, 1x1 and 2x2 brick and I still have 9 floors worth of building to fill in. One cup will not do it as it will only cover about 2/3 of the remaining fill-in, so two will. This is kind of the key here.

The part sells for no less than $0.05 on Bricklink. A cup (counted in June 2014 to have 683 bricks) plus gas will equate the same or even more. But getting that second cup brings more bang for buck as the gas expense is fixed and doesn't change. This is just one way of looking at it albeit anecdotal.

Of course, it's BL no question for parts that aren't available on the wall. Or if you find a set to be a very very good parts pack (which is rare), it helps.

Unfortunately, the store isn't available for many people so BL remains the best option when logistical expenses top the base expense of getting PAB In-store. It takes some research but once you get the hang of it, you should have a great shopping experience.

Happy building!

Interesting points Brickbuilder711 and in part answers some of the points in my reply I just posted as well! I see though you are more used driving to a store for the Brick Wall which may well be worth it to you. For me, the closest one is 2 hours drive away and besides gas (which is free since I drive a lease car) my 'opportunity cost' is scarce time I could have spent on building. Or my family.

[rollermonkey]

Online PAB has nothing below 10 cents. Those pieces are of course the ones such as 1x1 plates, flat tiles, and some others. You pay a whopping 35 cents for just one 2x4 brick. 1x2 bricks are 15 cents. You can easily beat these prices on Bricklink.

Bricklink supplies most of the bricks for my MOCS due to better prices and selection than online PAB

The PAB wall in the Lego Store can be a good deal IF they happen to have enough of the part types you need to fill a cup.

I sometimes use online PAB on a very limited scale. If I need to round out an order to 75 dollars in order to get the free shipping, then I might get a few bricks.

But PAB also beats BL on some items. Those yellow 5x5 'L' shaped technic frames you need 16 of for 10179? Two bucks each on Bricklink, and one dollar each on PAB. You have to comparison shop the two, because both can have great deals the other doesn't.

[rodiziorobs]

I have only placed a few BL orders, but I don't want to place orders from more than one store if I have to.

What I have done is look at which of the parts I want os likely to be most expensive, or will have the highest quantity. Then I search for a store where I can get the best deal on that, and get the rest there, as well. Unless you have a lot of specialty pieces then the rest of your order will stay about the same.

Case in point: I needed one of the new dark brown bears, and the range of prices from sellers in my country (US) was several dollars in difference from highest to lowest. I started with the lowest price seller in the quantity I wanted, and browsed the rest of their store to see if they had what else I wanted. Turns out I had to go with the 2nd or 3rd cheapest to find the rest of my order from the same seller, but I ended up saving a couple bucks overall.

I recently made my first trip to a PAB wall, and I can say this about it: if you aren't needing specific pieces for a MOC, just pieces "that would be nice to have" then the PAB wall is the way to go, as price is unbeatable and selection isn't as important. Also, shopping from BL can be exhausting and you have to wait for shipping, but shopping on the wall is fun in its own right and you walk out with pieces in hand and a free cup as a bonus.

[kinggregus]

Having used the three options, my recommendation would be to try to find as many bricks as you can in the store’s pick a brick wall. Unfortunately, I find the bricks in these walls to be very restrictive and it is highly unlikely that you’ll find the right bricks for your MOC.

I used to use the online pick-a-brick wall and now regret it seeing the numerous advantages of Bricklink:

1. You can find almost any bricks you wish while once again the online store is quite restrictive
   
2. Bricks are usually much cheaper than the online store and this even by including the shipping fee.
   
3. Bricks come much faster with Bricklink (usually 3 business days with Bricklink while it takes up to 2 weeks with the online store).
   
4. As per my experience, bricks come in much nicer individual packages in Bricklink while the online store mixes all bricks.
   

[legotrainfan]

I buy parts on BL and through PAB. Certain pieces are cheaper on PAB than on BL and vice versa. Postage isn't so much on PAB so that I sometimes order elements that are more expensive than on BL, but since postage is cheaper, I always think, "So what?"

If you cannot find an element on PAB, it is always good to email the customer service and ask for a specific piece and its price. Even though an element is not listed on PAB, you can still get it as long as you can find it in a set that is still in production. I built two extra waggons for my Emerald Night. The prices for the tan window of which I needed several were/are outrageous on BL. So I emailed the customer service and got my tan windows for a much better (i.e. cheaper) price. And when you contact the customer service, postage is also cheaper than on BL.

