To ebay or to Bricklink? That is the question.

ClareyBristols

I am looking to buy the Palace Cinema modular building and I am wondering if people prefer buying from ebay or from bricklink (or anywhere else). It is a lot of money and I don’t have any experience in buying high value purchases from either so I was just wondering which other people prefer.

thanks in advance 
Clare

SprinkleOtter

Bricklink, every time.

LuLego

For buying, I’d say eBay. Should things not go as planned, you’d get a refund quickly. Prices fluctuate too and you might, although unlikely, find a bargain on eBay. Look for incomplete sets too - assuming you’d be prepared to put a bit of effort in yourself ordering missing pieces on BrickLink, you could negotiate a better deal on eBay.

Ive only once had a poor experience on Bricklink for a non shipping seller. His store closed down so I was out of pocket and had to go directly to PayPal rather than BrickLink resolving. 

Could you not post a wanted on here? The forum would be most reliable source and someone may have what you want. Less worry and no hassle.

Hopefully, what ever you choose will go through smoothly.

selling is a completely different matter...

kbw

I’m a novice compared to others, but I have preferred Bricklink for buying (I’m not really a seller).  I find that the prices can be inflated on eBay. Just my experience. I will say eBay is easier as you you know the shipping cost upfront and settle everything at the time of sale. Shipping is usually faster as a result. On Bricklink, I usually have to wait in an invoice, pay it, allot time for packing and shipping, etc.
In regards to pricing, I have had some good success on eBay under the following circumstances: 1) coupons. I got 15 or 20% (can’t remember which) off Metalbeard’s Sea Cow a couple months ago and it was significantly lower than what was being offered on Bricklink, especially when factoring shipping, which was included.
2) As mentioned above, shipping is sometimes included by the seller on eBay so you may be able to save a little that way. I haven’t seen free shipping offers on a Bricklink yet. 
3) I’ve also had success by making offers if the “or best offer” option is available. Sometimes people are willing to just deal and get rid of a set. I haven’t done this on Bricklink, so not sure how much that forum is open to negotiation. I suppose you could always messge the seller and ask. 

Finally, I agree with LuLego above. Would be worth checking out the Marketplace forum here and seeing if you can work something out here. Could try trading for it to of you have something you are willing to swap. 

CCC

Look at both and choose the best value.

Mr_Cross

Have you considered facebook marketplace?

I don't know how near to you it is but I've just seen that someone in Chippenham has one for £90. (I searched for "lego cinema")
https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/179890459555904

You could also try facebook trade/sell groups and I've had the odd success on gumtree too... 

Personally, I tend to find Bricklink to be on the slightly more expensive side for sets (certainly in the UK, although that could be just for the sets I'm after), although it's not always the case.

PJ76uk

I bought mine, brand new and sealed, on ebay recently. I offered less than the seller was asking for and count myself lucky that it was accepted. Free shipping too so in the end I paid a lot less than it would've cost me on BrickLink. Money which paid for more Lego!

Hanzo

Whichever is cheaper.  Plenty of buyer protection out there to protect you in most cases.

mountebank

My last experience of bricklink put me off. Expensive item, poorly packaged and so damaged during shipping, seller not interested although eventually offered miserly discount only if I gave positive feedback in advance, when I refused I got negative feedback based on lies and was left with a damaged item.

I had a look to see what kind of useful support bricklink could provide to deal with service of such a poor level and the answer was: effectively none.

Hanzo

mountebank said:

My last experience of bricklink put me off. Expensive item, poorly packaged and so damaged during shipping, seller not interested although eventually offered miserly discount only if I gave positive feedback in advance, when I refused I got negative feedback based on lies and was left with a damaged item.

I had a look to see what kind of useful support bricklink could provide to deal with service of such a poor level and the answer was: effectively none.

I'd call your credit/bank card company, or if you used Paypal I'd contact them.  There are other ways to seek compensation outside of bricklink.

kbenjes

You could get a deal on eBay, and it's easy to deal with payment/scam issues via PayPal.

Bricklink will reflect the value/price better, but it is offputting for some (it did take me a few orders to really understand the whole invoice process). I'd also rather support bricklink than eBay financially.

Facebook marketplace is great, if you can find the item. People usually sell for less than eBay imo.

mountebank

Hanzo said:

I'd call your credit/bank card company, or if you used Paypal I'd contact them.  There are other ways to seek compensation outside of bricklink.

I know those avenues are open. I was just struck that that bricklink was a hands-off environment which relies very much on the (hopefully good) behaviour of the parties.

ClareyBristols

Thanks everyone this is very helpful!  I will look around and find the best price/shipping options and I’ll make sure I pay by PayPal either way.  Thanks again x