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Brickpicker Blog

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Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...Another crazy year! Covid, wars, inflation and more record high LEGO sales and prices made for an interesting year to say the least. Feels like yesterday Jeff and I were putting the 2016 Brickpicker LEGO raffle together for my son Max's school, St. Paul School in Burlington, NJ.  He is twelve years old now, and we started this way back when he was in kindergarten.  The last six raffles...
2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2021 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES
...have been extremely successful, and I am hoping for more generosity and kind souls to take part in this year's version.   Over the past six years, we raised over $225,000.00 for the school, which goes directly to the school and helps pay teacher salaries, utility bills, etc.  Another year has passed and it’s time to raffle off some more dynamic LEGO gifts and gift cards for charity. The money we raised the last six years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing.  It's a special school that once again was voted BEST or ONE of the BEST Private Schools (7 years in a row) in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times.  Along with the whole school being voted either BEST or One of the Best, St. Paul School and its faculty also won numerous other awards, such as:
Best or One of the Best Private Schools
Best PreK-Nursery School
Best or One of the Best Teacher(s)
Best Fundraiser
Best or One of the Best Music Instruction
Best Tutor Service (National Junior Honor Society)
Best SAT/ACT Preparation Service
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2022 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
As I stated (over and over again) the last six years, St. Paul School (SPS) and its community are special.  My son loves the school, even though he won't admit it. Most days he actually runs into the school.  People from all races and religions attend St. Paul School. Besides excelling in educating the children, the school does a tremendous amount of charity for local people in need. From food drives to helping out at local retirement homes, the children of St. Paul School are required to perform “service hours” that are designed to teach generosity, altruism and instill a hard-working, disciplined attitude.  Excellence is expected and permeates through St. Paul School and the faculty and student body, so does a sense of goodness and frugalness. We make a little money go a long way. For example:
All grade levels (Pre – K through 4) are scheduled for “Specials” each week...such as art, music, library, computers, and physical education
St. Paul School is nationally accredited by “AdvancED” (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement – NCA – CASI.)
SPS middle-school students have three periods of Spanish and are testing into Spanish II for High School.
SPS provides more periods of physical education each week than is required by the State.
SPS provides multiple extracurricular activities such as: LEGO Robotics Club, Science Club, Vocal Choir, Rosary Group, Tonal Chimes, Hand Bell Choir, Basketball (Boys/Girls), Soccer, Cheerleading, Yearbook Club, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), Student Council, MATHCounts, STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art Math, Activity Tutorial Period (ATP for 5th-8th grades)
But all is not wonderful though.  As many of you know, many Catholic schools have a hard time making ends meet. Enrollments are down and many families do not have the extra money to spend on a private education.  Two neighboring Catholic schools in Willingboro and Maple Shade closed their doors last year.  In person fundraising has been reduced drastically because of social distancing restrictions and reduced attendance in existing fundraisers. Even superb schools like St. Paul School have a hard time keeping the doors open, but unlike many public schools, St. Paul has been OPEN FULL TIME since last September. While it’s been difficult, the wonderful SPS faculty and staff has kept the kids safe and in a great learning and social environment.  But it has been very difficult fundraising with social distancing protocols in place.  Many traditional fundraisers have been shelved, so the Brickpicker LEGO Sweepstakes is even more important than previous years.  While our enrollment has stabilized, we will still be way short of breaking even; thus the need for the 2022 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES. This year’s version of the LEGO raffle will start with SIXTEEN awesome prizes! These include:
PRIZE DETAILS:
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
"WE ARE THE WORLD" LEGO LOT
31203 World Map (11695 Pieces!!!)
21332 IDEAS The Globe
11015 LEGO Classic: Around The World
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
THE FAST AND FURIOUS FOUR WHEEL FRENZY!
42122 TECHNIC Jeep Wrangler
42123 TECHNIC McLaren Senna GTR
76903 Speed Champions Chevrolet C8.R Corvette & 1968 Chevrolet Corvette
42093 TECHNIC Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
76900 Speed Champions Koenigsegg Jesko
42111 TECHNIC Fast and the Furious Dom's Charger
76904 Speed Champions Mopar//Dodge SRT Top Fuel Dragster & 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A
76902 Speed Champions McLaren Elva
30343 Speed Champions McLaren Elva (polybag)
42134 TECHNIC Monster Jam Megalodon
42122 TECHNIC Jeep Wrangler
76901 Speed Champions Toyota GR Supra
31113 Creator Race Car Transporter
76900 Speed Champions Koenigsegg Jesko
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
FRIENDS AND MORE FRIENDS...
21319 LEGO IDEAS (FRIENDS) "Central Perk"
10292 LEGO FRIENDS "The Apartments"
                                AND
41443 LEGO FRIENDS Olivia's Electric Car
41375 LEGO FRIENDS Heartlake City Amusement Pier
41431 LEGO FRIENDS Heartlake City Brick Box
41701 LEGO FRIENDS Street Food Market
41089 LEGO FRIENDS Little Foal
41707 LEGO FRIENDS Tree Planting Vehicle
41691 LEGO FRIENDS Doggy Day Care
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
GREEN WITH ENVY! TECHNIC Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 
 
 
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
"The Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy" STAR WARS LOT
LEGO 75290 STAR WARS Mos Eisley Cantina
LEGO 8092 Special Edition STAR WARS Luke's Landspeeder
LEGO 75205 Mos Eisley Cantina (retired)
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
ST. PAUL MYSTERY LOT (#1)
LOT #1...Collected over the past six months by the St. Paul community...Dozens of LEGO sets that contain thousands and thousands of pieces.  All types, themes and sizes possible.  Jeff and I even threw some in for good measure.  Guaranteed 7500 pieces...at least  This prize kicks butt!
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
OUT OF THIS WORLD...LEGO SPACE SET STOCKPILE!
92176 NASA Apollo Saturn V
10266 NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander
30365 Space Satellite
6079531 Classic Space Minifigure
60348 Lunar Roving Vehicle
60226 Mars Research Shuttle
60228 Deep Space Rocket and Launch Control
60229 Rocket Assembly and Transport
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
$500.00 IN GIFT CARDS! (GIFT CARD PRIZE #1)
$500.00 in gift cards of your choice!  Choose from retailers such as...
Amazon
Walmart
Target
Apple 
Disney
LEGO
...and many more!  Choose from many major retailers!
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
DC & MARVEL COMICS(CON) COLLECTION...
2008 Comic Con Batman and Joker Promotional Box Set (The Video Game)
31205 Jim Lee Batman Collection
76165 Iron Man Helmet
76126 Avenger's Ultimate Quinjet
76186 Black Panther Dragon Flier
76104 The Hulkbuster Smash Up
76179 Batman & Selina Kyle Motorcycle Pursuit
76154 Eternals: Deviant Ambush
76190 Iron Man: Iron Monger Mayhem
76124 War Machine Buster
77905 Comic Con Black Widow Taskmaster’s Ambush
76114 Spider-Man's Spider Crawl
76191 Infinity War: Infinity Gauntlet
76155 The Eternals: In Arishem's Shadow
76157 Wonder Woman vs. Cheetah
76140  Iron Man Mech
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
IDYLLIC IDEAS LOT
21317 Steamboat Willie
40448 Vintage Car
40487 Sailboat Adventure
21319 Central Perk
21312 Women of NASA
21316 The Flintstones
92177 Ship in a Bottle
21326 Winnie the Pooh
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
THE STAR WARS HELMET COLLECTION
75304 LEGO Darth Vader Helmet
75305 LEGO Scout Trooper Helmet
75277 LEGO Boba Fett Helmet
75276 LEGO Stormtrooper Helmet
75327 LEGO Luke Skywalker Red 5 Helmet
75328 LEGO The Mandalorian Helmet
75343 LEGO Dark Trooper Helmet
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
HARRY POTTER HOGWARTS HOARD
31201 Harry Potter Hogwarts Crests
76392 Hogwarts Wizard's Chess
30628 The Monster Book of Monsters
75954 Hogwarts Great Hall
75969 Hogwarts Astronomy Tower
75953 Hogwarts Whomping Willow
40495 Harry, Hermione, Ron & Hagrid
40496 Voldemort, Nagini & Bellatrix
76385 Hogwarts Moment: Charms Class
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
AMUSEMENT PARK MADNESS!
10247 Creator Expert Ferris Wheel (New/sealed bags and complete...Box has some wear.)
40346 LEGOLAND
70432 Hidden Side Haunted Fairground
31095 Creator Fairground Carousel 
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
THE ARCHITECTURE ASSEMBLAGE
21042 Statue of Liberty
21054 The White House
20029 Buckingham Palace
21045 Trafalgar Square
21044 Paris Skyline
21034 London Skyline
21028 New York City Skyline
21043 San Fransisco Skyline
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
ST. PAUL SCHOOL MYSTERY LOT (#2)
LOT #2...Similar to LOT #1.  Collected over the past six months by the St. Paul community...Dozens of LEGO sets that contain thousands and thousands of pieces.  All types, themes and sizes possible.  Jeff and I even threw some in for good measure.  Guaranteed 7500 pieces...at least  This prize also kicks butt!
 
1 Winner(s) will receive:
$500.00 IN GIFT CARDS! (GIFT CARD PRIZE #2)
$500.00 in gift cards of your choice!  Choose from retailers such as...
Amazon
Walmart
Target
Apple 
Disney
LEGO
...and many more!  Choose from many major retailers!
Once again, this year’s total prize value equals or exceeds the previous six year's annual prize value.  The last six years, we had 66 raffle/sweepstakes prizes and winners from around the world. From Vancouver, Canada to Reno, Nevada to Miami Beach, Florida to the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and everywhere in between, generous raffle participants were rewarded with awesome LEGO prizes.  We even had repeat winners!  This year we are starting with 16 prizes, but I always add more along the way.  The 2022 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES can be found here on the secure Rally.up.com site:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2022 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
Like the last six years, we will ship most of the prizes to anywhere across the globe.  Two of the large lot prizes (SPS Mystery LOTS #1 and #2) are so large I can only ship them to United States customers who live in the contiguous 48 states due to shipping costs.  If there is an issue with shipping or prizes, a comparable prize and/or shipping method will be arranged with the winner. The last six years, the LEGO BRICKPICKER raffles and sweepstakes worked very well.  The Rallyup.com site is a first class, secure site that made this all possible. They also issued the school a big fat check(s).  All raffle proceeds and donations benefit the school directly by bridging the gap between what tuition covers and actual educational costs. It also raises money to upgrade the school’s technology, keeping St. Paul School ahead of the academic curve with a dynamic curriculum. The prizes have been donated by Jeff and I, the St. Paul School PTA and by some very generous BrickPicker members. I am hoping, like last year, that more people will donate sets after the sweepstakes begins. It was fun adding to the prizes last year. You never know what can pop up as a prize! I AM ALWAYS ADDING NEW SETS!!!
On a personal note, once again, I would like to thank every person who donated sets/money and/or bought tickets to last six LEGO BRICKPICKER raffles and sweepstakes. It helped save a wonderful school and kept dozens of people employed and 180 kids with their friends and teachers. I don’t like asking but will anyway...please help out again this year.  Even buying one ticket can help, and it gives you a chance to win some great prizes. Watching the raffle ticket total rise every day was an intense rush and extremely gratifying experience. It made me so proud to have started this site with my brother Jeff and made me realize there is still good in this world.  I know some people do not approve of donating to faith- based schools or charities.  I respect that, but also please respect my beliefs. This is not about religion. This is about helping a great school remain open and kids in their school and teachers in their jobs.  Please keep negative comments to yourself. Thank you...
***The structure of last year's and this year's "sweepstakes" is similar to previous years' raffles, with the exception that a person cannot buy entries/tickets/donations for a specific prize.  Due to changes in New Jersey online gaming laws in late 2020, online raffles are no longer allowed.  It would appear that online scammers and thieves were using the pandemic as a way to run fraudulent raffles; thus, honest, charitable causes have been hurt. Rallyup.com has developed the "sweepstakes" system to replace the raffle in states that do not allow such online gaming. People can buy entries/tickets to win the prizes. One entry/ticket can win any prize.  People can win multiple prizes. There are multiple entry/ticket price/amount combinations. Last year, we enabled winners to swap prizes with one another or exchange for gift cards. We will try to offer similar options this year as well. The more entries/tickets you buy, the cheaper the entries/tickets. The more entries/tickets that you have, the better chance you have to win.  The entry/ticket fees/donations will go directly to St. Paul School.  A free mail-in option is also available with the sweepstakes system, but remember, this is for charity. The Brickpicker LEGO Sweepstakes will stop selling tickets 3 days earlier than the drawing to allow for mail-ins to reach Rallyup.com.  Remember, the school will receive ZERO donations if you choose the mail-in method. 
 
***Rallyup.com will automatically and randomly pick and contact winners.  Winners should then reach out to Ed Mack on www.BrickPicker.com to arrange for prize shipment.  As with the previous six BrickPicker LEGO Raffles/Sweepstakes, prizes will be only shipped to a deliverable and legitimate mailing address.  Every effort will be made to get the prizes to the winners...no matter where they are on the planet.  In case safe and reasonable shipment is not possible, suitable prize arrangements/replacements will be made.  The prizes with large lots of sets (St. Paul Mystery Lot) will only be shipped to the contiguous 48 states of the United States due to the excessive size and shipping costs.  Alternate entry winners must pick up their prizes in person or pay for shipping and handling costs.  Replacement sets/gift cards might have to replace some prizes in case of out of country (USA) winners or other issues arise. Winners have seven days from drawing date and time (May 5, 2022 9:00PM Eastern) to notify Brickpicker admin (Ed Mack) with proper ID and verified shipping address or the prizes will forfeited and donated to a future LEGO sweepstakes for St. Paul School.  Alternate entry winners have seven days from the drawing date to pick up the prizes from sponsor (Brickpicker.com) and/or pay and arrange for shipping and handing fees (Minimum fee will be $100.00.  Final shipping and handling fees will be determined after address of winner(s) are determined).  Thank you.  
LEGO SWEEPSTAKES START DATE: MARCH 15, 2022
LEGO SWEEPSTAKES END DATE: MAY 2, 2022 at 11:59 PM
LEGO SWEEPSTAKES WINNERS PICKED/NOTIFIED: MAY 5, 2021 at 9:00PM
(DUE TO NEWLY IMPLEMENTED NATIONAL/NJ REGULATIONS, THE DRAWING HAS TO BE 3 DAYS AFTER THE FINAL TICKETS ARE SOLD TO ALLOW MAIL-IN VOUCHERS TO ARRIVE. SORRY FOR THE CHANGE)
 
Thanks again!
Ed Mack
 
Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...Feels like yesterday I was putting the 2019 Brickpicker LEGO raffle together for my son Max's school, St. Paul School in Burlington, NJ.  He is ten years old now and we started this way back when he was in kindergarten.  The last four raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
...have been extremely successful and I am hoping for more generosity and kind souls to take part in this year's version.   Over the past four years, we raised over $177,000.00 for the school which goes directly to the school and helps pay teacher salaries, utility bills, etc...Another year has passed and it’s time to raffle off some more dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised the last three years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing.  It's a special school that once again was voted BEST or ONE of the BEST Private Schools (5 years in a row) in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times.  Along with the whole school being voted either BEST or One of the Best, St. Paul School and its faculty also won numerous other awards, such as:
Best or One of the Best Private Schools
Best PreK-Nursery School
Best or One of the Best Teacher(s)
Best Fundraiser
Best or One of the Best Music Instruction
Best Tutor Service (Junior National Honor Society)
Best SAT/ACT Preparation Service
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
As I stated, the last three years, St. Paul School (SPS) and its community are special.  My son loves the school, even though he won't admit it. Most days he actually runs into the school.  People from all races and religions attend St. Paul School. Besides excelling in educating the children, the school does a tremendous amount of charity for local people in need. From food drives to helping out at local retirement homes, the children of St. Paul School are required to perform “service hours” that are designed to teach generosity, altruism and instill a hard-working, disciplined attitude.  Excellence is expected and permeates through St. Paul School and the faculty and student body, so does a sense of goodness and frugalness. We make a little money go a long way. For example:
All grade levels (Pre – K through 4) are scheduled for “Specials” each week...such as art, music, library, computers, and physical education
St. Paul School is nationally accredited by “AdvancED” (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement – NCA – CASI.)
SPS middle-school students have three periods of Spanish and are testing into Spanish II for High School.
SPS provides more periods of physical education each week than is required by the State.
SPS provides multiple extracurricular activities such as: LEGO Robotics Club, Science Club, Vocal Choir, Rosary Group, Tonal Chimes, Hand Bell Choir, Crafty Kids Club, Basketball (Boys/Girls), Indoor Soccer, Cheerleading, Yearbook Club, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), Student Council, MATHCounts, STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art Math, Activity Tutorial Period (ATP for 5th-8th grades)
But all is not wonderful though.  As many of you know, many Catholic schools have a hard time making ends meet. Enrollments are down and many families do not have the extra money to spend on a private education.  Two neighboring Catholic schools in Willingboro and Maple Shade will close their doors next year.  Even superb schools like St. Paul School have a hard time keeping the doors open. While our enrollment has stabilized, we will still be way short of breaking even; thus the need for the 2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE. This year’s version of the LEGO raffle will start with TEN awesome prizes. These include:

 
Keep St. Paul Strong BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2020
$1000.00 in gift cards of your choice!  Choose from retailers such as...
Amazon Walmart Target Apple  Disney ...and many more!  Choose from ShopWith Scrip.com! 76139 1989 Batmobile 40433 Limited Edition 1989 Batmobile promo 76023 The Tumbler 75144 Ultimate Collector Series Snowspeeder 75060 Ultimate Collector Series Slave I 40333 STAR WARS Battle of Hoth 20th Anniversary promo PLUS BONUS STAR WARS SET(S)!
10175 Ultimate Collector Series Vader's TIE Advanced STAR WARS 10th Anniversary "Black Chrome" Darth Vader minifigure 75251 DARTH VADER'S CASTLE PLUS BONUS 40333 STAR WARS Battle of Hoth 20th Anniversary promo!
76042 The SHIELD Helicarrier 76105 The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition 40334 Avenger's Tower promo 76108 Sanctum Sanctorum Showdown 10253 Creator Expert Big Ben 10247 Creator Expert Ferris Wheel 10243 Creator Expert Parisian Restaurant ST. PAUL SCHOOL MYSTERY "A LOT"
This is the best prize!  Just sayin'...Collected over the past six months by the St. Paul community...Dozens of LEGO sets that contain thousands and thousands of pieces.  All types, themes and sizes.  Jeff and I even threw some in for good measure.  Guaranteed 15,000 pieces.  This prize kicks butt!  IT IS ALREADY AT 10,000 PIECES AND THE ST. PAUL COMMUNITY IS STILL COLLECTING THEM UNTIL THE RAFFLE ENDS!!!!  
Multitude of sets from various LEGO movies!  The lot will include:
70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg 70618 Destiny's Bounty 70903 The Riddler Riddle Racer 70615 Fire Mech 70835 Rex's Rexplorer 70900 The Joker Balloon Escape 70834 MetalBeards's Heavy Metal Motor Trike ...and many, many more!  HUGE LOT!  Thousands of pieces!!! 71044 Disney Train and Station 71040 The Disney Castle ...and a few other Disney sets!!! BRICKPICKER RESELLER SPECIAL!!! 
Dozens of sets... GUARANTEED 15,000 PIECES AND THEN SOME!!!!  This lot is so huge, it can only be shipped within the contiguous 48 states of the United States! Many retired sets ready to resell.  From all major themes from Architecture to Trolls!  Great for beginners or pros.  There are multiples of some sets. This prize also includes a discount from West End Toys on their toy consignment program which I utilized the past year and a half selling my large inventory of LEGO sets!!!  Please contact me for details. This is the most valuable prize we have raffled off in the five years of the BrickPicker LEGO raffle.  Go big or go home!!!

