Why You Should Use BrickLink

Did you miss out on a specific set release by LEGO? Are you looking for a specific minifigure to complete your build? Do you need a bunch of bricks or plates to complete a building or vehicle?

How can you get these items?

There are a lot of marketplaces out there that you can turn to. You can try EBay, various sellers on Amazon.com, Brick Owl, FaceBook Marketplace, Craigslist, but in my opinion, there is only one place to turn.

Full disclosure… I have a store on BrickLink with a bunch of retired sets and minifigures. So while BrickLink isn’t sending me money for this article, I do make money selling on BrickLink.

BrickLink was founded in June 2000 by LEGO fan Dan Jezek. Dan sadly passed away in 2010 after working to build up the marketplace. It was continued by Jay Kim and a team of folks until the LEGO Group purchased BrickLink in 2019. There was some minor turmoil with LEGO buying the secondary marketplace for its product, but it has mostly remained the same marketplace. BrickLink currently boasts over 10,000 sellers from 70 countries with over a million registered members. The total number of items for sale is… I have no idea. Probably in the millions.

So why should you join into the group?

1 - Fans selling to Fans

Many of the sellers on BrickLink are fans of LEGO themselves. They care about the product and aren’t going to send you something they wouldn’t want (usually). That’s not to say there aren’t a few bad apples in the barrel of BrickLink sellers, but overall I have never been disappointed. Read feedback ratings, check on the store terms page, and then see #2.

---

2 - Ability to verify items, check in on sellers, and select shipping

We’ve become used to placing online orders at Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, or other retailers. We click on the buy button and we expect our order to arrive in a certain period of time as advertised. You can do the same for BrickLink, but you also have the ability to do your research. If you want to buy that old modular building, Series 1 Collectible Minifigure, or 500 1x2 black plates, ask the seller for details. Get a picture of the item. Ask if it is used. What are the details that concern you and get them worked out before clicking on the buy button.

Then verify their feedback. What are other buyers saying about them? Do they ship promptly? Do they pack items well? Do they respond to questions?

And while BrickLink has an instant shipping function, take the extra time to get real shipping quotes. My instant checkout is set up to go from FL to WA (most expensive option). If you live in GA or TN or another closer location to a seller like me in FL, odds are shipping will be less. Ask and save yourself a few dollars while waiting a day or two.

---

3 - Wanted lists

I don’t build too many MOCs, but when I do, Bricklink is a great place to turn to for parts. I appreciate the Wanted List function. While it may take a bit to insert it all in if you have a lot of different pieces, It can save you in the long run. The system will tell you where you can buy the parts from. Does one seller cover everything you are looking for? While that seller may have a slightly higher price, you save by not having to pay for shipping from multiple buyers. You can also update it when you have acquired some of the pieces you need or maybe you’ve found some in your own collection.

---

4 - Ratings matter

You often see stories about Amazon.com ratings and how vendors often pay people to write reviews. I’m pretty sure no one on Bricklink has done that. Besides, you don’t get a lot of space to post feedback. If the seller has hundreds or thousands of positive reviews that all seem to say the same thing, you will probably say the same thing too. Yes, there is always that person who leaves a neutral or negative rating, but what do the vast majority of people say?

If the person is new to selling and doesn’t have a lot of feedback, then take the time to ask them questions. Send a message to ask what you are concerned about and to verify how the order will go. If the seller doesn’t respond or doesn’t give you the answers you are looking for, check in with another seller.

---

---

5 - You can see all the prices people are charging and work to find the best one

BrickLink will show you a price guide for each set/part/minifigure/item. You can see the last six months of sales and then what is available for sale at the current time. This is pretty useful if you’re trying to find the lowest priced option or to find someone who has 80 1x4 red bricks.

With this information, you can also negotiate if you want to take the time. The seller with the lowest price may have a higher cost to ship. Another seller may have a higher cost, but have a lower shipping cost. Ask the sellers if they can match prices. Will the one lower the shipping cost to make the sale? Will the other lower the item cost to make the sale? If they say no, but you still want the item, you can still purchase it.

---

6 - Low fees equal lower prices than some other marketplaces (usually)

I’ve had a few potential buyers complain about the price I’m charging for a set. I will then look the set up on EBay and Amazon to see what it’s going for. More often then not, the price is much higher. Some EBay sellers include shipping so that can cut down on the price difference, but look around if you want the best price. BrickLink charges a 3% fee to the seller on top of PayPal or Stripe fees. EBay charges 10% to 12% or so. Amazon can be a fee in upwards of 20%.

