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      Galaxy Squad, Lego's latest interpretation of their "evergreen" space theme appears to be a mix of the old Insectoids theme with a splash of Space Police III and a touch of Ninjago (you`ll see about that later). The similarity to the Insectoid theme of the 1990s is what first drew me to the sets, as it is always nice to see a fresh take on a classic theme. A look at the sets of Galaxy Squads first line individually and as a whole will lend some insight into the theme. Are the set`s on a cosmic collision course to lost profits? Let`s find out…
      Before taking an in-depth look at the sets individually, let's see how they stack up to eachother in terms of price per piece and price per gram:

      70700 Space Swarmer

      Lego.com description:
      Zap the alien buggoid before he nabs the Galaxy Squad's robot!
      The evil alien buggoid is buzzing around in his Space Swarmer. Don't let him capture the Galaxy Squad robot sidekick with the ship's grabber mouth! Help him to blast away from the buggoid's sonic gun with his jet pack! Get to safety, then aim and fire the blasters to stop that swarming space critter! Includes 2 minifigures with weapons: alien buggoid and robot sidekick with a jet pack.
      Includes 2 minifigures with assorted weapons: alien buggoid and robot sidekick Features grabber mouth, opening cockpit, moving wings and poseable legs Also includes jet pack, alien sonic gun and a blaster Dodge the Space Swarmer's grabber mouth! Blast that bug! Dodge the beams of the alien sonic gun! Measures over 1" (4cm) high, 5" (14cm) long and 3" (10cm) wide Brianl3`s Analysis: In mildly successful themes, the smaller sets are often the surest bets as they require little capital and offer the most consistent returns. Space Swarmer is a beautiful little set with an alien, blue android, and a small alien ship modelled after a fly. The set is a great starter kit to the theme as it introduces the central conflict while sticking to a great little bug build that will satisfy Insectoid fans. I believe the set, which currently has a CAGR of 25%, will have a five-year CAGR of 15%. This is above the average of ~11%, and if you buy it at a discount will lead to solid profits.

      70701 Swarm Interceptor

      Lego.com description:
      Swat the alien flyer with the split-function Swarm Interceptor!
      An armed and dangerous alien mosquitoid is speeding this way on a space flyer! Stop that creepy crawler with blue team leader Solomon Blaze and the split function Swarm Interceptor! When the action gets too hot for one Galaxy Squad ship, split the Swarm Interceptor into 2 fierce fighting machines: an agile flyer with detachable guns and a powerful turret with hidden flick missiles! That pest doesn't stand a chance against the split-function Swarm Interceptor with Solomon Blaze at the wheel! Includes 2 minifigures with assorted weapons: Solomon Blaze and alien mosquitoid.
      Includes 2 minifigures with weapons: Solomon Blaze and a winged alien mosquitoid Features a cockpit that rotates when you move and flip the ship Splits into flyer and turret Flyer features opening cockpit and detachable blasters Turret features dual hidden flick missiles Also includes alien flyer with weapons Weapons include alien gun and a blaster Activate the split function to fight back with 2 fierce fighting machines! Deploy the turret's hidden missiles! Flip the Swarm Interceptor to see the cockpit rotate with the ship! Measures over 1" (4cm) high, 7" (18cm) long and 7" (20cm) wide Flyer measures over 1" (5cm) high, 3" (10cm) long and 4" (11cm) wide Turret measures over 4" (11cm) high, 5" (15cm) long and 3" (8cm) wide Brianl3's Analysis: This set is the worst performing Galaxy Squad set with a positive CAGR, sitting at 14.76% right now. The turret function of the jet is an interesting idea, but was poorly executed and when in turret mode it looks very awkward and is unstable. The set just fails to conjure up any measurable reading on the "wow" scale, and despite lacking heavy discounts like 70705, it has had slow growth. The blue team seems to be overly represented, with three sets focusing on the blue team, and only one each on the others, and I would say this is the least noticeable out of the team blue models. The set loses the feel of the theme with the inclusion of a useless alien vehicle. Given the set's slow growth despite not seeing many sales and sub-par components, I think its CAGR will halve itself over a five year period, resulting in a set worth about 28 dollars in 2018. I would generally advise against sinking capital into this set due to its low predicted CAGR and you have a better chance of finding a sale on some of the other sets.

      70702 Warp Stinger
      Lego.com description:
      Neutralize the Warp Stinger with Billy Starbeam's speederbike!
      Stop the angry alien mosquitoid behind the wheel of the fearsome Warp Stinger! It's using the Warp Stinger's shooting function to attack the Galaxy Squad heroes. Go after it with red team leader Billy Starbeam and his speederbike! Watch out for the Warp Stinger's sticky cocoon trap! Fire the detachable blasters and team up with his robot sidekick to save the world from those overgrown bugs! Be ready for a serious bug battle against the Warp Stinger's cocoon, moving wings, detachable gun and shooter function. Includes 3 minifigures with assorted weapons: Billy Starbeam, robot sidekick with jet pack and winged alien mosquitoid.
      Includes 3 minifigures with weapons: Billy Starbeam, robot sidekick with jet pack and winged alien mosquitoid Features shooter function, opening cockpit, detachable alien gun, cocoon, moveable wings and poseable legs Speederbike features detachable blaster Weapons include blasters, energy blades and an alien sonic gun Fire the Warp Stinger's shooter function! Move the wings and legs of the Warp Stinger! Zap the alien bug! Measures over 8" (21cm) high, 9" (24cm) long and 10" (27cm) wide Speederbike measures over 1" (3cm) high, 3" (7cm) long and 2" (6cm) wide Brianl3's Analysis: This is where the Galaxy Squad line struts its stuff. A brilliantly designed "mosquitoid" is the main attraction here; with the lime colors fitting perfect with the trans red making for a convincing enemy for the red team leader,"Billy", and his robot pal. With interesting construction techniques, and a robotic bug just as classic as the original Insectoid theme, the set is probably the most popular of the first wave lineup.
      Thanks to the red team minifigures (the most AFOL-celebrated team color) and stunning creation, I think the set will continue its success run (currently it is the best performing set at 30.44%) once it heads into its aftermarket life. I predict it will continue to be the strongest performer of the Galaxy Squad theme with a CAGR of 18% for the next five years. If you are going to invest in one Galaxy Squad set, I would recommend you look at this one.
      70703 Star Slicer

      Lego.com description: Stop the alien Star Slicer with the blue team heroes! The Star Slicer is creeping along on its locust legs out to capture the blue Galaxy Squad team. Stop the alien's Star Slicer before he gets Solomon Blaze's sidekick with his stinging claws! Split the Galaxy Squad vehicle into an armored car and agile flyer to take the fight to the aliens! Stay away from the Star Slicer's shooting function and its sticky cocoon! Includes 3 minifigures: Solomon Blaze, robot sidekick and an exclusive red alien buggoid.
      Includes 3 minifigures: Solomon Blaze, robot sidekick and an exclusive red buggoid Features shooting function, poseable stinging claws and a cocoon Solomon Blaze's vehicle splits into an armored car and agile flyer Weapons include 3 blasters Activate the split function, enhance your firepower and outsmart the aliens! Fire the missiles! Measures over 5" (15cm) high, 9" (24cm) long and 8" (20cm) wide Solomon Blaze's vehicle measures over 2" (5cm) high, 4" (10cm) long and 3" (7cm) wide Armored car measures over 3" (9cm) long, 2" (6cm) wide and 2" (5cm) high Agile flyer measures over 3" (8cm) long, 3" (7cm) wide and 1" (3cm) high Brianl3's Analysis: This set is the only limited edition set of the Galaxy Squad theme, with its release being contained to select retailers thus far. The "praying mantas" style machine is unique, but has been noted to be fragile and prone to breaks. The blue vehicle back up the two blue team minifigures, Solomon Blaze and his robot sidekick, but isn't half as impressive as some of the other Galaxy Squad ships. The exclusive red-colored buggoid minifigure will add to the exclusivity attraction of the set.
      Despite its limited availability, I don't see this set enjoying hugely lucrative profits, as it is one of the less popular of the Galaxy Squad series. That said, the set is already sitting at a respectable 24.56% CAGR, and has gained almost ten dollars in value since its release. Initially, it was worth more due to preliminary hype, but like most Galaxy Squad sets saw a decline in value. I predict the set's five year CAGR rate will be at about 16%, resulting in an investment worth 83.99 by 2018. Depending on the popularity of the Galaxy Squad series and future competition, it could surpass that number in a shorter period of time, or not meet it at all.

