That 20-25 dollar per hour mark is VERY interesting as there are people where that is totally worth it, but there are also people who really prioritize time with their family, working on other things, etc. and thats nowhere near enough to be worth it. Thank you for going through and actually measuring the packing times for others to compare. This is a huge resource for anyone packing boxes to determine if packing tight is worth the time for them or not.
Talked to someone that was also packing boxes the day I was, and she said she usually brings her kid with her to the Lego store (didn't that day) and they have fun packing boxes together. So can have best of both with family time plus Lego time, win-win.
His math is bad. 240 extra pieces, 25 minutes, that’s 10 pieces a min (considering at least 1 min to pack a loose box) at 0.17 canadian thats 1.70/min or $100 an hour.
For me it’s totally worth it … I enjoy packing box and at the same time you talk to other LEGO fan about LEGO lol so you save money and have a good time ! I love it
I love all this nerdy math to calculate the exact cost (time & money) of packing a box vs. not. I’ve had this conversation with myself in my head so many times - “is it worth it”. Now I know the numbers.
If you have the time and temperament to pack the boxes then it's a pretty much the best deal you can get. I think you're right Lego should never move away from doing it. Their production cost has got to be low enough that even getting 22 dollars out of potentially 140 is still good and it allows older stock to be moved.
I think it is very important to factor in how much your time is worth. I don't get to a Lego store very often, so I enjoy the time spent packing and chatting with folks and employees.
Is there anything else that people do in their day, when they're not at work, that they factor in how much their time is worth? Do you factor in how much time is worth when you are watching TV, reading a book, watching football, going for a walk, building Lego sets, hanging with friends, playing golf, etc? Probably not. People fill up their free time doing all sorts of things. It doesn't mean it's costing them money.
@@Richard-xu3mm I think in terms of recreational activities and things they enjoy, most people don't. But in terms of things like mowing the grass ect, many do. If I didn't necessarily enjoy my time filling the boxes, I would think about it in that way. Like so many things in life, it is nuanced and depends on each individual
You need to also factor in the time to take them apart. 1x2 bricks are not that bad. But I once tried packing 4x4 plates firmly without offsetting them and discovered taking them apart was a real pain.
Use 2 brickseperators and avoid try seperate small stacks but instead just put them all together. Im a pro after getting couple thoasand 4x4 plate this way
There is a third version. Lay them flat in the box without stacking. Less then 5 minutes und more then your left box at the end of the video. Time/money wise, this is the best option.
I have 2 within 30min drive and neither has much turnover and rarely gets masonry or other good pieces I see in Brickies’ Lego store wall. They don’t put out new stuff until there is an empty spot. So they have no schedule of when new ones are put out. It’s frustrating. Plus they are strict on only one box per piece type. So unlike Bricksie, I can’t get 2 boxes of a certain piece. One guy wanted me to open my one box so he could look in it. WTH!
@@timfolly7323 Wow! I guess I should not complain. I only have one lego shop near me, but there's a lot of turnover. I think they get new parts every week or two.
Per @Bricksie’s comment, the PAB is most likely a loss leader. These stores probably pay an exorbitant amount to lease their space. So these stores end up mostly in a small area and therefore don’t have room for an extensive PAB. I get it, but still stinks.
I tried the math with a mixed box (including smaller and larger parts of different types), I ended up at roughly 3x-4x when ordering the same pieces online. As for the packing experience, I talked to the guys at the LEGO store and there's actually quite a few people who do the packing not to save money but because it's really relaxing, especially if it's not too crowded. For me, if I have more than two or three types of bricks in a box, "clumping" them also makes it easier to sort them at home (in other words, the time you take stacking them at the store is the time you save at home sorting them if you have diferent types of bricks and pieces).
Recently went to a Dutch Legostore and spent some effort in packing everything properly. Cost of box= €19,99, content amounted to €51,02. Not a lot of time lost, much gained..
i think its definitely likely that part shipping to end consumer has a higher overhead than the pad wall. shipping is gonna be a lot lower sending 1 pallet vs 100 small boxes, not to mention the QC you need to make sure you get the number of parts you ordered
PAB walls are crazy value for those who have them near by. The alternative is to maybe get lucky with an online market place or flea market; that's lotto chances.
I routinely get 813 1x2 bricks in a box. Yes, the box buckles a little but barely. They have never complained. The tape still closes the box. Extra time to pack? Yes, but it's over a 1 hour round trip, not including getting into and out of the store. The extra time packing isn't a problem for me.
@@Bricksie "Officially" from Lego, they would likely say "not allowed", but I think it also kind of depends on the store/employees too. One time when I was part way thru packing a box one of the employees came over and told me (unprompted) to feel free to go ahead and over stuff the box. However, at a local 3rd party Lego store that still uses cups, they have a sign saying "the lid MUST close fully".