---

7 - If you can’t find it on BrickLink, it might not exist

The stock on BrickLink is pretty extensive. You can find just about any part, minifigure, or set produced. If you can’t find it there, it might not be anywhere else either.

---

8 - Studio 2.0

BrickLink has its own digital building program. You can build with endless amounts of digital bricks and create whatever you want. Then you can upload it for the world to see or buy all of the bricks you need to make the MOC into reality. While I prefer building with physical bricks, this is a great option if you want to build something large and don’t have all the parts or you don’t have space to build.

---

9 - Custom sets to piece together

Once you’ve built a MOC in Studio, you can upload it for the world to see. The digital instructions are not LEGO set quality, but you can re-build what someone else designed and it will let you buy the parts as well.

---

10 - Become a seller

Do you have a bunch of sets lying around you want to sell off? Maybe you have a whole bunch of bricks you no longer want. Well you can apply to become a seller. When I became a seller, I don’t remember the application process so it is either new or wasn’t a big deal a few years back. I don’t know how that works, but once you are in, you can start to sell. I fully admit that it will not lead to instant riches, but I can’t complain about the extra income and my NLS is happy that my store funds my personal brick addiction.

---

Anything I missed?

Happy BrickLinking!

Creations for Charity - 2020 Campaign is Now

I apologize for being late tot he game, but the 2020 Creations for Charity drive started on 15 October and runs through 30 November 2020. This is your chance to pick up some cool custom MOCs and minifigures with all of the money going to buy LEGO sets for disadvantaged kids. The charity is all volunteer run so you’re not giving a portion to pay someone’s salary or anything. If you want more details or want to participate, you can go to CreationsforCharity.org.

They also have a short video explaining the program posted below. Thanks for giving and happy building!

Set Review - #71027: Series 20 Collectible Minifigures

I just posted my review of #71026: DC Super Heroes and now once again I am late to the game. Series 20 was released back on 19 April 2020. The packs retail for $4.99 each. As I mentioned previously, I don’t want to pay that much so I have been waiting for discounts. I bought a few from LEGO.de here in Germany. The price here is 3,99€ so the few that I purchased there worked out to be around $4.30 to $4.50 after the exchange rate kicked in. Not the best price, but I’ll take the slight discount. I then found some locally for $3.45 and then Amazon.com had them for $3.44.

The bottom line is if you enjoy collecting the collectible minifigure series sets that LEGO produces, be patient with your purchases and you can get them at lower prices.

I’m not going to spend time talking about each minifigure. Instead I will give some overall comments.
-I’m a fan of the non-licensed collectible minifigures and I like the creativity that goes into them and the ability to use them in MOCs or with other sets.
-The costumed minifigures have been great through the years and LEGO didn’t disappoint with Series 20.
-I’m still frustrated with the dispersal of minifigures and how it always seems like you get extras of the ones you’d want least. I don’t need that many Super Warriors!
-Good to see that half of the series is female characters. As a kid, I remember arguing over who got to play with the few female minifigures that we had because they just weren’t made a lot. Now we have a bunch which is awesome!

That’s it on this one. I look forward to a late review again on the next collectible minifigure series.

Happy building!

---

Piñata Boy and Drone Boy

Viking and Tournament Knight

---

Martial Arts Boy and 80s Musician

Breakdancer and Athlete

---

Pajama Girl and Brick Costume Guy

Super Warrior and Pirate Girl

---

Sea Rescuer and Space Fan

Llama Costume Girl and Pea Pod Costume Girl

A Peak Inside LEGO®'s Factories

In case you missed it, in late May 2020, LEGO posted a video to YouTube.com showing how they make and assemble minifigures. Specifically, this one follows the series 20 collectible minifigures. It was posted on a number of fan sites and has almost 5 million views at the time of this post so my guess is many have seen it already. If not, you can see it here or below.

A second video was posted on 12 July 2020. This one shows how LEGO DUPLO is made. It has just over 30,000 hits at the time of this post so my guess is most haven’t seen it yet. You can take a look below.

I hope LEGO continues this series of videos as it is interesting to see inside the factories.

What do you want them to show us next?

Happy building!

Set Review - #71024-1: Disney Minifigures, Series 2 - Collectible Minifigures

The Disney Series 2 minifigures were released back on 1 May 2019. While most the the big fan sites have covered these a long time ago, I am a normal fan and it took a while to get all 18. I finally got them all and here is my review. So sorry it’s late, but I don’t get a free shipment from LEGO or go out and buy them right away to have the first review out there.