Once again, this year’s total prize value equals or exceeds the previous three year's total prize value.  The last three years, we had 31 raffle prizes and winners from around the world. From Vancouver, Canada to Reno, Nevada to Miami Beach, Florida to the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and everywhere in between, generous raffle participants were rewarded with awesome LEGO prizes. I wish we had some winners in New Jersey so I can hand deliver the sets...maybe this year!  We even had repeat winners!  The 2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE can be found here on the secure Rally.up.com site:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
Like the last three years, we will ship most of the prizes to anywhere across the globe.  Two of the large lot prizes (SPS Mystery lot and Brickpicker Reseller lot) are so large I can only ship them to United States customers who live in the contiguous 48 states due to shipping costs.  If there is an issue with shipping or prizes, a comparable prize and/or shipping method will be arranged with the winner. The last four years, the LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES worked very well.  The Rallyup.com site is a first class, secure site that made this all possible. They also issued the school a big fat check(s).  All raffle proceeds and donations benefit the school directly by bridging the gap between what tuition covers and actual educational costs. It also raises money to upgrade the school’s technology, keeping St. Paul School ahead of the academic curve with a dynamic curriculum. The prizes have been donated by Jeff and I, the St. Paul School PTA and by some very generous BrickPicker members. I am hoping, like last year, that more people will donate sets after the raffle begins. It was fun adding to the prizes last year. You never know what can pop up as a prize! I AM ALWAYS ADDING NEW SETS!!!
On a personal note, once again, I would like to thank every person who donated sets/money and/or bought tickets to last three year’s LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES. It helped save a wonderful school and kept dozens of people employed and 165 kids with their friends and teachers. I don’t like asking but will anyway...please help out again this year.  Even buying one ticket can help, and it gives you a chance to win some great prizes. Watching the raffle ticket total rise every day was an intense rush and extremely gratifying experience. It made me so proud to have started this site with my brother Jeff and made me realize there is still good in this world.  I know some people do not approve of donating to faith- based schools or charities.  I respect that, but also please respect my beliefs. This is not about religion. This is about helping a great school remain open and kids in their school and teachers in their jobs.  Please keep negative comments to yourself. Thank you...
The structure is slightly different this year.  Unlike in the past three years when, for example, $10.00 would buy a single chance, this year $10.00 will buy 10 chances or raffle tickets in some of the raffles.  This is done for several reasons. For one, the Rallyup.com site has come up with a way to help put more money into the charity’s bank account. They will ask if a person who buys chances will “donate” money to support the raffle.  In years past, St. Paul School would have to pay a percentage back to the Rallyup.com site to run it. This year, people can donate a few dollars to help out, and they will GET MORE CHANCES FOR PRIZES if they do so. Donors will visit the campaign page and choose how many raffle entries they want to purchase. During checkout, they’ll be asked if they want to add a small "tip" to help fund the campaign costs. In exchange, they’ll receive a limited number of “bonus” entries into the drawing. Tipping is entirely optional.  This is a win-win for the school and for donors!  
The contest will end on May 15, 2020 at 11:59 PM. Winners will be notified by Rallyup.com early on the 18th of March.  If you are a winner, please contact me on the site so we can confirm the prizes and shipping addresses. The Rallyup.com site works very well and is secure, so please feel confident in donating to the school and purchasing raffle tickets. All the money goes to St. Paul School, which is a 501(c)(3), and to Rallyup.com for running the raffle.  I will make every effort to supply the winners with the appropriate prizes. If there are shipping issues, inventory issues or potential problems beyond my control, I will make sure the winners are awarded LEGO sets/gift cards comparable to the original prizes. Any questions, ideas or concerns, please reply below or PM Jeff or me…
 
TICKETS AVAILABLE UNTIL: May 15, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST
DRAWING DATE: May 16, 2020 at 12:00 AM EST
 
Thanks again!
Ed Mack
 
                                                         <<<<NEW TEXT OPTION>>>>
 
DIAL 855-202-2100 AND TEXT “LEGORAFFLE” TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO THE RAFFLE!
(Updated 10 Feb 2022)
Brickheadz (Retail Availability)
Set # Name BH # 41585 Batman 1 41586 Batgirl 2 41587 Robin 3 41588 The Joker 4 41589 Captain America 5 41590 Iron Man 6 41591 Black Widow 7 41592 The Hulk 8 41593 Captain Jack Sparrow 9 41594 Captain Armando Salazar 10 41595 Belle 11 41596 Beast 12 41496 Supergirl 13 41496 Martian Manhunter 14 41497 Spider-Man 15 41497 Venom 16 41487 Lloyd 17 41488 Master Wu 18 41485 Finn 19 41486 Captain Phasma 20 41598 The Flash 21 41599 Wonder Woman 22 41600 Aquaman 23 41601 Cyborg 24 41602 Rey 25 41603 Kylo Ren 26 40270 Valentine's Bee 29 40271 Easter Bunny 30 40272 Halloween Witch 31 40273 Thanksgiving Turkey 32 40274 Mr. Claus 33 40274 Mrs. Claus 34 41604 Iron Man MK50 35 41605 Thanos 36 41606 Star-Lord 37 41607 Gamora 38 41608 Han Solo 39 41609 Chewbacca 40 41610 Tactical Batman 41 41610 Superman 42 41611 Marty McFly 43 41611 Doc Brown 44 41613 Mr. Incredible 45 41613 Frozone 46 41614 Owen 47 41614 Blue 48 41615 Harry Potter 49 41615 Hedwig 50 41616 Hermione Granger 51 41617 Elsa 52 41618 Anna 53 41618 Olaf 54 41619 Darth Vader 55 41620 Stormtrooper 56 41612 Steve 58 41612 Creeper 59 41621 Ron Weasley 60 41621 Albus Dumbledore 61 41622 Peter Venkman 62 41622 Slimer 63 41623 Ariel 64 41623 Ursula 65 41624 Mickey Mouse 66 41625 Minnie Mouse 67 41626 Groot 68 41626 Rocket 69 41627 Luke Skywalker 70 41627 Yoda 71 41628 Princess Leia Organa 72 41629 Boba Fett 73 41630 Jack Skellington 74 41630 Sally 75 41631 Newt Scamander 76 41631 Gellert Grindelwald 77 41632 Homer Simpson 78 41632 Krusty the Clown 79 40354 Dragon Dance Guy 80 40349 Valentine's Puppy 81 40350 Easter Chick 82 40351 Halloween Ghost 83 40352 Thanksgiving Scarecrow 84 40353 Reindeer 85 40353 Elf 86 40353 Elfie 87 41634 Emmet 88 41635 Wyldstyle 89 41636 Benny 90 41637 Sweet Mayhem 91 40348 Birthday Clown 92 40367 Lady Liberty 93 75232 Kylo Ren 94 75232 Sith Trooper 95 40436 Lucky Cat 96 40379 Valentine's Bear 97 40378 Goofy 98 40378 Pluto 99 40380 Easter Sheep 100 40377 Donald Duck 101 40412 Hagrid 102 40412 Buckbeak 103 40420 Gru 104 40420 Stuart 105 40420 Otto 106 40421 Belle Bottom 107 40421 Kevin 108 40421 Bob 109 40381 Monkey King 110 40422 Frankenstein 111 40425 Nutcracker 112 75317 The Child 113 75317 The Mandalorian 114 40466 Panda 115 40466 Baby Panda 1 116 40466 Baby Panda 2 117 40440 German Shepherd 118 40440 Puppy 119 40441 Shorthair Cat 120 40441 Kitten 121 40442 Goldfish 122 40442 Fry 123 40443 Budgie 124 40443 Chick 125 40476 Daisy Duck 126 40477 Scrooge McDuck 127 40477 Huey 128 40477 Dewy 129 40477 Louie 130 40479 Dalmatian 131 40479 Puppy 132 40480 Ginger Tabby 133 40480 Kitten 134 40481 Cockatiel 135 40481 Chick 136 40482 Hamster 137 40482 Baby Hamster 138 40495 Harry Potter 139 40495 Hermione Granger 140 40495 Ron Weasley 141 40495 Hagrid 142 40496 Voldemort 143 40496 Nagini 144 40496 Bellatrix 145 40490 Nya Samurai X 146 40490 Firstbourne Dragon 147 40490 Golden Lloyd 148 40492 La Catrina 149 40539 Ahsoka Tano 150 40540 Lion Dance Guy 151 40543 St. Bernard 152 40543 Puppy 153 40544 French Bulldog 154 40544 Puppy 155 40549 Demogorgon 156 40549 Eleven 157 40552 Buzz Lightyear 158 40553 Woody 159 40553 Bo Peep 160 40559 Road Runner 161 40559 Wile E. Coyote 162 Notes: #27, 28, and 57 are on the list below
Coming Soon
Set # Name BH # Release Date ??? ??? 163 ?? ??? ??? 164 ?? 40558 Emma 165 Mar 1 40558 Mel B 166 Mar 1 40558 Melanie C 167 Mar 1 40558 Geri 168 Mar 1 40558 Victoria 169 Mar 1
Other Brickheadz
41490 Superman   SDCC 41490 Wonder Woman   SDCC 41491 Batman   SDCC 41491 The Joker   SDCC 41492 Iron Man   SDCC 41492 Captain America   SDCC 41493 Black Panther   SDCC 41493 Doctor Strange   SDCC DCBHZ Wonder Woman   TRU ITBH Nonnie - Inside Tour 2017 Edition   Inside Tour SHIMAO Shimao BrickHeadz   Store Opening BEIJING Beijing Brickheadz   Store Opening COLOGNE Cologne Brickheadz   Store Opening 6315025 Amsterdam BrickHeadz   Store Opening 6322719 Hangzhou BrickHeadz   Store Opening 40383 Wedding Bride   Retail 40384 Wedding Groom   Retail 41597 Go Brick Me   Retail 41498 Boba Fett 27 NYCC 41498 Han Solo in Carbonite 28 NYCC 40316 Geoffrey 57 Cancelled Notes:
41490, 41491, 41492, and 41493 were exclusive purchases at San Diego Comic Con in 2016 DCBHZ Wonder Woman was an in-store build at Toys R Us locations July 2017 ITBH Nonnie was given to attendees of the 2017 Inside Tours Amsterdamn/Beijing/Cologne/Hangzhou/Shimao were giveaways at those respective LEGO Store openings in 2018, 2019, and 2020 40383/40384/41597 are retail sets that did not receive a Brickheadz number 41498 was an exclusive purchase at New York City Comic Con in 2017 40316 was a Toys R Us exclusive that was canceled when the store announced it was going out of business. Instructions were posted online for a few days, but no known sets made it into the public's hands. Stickers from 40228 Geoffrey & Friends set can be used to replicate the exclusive pieces in this set.
Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...What a crazy year! Covid and record high LEGO sales and prices made for an interesting year to say the least. Feels like yesterday I was putting the 2020 Brickpicker LEGO raffle together for my son Max's school, St. Paul School in Burlington, NJ.  He is eleven years old now and we started this way back when he was in kindergarten.  The last five raffles...
2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
...have been extremely successful and I am hoping for more generosity and kind souls to take part in this year's version.   Over the past five years, we raised over $200,000.00 for the school, which goes directly to the school and helps pay teacher salaries, utility bills, etc...Another year has passed and it’s time to raffle off some more dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised the last five years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing.  It's a special school that once again was voted BEST or ONE of the BEST Private Schools (6 years in a row) in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times.  Along with the whole school being voted either BEST or One of the Best, St. Paul School and its faculty also won numerous other awards, such as:
Best or One of the Best Private Schools
Best PreK-Nursery School
Best or One of the Best Teacher(s)
Best Fundraiser
Best or One of the Best Music Instruction
Best Tutor Service (Junior National Honor Society)
Best SAT/ACT Preparation Service
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2021 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
As I stated (over and over again) the last five years, St. Paul School (SPS) and its community are special.  My son loves the school, even though he won't admit it. Most days he actually runs into the school.  People from all races and religions attend St. Paul School. Besides excelling in educating the children, the school does a tremendous amount of charity for local people in need. From food drives to helping out at local retirement homes, the children of St. Paul School are required to perform “service hours” that are designed to teach generosity, altruism and instill a hard-working, disciplined attitude.  Excellence is expected and permeates through St. Paul School and the faculty and student body, so does a sense of goodness and frugalness. We make a little money go a long way. For example:
All grade levels (Pre – K through 4) are scheduled for “Specials” each week...such as art, music, library, computers, and physical education
St. Paul School is nationally accredited by “AdvancED” (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement – NCA – CASI.)
SPS middle-school students have three periods of Spanish and are testing into Spanish II for High School.
SPS provides more periods of physical education each week than is required by the State.
SPS provides multiple extracurricular activities such as: LEGO Robotics Club, Science Club, Vocal Choir, Rosary Group, Tonal Chimes, Hand Bell Choir, Crafty Kids Club, Basketball (Boys/Girls), Indoor Soccer, Cheerleading, Yearbook Club, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), Student Council, MATHCounts, STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art Math, Activity Tutorial Period (ATP for 5th-8th grades)
But all is not wonderful though.  As many of you know, many Catholic schools have a hard time making ends meet. Enrollments are down and many families do not have the extra money to spend on a private education.  Two neighboring Catholic schools in Willingboro and Maple Shade closed their doors this year.  In person fundraising has been reduced drastically because of social distancing restrictions. Even superb schools like St. Paul School has a hard time keeping the doors open, but unlike many public schools, St. Paul has been OPEN FULL TIME since September. While it’s been difficult, the wonderful SPS faculty and staff has kept the kids safe and in a great learning and social environment.  But it has bee very difficult fundraising with social distancing protocols in place.  Many traditional fundraisers have been shelved, so the Brickpicker LEGO Sweepstakes is even more important this year.  While our enrollment has stabilized, we will still be way short of breaking even; thus the need for the 2021 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES. This year’s version of the LEGO raffle will start with FIFTEEN awesome prizes! These include:
 