9:47 while I also wish PAB Online prices would drop, I do think you have to factor in the expensive cost to LEGO of having someone (or, are PAB orders packed by machine?) pack the specific quantities of pieces you want. I’d imagine most of LEGO’s packing and shipments are MUCH simpler as you can program a machine to send X quantity of a piece Y amount of times for a production run of a set, or pull 500 off the line at once to send out to LEGO stores for the PAB wall. As you point out yourself, time spent packing our online PAB is money to LEGO :) GREAT analysis in this video btw!!
Had been on a road trip and stopped in LA on my way back to Toronto. Had in the 6x4 nugget plates. Spent 30 minutes filling up a box because Toronto's brickwalls are always empty at each of the 3 stores.
Very informative video Jordan. Thank you for all your work! Idea for your videos in the white room. You should think about putting a couple Lego art sets on the wall behind you to add some colour and something more to the set. But as always you do you my guy you know best.
I have packed boxes at the LEGO store PAB wall and checked them with the cheapest BrickLink price when I get home. The BrickLink price is usually 2 to 3 times higher than the LEGO PAB wall price. The LEGO PAB wall is the most economical.
We packed a bunch of rather expensive pieces into by stacking them and got about $150 worth of brick for $18 this weekend. PAB wall is one of the best ways to get new bulk brick if you take the time to stack the blocks. Yes it took time to stand there and stalk then, but we didn't have to wait for them to come in the mail.
when the store gets busy it can be pretty distracting/frustrating to stand there packing a box, especially if there's a bunch of people at the PAB wall (including little kids running back and forth).
The masonry bricks dried up immediately near where I am in the US, but funny enough I actually found some when I was in Tokyo last month. Wasn't even looking for a Lego store, just happened to come across one in Tokyo Station. Of course I bought a box of them, they wouldn't take my Insider card though.
I love packing boxes in the Lego store, For me, Its part of the Lego build process and a challenge to get the best value parts that are useful for my hobby. It can also become a social event where I talk with others and help people in the store to get the best value. The store staff are always helpful and will check if there are any bricks available that have not made it onto the wall yet. Thanks for this video it’s really useful. I usually compare my purchase to prices on Rebrickable of Brick Owl as on line Lego store seems to be the most expensive unless there are other incentives attached to the purchase. Nice job Bricksie 👍
A new Lego Store opened yesterday about 1h away from my place, and I spent about 1.5h stacking 1x1 headlights, while chatting with the other customers and helping them reach the uppermost boxes. 800 headlights between 2 layers of plates took up about 2/3 of my box, and I filled the rest with misc pieces I might need. The issue with the new PAB cardboard boxes is that their dimensions aren't a multiple of a brick, but they are all very close to prime numbers, whether you stack the bricks vertically (23*11*5+2/3) or horizontally (19*11*6+5/6). Lego designers are maths nerds. 😆
I agree...I wish there were more stores that have PAB walls. Too far away and yes, make the online experience cheaper. If they made it so you had to buy $50 or so to get that store price, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
I was going to do a video on that because I packed the limb elements and it's also worth it for that too. It's get more expensive when you include the tax on top of the cost.
After having bought previously several PAB cups and now boxes, I definitely think the boxes are a better overall experience for packing parts for sure.
Awesome video! Also, remember the drive to the store and home again, but still, I'm going to take a closer look at the PAB when I go in. Very good research, thank you!
That is just crazy! Thank you for doing this comparison!! And I agree with you on the online pricing. I am dependent on online, as the nearest LEGO store with a decent brick wall is 4.5 hours away from me.
I found that packing the boxes vertically rather than laying the pieces out horizontally fits even better as there are no gaps in the edges. Somewhat slower but idiotically satisfying and one gets home with a solid brick of lego pieces. Which is probably the worst thing about it all, because then I have a solid brick of lego pieces at home which need to be taken apart
I will hopefully go to my very first Lego store next week. I put a limit of how much I’m spending it is $40 and depending if the pab wall has pieces I like I might get it.😊😁
My best is 760. I start with three layers, each with 11 stacks of 19 bricks. The top layer has 7 stacks of 19 bricks in the centre with all of these stacks on edge. Then 2 more stacks front and back laying down. This will dome the lid but still closes quite well.
