Bricklink: Finding Parts and Using Wanted Lists

I'll be answering any Bricklink questions you might have down in the comments! Let me know if there's any other topics regarding Bricklink you'd like to see covered here.
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/ @cheeseystudios

[@tristanlee8495]

You would not believe the amount of times I want a piece but have no idea what it’s called on bricklink but I know a set it’s included in so I use the inventory breakdown to find it. Works every time.

[@CheeseyStudios]

It's either that or buying a microscope to try and read the silly little item ID hidden away on the bottom xD

[@BrickBrickProductions]

@@CheeseyStudios I do both. LOL. But I'm near sighted so...

[@catfish552]

Might be a useful tip for someone: "Decorated" and "pattern" will both find printed as well as stickered elements. So if you're not sure whether a pattern you're looking for is a print or sticker, or if you want to look at, say, all decorated 2x2 tiles, those are the search terms to use.

[@BDD_Builds]

Bro straight up calling out individual stores for over pricing those giant orange wheels 🤣

[@CheeseyStudios]

e x p o s e d lolololol

[@pinobluevogel6458]

There are stores (if you even would call them that) that are straight ripping people off, having prices that are 12x the market value. I have no idea who would be foolish enough to buy at these prices and how these stores are able to exist. I can imagine if you have rare minifigures that are both incredibly rare and have high demand, that the price can trend upwards at the bigger stores that feature a higher parts availability. They need to afford their high inventory amount in some way. But for normal parts, especially incredibly low demand things like these specific orange wheels in the video, having prices this high is just ridiculous and probably self-defeating in the long run.

[@Valiant1977]

​@@pinobluevogel6458when I started using Bricklink and had no clue, I fell for it once... Left a very sour taste... I'd love to protect newer buyers from this shit but then I'm sorry not an advocate for too much policing.

[@alexanderanderson7422]

I literally was just trying to place my first parts order to swap out the unattractive colors in the Dune Ornithopter set. I said to myself, "This is hard, I with there was a simple video" 2 hours later... BOOM! Video pops up in my feed without me even searching. There is a God! Thank you!

[@CheeseyStudios]

Ha! Perfect timing! ❤️

[@ATG_reviews]

4:18 You can change the settings so all options are always on display

[@CheeseyStudios]

Do let me know how! I've been looking for that feature all my life. xD

[@ATG_reviews]

@@CheeseyStudios My BL -> Settings -> My Search Settings -> Show More Filter Options as Default

[@CheeseyStudios]

@@ATG_reviews 🙏🙏🙏

[@ATG_reviews]

@@CheeseyStudios the least I can do :) Your channel is really inspiring to me. I even added the octagonal brick to my wanted list

[@pinobluevogel6458]

Thanks ATG reviews, for the tip!

[@pinobluevogel6458]

While the feature of wanted lists is excellent and most definitely something anyone should consider using, the auto buy option does have some drawbacks, especially in that it tries to get as many parts as it possibly can, while having price (and occasionally shipping) at a lower priority. One thing you can do in your wanted lists, is add a maximum price for a specific part or item, which isn't necessarily needed for parts that are cheap, but can be very useful to add if you are interested in specific minifigures, animals or full sets. It takes a bit of work, but it assures that it will only show up in the auto-search if you select the exclude 'Lots over max price' option. Thanks for showing people around in Bricklink for a bit, it is certainly something I would have wanted, when I was a new user!

[@CheeseyStudios]

It's been great to see that a lot of people are finding it useful already! I definitely agree that not relying too much on the automation is a good thing, but it all depends on what kind of wanted lists you have. My default wanted list with 75 rare discontinued items would absolutely kill the wallet with a auto buy lolol

[@pinobluevogel6458]

@@CheeseyStudios You sir, are a bit of a specialist with the pieces that you seem to randomly want / find :)

[@ClaudevonRiegan_]

I genuinely appreciate this video! Thank you for making this!!

[@SandRedFan]

Super helpful video! Thank you!