[Cyberbricker]

I think for the castle moc's I can use PAB, they have a lot of grey stones for the moment, but for other moc's with, various hard to find pieces, bricklink seems a better choice.

Bricklink is more tailored towards filling a LDD MOC order, I find.

There are some useful programs, like LDD manager, that can help with sorting part lists for large MOCs.

A word from personal experience - try to over order. Unless it is a particularly large or expensive part, it never hurts to get extras and generally doesn't change the postage price or overall order price by that much.

That manager sounds useful, now I always have to break up the moc after I finish to see the parts I need.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Cyberbricker

[ummester]

That must take you ages.

Here Eurobricks even has a thread on it

http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=41993

Another useful piece of software for part pricing is Brickficiency

http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=82975

Be warned that, with a large number of parts, Brickficiency can take a looooong time.

Once you have exported a part list with LDD Manager and loaded it into your Bricklink wanted list, you can sort your wanted items by stores with unique lots, so can cruise around Bricklink filling your cart and checking the price - just don't check out because once you do it's a sale.

Brickficiency helps by sorting smaller lists of harder to find parts into the cheapest combinations and making you aware of stores with specific parts you may be looking for - it interrogates the entire Bricklink database before giving you results.

Oh, also, read the Bricklink stores conditions carefully before you check out - they may have lot rules and the like that you have to follow. I have found all Bricklinker's I have dealt with to be honest and provide good service (not to say none are dodgy but I have never encountered them). The only thing I have run into is slight language barriers - don't take it to heart if any communication seems abrupt, English is a second language to some of the really good sellers out there.

Edited August 12, 2014 by ummester

[JGW3000]

Don't forget that LEGO has another option for ordering parts, under Customer Service / Missing Parts / Bricks and Pieces / Buy a Piece / Bricks and Pieces Selection - here you can get any part in production, in any set, although a few are occasionally out of stock. Unfortunately, you have to get an e-mail quote, but rule-of-thumb is that for any part more than US $0.20, especially small parts, this option is often the least expensive, especially for new, high demand parts and rare parts.

[fred67]

I feel certain barrier to ordering over BrickLink. Perhaps it's a case of it simply being unknown to me, i have never ordered through BL before. Perhaps in some people's books that does not make me a serious AFOL/MOCcer? ;-)

But if you do order on BL, do you buy from multiple sellers or not? I kind of expect it to be a hassle and honestly I am quite prepared to pay a bit more to aboid that. Judging by othere replies here that you can easily match a list from LDD to BL (is that really the caee?) for people designing in LDD first i can imagine that convinience is worth something however, which kind of balances this point?

Then there's the selection argument and I pretty sure you guys are right that BL wins hands down there.

Then the picing, this surprises me most since in theory there are more 'middle men' in the BL process who all want to earn their share of income for their trouble of scavenging through sets, putting their 'wares' out there and dealing with orders, payments and logistics. I would have thought TLG must be more efficient at this since they eliminates the need for the middle man. Also, as someone pointed out, you get VIP points. Has anyone really compared the prices between BL and PAB and how much do they really differ on average?

Also, what about returns policies? I have never questioned an order through PAB online but they do mention if you have any concerns to immediately contact customer service. Given my other experiences in this regard, i would think you will receive new parts if the ones delivered are damaged/incomplete. Has anyone any experiences in this regard concerning an online PAB order? What is that like for BL orders?

Finally quality: the pieces ordered from PAB are all spankingly brand new. Can the same be said for orders through BL and how can you determine / trust upfront the quality?

As it stands for now I personally have not heard enough convincing arguments to change my preference for online PAB orders unless the parts I want are not abailable. But perhaps I am not seeing the whole picture?

Interesting points Brickbuilder711 and in part answers some of the points in my reply I just posted as well! I see though you are more used driving to a store for the Brick Wall which may well be worth it to you. For me, the closest one is 2 hours drive away and besides gas (which is free since I drive a lease car) my 'opportunity cost' is scarce time I could have spent on building. Or my family.

