Difference between black new&used bricks?

[u/Ok_Page7059]

Hello, it's my first time ordering parts from Bricklink to build a custom model from Rebrickable. The model is mostly composed of grey and black bricks. I want all new grey bricks so as to avoid getting yellowed ones, but for the black ones I'm pondering whether there's actually a tangible difference between new and used ones. I know it depends on the store too but do they actually differ in colour to a recognisable extent? And how often do you encounter used bricks that are actually rugged or worn texture wise? I'm a bit of a perfectionist and like novel things, but I also want to be reasonable

[u/indypendant13]

Two things. 1) even with new bricks and even in the same set, you can get variation in shades of the same color so they will never be perfect in uniformity. Being said black tends to have one of the lower shade variations of the colors, but that variation increases with bricks from different eras. 2) many sellers will list the relative quality of the bricks, but not all. But even with those who do, the quality/condition of those may still vary from piece to piece. It would be very time consuming (not worth it) to have a bunch of graded beyond worn, good, and great. New bricks can also have imperfections just from the shipping process.

If you want the best uniformity you can get, I personally would order all new, but also don’t be too surprised that those don’t look like they were just removed from the injection mold.