      70704 Vermin Vaporizer

      Lego.com description: Take the sting out of the alien scorpion with the split-function Vermin Vaporizer! The alien scorpion is on the rampage with a cocoon to capture the green Galaxy Squad heroes! Help green team leader Chuck Stonebreaker and his robot sidekick to bust the buggoid in the awesome Vermin Vaporizer! Tag team the alien invader when you activate the split function to turn the Vermin Vaporizer into a mighty mech and a battle buggy! Fire the mech's dual flick missiles and powerful cannons with Chuck Stonebreaker in the opening cockpit! Then attack the aliens in the battle buggy to save the day – the Galaxy Squad way! Includes 3 minifigures: Chuck Stonebreaker, robot sidekick and alien buggoid, all with assorted weapons.
      Includes 3 minifigures: Chuck Stonebreaker, robot sidekick and alien buggoid, all with weapons Features laboratory, computer, flick missiles, split function and big cannons Other Vehicles include alien scorpion and split-function Vermin Vaporizer's 2 detachable vehicles: mech and battle buggy Mech features opening cockpit, flick missiles, big cannons, poseable arms, legs and torso Battle buggy features detachable blasters and tires Alien scorpion features flick missiles and a cocoon Shield accessory included Weapons include alien sonic gun, 2 blasters and an energy blade gun Activate the split function for 2 more hero vehicles! Analyze the cocoons in the Vermin Vaporizor's laboratory! Fire the flick missiles! Battle with the mighty mech! Measures over 5" (13cm) high, 7" (18cm) long and 5" (15cm) wide Mech measures over 5" (13cm) high, 3" (8cm) long and 4" (12cm) wide Battle buggy measures over 1" (3cm) high, 2" (5cm) long and 1" (4cm) wide Alien scorpion measures over 3" (10cm) high, 1" (5cm) long and 1" (5cm) wide Brianl3's Analysis: This is my personal favorite of the Galaxy Squad theme. Sporting attractive green accents that spice up the white tank-like truck, the set is a rugged technological beauty. The mech's joint set up doesn't compare to the mechs of the retired Exo Force theme, but you can see that TLG obviously learned some lessons from that practise, and the finished result is a twin cannoned killing-machine that works great in "turret mode" as well. The alien and alien vehicle are disappointing, but the green trooper's robot buddy is exclusive and does not appear in any other sets in this or the second Galaxy Squad line.
      Currently sitting at a negative CAGR around -27%, the set is one of two Galaxy Squad sets that have yet to show positive results. The main reason for this is the set is widely available for lower than MSRP prices, and there has yet to be measurable interest in the set on the aftermarket. The easy access to the set for cheap prices has likely harmed any chance of it taking off in a dramatic fashion, but I think the set is solid enough to rake in positive returns after a couple years. I'm predicting a 7% CAGR for a five year period, meaning the set will be worth $84.13 in five years. Don't expect it to make positive gains until a year or two after its official EOL, it seems like the kind of set that will stick around on shelves for awhile. Probably a sleeper set.

      70705 Bug Obliterator

      Lego.com description: Defeat the deadly alien dragonfly with the split-function Bug Obliterator! The deadly alien dragonfly is trying to capture the Galaxy Squad orange team heroes in a cocoon prison. Soar into battle with orange team heroes Jack Fireblade and Ashlee Starstrider in the Bug Obliterator! Hit the button to transform the Bug Obliterator into a rugged armored rover and a swift attack ship that can battle those bugs from the sky! Launch the hidden flick missiles and fire the laser guns to send those alien bugs crawling back to where they came from! Includes 4 minifigures: Jack Fireblade, Ashlee Starstrider, Robot Sidekick and winged alien mosquitoid with weapons and a cocoon.
      Includes 4 minifigures: Jack Fireblade, Ashlee Starstrider, Robot Sidekick and winged alien mosquitoid with assorted weapons Features moveable and opening cockpits, flick missiles, cocoon and laser guns Vehicles include alien dragonfly and split-function Bug Obliterator that splits into 2 more hero vehicles: armored rover and swift attack ship Armored rover features flick missiles, opening cockpit and laser guns Swift attack ship features an opening cockpit, flick missiles and laser guns Alien dragonfly features moveable tail with poseable legs and wings, and a cocoon Weapons include 3 blasters and an alien sonic gun Activate the split function, enhance your firepower and outsmart the aliens! Launch the armored rover! Fire the missiles! Measures over 3" (10cm) high, 10" (27cm) long and 9" (25cm) wide Armored rover measures over 2" (6cm) high, 5" (15cm) long and 2" (7cm) wide Attack ship measures over 3" (9cm) high, 11" (27cm) long and 36" (93cm) wide Alien dragonfly measures over 1" (4cm) high, 9" (23cm) long and 5" (15cm) wide Brianl3's Analysis: I like this set, how the starfighter splits into a truck and jet, and the alien dragonfly is one of the best buggoid vehicles. Unfortunately, I cannot justify saying that it has high aftermarket potential, especially when the last space theme flagship, 5974 Galactic Enforcer, ended up with a -2.6% CAGR. In fact, the set has 5974 written all over it; while the essential elements of a winner are there (the biggest set of a theme, special features, rare pieces, etc.), the set has seen far too many discounts to be of worth anymore.
      Due to the wide availability of the set for rock-bottom prices, I wager that it will suffer a five year CAGR of -0.90, resulting in a set worth $76.45 in 2018. Numbers don't lie, and while the majority of the other Galaxy Squad sets have enjoyed positive CAGRs (perhaps due to preliminary hype), 70705 has a -38.76% CAGR, and regrettably looks like the makings of a dud.

      These are my predicted valuation estimates for the sets of the first Galaxy Squad theme. A higher than estimated price could be caused by a shortened supply, increased demand, or continuation of the Galaxy Squad theme. A lower than estimated price could be caused by a variety of factors, from general lack of interest to Galaxy Squad being replaced by another space theme in the future.
      Time to hit the panic button? The failure of the two largest sets of the first line, 70704 and 70705, which both have negative CAGRs is a very bad omen for the theme. Usually, the largest set should be one of the best performers, and when it isn't, things usually go wrong (Atlantis' Neptune Carrier's bad performance led the way for the rest of the theme, as did Battle of Alamut for Prince of Persia).
      The space theme has lost many fans who have defected to the ever-popular Star Wars theme. Unfortunately, any space theme by Lego faces direct competition from the Star Wars line, something that would be considered nothing less than suicide by most investors. With the Lucasfilm license offering an unmatched cash cow for both parties, I don't see the Star Wars license disappearing any time soon.
      Additionally, the overarching space theme has been anything but a haven for investors. The last line, Space Police had few successes and the theme before that, Mars Mission had to see multiple line releases before significant aftermarket interest was generated. Plus, if you are to include Alien Conquest as a space them (I don't I think of it as a space theme), you can add that to the list of recent star-crossed disappointments – thus far Alien Conquest has seen nearly no success.
      Perhaps the most discouraging piece of evidence against the theme is that none of the sets made the Amazon.com top 100 Lego bestsellers list. Normally, a theme will see at least a couple sets represented in the bestsellers list, but Galaxy Squad has no such pleasure.
      Hopeful signs
      The good thing about the sets not selling well, is, well they have to be sold. These sets are going to be discounted by ridiculously large margins in the coming winter clearance season if they continue their lacklustre sales, and that provides a perfect time to stock up.
      While the line has been criticized at times for not offering variation among characters, this is because Lego is following the formula of success that helped make Niinjago a winner. Let's look at the parallels: there are four factions, each with a "main protagonist, with the orange team having an extra female character (just like how the first line of Ninjago had both Kai and Nya as fire ninjas). It is arguably a closer relative to Ninjago than Chima, and it will be interesting to see how this factor pans out in the aftermarket.
      The first line of Galaxy Squad sets is clean, relatively fresh, and well executed. Unfortunately, it looks like it will follow the footsteps of similar recent themes, with only the smaller sets seeing monetary gains. Four unique characters are part of the model that made Ninjago a wild success, a model which Galaxy Squad has tried with somewhat success to replicate.. Sadly, the space theme just doesn't seem to generate enough interest to follow that path. Bottom line, don't buy any of these at retail for investments, especially the more expensive sets. A stellar opening wave? Not exactly. But, if you play your cosmic cards right, you could come out with healthy profits.
      *Statistics and data for this article was taken from Brickset, Bricklink, and Brickpicker*
    • Fcbarcelona101
      The relationship between LEGO and Maersk has existed for decades. Other than both companies being founded in the same country, I have a really hard time finding exactly how or why these two titans decided to occasionally produce sets together, but we can all be glad they did since most of the sets produced under the shipping company's brand have been quite successful once retired.
      One of the reasons I personally find the Maersk line appealing is that they add some more realistic feeling to the models and, consequently, to any CITY or modular layout. Maerks is a pretty well-known brand and I am sure pretty much everybody has some knowledge of what they do or, at least, the logo. LEGO fans are always interested in adding more realism to their LEGO layouts, as evidenced by the multiple MOCS, CUUSOO projects, etc, that base their designs on well-known businesses like Starbucks and McDonalds, and the Maersk line of sets gives them exactly that.
      So far, there have been 7 Maersk themed sets released, with the first one being the Container Ship in 1974. Let's take a look at how they have performed in the secondary market
      - 1650 Maersk Container Ship