2021 BRICKPICKER LEGO Sweepstakes to Keep St. Paul School Strong!
SUPER MARIO MASSIVE MULTITUDE!
71374 Nintendo Entertainment System
71360 Adventures with Mario Starter Set
71362 Guarded Fortress
71367 Mario’s House and Yoshi
71381 Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter
71366 Boomer Bill Barrage
71365 Piranha Plant Power Slide
71363 Desert Pokey
71373 Super Mario Builder Mario Power-Up Pack 
71384 Super Mario Penguin Mario Power-Up Pack
71370 Super Mario Fire Mario Power-Up Pack 
71385 Super Mario Tanooki Mario Power-Up Pack 
ST. PAUL SCHOOL MYSTERY LOT (#1)
LOT # 1...Collected over the past six months by the St. Paul community...Dozens of LEGO sets that contain thousands and thousands of pieces.  All types, themes and sizes possible.  Jeff and I even threw some in for good measure.  Guaranteed 10,000 pieces...at least  This prize kicks butt!
THE NEED FOR SPEED SPECTACULAR!
10295 Creator Porsche 911
75895 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0
42093 Technic Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
76898 Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing Gen2 car and Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY
75892 McLaren Senna
75893  2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and 1970 Dodge Charger R/T 
76896 Nissan GT-R NISMO
76895 Ferrari F8 Tributo
30342 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO
42107 Technic Ducati Panigale V4 R
OUT OF THIS WORLD...LEGO SPACE SET STOCKPILE!
92176 NASA Apollo Saturn V
21321 International Space Station
10266 NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander
30365 Space Satellite
6079531 Classic Space Minifigure
21312 Women of NASA
31107 Space Rover Explorer
60226 Mars Research Shuttle
60227 Lunar Space Station
60229 Rocket Assembly and Transport
$500.00 IN GIFT CARDS! (GIFT CARD PRIZE #1)
$500.00 in gift cards of your choice!  Choose from retailers such as...
Amazon
Walmart
Target
Apple 
Disney
LEGO
...and many more!  Choose from many major retailers!
DC & MARVEL COMICS(CON) COLLECTION...
2008 Comic Con Batman and Joker Promotional Box Set (The Video Game)
76139 1989 Batmobile
40386 Batman Brick Sketch
76105 The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition
76124 War Machine Buster
77905 Comic Con Black Widow Taskmaster’s Ambush
76114 Spider-Man's Spider Crawl
76165 Iron Man Helmet
IDYLLIC IDEAS LOT
21317 Steamboat Willie
40448 Vintage Car
21316 The Flintstones
21319 Central Perk
21315 Pop-Up Book
21314 Tron: Legacy
92177 Ship in a Bottle
21110 Research Institute
21308 Adventure Time
21109 Exo Suit
21320 Dinosaur Fossils
THE STAR WARS CHARACTER COLLECTION...BB-8 and friends.
75187 BB-8
40431 BB-8 Brick Sketch
75278 D-O
75318 The Child
75255 Yoda
75253 Droid Commander (New/sealed set, box slightly damaged)
75274 TIE Fighter Pilot Helmet
75276 StormTrooper Helmet
75317 The Mandalorian & The Child Brickheadz
"I AIN'T AFRAID OF NO GHOSTS!" HAUNTED LOT
10273 Haunted House
10274 Ghostbusters ECTO-1
21108 Ghostbusters ECTO-1 (Ideas)
850487 Halloween Accessory Set
TWO "P"s (PORSCHES) IN A POD!
42056 Porsche 911 GT3 R3
42096 Porsche 911 RSR
HARRY POTTER HOGWARTS HOARD
71043 Hogwarts Castle
30628 The Monster Book of Monsters
75954 Hogwarts Great Hall
75969 Hogwarts Astronomy Tower
75953 Hogwarts Whomping Willow
AMUSEMENT PARK MADNESS!
10247 Creator Expert Ferris Wheel (New/sealed bags and complete...Box has some wear.)
40346 LEGOLAND
70432 Hidden Side Haunted Fairground
41375 Friends Heartlake City Amusement Pier
31095 Creator Fairground Carousel
60234 Fun Fair CITY People Pack 
THE ARCHITECTURE ASSEMBLAGE
21030 United States Capitol Building
21029 Buckingham Palace
21041 Great Wall of China
21034 Skyline Collection: London
21051 Skyline Collection: Tokyo
21047 Skyline Collection: Las Vegas
21052 Skyline Collection: Dubai
21044 Skyline Collection: Paris
BONUS BUILDING: 40415 LEGO Brand Retail Store
ST. PAUL SCHOOL MYSTERY LOT (#2)
LOT # 2...Similar to LOT #1.  Collected over the past six months by the St. Paul community...Dozens of LEGO sets that contain thousands and thousands of pieces.  All types, themes and sizes possible.  Jeff and I even threw some in for good measure.  Guaranteed 10,000 pieces...at least  This prize kicks butt!
$500.00 IN GIFT CARDS! (GIFT CARD PRIZE #2)
$500.00 in gift cards of your choice!  Choose from retailers such as...
Amazon
Walmart
Target
Apple 
Disney
LEGO
...and many more!  Choose from many major retailers!
 
Once again, this year’s total prize value equals or exceeds the previous five year's total prize value.  The last five years, we had 51 raffle prizes and winners from around the world. From Vancouver, Canada to Reno, Nevada to Miami Beach, Florida to the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and everywhere in between, generous raffle participants were rewarded with awesome LEGO prizes. I wish we had some winners in New Jersey so I can hand deliver the sets...maybe this year!  We even had repeat winners!  The 2021 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES can be found here on the secure Rally.up.com site:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2021 BRICKPICKER LEGO SWEEPSTAKES FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
Like the last five years, we will ship most of the prizes to anywhere across the globe.  Two of the large lot prizes (SPS Mystery LOTS #1 and #2) are so large I can only ship them to United States customers who live in the contiguous 48 states due to shipping costs.  If there is an issue with shipping or prizes, a comparable prize and/or shipping method will be arranged with the winner. The last four years, the LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES worked very well.  The Rallyup.com site is a first class, secure site that made this all possible. They also issued the school a big fat check(s).  All raffle proceeds and donations benefit the school directly by bridging the gap between what tuition covers and actual educational costs. It also raises money to upgrade the school’s technology, keeping St. Paul School ahead of the academic curve with a dynamic curriculum. The prizes have been donated by Jeff and I, the St. Paul School PTA and by some very generous BrickPicker members. I am hoping, like last year, that more people will donate sets after the raffle begins. It was fun adding to the prizes last year. You never know what can pop up as a prize! I AM ALWAYS ADDING NEW SETS!!!
On a personal note, once again, I would like to thank every person who donated sets/money and/or bought tickets to last five LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES. It helped save a wonderful school and kept dozens of people employed and 175 kids with their friends and teachers. I don’t like asking but will anyway...please help out again this year.  Even buying one ticket can help, and it gives you a chance to win some great prizes. Watching the raffle ticket total rise every day was an intense rush and extremely gratifying experience. It made me so proud to have started this site with my brother Jeff and made me realize there is still good in this world.  I know some people do not approve of donating to faith- based schools or charities.  I respect that, but also please respect my beliefs. This is not about religion. This is about helping a great school remain open and kids in their school and teachers in their jobs.  Please keep negative comments to yourself. Thank you...
***If you haven’t already noticed, we have changed the term “RAFFLE” to “SWEEPSTAKES.” The structure of this year's "sweepstakes" is similar to last year's raffle, with the exception that a person cannot buy entries/tickets/donations for a specific prize.  Due to changes in New Jersey online gaming laws in late 2020, online raffles are no longer allowed.  It would appear that online scammers and thieves were using the pandemic as a way to run fraudulent raffles; thus, honest, charitable causes have been hurt. Rallyup.com has developed the "sweepstakes" system to replace the raffle in states that do not allow such online gaming. 
People can buy entries/tickets/donations to win the prizes. They can also send in for a free voucher to Rallyup.com and mail in the voucher to be entered in the sweepstakes.  One entry/ticket/donation can win any prize.  People can win multiple prizes. The basic $10.00 entry/ticket/donation can win 10 separate prizes!  There are multiple entry/ticket price/amount combinations.  The more entries/tickets you buy, the cheaper the entries/tickets/donations. The more entries/tickets/donations that you have, the better chance you have to win.  The entry/ticket fees/donations will go directly to St. Paul School.  Remember, the school will receive ZERO donations if you choose the mail-in method.  Mail-in vouchers must be received and processed by Rallyup.com before the drawing date to be entered.
Rallyup.com will automatically and randomly pick and contact winners.  Winners should then reach out to Ed Mack on www.BrickPicker.com to arrange for prize shipment.  As with the previous four BrickPicker LEGO Raffles, prizes will be only shipped to a deliverable and legitimate mailing address.  Every effort will be made to get the prizes to the winners...no matter where they are on the planet.  In case safe and reasonable shipment is not possible, suitable prize arrangements/replacements will be made.  The prizes with large amounts of sets (St. Paul Mystery Lots) will only be shipped to the contiguous 48 states of the United States due to the excessive size and shipping costs.  Replacement sets/gift cards will replace those prizes in case of out of country(USA) winners.  
The ability to buy entries/tickets/donations will end on Sunday, May 23, 2021 at 11:59 PM.  The drawing date for the winners will be Monday, May 24, 2012 at 12:00 AM. If you are a winner, please contact me on the site so we can confirm the prizes and shipping addresses. The Rallyup.com site works very well and is secure, so please feel confident in donating to the school and purchasing raffle tickets. All the money goes to St. Paul School, which is a 501(c)(3), and to Rallyup.com for running the raffle.  I will make every effort to supply the winners with the appropriate prizes. If there are shipping issues, inventory issues or potential problems beyond my control, I will make sure the winners are awarded LEGO sets/gift cards comparable to the original prizes. Any questions, ideas or concerns, please reply below or PM Jeff or me…Thank you.
 
LEGO SWEEPSTAKES START DATE: MARCH 1, 2021
LEGO SWEEPSTAKES END DATE: MAY 23, 2021 at 11:59 PM
LEGO SWEEPSTAKES WINNERS PICKED/NOTIFIED: MAY 24, 2021 at 12:00 AM
 
Thanks again!
Ed Mack

 
Hello Lego fans,
link = https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072MHYHXJ/
As reported by members this morning and online discount sites, Amazon.com has an EXCELLENT sale today on Lego's Creator Expert Carousel set.   
It is also likely a set that will be retiring soon so buy it while still available.
35% off
$129.99.   (Retail Price is $199.99)
Like many AFOLs, I purchased one set today along with both optional Power Function parts (88000 and 8883) for automatic play.  The kids will love this,  
As some folks may remember, 10257 was somewhat of a refresh for the hugely popular 10196 Grand Carousel from 2009 .
 

 
Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...
 
Time flies...It’s a little later than usual, but it's that time of year again.  Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ. After three very...VERY...successful LEGO Raffles...
2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE
...in which we raised over $150,000.00 for the school, another year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some more dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised the last three years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing.  It's a special school that once again was voted BEST or ONE of the BEST Private Schools (4 years in a row) in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times.  Along with the whole school being voted either BEST or One of the Best, St. Paul School and its faculty also won numerous other awards, such as:
Best or One of the Best Private Schools
Best PreK-Nursery School
Best or One of the Best Teacher(s)
Best Fundraiser
Best or One of the Best Music Instruction
Best Tutor Service (Junior National Honor Society)
Best SAT/ACT Preparation Service
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
As I stated, the last three years, St. Paul School (SPS) and its community are special.  My son loves the school, even though he won't admit it. Most days he actually runs into the school.  People from all races and religions attend St. Paul School. Besides excelling in educating the children, the school does a tremendous amount of charity for local people in need. From food drives to helping out at local retirement homes, the children of St. Paul School are required to perform “service hours” that are designed to teach generosity, altruism and instill a hard-working, disciplined attitude.  Excellence is expected and permeates through St. Paul School and the faculty and student body, so does a sense of goodness and frugalness. We make a little money go a long way. For example:
All grade levels (Pre – K through 4) are scheduled for “Specials” each week...such as art, music, library, computers, and physical education
St. Paul School is nationally accredited by “AdvancED” (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement – NCA – CASI.)
SPS middle-school students have three periods of Spanish and are testing into Spanish II for High School.
SPS provides more periods of physical education each week than is required by the State.
SPS provides multiple extracurricular activities such as: LEGO Robotics Club, Science Club, Vocal Choir, Rosary Group, Tonal Chimes, Hand Bell Choir, Crafty Kids Club, Basketball (Boys/Girls), Indoor Soccer, Cheerleading, Yearbook Club, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), Student Council, MATHCounts, STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art Math, Activity Tutorial Period (ATP for 5th-8th grades)
But all is not wonderful though.  As many of you know, many Catholic schools have a hard time making ends meet. Enrollments are down and many families do not have the extra money to spend on a private education.  Even superb schools like St. Paul School have a hard time keeping the doors open. While our enrollment has stabilized, we will still be way short of breaking even; thus the need for the 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE. This year’s version of the LEGO raffle will start with TEN awesome prizes. These include:

 
Keep St. Paul Strong 2019
$1000.00 Amazon Gift card
75192 UCS Millennium Falcon
Amusement Park Sets
10196 Grand Carousel(Preowned by Ed Mack, Clean and Complete with Box/Instructions)
10247 Creator Ferris Wheel
STAR WARS Sidekicks
10225 R2-D2
75187 BB-8
75230 Porg
DC and Marvel Comics Super Sized Set Lot
76042 The SHIELD Helicarrier
OR
76023 The Tumbler
AND
76052 Batman Classic TV Series Batcave
Modular Madness
10224 Town Hall (Box is in poor condition...Set is new in sealed bags)
10281 Pet Shop (New with some shelf wear)
10246 Detective’s Office (New)
St. Paul School Mystery Lot (Dozens of sets...Thousands and thousands of pieces)
Fast and the Furious
42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
OR
42083 Bugatti Chiron
AND
10265 Ford Mustang
British Invasion!
10253 Creator Big Ben
10214 Creator Tower Bridge
  PLUS “BONUS SET”!!!
Spook Spectacular Lot
10228 Haunted House
30200 Zombie Chauffeur Coffin Car
40260 Halloween Haunt
9461 The Swamp Creature
9464 The Vampyre Hearse
850487 Minifigures Halloween Accessory Set
40203 Vampyre and Bat

 
Once again, this year’s total prize value equals or exceeds the previous three year's total prize value.  The last three years, we had 31 raffle prizes and winners from around the world. From Vancouver, Canada to Reno, Nevada to Miami Beach, Florida to the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and everywhere in between, generous raffle participants were rewarded with awesome LEGO prizes. I wish we had some winners in New Jersey so I can hand deliver the sets...maybe this year!  We even had repeat winners!  The 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE can be found here on the secure Rally.up.com site:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
Like the last three years, we will ship the prizes to anywhere across the globe.  If there is an issue with shipping or prizes, a comparable prize and/or shipping method will be arranged with the winner. The last two years, the LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES worked very well.  The Rallyup.com site is a first class, secure site that made this all possible. They also issued the school a big fat check(s).  All raffle proceeds and donations benefit the school directly by bridging the gap between what tuition covers and actual educational costs. It also raises money to upgrade the school’s technology, keeping St. Paul School ahead of the academic curve with a dynamic curriculum. The prizes have been donated by Jeff and I, the St. Paul School PTA and by some very generous BrickPicker members. I am hoping, like last year, that more people will donate sets after the raffle begins. It was fun adding to the prizes last year. You never know what can pop up as a prize!
 
On a personal note, once again, I would like to thank every person who donated sets/money and/or bought tickets to last three year’s LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES. It helped save a wonderful school and kept dozens of people employed and 175 kids with their friends and teachers. I don’t like asking but will anyway...please help out again this year.  Even buying one ticket can help, and it gives you a chance to win some great prizes. Watching the raffle ticket total rise every day was an intense rush and extremely gratifying experience. It made me so proud to have started this site with my brother Jeff and made me realize there is still good in this world.  I know some people do not approve of donating to faith- based schools or charities.  I respect that, but also please respect my beliefs. This is not about religion. This is about helping a great school remain open and kids in their school and teachers in their jobs.  Please keep negative comments to yourself. Thank you...
 
The structure is slightly different this year.  Unlike in the past three years when, for example, $10.00 would buy a single chance, this year $10.00 will buy 10 chances or raffle tickets in some of the raffles.  This is done for several reasons. For one, the Rallyup.com site has come up with a way to help put more money into the charity’s bank account. They will ask if a person who buys chances will “donate” money to support the raffle.  In years past, St. Paul School would have to pay a percentage back to the Rallyup.com site to run it. This year, people can donate a few dollars to help out, and they will GET MORE CHANCES FOR PRIZES if they do so. Donors will visit the campaign page and choose how many raffle entries they want to purchase. During checkout, they’ll be asked if they want to add a small "tip" to help fund the campaign costs. In exchange, they’ll receive a limited number of “bonus” entries into the drawing. Tipping is entirely optional.  This is a win-win for the school and for donors!  
 
The contest will end on May 21, 2019, at 11:59 PM. Winners will be notified by Rallyup.com early on the 22nd of May.  If you are a winner, please contact me on the site so we can confirm the prizes and shipping addresses. The Rallyup.com site works very well and is secure, so please feel confident in donating to the school and purchasing raffle tickets. All the money goes to St. Paul School, which is a 501(c)(3), and to Rallyup.com for running the raffle.  I will make every effort to supply the winners with the appropriate prizes. If there are shipping issues, inventory issues or potential problems beyond my control, I will make sure the winners are awarded LEGO sets/gift cards comparable to the original prizes. Any questions, ideas or concerns, please reply below or PM Jeff or me…
 
TICKETS AVAILABLE UNTIL: May 21, 2019, at 11:59 PM EST (Cinco de Mayo)
DRAWING DATE: May 22, 2019, at 12:00 AM EST
 
Thanks again!
Ed Mack
 
                                                         <<<<NEW TEXT OPTION>>>>
 
DIAL 855-202-2100 AND TEXT “LEGORAFFLE” TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO THE RAFFLE!
LEGO fans were given an early Christmas for about an hour on Tuesday morning, as the UCS Millennium Falcon 75192 showed up on Walmart's site for 25% off.  Normally priced at $799.99, the one hour sale had the Falcon down to $599.99.
It hasn't been Christmas for everyone, though, as a number of users reported yesterday that their orders got cancelled.  However, a few users have reported that they have shipping confirmations for their orders.  And for a brief time this morning, the set showed up once again at $599.99.
Keep those eyes open, you never know when this, or any other set, may go on surprise sale in the days leading up to Christmas.  Register and participate in the board to stay abreast of the latest deals.
A big thank you to @exracer327 for posting the deal first.

In typical fashion as we approach the end of the year, LEGO has officially unveiled the next in it's line of Creator Modular Buildings - The Corner Garage.  The set will retail for $199.99 (US) and will be available beginning January 1, exclusively at LEGO Shop at Home.  No doubt it will be available elsewhere starting 2nd Quarter 2019.  The set will contain 2,569 pieces.  The set fits resembles a 1950s era Service Garage and Gas Station, and fits in very well with the 1950's Downtown Diner (10260) released January 1, 2018.
LEGO's press release:
On the investment front, there could be as many as six Modular Building available at the same time:
10264 - Corner Garage 10260 - Downtown Diner 10255 - Assembly Square 10251 - Brick Bank 10246 - Detective's Office 10243 - Parisian Restaurant A savvy individual would note that some of those have been going in-and-out of stock (most notably Brick Bank, that was on sale over Black Friday weekend).  Also telling is that both the Corner Garage and the Brick Bank are corner buildings.
Keep an eye out for this set, coming January 1, 2019.  Pictures below.
 


