Ask BA #2 - How Do You Choose Which Lego Sets to Buy for Part-Out on Bricklink / Brickowl?

[@bfk2293]

Hello again. That's very nice of you to share the knowledge you have gained so far. Should you need some ideas for next videos, here are some suggestions: 1) Summary of each month/year, listing bestsellers/most profitable sets you've had in your store. 2) Sets worth keeping for a few years with expected good return on investment (like Falcon Millenium or Mos Eisley Cantina from the past - it was rather obvious their price would go up in time, however the increase rate is rather quite a nice surprise for those who kept/are still keeping them). 3) Periodic analysis of chosen sets in terms of the parts that should sell well and be profitable, accompanied by your opinion on why you think so. You generally covered this in your video, however more detailed and focused analysis could be interesting and helpful to some of your viewers. At the end let me show you something I find strange. Example from bricklink: Set - Sports: Basketball: 3529-1 Year: 2003 Seller: SkyLine1986 Quantity: 522 Could this be a system bug or someone really holds (has been left with) so many polybags. I wouldn't be so surprised, but the release year and number of pcs. You may find more examples like this one. High quantities of quite old sets in hands of a single seller. Thank you very much once again for your time and effort.

[@BrickArena]

Hi BFK, thanks for the comment and for the suggestions. I'll give it some thought, it just comes down to the time it would take to prepare and analyze, but you make some interesting suggestions. As for the seller you list, I notice that they have large quantities of just about everything they sell. The fact that they are in Hong Kong makes me slightly nervous but they seem to have 100% feedback so I'm guessing they would have been found out if they were counterfeit. It can be that people have large qty due to liquidation or similar but they are clearly not your average seller buying in low qty from store shelves, at least in my opinion.

[@beatsbreaksbricks6566]

Dude thank you so much. Sooooo helpful

[@BrickArena]

No problem!

[@Ronal_d]

this video was very useful, been looking into setting up a bricklink store for a while now since i love the hobby. subscribed!

[@BrickArena]

Thanks for letting me know it was of use. Thanks for the sub

[@Ronal_d]

@@BrickArena i have a question, is there a way to see what parts get sold the most/are the most demanded overall?

[@BrickArena]

No not that I am aware of.

[@Ronal_d]

@@BrickArena Thank you so much for your tranparency, one more thing that isnt clear to me is when you get and order, how do you estimate the total weight of the parts when sending the invoice (with the shipping costs included)? Because i assume you will start picking the order after the payment is received and only then know the total weight of order.

[@BrickArena]

I rarely estimate these days as I use automated checkout, so I am usually already paid at the point I know I've sold something. Basically, Bricklink knows the weight of the parts, it just doesn't know the packaging weight. BUT there are some things you can do with the shipping methods i.e. add a weight margin to cover the postage costs. Occasionally I lose out a little on postage as I only charge cost and if the weight is over at all I am out of pocket. You should investigate shipping methods more and check the forums for more detailed responses.

[@LG-jt3lr]

Enjoyed the video. Well organized and informative. I'm just a Lego fan buying Lego for my kids, but I enjoy learning about all things Lego. I don't plan on opening a store, but your videos are filled with good info.

[@BrickArena]

Glad you enjoyed the video. I can understand the fascination as I too am fascinated by the topic.

[@BrickBakery]

Wauw - I really like your in-depth approach to this - you must have done a lot of thinking concering your own store! I'm impressed! A lot of great suggestions for things to take into consideration when buying stock! I especially like that you discussed the price at purchase vs. the ease of reselling parts - that's something I hadn't really considered before! Thanks for this great insight into brick-store'ing :-D Keep up the great work! :-)

[@BrickArena]

Thanks BB glad you found something of interest in it. I know this isn't the kind of video that will appeal to all my subscribers but hopefully, it serves a small part of the community.

[@BrickBakery]

Brick Arena maybe not for everyone - that’s true! But I think the usefulness for a particular few outweighs the niche focus by far!