I agree that it fun hanging out in a Lego store. The time it takes to pack a box is irrelevant for me. I remember all the time I took using the feel method trying to find bagged mjnifigs. The Pick a Brick wall is fun to experience and I have met some really nice people as I was filling a box or cup up. Thanks for the fantastic videos. 8-)
On the CMF bags vs boxes - 1) glad they started having those extra matrix codes (even if it wasn't officially published) not only does that save time over feeling the bag but shortly after they had switched to boxes my local Walmart soon had 100s of torn open CMF boxes they had to put on damaged clearance 2) it always felt weird basically "molesting" the bags to get the ones you wanted
I live in Europe, and I looked up a Austrian seller, who sells theese for the "lose price" 420 pieces for 19 euro. I think an average bricklink seller worths it more. The exception is only when you live next to a Lego store which is not in my case
Wow! Thanks for cracking the numbers. Unfortunately I don’t live nearby a Lego Store. Would be great if you make a sort of tutorial video how to stack different types of pieces. So when I am able to visit one day I can grab your instructions how to pack as many boxes as possible for that visit ;)
My local lego store has a 1 box per customer for the mason bricks. This is so everyone has a chance to get some bricks. Its mostly a "be kind to others" thing.
i get over 800 2x2's in a box.. the box is stretched to the max..sometimes the seams rip..but the Lego employees dont care and just give extra stickers to hold it together
Likely a silly question. If you take the time to stack the bricks (which I always try and do) Are the parts then considered used? If you are a reseller and the parts have been connected isn't that technically used then?
I'd be more worried about the wear and tear happening in that bin throughout the day scratching up the decorative surfaces. Definitely a worthy ponder, though!
Hi! I do the same thing. I compare the price I stack in the box. Usually I buy the smaller box which is in my currency 5000, last time I could stack more than 300 of white masonary bricks and some other parts. The price for this lot in my usual webshop costs over 16000!
At my Local lego store they had 1x4 lavender masonry bricks and I think I got 4-5 large boxes just of those bricks alone and it took me about an hour to pack all of those bricks by putting them together
I live my lego life vicariously through you and the other lego youtubers. (transformers are expensive enough, lol). If i was doing lego, I would for sure, be packing boxes.
It’s wild to see how much you save! I’ve heard, at least in the US, that the PAB online orders are handpicked. So they need to figure out a way to fulfill online orders more efficiently to get those prices down
I think the price online also accounts convince of options and for a paying a real person to count out an order of bricks, possibly in the hundreds. Where as in store the labor is on you. I definitely agree its probably loss leader and that they wont crack down. Last time I went we did the build a minifig and they let us have a 4th fig free, which was super nice of them. However PAB wall buyers are more likely to be hardcore fans so I worry that the price goes up, rather than them being more strict on how people pack them (also that would be a silly thing to police.)
lego 100% intended for people to pack it. it looks good to have the store have people in it a long time, it costs pretty much no difference to them, it's a way to let people think they are getting a better deal up on the wall but in reality the cost is probably not measurably different to lego I also think a lot less people would use PABW at all if theycouldnt pack them. but yeah, lego knew exactly what they were doing moving from a cup to a box that was easier to pack
If it’s easy to pack and you have the time, then it’s totally worth it. Otherwise, you can just quickly fill the boxes and just not get as many bricks for the same price of box. Either way, getting bricks from the pab wall is cheaper than ordering them online. Ordering online has the benefit of you finding what you need at any given moment but then you just had to wait for it in the mail. So basically, all methods are good, but it really all depends on your needs. 😊
Few thoughts: online is too expensive for sure. The PAB WALL needs more variation, once you are stacked up with plates and bricks, it is all about getting Lucky. And if the pieces are good and the store is quite i will for sure be there for a fair while 😅
I don't mind really packing boxes esp if there are parts in need. I even cut the counting time to just measuring. I do the first count and if it's 19 bricks then I just stack u til I match the levels and get enough for a few rows and keep going.
at 2:25 you can see a cool optical illusion! the stacks look very weird at a glance, almost as if they are thicker at one side and thinner at the other
I know I maybe cheating a little, but I usually stack it 23 stud x 12 stud x 17 plate high, I would sometime push it for 18 plate (6 stud) high. But if course depend on which type of brick you are stacking, so I usually just stack 22 stud across. So I would get 792 pieces minimum, with 1 stud x 12 stud x 6 brick high and use that as filler space
I didn't even know you could buy Lego like that before watching your videos and buying kits for our kids 30 plus years ago. All we get is an aisle of sets in the big box stores.
Someone could just hang in the Lego store and pack bricks for 5 bucks per box and I belive he will still have nice hour rate for the job. And you still get more pieces than if you didn't pack them. That's win-win 😊
If I had access to a PAB wall I’d pack everything…. I like a deal and the value is huge to me. I think most people have to save and budget for their hobbies and like you say… why not just hang out at the Lego store? 😁👍
In Norway we don’t have any Lego Store so I have to buy them on Lego’s website or bricklink. I’m in Denmark some times (Lego House and Copenhagen Lego Store) so that’s the only time I can buy P&B. I feel it’s very bad we don’t have any Lego Store here.
