Do you have an instruction manual but you need to buy pieces? This guide will help you. There are several places where you can buy bricks and they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.
In all Temple Bricks instruction manuals there is a “bill of materials” which lists all of the parts needed for the set. Each part has a picture, the amount needed notated like “x24” meaning there are 24 of that particular piece and an ID number like 3002 which is used for finding the piece to buy.
Brick Link
Brick link is a website where anybody can list pieces they have for sale. It’s a lot like Ebay where you have different sellers with different ratings. Pieces are listed from all over the world so there is a vast supply of all pieces, shapes, sizes, and colors.
Pros: Cheapest place to find bricks! Huge variety of different shapes, sizes, and colors.
Cons: Parts are listed from many different sellers. Shipping parts from different sellers eats away at the cost savings. Site isn’t user-friendly.
How to buy: There are a couple ways you can get pieces on Brick Link. The easiest is to just do a search by the ID number and find whomever has the cheapest but because you may pay a lot in shipping from many places another option is to create a wish list and add all the parts to it. From the wish list you can view who has the most pieces you’re looking for. Another option that we haven’t tried yet is Brick Wizard. It’s supposedly an application that will figure out the absolute cheapest way to order the parts you need off of Brick link.
Ebay
You are probably familiar with Ebay so there isn’t much to say about it. You can look for pieces by bulk lots with color or you can look for individual parts by ID number.
Pros: Pretty cheap prices. Great place to buy in bulk.
Cons: Usually you can’t pick which pieces you get. Less variety of pieces.
How to buy: Go to Ebay and either search for the ID number or find random bulk lots with the color you want and you may or may not get the pieces you want.
LEGO.com
LEGO has an online shop where you can buy individual pieces. It’s more expensive than the first two options but you’ll get high quality brand new pieces. Note: Sometimes pieces get discontinued from LEGO and they may not have available all the pieces you need.
Pros: All brand-new pieces. Good selection of pieces/colors.
Cons: Expensive.
How to buy: Go to LEGO and enter the ID number into the “Design ID” search box toward the lower-left and it will bring up the pieces you need.
Pick-a-brick Wall
Local LEGO stores and other toy/hobby stores may have a “Pick-a-brick” wall where you can buy individual pieces. You’ll have to do a web search to see if there are any near you.
Pros: Buy pieces immediately. No shipping costs.
Cons: Expensive. Less variety.