      Comments: This is the set that started the whole Maersk "theme". Released in 1974 exclusively in Denmark, it is probably one of the oldest LEGO sets we will get to analyze for a while. As it happens, there is no MSRP information, and no CAGR as a result, but we do have some information about a couple of somewhat recent sales. In 2011, the last three sales for this set were recorded in the price guide, with 2 used ones selling for around $200 and the one New copy selling for around $1,500. I am really not surprised with the value of this set considering its age and more than likely its huge appeal with LEGO/Maersk collectors in general. It would be interesting to see more recent numbers, as if they are close to 2011 this may very well be one of the most valuable sets "out there", but at this time there are no listings currently for sale on eBay and the few on Bricklink that ask at least $1,500 have apparently not been sold for a long while.
      It would be a very interesting set to own, in my opinion, as it is a very classic looking vintage set that would go great with the newer versions of the ship. For anyone interested, used copies are listed for $400 on BL.
      - 1651 Maersk Line Container Lorry

      Comments: There is no data for this set in BPs Price Guide. The only thing we have about it is the current listings in Bricklink, that go from $ 600 to more than $1,000 for used sets to over $ 4,000 for sealed ones. I don't really think anyone will ever pay that much for such a "simple" set, but as I have said before this is really a niche market, so it is not impossible.
      - 1552 Maersk Truck and Trailer

      Comments: This little truck was released in 1985 and as it happens with our previous entry there is not enough data on the price guide to accurately know its worth. The only new copy listed on BL asks almost $ 2,000, while the used sets go from $ 400 to almost $1,000. The market for this really old sets is very limited, but I am sure there is someone out there that would be willing to add this vintage set to their collection.
      - 1831 Maersk Line Container Lorry

      Comments: Finally getting close to the present time, this little truck was released in 1995 and has seen a lot more activity than the previous entries over the course of the years. The set was, once again, only released in Denmark as a promotional item. Currently, it has a market value of around $ 135, so definitely a lot cheaper than those released previously. I guess this was the first of these sets that was released once LEGO had really started to go more mainstream. The set has sold a couple new and used copies over the last 12 months, but nothing really worth noting.
      - 10152 Maersk Sealand Container Ship


      Comments: One of the newest versions and the first ship to be released after the original Maersk model in 1974, just 30 years earlier. As it had been the case with some previous models of the theme, this set was released in Denmark but was also available in LEGO S@H, so it was more available than the rest, and it was also the first one of its size closing in to 1,000 pieces in total. The model is very realistic looking, something that sure played a role in the good performance of this set in the secondary market, currently selling for around $200 New and with a CAGR of almost 12%. Even though this set was more available than the previous one, it is still a somewhat rare model to find, and only a couple have been sold each month over the last year.
      Price wise it seems to be very stable, with only a small bump in price since the month of October, when it went from $ 183 to $ 205.
      - 10155 Maersk Container Ship


      Comments: This was a re-release of 10152 in 2010, so a fairly recent set. A LEGO exclusive, this version of the container ship has produced some very nice returns since retired back in 2011-2012. With an MSRP of $120 and a current market value of $220, the set presents a nice 22.74% CAGR. I would expect this set to continue growing some over the next year or couple years, BUT with the all but confirmed rumors of the 10241 Maersk Ship floating around one has to wonder whether that set will have a negative impact on this version. I would assume it will, but since there is no way to check the impact this one had on 10152 I can't really be sure. We also need to wait and see how similar the new version ends up being.
      - 10129 Maersk Train


      Comments: I think all of you are very familiar with this guy right here. The first Maersk train ever released came out in 2011 and was the first of the "theme" to cross the 1,000 piece barrier. This model would make your shipping ports one of the most realistic sections of your entire LEGO city along with the ships and some of the trucks, it is really an impressive looking train. Of course, you could add some tracks and motorize it with LEGO Power Functions to make it even better. Investment wise, well, you know what most of us have been saying about this train for months now: most wish they had picked up a lot more. The train has really exploded in value since its retirement, with a current market value of $ 210 and a CAGR over 32%. Over the past 6 months the set has grown over 70 %, consistent with the spike in value after going EOL. There is still room for growth with this model, and I don't think picking one up at current prices would be a bad move at all.
      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Those are some solid numbers. With the upcoming release of a new Maersk Ship, and after taking a look at the numbers above, I believe investors should seriously consider adding several copies of the new set over the course of its run. If it follows the path of all of the previous models then there is a lot of upside for a relatively low risk.
      Thanks for reading.
    • Ed Mack
      INTRODUCING THE BRICKPOINTS STORE...
      Jeff and I have been hinting around over the past several months on ways to earn BrickPoints. We also hinted about various ways to spend these points. Well today I am here to inform and explain the current BrickPoints system and the new BrickPoints Store.
      The BrickPoints system is based on site activity and producing site content such as LEGO set reviews and LEGO blogs and articles that get published on the BrickPicker site. A member gets points for all sorts of site activities. Here are is a summary of what members get for various site activities:
      5 BrickPoints: Start a new thread or topic in the forums 1 BrickPoint: Reply to a forum thread or topic 1 BrickPoint: Comment on a blog article 1 BrickPoint: Comment on an image in The Gallery 500 BrickPoints: Join the BrickPicker site(one time) In addition to those simple and automatic ways of achieving BrickPoints, you can earn large amounts of Brickpoints submitting LEGO Set Reviews or writing blog articles for our Community, Brickvesting orEvaluation Corner Blogs. Points are awarded as follows:
      LEGO Set Reviews: BrickPoints are awarded on content quality and quantity. A member will receive 10 BrickPoints for every 1000 characters submitted for a LEGO set review. Extra BrickPoints will be awarded for graphs, charts and pictures or just all around exceptional content. You can earn hundreds of points for one quality LEGO set review. Blogs: When a member submits an article about LEGO bricks, sets, investing, collecting, etc... for approval, the member can receive anywhere from 10 to 500 BrickPoints for an approved article. Articles that get posted on our homepage(Brickvesting/Evaluation Corner) will receive the maximum of 500 BrickPoints for their efforts. Other articles that get posted in the Personal/Community Blog section will receive points based on content and quality. All in all, there are plenty of ways to achieve BrickPoints. New ways will be added in the future as well that reward the active, dedicated and content producing BrickPicker members. Now the question is, how do we use these BrickPoints? One way...THE BRICKPOINTS STORE!
      Just like the name states, it's a store that accepts BrickPoints as payment for various LEGO sets. Think of it as a reward system for BrickPicker members. The more active you are on the site, the more BrickPoints you will earn and the better chance you have of earning a LEGO set.
      It's very simple. Once a member earns enough to qualify for one of our posted LEGO sets, they will use the checkout process to notify Jeff and I that you want a certain set. The member will fill out the form so that we can mail that member the set that was chosen. The BrickPoints will then be deducted from the account. The posted LEGO sets can vary from time to time because of availability, so I cannot promise exactly what is posted, but replacement LEGO sets will be of similar cost, size and makeup. LEGO Gift Cards can be substituted in some instances.
      The LEGO review BrickPoints have been added to the totals and the BrickPoints Log is now active. 5000 BrickPoints were deducted from those members who received a STAR WARS mini set previously. This was done to make it equal for all members and to assure everyone that our previous promise of a STAR WARS mini set to the first 100 members to reach 5000 BrickPoints was and will be satisfied. There will be many more ways to earn and spend BrickPoints coming in the near future, such as utilizing BrickPoints for FREE advertising and listing fees on the up and coming Brick Classifieds. In the meantime, Jeff and I hopes that BrickPicker members will enjoy and utilize this new feature. Thanks. Please let me know of any issues, questions or comments... Ed Mack
    • comicblast
      Perhaps the biggest part of LEGO investing is finding your "knitch" of LEGO that you feel comfortable and wouldn't mind being stuck with for a very long time. Popular choices of favorite themes (not for investing) are:
      Star Wars Ninjago Creator Monster Fighters Town Modular Houses **Please Note: LoTR/The Hobbit and Super Heroes have been omitted because of lack of retired sets.**
      But are these themes actually good investments, or are they just “cool” to have? Let’s look at the stronger performers of the themes.
      Basic Set information:
      Investment Set Information:
      I hope you noticed several of the sets that were compared, such as the Green Grocer, the Zombies, Ice Dragon Attack, and the UCS Millennium Falcon. What makes these big names of investing so big? One big reason is because for three of the four, excluding the UCS Millennium Falcon, the sets were the first of the first, and the experiment. Really, it is because of their success that the themes are still around. Had they been a flop, the LEGO Group would have stopped producing theme. The UCS Millennium Falcon is just a monster of a ship, and outstanding, as well as iconic. Enough about individual sets, how about whole themes?
      In the cases of Town Modular Houses and Ninjago, the sets that appreciated the most were the pioneers of the theme: the sets that TLG used to “test the waters”, similar to those of the CUUSOO theme. I recommend trying out different themes, right when they come out, because if the theme does “kick off”, you probably have winners. The Star Wars gainers are a different story. The three listed sets, Millennium Falcon, Death Star II, Imperial Star Destroyer, and Republic Attack Gunship, are amongst the larger of the theme. The biggest amount gainers from Star Wars have MSRP’s of at least $100, which suggests that larger sets appreciate more than medium to small sets.
      Lastly comes Creator, which is one of the more successful “home-grown” LEGO themes. In this theme, we also see that the sets that appreciated the most were more expensive in comparison with the rest of the theme. This theme is often overlooked by many LEGO fans, but a good amount of winners come out of the theme, so I would watch out.
      To summarize, the favorites of the LEGO investing world are more successful because of:
      Pricing Size of Set/Piece Count First of the first I would try to pick up sets from the starting of the theme, especially CUUSOO, Super Heroes, and Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, which are the newest themes.
      In my next article, I will be going over less popular themes, and whether there are winners, or not.
       