I was just at a Lego store. Brought the cups I've had for years with me. Got to the wall and went huh...guess I don't need cups anymore. I've not been to the store in years. 🤣 Then I debated if I wanted to spend time perfectly filling the box. I chose not to. For one, my family was with me and it would be rude to have them wait that long. Second, and arguably more important, it kept more of the joy. It was me being a kid and my Mom saying you could get one box. Grabbing a handful of this and of that, shoving it into the box without worrying about maximizing every cent. Just thinking about ALL the cool parts I was getting. Edit: That being said I would pack larger parts, yet I did not get many of those. I got flowers, leaves, stems, energy effects.
Yeah my closest lego store is about 4 hours away. So my only real options are lego on line or bricklink (which are both lego), I’d love it if they lowered their online prices. Actually probably a good thing the lego store is 4 hours away! lol
Your calculations make me wonder why Lego doesn't hire a packer for the stores? Like, go to the store, make your order, and have it done by the next delivery. Only for those that don't have the time to do it themselves.
Good video, but the box can still be optimized to fit 757 bricks without deforming the box. You need: 32 stacks of 19 bricks (608) 69 stacks of 2 bricks (138) 11 bricks (11) 608+138+11 = 757
also gas time and energy it takes to drive to the mall or find pick a brick walls is all ignored when ordering online it really is hard to calculate the true cost
Yeah, I have to imagine and hope... Lego would realize if people want to spend that kind of time packing boxes and with limited and somewhat random stocking of parts, then let them do it. Most people will not spend 20, not even 10 minutes packing a box like that.
the only problem for me is that i dont have a lego store near enough for me to take advantage of pick a brick in person without a drive that is fairly long, about an hour of driving total there and back again, plus i get to pick things like lego minifigure weapons and parts i need instead of hoping it has it there so i can take advantage of the online that way. dont get me wrong if a lego store opened closer to me i would go there all the time for my diffrent needs and do online for things i couldn't get.
lego store PABs aren't that interesting anyway, one thing these youtubers never mention is how the selection of pieces is, it's bad, it's pretty much always the same pieces, they change them but they always switch back to the same selection, and more than half of the pab wall is let's be honest very niche pieces that no one actually uses, it feels like they're just there to make a colorful wall, most of the time you fill your box or your cup with with pieces you actually doesn't really need So yeah, on the paper in terms of pure price for pieces it's indeed the best way to buy lego but in reality it's not, and it's even worse if you live far from a lego store like you, just buy the piece you want online, unless the piece you want is a commonly find in lego store PABs wall and someone told you that exact piece is at the nearest lego store you live, go for it but yeah
That 20-25 dollar per hour mark is VERY interesting as there are people where that is totally worth it, but there are also people who really prioritize time with their family, working on other things, etc. and thats nowhere near enough to be worth it. Thank you for going through and actually measuring the packing times for others to compare. This is a huge resource for anyone packing boxes to determine if packing tight is worth the time for them or not.
Talked to someone that was also packing boxes the day I was, and she said she usually brings her kid with her to the Lego store (didn't that day) and they have fun packing boxes together. So can have best of both with family time plus Lego time, win-win.
His math is bad. 240 extra pieces, 25 minutes, that’s 10 pieces a min (considering at least 1 min to pack a loose box) at 0.17 canadian thats 1.70/min or $100 an hour.
Bricksie just because some people say you talk too much dose t mean you Actully do. Hearing your ideas is fun it’s fun to listen to you.
I like it the way it is ngl but whatever you think we will roll with it
AGREED - Jordan keep talking its cool to listen to
For me it’s totally worth it … I enjoy packing box and at the same time you talk to other LEGO fan about LEGO lol so you save money and have a good time ! I love it
I love all this nerdy math to calculate the exact cost (time & money) of packing a box vs. not. I’ve had this conversation with myself in my head so many times - “is it worth it”. Now I know the numbers.
If you have the time and temperament to pack the boxes then it's a pretty much the best deal you can get. I think you're right Lego should never move away from doing it. Their production cost has got to be low enough that even getting 22 dollars out of potentially 140 is still good and it allows older stock to be moved.
I think it is very important to factor in how much your time is worth. I don't get to a Lego store very often, so I enjoy the time spent packing and chatting with folks and employees.
Is there anything else that people do in their day, when they're not at work, that they factor in how much their time is worth? Do you factor in how much time is worth when you are watching TV, reading a book, watching football, going for a walk, building Lego sets, hanging with friends, playing golf, etc? Probably not. People fill up their free time doing all sorts of things. It doesn't mean it's costing them money.