Discuss the Corner Garage here:
 
Hello LEGO fans...
It's that time of year again.  Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ.  After two very...VERY...successful LEGO Raffles...
2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...in which we raised over $100,000.00 for the school, another year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised the last two years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing.  It's a special school that once again was voted BEST Private School in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times, along with numerous other awards, such as:
Best Private School Best PreK-Nursery School Best Teacher Best Fundraiser Best Music Instruction Best Tutor Service (Junior National Honor Society) CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
As I stated the last two years, St. Paul School (SPS) and its community are special.  My son loves the school, even though he won't admit it.  People from all races and religions attend St. Paul School.  Besides excelling in educating the children, the school does a tremendous amount of charity for local people in need. From food drives to helping out at local retirement homes, the children of St.Paul School are required to perform “service hours” that are designed to teach generosity, altruism and instill a hard-working, disciplined attitude.  Excellence is expected and permeates through St. Paul School and the faculty and student body, so does a sense of goodness and frugalness.  We make a little money go a long way. For example:
All grade levels (Pre – K through 4) are scheduled for “Specials” each week...such as art, music, library, computers, and physical education St.Paul School is nationally accredited by “AdvancED” (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement – NCA – CASI. SPS middle-school students have three periods of Spanish and are testing into Spanish II for High School. SPS provides more periods of physical education each week than is required by the State. SPS provides multiple extracurricular activities such as: LEGO Robotics Club, Science Club, Vocal Choir, Rosary Group, Tonal Chimes, Hand Bell Choir, Crafty Kids Club, Basketball (Boys/Girls), Indoor Soccer, Cheerleading, Yearbook Club, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), Student Council, MATHCounts, STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art Math, Activity Tutorial Period (ATP for 5th-8th grades) This year, we even added a LEGO club! But all is not wonderful though.  As many of you know, many Catholic schools have a hard time making ends meet. Enrollments are down and many families do not have the extra money to spend on a private education.  Even superb schools like St. Paul School have a hard time keeping the doors open.  While our enrollment has stabilized, we will still be way short of breaking even; thus the need for the 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE. This year’s version of the LEGO raffle will start with TEN awesome prizes. These include:

                          2018 LEGO RAFFLE PRIZES
$1000 Amazon Gift Card
75192 UCS Millennium Falcon  
The Lord of the Rings Two Towers Lot
9474 LOTR Battle of Helms Deep
10237 Tower of Orthanc
9471 Uruk-Hai Army
STAR WARS Empire Strikes Back Hoth Lot
75098 UCS Assault on Hoth
7879 Hoth Echo Base
TWO 8083 Rebel Trooper Battle Packs
TWO 8084 Snowtrooper Battle Packs
8129 AT-AT Walker
PICK ANY (ONE) RETIRED SET.  IF WINNER BUYS A COMBINED $100 OR MORE OF ANY RAFFLE TICKETS, PICK TWO!!!!
10218 Pet Shop
10211 Grand Emporium
10197 Fire Brigade
76023 The Tumbler
10228 Haunted House
10227 UCS B-Wing Starfighter
10236 Ewok Village
10240 Red Five X-Wing Starfighter
10221 UCS Super Star Destroyer
10188 Death Star with “Bonus Set”  
Pick a New Set (Taj Mahal OR Ghostbusters Headquarters OR Disney Castle)
BrickPicker Mystery Lot (Guaranteed to be AT LEAST 5000 pieces)
10030 UCS Imperial Star Destroyer (Used and complete)
 
Once again, this year’s total prize value exceeds the previous two year's total prize value.  The last two years, we had 21 raffle prizes and winners from around the world. From Vancouver, Canada to Reno, Nevada to Miami Beach, Florida to the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and everywhere in between, generous raffle participants were rewarded with awesome LEGO prizes. I wish we had some winners in New Jersey so I can hand deliver the sets...maybe this year!  We even had a repeat winner!  The 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE can be found here on the secure Rally.up.com site:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
Like the last two years, we will ship the prizes to anywhere across the globe.  If there is an issue with shipping or prizes, a comparable prize and/or shipping method will be arranged with the winner. The last two years, the LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES worked very well.  The Rallyup.com site is a first class, secure site that made this all possible.  They also issued the school a big fat check(s).  All raffle proceeds and donations benefit the school directly by bridging the gap between what tuition covers and actual educational costs. It also raises money to upgrade the school’s technology, keeping St. Paul School ahead of the academic curve with a dynamic curriculum. The prizes have been donated by Jeff and I, the St.Paul School PTA and by some very generous BrickPicker members. I am hoping, like last year, that more people will donate sets after the raffle begins. It was fun adding to the prizes last year. You never know what can pop up as a prize!
On a personal note, once again, I would like to thank every person who donated sets/money and/or bought tickets to last two year’s LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES. It helped save a wonderful school and kept dozens of people employed and 175 kids with their friends and teachers. I don’t like asking, but will anyway...please help out again this year.  Even buying one ticket can help and it gives you a chance to win some great prizes.  Watching the raffle ticket total rise every day was an intense rush and extremely gratifying experience.  It made me so proud to have started this site with my brother Jeff and made me realize there is still good in this world…
The contest will end on March 13, 2018 at 11:59 PM. Winners will be notified by Rallyup.com. If you are a winner, please contact me on the site so we can confirm the prizes and shipping addresses. The Rallyup.com site works very well and is secure, so please feel confident in donating to the school and purchasing raffle tickets. All the money goes to St. Paul School, which is a 501(c)(3), and to Rallyup.com for running the raffle.  I will make every effort to supply the winners with the appropriate prizes.  If there are shipping issues, inventory issues or potential problems beyond my control, I will make sure the winners are awarded LEGO sets/gift cards comparable to the original prizes.  Any questions, ideas or concerns, please reply below or PM Jeff or me...
TICKETS AVAILABLE UNTIL: March 13, 2018 at 11:59 PM EST (My 50th Birthday)
DRAWING DATE: March 14, 2018 at 12:00 AM EST
Thanks again!
Ed Mack
There were two interesting user comments in-response to CapnRex101's August 27th article, "What's Missing? Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" on brickset.com.
These comments were made by a LEGO set designer, Hans Burkhard Schlömer (aka BrickCommander). His posted comments are....
 

 
Essentially Hans Burkhard Schlömer said the initial wave Rogue One sets such as his designed, Krennic's Imperial Shuttle, will be retiring this year. Then his next comment suggested the 75105 - Millennium Falcon will be replaced by the 75190 - First Order Star Destroyer as LEGO's next "BIG" non-UCS set.
Here is the list of Rogue One Wave 1 sets.
75152-1   Imperial Assault Hovertank 75153-1   AT-ST Walker 75154-1   TIE Striker 75155-1   Rebel U-wing Fighter 75156-1   Krennic's Imperial Shuttle  
So what are your thoughts about the AFOL appeal and investment appeal of the proposed retiring sets?
While I am getting closer to releasing a long overdue update to BrickPicker, now is a good time to release some content that I was hoping to release with the updated site.  @belljohn has been talking with Ed and I for a very long time and has spent a lot of time in creating a series of Brickvesting videos that he is happy to share on the BrickPicker YouTube Channel.  I am hoping to see this expand this into a bunch of different topic series and welcome any of you that are interested in working on some videos to reach out to me and we can work on it.  Set reviews, investing tips, set builds, etc. 
It's not easy to speak for ~15 minutes, but Brook does an amazing job covering this topic. We will be publishing more videos soon from belljohn.  We hope you enjoy it.  Who knows, maybe soon you will see Ed showcase his amazing words of wisdom in video. That will be a real treat.
 
In recent weeks, LEGOLAND California has gone through another price structure change.  This time, removing discounts from "Sale" and "Hard to Find" items that are carried in their shops.

In year's past, annual passholders would expect to find LEGO sets priced at RRP.  With a LEGOLAND California Annual Pass, a 10% discount was applied to all orders.  During the years of "no discounts on exclusives," this made purchasing exclusives, such as modular buildings, a little more desirable at LEGOLAND.
Late last year, LEGOLAND California started raising prices on certain items, to "balance" the Annual Pass discount.  Items such as the Disney Castle, which has an RRP of $349.99, has been priced at $384.99 at LEGOLAND California.  With the increase in price, the discount works out to less than a $5 savings with an Annual Pass.  This price increase is not limited to just "Hard to Find" items, though.  Even items like polybags, minifigures, and Brickheadz have seen a $1 increase over RRP.

With this new policy, comes the pledge to reduce pricing back to RRP.  "You should notice we've reduced prices on the Hard to Find items," said one employee this past weekend.  (Although, the Disney Castle is still listed in store at the higher price).
In my own analysis, LEGOLAND California was most likely losing sales on the Hard to Find items to the non-Annual Passholders.  Without a discount, there's not much need to buy a $385 Castle when you can order it from Shop At Home while you're standing there, and have it waiting for you when you come home from vacation.
Keep in mind that state tax rates at LEGOLAND California are 7.75%.
Whether this policy remains in effect during the usual Christmas season passholder double discount sale (20% instead of the usual 10%) remains to be seen.  No word yet on whether this will affect any other promotions that periodically go out to Passholders as well.  For the time being, though, one of the extra special "perks" that were granted to Annual Passholders has been taken away.  Investors that were using that perk as a means to leverage a little extra out of their Annual Pass will have to rethink that purchase when it comes to renew their passes.
At this point in time, LEGOLAND Florida does not mirror this policy, although they do have a policy of restricting purchases as they see fit.
It looks like it's been about 6 months since I did the last one of these. I know I intended to do more, but time got away from me. It's time to get right back in and take a swing at yet another pricey LEGO set and what makes it tick, or brick.

I never really thought much about the Y-Wing. It was never really one of my favorite Star Wars vehicles. It looked ungainly and not as sleek as the X-Wing. It is however a classic, used in the original series, reimagined for the Clone Wars and given life again in both Rebels and Rogue One. Recently I saw people talking about this particular set though and it was enough to make me curious about what makes this set difficult to piece together. I was surprised about the sheer volume of parts that are rare or unique. Some of these parts are fairly expensive.
In 2004, a brand new Y-WIng Attack Starfighter would have cost $119.99 US. Compared to the prices of other modern UCS sets, that's a real bargain. If you could stumble across one at original retail, you'd be doing quite well. A sealed Y-WIng will run you about $1200-$1300 while a used copy sells for about $600-$800. When I plug the parts into Brickstock, an average used price for parts, is about $830. This is not including box or instructions. I am sure there are plenty of parts that are easy to find, but that's not where the bulk of your money will be spent.
I can only imagine how the cost of this set would change if it had been made a year earlier when LEGO was still releasing everything in the old grays. It might have suffered the same identity crisis of the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer (10030), which can be found in both old and new gray.
I'm going to be showcasing the parts that are of most interest in this set. I will first discuss the parts that appear in this set more than 20 times. Afterwards, I will be talking about the parts that appear in less than 8 sets and/or will run (on average) more than $1. There will be some overlap between these lists, so I will only list out any overlapping parts once, to avoid confusion. This set is composed of 1487 pieces (counting the single minifigure as a single part.) Those 1487 parts are distributed among 247 different unique elements. In this usage, an element is a unique combination of part and color. For example, there are 4 different colors of 2x6 bricks consisting of a total of 6 different parts, this counts as 4 unique elements.
MOST OCCURING:
As I said before, I will first be talking about the parts that occur in this set more than 20 times. There are 11 different elements that meet this criteria. These 11 elements account for 441 parts. That's almost 1/3 of the set. That means that the other 236 elements account for the other 2/3 of the set. That's what makes these parts so interesting. Even if you have some of these in your inventory, do you think you have anywhere near as many as you need to build this set? Let's take a look at them now. (All values quoted below are based upon Bricklink sold used parts, as of June 2017).
The first piece that we are going to look at is the most commonly occurring piece in the set at 112. This piece is actually not common as it only appears in this set.The White Hose, Ribbed 7 mm D 2L actually qualifies for both lists. Being both rare and coming in at an average of just under $1 each, you're going to wind up spending over $100 on hoses to make the clean, white ailerons that give this ship the distinctive Y shape. If you're trying to build this set on a budget, might I suggest swapping the color for Flat Silver Element 78c02 which comes in at a modest $.04 making it about $4.50 to complete the look.

Coming in at less than half the quantity of the previous piece we have the much more common element 4265c. The light bluish grey technic bush 1/2 smooth appears in 515 sets and has an average price of $.02 each.

The third item on my list is Element 2555. This set requires 46 Light Bluish Gray Tile, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip. It's fairly common, occurring in 210 sets. It averages about $.05 each

This set contains 40 Light Bluish Gray Slope, Inverted 45 2 x 2. Element 3660 averages $.04 and occurs in 233 sets.

You've probably got enough element 2780 laying around from some of the 1863 sets that it appears in. This set needs 38 black Technic, Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise WITH Center Slots and they're only about $.01 each if you need to replace any.

If you're a stickler, make sure that every one of the next element is 3794 not 3794b or 15573. The price difference between the pieces is about $.03 with this version being the most expensive at $.08. You need 34 Light Bluish Gray Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud (Jumper) which occurs in 240 sets.

This set also requires 26 Blue Technic, Pin 1/2. Element 4274 appears in 611 sets and average $.02 each.

24 White Technic, Axle Connector 2L (Ridged with x Hole x Orientation) appear in this set. Element 6538b appears in 15 sets and averages $.48 each. If I were looking to save a few dollars, I'd swap it for light bluish gray which averages $.06. That would save about $9-$10.

The white Technic, Axle 12 appears in 10 sets. You need 24 at $.36 each. I'm not sure how it would impact the overall aesthetic, but the black version  of Element 3708 runs about half the cost and is considerably easier to find.

The white Element 32039 Technic, Axle Connector with Axle Hole appears in 7 sets. It has an average cost of $3.47 each  making the final cost more than $83 to replace all of them if you needed to. Again, if I were wanting to build this set out on my budget, I'd swap these for light bluish gray for $.04 each.

The last item in my list of most common pieces is Element 2412b. This set requires 23 Light Bluish Gray Tile, Modified 1 x 2 Grille with Bottom Groove / Lip which average about $.03 each.

That takes care of the most commonly occurring pieces in this set. As you can see, not all of them are in and of themselves common. I have been asked in the past about which substitutions one could make to build a set on a budget. My analysis is purely based upon the cost and not on the aesthetic. I'm afraid without firsthand knowledge of the build, I can't know which suggestions alter the look significantly enough to disturb you. I am also making these suggestions as something to keep an eye out for when paying top dollar for a used set. If these swaps have been made, you're not getting an original set and shouldn't pay the going rate.
RARE AND EXPENSIVE:
When looking at a UCS set, sometimes the most expensive part is the sticker sheet. Sticker sheets are pricey and may be subject to counterfeiting. I'd look for some resources on what to look for in regards to "custom" sticker sheets. The individual stickered parts of this set seem exceptionally rare. The sheet itself 10134stk01 has sold for $75 on Bricklink.

The assembled plaque has sold several times for about $46 while the other stickered pieces haven't been available on Bricklink recently so I cannot give you any information about their prices.

 
The Instructions, if you need them to consider your set complete, sell for about $75 for a new set. Although as of this writing, the cheapest instructions available on Bricklink is $122.

A box seems to run about $88. I would offer good luck to anyone who is looking for a box that is cheap enough to bother paying for shipping.
FRONT
BACK
Not terribly expensive, this set comes with R5-D4 minifigure SW029 which appears in 7 sets. It's cost is about $4 for a used one. This is the only minifigure in the set.

Now, let's take a look at the expensive, rare, and/or unique parts. In a lot of cases all three qualities overlap. Sometimes they do not. (I have found rare parts in a set that are not terribly expensive.) We'll take a look at all of the parts that cost more than $1 each and/or appear in 8 or less sets. Where I can find one, I might suggest less expensive parts so that someone could approximate this set for their own collection for a reasonable amount. It will also serve as something to look out for if you want an original set. I have already touched on a few of these pieces above and will not repeat them here. I have 27 parts which match this criteria.
So, when we look at the expensive parts of this set, we have one show stopper. Unique to this set are 2 White Wheel 70 x 28 mm Futuristic which average about $94 each in used condition. Element 32077 also comes in Metallic Silver in 7 sets and would match the earlier hoses if you color swapped them for silver. (In silver they average about $2.50)

Light Bluish Gray Slope, Inverted 45 6 x 4 Double with Recessed Center appears in this set 2 times. Element 30183 only appears in this set in this color. It appears to average about $15 although right now Bricklink shows the lowest at $22. You need 2. (I don't know what it would do to the look if you swapped in the $.10 white or Dark Bluish Gray.)

I'm a huge fan of long descriptive names for parts in sort of an ironic way. My preference is for brevity, but that makes me think names like this are funny. Dark Bluish Gray Slope 45 2 x 2 with Black and Yellow Danger Stripes Pattern appears 2 times in this set. Element 3039px16 is only a part of this set in this color. (It was also available in old Dark Gray like the image below.)  It's a piece that runs about $11.50. If it were for my personal build,I'd be tempted to go for either the $.11 old Gray version or just put in a plain DBG slope and save myself more than $20.

I've got to say, you don't see a lot of Dark Orange parts in stuff. This one seems like a weird one. 18 Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle will run about $4.50 each (about $80 total). Dark Orange element 30236 appears in this set alone. However there are a lot of color options for this part that are significantly cheaper. (White or light bluish gray are about $.03 while Dark Red is about $.07. I might even suggest tan as the parts next to these are tan.)

Copper is another color that you never see. In fact,it makes Dark Orange appear downright common. Element 75c08 in any color is not common. In Copper, the Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 8L / 6.4cm appears only in this set. This set requires 8 of them and at more than $4 each, you're looking to spend about $35. Other color choices that may work include red, orange, yellow, black or light bluish gray. They range from $.88-$.10 each. Again, I don't know what it does to the final look, but saving up to $34 on this build appeals to me.