[@BlockHeadUK]

Some very useful info there, thanks. 👍 Coincidentally, while I was watching this, I had an email from BL telling me you have shipped my order! Spooky... 👻

[@BrickArena]

Haha that is spooky :) Thanks for the comment Caz and the order,

[@RogueTransformations]

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate you guys and the hard work you put in. I am always in need of new parts and am grateful to be able to get them!

[@BrickArena]

Thanks! Most people don’t appreciate the hard work that goes into running a store. Thanks for being one of those that do. 👍

[@candycrusher45]

Hi Brick Arena, I've been binge watching your videos. I've had a store open for a little over a month now and am soaking in all of your knowledge. Before I opened on Bricklink I sold minifigures on eBay. I did very well but it felt a little creepy. One guy tried to say I didn't send him real LEGO (on a very expensive) figure. I had another "snipe" bid on a Star Wars figure that seemed suspicious right afterwards. ID opened 2 days, no feedback, last minute bidder, etc. eBay really has no seller protections. Have you had to deal with fraud? I'm curious about your thoughts? Thank you!

[@BrickArena]

I can't say I've encountered much in the way of fraud. from my experience the Lego community has been very honest and transparent. The only instance I can think of was actually on eBay also so maybe this says more about eBay buyers than those on Bricklink & Brickowl

[@candycrusher45]

@@BrickArena yes I was referring to eBay.

[@kevinseymour6964]

Great video once again, very informative. Keep up the great vids.

[@BrickArena]

Thanks mate! I know you don't need this, but glad you think its OK :)

[@julianhunt8603]

Is there somewhere you can check the value of a set parted out? Not the value the set sells for sealed but the amount you would earn from parting out given sets? Spent some time looking around and couldn't find anywhere

[@BrickArena]

Are you a registered seller on Bricklink? There is an option to the see the part out value of a set. You can see the current value based on the last 6 months sales for the parts contained in the set as well as the current value based on parts for sale currently.

[@Gwerriera]

Hi, i got another question for you. Im using brickstock atm for create my inventory. In your video you show that you can mass-upload your stock to bricklick. But in my brickstock (free version) i do not have the option for that. Do i need the paid version te be able to mass upload to bricklink? Best regards

[@Unbrickme]

Hi! Great Video! You definitely have a new subscriber! ;)

[@BrickArena]

Thanks! Glad you found it useful. Thanks for subbing.

[@gamerforever6185]

Brilliant video

[@BrickArena]

Thanks! 👍🏻

[@audiotron1003]

I try to use bricks and pieces for parts brickkiln tends to be a last resort along with eBay.

[@BrickArena]

Outrageous!! Haha I think it’s all about buying from the place that best suits you. My criteria would be based on availability, price and speed of delivery

[@lkbricks3436]

Great viedo just to let you know I saw the 1,500 piece classic box for £30 in Asda if you instrested. 😀

[@BrickArena]

Thanks for the heads up mate. Definitely interested if my local has them.

[@chunkhunk47]

Hi keith.whats keeper ????

[@BrickArena]

Keeper? Not sure hat your referring to. Do I mention this in the video?

[@chunkhunk47]

@@BrickArena morning..yes its keepa.iv got it now.trying to figure it out

[@BrickArena]

Oh yeah of course. Very useful!!

[@chunkhunk47]

@@BrickArena not sure how to.use it..not very tech savvie on thos site yet

[@Gwerriera]

I want to thank you for this excellent video. I didden't espect you aqtually making a video about my question and other people's to. This is really helpfull for starters so i hope you make more of these kind of video's. :)

[@BrickArena]

Thanks Erika, hope this addressed your question and you were able to take something useful from it.

[@yoyobenjo1]

Nun 1 reason for selling part is profit or why bother creating a store. Ur reasons are very repetitive during this video.

[@BrickArena]

Yes of course profit is why we sell, but some people seem to think you just need to buy at a certain discount to make a profit, which I don’t believe is the case. There a bit more to it. Sorry for being repetitive.