How to buy the parts with a Wanted List
A mosaic parts list is long — thousands of plates across dozens of colours — and typing it into a shop is not realistic. The way people actually buy it is a Wanted List: one file that carries every part, colour and quantity, which the marketplace then matches against sellers for you.
The steps
1. Get the file. Every Builder Kit includes a BrickLink Wanted List (XML) alongside the plain CSV. The XML is the one to upload; the CSV is for spreadsheets and for shops that take their own format.
2. Upload it. On bricklink.com, under Want → Upload, paste or attach the file and give the list a name. Nothing is ordered at this point — the list is just your shopping list.
3. Let it find sellers. Buy All (or Auto-Select) compares your list against sellers worldwide and proposes the smallest set of shops that covers it. This step is where the money is won or lost: every extra shop is another shipping fee.
4. Check the substitutions. Some colours are rare in some plate sizes. If a part is unavailable, four 1×1s replace a 1×4 without changing a single stud of your mosaic — the picture is identical, only the bag is heavier.
Keeping the cost down
Buy used unless you have a reason not to. Prefer fewer shops over the absolute lowest per-piece price — three shipping fees erase a lot of small savings. And check your own collection first: the parts list tells you exactly what you need, so anything you already own is money not spent.
BrickLink is a marketplace operated by the LEGO Group. We are not affiliated with either, and we earn nothing on the parts you buy there.