Purchasing Tips

Purchasing tips for older jigsaw puzzles

General Advice: Beware the seller of a used jigsaw puzzle who has merely “counted the pieces.” Counting the pieces does not help for most puzzles. For example, box lids often state “over 500 pieces” but do not specify the actual piece count. These usually have 506 pieces or so and sellers will often say it is complete if they count at least 500 pieces. It is often hard to find someone who has actually assembled a particular puzzle to check for completeness and more often than not, it will NOT have all the pieces. The one exception being a seller who is affiliated with the Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors. Their member ethics are usually much higher and they will usually refund your purchase if you discover missing pieces after the sale.

Places too look:

Garage sales, yard sales, and thrift shops such as Goodwill or Salvation Army often sell used jigsaw puzzles. They are frequently missing pieces or not marked as to whether or not they are complete. You take your chances, but they are usually very cheap and often worth trying. Church rummage sales are a little more likely to have puzzles marked accurately as either complete or missing pieces, in my opinion.

Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors has a page of web links specifically related to jigsaw puzzles, and one for members’ websites.

eBay – many collectors & dealers put older, used jigsaw puzzles up for sale on eBay. Read descriptions carefully for information on the completeness of the puzzle and the shipping charges. Some sellers charge a lot for shipping.

Internet search engines can often locate the most bizarre, tiny web page listings for specific puzzle titles or puzzle companies. Some of the pages may lead to outdated listings or “page not found” errors, but others are wonderful finds.

Suggestions for specific company products:

bePuzzled – The most recent ones can be purchased in many game/toy stores and are also available from University Games. I do not currently know of a source for puzzles that are not available in retail stores. I can supply copies of story booklets for any of the puzzles I own, for $4 per booklet (to cover copying and mailing costs). Puzzles I have in my collection are marked with an * in front of the puzzle title.

Springbok – There are several very nice web sites to aid Springbok collectors:

Springbok fan web site, hosted by Geocities, has a classified advertising section and message section for Springbok enthusiasts

Springbok Fever

Springbok Missing Piece Exchange

Where to Look for Old Springboks

Main jigsaw page bePuzzled Mystery Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw Puzzles With an Added Twist List of Puzzles Related to Mysteries

Links checked: June 17, 2007

Text last updated: December 28, 2005