We are also looking at 4 of the much longer Dark Bluish Gray Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 14L / 11.2cm at about $4.25 each. Element 75c14 appears in DBG only in this set. If you are trying for an all original set, make sure someone hasn't swapped in the more common old Dark Gray or light bluish gray or black. (Reddish Brown is the cheapest version of this part at about $.30 while LBG is about $2.50 and the others are about $1.)

I talked about this next part in the UCS Death Star II set breakdown. Light Bluish Gray Lever Small Base with Light Bluish Gray Lever sounds redundant but refers to the 2 parts that make up element 4592c05. It appears in 7 sets including the UCS Millennium Falcon. You need 8 of them and they are about $4 each. (Thanks Falcon) The black base with LBG lever is a bit cheaper at $2.50, but you could make it pennies if you swap for a black lever in either LBG or black base. Be very careful if you are looking for all original that someone has not subbed in the old light gray pieces.

 
Next, you need 7 Copper Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 6L / 4.8cm which is unique to this set. Element 75c06  averages just over $2. Black will knock down the price per part to about $.13 each.

Element 30083 also averages about $2 each. The White Windscreen 6 x 6 x 3 Canopy Half Sphere with Hinge was also available in 7418 Scorpion Palace. The other color options honestly do not appeal to me as a substitution. You have either Tran black or 2 shades of tran blue. You may have to bite the bullet on white.

Next we have element 41770 Tan Wedge, Plate 4 x 2 Left. This set only requires 1. It is available in 7 sets (Actually 6 since one of those is a reissue of the Dagobah set in a different box. It averages just north of $1.25. It honestly doesn't look like it matters a lot what color this piece is, if you feel like subbing in white for it you'd be spending a whole nickel at worst.

You need 18 of element 2412b in dark orange, which is unique to this set. In this color the Tile, Modified 1 x 2 Grille with Bottom Groove / Lip costs about $1.25 each making your total for a full set about $22. It's used as color accents on the ship. I'd be tempted to sub in red, reddish brown, or dark red and save more than $20.

The next element 41855 is the only part in this set to have an officially recognized substitution. The 2 Light Bluish Gray Brick, Modified 2 x 2 x 2/3 Two Studs, Lip End may be substituted for 47457 without going against what people may have found in the original box. 41855 is available in 6 sets and will cost about $1.10 each. the substitution is closer to $.03.

Light Bluish Gray Slope 33 3 x 3 Double Convex appears in 6 sets and averages about $.89. That's not too bad for the 2 element 3675 that you need. (It is at this point in the list that I will stop offering suggestions for replacement because we are unlikely to see $1 again. We are now in the realm of the rare but inexpensive parts.)

The Dark Bluish Gray Minifig, Head (Plain) - Blocked Open Stud appears once in this set. Element 3626b is shown to be in 3 sets, although I would only consider one of those an actual set as the other was not a mass release set. It is found in Harry and the Marauder's Map. Which is a fairly inexpensive set. This part by itself is about $.68.

Strangely, the Tan Wedge, Plate 4 x 2 Right is about half the cost of its twin from above. It averages $.67 for element 41769. This is because it appears in 8 sets instead of the 7 from the other piece. You only need one of these, but if you substituted the other one, I recommend making this one match.

The Light Bluish Gray Tile, Round 2 x 2 with SW Radial Machinery Pattern is a part of 2 releases of the Millennium Falcon 4504 which just change box color. It is also a part of  8038 Battle of Endor.  Be sure that you don't wind up with the old light gray 4150px19 from the Imperial AT-ST. You only need 1 and it's less than $.65.

You also need 4 Dark Bluish Gray Slope 45 2 x 8 which will cost $.64 each. Element 4445 appears in 8 sets.

The White Slope 33 3 x 3 Double Convex appears in 4 sets. For the 2 element 3675 that you need, you're going to average $.64 each.

You also need 1 Light Bluish Gray Wheel Spoked 2 x 2 with Pin Hole.  Element 30155 also appears in 7622 Race for the Stolen Treasure. It averages about $.40

After that, we have element 4161 which appears 2 times. The Yellow Slope 33 3 x 3 is a part of 6 sets and is less than $.25.

The Y-Wing has 8 Tan Hinge Brick 2 x 2 Top Plate Thin It's about $.18 each and element 6134 is a part of 6 sets.

Element 30359b appears in one other set. It averages $.15 each and you need 16 White Bar 1 x 8 with Brick 1 x 2 Curved Top End (Axle Holder Inside Small End)

The Dark Bluish Gray Minifig, Weapon Lance shows up in this set 4 times. It averages $.12. Element 3849 appears in 7 sets.

Next, we have element 989 which averages $.09. White Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger Top appears in one other set. You need 2.

Element 44126 appears once in this set. Yellow Slope, Curved 6 x 2 averages $.08 and appears in 8 sets (including 2 other versions of the Y-Wing.)

The Tan Slope, Curved 6 x 1 Inverted is a part of 4 sets. For the 2 that you need for this set expect to pay about $.07 for element 42023.

The last part that makes the cut is element 30647. The White Vehicle, Fairing 1 x 4 Side Flaring Intake with Two Pins appears in 6 sets and averages about $.07 each. You need 4.

FINAL ANALYSIS
When I make all of my substitutions and remove the stickers and Minifigure, I come up with a total average value of $152. Sure, it wouldn't be original, but it would be good enough for me. I can understand wanting to have a wholly original set, especially one as pricey as this one, but for those, like me, on a budget, I think it would really bring a lot of joy to build one, even if some of the colors were wrong.
The above lists in no way represent the full inventory for this set. Bricklink and Rebrickable both have an interactive inventory that would allow you to determine which parts fully make up your set.
All images are the property of Rebrickable.com, Bricklink.com, Disney, Lucasfilm Ltd. and The LEGO Group.
If you liked this article, please check out the others in the series:
10123 Cloud City
7181 UCS TIE Interceptor
10212 UCS Imperial Shuttle
10182 Cafe Corner
10019 UCS Rebel Blockade Runner
10185 Green Grocer
10190 Market Street
10175 UCS Vader's TIE Advanced
10143 UCS Death Star II
 
An image of the June 2017 LEGO Store calendar has appeared, and it looks like a new Carousel will be coming to the Fairgrounds theme.  The rumor of a new Carousel started back in January, but gained a lot of traction over the last week.  Set 10256, Fairground Carousel, appeared on Brickset earlier this week, which added fuel to the fire.  Early this morning, part of the June 2017 calendar appeared online, and it seems that the Carousel will appearing in June.

(Image from BrickGeekz Facebook page)
 
The Zombie Apocalypse
Initial concern from BrickPickers could be classified as the "Death Star Effect."  Would we be getting a new set, or, as many feared, would we be getting a repackaged set.  Set 75159 is a more expensive version of 10188, with some very minor additions to the set.  The sets are similar enough that 75159 has created a price ceiling for 10188.  A return from the dead, in the form of a rerelease of 10196 with very little changes, could drop prices on 10196 dramatically.  A big concern for a set that has performed very well over the last 8 years.  A bigger concern for the investing community, is what we can expect moving forward.  LEGO is known for it's innovation, and repacking yet another existing set could cause a lot of disappointment, anger, and lose of confidence in secondary market prices for the investor.
The (Golden) Goose
With the reveal of the calendar page earlier today, overall initial reaction appears to be positive.  The fear of the Zombie Apocalypse appears to have subsided.  Many are enjoying the look of this new set, or, at the very least, appreciate that it is a completely new take on a carousel, rather than a revival of an old favorite.  A number of BrickPicker users chimed in with their opinion:
Deadfraggle says:
exciter1 chimed in with:
pstebbing added:
Tickets, Please!
When 10196 was introduced, there was no Fairground theme.  But that all changed in June 2014, when 10244 Fairground Mixer appeared.  That was followed up with 10247 Ferris Wheel in June 2015.  2016 did not bring us any sets in the Fairground theme.  But, 2016 did see the Amusement Park sub theme of the Friends line.  With six sets in the theme, there was now a pretty big fairground theme that could be constructed.  
A Grand Carousel, Indeed
Set 10196, Grand Carousel, came out in 2009.  With 3263 pieces, and a retail price of $249.99, it remains the largest non-Technic set with Power Functions.  The set is red, white and blue, with tan plates making up the floor.  Nine minifigures were included in the set.  Brick built animals, that went in an "up and down" motion as the carousel moved, made up the main area of the build.  A series of cloth "tents" made up the top of the build, which gave it an interesting and realistic look.  Power Functions were included in the set, along with a 48x48 green base plate.  A sound brick was included, to give a realistic organ sound to the carousel as it spun.

10196 Grand Carousel
How Much Is that Doggie in the Window?

For set that started out with an RRP of $249.99, that's not a bad return!  Prices have fluctuated a little bit over the last year, but stayed at about a 10x RRP for quite some time.  One can understand why a resurrection of the existing 10196 would be damaging to the value that investors and consumer put into this set.
The Parts are Greater than the Whole
I wouldn't necessarily say that - but there are some unique and valuable parts to 10196.  We don't quite know what to expect with 10256, but it appears that the parting value of those rare pieces will not be damaged.  Some of those rare parts include:
Sticker Sheet - $60+ Green Baseplate - $70+ Jester's Cap - $2+ Cloth Top Section - $40+ (each, Qty Sound Brick - $150+ Let's Go 'Round Again!
I would expect LEGO to have an official announcement soon.  Let's hope that it's everything we want, and more!
Join us in our discussion here:
 
Here is the list of current and upcoming polybags in the LEGO world.  If you've found a polybag that's not on this list, or have any update to give us, please note it in the comments below.  This information is put together from a number of different sources on the Internet, including real world reports. Availability in your area may vary.  This information is US-based.  These are from within the last 12 months.
Some notable pieces of news:
30611 R2-D2 will be available at Shop at Home with a $50 Star Wars purchase from May 4-May 7 30524 The Mini Batwing is now showing up at Target (it was a LEGO Store / Shop at Home exclusive) Walmart will have a spring polybag display that will include 30400 Friends Fitness Center and 30496 Star Wars U-Wing Polybags Currently Available

Set Theme Set Name Locations 30351 City Police Helicopter Barnes & Noble 30352 City Police Car Target 30354 City Hot Rod  Target 30476 Creator Happy Turtle Meijer 30477 Creator Chameleon Legoland, Meijer 30604 DC Super Heroes Cosmic Boy DVD/Blu Ray 30606 DC Super Heroes Nightwing DVD/Blu Ray 30546 DC Super Hero Girls Krypto Saves the Day Legoland, TRU 71340 Dimensions Supergirl PS4 Starter Pack 30324 Duplo My Town {Random bag} Legoland 30375 Elves Sira's Adventurous Airglider Legoland 30399 Friends Bowling Alley Legoland, Target, Walmart 30400 Friends Gymnastic Bar Legoland, Target, Walmart 30401 Friends Pool Foam Slide Target 30448 Marvel Super Heroes Spider-Man vs. The Venom Symbiote TRU 30371 Nexo Knights Knight's Cycle Legoland 30372 Nexo Knights Robin's Mini Fortrex Legoland 30376 Nexo Knights Knighton Rider Legoland 30424 Ninjago WU-CRU Training Dojo Walmart 30425 Ninjago CRU Master's Training Grounds Legoland 30426 Ninjago Stealthy Swamp Airboat Legoland 30601 Scooby-Doo Scooby-Doo DVD/Blu Ray 30279 Star Wars Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle Target 30496 Star Wars U-Wing Fighter Legoland, Walmart 30611 Star Wars R2-D2 Lego.com 30521 LEGO Batman Movie The Mini Batmobile TRU 30524 LEGO Batman Movie The Mini Batwing Barnes & Noble, Lego.com, Target 30612 LEGO Batman Movie Batgirl Target  
Polybags Coming Soon

Set Theme Set Name 30353 City Tractor 30355 City Jungle ATV 40175 City {Policeman with cookie and stinger} 30475 Creator Off Roader 30551 Disney Cinderella's Kitchen 30323 Duplo My First Fish 40267 Duplo {Cake and door} 30402 Friends {Ski practice} 30449 Marvel Super Heroes The Milano 30377 Nexo Knights Motor Horse 30378 Nexo Knights Shrunken Headquarters 5004911 Nexo Knights Crafting Kit 5004914 Nexo Knights Armor Pod 30478 Seasonal Santa Claus  
Polybags That Appear to be Unavailable

Set Theme Set Name Locations Last Seen 30311 City Swamp Police Helicopter TRU Jun 2016 30346 City Prison Island Helicopter Walmart Jan 2017 30347 City Fire Car Kmart, Target, Walmart Jan 2017 30348 City Mini Dumper Legoland Jan 2017 30349 City Sports Car Legoland, Target Jun 2016 30350 City Volcano Jackhammer Walmart Jan 2017 30285 Creator Tiger TRU Jun 2016 30471 Creator Helicopter Legoland Jun 2016 30474 Creator Reindeer TRU Jan 2017 30446 DC Super Heroes The Batmobile Walmart Jun 2016 30603 DC Super Heroes Batman Classic TV Series - Mr. Freeze Lego.com Jun 2016 71342 Dimensions Green Arrow Gamestop Jan 2017 30397 Disney Olaf's Summertime Fun Kmart, Walmart Jan 2017 30322 Duplo Wildlife {Random bag} Legoland Jun 2016 30259 Elves Azari's Magic Fire Walmart Jan 2017 30204 Friends Wish Fountain TRU Jun 2016 30396 Friends Cupcake Stall Legoland, Target Sep 2016 30398 Friends Adventure Camp Bridge Walmart Jan 2017 40265 Friends Tic-Tac-Toe Lego.com Mar 2017 5004928 Gear Kiss Kiss Tuxedo Batman Movie Theater Giveaway Feb 2017 30338 Juniors Fire Car Target, Walmart Jan 2017 30473 Juniors Racer Legoland Jun 2016 30320 Jurassic World Gallimimus Trap Gamestop Jun 2016 30168 Marvel Super Heroes Gun mounting system Gamestop Jun 2016 30447 Marvel Super Heroes Captain America's Motorcycle  Legoland, Target, TRU, Walmart Jan 2017 5002946 Marvel Super Heroes Silver Centurion Gamestop Jun 2016 30373 Nexo Knights Knighton Hyper Cannon Legoland Jun 2016 30374 Nexo Knights The Lava Slinger Legoland, Target Jan 2017 30291 Ninjago Anacondrai Battle Mech Legoland, TRU Jun 2016 30421 Ninjago Skybound Plane Legoland Jan 2017 30423 Ninjago Anchor-Jet Legoland Jan 2017 5002144 Ninjago Ninjago Battle Pack TRU Jun 2016 30275 Star Wars TIE Advanced Prototype Legoland Jun 2016 30276 Star Wars First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter Target Jan 2017 30277 Star Wars First Order Star Destroyer Best Buy, Legoland, Target, Walmart Jan 2017 30278 Star Wars Poe's X-wing Fighter Target, Walmart Jan 2017 30602 Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Lego.com Jun 2016 30605 Star Wars Finn (FN-2187) Gamestop Jun 2016 40268 Star Wars R3-M2 Legoland Mar 2017 5002122 Star Wars TC-4 Legoland Jun 2016 5002947 Star Wars Admiral Yularen Legoland Sep 2016 5002948 Star Wars C-3PO TRU Jun 2016 5004406 Star Wars First Order General Legoland, TRU Jan 2017 5004408 Star Wars Rebel A-wing Pilot Legoland, TRU Jan 2017 30522 LEGO Batman Movie Batman in the Phantom Zone Target Jan 2017 30523 LEGO Batman Movie The Joker Battle Training Legoland, Target Apr 2017 30607 LEGO Batman Movie Disco Batman - Tears of Batman  Lego.com Feb 2017 5004929 LEGO Batman Movie Batman Battle Pod Lego Store Feb 2017 5004930 LEGO Batman Movie Accessory pack Lego Store Feb 2017
As with most Lego promotions, you must spend a required amount of money to get the 'free' item.   Many folks also use promotion stacking on http://shop.lego.com  which is the process of spending just enough money to earn multiple promotional items.  
After waiting too long to order products at shop.lego.com to obtain the popular 40252 Mini VW Beetle promotion (sold-out online), I visited my local Lego mall store.  This store had current promotional sets available including 40252 and the 40265 LEGO Friends Tic Tac Toe set.  The purchase requirements were to spend $50+ for the VW Beetle set and $20+ in Friends items for the Tic Tac Toe polybag.  Both are popular items and make nice child Easter gifts (especially for my 2 children).
 

 
While paying, I was told my $62 ($21 of that for Friends items) worth of Lego products wasn't enough to cover both promotional items.  The cashier told me their store were given strict rules to enforce around promotional items and I needed to pick one.  I ended up going home with the 40252 Mini VW Beetle set. 
After arriving home, I double-checked if Lego's web site still allowed promotion stacking.  It did after added one $59.99 Friends set in my cart.   Both Tic Tac Toe and City Helicopter (replacement for the sold-out VW) promotional items were in my cart.

 
I then read a 40252 Mini VW Beetle review where MeganL from brickset mentioned she was able to get both promotions by "doubling up" at a Lego store. 

  http://brickset.com/article/27432
 

To further determine whether my experience was a mistake or an unannounced in-store change, I contacted Lego customer phone support today. 
The nice representative informed me that other customers have called with the same question after being denied at their store. 

At least one store manager told this same representative she was given rules to deny promotions stacking.  Her customers could only receive both promotions if they spent $20+ on Friends items plus another $50+ on more Friends or another theme.
 
Please let us know how your local Lego store is currently handling promotion stacking and if it's different than past months. 
 