@@Richard-xu3mm I think in terms of recreational activities and things they enjoy, most people don't. But in terms of things like mowing the grass ect, many do. If I didn't necessarily enjoy my time filling the boxes, I would think about it in that way. Like so many things in life, it is nuanced and depends on each individual
Same I spent an hour doing 3 big and 1 little box was such fun 😊
So you’re getting them for 4.2 cents per brick when packed
You need to also factor in the time to take them apart. 1x2 bricks are not that bad. But I once tried packing 4x4 plates firmly without offsetting them and discovered taking them apart was a real pain.
Use 2 brickseperators and avoid try seperate small stacks but instead just put them all together. Im a pro after getting couple thoasand 4x4 plate this way
You should offset them if you want any hope of getting them out, if you do it through a row going across the whole box you get more out of it
Even at that price with stacked 1x2 masonry bricks, Lego is still making a killing.
There is a third version. Lay them flat in the box without stacking. Less then 5 minutes und more then your left box at the end of the video. Time/money wise, this is the best option.
I just wish more stores had better PAB walls closer to what’s available to you 😢
I so agree. PAB near me is pathetic.
I have 2 within 30min drive and neither has much turnover and rarely gets masonry or other good pieces I see in Brickies’ Lego store wall. They don’t put out new stuff until there is an empty spot. So they have no schedule of when new ones are put out. It’s frustrating. Plus they are strict on only one box per piece type. So unlike Bricksie, I can’t get 2 boxes of a certain piece. One guy wanted me to open my one box so he could look in it. WTH!
@@timfolly7323 Wow! I guess I should not complain. I only have one lego shop near me, but there's a lot of turnover. I think they get new parts every week or two.
Per @Bricksie’s comment, the PAB is most likely a loss leader. These stores probably pay an exorbitant amount to lease their space. So these stores end up mostly in a small area and therefore don’t have room for an extensive PAB. I get it, but still stinks.
Yes! Look at Bricksie here having two lego stores in town when there is only one in my entire (rich european) country 4 hours away from where I live.
I tried the math with a mixed box (including smaller and larger parts of different types), I ended up at roughly 3x-4x when ordering the same pieces online. As for the packing experience, I talked to the guys at the LEGO store and there's actually quite a few people who do the packing not to save money but because it's really relaxing, especially if it's not too crowded. For me, if I have more than two or three types of bricks in a box, "clumping" them also makes it easier to sort them at home (in other words, the time you take stacking them at the store is the time you save at home sorting them if you have diferent types of bricks and pieces).
Recently went to a Dutch Legostore and spent some effort in packing everything properly. Cost of box= €19,99, content amounted to €51,02. Not a lot of time lost, much gained..
Are the boxes in the netherlands smaller? I have the idea they are thinner.
I wanted to see that time-lapse stacking in the store!! Lol. Good info
i think its definitely likely that part shipping to end consumer has a higher overhead than the pad wall. shipping is gonna be a lot lower sending 1 pallet vs 100 small boxes, not to mention the QC you need to make sure you get the number of parts you ordered
You forgot to count the disassembly time especially if you stack plates.
PAB walls are crazy value for those who have them near by. The alternative is to maybe get lucky with an online market place or flea market; that's lotto chances.
I routinely get 813 1x2 bricks in a box. Yes, the box buckles a little but barely. They have never complained. The tape still closes the box. Extra time to pack? Yes, but it's over a 1 hour round trip, not including getting into and out of the store. The extra time packing isn't a problem for me.
Haha I am not going to advertise over stuffing a box as it should not be allowed
@@Bricksie "Officially" from Lego, they would likely say "not allowed", but I think it also kind of depends on the store/employees too. One time when I was part way thru packing a box one of the employees came over and told me (unprompted) to feel free to go ahead and over stuff the box. However, at a local 3rd party Lego store that still uses cups, they have a sign saying "the lid MUST close fully".
The closest store to me is three hours. If I go, I'm going to spend half a day in there packing boxes lol.
9:47 while I also wish PAB Online prices would drop, I do think you have to factor in the expensive cost to LEGO of having someone (or, are PAB orders packed by machine?) pack the specific quantities of pieces you want. I’d imagine most of LEGO’s packing and shipments are MUCH simpler as you can program a machine to send X quantity of a piece Y amount of times for a production run of a set, or pull 500 off the line at once to send out to LEGO stores for the PAB wall. As you point out yourself, time spent packing our online PAB is money to LEGO :)
GREAT analysis in this video btw!!
Had been on a road trip and stopped in LA on my way back to Toronto. Had in the 6x4 nugget plates. Spent 30 minutes filling up a box because Toronto's brickwalls are always empty at each of the 3 stores.
Very informative video Jordan. Thank you for all your work! Idea for your videos in the white room. You should think about putting a couple Lego art sets on the wall behind you to add some colour and something more to the set. But as always you do you my guy you know best.