       
       
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      The search function on Ebay is nothing to go “Lego” over (Get it? Like “Loco”? Nobody? Alright...), but it is something that a buyer can utilize to their advantage to quickly find sets they are interested in and to be more aware of everything listed on Ebay so they don't miss out on that great deal.
      If you are searching for a single specific item you want, searching is pretty straight forward. Just type in what you want and then select categories or sorting mechanisms to simplify your search and find what you want.
      But what if you are an investor and you are looking for 40 different sets at the same time? It can be very tough to look though each individual item, look at all auctions, all Buy it Now, all Best Offers and then keeping track of when you last checked, checking for new items consistently, and remembering what you had already seen.
      So what does Ebay offer and how can you use it to quickly find what you want and monitor for deals you can snag or snipe quickly to make Ebay a worthwhile investment vehicle?
      1. Option to use Boolean logic to search multiple words or phrases at the same time
      If there are people who aren't familiar with Boolean logic, it is a very simple process to bring in more than one variable in a search and perform an operation between them (among other real world things). There are three major functions: AND, OR, and NOT.
      If you have an AND operation between two items in a search function, this means the listing must include both words. The AND operation is by default in every Ebay search and is invisible to a searcher. Basically, if you have more than one word in the search bar, all of them must be in the listing.
      This can be a dis-advantage in certain cases. If you search for “Helm's Deep 9474”, and a listing doesn't have the item number in it, the search doesn't return it. This is when the OR function becomes a big help.
      An OR function between two or more words means to search listings that include just one of the words. This is denoted in Ebay searches by parenthesis in the following manner:
      (Helm's, Deep, 9474) <-- Ebay = Boolean --> Helm's OR deep OR 9474
      This is really good to use as you can search for several different items at the same time. This cuts down on how many different searches an investor might do.
      The NOT function is a way to denote you want to search for something without the word in the listing. Ebay denotes this with a “-” in front of a word as shown below which means the listing doesn't include the word “minifigures”:
      -minifigures
      On top of these functions, you can search for a specific phrase by putting quotes around it. To search for the exact words in the exact order “Helm's deep”, simply put in “Helm's deep”.
      Practice using Boolean as you can make some really great searches from this – but it takes work to get good at it. Put several together to make sure you find every item there is and maximize your searches potential. An example is below:
      (Helm's,deep,9474) -”no minfigs”
      My above search says to search for listings that include “Helm's”, “deep”, “9474” and does not include “no minifigs”.
      2. Limit your search in the search query bar, not the categories.
      The search categories function in Ebay is helpful in its own way, but can actually cause you problems in some cases. If you are searching for a certain Lego set, its great to be able to cut out all the listings from the “automobiles” categories. However, non-obvious categories can keep you from seeing every listing.
      It amazes me still, but despite how easy it is to list on Ebay now, people are still really lazy with their listings. Commonly, people will list their item in the wrong category, or even the wrong section. This is bad for the seller because less people will see their listing. However, you will benefit from this if you do see it. Less people will be bidding against you. I love finding these as they are diamonds in the rough and they are ALL OVER Ebay. I find one of these every few days.
      The same goes for subcategories. I never just click “Sets” when looking for a set because people could accidentally post it in any subcategory there.
      A good example of this was a seller who posted a used 10225 R2D2 on Ebay. He listed it in the Lego category, but put it in “other” instead of “Star Wars”. On top of this, his listing didn't include the item number and it was in “Bulk bricks/lots”. I was the only one who bid on this used, but complete set. I got it for his opening bid of $95 which is close to $50 off the BP used price!
      3. Make sure you limit your search using the other quick refinements.
      You are welcome to look through 1000 listings if you want, but I prefer to view about 4-5 different sets at a time with any listings that don't apply to me weeded out. This is why I do use some of the other limiting functions Ebay provides outside of the category and the search bar options. I have about 50 searches I run in Ebay, 5 or 6 times a day. The quicker I can browse through them, the better.
      Buy it Now or Auction:
      This is the easiest way to cut down half the listings immediately. You might be interested in viewing both, but in my experience it is much easier to view them in separate searches as a lot of times you may want to order them differently. Buy it Now usually gets ordered by “lowest price” first, where as you may want to view auctions ordered by “ending soonest”. Also, I am in a different buying mindset based on which I am looking at.
      Price:
      The benefit here is obvious in that you can choose listings within your price range. However, there is a hidden benefit here that applies to Legos specifically. Minifigs are commonly sold from sets separately. When sellers list these, they list keywords from the original sets these figures were in. While this helps the seller, it is really annoying to people who want to view actual complete sets only. However, most of the time these Minifigures are priced considerably lower than the set. If you set a price minimum that is lower than the set would ever cost, but higher than the minifigures would be, you will filter out a lot of these listings and speed your browsing up.
      New/Used/Not specified:
      “New” and “Used” have obvious implications. However, I absolutely love “Not Specified”. These are usually items that are incomplete, something is wrong with the box, missing the instructions, etc. These can annoy you when looking for new, flawless sets, but there are a lot of people who filter by “new” and “used” only. Because of this, Not Specified gets viewed much less and considered much less. This means you could score a great set with a small side flaw for really cheap.
      An example of this: I recently found some items in “Not Specified” that a seller had found in a storage bin he bought at auction (he explained this later to me in a message). He had never bought Lego sets before, so he didn't feel he could sell them as new because they were previously owned, but didn't want to list them as used because they hadn't been opened.
      Result? Helm's Deep for $90, Jabba's Palace for $60. Epic Dragon battle for $90. All the sets were mint.
      Best Offer:
      In a previous article I discuss how great Best Offer is. If you are using Best Offer to try and get a good deal, I suggest using it in a separate search and refine it to only that. This makes it easier to look through them.
      The other refinements Ebay offers are not very helpful and can even cause you to filter out items that you do want to look at. Specifically “Character Family” and “Age Level”, etc.
      4. Ebay Saved Search Function
      Ebay's saved search function is not the most robust feature, but it can be very helpful. After you have set up a search perfectly to your liking, you can click the star below the search bar to save it. Ebay saves it to your “My Ebay” and you can then go back to it later.
      Besides the obvious benefits:
      Every day Ebay will send you an email detailing new items in your search. When viewing your search list, you can tell which searches have gained new items since it was last viewed. You have an easy way to clicking search through and see new items from one link. I plan to do a future article on what the best searches are and how to maximize the benefit.