As mentioned previously, LEGO has limited the purchases you can make from Shop @ Home to 18. With that being said, you can go to a LEGO Brand Store and buy as many as they have in stock. The retail price is $3.99 per bag. I purchased mine from Amazon and they were $3.92 at a time. In checking today, they are listed at $2.99 each. I’m not sure if it’s an ongoing sale or a permanent drop in price, but sweet! Walmart shows the same $2.99 price as well. Hopefully this will become a trend and you can take advantage of waiting to get the minifigures by getting them at lower prices.

The bag size matches the larger size used for #71023-1: LEGO Movie 2 Minifigures.

Onto the review…

Next up is Hercules and Hades from the cartoon movie “Hercules.” Unlike Ursula from series 1, Hades has a bottom half and top half versus a larger bottom piece that the torso fits in. Another change is that Hades hair piece is permanently attached to the head piece. I initially was shocked that the hair was attached and thought it somehow became assembled during shipment. Then I realized it was permanent. Odd… Hades was one of the lease popular in the orders I made.

I had to make sure I got it right. Chip has a brown nose and Dale has the red nose. These weren’t as popular in my purchases. I think I got one extra of Dale only.

Series 1 Disney had Genie and Aladdin. This series includes Jafar and Jasmine.

The last bunch are Scrooge McDuck, Dewey (blue), Huey (red), and Louie (green). I had to look them up to verify I got them all right. These were the least popular in the orders I made and I was concerned I wouldn’t get any. It did bring back some good memories of watching “Duck Tales” as a kid. Anyone else remember that cartoon?

I have never seen “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” but this series includes Sally and
Jack Skellington. Sally comes with two black flowers and Jack comes with a gift with 1x1 round tile snowflakes inside. In my purchases, these were not hard to find, but I did not get a lot of extras.

The LEGO Ideas set has some that are slightly different than Vintage Mickey and Vintage Minnie. I think the steering wheel is a bit too big and the life raft looks more like how I see it used regularly… as a toilet seat. There were a lot of extras of both of these minifigures in my purchases.

I don’t think they could get away without doing Anna and Elsa from “Frozen.” They already appear in the Disney sets, but these are the first in true minifigure form. These minifigures were very popular in the purchases that I made and I got a lot of extras.

The last series had Mr. Incredible and Syndrome. This one includes Edna Mode and Frozone. Edna is my favorite in this series. I like how they did the giant glasses that make her eyes look bigger. It’s a great representation of the movie character in my opinion.

Overall this is a decent series. The representations of the actual characters in minifigure form were done well. In my opinion, it’s a good mix of characters from the Disney universe and I’m sure in a year or two we’ll see Series 3 with even more if the license with Disney continues.

If you’re a sucker for collecting these sets like me, the lesson learned here is to have patience and wait for better pricing. Hopefully this will become the trend and companies like Amazon and Walmart will cut the price to $2.99 or lower after a while. If you are going to buy them, you might as well wait for them to be at a better price than go through LEGO and their higher pricing. When the LEGO Movie 2 minifigures were discounted on Shop @ Home, they were only $3.19 so still a better deal to get them elsewhere.

Should there be a Series 3 or should they just move on? I’m hoping we can have more original minifigures versus licensed ones, but the licensed ones probably sell better. What are your thoughts on this series?

Set Review - #60202-1 - People Pack - Outdoor Adventures - LEGO CITY

One of the things that LEGO has gotten right over the past couple of years is listening to fans. The People Packs associated with the CITY line seem to be a direct response to fans asking for more minifigures to be in their city scenes. The first one released in 2016 was #60134-1 - Fun at the Park and then they had #60153-1 - Fun at the Beach in 2017. 2018’s version is #60202-1 - Outdoor Adventures. Released on 2 June 2018 in the US, it is the third set in a line of CITY sets that includes minifigures for your CITY scenes. This set cost $39.99 in the US, but I waited for it to hit 20% off at Amazon.com before spending anything on it. If you are willing to wait even longer, right now (November 2018), #60153-1 - Fun at the Beach is 35% off at Amazon.com in the US. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Back to the set at hand, Outdoor Adventures is 164 pieces and 15 minifigures. It works out to $0.244 per piece if you get it at full retail in the US, but it’s misleading since you are also getting 15 minifigures. If you look at it by minifigure, that’s $2.67 per minifigure which isn’t too bad if you compare it to the Collectible Minifigures that run at $3.99 each.