I have packed boxes at the LEGO store PAB wall and checked them with the cheapest BrickLink price when I get home.
The BrickLink price is usually 2 to 3 times higher than the LEGO PAB wall price.
The LEGO PAB wall is the most economical.
We packed a bunch of rather expensive pieces into by stacking them and got about $150 worth of brick for $18 this weekend. PAB wall is one of the best ways to get new bulk brick if you take the time to stack the blocks. Yes it took time to stand there and stalk then, but we didn't have to wait for them to come in the mail.
If it was just me in the store , I would sit there and pack boxes , the crowds there over whelm me
I can see that. Although stacking the bricks makes me relax.
when the store gets busy it can be pretty distracting/frustrating to stand there packing a box, especially if there's a bunch of people at the PAB wall (including little kids running back and forth).
The masonry bricks dried up immediately near where I am in the US, but funny enough I actually found some when I was in Tokyo last month. Wasn't even looking for a Lego store, just happened to come across one in Tokyo Station. Of course I bought a box of them, they wouldn't take my Insider card though.
I love packing boxes in the Lego store, For me, Its part of the Lego build process and a challenge to get the best value parts that are useful for my hobby. It can also become a social event where I talk with others and help people in the store to get the best value. The store staff are always helpful and will check if there are any bricks available that have not made it onto the wall yet. Thanks for this video it’s really useful. I usually compare my purchase to prices on Rebrickable of Brick Owl as on line Lego store seems to be the most expensive unless there are other incentives attached to the purchase. Nice job Bricksie 👍
A new Lego Store opened yesterday about 1h away from my place, and I spent about 1.5h stacking 1x1 headlights, while chatting with the other customers and helping them reach the uppermost boxes. 800 headlights between 2 layers of plates took up about 2/3 of my box, and I filled the rest with misc pieces I might need.
The issue with the new PAB cardboard boxes is that their dimensions aren't a multiple of a brick, but they are all very close to prime numbers, whether you stack the bricks vertically (23*11*5+2/3) or horizontally (19*11*6+5/6). Lego designers are maths nerds. 😆
I agree...I wish there were more stores that have PAB walls. Too far away and yes, make the online experience cheaper. If they made it so you had to buy $50 or so to get that store price, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
I was going to do a video on that because I packed the limb elements and it's also worth it for that too. It's get more expensive when you include the tax on top of the cost.
Marquees Brownlee vibes with the thumbnail... 👏RUclips literally had the two vids side by side (I am talking about his AirPods video)
Thanks Bricksie, it is amazing what some organization can do when packing boxes!
After having bought previously several PAB cups and now boxes, I definitely think the boxes are a better overall experience for packing parts for sure.
Awesome video! Also, remember the drive to the store and home again, but still, I'm going to take a closer look at the PAB when I go in. Very good research, thank you!
That is just crazy! Thank you for doing this comparison!! And I agree with you on the online pricing. I am dependent on online, as the nearest LEGO store with a decent brick wall is 4.5 hours away from me.
I like this!
These are the types of videos that I geek out about tbh. Love the analysis
I found that packing the boxes vertically rather than laying the pieces out horizontally fits even better as there are no gaps in the edges. Somewhat slower but idiotically satisfying and one gets home with a solid brick of lego pieces. Which is probably the worst thing about it all, because then I have a solid brick of lego pieces at home which need to be taken apart
I will hopefully go to my very first Lego store next week. I put a limit of how much I’m spending it is $40 and depending if the pab wall has pieces I like I might get it.😊😁
My best is 760. I start with three layers, each with 11 stacks of 19 bricks. The top layer has 7 stacks of 19 bricks in the centre with all of these stacks on edge. Then 2 more stacks front and back laying down. This will dome the lid but still closes quite well.
Love this content - please more. E.g. how to best pack unshapely items or what makes sense to combine, etc.
I agree that it fun hanging out in a Lego store. The time it takes to pack a box is irrelevant for me. I remember all the time I took using the feel method trying to find bagged mjnifigs. The Pick a Brick wall is fun to experience and I have met some really nice people as I was filling a box or cup up. Thanks for the fantastic videos. 8-)
On the CMF bags vs boxes - 1) glad they started having those extra matrix codes (even if it wasn't officially published) not only does that save time over feeling the bag but shortly after they had switched to boxes my local Walmart soon had 100s of torn open CMF boxes they had to put on damaged clearance 2) it always felt weird basically "molesting" the bags to get the ones you wanted
Very interesting breakdown of the numbers! Great video!
I live in Europe, and I looked up a Austrian seller, who sells theese for the "lose price" 420 pieces for 19 euro. I think an average bricklink seller worths it more. The exception is only when you live next to a Lego store which is not in my case
Wow! Thanks for cracking the numbers. Unfortunately I don’t live nearby a Lego Store.