      Give several of these a try and post your best searches in the comments!
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      In an Article titled “I've been Searching for a Set Like You: Ebay Searching Tips and Strategies”, I commented on Ebay's search function and how you can maximize your Ebay searching potential by properly limiting searches. I wanted to expand on that with some great search examples I use as well is showing more in depth how I created them. This should help give you ideas for your own Ebay searches to check. I realize by doing this I am creating more competition for myself on Ebay, but hey, we all have to give a little!
      Ebay's saved search function is really great for this because you can quickly look up a search you have used hundreds of times by going to “My Ebay”-> “Saved Searches” and clicking your search. Some people set up bookmarks in their browsers, or set up a thousand Ebay search homepages, but to me this keeps the clutter down on your browser window and lets Ebay handle alerting functions that you won't get out of a browser bookmark.
      If you are an investor and you have 40 different sets you are looking for, you have to make sure your searches are perfectly honed. This takes trial and error and is never finished (don't worry, it's not hard) I edit one of my 50+ Ebay searches everyday as I find a keyword that doesn't belong, or something that is bringing up an item I don't want to see . The less irrelevant listings on the page, the quicker you get to those scorching deals you are looking for. To get the best Ebay deals, you want to search several times a day. Who knows when you will catch someone posting a 10179 Falcon for $800 because they don't know what it is actually worth? The quicker you can search through items, the more deals you will be able to see.
      Before creating a search, you have to first decide what you want to look for. I recently decided to make a search in Ebay for a few UCS starwars sets that I want to agressively watch for and see if I can find a steal on. Used or new does not make a difference to me (For these three I would invest in a new or build a used) and as I discussed in the last article, I don't want to miss those great “Not Specified” deals. So I decided I wanted to look for three sets – 10179 MF, 10030 Star Destroyer, and the 10143 Death Star 2. A starting point for a search for these sets might look something like this:
      Lego (10179, 10030, 10143, “Millennium Falcon”, “Star Destroyer”, “Death Star”)
      The above syntax tells Ebay that I want to search for any of the arguments separated by commas.
      This might seem like a perfectly good search – but try it. You will see, because of clone units, there are about 5 MF sets, 6 SD sets, and three sets with “Death Star” in them. This is all clutter because I am only wanting to view these three sets. Generally I start all searches with “Lego” and then a giant parenthesis with all the words I want an OR operation on. After doing that, I slowly filter keywords using the NOT function until I have the perfect search.
      This is the part where some buyers think about just using the item numbers. Well, what if a seller on Ebay lists a great price on your desired item, but doesn't put the item number in the listing? Because of this, you need these other key words like “falcon” or “star destroyer”. So I recommend filtering out these other set numbers as you will keep 95% of the irrelevant listings from showing up in your search. For MF, there is 7965, 7778, 4504, 4488, and 7190. For SD, there is6211, 10221, 30056, 8099, and 4492. For DS there is 10188, and 9676. Adding those as NOT statements to my query gives me:
      Lego (10179, 10030, 10143, “Millennium Falcon”, “Star Destroyer”, “Death Star”) -7965 -7778 -4504 -4488 -7190 -6211 -10221 -30056 -8099 -4492 -10188 -9676 -custom
      Now my search query is really great as I have a lot of keywords to make sure I bring in the sets I want, but I am filtering all the sets that could be matching my keywords, but are false positives. I will still get a few sets I don't want in there, but 95% of the search will be worth it.
      Here are a few other saved searches I love to use consistently – I created these searches and I look at them every day a few different times:
      Buy it now sets.
      In this one I am searching for individual sets that I am currently looking to grab as an investment. Currently that list is: Haunted House 10228, Vampyre Castle 9468, Tower Bridge 10214, VW bus 10220, Dino Defense HQ 5887, and Epic Dragon Battle 9450. My search query looks like this:
      Lego (“Haunted House”, “Vampyre Castle”, “Tower Bridge”, Volkswagon”, “Dino Defense”, Epic Dragon Battle”, 10228, 9468, 10214, 10220, 5887, 9450) -10187 -video -games -6089 -custom
      I added the other NOT arguments at the end to weed out some other sets that commonly come up in this search along with video games and the word “custom” as I don't want modified sets. On top of this I set the price limits from $60 to $225 as none of these sets should be under or over that, weeding out incomplete sets in most cases, single minifigures, and sets with outrages prices. I also select Buy It Now only. I then check this several times today to look for newly listed sets for great prices.
      Best Offer small sets
      I covered this in my Best Offer articles, but I like using Best Offer search queries on smaller sets that I am looking to stock up on that are going EOL. My current favorites right now are 9489 Endor Rebel Trooper Battle Pack, 6865 Captain America's Avenging Cycle, and 6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase. In this case, I search for these parameters:
      Lego (9489, 6865, 6858, “Avenging Cycle”, “catcycle”, “Endor Rebel trooper battle pack”)
      To go with this search, I set the price range to 8-15 dollars and then in “more refinements” I select “Accepts Best Offer”. Obviously you can put any sets you want in here and adjust the price accordingly. I suggest trying to pick sets that are near the same price, etc.
      Full Retired UCS Star Wars set search
      I use this to watch for any retired UCS sets that I feel are good investments. I leave out the ones that aren't retired, as well as the “busts” sets and the Obi Wan's Jedi fighter and ATST left out as well.
      lego (10179, UCS, 10143, 10030, 100129, 10134, 10175, 7191, 7181, 10129, 10212, falcon, millennium) -knight's -castle -B-wing -10018 -4488 -65771 -10227 -10225 -6074 -10039 -7778 -4504 -"red five" -10186 -10221 -10215 -10240 -10188 -10026 -"Wan's" -batman -7194 -7190 -7965 -custom
      All of the words I added with the NOT functions were listings I see commonly in that query that water down my search. I set the price range from $100-$1000. This is one of my favorites and I refresh it constantly to look for sets that pop up that are good deals.
      The “I'm Bored and want Legos” Buy It Now search
      I have a couple of larger search queries for when I am really bored and just feel like browsing for some deals on random sets – different themes, retired, small, large, to build, etc. The one I use the most is below:
      Lego (“Indiana jones”, “star wars”, “starwars”, “lord of the rings”, “pirates of the caribbean”, “harry potter”)
      I then will filter this by Buy It Now, price above $40 and sort by “newly listed”. About once or twice a week I catch a deal on a set that pops up and is fairly under priced and I immediately grab it.
      Some other great search ideas:
      Auctions on your favorite sets sorted by “ending soonest”. Auctions under $10 ending soonest in your favorite theme – this one is great if you are into minifigures! Best Offer on bigger sets you like and then sort by “Newly Listed” and start at the bottom of the last page. As discussed in the “Best Offer” articles, these people are more likely to accept Best Offers. Add some of you search queries in the comments! You can always PM me as well if you are having trouble with a search. Remember it is a process – you should always try to see how you can better filter your search if you see an item in it that you don't want to see.
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
       
