How To Save Money On LEGO Mocs

Ever wondered how people afford to build giant LEGO Mocs?
Well there's good news and bad news. It's still expensive no matter what you do, but I'll show you tips to significantly cut the costs.
I used these methods while building my LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts castle Moc.
If you want to follow my progress make sure to subscribe, thanks for watching

[OlleMoquist]

The reason all the bulk sellers are in Germany is because of the proximity to Lego fabrik. They let you buy basic pieces by weight, meaning these German sellers by all the in demand stuff and sell them for a mark up on bricklink. For most people though it's a fair trade, but I wish similar Lego stores existed elsewhere too.

[autofigure]

As someone who lives closer to the Canada border, I generally find Canadian bricklink stores have parts for DIRT cheap in USD so I've been buying a LOT from Canadian sellers. The shipping is SURPRISINGLY cheaper than I expect. There's only been a few stores with large orders where the shipping gets crazy.

[UnlimitedEmeralds]

I have completely given up on bricklink. No store ever has 100% of the prices I need even if my moc is less than 100 relatively common pieces. The $20 I would have saved gets eaten by the shipping costs I have to pay for 4 different stores. Every single time without fail it is actually cheaper to buy the pieces directly from Lego with their pick a brick.

[tristarsilver]

Maybe not everyone supports it, but I use some Chinese-made parts, such as flower/tree. The Chinese have learned how to make them well, and where the Lego logo is not visible, you cannot immediately determine whose production.

[alex-c]

Fantastic video! Some tips I would suggest; get your tiles from the lego store, they are usually the same price as bricklink, and they will be in mint condition. Also plan your moc around cheap colours, and look for Bricklink stores that sell bricks in poor condition (with dents or sun damage) these are great for filling in the interior of your builds.

[ElijahHemingway]

This video is easily the best out there on acquiring tons of useful lego pieces to build MOCS.

[pinobluevogel]

Great tips. I found that shipping from Germany is actually quite expensive, but you are correct that massive quantities are certainly much better priced. They have an easier time keeping their stores stocked with commonly used parts, which is an issue for smaller stores.
For example, if you want to build a large city on mils, you need a ton of larger plates and those are very hard to find in anything but the larger stores. In such a case, it is far easier to buy it from LEGO itself, even though individual pieces are still quite expensive.

[BennyLlama]

I might be the only one who does this, but I look at sets to see if they have the parts I need. The Hidden Side Cemetery was perfect for the MOC I'm about to start.

[ano_nym]

Checking 2nd hand stores could be good too. Usually you wont find large quantities of each of course, since they are old sets people bought, but can get some special ones or basic ones. But you can get a decent amount for like a $10.

[dorthywood]

I can confirm the german bricklink stores are the place to buy from. The brick24 megastore, brickina, and bricksy are all great. I think le gold too.

[Chuck_vs._The_Comment_Section]

If you live in Germany, there is another way to stock up on bricks. The company Bluebrixx has shops in many cities, where there is also a "pick-a-brick wall". The difference, however, is that you pay per gram and not per cup. So you only pay for what you really need and are not forced to fill your cup as full as possible. In addition, the stones from Bluebrixx have a higher clamping force.

And while we're on the subject of alternative clamping stone manufacturers. These also have their own online shops, such as webrick or yourwobb.

[StevenWagner-lqcy]

Whenever I generate a list of parts I need, Leo online PAB ends up cheaper only because of the shipping. The problem with Bricklink is that no one seller ever has even a majority of the parts I need, so the shipping adds up fast when I have to order from multiple shippers. Sometimes, the shipping alone costs more than the parts I need from a given seller.

[craftsmanwoodturner]

I was in my local Lego shop recently, and they have ditched the round plastic cups for the Pick-a-Brick wall, in favour of square cardboard boxes. This makes it even easier to get good value, as you can build the bricks together and fit then wall-to-wall inside the box, with no spare space lost in the gaps. I know this because about 10 years ago they offered such a box as a Christmas bonus if you spent over a threshold, and I did exactly that. The box was filled corner to corner with solid Lego! Presumably these boxes will roll out across the globe over time, so if they still have the cups in your local store right now, it is just a matter of time.

[AMBRBuilds]

The Germany tip is good to know. I’m currently working on a few small-scale MOCs and I was weary of ordering internationally. Also, I came for the advice but am staying for the epic castle MOC!

[mortagon]

I live in Norway and we don't have any official Lego stores. We have a private store with a pick a brick wall but it has extremely limited assortment and is very expensive and also pretty far from where I live. Shipping to Norway is generally very expensive as well and we have to pay taxes so it's usually just cheaper to buy official sets from toy store unless you can find some cheap used ones, although with Lego having become a collectible item most people try to sell used sets for ridiculous prices and it's usually cheaper to just get used sets from Bricklink even with the shipping cost.

[Hunter-hbgd]

If you are someone who is concerned about the price of Lego, as myself have no shame in buying knock offs, not everyone's rich and can afford it

[brickreel]

Your Hogwarts is looking incredible! I love shopping the pick a brick wall, thank you for the tips!

[TradeMyWish]

Absolute gorgeous build. Would love to see an update!

[Fishcakes]

Any new updates on the castle? I love the build process so far. Hopefully all is well.

[atticbricks]

great advice, I will definitely need it to make my next videos