Point by point:

1. There's nothing about where you buy that determines whether you're "serious" or not.

2. It can be a hassle, depending on what you want, few sellers will have the variety of parts in the quantity that you want. Bricklink helps with that buy making use of "wanted" lists, and after you order you can list what you have on your wanted list with what you just ordered, so you can remove things (or reduce the quantity) of what you still need. It's not that terrible once you get used to it, but it is annoying to deal with sometimes.

3. Bricklink wins over S@H, but S@H annihilates any single seller on bricklink for variety.

4. S@H PAB is quite simply an enormous rip off. The reason BL sellers can sell for less is when the average price per piece in a set is $0.10 or so... but S@H charges WAY more (you're paying, from their perspective, for the convenience... people have to hand pick your order, after all - which is just like BL, but those employees are likely getting paid more per hour and also making benefits, whereas a BL seller is just trying to make some spare cash in their free time). It's also true that, from time to time, you will get a better deal at S@H. Sometimes parts aren't that common in sets, but TLG may have made a run of them... BL sellers often only look at what other sellers are selling for, not S@H... So, especially if you need quantity, even if BL had better prices you might have to buy from multiple sellers, which is a hassle and increases shipping costs, and sometimes the piece is actually cheaper on S@H to begin with.

5. Never had a problem with S@H... don't know why you'd order bricks you didn't want... same thing with bricklink. I've never returned anything.

6. New pieces from BL are just as good as new pieces from S@H. They are from brand new sets. New pieces can have scratches and marks just from shipping... whether you get them from S@H or BL. I've never had an issue with parts labeled "new" on BL (and have well over 100 orders).

The reason to buy from BL are, as you mention, pieces and sets that are no longer available from S@H, and cost. Cyberbricker started this thread with a great question, and I'd like to point out that I figured out early on that if I wanted to build a big building or castle, I'd need a LOT of pieces. At that time, I found a seller selling white 1x2s (which I prefer over 2x4 for building) for $0.019 (that's 1.9 cents) each. So I bought several thousand of them. Adding 1x1s for building around doors and windows, and a bunch of black 1x2 and 1x1 for accents, I ended up with about 4000 bricks for like $120. P@B wasn't even close. Right now a quick search at BL shows(*) a seller with over 16k white 1x2 bricks at $0.06 each - while S@H is $0.15 each... 2.5 times more expensive for quantity. If you didn't need that many, smaller quantities can be had for $0.03 each... 1/5 the P@B price. And yes, that's NEW. There's just no comparison.

However, like I said... some pieces are rare, and in quantity, can actually be more expensive on BL. Depending on what you're going for, especially high quantities of a brick that seems too expensive on BL, S@H might be better.

OK, though, all of that said, the general order of preference is: at the LEGO Store, selection is VERY limited, but if they have something you want you can get a lot of it for relatively great price. If you can't there... and let's face it, you rarely know what they have ahead of time anyway, you said you live far away so it hardly seems worth it (at least I know my store in brickbuildr is terribly out of date... if I was a store manager, I'd make sure that was up to date). The second choice is usually BL to see if you can get the quantities of what you want at a decent price, the last choice is usually S@H... but on most purchases, you generally want to check both BL and S@H. If BL causes you to make too many separate orders, S@H becomes more worthwhile.

Oh... and one last thing... shipping from BL sellers is a mixed bag, but you'll often get it faster from BL than you would from S@H, especially in the U.S.... I think they actually pick and ship it from overseas, and shipping can take a while.

So the bottom line is BL works, but it has it's pitfalls... first of all, if you are buying a lot of different items, it almost never happens that you find a seller with the best price on everything you want to buy, so you either split orders or decide it's worth it to not have to pay multiple shipping charges. You also don't know how much you're going to pay when you agree to buy! That's the worst part of BL! And it seems scary! But most sellers are upfront about their shipping costs, so when they send you the final bill it's generally not a shock. With over 100 orders, I've only had a few that were annoying... and only one non-shipping seller. I'm definitely generally trusting of buying from BL.

(*) My catalog searches are limited to North America.

[Hrw-Amen]

I find that generally Bricklink is better for most ordinary stuff, however if you need harder to get colours then online PAB can be cheaper. It is just a case of lookng to see what is what really. PAB Walls can be useful if they have what you want or are willing to fill a cup with stuff you think you may want further down the line, but they will rarely have everything you need.