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      In the world of Lego Investing, one of the best ways to save yourself money and maximize your investments is by using rewards programs. In a world of advanced technology, almost everybody accepts credit cards now, and even more so, most stores now offer their own credit card. Assuming you have good credit and know how to properly use a credit card, this can be a huge advantage in the investing game. If you prefer not to use a credit card, there are many great rewards programs you can use to still maximize your profits accordingly.
      First, a slight disclaimer. I am speaking about all of this from my own experience. Absolutely do not go out and apply for 20 credit cards immediately and start spending money as if it is free. All recommendations as to how to use a credit card and how applying and using it affects your credit report are outside of the scope of this blog. I encourage anyone taking my advice to be sure you know all the risks behind every action you take based on my recommendations.
      Now that we have that out of the way, we will start with rewards programs that don't require a credit card:
      Lego VIP program
      The upside: The VIP program has been addressed already on this site multiple times, especially well in an article by dschooley called LEGO VIP Program and Maximizing Your VIP Rewards. Here is the gist of it: Every time you buy a set from a Lego store under your VIP program account, you get rewards points – specifically 1 for each dollar you spent. Once you get to 100 points – you have $5 VIP rewards dollars you can use on a purchase in a Lego store or at Lego.com. This equates to a 5% cash back program which is really good. At certain points they have double VIP points on certain sets as well as special VIP exclusives you can get along with your rewards points. Plus, ITS FREE TO SIGN UP – you just select to sign up with your next purchase.
      The Downside: Lego sets directly from Lego are not discounted usually so the 5% you get back may not equate to getting a 30% discount at Amazon.com.
      Barnes and Noble Membership
      The upside: This one is a really nice under the radar rewards program. I was curious about it awhile back so I posted to see if anyone else had it. Several people reported they had pretty good luck with it. So I decided to give it a try. With this card, you get 10% off every purchase in Barnes and Noble. This is outstanding – most programs are only 2-5% cash back or % off the purchase. Clearly Barnes and Noble is serious about their membership. Plus, every holiday they will send you a 20% off coupon, and it STACKS with others (are you listening TRU?). Plus Barnes and Noble is not a hugely popular Lego supplier, meaning some bigger sets will sit in their stores long after EOL and you can snag them up for 30% off after they have already shown they will be a big money maker. I recently snagged a SW Frigate 7964 from there with this for around $85 (BP price is $115) and it was MISB.
      Also if you like to read, they have 40% off hardcover books as well.
      The downside: The only real downside is the membership is $25 a year. So make sure you intend on spending enough money there for it to be worth it. I got that money back just on the Frigate and since then have bought 3 other sets with some massive savings. The upside is – if you want to make a few single time purchases because there are a couple of good sets in store, you can get the membership free for two months with an online purchase.
      TRU Rewards R US Program The Upside: I know, I know, we all can't stand these money grabbers. But lets be honest, every once in a while they have a sale where we figure out some good deal and we don't care enough to not buy that great deal . This program is not amazing, but it's free so it makes sense to have it if you are ever going to shop there. For every $1 you spend, you get 2 points. Unfortunately 500 points = $5 so it's only 2% cash/rewards back. Every month they calculate your points and if you have enough for a reward, they make a gift card in $5 increments available to you for use. You can sign up in store and you can use coupons while getting the Rewards.
      The downside: Not a whole lot – its just not that great. Only shop at TRU if you know its a good deal – BOGO 50% off etc.
      Now for the beefier credit card portion for those of you who love rewards.
      Target Red Card
      The upside: This one is pretty simple: 5% off every purchase. I love this one because you don't have to wait for any rewards dollars to come back or mature – Target plays it hard and just slashes 5% right off your purchase. This has been discussed on this site multiple times so this is just one more plus for it. I have it and I and my wife love this card.
      The downside: Besides the downside of every credit card, none.
      TRU Rewards are Us Credit Card
      The Upside: Now while the rewards program is not that great, this one gets a lot closer. You get double points for every dollar you spend – that's 4% cash back which is pretty substantial – especially if you are already getting BOGO 50% or something of that nature. Also, there is another major immediate benefit – 15% off your first purchase. They don't always have this going, but in regular intervals if you open a card, you get 15% off your first total purchase. Now, though this doesn't apply to exclusives (which would rock), it does apply to everything else and it stacks with every deal and any coupons you have. I took advantage of this with a $20 off coupon, along with a BOGO sale and then of course the 15%. That was a good purchase!
      Also, they will commonly send you coupons in the mail encouraging you to use your card in store, and if you qualify for the Mastercard, out of store. I recently got a coupon that gave me 100 rewards points each for my next 5 purchases on that card. I bought lunch with it at work for a week. I also received aa coupon for $25 off a $125 purchase. It was fully stack-able so I used it in a BOGO sale on two 7965 Falcons ($90 a piece!).
      The Downside: None really besides the normal. Just as always with TRU, make sure with your deals that you are getting an actual deal and not a TRU deal (130% retail -30% = you are still paying retail).
      Amazon Credit Card
      The Upside: This is a card that was just recently brought up in the forums and several people, including Ed Mack, came out talking about how they loved it. Now, I didn't buy a ton from Amazon until I got into Legos so I had never really thought about it again. I decided to re-investigate and found out that this is an awesome card.
      First of all, when you open it you get a $50 gift card immediately applied to your purchase. When I opened mine, I got a discounted Tower Bridge for $229 - $50. That one will turn out to be a pretty good deal.
      On top of that, every purchase on Amazon.com gets 3% cash back. Now that I am into Lego investing, I make a lot of purchases on Amazon.com, so this is a really big help. Also, you can use the rewards right on Amazon. The credit card also gives you 2% back on gas and groceries (which is awesome) and 1% on everything else. So you can save up for Lego purchases by just spending money on everyday purchases.
      Downside: None besides the normal with a credit card. Only thing past using it on Amazon, there are some other cards with the same or better rewards – which we will get back to later.
      Discover Card
      I love my Discover Card. I kept seeing commercials about all these cash back programs and free money, plus coming out of college and getting married, I had to start improving my credit for purchasing a house. I signed up for a Discover card. Their opening reward for the card is not necessary great for investing: It is 0% APR for 12 Months. This can be a help though because if you see a bunch of sales one month, you wont have to immediately pay off the card.
      The real reward is their extensive cash back program. First off, every purchase is 1% cash back which is pretty standard. However, every quarter Discover has a different 5% cash back program in a different area like Restaurants, Home Improvement, Theaters, Gas Stations, Groceries, etc. The best one: Online purchases. This comes around about once a year for three months. There are usually three areas per quarter they allow the 5% cash back on.
      On top of that, they have 100s of special cash back programs throughout the year. Common ones include 2% cash back on everything in your birthday month, 2% cash back when you set up automatic bill pay with your credit card and several 2% cash back holiday's. They normally have about 5-6 of these going on a time and some are always there.
      Even more, they have 100s of special retailers that if you navigate from Discovers site to the retailers site and use your Discover card, you get up to 20% cash back. I use these for things like Kohl's, Lowes, and Home Depot. This adds up really quick.
      If you thought I was done – my other favorites are their Cash back monthly spending rewards programs. After you spend a lot on the card, Discover starts sending you deals for more cash back in the mail every month. One of my favorites is based on your monthly spending. For instance, they will tell you if you spend $1000 a month for the next three months, they will give you $150 in cash back. And this stacks on top of everything else I have just mentioned. There are months when I calculated I got back 8% of my total purchases for the month.
      Now that you have the rewards – what can you do with them? Well you can get them to just send you a check, deposit the money in your bank account, you can link it with your Amazon account and use it immediately there, or the best – more online retailers. These retailers swap around every month or so, but commonly there are some good retailers (including ones that sell Legos) that you can use your cash back on and get a little extra. For instance, you will get a $50 gift card for $45 in cash back. There are hundreds of these. Last year alone, I earned about $400 in cash back on this one card. I never paid any interest so it was a great deal.
      fThey also have a great referrals program. Anyone referred by a card member gets some special deals upon opening the card and the person who refers them gets $50 in cash back. I refer people as much as possible and then buy Legos!
      Downside: None besides normal. This one is my favorite.
      Chase Card
      The Upside: This card is very similar to the Discover card in its rewards programs. This makes sense because they are direct competitors. Their starting reward is a little better for an investor – If you spend 500 within the first 3 months, you get $100 cash back.
      They also have the quarterly rewards programs and most of the time they are different than Discover's. This allows me to have 4-6 areas I get 5% cash back in every quarter.
      Unfortunately they don't have all of the extra rewards programs Discover does, but they do have the online retailers where you can get extra cash back. They normally have different ones than Discover as well, so again you can double up in a since.
      Chase's rewards dispensing program is awesome though. You can immediately apply the rewards straight to your monthly statement or you can spend them at select retailers in which you will, like Discover, earn more money for your cash back.
      I have also found Chase's support to be super. Once I accidentally missed my payment by a day and they removed the charge after I called. They are also right on top of fraud – they call me anytime a purchase is made outside of my area, etc.
      Downside: None but the normal Credit Card downside.
      Other Credit Cards
      There are tons more of these out there. I have several more, but the above two are by far the best to me. I have one more, the PNC Everyday Rewards Card that gives 4% back on gas and groceries always – unfortunately that card is discontinued for new applicants. But there are a ton more rewards cards out there and if you get a big portfolio of them, you can ensure you are getting 5% or so back on every purchase you make.
      Walmart Credit Card:
      I decided to check this one out recently. There isn't a lot here. Their card is done by Discover, but its premier card is much better. You don't get anything special for using it at Walmart, so I would just stick with another.
      Again, just be careful. There are safe alternatives and ways to never spend a dime in interest. Make sure you don't or you are just cutting into these fabulous rewards you just earned. But if you do it right, you will be thoroughly rewarded!
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
       
