Is buying LEGO bulk a waste of money and time? My experience...

An area of the LEGO hobby I have often thought about but never partook in was buying LEGO bulk. It seems a bit of a gamble with very occasional big pay offs, but a lot of work. With limited storage i wasn't sure if it was for me. So in this video I talk about my experience and what I think you need to bear in mind if you want to try this too.
Johanna x
-----
If you'd like to support the channel feel free to become a member! You'll get access to the discord server and get added to the membership board :D
/ @highteatoys
Follow me on instagram
/ highteatoys

[@LAQuadling]

I've almost exclusively bought bulk lots of LEGO over the past 5 years. I personally don't care about the condition of the pieces, I've so far not had too many that were in poor shape. I'll even buy lots with discolored pieces and spend time to restore them. Most of the lots have been in great shape, one was in like new condition (and they were 30 year old sets!). I am a vintage LEGO collector, so I think that does factor into this collecting decision. Buying bulk lots has been the most cost effective way for me to acquire rare or expensive sets. I've acquired sets from the original pirate ship (6285 "Black Seas Barracuda") to the Western fort (6769 "Fort Legoredo") to the rare Castle tavern (6067 "Guarded Inn"). It does have its downsides, like getting duplicates of the same set. I haven't sold any LEGO before, I'll just inventory and move on to the next set... I do find it interesting what other collectors consider to be "rare" sets, especially when I own 5 or 6 of that set! (and they were all acquired through bulk lots...). Perhaps this shows which sets sold well back in the day (I'm still trying to figure it out), but I can definitely tell you which sets are actually "rare" verses ones collectors have inflated the price of today. Anyways, bulk lots have been a great way for me to build a large collection of vintage LEGO sets.

[@HighTeaToys]

That is so interesting, I personally like buying bulk lots thought the thing that restrains me is the space I have available to me to sort and store the parts. When you get new bulk lots it's like a treasure dive. I love it. It is pretty time intensive. I personally like the modern LEGO more then the old sets so the bulk I get is generally just for parts for MOCs and other projects. Love hearing from people who love LEGO too but in such different ways to me. So cool! :D

[@TheLegoStar]

£35 is amazing for that many bricks!!! Sets don’t really matter , but all those bricks to create MOCs is awesome!!! I found a great load at goodwill here in the states … 3 HUGE garbage bags for $35 and $45… filled 3 giant storage tubs! I’ve only just begun really sorting them! Bulk is a great way to add to your brick collection for building!

[@gcbragg]

The local "used goods" store sells bags of random Lego parts from donations. I've learned to check carefully to make sure that they contain genuine Lego. I've gotten some strange bits in them - not only "non-Lego bricks" but things like a shard of broken glass, the (used) reagent vial from a COVID test, and thumbtacks. Also, some dirty so-and-so keeps ripping the bags open to steal the minifigures in them.

[@simonmoss101]

I’ve never bought a job lot of Lego as such but have bought used 2x2, 2x3 & 2x4 bricks for use in MILS plates. I can understand buying bulk like you did as you never know what you’re going to unearth.

[@JRodonBricks]

You make a great point about the "cost" of each one's time. That's the main reason I don't bulk buy LEGO. I simply don't have the time to invest. I still have a box of old LEGO parts from when I was a kid to separate and wash ... Besides it's rare to find any decent deals in my area (Portugal) and I would never sell LEGO, I always think it might become handy in the future 😂

[@owenjones6014]

I have about 3 huge containers of Broken up licensed and unlicensed Lego sets and I have no idea what to do with them. I tried to rebuild sets but it got so stressful I think eBay is gonna have to be my next solution. And you make a good point Johanna about the price you should pay for a job lot, as a would be stupid enough to buy a job lot just for one particular fig. Great vid!

[@HighTeaToys]

No worries. Hope it helped. I sold my job lot on as a job lot too. Sorting was crazy time consuming.

[@owenjones6014]

@@HighTeaToys yes it did help thanks! I have time off next week so I might go through stuff then.

