[Freak_NL]

Bricklink seems like a pretty lousy place to sell counterfeit Lego bricks. Sellers get reviewed by the buyers (and vice versa), and the buyers there are pretty much committed to genuine Lego bricks (and vocal of sellers not keeping up their end of the bargain). I doubt if there is much counterfeit stuff on there.

The economy for sellers lies more in picking up unopened new sets for bargain prices from local shops, both on and off-line, and reselling the individual bricks. New Lego sets just are cheaper in Eastern Europe. Part of this economy is that some bricks are much more sought after, which is reflected in the piece prices. This also means that more common pieces will be sold cheaper. It seems to balance out.

Personally, I rarely need to look beyond the Netherlands for bricks I buy for MOCs on Bricklink. Sometimes Germany or Belgium. The prices just are competitive.