Would be great if you make a sort of tutorial video how to stack different types of pieces. So when I am able to visit one day I can grab your instructions how to pack as many boxes as possible for that visit ;)
Thanks! This also works for stacking more LEGO in limited storage space 😊
Hubby and I did this yesterday at the Orland Park, Illinois store 6x8 plates for 4 MILS plate. A huge savings.
My local lego store has a 1 box per customer for the mason bricks. This is so everyone has a chance to get some bricks. Its mostly a "be kind to others" thing.
i get over 800 2x2's in a box.. the box is stretched to the max..sometimes the seams rip..but the Lego employees dont care and just give extra stickers to hold it together
Update..I did a test and managed to fit 825
Likely a silly question. If you take the time to stack the bricks (which I always try and do) Are the parts then considered used? If you are a reseller and the parts have been connected isn't that technically used then?
I'd be more worried about the wear and tear happening in that bin throughout the day scratching up the decorative surfaces. Definitely a worthy ponder, though!
Good question 🤔
Love this, it’s exactly the sort of thing I’d sit and work out.
Hi! I do the same thing. I compare the price I stack in the box. Usually I buy the smaller box which is in my currency 5000, last time I could stack more than 300 of white masonary bricks and some other parts. The price for this lot in my usual webshop costs over 16000!
At my Local lego store they had 1x4 lavender masonry bricks and I think I got 4-5 large boxes just of those bricks alone and it took me about an hour to pack all of those bricks by putting them together
I turn all of my 1x2 brick on edge. It would eliminate the tile on top.
Great Lego Experiment, Great Channel and Love this video along with all the others. Have a good day Bricksie
I live my lego life vicariously through you and the other lego youtubers. (transformers are expensive enough, lol). If i was doing lego, I would for sure, be packing boxes.
How many would fit if you don't lay them flat but build into the vertical? And how many if you lay them flat but 90° rotated?
Depends on the time I have and the pieces, my store also allows the me to pack to bulging if I'm not stacking which helps a little bit.
Great quantitative and qualitative analyses!
It’s wild to see how much you save! I’ve heard, at least in the US, that the PAB online orders are handpicked. So they need to figure out a way to fulfill online orders more efficiently to get those prices down
I think the price online also accounts convince of options and for a paying a real person to count out an order of bricks, possibly in the hundreds. Where as in store the labor is on you. I definitely agree its probably loss leader and that they wont crack down. Last time I went we did the build a minifig and they let us have a 4th fig free, which was super nice of them. However PAB wall buyers are more likely to be hardcore fans so I worry that the price goes up, rather than them being more strict on how people pack them (also that would be a silly thing to police.)
lego 100% intended for people to pack it. it looks good to have the store have people in it a long time, it costs pretty much no difference to them, it's a way to let people think they are getting a better deal up on the wall but in reality the cost is probably not measurably different to lego
I also think a lot less people would use PABW at all if theycouldnt pack them. but yeah, lego knew exactly what they were doing moving from a cup to a box that was easier to pack
If it’s easy to pack and you have the time, then it’s totally worth it. Otherwise, you can just quickly fill the boxes and just not get as many bricks for the same price of box. Either way, getting bricks from the pab wall is cheaper than ordering them online. Ordering online has the benefit of you finding what you need at any given moment but then you just had to wait for it in the mail. So basically, all methods are good, but it really all depends on your needs. 😊
It’s good to see you excited in a video!
SO glad you did this analysis for us!
Few thoughts: online is too expensive for sure. The PAB WALL needs more variation, once you are stacked up with plates and bricks, it is all about getting Lucky. And if the pieces are good and the store is quite i will for sure be there for a fair while 😅
Word of the day: shwacked
Hahah you like that
the link to the LEGO site is in a non English system where is the English version to order bulk Lego bricks from?
Can you do a comparison of how many pieces you can get in the old plastic cups versus the box. Loose and the stacking method?
I don't mind really packing boxes esp if there are parts in need. I even cut the counting time to just measuring. I do the first count and if it's 19 bricks then I just stack u til I match the levels and get enough for a few rows and keep going.
at 2:25 you can see a cool optical illusion! the stacks look very weird at a glance, almost as if they are thicker at one side and thinner at the other
I know I maybe cheating a little, but I usually stack it 23 stud x 12 stud x 17 plate high, I would sometime push it for 18 plate (6 stud) high. But if course depend on which type of brick you are stacking, so I usually just stack 22 stud across. So I would get 792 pieces minimum, with 1 stud x 12 stud x 6 brick high and use that as filler space
My local Lego stores often have buy one box, get one half price, so packing them strategically like you have, represents even more value!
hmmm.. did not know/think about multi-box discount was a thing. Is that at an official Lego store near you or a local 3rd party Lego reseller store?
