How to acquire large amount of Lego?

[pijani]

Dear friends,

I would like to buy a large amount of Brick 1 x 2 because I use them as mostly for building. When I say "large amount" a mean few thousands (8.000 - 10.000) in black or red color. What are my options to pass the cheapest? The seller should be in Europe so I can pick it up myself...

Any ideas? I do hope that bricklink will be my last resort, and that I could buy this bricks directly from Lego company, thus getting a discount?

Any ideas that could help are greatly appreciated

With regards,
Ivan Angeli



Edit: While we are on the subject, I was wandering about Lego shops in USA - as I understand, You pay for cup, and then fill it with any Lego bricks that are available. If that is so, (approximately) how many, for example transparent 1x2 bricks can one acquire with one cup (and at what price)

Some Lego bricks are harder to get then others in my country

[Ye Olde Republic]

I would suggest that if you hope to buy directly from LEGO, contact them. I'd be very surprised if any member here knows of a some super secret method of acquiring LEGO, they probably aren't likely to divulge that information and spoil their avenue to inexpensive brick. I would wager that you're going to get a lot of "go to bricklink" type replies.

Go to bricklink. Especially because you want to buy black and red brick, I'm sure you'll be able to find huge quantities of those for extremely reasonable prices being such common colours.

[Frank_Lloyd_Knight]

In my opinion, Bricklink ought to be your starting reference point rather than a last resort. Albeit I'm looking at prices in U.S. dollars, but a quick search on bricklink showed a seller in Poland with 20,000 red 1x2s at $0.015 per brick, compared to prices on Lego's Pick a Brick of $0.15 for the same element. Even if Lego offered some form of discount for volume, it's hard to imagine them cutting 90% of their price.

[Legoorci]

Hello,
I can't answer you, what is the cheapest, but I can tell you about Pick a Brick.
Here (in the german Lego Stores) a little cup costs 9€ and a large costs 16€.
Some guys tryed it out how many 1x2 Bricks fit in. If they just throw them in, they get 510 in.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/notenoughb ... 909690005/
If they use their method, they get 650 in, but it takes some time (I think about a hour).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/notenoughb ... otostream/


I think that Lugbulg can't help you with such a brick...

Hope I could help you,
Legoorci

Ps: What do you want to build with these bricks in these colors?

[pijani]

Thank you very much for your answers, there is a lot of logic in those opinions. I've already contacted seller in Germany

Ps: What do you want to build with these bricks in these colors?

Majority of my bricks are red and black see Ust Natha and Chaulssin

[davee123]

Options:

LUGBULK: If your local club is involved in the process, and you can wait a long time. Very cheap, will let you buy a few thousand (depending on the details of your restrictions), but may not give you enough. Might work, might not.

BrickLink: Scout it out and see what you can get!

Pick-A-Brick, LEGO Brand Retail: Fill up a cup, see what you can get. I've bought cups of 1x2's with counts of 449 and 438, and you can fit more if you sit there and assemble the bricks together. So you'd want in the ballpark of 20 cups, which is... uh... hm. It's been so long since I bought a large PAB, I'm not sure what the current price is. $13.00 USD per cup or something? I'm sure someone here can answer that.

Pick-A-Brick Online: BWHAHAHA! That'd be way too expensive. Plus, there's a possibility that they'd put a limit on the number you can order at once (there have been rumors that there's a cap that's not actively enforced of something like a max of 50 of any one part/color)

Pick-A-Brick LEGOLAND: Again, way too expensive. They charge by weight.

Secret Backroom Deals with LEGO: Some people can swing this, some people can't. LEGO CPA's could do it (for obvious reasons), and certain nameless people have also been offered small orders of similar natures-- occasionally even for free! Typically these aren't recurring instances, though. Of everyone I know that's gotten a deal like this, they've almost NEVER actually asked outright, but have been proactively offered such deals by LEGO. Typically it's been for particular projects and/or for non-monetary compensation for some sort of services rendered to LEGO.

If you don't have any super-secret-contacts, you'll probably need to be ordering more than 10,000 bricks to make it worth LEGO's while. To put it in perspective, LUGBULK (which is a similar idea) probably would run in the 2,000 per person range (depending on the color)-- and if you've got 10-20 people in your club, then that'd be 20,000-40,000 bricks. So if you're looking outside of LUGBULK, I'd wager once it's in the 50,000 range, you might have a shot. Probably at LUGBULK prices, but I don't know.

