Rebrickable vs Bricklink vs Webrick: What’s The Differences?
With the prices of LEGO becoming almost unaffordable for many households and most LEGO only available in sets, many LEGO alternative online stores have come up. These online stores sell LEGO-compatible bricks that could help you enhance your collection and even build a few MOCs with loose bricks.
Rebrickable vs Bricklink vs Webrick: What’s The Differences? No matter which of these websites you visit, it can be a bit daunting for novice LEGO players to understand. Rebrickable serves as a great database for storing all your bricks, whereas the other two are online stores where you can buy and fill up new bricks for model creations.
Since these sites are a bit daunting to navigate if you don’t have experience with LEGO alternative bricks. I will delve deeper into my experience using all three of them. All of them offer a variety of LEGO bricks that should ensure you have the optimal loose bricks for whatever creations you are aiming to create.
Rebrickable
If you are looking for incredible MOCs, Rebrickable would be one of the best options for you to visit. They have plenty of useful ideas and inspirations that make them a great tool for those looking to build their own models.
One of the best features, which takes a bit of time is that you can fill out the database with all the bricks you currently have, which include your LEGO sets. This will be efficiently stored in the database. Once you have an idea of all the bricks you have, you can use the online store to find new bricks for specific models.
However, the main idea of the site is to sell MOC instructions for those that are looking to create their own models.
Bricklink
Bricklink is more of an online store than the previous option and it enables users to buy and sell bricks, which would depend on their needs for specific builds. One of the great features is that you can get store credits from selling unused bricks, which can be used for buying affordable new bricks. It works similarly to eBay.
One of the top features of the site is the forum, which tends to be active frequently. The idea of this forum is to allow LEGO enthusiasts to enter into discussions with fellow brick lovers in an attempt to design different MOCs.
Finally, it also supports Studio. Studio is one of the best features of the site and would allow you to plan out and design your MOCs. It would allow you to create a visual representation of the model you are aiming to build and this would make it possible to know if you can and have all the required bricks for the specific build.
Bricklink is known for selling real LEGO bricks that would be a great addition to your current collection.
Webrick
Whilst still new to the online brick marketplace, Webrick is slowly becoming one of the top sites for those that need new bricks. One of the top features is the “pick your brick” setup they have implemented. Each brick has a specific code and upon entering the database, you can simply search for your desired bricks before buying.
The site is constantly improving with bulk orders also being present now and individuals can buy up to 1kg of bricks in one go. The site offers a great concept of allowing individuals to send their excel files from Studio. Webrick would then let you know what they can provide you with and which colors are available.
Finally, I find the responsiveness to be high. This means that when you email them with a question, it usually takes a day or two to respond. You won’t be in a position of having to wait a few weeks for a basic answer. Webrick is certainly a great option for those looking to expand their brick collection or buy LEGO-compatible alternatives.
What Is The Difference Between Rebrickable vs Bricklink vs Webrick?
Now that you know a little more about each of these websites, we should consider looking at a few of their differences and what makes them stand out. To do this, I will break it down into a few subsections of importance:
Purpose
The main purpose of all the brick websites is to provide you with the adequate bricks you will need to build your creations. However, Rebrickable helps you to find out which bricks you would need and enter into discussions for different creations you might require.
What They Offer
Whilst Bricklink and Webrick offer you a variety of bricks, Rebrickable is a site that offers you a variety of plans and ideas to help you with MOCs. You can use the database to upload all your current bricks and find out if you can use them for the desired MOC.
Additionally, you could use Bricklink for selling some of your older unused bricks as well. Webrick on the other hand gives you clear advice and instructions, allowing you to buy loose bricks. They have one of the widest varieties of online bricks that you could find in different colors.
Monetization
In terms of monetization, you will see that each of these three sites have different ways of generating funds and monetizing the sites.
- Rebrickable: Rebrickable mostly focuses on MOCs and don't directly sell bricks. However, the monetize the site by selling dispaly ads.
- Bricklink: Bricklink is a buy and sell marketplace, which enables you to sell some of your older bricks and replace them with newer bricks. The site generally takes a small percentage of the sales as profit.
- Webrick: Webrick is what you would call a standard reseller or bricks. They focus mainly on LEGO-alternatives
Since two of these sites work as resellers, they often take a cut of the purchase. They offer to ship and can also sell some of their own bricks on different sites. The basic principles of buying and reinvesting funds into marketing are how these sites would survive.
Shipping
Depending on where you are in the world, the shipping might vary. However, if we use a site like Webrick, the standard shipping takes around 3 weeks to arrive at your doorstep. Additionally, most parcels often arrive in good condition and would be easy for you to use. Keep in mind that when you order bricks that are not yet available, you might have to wait a bit longer to do so.
For MOCs you purchase online, you will often have them available immediately due to the way we can easily transfer data on the internet.
Keep in mind that Rebrickable only sells MOCs and helps you source bricks from different sites. Webrick and Bricklink would be better suited if you are looking to buy all your bricks from the same location and online store.
Wrap-Up
Whether you use Bricklink, Rebrickable, or Webrick, you are bound to find the bricks and the designs you are looking for. Many of these sites offer you great value and some even accept PAYPAL as an accepted form of payment. I would love to read your comments and find out which of these sites you prefer to use.