BrickLink MOC Tutorial: From Parts List to Ordered Bricks

You have found a MOC design you actually want to build, then you open the parts list and your enthusiasm drops — hundreds of different parts, over a thousand pieces. Where do you buy all of that? The answer is BrickLink. As the largest marketplace for individual brick parts, BrickLink is a skill almost every MOC builder has to learn, and this BrickLink MOC tutorial walks the whole route from design file to a complete set of parts on your desk.

What BrickLink actually is

BrickLink connects thousands of brick parts stores around the world, and the easiest way to think about it is a marketplace for single pieces. Its core value is simple: if you have the part number and the colour, you can find a store selling it. Used alongside a MOC design file, you no longer have to buy a whole set just to get one part — you order exactly what the instructions call for.

Step 1: Turn the design's parts list into a standard format

The first step in this BrickLink MOC tutorial is getting the parts list from your design into a format BrickLink understands. Most modern MOC designs ship with a parts list as XML or CSV, and if the file was made in BrickLink Studio you can export it with a single click.

If no file exists, you can build one by hand with three columns: part number, colour and quantity. Use BrickLink's standard colour names (for example "Bright Orange" rather than just "orange"), and match part numbers to the platform exactly — otherwise the search returns nothing.

Step 2: Manage your buying list with a Wanted List

Once you are logged in, find Wanted List in the top navigation and click Upload to bring your parts list in. BrickLink checks every entry automatically and flags anything invalid. The useful trick here is that you can create several lists for the same build — for example a "budget" version and an "all-original-parts" version — which makes price comparison much easier later.

Step 3: Auto-select and price comparison

This is the heart of the BrickLink MOC tutorial. On the Wanted List page, click Buy / Auto-select and the platform matches your list against stores to build the cheapest combination it can find. You can tighten the result with filters:

• Min lots: the more different part types a single store carries the better; keep this at 15 or above, or shipping stops being worth it.
• Max price: set a ceiling for each order.
• Country: prefer stores in your own country or a neighbouring one for lower postage and faster delivery.

The system returns several candidate plans, and "cheapest" and "fewest stores" are usually two different results. Look at both before you commit.

Step 4: Place the order and count what arrives

Add the selected stores to your cart one by one and check out. When the parcels arrive, go through the parts list item by item — special parts and rare colours especially — and contact the seller straight away if anything is missing so they can send a replacement.

Common problems and money-saving tips

• The shipping trap: this catches almost every newcomer. People save 5 dollars on parts and then pay 20 dollars in postage. Before checking out, read each store's shipping cost and minimum order value carefully.
• Alternative parts sources: BrickLink is built around original parts, but many builders combine a domestic parts seller for the bulk of the list with BrickLink only for the rare pieces. That mix can cut the total cost by more than half.
• Colour variation between batches: parts from different production runs can differ slightly in shade. Dark colours such as black and dark grey show almost no difference, but for light colours try to buy the whole quantity from one store.

Work through this BrickLink MOC tutorial once and you will be sourcing parts as efficiently as a long-time builder. If the design in your hands has no standard parts list, take a look at the BrickPlans blog — the community has collected a lot of high-resolution design resources and parts-organising experience, covering the full path from picking up a design file to placing an order, so your first parts run involves fewer mistakes alongside this guide.