How to purchase parts on Bricklink for Make & Takes and MOCs?
What is a Make & Take?
A Make & Take is a small LEGO model intended not to be sold for profit. It is supposed to be small enough with cheaper parts or parts that are easier to find in a bulk table, so that customers can build something fun that’s in relation to an event or holiday, and are able to take it home. Some models may require purchasing parts on Bricklink so that you have enough parts in stock for multiple customers to participate.
What is a MOC?
A MOC is a slightly larger LEGO model intended for sale. They may feature more complex building techniques and more specialized parts that are not easy to find in a bulk table. These models will most likely require purchasing parts on Bricklink, so you have all of the specialized parts. There is no set way to price a MOC. For example, you may purchase parts for a MOC that costs about $15 and then sell the MOC for $25. Keep in mind that it is $15 for just one MOC, but $25 is usually within someone’s budget.
Both types of models come with instructions and a parts list at the end of the instructions
How to purchase parts?
Sign in to Bricklink.com. If you do not have a Bricklink account, you can easily create one that is linked to your LEGO account.
Once you have logged in to Bricklink, hover the mouse over your profile icon. It should have asked you to pick an icon if you made your account just now. When you hover over your icon, there will be a long menu list of places you can go. Click on the one that says “My Wanted Lists”. It has a heart icon to the left of it.
It should be empty unless you have used Bricklink before to create a parts list. To create a new list, click “+ Create New List”. It is a blue box. After you click it, it will ask you to name the list. To make things easy to keep track of, title it after whatever MOC or Make & Take you want to create.
Once you have done that, click on the “Bricklink” logo at the top left so that it brings you back to the main menu. Click on “Parts” in the middle of the screen. Here you will find a large catalog of every part that LEGO has ever made.
In the parts list section of the instructions, I have added the part number, part color, and the quantity of that part you will need for the model. You can search for parts by the part number. That may be the easiest way for people who are not familiar with part names.
Now that you have the piece, click on “Color Info” to select which color you need the piece to be. The list titled “Lots for Sale” is the list of colors that this piece currently exists in. I have made sure that every MOC and Make & Take I’ve made has valid colors. Click on the color.
After you’ve clicked on the color, in the middle of the screen, you should see a bolded section that says “My Wanted Lists” with a heart to the left of it. Underneath it, it says “Add to Wanted List”. Click on that.
A Pop-Up will appear. On the left side of the pop-up will be a list of wanted lists. Select which list you want this piece to be added to. If you followed the instructions above, you titled the list the same name as the model you’re trying to make. Select whichever list the current piece applies to.
After you’ve selected which list you want to add the piece to, in the center of the pop-up, you can see there are 3 small boxes under the word “Condition”. I prefer to buy new pieces. Click on whichever condition you want. For this tutorial, I will be selecting new. Next to condition, it has an empty box that says “Quantity” above it. This is where you will put how many of that one piece you will need. Take the quantity of the piece at the back of the instructions and multiply that by how many of these models you plan to sell or give away. Once you’ve put the quantity, at the bottom of the pop-up, there is a blue button that says “Add to Wanted List”. Click that.
For this next part, you’ll have to return to your wanted lists. See above if you’ve forgotten how to find that. After you’ve navigated to your wanted lists, in the middle will show all of your wanted lists. Select the one that is the name of the model you’re trying to build. It will take you to the list of all the parts you have saved to that list. You should see a green button that says “Buy All”. It’s located at the top and bottom of your list. Click “Buy All”.
You should have something that says “Store Filters”. This is where you can choose where your pieces are coming from. You can choose any country and/or any continent you want. Underneath the store filters block, you’ll see words that say “Sort By”. I suggest selecting “Item Count” so that the list of stores shows you which stores have the most amount of parts you need. It accounts for all of the parts in your list, not just one piece. Chances are, there is one store that has all of the parts you need. Other times, you may have to buy from multiple stores.
You may also click “Auto-Select,” and Bricklink will select a recommended combination of stores that can complete your Wanted List at an optimal total price, including shipping cost.
Then, at the top of the page, you’ll see the stores that have been selected. Some stores have a minimum buy amount. Which means you have to at least spend that much in order to buy from them. Some stores have their minimum prices set as low as $5 or lower. Some stores may have a minimum price of $100. Even though the item price may be lower than $100, it means you have to buy minimum $100 worth of items. When buying parts for multiple MOCs and Make & Takes, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem, as you will be spending money on a bunch of parts.
Once you’ve found all the stores with the minimum buy that is affordable to you, click the green button that says “Create Carts”. This will add your pieces to your cart, and you can proceed to check out.
Once you have your parts and have put together the MOC or Make & Take, please tell us how it goes. Let us know how much you charge for the set and how well it sells. This is important data that we need to know so that we can make more MOCs and Make & Takes that customers love.