Hi guys, this is my first post here, and I thought I'd share my experience since it is this thread that led me to BrickLinking my own 10179 ...
Everything has been ordered, just waiting for a last couple orders to arrive.
It was fun to hunt for all these pieces, but if I had to do it again, I would certainly buy a complete box (for a time there was one seller in Switzerland who had it for ~2000 USD).
I spent a total of ~1700 USD (including shipping and taxes) in approximately 30 orders.
The only substitution I've made is the 47996 rigging, couldn't spent 125 USD a piece so I went for the black one.
Everything else is in the right color and 95% pieces are new.
I'll try to analyze later in detail the 30+ orders I've made, here's the first two :
- 2404 pieces (166 lots), new condition: 400 USD
- 1585 pieces (65 lots), new condition: 500 USD
So these 2 orders brought me 80% of the pieces for a little bit more than half the total final spending.
So, what went wrong ?
I definitely could have spent less (maybe 1/2) if I had bought mostly Used pieces instead of New, but I wanted pieces in really good condition. In retrospect, that's a bit ridiculous since many pieces are part of the structure / hidden inside the hull.
I could have settled for more color substitutions, but then it's not really the same, is it ? I also thought that if (big if) I have to sell it one day, the right colors will make its future value.
Also, the first order I placed for this project was about I month ago, so all the pieces were ordered in about 1 month. I could've waited to find some pieces at a more affordable price and combine the orders differently and maybe save some $.
Maybe some are surprised by the number of orders, I must also say that I tried to stay (legally) below the radar of the customs, as here in Switzerland imported merchandise above ~50$ is taxed 11% (8% VAT + 3% value) + some flat processing fee.
I also tried to cap the shipping expenses, trying to stay in Europe. There are good stores/sellers in the US, but shipping is expensive (USPS) unless you're ready to wait 4+ weeks for an uninsured parcel.
Finally, there are some rare/overpriced pieces that, if you chose the original color (that's what I did), will set you back immediately about 300$ (without shipping costs) :
- 100$ for 47 dark bluish gray bricks 1x16
- 40$ for a used 10x10 radar dish with printed pattern, more if it's new
- 180$ for 60 light bluish gray levers
- and I'm not even speaking of these 2 boat mast riggings at 125$ each ....
So, my advice to whoever would like to engage in a similar quest: settle from the start for the color substitutions that you're ready to do or not, and wether most of you parts are going to be in used or new condition. That's what will determine if the final cost is closer to 800$ or 1600$ ...