[TheLegGodt]

Point by point:

1. There's nothing about where you buy that determines whether you're "serious" or not.

2. It can be a hassle, depending on what you want, few sellers will have the variety of parts in the quantity that you want. Bricklink helps with that buy making use of "wanted" lists, and after you order you can list what you have on your wanted list with what you just ordered, so you can remove things (or reduce the quantity) of what you still need. It's not that terrible once you get used to it, but it is annoying to deal with sometimes.

3. Bricklink wins over S@H, but S@H annihilates any single seller on bricklink for variety.

4. S@H PAB is quite simply an enormous rip off. The reason BL sellers can sell for less is when the average price per piece in a set is $0.10 or so... but S@H charges WAY more (you're paying, from their perspective, for the convenience... people have to hand pick your order, after all - which is just like BL, but those employees are likely getting paid more per hour and also making benefits, whereas a BL seller is just trying to make some spare cash in their free time). It's also true that, from time to time, you will get a better deal at S@H. Sometimes parts aren't that common in sets, but TLG may have made a run of them... BL sellers often only look at what other sellers are selling for, not S@H... So, especially if you need quantity, even if BL had better prices you might have to buy from multiple sellers, which is a hassle and increases shipping costs, and sometimes the piece is actually cheaper on S@H to begin with.

5. Never had a problem with S@H... don't know why you'd order bricks you didn't want... same thing with bricklink. I've never returned anything.

6. New pieces from BL are just as good as new pieces from S@H. They are from brand new sets. New pieces can have scratches and marks just from shipping... whether you get them from S@H or BL. I've never had an issue with parts labeled "new" on BL (and have well over 100 orders).

The reason to buy from BL are, as you mention, pieces and sets that are no longer available from S@H, and cost. Cyberbricker started this thread with a great question, and I'd like to point out that I figured out early on that if I wanted to build a big building or castle, I'd need a LOT of pieces. At that time, I found a seller selling white 1x2s (which I prefer over 2x4 for building) for $0.019 (that's 1.9 cents) each. So I bought several thousand of them. Adding 1x1s for building around doors and windows, and a bunch of black 1x2 and 1x1 for accents, I ended up with about 4000 bricks for like $120. P@B wasn't even close. Right now a quick search at BL shows(*) a seller with over 16k white 1x2 bricks at $0.06 each - while S@H is $0.15 each... 2.5 times more expensive for quantity. If you didn't need that many, smaller quantities can be had for $0.03 each... 1/5 the P@B price. And yes, that's NEW. There's just no comparison.

However, like I said... some pieces are rare, and in quantity, can actually be more expensive on BL. Depending on what you're going for, especially high quantities of a brick that seems too expensive on BL, S@H might be better.

OK, though, all of that said, the general order of preference is: at the LEGO Store, selection is VERY limited, but if they have something you want you can get a lot of it for relatively great price. If you can't there... and let's face it, you rarely know what they have ahead of time anyway, you said you live far away so it hardly seems worth it (at least I know my store in brickbuildr is terribly out of date... if I was a store manager, I'd make sure that was up to date). The second choice is usually BL to see if you can get the quantities of what you want at a decent price, the last choice is usually S@H... but on most purchases, you generally want to check both BL and S@H. If BL causes you to make too many separate orders, S@H becomes more worthwhile.

Oh... and one last thing... shipping from BL sellers is a mixed bag, but you'll often get it faster from BL than you would from S@H, especially in the U.S.... I think they actually pick and ship it from overseas, and shipping can take a while.

So the bottom line is BL works, but it has it's pitfalls... first of all, if you are buying a lot of different items, it almost never happens that you find a seller with the best price on everything you want to buy, so you either split orders or decide it's worth it to not have to pay multiple shipping charges. You also don't know how much you're going to pay when you agree to buy! That's the worst part of BL! And it seems scary! But most sellers are upfront about their shipping costs, so when they send you the final bill it's generally not a shock. With over 100 orders, I've only had a few that were annoying... and only one non-shipping seller. I'm definitely generally trusting of buying from BL.

(*) My catalog searches are limited to North America.

Thanks for your very extensive answer and the trouble you took to write it. I think your advice sounds correct. I guess it will be a new experience to give BL a try sometime.,,