[@unknown_gamer8200]

As someone feom the UK I've actually found it about the same price to get my pieces from a store out of the uk even though the shipping is so expensive because the stores in the uk don't seem to be as big as ones abroad so I'd have to of done more smaller orders which would of meant more postage. So it worked put about the same. Just thought I'd say that just so people check to see whats cheaper

[@CheeseyStudios]

That's very good to know!

[@pinobluevogel6458]

Often I've heard as a tip from MOC builders that use a ton of parts that they ship from Germany for very large parts orders. Even lego builders from the US tend to do this, as the incredibly low per part pricing in some of the larger german stores outweigh the high shipping costs. If you need hundreds of specific parts, saving a few cents of an individual part can make for such a cheaper lot price, that the 15-20 dollar extra shipping is still worth it. For some reason, Germany has quite a few incredibly large stores that have excellent bulk prices. This is not where you would buy your minifigs, but you could get your building materials like bricks, plates and tiles from here for sure.

[@roddlez]

It is indeed a dark, dark road… Feels like Morpheus should be here beckoning us Neos down a deep rabbit hole Learned a few new tricks like the XML lists! Thanks! “But if you take the red brick…”

[@CheeseyStudios]

such a slippery slope.... but it's nice down here

[@bricksfordom]

Fantastic guide, I have been using bricklink for a few months now, but I still learned an abbundance of new tips and tricks, so thank you

[@funnyfoxbiome]

Haha, interesting seeing how people use bricklink differently. I myself almost exclusively use the colour guide as it's easier for me to remember what colour the piece I'm looking for comes in and what category it belongs to. It's also easier for me to find interesting pieces in niche colours, as the kinds of mocs I'm building are more colour and texture focused (bionicle).

[@CheeseyStudios]

Bionicle parts have to be so hard to find using the search. I don't even know how you'd start lol! I do love the color guide too - I use it a lot when trying to find detailing parts for a palette I'm building in.

[@RReginaPhalange]

Thank you so much for this video. It's very helpful.

[@CheeseyStudios]

So glad to hear it!

[@joannakinsey6696]

Thank you for this! I have a list of parts I need to buy that I couldn't get at our local brick shop and, as I have yet to use Bricklink, I wasn't up on how to find them at the same store or the least number of stores. Thanks for saving me the time to figure it out on my own. Your content is always well thought out and stellar.

[@CheeseyStudios]

That means a lot, thank you! I'm so glad this'll be useful to you.

[@brenengjesdal9023]

So glad you made this video. At my LEGO store, I recommend bricklink to many customers who need help finding parts for their own builds, and I always say they should watch youtube tutorials about the website because it would take hours for me to explain it all in a store setting. I can now usher them to your video!

[@CheeseyStudios]

That's fantastic! Hopefully this'll help all sorts of people in the future

[@karu_kuru]

Tysm I was searching for an individual lego market online :D

[@CheeseyStudios]

No problem! I'm glad this was helpful ❤️

[@aaronhoes]

Great video on a topic that does not get enough documentation. You could do a whole tutorial series on this.

[@CheeseyStudios]

Honestly a series would be great! I can think of a few other topics I'd love to cover.

[@dawsonduke3333]

Thank you so much for making this. I've always had a hard time on bricklink.

[@CheeseyStudios]

Glad I could help!

[@GrumpyJ83]

Very good info..

[@GrumpyJ83]

@@jamnic101 Atlanta Brick Co or Orlando brick co , if you go on their websites .. they have loads of early Harry Potter

[@CheeseyStudios]

Grumpy is no stranger to buying LEGO either! 🤣

[@M0torsagmannen]

i have been wondering how to actually use bricklink efficiently, so this video is a great help. im not really going to put in any huge orders but finding the right seller for the right pieces to buy together can be a pain.

[@CheeseyStudios]

I'm so glad this actually has been useful to some people! Love to hear it

[@jaycobarias529]

You were right about how dangerous bricklink is. Now I have an addiction, and I see the main page of bricklink more times I see a chair..

[@CheeseyStudios]

Welcome to the club. xD

[@edikid1206]

As someone who doesn’t use bricklink a lot this was pretty helpful.