@@truebnb it’s called a Lego Certified store. Has all the products, branding, etc, but not owned by Lego.
Great video analysis Bricksie!! Thanks for this info.
Pro tip, take your kids with you and ask them to help packing! 😅
Haha one day, at this point my kids would disperse the pieces throughout the store
I didn't even know you could buy Lego like that before watching your videos and buying kits for our kids 30 plus years ago. All we get is an aisle of sets in the big box stores.
When we stand there building blocks of bricks we laugh about how much Lego must hate us. 😂
Someone could just hang in the Lego store and pack bricks for 5 bucks per box and I belive he will still have nice hour rate for the job. And you still get more pieces than if you didn't pack them. That's win-win 😊
Great video idea. You should try to do more of these.
Dude awesome. But I got to admit all the numbers flew 10’ over my head. Keep up the great work.
It’s Monday Bricksie! My brain hurts with all that math! 😂 Thanks for taking the time to document this information.
If I had access to a PAB wall I’d pack everything…. I like a deal and the value is huge to me. I think most people have to save and budget for their hobbies and like you say… why not just hang out at the Lego store? 😁👍
The savings from spending time packing is crazy!
Can you do a video of the parts that are worth buying from the PAB wall?
I think it drives traffic, and also, there is a time tax on customers for the smaller parts where the payoff is greatest.
In Norway we don’t have any Lego Store so I have to buy them on Lego’s website or bricklink. I’m in Denmark some times (Lego House and Copenhagen Lego Store) so that’s the only time I can buy P&B. I feel it’s very bad we don’t have any Lego Store here.
Nice video, thanks for the info
Great analysis!
Online sales is more work for LEGO, they have to find the elements, count, pack, and ship them
I was just at a Lego store. Brought the cups I've had for years with me. Got to the wall and went huh...guess I don't need cups anymore. I've not been to the store in years. 🤣 Then I debated if I wanted to spend time perfectly filling the box. I chose not to.
For one, my family was with me and it would be rude to have them wait that long. Second, and arguably more important, it kept more of the joy. It was me being a kid and my Mom saying you could get one box. Grabbing a handful of this and of that, shoving it into the box without worrying about maximizing every cent. Just thinking about ALL the cool parts I was getting.
Edit: That being said I would pack larger parts, yet I did not get many of those. I got flowers, leaves, stems, energy effects.
Yeah my closest lego store is about 4 hours away. So my only real options are lego on line or bricklink (which are both lego), I’d love it if they lowered their online prices. Actually probably a good thing the lego store is 4 hours away! lol
Your calculations make me wonder why Lego doesn't hire a packer for the stores? Like, go to the store, make your order, and have it done by the next delivery. Only for those that don't have the time to do it themselves.
Good video, but the box can still be optimized to fit 757 bricks without deforming the box. You need:
32 stacks of 19 bricks (608)
69 stacks of 2 bricks (138)
11 bricks (11)
608+138+11 = 757
Could you please weigh both of these boxes? You showed in another video, a PAB wall where you pay per 100grams. Does that work out more expensive?
Very informative. Thank you
Thanks and OMG what a saving!
Also fun. Try to get those 720 bricks inside an old cup 😀
also gas time and energy it takes to drive to the mall or find pick a brick walls is all ignored when ordering online it really is hard to calculate the true cost
Yeah, I have to imagine and hope... Lego would realize if people want to spend that kind of time packing boxes and with limited and somewhat random stocking of parts, then let them do it. Most people will not spend 20, not even 10 minutes packing a box like that.
the only problem for me is that i dont have a lego store near enough for me to take advantage of pick a brick in person without a drive that is fairly long, about an hour of driving total there and back again, plus i get to pick things like lego minifigure weapons and parts i need instead of hoping it has it there so i can take advantage of the online that way. dont get me wrong if a lego store opened closer to me i would go there all the time for my diffrent needs and do online for things i couldn't get.
lego store PABs aren't that interesting anyway, one thing these youtubers never mention is how the selection of pieces is, it's bad, it's pretty much always the same pieces, they change them but they always switch back to the same selection, and more than half of the pab wall is let's be honest very niche pieces that no one actually uses, it feels like they're just there to make a colorful wall, most of the time you fill your box or your cup with with pieces you actually doesn't really need
So yeah, on the paper in terms of pure price for pieces it's indeed the best way to buy lego but in reality it's not, and it's even worse if you live far from a lego store like you, just buy the piece you want online, unless the piece you want is a commonly find in lego store PABs wall and someone told you that exact piece is at the nearest lego store you live, go for it but yeah
Packing it is pretty worth it