Disclaimer: Not all U.S stores may follow the new rule regarding promotion stacking.   Lego's online website, https://shop.lego.com/  automatically stack promotions in the shopping cart before order check-out.  Additionally, some stores haven't allowed promotion stacking since their grand opening.
Here is the list of current and upcoming polybags in the LEGO world.  If you've found a polybag that's not on this list, or have any update to give us, please note it in the comments below.  This information is put together from a number of different sources on the Internet, including real world reports. Availability in your area may vary.  This information is US-based.  These are from within the last 12 months.
Polybags Currently Available

Set # Theme Set Name Locations 30350 City Drilling Machine Walmart 30347 City Fire Car Target, Walmart 30354 City Hot Rod Target 30348 City Mini Dumper Legoland 30346 City Prison Island Helicopter Walmart 30474 Creator Reindeer TRU 30546 DC Super Hero Girls Kyrpto Saves the Day Legoland, TRU 71342 Dimensions Green Arrow GameStop 71340 Dimensions Supergirl PS4 Starter Pack 30397 Disney Olaf's Summertime Fun Walmart 30259 Elves Azari's Magic Fire Walmart 30398 Friends Adventure Camp Bridge Walmart 30399 Friends Bowling Alley Legoland, Target, Walmart 30400 Friends Fitness Center Legoland 30338 Juniors Fireman Target, Walmart 30522 Lego Batman Movie Batman in the Phantom Zone Target Unknown Lego Batman Movie Lego Batman Movie Accessory Pack Lego Store 30523 Lego Batman Movie The Joker Battle Training Legoland 30524 Lego Batman Movie Mini Batwing Lego.com 30376 Nexo Knights Knighton Rider Lego.com 30371 Nexo Knights Knight's Cycle Legoland 30374 Nexo Knights Lava Slinger Legoland, Target 30372 Nexo Knights Robin's Mini Fortrex Legoland 30423 Ninjago Anchor-Jet Legoland 30421 Ninjago Skybound Plane Legoland 30424 Ninjago Wu-Cru Training Dojo Walmart 30425 Ninjago Wu-Cru Training Dummy Legoland 30601 Scooby Doo Scooby Doo DVD/Blu Ray 5004406 Star Wars First Order General Legoland, TRU 30276 Star Wars First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter Target 30277 Star Wars First Order Star Destroyer Best Buy, Legoland, Target, Walmart 30279 Star Wars Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle Legoland, Meijer, Target, Walmart 30278 Star Wars Poe's X-Wing Fighter Target, Walmart 5004408 Star Wars Rebel A-wing Pilot Legoland, TRU 30496 Star Wars U-Wing Fighter Legoland 30446 Super-Heroes The Batmobile Walmart 30447 Super-Heroes Captain America's Motorcycle Legoland, Target, TRU, Walmart 30604 Super-Heroes Cosmic Boy DVD/Blu Ray 30448 Super-Heroes Spider-Man vs The Venom Symbiote TRU 30606 Super-Heroes Nightwing DVD/Blu Ray  
Polybags Coming Soon

Set # Theme Set Name 30351 City Police Helicopter 30352 City Police Car 30353 City Tractor 30477 Creator Chameleon 30476 Creator Happy Turtle 30475 Creator Off Roader 30551 Disney Cinderella's Kitchen 30323 Duplo My First Fish 30324 Duplo My Town 30401 Friends Pool Foam Slide 30208 Friends Smoothie Stand 30612 Lego Batman Movie Batgirl 5002949 Lego Batman Movie Batman Battle Pod 30607 Lego Batman Movie Disco Batman - Tears of Batman 5002948 Lego Batman Movie Kiss Kiss Tuxedo Batman Keychain 30521 Lego Batman Movie Mini Batmobile 30377 Nexo Knights Motor Horse 30378 Nexo Knights Shrunken Headquarters 30426 Ninjago Stealthy Swamp Airboat 30611 Star Wars R2-D2 Unknown Super-Heroes The Milano  
Polybags That Appear to be Unavailable

 
Set # Theme Set Name Locations Last Sighting 30349 City Sports Car Legoland, Target Jun 2016 30311 City Swamp Police Helicopter TRU Jun 2016 30471 Creator Helicopter Legoland Jun 2016 30472 Creator Parrot Lego Store Mar 2016 30285 Creator Tiger TRU Jun 2016 30321 Duplo Duck Lego.com Mar 2016 30322 Duplo Wildlife Legoland Jun 2016 2000447 Education Mini Milo CES 2016 Giveaway Feb 2016 30375 Elves Sira's Adventurous Airglider Lego.com Jun 2016 30396 Friends Cupcake Stall Legoland, Target Sep 2016 30204 Friends Wish Fountain TRU Jun 2016 30473 Juniors Racer Legoland Jun 2016 30320 Jurassic World Gallimimus Trap Gamestop Jun 2016 30373 Nexo Knights Knighton Hyper Cannon Legoland Jun 2016 30291 Ninjago Anacondrai Battle Mech Legoland, TRU Jun 2016 5002144 Ninjago Dareth vs. Nindroid TRU Jun 2016 30422 Ninjago Kai's Mini Dragon Lego.com, Target Mar 2016 30602 Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Lego.com Jun 2016 5002122 Star Wars TC-4 Legoland Jun 2016 30603 Super-Heroes Batman Classic TV Series - Mr. Freeze Lego.com Jun 2016 5002125 Super-Heroes Electro TRU Feb 2016 30168 Super-Heroes Gun mounting system (Iron Patriot) Gamestop Jun 2016 5003084 Super-Heroes Hulk TRU Feb 2016 5002946 Super-Heroes Silver Centurion Gamestop Jun 2016 5002947 Star Wars Admiral Yularen Legoland Sep 2016 30274 Star Wars AT-DP Legoland Mar 2016 5002948 Star Wars C-3P0 TRU Jun 2016 30605 Star Wars Finn (FN-2187) Gamestop Jun 2016 30272 Star Wars A-Wing Starfighter Legoland Mar 2016 30275 Star Wars TIE Advanced Prototype Legoland Jun 2016
Hello LEGO fans...Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. It's that time of year again. Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ. After a very...VERY...successful first BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE in which we raised over $62,000.00 for the school, a year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised last year literally kept the school open...which is a great thing. It's a special school that once again was voted BEST Private School in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times, along with numerous other awards, such as:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
Best Private School Best PreK-Nursery School Best Teacher Best Fundraiser Best Music Instruction Best Tutor Service (Junior National Honor Society) As I stated last year, St.Paul School (SPS) and its community are wonderful. People from all races and religions attend St. Paul School. Besides excelling in educating the children, the school does a tremendous amount of charity for local people in need. From food drives to helping out at local retirement homes, the children of St.Paul School are required to perform “service hours” that are designed to teach generosity, altruism and instill a hard-working, disciplined attitude. Excellence is expected and permeates through St. Paul School and the faculty and student body, so does a sense of goodness and frugalness. We make a little money go a long way. For example:
All grade levels (Pre – K through 4) are scheduled for “Specials” each week...such as art, music, library, computers, and physical education St.Paul School is nationally accredited by “AdvancED” (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement – NCA – CASI. SPS middle-school students have three periods of Spanish and are testing into Spanish II for High School. SPS provides more periods of physical education each week than is required by the State. SPS provides multiple extracurricular activities such as: LEGO Robotics Club, Science Club, Vocal Choir, Rosary Group, Tonal Chimes, Hand Bell Choir, Crafty Kids Club, Basketball (Boys/Girls), Indoor Soccer, Cheerleading, Yearbook Club, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), Student Council, MATHCounts, STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art Math, Activity Tutorial Period (ATP for 5th-8th grades) But all is not wonderful though. As many of you know, many Catholic schools have a hard time making ends meet. Enrollments are down due to weak economic conditions throughout the world. Even superb schools like St. Paul School have a hard time keeping the doors open. While we did pick up 25 new students this past year to ease the financial burden, we will still be way short of breaking even; thus the need for the 2017 BrickPicker LEGO Raffle 2.0. This year’s version of the LEGO raffle will start with TEN awesome prizes.These include:
PRIZE #1 BRICKPICKER MEMBER RAFFLE LOT:
21301 Birds (Salimr) Comic Con Throne of Ultron (echin313) Comic Con Dagobah Mini-Build (echin313) A mint 7144 Slave I (echin313) A mint 8001 Battle Droid (echin313) 10218 Pet Shop (exciter1) Rio Olympic Mascots set (Emvisawthatswho) 70816 Benny's Spaceship (Brickcrazyhouse) A special custom LEGO snow globe (Flanagan Bros Inc) PRIZE #2 BRICKPICKER MYSTERY RAFFLE LOT (OVER 5000 PIECES):
A bundle of quality LEGO sets from multiple themes that will far exceed 5000 pieces! PRIZE #3:
10220 - VW Camper T1 Van 42056 - Porsche 911 GT3 RS PRIZE #4:
10227 - UCS B-Wing 75060 - UCS Slave I PRIZE #5:
10221 - UCS Super Star Destroyer PRIZE #6:
$500 Amazon Gift Certificate PRIZE #7:
75159 - UCS Death Star OR 10188 Death Star PRIZE #8 CHOICE OF:
75827 - Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters OR 71040 - Disney Castle PRIZE #9 CHOICE OF:
10225 - UCS R2-D2 OR 10197 - Fire Brigade OR 10228 - Haunted House OR 10211 - Grand Emporium PRIZE #10:
10255 - Assembly Square 10251 - Brick Bank This year’s total prize value exceeds last year’s total by over $1000.00. Last year we had 11 raffle prizes and winners from around the world. From Vancouver, Canada to Reno, Nevada to Miami Beach, Florida to the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and everywhere in between, generous raffle participants were rewarded with awesome LEGO prizes. The 2017 BrickPicker LEGO Raffle 2.0 can be found here on the secure Rally.up.com site:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL!
Like last year, we will ship the prizes to anywhere across the globe. If there is an issue with shipping or prizes, a comparable prize and/or shipping method will be arranged with the winner. Last year, the LEGO BrickPicker Raffle worked very well. The Rallyup.com site is a first class, secure site that made this all possible. They also issued the school a big fat check. All raffle proceeds and donations benefit the school directly by bridging the gap between what tuition covers and actual educational costs. It also raises money to upgrade the school’s technology, keeping St. Paul School ahead of the academic curve with a dynamic curriculum. The prizes have been donated by Jeff and I, the St.Paul School PTA and by some very generous BrickPicker members. I am hoping, like last year, that more people will donate sets after the raffle begins. It was fun adding to the prizes last year. You never know what can pop up as a prize!
On a personal note, I would like to thank every person who donated sets/money and/or bought tickets to last year’s LEGO BrickPicker Raffle. It saved a wonderful school and kept dozens of people employed and 175 kids with their friends and teachers. I don’t like asking, but will anyway...please help out again this year. Even buying one ticket can help and it gives you a chance to win some great prizes. Watching the raffle ticket total rise every day was an intense rush and extremely gratifying experience. It made me so proud to have started this site with my brother Jeff and made me realize there is still good in this world…
The contest will end on February 7, 2017 at 11:59 PM. Winners will be notified by Rallyup.com. If you are a winner, please contact me on the site so we can confirm the prizes and shipping addresses. The Rallyup.com site works very well and is secure, so please feel confident in donating to the school and purchasing raffle tickets. All the money goes to St. Paul School, which is a 501(c)(3), and to Rallyup.com for running the raffle. I will make every effort to supply the winners with the appropriate prizes. If there are shipping issues, inventory issues or potential problems beyond my control, I will make sure the winners are awarded LEGO sets/gift cards comparable to the original prizes. Any questions, ideas or concerns, please reply below or PM Jeff or me...
TICKETS AVAILABLE UNTIL: February 07, 2017 at 11:59 PM EST
DRAWING DATE: February 08, 2017 at 12:00 PM EST
Thanks again!
Ed Mack
I never had a LEGO system scale AT-ST. I got a UCS one from a comic shop, but that's not really the same. Even when I was a kid in the 80's, this was never my favorite vehicle. Now I look at my AT-AT and feel like it's missing something. The AT-AT is missing its little brother AT-ST. I was so excited to find out that this vehicle was coming for Rogue One. I really needed to fill out my display. It doesn't matter what minifigures are with it, as long as it fits with my Original Trilogy stuff. I didn't want to backtrack and find the 2007 system scale version because a set that's a decade old usually looks like a set that's almost 10 years old. This set looks good on the box. Can it be as good as it looks?

REVIEW: SET DETAILS
Set #: 75153
Name: AT-ST Walker
Theme: Star Wars
Parts: 449
Price: $39.99
BOX CONTENTS
Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 3 numbered baggies, a sticker sheet, and an instruction book.

BUILD AND EXECUTION:
BAG 1: I'm interested from the beginning. There's a gearbox and a pair of axles right from the start. We're building the hips/pelvis/base of the walker. I was interested in the hinges as well.

We're building out the base of the walker. We have to make it sturdy so that it can support that massive head on the spindly legs.

Speaking of spindly legs, once we have finished the base, we start the legs. Honestly, I was hoping for more articulation here.

The leg only has a single joint. I could see where the ankle could have a joint. In fact, optimally, there should be at least 4 joints. maybe that's just me griping. How much should we really expect from a $40 set?

I'm not going to show multiple steps  making the second leg. It's just a mirror build of the first leg. You just finish some details, cover the corners.

And, we've finished Bag 1. I was wondering why a $40 set had less bags than a $30 set. It seems to me that there was a lot of build for one bag. I'm guessing that it's more than 40% of the set.

BAG 2: We're starting construction on the "head." Notice the little push levers on the back there. I've been noticing more and more that the triggers for the spring missiles and the missile launchers themselves are getting better incorporated than a year ago. A year ago I was unhappy with how poorly they hid the boxy shooters in the First Order Transporter. Now, I sort of look forward to seeing how well it is hidden.

I'm still not seeing a cockpit coming together here. I can see the cutout where the missile launcher will go. I also appreciate the cutout for the push trigger. However, this base seems far too narrow.

There's a thermal detonator piece on the orange 1x1 round plate. It's interesting to me that we're building up instead of out. I say that because in Return of the Jedi, we saw that the AT-ST is a 2 seater. I'm disappointed that this looks to be a single seater.

I notice the posts and pegs and it says to me that we'll be slotting panels in place. We've also got pegs on the front and sides where decorative panels can be placed.

Notice the spring launchers are now in place and we're shaping the head with wedges and slopes.

Plug the head in place and add a couple of grey lightsaber handles for guns. I am not sure they're quite big enough. We also build out the AT-ST Pilot and Rebel Trooper in this bag. I'm wondering why they didn't just do 1 figure per bag.

BAG3: The first side panel is coming together. Notice the peg holes.

We put together a set of guns for the first side. Finish the panel and snap it on the posts.

We're going to build another panel that is the mirror image of the previous one.

There's a different weapon on this side of the vehicle which is actually accurate to the movie version.

There's a roof panel that we're building now. It's going to hinge up so that you can place your figures.

Finish the decorative bits and add a hatch to replicate the movie version. It's not really effective for playing inside, so it's purely decorative. I do like the panels on the front that represent the blast covers that would fold over the eyes.

Peg it all together and we're done.

REACTION:
I love the way this looks. It's well designed and looks fairly accurate. I'm a bit sad that it's not a 2 seater. I'm also disappointed that there is only a single joint in the legs. To me it isn't as good as the legs of the AT-AT. I do realize that it's a much smaller set and you can do more with bigger sets, but I would think there could be a bit more flexibility. Despite my problems with the legs, I really do love the way this one looks. The assembly was fun enough and appeared to take a lot of cues from the UCS version. It is much more simple than the UCS version, so don't expect that level of complexity.

The minifigures are good. I think that the AT-ST Driver with the goggles painted onto the helmet is nice. We've seen plenty of these guys with goggles on the faces, so it's nice to have something a little different. He's also got a dual sided head as well. I think the paint job of the goggles is a little goofy, but still, nice to have a little variety. I can't tell you how nice it is to have new Rebel Troopers. The helmet seems new and his uniform is different enough from the Hoth, Endor and Scout Trooper uniforms. It does look like a uniform, moreso than the Resistance Troopers from last year. Baze Malbus is an interesting looking character. He's got a dual sided head and he's got a big backpack and gun linked by a short piece of chain.



FINAL THOUGHTS:
On the day of release, Wal-mart  started selling this set for $32.83. It's surprising to have a discount on a new Star Wars set on the day it comes out. I have a theory that $29.99 is the upper limit for a gift for kids from friends or relations. This set is an outlier, but it's close enough that people might get it instead of the cheaper hovertank. This set is going to be popular for army builders and OT Purists. Since the last version of the AT-ST is so old, there's going to be a wave of people buying them new for their Ewok Villages or Assault on Hoth sets. I think this will be the most popular Rogue One set post retirement. It may not be the set that gains the most in value, but it will be the easiest one to move.
 
Get it on Amazon
EXTRA PIECES:
There's an extra roller skate and even an extra thermal detonator. The rest is a mixed bag of the smallest pieces in the set.

 
Please take a look at the other Star Wars Reviews:
#75060 Slave I (click here) #75078 Imperial Troop Transport (click here) #75085 Hailfire Droid (click here) #75087 Anakin's Starfighter (click here) #75092 Naboo Starfighter (click here) #75094 Shuttle Tydirium (click here) #75100 Snowspeeder (click here) #75101 Tie Fighter (click here) #75102 Poe's X-Wing Fighter (click here) #75103 First Order Transporter (click here) #75109 Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure (click here) #75125 Resistance X-Wing Fighter Microfighter (click here) #75127 The Ghost Microfighter (Click here) #75131 Resistance Trooper Battle Pack (click here) #75132 First Order Battle Back (click here) #75133 Rebel Alliance Battle Pack (click here) #75134 Galactic Empire Battle Pack (click here) #75135 Obi-Wan's Jedi Interceptor (click here) #75136 Droid Escape Pod (click here) #75137 Carbon-Freezing Chamber (click here) #75139 Battle on Takodana (click here) #75141 Resistance Troop Transporter (click here) #75148 Encounter on Jakku (click here) #75150 Vader's TIE Advanced vs. A-Wing Starfighter (click here) #75152 Imperial Assault Hovertank (click here)
As much as I enjoy LEGO's super hero offerings, sometimes they put out characters that I just don't really care about. It's not that I don't like Doctor Strange, I just really never cared about him at all. When I first saw this set, I was struck with how interesting it looked. It's kind of like the Big Bang Theory set, but more interesting. You know, because of a giant Cthulu monster popping out of the wall. This set is exclusive to Target and to LEGO Shop at home, or LEGOLAND shops. This is the only set made for the forthcoming Doctor Strange film. It's much like last year's Ant-Man set in that regard.
 