[@CheeseyStudios]

Love to hear it! Really glad this has been useful

[@Anfernyrocks]

This is a perfectly timed video I haven't been a member in quite a while and I JUST started using bricklink to find minecraft moc parts last month and the site is very overwhelming and its hard to buy with how many shops you have to look through

[@CheeseyStudios]

That's awesome! I hope this pointed you in the right direction. Just drop a comment if you have any other questions though, and I'll do my best to help :)

[@jolt5644]

Thanks Cheesey!

[@CheeseyStudios]

No problem!

[@chuckschwa]

I came out of my lego dark ages in 2012 and discovered bricklink in 2014. I didn't know it at the time, but i was becoming "Bricklink Literate" finding loopholes for the best deals on parts, figures and sets. Since Lego owned the secondary market, the secret's out. Everyone is on bricklink now, and what used to be affordable is expensive, and expensive is now unattainable. I'm just lucky I got my foot in the door when I did

[@CheeseyStudios]

I'm pretty jealous, ha! Yeah, everything is very competitive and a bit greedy these days. I found a few good deals when I first got in a few years before the pandemic, but you have to be reallllly quick these days to get anything decent.

[@pinobluevogel6458]

A lot of this is relative value, what it's worth to the buyer. As an example: I would love me some Raven Knight minifigures, or some Bear Knights. But by no means am I paying 15+ dollars (or 30+ in some cases) for a single figure. The only reason the price is this high, is that people with far too much disposable income spend this amount without thinking, increasing market prices to insane heights, not reflecting the actual value of the plastic, which still is about 3-4 dollars at most if you include accessories. It is artificial scarcity and bubble economy at work. There are still deals to be had, but not on very scarce things, or stuff with high desirabillity. I am amazed at how much basic parts I can get for a few cents per piece. It is still expensive to make something large, but it is not completely unaffordable. As long as LEGO has reasonable prices and keeps churning out sets, the pieces will remain at reasonable prices too.

[@4theblocks]

Haha! It is indeed a dark road. So many nice parts in so many different colors! Why do I want ‘em all? 😂

[@CheeseyStudios]

I relate so deeply

[@TeusGeerling]

This helps me out a lot thank you Cheesey. :)

[@SCAVIPLEGOMINECRAFT]

very useful video.

[@satellachannel6423]

Nice video for beginners (i still learned a few tricks with the Wanted List). The search bar is so sensitive it's basically useless unless you know exactly how the name of the piece is spelled. Fair game for 2x2 plate and such but let's search for a specific printed piece or a Bionicle limb and good luck. And by the way you cant name any color in the search bar. "2x2 brick with printed black square"? Wont work. My advice is to search for a whole set you know include the piece you seek, look at the inventory and pick what you need from there, changing the color.

[@CheeseyStudios]

I was trying to see if I had any valuable Bonkle masks once, and yeah, impossible. I just had to go on Brickset and look at the sets until I recognized one lol

[@satellachannel6423]

@@CheeseyStudios xD *What!? You mean you didn't know your mask is actually named the Kanohi Mahohohoiikhi!?

[@HerCeleryPancakes]

Bricklink’s got a lot going for it no doubt, but I’m not sure the loss of the flesh names hit pretty dang hard xD great vid Caleb isn’t as useful as someone who uses bricklink almost an hour a day but great to see!

[@CheeseyStudios]

still can't believe they did that >:(

[@jamiesworld1690]

Brinklink is best tool i boughr all my pieces from bricklink as there are soevfic3,quanity sbd colour need

[@jedisquidward]

Based on your own experience, what do you find to be the best way to be notified when a certain part is finally made in a color you need?

[@pinobluevogel6458]

Great question!

[@CheeseyStudios]

That is the one advantage of being able to add recolors that don't exist to a wanted list - there is an option there to be notified when someone uploads the part to Bricklink! That's probably the easiest way to do it. You can also keep an eye on newelementary.com to see what new pieces are added each month.

[@GuanoLad]

I'm curious on how to find thematically appropriate parts, especially minifigure parts for e.g. a Medieval MOC, without being specifically Castle, Harry Potter, LOTR, etc. I don't need elves or trolls or wizards or knights, i want townsfolk, fitting a general range of characters that would fit the setting. And I'm sure other themes for other settings.