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      As I have been opening sets lately to build them and increase my display, I have come across a problem: What do I do with the boxes to my used sets? It takes up room to keep them, but I am afraid if I ever decide to sell one of my display sets, I will be disappointed with how much money I lose for not having the box.
      I decided I had to find out because I am quickly running out of room in my downstairs closet for all my open boxes.
      This was a very difficult venture with a ton of information. Unfortunately, I have to do it all by hand so I can't use an incredible amount of information because there is no way I can process it all. So I decided to categorize sets into three different levels: Medium sized sets, Large sets, and Massive Sets.
      First, you may wonder “what about small sets?”. Generally I feel those won't have very relevant data because they are very cheap. With the way Ebay data goes up and down, I felt it would be difficult to get a good read on data. Also, those boxes are very easy to store. These were going to be negligible to the data I wanted to see for set boxes that actually take up a decent amount of space.
      Since I am using Ebay listings for my data, I had to have a control. In this case, my criteria were this:
      Must be sold in last two months Must include instructions Must clearly state or show box/no box Auctions only – Buy it now only takes one person to jump so I feel auction data is more relevant In line with the last point, any prices considerably higher than my other findings that only had 1 bid were excluded. Listings that were poorly listed (no pictures, no description, etc.) were excluded at my discretion. Listings with a considerably damaged box were not included. Once I had these criteria, I decided to figure out what sets to fit in my three categories. In general, I am assuming when you decide to sell your used sets, they are well retired and you either don't want them any more, or they are worth so much you are willing to part with them. So I tried to find three semi-similar sets, that were retired, in each category to collect data on. I tried to keep the piece count and minifigure count reasonably close, the used value close, and growth since retirement close. This is what I came up with:
      Medium Sets:
      The Burrow 4840 SW AT-AP Walker 7671 Indiana Jones Flight of the Flying Wing 7683 Large Sets:
      SW Imperial Shuttle 10212 HP Hogwart's Castle 4842 POTC Queen Anne's Revenge 4195 Massive Sets:
      Taj Mahal 10189 Eiffel Tower 10181 SW Star Destroyer 10030 Note: Some of my choices came from trying to find enough Used set data as well.
      So as for the results? Let's make sure we go over a few things. First of all, this data should be used as a aide when deciding. I do not have the tools to show anything majorly conclusive, but I do have enough data to help you understand what could happen if you don't keep the box. Make your own decisions as you wont find anything absolutely definitive here. I will give my analysis and recommendations after the data is displayed.
      Medium Sets:
      The Burrow 4840:Average Used price with box: $107.15 Averaged used price without box : $94.50 Percent loss: 11.8% SW AT-AP Walker 7671:Average used price with box: $61.87 Average used price without box: $50.53 Percent loss: 17.4% Indiana Jones Flight of the Flying Wing 7683:Average used price with box: $80.70 Average used price without box: $69.79 Percent loss: 13.5% Analysis: This is very interesting. The average percentage you lose by throwing that box away is 14.24%. Luckily, these sets aren't that expensive, as the loss would be between $11 and $13. That tells me that throwing one away won't break the bank. But throwing 30 of them away means I may have lost $300+!. This is assuming all of your sets increase in value and you can create good sales listings, etc. when you decide to sell. Either way, we learn that it definitely does have a decent effect on the price.
      My Suggestion: Neutral – Completely up to you. If you think it will be a super winner and you have room, keep it. If you aren't confident in the set, chances are you can make up the money by making an excellent Ebay listing. If you don't think you will ever sell it, who cares?
      Large Sets:
      SW Imperial Shuttle 10212:Average Used price with box: $301.02 Averaged used price without box : $279.58 Percent loss: 7.1% HP Hogwart's Castle 4842:Average used price with box: $221.72 Average used price without box: $194.60 Percent loss: 12.23% POTC Queen Anne's Revenge 4195:Average used price with box: $161.51 Average used price without box: $158.31 Percent loss: 2% Analysis: These numbers are a little tougher to examine. One one hand, with the Hogwart's Castle your box was worth about $25 which is pretty substantial. However, with the POTC Queen Anne's Revenge, your box was only worth about $3. The average percent loss here is 7.1%, but its tough to make a final call since the numbers are not very similar.
      My Suggestion: More data is needed here to make a true educated guess. I would lean towards keeping the box just because I wouldn't want to possibly lose $25. But, on the other hand, these sets are still most likely worth way more than they were purchased for, so if you are out of space it may be worth eating the money – especially if you can store a new set for investing in its spot. I will most likely address more sets in this category for further analysis at a later date to get more conclusive information.
      Large Sets:
      Taj Mahal 10189:Average Used price with box: $878.65 Averaged used price without box : $834.15 Percent loss: 5.07% Eiffel Tower 10181:Average used price with box: $734.82 Average used price without box: $681.02 Percent loss: 7.32% SW Star Destroyer 10030:Average used price with box: $682.47 Average used price without box: $589.97 Percent loss: 13.55% Analysis: The percentage loss is lower than the medium sized sets, but because these are worth so much money, these boxes are pretty expensive to a builder. The 10030 box would cost you almost $100 dollars. Though these take up more space, it would be hard to part with them knowing you lost this much money just for throwing something away.
      My Suggestion: Keep it. You will find somewhere for it and you will enjoy that extra money if you ever have to sell it.
      So there it is! Hope everyone enjoys the data. I may expand on this in the future as I know this is just the tip of the iceberg. If anyone has any suggestions, put them in the comments and I'll take a look at it!
      If anyone is curious, I can send you the raw data as well.
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      Most people can figure out the bidding function on Ebay with ease. Proxy bidding is a very simple concept to understand:
      If you bid higher than the current bidder, the price only goes up to just above their bid. Once the auction ends, the highest bidder wins. If you bid a max higher than what the auction ends at, you only have to pay the current bid, not your max. Most people take this general simplicity, along with the fact that the highest bid wins, and think they don't need a strategy. However, to be a successful Ebay buyer, you should practice and learn to bring a strategy to every auction you bid on. Each way to bid has different pros and cons and can be the difference from scoring an item for super cheap, or overpaying.
      1. Making sure you are the highest bidder throughout the auction to the end.
      To clarify, this is referring to people who will watch an item on Ebay and make sure they are always the highest bidder every time they look at the item. Generally there is not much plan before hand to this. After you are outbid, you decide whether you want to go higher or not. Eventually you win the auction assuming you continually outbid everyone else.
      Pros:
      This is a very simple method and is reactive than proactive. Some people don't like to plan, so this is easy. Each time you look at the auction, you place a new bid. Watch it until the end and make sure you win. Its not necessarily as nerve-racking as other options as well.
      Simple Less nerve-racking Ensures you win more often. Cons: This line of bidding is not one I use. You don't win anything in a proxy auction for how long you lead. This isn't NASCAR. All that matters is who wins at the end. Generally, you overpay this way too because there are more bids. You are also more susceptible to impulse bids as you create more situations where you continually look at the auction to see if you are still winning.
      Leading doesn't matter. May overpay. More susceptible to impulse. You play your hand to everyone – no one is surprised. I don't recommend using this method, but some may have success with it.
      2. Bidding the highest amount you will pay and leaving the auction.
      This one is very simple. You decide before hand you are only have $2500 to spend, and you can't go any higher on that beautiful 10179 Millennium Falcon. So you throw the bid in there and if you win, you win and if you lose, you don't have to mortgage anything. Again, you only have to pay what the highest bid was that lost to you, not your max.
      Pros:
      Typically this is better for lower priced items or when you don't have a ton of time. You can take the time to decide what the most is you would pay for something and then set it and leave it. If you win, great! It requires very little effort past the first bid. Also you are safer from people who bid at the last minute to steal an item (snipers) as you have already entered your highest bid.
      You can set a price before hand so you generally don't more than you want. Requires very little effort past first bid. Don't have to pay your max if its lower. Generally safer from snipers since you have already bid your max. Cons:
      Though you don't necessarily have a chance to make a bad decision and overpay, you can still pay more than what you did using a different strategy. Other strategies may not drive the price up as much. There are a lot of people that become curious if they detect a high max bid and will bid trying to find what the max you bid was.
      May pay more than using a different method. Can be nerve-racking in final minutes hoping you aren't sniped since you have been leading the auction the whole time. 3. Sniping
      This really seems to be everyone's favorite and the most used method. It entails waiting until the final seconds of an auction, and then bidding the maximum you will pay, or just a high amount, to try and win the auction in the final seconds before the current winner, or anyone else, can put in a new bid. Doing this is exhilarating for some and a nightmare for others. The moments when the auction hits 10s are like no other in buying. You know if you have done this before.
      Pros:
      If you time it right, no one can retaliate and outbid you because they are out of time. People who would possibly reconsider and outbid you are out. This generally means you will get the lowest price for the item possible. And you only have to really pay attention to the auction at the very end.
      Other bidders can't retaliate Lower price for the item Only have to watch the end of the auction. Cons:
      This method can be easily mitigated by number 2. If the max is high, choosing what to bid can be a pain. Also, if you bid too low, you have no time to reconsider either. So generally you have to make sure you bid your max. Also, I find that in auctions for things that have a lot of bidders, there are most likely several others employing this method, meaning there will be tons of bids in the final seconds. Also if you mess up putting the bid in, or you forget about the auction, or you lose internet access even, kiss it goodbye!
      Requires you to be present for end of the auction. Others will be using this as well in more popular auctions meaning mass bidding at the end. You are out of time if your bid doesn't win. 4. Gradual Bidding
      Think about being at a live auction and every time someone bids, a person in the back immediately outbids them. That person is sending a message. They are saying “this is mine, just give up”. If you do this as a bidder you can generally get things for less because it frustrates other potential buyers.
      To do this, every time you see you are outbid, try to guess what the persons max was and just barely outbid them. Why not put in your max bid? You want them to outbid you so that when they do, you immediately take it back again. Think about how frustrating that is.
      Pros:
      Though this seems the same as just setting a high max bid, when people realize a high max is there, they bid higher to try and find it. This means less bids until it hits near what it will go for. The more you make them bid and show them you are winning, the more they get frustrated and give up.
      This method is best used in conjunction with sniping. Do this early and snipe at the end if you are outbid within the last day by a determined bidder.
      Weeds out the bidding pool. Sends a message that you want the item. May score item for less if everyone gives up. Cons:
      The biggest drawback for this method is that you have to watch like a hawk. With mobile phones this is much easier, but obviously its still time consuming.
      Time consuming to do right. Susceptible to sniping if you don't eventually set a high max bid. Doesn't work well on lower priced items. Some other general bidding recommendations:
      Make sure you don't set too many max bids on too many auctions at the same time. Just because you think the max bid wont win doesn't mean you don't have to pay it if it does. This can be dangerous. If an item you are watching has zero bids, I suggest leaving it that way. The more time something has no bids, the more time people think maybe it isn't worth it. You can take advantage of that and snipe it late for low. Don't always look for the lowest starting bid. People start items at $.99 because they pay less fees to do so. These items will go way above that. Don't ignore a 10179 just because it starts at $2000. If no one else pays attention, you might get it for cheaper. Make sure you always clean up your watch list and have it sorted by “Ending Soonest” so that you can easily stay aware of your items. Comment on the article and give some of your auction strategies and let me know if you employ any of these!
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
       