Onto the set… The box is similar to most boxes. The front interestingly mentions that the boat floats. I’m wondering if the designed the raft intentionally to float or if it just happened that way and they decided to advertise it on the box that way. Is it just the boat? Do the minifigs add too much weight? Have these questions already been answered and I’m wasting your time?

The back shows all of the minifigures to include each piece of the minifigures that can be interchanged. It even shows how you can interchange them to make different combinations. With 14 options, I’m sure the math is out there to say how many zillions of combinations there are. The baby minifigure cannot be interchanged for obvious reasons.

The contents are 2 numbered parts bags, 2 instruction booklets, and a plastic sheet which is part of the camping tent. LEGO probably could have done this all at once, but looking at the age range, a 5 year-old probably needs it broken up. Also included is a small bag with an eagle in it.

Bag 1 starts off with a female minifigure with a camera (left of picture). She has a small bag around her neck that sits on her side. Her face has 2 sides. One side is both eyes open and the other is with one eye open as if she’s looking through the lens of the camera. Is that a first for LEGO? A character who is looking through one eye? The box shows this minifigure taking a picture of the eagle which caught a fish. It is the standard LEGO fish and the fish’s mouth attaches to the eagle’s claw area so it looks like the eagle caught the fish.

Moving to the right in the picture is a rock climber scaling a mini rock formation. The rock formation itself isn’t that great, but considering the size of the set you can’t complain. Build a bigger rock face for the minifig to scale on your own. The minifig itself has sunglasses on his face and a helmet.

Next up in my picture (center front) is a hiker with 2 hiking poles. The set comes with an extra pole just in case you lose one I guess. The minifig has a green outer shirt on with what looks like a wolf face on the shirt printed underneath.

Moving on is a boy with a back pack cooking over a portable gas cooker. He has a pot and is frying an egg. He also has a plate and a mug. The set comes with 2 fried egg 1x1 round tiles so you can put one on his plate and one in the pan or however you want to set them up.

Next up is a male minifigure with a baby carrier who is carrying a baby minifigure. As a Dad who has carried his kids in a carrier in front, I thought this minifigure was great. You have to tilt him back a bit so he does tip over due to the weight in front, but that’s what I do when I have my kid strapped to me anyways so it is realistic.

Finally is a female minifigure in racing gear and a helmet with goggles on a mountain bike. Unlike some of the bikes of the past, her legs don’t go down too far on the bike so it looks like she’s riding it pretty high up. It comes with a small jump for her to ride up and over a log. The log comes with a 2x2 round tile with the print of a log on it to make it look like it was sawed down.

The second bag starts on the left in the picture with a minifigure with a hammer who is supposedly setting up the tent. I have her standing by a lantern. Next up in the back are 3 minifigures posing for a selfie. There is an adult female with a portable lantern, the male in his Hawaiian shirt and the selfie stick (his face can be a posing face or a relaxed look), and then a girl wearing shorts who also has a portable lantern. Behind them is a sign with arrows pointing to attractions. One is to LEGO CITY and the other is to MOUNT CLUTCHMORE. A nice touch to the set I think.

In front of the picture is the raft (that supposedly really floats) and 2 minifigures with oars, life vests, and helmets.

Next up is child minifigure wearing a jacket. She has glasses on and is holding a pair of binoculars.

Finally is another female minifigure who has either sunglasses or her normal smiling face. She is holding a smart phone. My daughter helped me put this set together and insisted that we put her in the tent. Speaking of the tent, it is a simple build with 2 sleeping spaces. The plastic tent sets up nicely around the bricks and you can have both flaps open or closed as you wish.

Here are all the minifigures in a picture. I didn’t have anything to lift up the eagle and probably could have used some more bricks to stage these minifigures, but you’ll live. Bottom line, it’s a great set if you are a CITY fan and you want more minifigures to add to your CITY. Every time I get one of these People Packs, it makes me want to create a scene with all of these characters. I don’t seem to ever have the time to do that, but maybe some day. In the meantime I have the minifigures to add to the scene I’ll create. Has anyone built a scene with these minifigs?

If you want to buy this set, it is 20% off at Amazon.com in the US and Walmart too (as of November 2018). If you wait longer, the sets seem to discount further. Definitely don’t pay full price on this one.

Happy building!