[@CheeseyStudios]

I bet Brickset.com would do a better job of doing that. I haven't checked with minifigures, but sets and other elements are often given tags like that to make searching easier

[@FrontierTheory]

The king of lego has returned to enlighten us 🙏

[@CheeseyStudios]

I gotchu :)

[@BrickBrickProductions]

Did I see the words Star Wars, Clone Trooper, and Mandalorian in your search bar? Pleas tell me this means you are getting into Star Wars!

[@CheeseyStudios]

Those are just the default most popular searches haha

[@Henry-sy7yd]

….. It’s like Caleb can read my mind and make the perfect video for me…

[@CheeseyStudios]

That's awesome! Glad it's been useful :D

[@MatejBeranek]

great video!

[@CheeseyStudios]

Appreciate it!

[@-RandoBando-]

THANKS!!!!

[@EvanBlenko]

My biggest problem is when I've made a cart at a store and want to browse them for any other wanted pieces. Is there any way to easily pull up if a given store has any of your wanted pieces once you've already made a cart?

[@CheeseyStudios]

Yes, definitely! Just head back to the store, and you'll find a specific "Wanted List" tab when browsing items. It'll be by the feedback tab

[@pinobluevogel6458]

This is probably the most important feature bricklink has, assuming you use the 'wanted list' feature. It can save on tons of shipping costs to always do this. I was actively looking for it in the video, maybe for a part 2 :) Even if you use the 'auto-buy' feature, you can always go to the store page itself and look through their inventory, or your wanted section for that store. (if they have any available, they should be in that tab)

[@watersleaper]

You should cover the lego ideas 80s submissions before they go into finalists, free content, finalists are chosen april 16

[@CheeseyStudios]

Interesting - I hadn't heard of this. I'll have to check it out!

[@watersleaper]

@@CheeseyStudios It's been extended to until April 26th

[@michaelvavrek8159]

Will you be at Brickworld* Milwaukee next weekend? Great work!

[@CheeseyStudios]

I will not sadly 😪

[@michaelvavrek8159]

Always next year! 😊

[@DaKoalaBoi]

Well thanks alot, this comes in handy! Also do you ever plan on making any other big mocs in the near future?

[@CheeseyStudios]

Maybe not the near future - definitely running into space issues at the moment lol! Once the island castle is dismantled I'll start thinking about what's next

[@juicejosh1520]

I'm curious, do you have a job outside of KZbin? A lot of time and effort is put into builds like the Minecraft series and such, and I'm curious!

[@CheeseyStudios]

Yeah, 100%! I'd love to be able to do KZbin full time, but it just isn't financially feasible. I work a regular 9-5 outside of this, and it's great for stability when the YT ad revenue goes all over the place haha!

[@juicejosh1520]

@@CheeseyStudios Yeah, KZbin is hard to make a living off of I would imagine. If you don't mind, what do you do?

[@BM-yy8db]

Perhaps you might be able to help answer a question I've been having. A few apps and services have been popping up where you can take a photo of a bunch of unsorted Lego, where it'll recognize all the bricks in the photo and provide you with a list of instructions of stuff you can make with them, as well as a recent service I got an ad for where you can send your unsorted Lego to them and they will sort, clean, and send it back for a fee, as well as providing you with similar such lists. My problem is that I would love to use an app or service like that to rebuild all my childhood sets that are just an unsorted mess across several drawers and cabinets right now, and from what I could tell last I checked, none of those apps and services provided a list of actual Lego set instructions, just instructions for unofficial fanmade sets. Do you know of any apps or services already out, or in the works, that does something like that which works with actual existing Lego setlists?

