>>10119231I'm not sure if it works off the same purchase system as PAB but for Lego it's definitely a way to unload warehoused parts from previous manufacturing runs. Legoland is similar in that they'll get unique parts from certain sets in bulk. My BAM has a bunch of monkie kid heads, old CMF heads, and generic faces from basic sets. They also have BAM exclusive figures like pic related that only get shipped to lego stores. The pieces are loose in the tower but if the staff is based they'll prebuild them in groups of 3 in the packaging for kids to grab. Even those are a way to unload parts though. They do make unique parts for them, but for example the princess' hair here was only used in two HP sets back in 2019-20 and was probably in a warehouse bin standing by this whole time. Through the process of stuff getting picked out and new stuff getting put in I think that's why it ends up being such a weird mix of stuff. However, I have no idea if there's a choice in what a store can receive like with PAB. I'll ask next time. You should also ask your store if they can get smileys. If you come there a decent number of times they might value you paying 66 cents per piece at the BAM tower more often if it's easy enough for them to do.