DaveE

[plums_deify]

Options:

Secret Backroom Deals with LEGO: Some people can swing this, some people can't. LEGO CPA's could do it (for obvious reasons), and certain nameless people have also been offered small orders of similar natures-- occasionally even for free! Typically these aren't recurring instances, though. Of everyone I know that's gotten a deal like this, they've almost NEVER actually asked outright, but have been proactively offered such deals by LEGO. Typically it's been for particular projects and/or for non-monetary compensation for some sort of services rendered to LEGO.

If you have to ask about this, then it's simply not going to happen.

[pijani]

Dear friends,
I acquired 10.000 trough seller in Poland; I've arranged transportation by friend, so it came cheap.

And, now I want more

It is like an old Serbian tale: there was a caravan passing trough dark tunnel, it was pitch dark, and they were stepping on something strange, the sound was grinding and screechy, and if you touched, it was like little stones. And the horrified voice sad trough dark "who takes it will be sorry, who does not take it will be sorry" (also . Some people took few stones, others did not. And when they emerged to the sunlight, they saw that the stones were diamond: and the one who did not take it were sorry tat they did not, and the ones that did took were sorry that they did not take more

The same is with me I've already ordered 5000 more

[pijani]

Ok, it's been almost 3 and a half years from the moment I've made this topic; I've got here by accident (googling my name:))

At that moment, I had few hundreds 1x2 in red. Today, I have almost 100.000 in few colors, especially red, blue, black and trans clear.

the bottom line is that, when we put our mind to it, we can accomplish everything

I've established everything proposed trough the posts, from great bricklink deals, trough great relationships with Lego Company; friendly contacts with other AFOLs who live near PaBs, to a LUG.



If any member of the classic castle who is a builder wants advice and help, I am more then happy to lend a hand.
For all sensitive information I will use PM, for all other I can answer anywhere.
Please note that money was always problem for me, and now when it is not, I have more bricks then I have room in apartment i.e. money was not the factor in acquiring bricks, or in other words, with modest incomes you could do it too.

And, as a castle builder, I could point that 1x2 was the building material, but bricks that could make castle prettier are 1x2 and 2x2 slope and inverted slope, 1x4, 1x6 and 1x8 arches and 1x1 and 2x2 bricks - those basic really complement 1x2 bricks, and are relatively cheap.

Please notice, when I posted first post here, my mocs where like this:



and now are like this:



So, a (Lego) dreams can come true

[legoknight]

Wow...you're story is really inspiring! Hope that'll happen to me in my lifetime!

[mpoh98]

very inspiring, I which I had that many pieces. :/ I have been slowly acquiring bricks in 2 years, but have only gotten about 500 bricks. How in the world did you get so many!?

[Sir Erathor]

Wow, what a story! My collection is very small, but I'm slowly building it up, and I hope one day to be able to build a MOC like that!

[Fraslund]

I definitely feel you on the brick acquisitions. I didn't know what Bricklink was until I after I had done my first Moc (http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=4743854).

Certainly I think I have an advantage as I have a Lego store nearby, but I think your brick availability has steered you to create some really unique mocs. Many of your projects are very different from what you see from others which is great as you have developed your own style.

I do find that the single most important brick to have for a large scale build is the 1x2. Anytime you build elevation or rock landscape you have to have variable supports and the best way to get that is using 1x2 and plates. I wish I had 100,000 1x2 and 2x4 of any color simply for internal structure! 1x1 also get used quite a bit...

Anyways, great progression. You have really turned into an epic builder.

[pijani]

very inspiring, I which I had that many pieces. :/ I have been slowly acquiring bricks in 2 years, but have only gotten about 500 bricks. How in the world did you get so many!?

Where do you live? In what part of the world?
I have a big exhibit on 02.02.2014. and when it is finished, I will send you a hundred 1x2 in some color (would you like pink?:)) or blue, or red, and 100 1x2 trans clear plates, for water

I hope it will inspire you to build even more

The same goes for the Sir Erathor
(if you are minors your parent needs to ok this in an e-mail)

Don't worry, lego will pile up so quickly when you put your mind into it

And Fraslund, that is a pretty great moc for the first timer

[royalbrickcustoms]

Nice collection. I wish I had at least 2,000 1x1 round trans-medium blue round plates (studs) for water techniques.

~RBC