[@CheeseyStudios]

Unfortunately, I've not experimented with anything like that yet, but I have heard about it! When going through bulk lots, I usually look for unusual parts - things like stickered elements, minifigures, etc - that may help point you to a specific set. I'd pull pieces like that, and see if one of the apps can help you locate which set or set(s) it came from

[@pinobluevogel6458]

There are some decent youtubers out there that are more into buying bulk lots, explaining over several videos what they do to clean, sort and rebuild the sets they were part of. If you search for 'buying and sorting bulk lego' or 'restoring lego sets' you will probably find a few of them that I've seen as well. The biggest thing is trying to remember the sets that you DO know that you have. The easiest way is to just look at pictures of box art or instructions. As far as I know, there are quite a few sites offering official lego instructions which you should be able to find with a simple search online. It is a lot of work to do yourself, but despite being a bit of a challenge, it can be a fun experience. At least Bricklink itself has inventory parts list for all lego sets, so if you figured out you have a specific set, it shouldn't be too hard to find them in your pile of lego. If you would really dislike the idea of cleaning, sorting and looking through your lego yourself, this still isn't a great option, but at least it saves you the money a 3rd party would ask for it.

[@reconwarroirthetrue1685]

Do i have to wait for a Notification bell 🔔 for when i know that i can buy or the store has received the money 💰/payment???

[@CheeseyStudios]

All stores operate differently. Many have automatic checkout! Check the terms of any store before purchasing. :)

[@MatthewSytsma]

Also, as a seller, please settle your disputes before leaving a feedback. Most times the seller is willing to fix the error as we are all human and make mistakes sometimes. Base your feedback on how accommodating the seller is to fix the mistake they made.

[@CheeseyStudios]

This ^^^

[@ARDIZsq]

The one thing I don’t like is that Bricklink doesn’t show the shipping for your order(s). Sure, the pieces might total to a few dollars, but what’s the shipping? Free? A few bucks? Some insane amount? It’d be nice if they let you know ahead of time so you know if you should go back and pick out more parts. Seems like a great service, if a bit intimidating.

[@CheeseyStudios]

Yeah, the shipping can always be such a turn off. I love finding stores that have a quick and easy "Free shipping on orders over #" policy

[@digitalrandomart3049]

most stores show upfront cost of shipping

[@pinobluevogel6458]

The main issue with shipping is that it is different for the amount of LEGO you buy, where the seller is located and where you are located yourself. Just about everyone advises to buy mostly from local stores, which nearly always has the cheapest shipping you could ever get. I know in my country, the cheapest shipping options are small letters that can contain a small number of smaller parts and can fit in the mailbox easily. Those are usually at around 2 euros. (or close to 2 dollars) International shipping though, can get really expensive. I've seen costs to anywhere as high as 30 euros (which is also close to the dollar amount, about 32) Also, a lot of stores include handling costs, which are incredibly misleading, as that can easily turn a good deal into a very expensive bad one. In my opinion this should be included in the piece price, not as an unseen factor that you can only see after you've carefully selected your parts and spent 20-30 minutes shopping. I've had many nights where I've been trying to complete my wanted lists manually for decent prices, only to having to empty my carts at different stores several times in disgust, just because the shipping and/or handling turned out to be way more than the parts I ordered. I can perfectly understand someone has to look up and gather those 300 parts I was going to order, but at least include this in the part price, not at the end where I have to pay 35 euros for an order that is less than half that amount :)

[@digitalrandomart3049]

@@pinobluevogel6458 i think the main issue with your solution would be that any store that does it would be punished with less sales

[@Valiant1977]

Hi, when you build a wanted list, you can select items you want to buy/focus on from that list. Is there a way to tell Bricklink that certain items HAVE to be included and others are more optional, if you know what I mean? For example: I have a wanted list of 20 items. Of that list I want to see if I can buy a dinosaur, a helmet and a torso but I definitely want the dinosaur, the other items are a plus. If that function does not exist, where can I request that? Thank you for any help.

[@CheeseyStudios]

I find myself in this same situation all the time too! I am currently not aware of a solution. I'll have to see if there's a suggestion forum on the website.

[@Valiant1977]

@@CheeseyStudios if you find that answer, I'd love to hear it! Also, I really like and appreciate your content! 👊🏼😁👍🏼

[@Valiant1977]

​@@CheeseyStudiosI found out I can now 'lock' items when ordering from wanted lists, so they have to be included! When searching for stores, look left and click "wanted items". On the images of your (selected) items there is a padlock item. If you close that by clicking it, it will look for stores that include that item/those items and possibly others. It works great! 😊 I hope you read this.