Set Review - #71018 - Series 17 Collectible Minifigures

After the LEGO Batman Movie collectible minifigures, it was good to get back to another series of original designed collectible minifigures.  Series 17 was released on 1 May 2017.  Oddly enough on the first day of the release, you could only purchase 5 at a time.  The next day you could purchase up to 32.  The price has held at $3.99 for a while now (I believe Simpsons Series 1 was the last set at the $2.99 price point).  This series contains 16 minfigures like the previous series versus 20 from Batman and 18 from Disney.  So let's get into the review of the minifigures.

I believe the last male surfer minifigure was from series 2.  This one has a wet suit, some facial hair, and a good blond hair piece for his head.  To me what stands out for this figure is the board.  The shark mouth on the board is an awesome design in my opinion.  It's a lot better than a lot of the plain boards of the past.  For reference, the Series 2 minifigure had a board with a palm tree and sunset on it.

Oddly enough, the Circus Strongman has an equivalent in series 2 as well, a weightlifter.  To be fair this one has a circus theme versus the sole lifting focus as the one in series 2.  The mustache in this one is a nice touch and the weight has a 100 label on it versus the weight lifter's plain weights.

The Gourmet Chef is different from most LEGO minifigure chefs.  The hat does not rest dead center on the head as it is crooked to the side and shows the woman's hair.  Also the whisk is new (I think) and the pie has strawberries printed on top.  This one could go well with the bakery in Assembly Square or the Parisian Restaurant.

From my NLS, the Corn Cob guy is "made by his mustache."  Without it, this one would be rather plain.  While there has been numerous minifigures dressed as animals, this is the second as a fruit/vegetable.  The first was banana guy in series 16.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other types of foods LEGO comes up with next for minifigures of the future.  

The Veterinarian contains a rabbit at the smaller scale of pets.  Originally dogs were much larger and have since shrunk similar to the one with the dog show judge in series 16.  The minifigure comes with blue hands (presumably wearing gloves, a name tag on her pants, and with a stethoscope around her neck.  

The Hot Dog Man is different than the hot dog man from series 13.  This one is a vendor selling a hot dog in a bun and a drink.  The minifigure comes with a tray and he is wearing an apron and the hat seen at some of the old fashioned fast food restaurants out there.  

Butterfly Girl looks like many of the little girls I see walking around these days only she into butterflies versus princesses.  The wings, face and hair decorations, tank top with the butterfly, and flowers all fit in with the over-the-top ways I have seen little kids walking around today.

The Roman Gladiator fits the theme of numerous other collectible minifigures to include the Roman Emperor from series 9 and the Roman Commander from series 10.  This one has a golden trident as a weapon, some brown gloves, and some rockin' abs.  

In my opinion, the Connoisseur should be called "French guy".  Not sure why he isn't, but whatever.  He apparently is a connoisseur of bread that is 2/3s his size.  He also has a bulldog type dog similar in size to the rabbit that the veterinarian has.

The battle dwarf is a newer design.  He's not really a Lord of the Rings type, but he is ready to kick some butt.  He comes with an ax and then a hammer with the drawing of a boar-like animal on it.  His beard is big and bright red as is his mohawk-like red hairdo.  

The Retro Spaceman is right out of the... is it the 70s?  Earlier?  Do kids these days even know what a retro spaceman is or was this minifigure solely build for AFOLs?

Speaking of kids not knowing where the reference comes from, do they know what this Yuppie minifigure is and when cell phones were that size?  The shades are pretty cool and I think the printed cheese slope is awesome.

Series 15 had a spaceman and series 17 has a Rocket Boy dressed up as a rocket.  I like the "kid drawn" classic space flag and the costume rivals some of the best seen at Halloween time.  I think this one is the best in the set, but that's just me.

The Dance Instructor is straight out of the 1980s.  The head band and outfit definitely come from that decade.  The water bottle is a new LEGO printed design with the H2O symbol.  And 1, and 2...

When I think of elves, I more often think of the small people that work for Santa Claus (versus the Will Ferrell movie).  Elf Girl Is clearly not one of those as she is the standard minifigure size and has a large sword and shield.  She is ready to take someone out.

The highwayman was quite possibly the most talked about minifigure in the set.  When LEGO announced that series 17 was coming out, they listed this one as a "mystery minifigure."  It existed as a black outline as it does on the minifigure packets.  In reading some of the other LEGO fan sites I tend to agree that I don't get LEGO's marketing strategy.  It was very strange in my opinion.  What was so special about this minifigure to hide it?  Don't get me wrong, it's cool with the cape, scarf over the bottom of the face, 2 pistols, and tri-corner hat, but beyond that I'm not really sure what LEGO was going for.  

