Selling on Bricklink vs eBay: Which Is Better for LEGO?
Category: Selling
By BrickBucks
Bricklink wins on fees and parts. eBay wins on audience and speed. Here's exactly which to use for what.
Every LEGO seller eventually faces the Bricklink vs eBay decision. The answer isn't "one or the other" — most serious sellers use both — but knowing which platform wins for each kind of item is the difference between maximizing revenue and leaving money on the table. Here's the head-to-head.
Fees
- Bricklink: 3% of sale price. Payment processing (PayPal/Stripe/IC) is separate, typically 2.9% + $0.30.
- eBay: 13-15% final value fee depending on category and store tier. Payment processing baked in via Managed Payments.
Winner: Bricklink, decisively. On a $100 sale, Bricklink keeps ~$3, eBay keeps ~$13-15.
Audience size
- Bricklink: ~1 million registered users, almost all of them dedicated LEGO collectors and builders.
- eBay: ~135 million active buyers globally. A tiny percentage are LEGO buyers, but the absolute number still dwarfs Bricklink.
Winner: eBay on scale, Bricklink on relevance.
Time to sale
- Bricklink: hours to days on common parts, weeks on niche items. Auctions don't exist.
- eBay: 7 days max on auctions, often hours on Buy It Now with Best Offer accepted. Faster for sealed sets and big-ticket items.
Winner: eBay for speed.
Realized prices on sealed sets
- Bricklink: typically 5-15% below eBay sold prices.
- eBay: the price discovery happens here. Auction-format listings frequently bid above expectations on truly rare sealed items.
Winner: eBay for sealed retired sets.
Realized prices on individual parts and minifigures
- Bricklink: highest realized prices on parts by a wide margin. Buyers are sophisticated and know exact values.
- eBay: lower per-part realized prices unless bundled into themed lots.
Winner: Bricklink for parts, minifigures, and custom prints.
Returns and disputes
- Bricklink: internal dispute system. Most buyers communicate first; outright fraud is rare. Returns are negotiable.
- eBay: Money-Back Guarantee heavily favors buyers. Even with "no returns" listed, eBay will side with buyers on item-not-as-described claims.
Winner: Bricklink for seller protection.
Learning curve
- Bricklink: steep. Catalog navigation, color taxonomies, store setup, inventory management — multi-week ramp.
- eBay: moderate. List in minutes; the harder part is pricing and shipping correctly.
Winner: eBay for first-time sellers.
Best buyer fit
| Item type | Bricklink | eBay | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sealed retired flagship ($300+) | ★★ | ★★★★★ | eBay |
| Sealed in-production set | ★★ | ★★★★ | eBay |
| Used complete set with box | ★★★★ | ★★★ | Both |
| Used incomplete set | ★★★★ | ★★ | Bricklink |
| Individual rare minifigure | ★★★★★ | ★★★ | Bricklink |
| Common parts in bulk | ★★★★★ | ★★ | Bricklink |
| Themed bulk lot | ★★ | ★★★★ | eBay |
| Instructions or empty box | ★★★★ | ★★★ | Bricklink |
The pro answer: use both
Most full-time LEGO sellers run both platforms simultaneously. Sealed and big-ticket sets list on eBay. Parts, minifigures, and used complete sets list on Bricklink. The two audiences barely overlap, so the listings don't cannibalize each other. The added complexity is real but pays for itself quickly once you cross ~$2,000/month in revenue.
For deeper platform tactics, see our Bricklink tips and our eBay tips.