[@DREDD_BOT]

I've never used bricklink in my life I usually just get Lego from stores Goodwill thrift stores and the Lego store

[@CheeseyStudios]

That works too!

[@EntretuGaming]

What do you do when you need a part in your wanted list that you don't care which variant it is ?

[@CheeseyStudios]

That's a situation where I'd add both (or more depending) variants to the list, and manually choose which stores to order from. You can then remove the unneeded variants from your cart if a store has multiple types.

[@EpicoNubletto]

Thank you for calling out the stores that way overprice stuff! Like 4,6x as much per item! Ugh 😑 not sure how / whyanyone buys from them, unless it’s something umcommon Also, yes, it is a very dark road to travel down 😂

[@CheeseyStudios]

Craziest things I see on the expensive stores is negative feedback that says "store was expensive!!!" bro, then why'd you choose to shop there xD

[@legendus1159]

How can you set condition to new to all intems on wanted list at once?

[@CheeseyStudios]

1) Open your desired wanted list 2) Select all items by using the topmost checkbox 3) Click "Apply: Condition" just to the right of that checkbox Let me know if that works :)

[@J4Cinema]

Tbh, sometimes I just use BrickLink to look at sets I never had 😅

[@CheeseyStudios]

lol! Brickset.com is always my go-to for that. They've got lovely higher-resolution images xD

[@J4Cinema]

@@CheeseyStudios ah yes, but with BrickLink there is the danger of impulsively buying a wildly expensive vintage set. Resisting the temptation is part of the thrill!!

[@CheeseyStudios]

@@J4Cinema LOL

[@imahaloguy]

“For eight dollars!!!” 😵

[@CheeseyStudios]

some bricklink sellers be crazy

[@imahaloguy]

@@CheeseyStudios and when you message them saying hey I'd like to buy from you but your stuff is overpriced by 500%, they just say tough luck. 💀

[@milo_bricks9376]

How would you say you get the best price through easy buy or the buy all?

[@CheeseyStudios]

Good question! Bricklink has so many confusing and inconsistent names haha. Easy Buy looks to be the same as 'Buy All + Auto-select.' I prefer the latter option simply because you can see more stores and it's easier to see what you're getting from which store right away. Either works fine though, and both will calculate the best price!

[@pinobluevogel6458]

If you want the best prices, you should always look at the individual part itself manually (or set or minifigure) and then check out the store, to see what else that store has to offer that you might want or need. You also need to check on how expensive shipping is, as that can vary greatly as well. The auro-buy feature is great if you want to save on shipping costs and on completing orders as fast as possible, but it is nearly always more expensive than doing the work manually. Since time is also expensive, this might not be such a bad thing, but keep it in mind.

[@satellachannel6423]

*Blue Blade Market* shop owner watching the video: 😨

[@CheeseyStudios]

lol poor blue blade market

[@springtrapthebuilder4918]

How can you dislike a store, and I hope it's not permanent because there are some stores that I just don't want to show up if I use automatic

[@CheeseyStudios]

You can always still visit a disliked store and change their status. :) To dislike or like a store, head to that store and click the "Favorite Stores" tab on the top right! You'll be able to bookmark it there.

[@SCAVIPLEGOMINECRAFT]

#Cheeseystudios notice me please!!!

[@CheeseyStudios]

OKAY

[@SCAVIPLEGOMINECRAFT]

rate my homemade product, I made it in your style.

[@Yarik-lego]

Hmmm

[@SCAVIPLEGOMINECRAFT]

#Cheeseystudios I assembled my sasodlka in your style, I will be glad if you appreciate it

[@CheeseyStudios]

I just saw it! It looks really cool

[@SCAVIPLEGOMINECRAFT]

​@@CheeseyStudiosIt’s a pity that my number of parts does not allow me to create something large-scale

[@jamiesworld1690]

I seesrcg by item numbet or piece number

[@jayecks1]

I honestly do not know how to use Bricklinks

[@CheeseyStudios]

You came to the right place :)

[@Makeyme_]

FoR eIGhT dOLLaRss 👴

[@CheeseyStudios]

🤣🤣🤣

[@littleaudity]

bricklink date bricklink date bricklink date