 
REVIEW: SET DETAILS
Set #: 76060
Name: Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum
Theme: Marvel Super Heroes
Parts: 358
Price: $29.99
BOX CONTENTS
Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 3 numbered baggies, a sticker sheet, a comic book, a large plate and 2 instruction books.
 

 
BUILD AND EXECUTION:
BAG 1: Well, as with all sets that contain minifigures, the first piece that you make in any bag is the minifigure. Check out the exclusively decorated disks. He's got 2 of those nifty handles that they designed to allow characters to hold items directly in front of them.
Strange: Hello, I am Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic arts and Sorcerer Supreme. Welcome to my Sanctum Sanctorum. What's that? you can't see my home, well I shall have to unravel the spells hiding it to allow the uninitiated access.

You begin building the façade for the sanctuary. Lots of arch pieces in this set, and here we see the first 2.
Strange: You may wonder what makes me a Master of the Mystic arts, well I received a double major from Cornell University in surgical medicine and tarot reading. I had a minor in hand waving and table thumping, then I banged my head when I slipped coming out of the shower and BANG . .  magic.

You add tiles and a large slope. Your first sticker appears fairly early on, and it's a big one. we need mystic symbols for a magical doorway.
Strange: In my time as the Sorcerer Supreme, I have helped many of my fellow heroes when they run into problems. Why hello Captain.
Cappy: Hey Doc, the Red Skull did something with his cosmic cube thingy, and now I feel a little strange. Can you un-strange me?
Strange: I am Strange, instead I will SUPER-STRANGE you!
Cappy: Yeah ok.

You expand the dimensions of the play area to about 3X the previous size. Plus, you start stacking mail.
Strange: Your form has been restored.
Captain America: Thanks man. I gotta get back to kicking Red Skull's tail up to his shoulders.
Strange: You know, if you need help fighting the evils of the world, I am always here.
Captain America: Yeah, sure, I'll do that.

You continue to build up the wall. Here, we have created pivot points for play features. You can use the clear pieces to make your minifigures appear to fly or jump or whatever. Also, we see that Doctor Strange is a bit of a slob. First it was piles of mail, now it's piles of ancient documents.
Strange: Now that my house is becoming visible, I see that Wong is really falling down on the job. This place is nowhere near as clean as he keeps telling me. I wonder where he is. I hope he doesn't make me find him again. I'll have to feed him a bowl of spider webs if he's hiding.

BAG 2: You create a new circular portal, I'm actually not sure why I took a picture at this point in the build, except to introduce Wong.
*THUD*
Wong: Oof!
Strange: Oh there you are, laying down on the job again. This place is a mess.
Wong: Master, quickly, there's something evil that I am fighting.
Strange: I hope it's the dust bunnies in the corners.

I really kind of dig the use of the big blades to create the interesting pattern in the "window." Using large wall pieces to build up the walls is kind of a cheat I think. Although, just stacking 1x6 bricks would have been boring.
Strange: Poor Wong doesn't understand that using a broom would be so much more effective at getting rid of dust than his fans.
Wong: Master, the peril is nigh!
Strange: The only peril I know of is how much you will suffer if you don't find the rest of my mail.

You begin building the horrific creature here. using several gears and a bunch of tentacle pieces, you start to have a pretty sweet play feature. I am not a fan of play features, but this one really made me happy. The disk with the eyes is interesting because it is freewheeling. You can spin it independently and it will rotate somewhat as you spin the cog in back to make the center and the dark red cylinders on bottom spin.
Wong: Master, it appears!
Strange: See, Wong, I told you that if you just put a little elbow grease into it, the old shine will return to everything. Good man.

You have to finish off the wall that holds the portal to another universe. It doesn't look like much right now.
Strange: Past Due, final notice? Perhaps keeping my home and all the objects within invisible is a bad idea.
Wong: Begone foul thing!
Strange: That's right Wong, begone foul debt collectors, I banish you to the trash can of perdition.

You finish building the creature here. I really like it a lot. Sure, it's kind of simple, but it's got some real personality. The longer tentacles twist in their mounts while the mouth rotates. It's just fun, and I hate play features usually.
Wong: Master! Help me!
Strange: If I wanted to clean this place myself, I never would have hired you! Now quit making such a big deal out of doing your job.

I'm not entirely sure why this particular play feature was added. Is it some kind of a lever for a secret door that's not included. Otherwise, it's just a hovering ball.
Mordo: Worry not Wing, I shall save you.
Wong: Actually its Wong sir.
Strange: Actually, it's "going to be out of a job" if he doesn't find my important letters soon.

It's time to fill space and make it look less plain. To that end we build a nice little bookcase,
Strange: Oh, my bookcase, Is it possible you put that letter from Tony Stark here?
Mordo: grab onto my staff Wang and I shall pull you free.
Wong: It's pronounce Wong sir, but If you can save me from this horrible thing, I'll let you call me whatever you like.

So, Doctor Strange has another bookcase. It's basically the same as the first one.
Strange: I completely forgot that I had another bookcase here. Hey Wong, remember when I was pulling rabbits out of hats?
Mordo: Back foul beast! Back to the depths from which you arose!
Wong: Oh thank you sir. I thought for sure that I would be eaten.

You build a few more details like a table and candles along with another pile of mail. Place a bottle and cup and other stuff, and we're all done.
Strange: Finally, there's my table with my important letters. . . By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth! What is that foul beast?
Wong: I was trying to clean out the old Tupperware from your mini fridge and this was inside one.
Strange: My guacamole!!!!!
Mordo: Seriously man, you need to clean that stuff out more often.

REACTION:
I actually really liked the playset and facade. As I built it, I kept thinking of how boring the Big Bang Theory Facade is in comparison to this set. I enjoyed the messiness of his lair and even the play features. Usually I am not a fan of play features, but these were just fun. I'm not a fan of the character or even the minifigures, but that's just a personal thing. The figures look good enough.
All 3 figures have dual sided torsos and deco on the front of the legs. Doctor Strange and Mordo have dual sided faces and Wong has some kind of decoration on the back of his head. I definitely don't understand the lines on his head. Mordo's using that hairpiece that they designed for Finn last year. Strange has painted details on the temples of his hair.



FINAL THOUGHTS:
For the most part, Super Hero sets are stinkers. People generally purchase them for the minifigures and the knock-off market has ruined the aftermarket for most of them. This set does have a few things going for it. It's an exclusive. Not all exclusives are winners, but it doesn't hurt. It's also unlikely that we'll see these 3 figures in another set anytime soon. If the Doctor Strange movie is popular, there will be more demand. We've seen what happens with a one off set from a marvel movie that gets limited distribution. It's too soon to compare this set to Ant-Man, but there are similarities. Keep a weather eye out for shortages.
 
(NOTE: I realized after I finished that it is not Wong, but the Ancient One. However, all of my jokes that I set up were dependent upon it being Wong. So, sorry folks.)
 
EXTRA PIECES:
Lots of little pieces including a flame and a key and a red tooth piece. There is also another one of those new gripper pieces.

If you like Super Hero sets, please check out these other reviews:
76049 Avenjet Space Mission
76065 Mighty Micros Captain America Vs. Red Skull
76022 X-Men Vs. Sentinel
76044 Clash of Heroes
76037 Rhino and Sandman Supervillain Team-up
76047 Black Panther Pursuit
76050 Crossbones Hazard Heist
DC Mighty Micros
76053 Batman: Gotham City Cycle Chase
76052 Classic Series Batcave
76051 Super Hero Airport Battle
76058 Spider-Man: Ghost Rider Team-Up
Many Bothans died to bring us this set breakdown. Well, not really, but something like that had to be said. Actually, many people tend to confuse which Death Star the Bothans died to bring information about, and this is canonically the right one. The Ultimate Collector Series Death Star II is a pretty good representation of the object from the movie. I mean, as far as unfinished balls are concerned it really hits on all cylinders. OK, I kid, I kid. I really do like how they designed the final look,
 
 
 
Released in 2005, the UCS Death Star II sold for $298.99. The set contained 3441 pieces. As of July 2016, used copies were selling for about $893 and unopened sets for $1720. When I take an average used price for all of the parts that make up the set, I get a value of about $980 making it more worthwhile to just purchase a complete used set. However, you may have a lot of the parts that make up this set already. For such a large set, I find it interesting that the parts distribution is so low. There are only 148 unique elements. (For comparison, the most recent Millennium Falcon 75105 has 294 unique elements.) That means that on average the individual elements appear a great many more times.
I know that historically I have initially focused upon the pieces that are most prevalent in a set, but for this particular analysis, I will start with the parts that are rare or expensive. The criteria for falling under that definition are parts that appear in 10 or fewer sets and/or cost more than $1 per piece. I start from most expensive and go to least. There are 9 parts that match this criteria. (10 if you count the sticker.)
Before I discuss the LEGO parts themselves, I think that it's important to talk about the sticker. The sticker itself is not integral to the build of the set. It I however vastly important to the completion of a set, especially when selling. There are a number of fakes out there. I am not qualified to tell you what to look out for with fakes, I just don't have the experience with spotting them. Stickers can be found already affixed (used) or still attached to the original sheet (new.) It's important to take into account if they are damaged or wrinkled or off center. Frankly, there's a lot of reasons why people hate stickers. In the past six months, used sticker assemblies have sold on Bricklink for $22.98-$100. In the same time frame, no one has sold a legitimate new sticker sheet, but 2 sellers are hopeful in the $240-$250 range.

Now that we've got the sticker out of the way, let's look at the expensive pieces. (Honestly, if I were building one of these on a budget for myself, I'd skip the sticker and figure out which parts make up the plaque for the sticker and excise them first.)
The first element of note is Element 50990a. The single Light Bluish Grey Dish 10 x 10 Inverted (Radar) - Hollow Studs averages about $12.50 used, but you'd easily be able to find one for closer to $7. It is found in 4 sets including 8971 Aerial Defense Unit and 10188 Death Star.

You need 4 Technic, Brick 5 x 5 Right Angle (1 x 4 - 1 x 4) in red. Element 32555 is found in one other set, 8652 Enzo Ferrari 1:17. In order to get all 4 from a single seller, it's going to cost $10-$11 each. You want to watch that if you buy this set, someone hasn't substituted the black ones that sell for about $1 each.

This next part falls into both of my categories. You need 32 element 30364 in tan. The Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger Vertical End appears in 2 other sets, 4482 AT-TE and 7665 Republic Cruiser. Right now, no single seller on Bricklink has the quantity that you need used. You can find them in the $8 range, but you're going to need to make multiple purchases and that's going to push up your average price per part. Be careful that someone does not substitute light bluish grey which sells for less than $0.10.

There are 16 light bluish grey Lever Small Base with Light Bluish Gray Lever in this set. Element 4592c05 appears in 7 sets. You can find what you need for about $4 each from a couple sellers. If someone switches for the black levers on light bluish grey base, they'd be spending just a few cents for each one.

Coming in at an average of $4.39 each, element 3937 is next. One seller has a large quantity New for $3.34 each. You need 16 tan Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Base which appears in 3 other sets. If you wanted to cheap out, light bluish grey, dark bluish grey or black are easily found for about $.03 each.

The Light Bluish Gray Wedge, Plate 4 x 9 without Stud Notches sells in the $3-$4 range. Element 2413 appears in 11 sets including one that we talked about before, 10175 Vader's TIE Advanced UCS. Significantly cheaper Light Bluish Gray Wedge, Plate 4 x 9 with Stud Notches can be found for $.48 so look out for that substitution.

It seems like a weird choice to have a Pearl Dark Gray Technic, Liftarm 1 x 15 Thick. I mean it's the only part of that color in the set. You need 16 element 32278, which appears in 5 (or 4 if you don't count the Turbo Tank variation) set. One seller has the quantity that you need for $2.66 each, but the average is $3.67. Honestly, I don't know why they didn't use the much more common black one that sells for $.30.

Element 42445 appears in 10 sets. Trans-Clear Bar 12L with 1 x 2 Plate End Solid Studs and 1 x 1 Round Plate End is not terribly expensive, averaging $0.90 for the 1 that you need. You could get one for as little as $0.25. Element 99784 is a similar piece, so make sure that if you want a completely authentic set that you get the right one.

Averaging about $0.06 element 32015 appears in 5 sets. You only need one Tan Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #5 - 112.5 degrees
 

For just the 9 elements listed (excluding the sticker) we are looking at an average price of about $535. That's more than half the price of the set for 103 pieces.
I want to be very clear here. When I am speaking about alternative parts, I am not in any way saying that they are official substitutions. These would be parts and pieces that might allow you to build this set on a budget, but should be disclosed if you ever decide to sell the set. It might be good enough for you, but someone purchasing one for their personal collection may assume that they received all the rare pieces and get mad if you do not disclose the differences. They would also be key pieces to look out for if you are concerned that someone is not selling you an official as manufactured set.
Some of the pieces that make up this set appear a great many times. If I limit the search only to parts that appear 35 or more times, I come up with 19 different elements. (NOTE: I am not going to duplicate anything that appears in the previous list.) These 19 elements encapsulate 2219 pieces which is almost 65% of the set. I cannot stress enough that this is by no means a complete inventory of this set. I am ignoring a large number of different elements. This is just a survey of the more notable parts and pieces that make up this set.
The most common piece in this set is 458 Dark Bluish Grey 1x2 Bricks. Element 3004 appears in 292 sets and averages $0.06 each. (to me, this part alone is prohibitive. I have a lot of Star Wars and Super Hero sets and I doubt I have 458 of this piece if I took them all apart. Apparently the next highest occurrence of this part is 200 in set 2000409 Lego Serious Play Window Exploration Bag. Whatever that is.)

The next most common piece occurs about half as much. At 271, element 3794 is still a large quantity. Dark Bluish Gray Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud (Jumper) averages $0.09 each and appears in 239 sets. (The next highest usage of this piece is the 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon at 92)

The light bluish grey plate, 2x8 comes on strong with 259 being the count. Element 3034 averages $0.18 each. It appears in 258 sets, with 10188 Death Star being the runner up  for most numerous with a distant 39.

You also need 238 black technic brick 1x2 with axle hole. Appearing in 181 sets, element 32064 averages $0.04 each. The next closest set has 26.

You need 169 light bluish grey 1x4 plates. Occurring in 479 sets, element 3710 is the most common piece so far. It averages $0.08 each. The UCS Millennium Falcon requires almost as many at 142.

Appearing in 429 sets, we need 121 Light Bluish Gray Plate 2 x 3. Element 3021 has an average value of $0.08. (The UCS Falcon eclipses this one by doubling the required quantity to 243.)

Light Bluish Grey 2x4 plates are incredibly common, appearing in 535 sets. You need 82 element 3020 with an average cost of $0.06. (The Maersk Line Triple E boasts a staggering 124 of these.)

You also need 81 light bluish grey 1x3 plates. Appearing in 287 sets, element 3623 averages $0.07. (There are 31 in the UCS Millennium Falcon)

Probably the single most common part in this set is the black Technic, Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise WITH Center Slots. Element 2780 appears in 1790 sets. They average $0.01 each and you need 72 of them. There are a bunch of technic sets that require hundreds of these in each set.

You need 66 black Technic, Pin 3L with Friction Ridges Lengthwise. Each element 6558 averages about $0.08. It appears in 405 sets.

Next, we need 61 light bluish grey element 3023. 614 sets have the 1x2 plate in this color. The average cost is $0.05 each.

You also need 56 Trans-Neon Green Brick, Round 1 x 1 Open Stud. Averaging $0.05 each, element 3062b appears in 55 sets.

46 element 44570 come next. The light bluish grey Hinge Plate 3 x 4 Locking Dual 2 Finger appears in 43 sets. These average $0.37each.

Not surprisingly, you need 46 element 44568 to go with the previous piece. 94 sets include the light bluish grey Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Locking Dual 1 Fingers on Side. These pieces aren't too bad at $0.05 each.

You need 45 black Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #3 - 157.5 degrees. For $0.10 each, you can find element 32016 in 146 sets.

The light bluish grey Technic Bush 1/2 smooth shows up 43 times in this set. Element 4265c appears in 491 sets and averages $0.02 each.

You will need 42 light bluish grey plate 2x16. This part appears in 106 sets. Each one is going to average $0.39 each.

You need 35 each of Elements 47397 and 47398.
Both the left and right version of the light bluish grey Wedge, Plate 12 x 3 are going to average close to $0.40 each and appear in 40 sets each.

To accumulate all of these most numerous pieces, you'd spend an average of close to $218. That's before all of the shipping on what is bound to be many orders.
Thankfully, there are no minifigures with this set. They'd just be expensive and completely out of scale for this set.
If you feel like your Death Star is not complete without instructions, it's going to be a bit of a chore and a bit expensive to find them. There's none available on Bricklink or Ebay right now. It seems like they have sold in the past for as much as $240. Fear not, the Death Star plans are in the main computer. That's right, LEGO has it available for download on their website. You don't have to get into a running gun battle or send your droids to a crazy dude who lives in the desert just to get them.

The box is yet another expensive "nice to have" for this set. It appears to be equally as rare as the instructions. I couldn't recommend spending several hundred dollars for a cardboard box, but if you're missing it and the set doesn't feel complete without it, good luck. There are none currently available. That makes it a seller's market.