[@TheLegoStar]

MOCs!!! Create MOCs!!! Lego is meant to create! Don’t get stuck with building sets only!

[@GSFBlade]

That was a great deal! I never view Lego sorting as work, as that's my happy-time :)

[@HighTeaToys]

I would normally agree, but my back did really ache and the bricks were really rather dirty. I do really love the bits that I have now.

[@TheLegoStar]

I sort while watching tv… bins all over my bed as I dump out bin after bin of my unsorted LEGO!!! I have 2 friends who’ve offered to help me sort… but I don’t think they understand what they’d be getting into!😮

[@GSFBlade]

@@TheLegoStar I prefer to sort alone as well, quite often on the floor in front of the TV 😁

[@thatoneidiotnathan]

I got some bulk from one of my brothers friends, I don't know if I'd ever buy some but I got some fu ln parts!

[@CardmakerNr1]

Good and realistic assessment of buying bulk Lego. I love that you point out it’s not just glory and fun but a lot of work and time consuming.

[@mikeshaffer1169]

That's a steal! Ive been going through a lot I got on eBay for the last week. First thing I do is put it all into a mesh laundry bag for delicates give it a good soapy wash in sink then layout out to dry. I enjoy sorting and trying to identify sets and find all parts for set.

[@trippin_ninja]

This was prefectly timed for me as I just started to look into big lot purchases. Everything has been a little too pricey so far but I think you did really well on this purchase. Hoping to find something similar one day. It’s got me thinking about garage sales even and I haven’t been to one of those in years!

[@TheLegoStar]

Do you have a third party lego store near you? Mine sells bulk LEGO by the pound! I only build in black & white so I go and spend a couple hours sorting through to find black & white pieces! It’s such a good way to stick up for my MOCs and Recolours of lego modulars!

[@automatticcomics]

Great job lot. But agreed it’s very time consuming. My lot is never ending

[@bricksnotblox7857]

That was a great deal I buy a lot of bulk lots it's like a treasure hunt

[@linkinparkroxx]

1. Great deal you got here. Really helpful if the people know your hobby and also look for potential deals on their various platforms. 2. Your hair looks absolutely incredible.

[@plexnbrown760]

I listen to books and just sort 30 minutes to an hr a day. I have bought 100+ pounds of Lego. Life saver when my kids rebuild sets not matter how careful we are parts go missing

[@gjacobson76]

If it takes you a long time to sort a bulk lot, you're doing it wrong. I have a few simple steps that I follow and can sort quickly. I first pick out all the bulky pieces. I then set up bins to sort in to. I have general categories I use for my first sort. 1x brick, 2x brick , tile, plate, sticker/ printed, technic, car parts, landscape, doors and windows, and minifigs and accessories, etc. You need a nice flat area to work on . When I get towards the end of my first sort I have a lot of small parts left. For those, I sort a handful at a time on a tray ment for sorting small parts, (available through Harbor Freight in the US). Then as I am putting away my pre sorted parts they get sorted to the appropriate bins. This is my system that I use. It works nicely for our needs. Bonus tip to make sorting go faster.....slide the part on the sorting table in to piles, then slide them in to your bin. Picking up each piece is a waste of time. I can sort 20 pounds of Lego in a few hours. Find what works for you and look for ways to improve your efficiency. Also bulk lots are a great way to find retired sets, even if the sets are incomplete, you can order the missing parts from Bricklink of similar site. I am mainly a moc builder so bulk lots are a great way to get cheap parts. For non Lego bricks I save them for filler brick for Mils plates, or places they won't be seen. Cheers

[@Anthony-ot8vl]

Buying mystery bulk is fun! Time consuming but it's relaxing. You learn a lot.

[@Christian_M10]

That's actually a lot of Lego! Great price but I'd definitely go crazy if I had to sort all of that 😁 Oh look at that beautiful cake next to my name! 🤩

[@Brooks_MB33]

I think it depends on what price you pay too on the value.