So there is my take on Series 17.  Another great, original series in my opinion.  Scoop them up now before they go away and the prices go up on the secondary market.

Happy 2016!

It's been a bit since I've posted.  You saw a lot of posts around the holiday period because I took some time off from my day job and got to spend more time with my fun job.  I've finished off most of my building backlog minus one set.  I'm working on the Simpson's Kwik-e-Mart set.  It's taken me longer to build since it's a larger set and I've been busy.  I'm taking notes and pictures and will post a review once I'm done.  There are 17 bags and I'm only through around 4 at this point.  A good build so far though.

For those of you that follow the LEGO company and their sales, one big event for them is the day after Christmas.  They put a lot of sets on sale.  You can find some good deals although you have to act fast.  Often times I'll check in the morning on 26 December and most of the sets they had listed are sold out already.  I was able to pick up some Simpson's Series 2 minifigures and a LEGO Movie set at half off.  I also picked up another Rey's Speeder set which means some additional inventory for the store.  

LEGO also released some new sets on 1 January.  There are some new Star Wars - The Force Awakens sets, the new LEGO Nexo Knights, and a few others ones so check them out.  I haven't bought any yet, but will let you know if I do.

I also managed to catch the LEGO Ideas - The Big Bang Theory set on sale at Amazon to add some minifigures to the store inventory.

Were you able to catch any of the sales after Christmas or in the New Year?  Have you purchased any of the new 2016 sets?  Let me know in the comments!

55 Minifigures for $62 with Free Shipping???? WHAT????

At my last show in Rio Rancho I had a parent tell me that she found a large number of minifigures online for dirt cheap.  It was something like 46 minifigures for $28 or something.  The parent said I should check it out and that she had placed an order.  They hadn't arrived yet, but were due in from China.  My first thought was that these minifigures cannot be true LEGO minifigures. 

So I did a Google search... I won't post the link, but I'm sure you can find them...  I found a site selling 55 Marvel Super Hero minifigures for $61.36 with free shipping from Chenghai, China.  The cost goes down with the more sets that you purchase.  The figures are labeled as "LEGO Compatible," but clearly are not LEGO brand as if you look closely you can see the LEGO studs do not have the LEGO logo on them.  

From looking at the pictures, the representations look pretty darn accurate and very close to LEGO figures.  They clearly did some major copying of what LEGO did.  I'm sure this company has paid LEGO royalty fees for using its designs and I'll bet they've paid for the use of the various Super Hero logos and designs too.  (yes, I'm kidding there)  Not having purchased these myself, I can't say whether the quality matches LEGO or anything else related to the physical products.

Should you buy knockoff minifigures?  That's completely up to you.  My personal opinion is that you shouldn't.  Besides the fact that I sell LEGO minfigures and this is direct competition to my business, you don't know what you're going to get.  If there are issues, do you trust a seller in China to provide you with good customer service or to help fix issues?  If you're not concerned about that, then give it a shot.  If you or your kids don't care that the minifigures are not from LEGO, then you can probably save some money.  If you've purchased some knockoff minifigures, please let me know.  Send an email (store@bricksforbricks.com) or post in the comments.  I'd like to know what you think of them.

With all that being said, please know that the minifigures sold by Bricks for Bricks are all genuine LEGO branded minifigures.  There are no knock off parts for China or anywhere else.

May the 4th Be With You

Since 1999, the LEGO Company has been producing Star Wars themed sets.  These sets have become increasingly more detailed and intricate.  For those of you that collect these sets, you'll notice that they can be pretty pricey.  

Every year for the past few years, the LEGO company has held a May the 4th sale.  This year's sale started on 2 May and ended today on 4 May.  It included a free minifigure for purchasing $75 or more in Star Wars sets.  It also included a number of Star Wars sets discounted on the "Sales and Deals" page.  Finally, it included the release of a number of new sets to mainly include the $199.99 priced, 1,685 piece Tie Fighter Ultimate Collector's Edition.  If you missed the sale, stay tuned for the sale next year.

As for Bricks for Bricks, I'm working on building up the Star Wars inventory for sales in the fall.  I have a small number of sets that have been discounted from their retail price, a few assembled items for sale, and then a number of minifigures.  A word of warning... Star Wars sets are expensive and minifigures do not sell cheaply on the secondary markets either.  I do my best to price them fairly and in the past I have gone out on the secondary market and found cheaper "used" Star Wars minifigures.  From past sales one of the biggest requests I've had was for R2-D2 minifigures.  To answer that question, yes I have some of them and will have them available in the fall.