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      I have been on Ebay since the late 90's. Back then, I was a very early teen and I grew up watching my Dad use Ebay to buy old toy Train sets as he was a giant train enthusiast. He and I loved Ebay because you could get online and see thousands of items from thousands of buyers and had choices to buy used or buy new and be able to get a possible discount off a store price.
      My Dad once commented "The bad thing about Ebay is you can't haggle. Haggling is the only way to get the best price". Obviously in an auction format, haggling never came into play. But once "Buy it Now" became an option, haggling was logically the next step.
      Ebay responded with the "Best Offer" feature. This is not a new feature in any way and has been out for many years, but it surprises me how little it is utilized. Just as with Craigslist, yard sales, or your best friend's stash of stuff he needs to get rid of, Ebay has buyers who urgently need to sell something or are willing to come down on a price. Some sellers don't really know what people will pay for their item or they need the money and aren't firm on the price (and all us sellers know how good it feels to finally sell something on Ebay).
      As a buyer, we should take full advantage of this. Don't be afraid of "Best Offer", as the title suggests, it is your best friend. Here are some ways you can use this to your advantage:
      1. Items with large quantity and Best Offer = Big Savings
      Lets say you want to purchase a set like 9489, The Endor Rebel Trooper Battle Pack. You feel this would be a good investment and you start searching Ebay. Most people will look for auctions and try to snipe a few at super low prices, or look for "Buy it Now" sorted by lowest price. This is extremely time consuming to maybe save a dollar or two here and there.
      Instead, I search for sets with "Best Offer" checked (you can enable this in "more refinements" on the left hand side under the "show only" section on the right. This is will bring up a box in the middle of the screen. Click "show only" on the left side menu. On the right there is a check-box that says "Accepts Best Offer"). I then search through for ones with multiple quantities and ones in independent Ebay Stores (as these are more likely to have multiples).
      Lets say doing this for the aforementioned set, you come across a seller with 20 of them listed at $12.99 each (retail) with free shipping.
      In this case, I suggest offering to buy all 20 at a price point of , say, $9.50. The seller will most likely be tempted by this because: 1. The seller gets to ship them all to one person in the same box. 2. The seller moves all that inventory at one time. With the money saved on shipping, chances are this is only a few dollars less than the seller would have been made waiting them out.
      Obviously the same applies for bigger sets, but that requires more capital and shipping is not quite as easy. Listings with Multiples for bigger sets aren't as common, so this advice is more effective for smaller sets. But I have had success when I do find a large quantity listing for a big set, so don't be afraid to use this advice in that situation.
      Example: I recently purchased 10 of the Lego "Captain America Avenging Cycle (6865) listed at $13.99 for $10.50 using Best Offer.
      2. Items that have been listed for longer have a better chance of accepting your Best Offer
      This is a very simple concept. The longer something has been for sale, the easier it is to get it at a better price. One of my daily Ebay checks is to search for certain Lego sets with “Best Offer” and sort by “Newly Listed” and then go to the last page (unfortunately Ebay doesn't have an “oldly listed” option). These sets have been here for a while and chances are these buyers are willing to take less. Make them an offer and you may get lucky – they may just want someone to finally buy it! I find I can offer these sellers a little less and they will take it more often than a seller who just listed a set.
      Example: Recently there was a New Lego Death Star 2 (10143) listed for $1150. It had been there quite a while. I offered the seller $600. He counter-offered with $800. I did not end up buying it (probably will regret it), but according to BP data, that would have been $350 off!
      3. Best Offer puts unreasonable prices in play
      Most of us see the over-priced stuff on Ebay. We feel sorry for the uneducated seller's who don't have BP to show them what their set is actually worth. So most of us probably write off 90% of listings when searching for a set. But “Best Offer” means it could sell for any price! Assuming you have the money, putting in a fair offer wont hurt anything at all. Also, they have the option to counteroffer and you can possibly negotiate down to a fair price.
      Example: I offered on a Lego Helm's Deep (9474) that was listed for $140. The seller accepted my offer of $110.
      4. You can add a personal message to a Best Offer or Counteroffer
      A LOT of people don't do this, mostly because they just don't know what to say. In my experience, this always helps. If you are buying it as a gift, let them know. Or just put a friendly note in like “Hopefully we can work out a deal as I love this set!”. Things like that make a seller feel better about selling to you. Just think about things you might say in a friendly bartering session with a friend. I have had a lot of success with this as well when they send back counter offers. If they offer $500, I may offer back $450 and say “I really don't think I can go any higher”. These work in normal haggling and Ebay is no exception. (Note: I do not condone lying in a personal message to a seller).
      Example: Commonly I will offer low and then add “Let me know what you think. I am really interested and am willing to come up if need be”. I find their counteroffer is lower than if I send no message at all.
      These are just a few things to consider when using Ebay Best Offer. Some other advice:
      Be sure you have the capital and are willing to pay for something you offer on. If you put out 20 Best Offers and all of them are accepted, this could be a big issue. Try not to low-ball a seller. Though you get 3 Best Offers on an item, sellers have a tendency to shut down completely if they think you are being unfair with your offers. I usually start with about a 30% discount from their original price. A message to them helps with this as well. If someone is really friendly to me in a message, its hard to assume they are low balling and being a jerk. Make sure you read the listing completely before you submit an offer. When you submit an offer, you are bound to it if the seller accepts it. There is nothing worse than submitting an offer and then figuring out the item is not what you wanted. If you find your Best Offer is immediately declined and you think it was fair, move on. In my experience, these sellers have it checked, but aren't going to take a reasonable offer for it. It usually indicates they are pretty firm. Just give it a try next time you are Ebay and leave any more info or suggestions in the comments!
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
       


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