[@NICKYG2X3.]

hi!!! i do a lot of clearance work. come across lego. its very time consuming haha. i dont normally get tooo deep into it lol but thought i would watch you instead ahaha. nice collection btw SUBBED

[@td1559]

I like the term Bootlego for fake lego.

[@FoamSquatch]

I like to bulk buy lego because I love sorting, and it tickles the gambling desire I might get with a pretty safe chance of somewhat of a return.

[@colorado_offroad_lv]

It does take tons of time to sort through everything, especially if you plan on keeping everything. That's the main reason I haven't gotten any, I'm not even done sorting everything I own 😅 Mostly I feel like they're a good deal, especially in my area, just can't justify it with a ton of my own stuff to sort still

[@Jsdo1980]

The bear and the jaguar basically costs £35 together on Bricklink.

[@flx4711]

I am glad it worked out. I will be sure to keep an eye out for more bulk Lego so I can cause more problems for you, that is, if I don't get there first! 😆

[@HighTeaToys]

That sounds like a perfect plan 😃

[@gordonwerner]

Bulk Lego lots can be useful for getting random bricks to create MILS plates. BTW, did you keep the black skeleton with the glowing eyes?

[@HighTeaToys]

Totally agree. It came in so so helpful when working on my medieval village landscape. I think so. Though not sure.

[@natemr4482]

Great video johanna you got a great deal on Lego

[@Silverx50]

Price was great, don't see me scoring a bulk lot for that price here though. was wondering though. you have stated that you were going to start a bricklink store, didn't have an interest in using the pieces for the store or were the pieces not in the best of shape?

[@HighTeaToys]

There is always an option to do that. I think I’m worried the pieces aren’t in the right condition. Also I’m still in the process of trying g to figure out how a Bricklink store would work best. So I am not ready yet. I know people do buy bulk lots to fill their store. But it is so very time consuming.

[@Silverx50]

@@HighTeaToys ah okay that clears that up. Lego: time and space eater.

[@odj9901]

@@HighTeaToys You can end up spending weeks worth of time sorting and listing joblots to bricklink so taking the best bits and selling on the rest was definitely the best idea

[@ErwannBear]

Totally agree with u

[@sycodog]

i mean if the person is clear that its bulk x set then yes its worth it, but not if its just random sets and gambling on maybe finding something awesome

[@Mrcoolcup]

We’re do k buy the bulls at?

[@tinuszke]

Lol you got so lucky on this one. 35 pounds only for this quantity and then finding that many (star wars even) figures and expensive animals in it... I guess that bear alone is maybe worth 8 pounds or so.

[@morrishuijgen7658]

sick! how did you come in contact with the person you bought this lego from? like what app/site/social media did you use? do you buy more lego in bulk, if yes, do you have any tips? if not, than how do you buy your lego? thanks! edit: where are you from? :D

[@HighTeaToys]

So I was lucky and a friend of mine won this job lot in an action on eBay (I’m really bad at eBay). He buys job lots a lot so knows what to look out for. All I needed to do was collect it. It was only the first time I bought a job lot though. I tend to otherwise use Facebook marketplace for second hand sets or Bricklink for specific pieces I need for MOCs. Also I’m from the Netherlands :) your surname looks like you may be too?

[@morrishuijgen7658]

@@HighTeaToys hahaha vett, ik dacht al dat ik je accent een beetje herkende 😂 leuk je te ontmoeten! Heb je nog Facebook groups waar je de link van hebt? :D

[@Brooks_MB33]

Wow! That Star Wars girl (her name is Sabine) with the colorful hair is worth quite a lot I believe!!

[@HighTeaToys]

There were definitely some lovely little finds :)

[@broncsddt]

It just hurts me watching it. Sorting bulk. 🤮

[@HighTeaToys]

Odd. I thought you’d love it 😂

[@wahabrxhmxn]

the emoji in the thumbnail...

[@xor2086]

Omg! do you play Magic The Gathering? XD

[@HighTeaToys]

No I don't, though Ben has started getting into it hence why we have card and stuff around the house :)

[@xor2086]

@@HighTeaToys happy gaming for him!