We Take A Look At Where To Purchase Second-Hand and Unwanted LEGO

No matter how big we build our blanket forts we still can’t manage to hide from the cost of living, yet we still need hobbies to make us smile. LEGO is a hobby for a lot of people and there are so many AFOLs out there now, but with bills to pay and mouths to feed we thought we would take a look at ways to make our hobby slightly cheaper so we can still afford to feed our mouths too!

OUTGROWN AND UNLOVED

Many of us have kids and as we all know they seem to grow up so fast and grow out of what was once their favourite toy that never left their side. What happens once this toy is forgotten about and starts to gather dust (Toy Story aside that is)?

A large number of people will donate to thrift shops that are either close to them locally or have a place in their hearts. You can pick up some real bargains in thrift stores, but remember, if you see something you like it's best to grab it then and there as it may be gone the next time you visit. According to Savannahceo.com the top three best cities for thrifting in 2023 were:

• New York, NY
• Los Angeles, CA
• Houston, TX

With over 3,300 stores in the US and Canada, Goodwill has a lot of you covered for bargains and is probably the most well-known of all the thrift stores. A lot of cities have a Salvation Army store, these require a little more digging to find the hidden gems, and another popular store is St. Vincent de Paul. St. Vinny's, as it is also known, doesn't have a comprehensive list of its stores, so it's worth doing a quick online to see if there's one near you. Aside from thrift stores, there are other places to get a good deal yard sales, flea markets, online marketplaces and even church thrift stores.

WHAT'S WHAT NOT?

The live-stream shopping marketplace Whatnot launched in December 2019. This marketplace sells sports cards, Pokemon cards, luxury handbags, and many more collectable items through live auctions. They ship to the US, Canada, the UK and most other countries around the world. It's free to use; just download the app. If you sign up via an influencer's link, you will receive credit to use on the platform.

IT'S A BRICK BUILT WORLD

Moving on now to Bricklink... as some of you may be aware, Bricklink is the number one marketplace for purchasing genuine LEGO products. In 2019 The LEGO Group purchased Bricklink to attempt to strengthen their connection with the rapidly growing amount of AFOLs in the world. Using this site means that you can purchase almost any LEGO piece ever made. It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking to replace a missing or broken part from a beloved set or gathering the bricks for an MOC, Bricklink has got you covered.

Not only can you source the bricks you need but missing or messed up stickers can be acquired as well, so no more trying to salvage gummy stickers on old bricks. And LEGO Minifigures (we’ve not forgotten about them), with there currently being 25 regular series of LEGO CMFs you can seek out the ones you are missing to finish your collection.

If you need to raise some pennies to pay for these absent figures and stickers then Bricklink enables you to set up a storefront and list the LEGO items that you wish to sell. They even have historical price data available so if you are unsure of how to price your items, there is a guide available as to the current trend in prices. So there we have it, Bricklink enabling you to play well.

LEGO LOCALLY

Facebook Marketplace can be a good place to source new and used LEGO and you can input the radius as to how far you will be prepared to travel. Some people will ship but it does seem to mainly be collection most of the time.

The good thing about collecting is if you have a small conversation with the seller they may mention other stuff that they wish to sell too so you could potentially be leaving with more than expected for a few more pounds. Another bonus of collecting items is that it allows you to have a look to check that the item(s) are as described - the horror stories you hear of people receiving off-brand bricks instead of the LEGO they purchased are shocking!

Staying onboard the Facebook train, there are so many different LEGO pages out there, some are selling only, some are trades, some are just for minifigures and then there are pages that are specific to LEGO themes as well. These pages are good ways to complete collections of figures for no more than the price of a stamp as trading is quite straightforward. If you are worried about scams (which is understandable) virtually all groups ask that people post their photos of items for sale with a handwritten name and date to help confirm that the person actually has the item. The admins on the groups can always be contacted if there is an issue and paying through PayPal Goods and Services covers you too.

GOING GOING GONE

The last online marketplaces we are going to mention are eBay and Vinted. Most people are familiar with eBay and how it works and it can be possible to pick up an absolute bargain. There is something quite thrilling about watching the last few seconds of an auction and sweeping in with the highest bid right at the end, but then it's disappointing when on the receiving end and you just miss out.

Vinted is another alternative and is so easy to use. You can upload pictures and the description in a matter of minutes, there are no fees when your item sells. LEGO has been appearing more and more on Vinted and there are some great bargains to be found. People do seem to be a bit more aware of the value of LEGO but it's a great way to pick up those grails that you missed at the time or were just too young for.