If you want to talk about this epic set, try the official thread.
All images are the property of Rebrickable.com, Bricklink.com, Disney, Lucasfilm Ltd. and the LEGO Group.
If you liked this article, please check out the others in the series:
10123 Cloud City
7181 UCS TIE Interceptor
10212 UCS Imperial Shuttle
10182 Cafe Corner
10019 UCS Rebel Blockade Runner
10185 Green Grocer
10190 Market Street
10175 UCS Vader's TIE Advanced
Thanks to forum member @ravenb99, we have a list of the possible discounts being offered on items at Lego Retail Shops and Online.  I only say possible because this year, Lego chose not to send the list out to their affiliates. The list appears to be as one would expect. Take a look.  I may have missed an item or two copying items over from the original list found here.  Chances are, it's 20% off
As we head into the Holiday Season LEGO is excited to be able to promote a few great offers! On November 25th LEGO will be offering Free Shipping on all orders through 11/28! Plus you can shop the Brick Friday Sale featuring select products while supplies last and qualifying purchases receive a FREE Snowglobe through 11/28! Finally on Cyber Monday receive a FREE Coloring Wall Calendar with qualifying purchase!
FREE Shipping on all online orders 11/25 - 11/28! Brick Friday Sale on select items while supplies last! (see below, thanks @ravenb99) FREE Exclusive Snowglobe with qualifying purchases! FREE Exclusive 2017 Coloring Wall Calendar with qualifying purchases! Exclusives
10218: Pet Shop [20% off]

Creator
10244: Fairground Mixer [20% off]

Juniors
10667: LEGO Juniors Construction [20% off]
10673: Race Car Rally [20% off]
10674: Pony Farm [20% off]
10683: Road Work Truck [20% off]
10684: Supermarket Suitcase [20% off]
10685: Fire Suitcase [20% off]
10686: Family House [20% off]

Duplo
10806: Horses [20% off]
10814: Tow Truck [20% off]
10819: My First Garden [20% off]
10824: Miles Space Adventures [20% off]
10825: Miles ExoFlex Suit [20% off]
10826: Miles Stellosphere Hangar [20% off]
10829: Mickeys Workshop [20% off]
10558: Number Train [20% off]

Architecture
21006: The White House [20% off]
21013: Big Ben [20% off]
21023: Flatiron Building [20% off]

Ideas
21303: WALLE [20% off]
21304: Doctor Who [Door Buster 50% then 20%]
21305: Maze [20% off]

Creator
31027: Blue Racer [20% off]
31029: Cargo Heli [20% off]
31036: Toy Grocery Shop [20% off]
31037: Adventure Vehicles [20% off]
31038: Changing Seasons [20% off]
31040: Desert Racers [20% off]
31041: Construction Vehicles [20% off]
31043: Chopper Transporter [20% off]
31044: Park Animals [20% off]

Home
40154: Pencil Pot [Door Buster 50% then 20%]
40155: Piggy Coin Bank [Door Buster 50% then 20%]
40156: Butterfly Organizer [Door Buster 50% then 20%]

Lego Pirates
40158: LEGO Pirates Chess Set [Door Buster 50% then 20%]

Minifigures
40161: What Am I [Door Buster 50% then 20%]

Disney Princess
41055: Cinderellas Romantic Castle [20% off]
41061: Jasmines Exotic Palace [20% off]
41062: Elsa s Sparkling Ice Castle [20% off]
41063: Ariel s Undersea Palace [20% off]
41069: Treasure s Day at the Pool [20% off]
41140: Daisy s Beauty Salon [20% off]

Friends
41103: Pop Star Recording Studio [20% off]
41106: Pop Star Tour Bus [20% off]
41107: Pop Star Limo [20% off]
41110: Birthday Party [20% off]
41111: Party Train [20% off]
41112: Party Cakes [20% off]
41113: Party Gift Shop [20% off]
41114: Party Styling [20% off]
41115: Emmas Creative Workshop [20% off]
41116: Olivias Exploration Car [20% off]
41117: Pop Star TV Studio [20% off]
41120: Adventure Camp Archery [20% off]
41121: Adventure Camp Rafting [20% off]
41122: Adventure Camp Tree House [Door Buster 50% then 20%]
41135: Livis Pop Star House [20% off]
40114: LEGO Friends Buildable Jewelry Box [Door Buster 50% then 20%]
5004900: LEGO Friends Olivia Watch with MiniDoll [20% off]
853552: LEGO Friends HandFootFun [50% off]
853556: LEGO Friends Minidoll Campsite Set [20% off]

Elves
41171: Emily Jones the Baby Wind Dragon [20% off]
41176: The Secret Market Place [Doorbuster 50% Then 20%]
41177: The Precious Crystal Mine [20% off]
41178: The Dragon Sanctuary [20% off]
41075: The Elves Treetop Hideaway [20% off]

Mixels
41572: Gobbol [20% off]
41573: Sweepz [20% off]
41574: Compax [20% off]
41575: Cobrax [20% off]
41576: Spinza [20% off]
41577: Mysto [20% off]
41578: Screeno [20% off]
41579: Camsta [20% off]
41580: Myke [20% off]

Technic
42034: Quad Bike [20% off]

City
60047: Police Station [20% off]
60077: Space Starter Set [20% off]
60080: Spaceport [20% off]
60081: Pickup Tow Truck [20% off]
60084: Racing Bike Transporter [20% off]
60090: Deep Sea Scuba Scooter [20% off]
60091: Deep Sea Starter Set [20% off]
60092: Deep Sea Submarine [20% off]
60095: Deep Sea Exploration Vessel [20% off]
60097: City Square [20% off]
60105: Fire ATV [20% off]
60109: Fire Boat [20% off]
60114: Race Boat [20% off]
60115: 4 x 4 Off Roader [20% off]
60116: Ambulance Plane [20% off]
60118: Garbage Truck [20% off]
60126: Tire Escape [20% off]
60127: Prison Island Starter Set [20% off]
60128: Police Pursuit [20% off]

Nexo Knights
70310: Knighton Battle Blaster [20% off]
70311: Chaos Catapult [20% off]
70315: Clay s Rumble Blade [20% off]
70316: Jestro s Evil Mobile [20% off]
70333: ULTIMATE Robin [20% off]
70334: Ultimate Beast Master [20% off]
70335: ULTIMATE Lavaria [20% off]

Ninjago
70605: Misfortune s Keep [20% off]
70733: Blaster Bike [20% off]
70735: Ronin R.E.X. [20% off]
70736: Attack of the Morro Dragon [20% off]
70737: Titan Mech Battle [20% off]
70738: Final Flight of Destinys Bounty [20% off]
70739: Airjitzu Kai Flyer [20% off]
70740: Airjitzu Jay Flyer [20% off]
70742: Airjitzu Zane Flyer [20% off]
70743: Airjitzu Morro Flyer [20% off]
70744: Airjitzu Wrayth Flyer [20% off]
70751: Temple of Airjitzu [Door Buster 30% then 20%]
851342: LEGO NINJAGO Ninja Army Building Set. [Door Buster 50% then 20%]

Star Wars
75059: Sandcrawler [20% off]
75074: Snowspeeder [20% off]
75082: TIE Advanced Prototype [20% off]
75092: Naboo Starfighter [20% off]
75100: First Order Snowspeeder [20% off]
75106: Imperial Assault Carrier [20% off]
75113: Rey [20% off]
75115: Poe Dameron [20% off]
75127: The Ghost [20% off]
75130: ATDP [20% off]
75133: Rebel Alliance Battle Pack [20% off]
75135: ObiWan s Jedi Interceptor [20% off]
75136: Droid Escape Pod [20% off]
75138: Hoth Attack [20% off]
75140: Resistance Troop Transporter [20% off]
75150: Vaders TIE Advanced vs. AWing Starfighter [20% off]
10236: Ewok Village [20% off]

Angry Birds
75826: King Pigs Castle [20% off]

Marvel Super Heroes
76030: Avengers Hydra Showdown [20% off]
76036: Carnage s SHIELD Sky Attack [20% off]
76048: Iron Skull Sub Attack [20% off]
76049: Avenjet Space Mission [20% off]
76050: Crossbones Hazard Heist [20% off]
76064: Mighty Micros SpiderMan vs. Green Goblin [20% off]
76065: Mighty Micros Captain America vs. Red Skull [20% off]
76066: Mighty Micros Hulk vs. Ultron [20% off]

DC Comics Super Heroes
76061: Mighty Micros Batman vs. Catwoman [20% off]
76062: Mighty Micros Robin vs. Bane [20% off]
76063: Mighty Micros The Flash vs. Captain Cold [20% off]
76046: Heroes of Justice Sky High Battle [Door Buster 50% then 20%]
76034: The Batboat Harbor Pursuit [20% off]
76025: Green Lantern vs. Sinestro [20% off]

Seasonal
850850: LEGO Santa Holiday Bauble [20% off]
850949: Christmas Snow Hut Ornament [20% off]
851407: LEGO Holiday Wrapping Paper [20% off]
853344: LEGO Holiday Ornament with Red Bricks [20% off]
853345: LEGO Holiday Ornament with Gold Bricks [20% off]
853574: Christmas Ornament Reindeer [20% off]
One of Lego's 2016 Holiday promotions is now available now, the much anticipated 40223 Snowglobe set.  This available is considered "Early Access" for VIP members in the U.S. and Canada.  It also appears the general public (non-US and CA Lego residents) will be able to get the Snowglobe set from Nov 25th to the 28th.
The Snowglobe is only available from November 19, 2016 through November 20, 2016 or while supplies last.  1 set will be included with each online and in-store orders costing more than $99.   Note: Offers not valid at LEGOLAND® Parks or LEGOLAND Discovery Centers
The Snowglobe promotion should quickly disappear if prior seasonal promotions are an indicator (e.g. 2015's 40139 Gingerbread House promotion).  
 
Please click on the picture below to visit shop.lego,com.

 
Personally, I like the investment potential of this set as well as the design.  AFOLs and KFOLs are sure to enjoy the build experience and display value is exceptional.  
 
If you are interested in this set, please click the Lego US and Canada links below...
US Shop at Home = http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=jfOcdvfTNg4&offerid=115554.10000006&type=3&subid=0
CA Shop at Home = http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=jfOcdvfTNg4&offerid=208931.10000001&type=3&subid=0

 

 
Here is Lego's description of The Snowglobe set.
"Add a wintry touch of LEGO® style to your holiday celebrations. Build the Santa minifigure and Christmas tree, place them inside the translucent globe and then shake to make the white LEGO® snowflakes fly around. You can also hide small gifts in the secret drawer until the special day arrives!
Features a buildable Santa minifigure and Christmas tree, white LEGO® snowflakes, secret drawer, and door and flame elements. This item offers an age-appropriate play experience for ages 7 and over. Makes a great festive gift for LEGO® fans. Measures over 4” (12cm) high, 2” (6cm) wide and 2” (7cm) deep.

*VIP Offer Details: Valid November 19, 2016 through 11:59pm EST (8:59pm PST) November 20, 2016 or while supplies last; quantities are limited. Merchandise totals calculated after VIP Point redemption; any applicable taxes, shipping charges, or value of gift cards purchased do not apply to merchandise totals. Offers exclude backorder items. Cannot be applied to previous purchases or combined with any other discount, offer or free gift. Offer valid only in the United States and Canada. Offers not valid at LEGOLAND® Parks or LEGOLAND Discovery Centers. Sale items not valid toward previous purchases and subject to availability. The LEGO Group reserves the right to cancel or modify this promotion at any time without advance notice. Double Points Offer: Points are attributed to the account once payment is received. VIP Membership required. See VIP.LEGO.com or inquire in a LEGO Store for details on free membership. Offer cannot be combined with any other VIP Program offer, discount or coupon. Points will not be credited for purchases made prior to, or after this promotion. Points will not be earned on the purchase of Gift Cards or any applicable taxes or shipping charges. Free gift with purchase offer: Valid only on item 40223 LEGO® Snowglobe. One free gift per household. Gift set not available for purchase. Qualifying purchase must be equal to or greater than $99 in merchandise only. Set is valued at approximately a $9.99 (US) / $11.99 (CA) retail value and cannot be exchanged or substituted for any other item or cash value. Free shipping offer: Applies to standard shipping only; upgrades do not apply. Standard order processing and delivery time is 3-8 days from the date of order. Free shipping orders may be subject to additional delivery time. For delivery rates and schedules, visit shop.LEGO.com.
This month (November 2016) marks my first complete year as a LEGO reseller and active BrickPicker, as well as the second anniversary of coming out of my Dark Ages. Okay, I was reading catalogs and buying a few cool sets for my kids every year before 2014, but nothing like the full-on assault of having to catch up with all that LEGO has offered in the past. To celebrate these milestones I thought it would be a nice idea to contribute some of my key lessons from the past year back to this community.
First of all, a little background. What really got me out of my Dark Ages was LEGO Trains, actually, it was a Fleischmann N-scale model train set that I used to have when I was a kid and which my dad brought over from Europe to the US 2 years ago. Enthusiasm over introducing my son and daughter to model railroading quickly turned into disillusion because I realized that none of the US manufacturers made tracks compatible with my N-scale track, and that just buying extra rolling stock was going to set me back hundreds of dollars for single-purpose items, which break irreparably when played with by (young) kids. Then a little light-bulb went off in my head: What if I bought LEGO trains instead – we could build our own trains, cars etc., and whenever we wanted something different, we just take it all apart. So with my wife’s blessing, Santa brought the Blue Cargo Train set (60057) and two Horizon Express sets for Christmas 2014. Unbeknownst to her, I had also managed to get an (already retired) Maersk Train, a few My Own Train carriages and some other random train-related bulk lots. I participated in a RailBricks contest (the last one they did before unfortunately shuttering the magazine) and started my decent into the delightful madness that is the world of AFOLs.
Since I’m a train guy, you won’t hear stories from me about having to have this or that Star Wars ship, or those exclusive SuperHeroes minifigs. Sure, my son has a Millenium Falcon and Poe’s X-Wing, and the key SW characters as buildables, but our LEGO buying was first focused on Chima (my son loved it), then shifted to Bionicle, and now my kids’ playing revolves around Harry Potter – we don’t own any of the sets, but have a few minifigures and a lot of imagination. My daughter has a lot of Friends sets which she loves, but is slowly growing out of her interest for these (my kids are 10 year old twins at the time of this writing).
Then November 2015 hit, and I started investigating the value of some sets, and joined the BrickPicker forums. My first purchases started rolling in ….. Pirate Chess Sets from LEGO Shop-at-Home, and a few handfuls of 10697 Brick Boxes from WalMart. As I really love the brick, I had determined I was going to start my own BrickLink store (having designed several train cars and placing tens of BL orders I had gotten familiar with how this worked). And I read and read and read on BrickPicker, and participated in the discussions, and grew wiser and smarter and, I must say, warier as time went by.
Here are the key lessons I’ve learned from my first year:
The buying part is easy. The buying part is fun. Great adrenaline rush. But for many of us, there’s too much to buy. Just because it’s 50% off doesn’t mean you NEED to buy it. Case in point: I picked up a 31033 Vehicle Transport at Target in January 2016 for $10 (RRP: $25, so 60% off). Not a particularly nice set, it had just been released, available everywhere, and who will buy from you as a beginning Ebay seller? Needless to say, this set still sits unsold on my shelf. It’s all about buy-in. Where previous strategies mainly revolved around getting your hands on as many of the expensive sets as possible before they quickly but inevitably retired without much fanfare, the LEGO reselling game is undergoing a massive change. Buy-in price seems to be the key factor now. As a beginning buyer I was excited when I saw 20% off. A year later, 40-50% is where my heartbeat starts increasing. Selling takes time. It’s not difficult, it just takes time. Time to establish yourself as a trustworthy seller. Time to wait for prices to rise to a level you’re comfortable with. Unless you stumbled upon something truly desirable and unavailable, or if you are able to price significantly below others, don’t count on things selling within the first 30-day listing period. Darth Revans, Iron Patriots and Silver Centurions are obvious exceptions, but those don’t come by often. For other items it is a slow, slow game – listing and relisting. The game changes continuously. What works one month might no longer work the next month. Every Bob and Sally has LEGO items in their Ebay store. More and more people join and try to eke out an ever smaller amount of profit. Amazon throws up a gate. Ebay and Target stop a lucrative giftcard cycle. You need to stay in touch or your investments become much harder to sell, or your profit evaporates. Making a decent profit is not easy. At least, not for big(ger) sets. Just look at Ebay: You bought a set for $100 and want to make good profit. If you sell for $150 (shipping included), you will pay ~$18 to Ebay/Paypal in fees, and ~$10-$20 in shipping (in the US, depending on where you live). That’s $30-$40 off of your selling price, so you end up making $10-$20. A small profit is also profit, but you’ve spent time on this set, buying it, storing it, packing it, listing it, checking comparables etc. Unless you’re shifting hundreds of these sets a month, this will not be worth your while. Your time is valuable. Even if you consider this “only a hobby”, before you know you’re in your car driving from one Target to another. I have 6 or 7 Targets in a 15 mile radius from my house, and a similar amount of Walmarts. Popping into one is a quick affair. But when those clearance rumors swirly, and stock checkers are unreliable, your “quick check what they have” becomes a 3hrs+ road-trip. Plus, with 800+ LEGO sets on the market, you’re quickly spending 20-30 mins per store checking resale values, BL part-out costs etc. Then you need to list. Take a picture or two. Research what others are listing for. Do your administration (which for a detailed oriented person like me means adding a row for each set in a 30+ column spreadsheet tracking all sorts of aspects of your purchases). And for those of us who do the part-out route, there’s time in sorting out the set contents, setting up an organizational system, updating BL inventories etc. Choose your game plan. There is too much going on (what with LEGO producing 800+ sets a year as mentioned before) to play all fields. Unless you’re sitting on vast amounts of spare capital, you cannot AND go deep on expensive sets, and cover all themes (Modulars, SW UCS, GBHQ, SHIELD Helicarrier, Advanced Technic models etc) and part out, and BrickLink …. Pick one strategy that best fits your lifestyle. Your options are: Good old-fashioned investing – buy expensive sets for true investment purposes, i.e. stash them away for 3-5 years post retirement and see if that magical 3xMSRP has appeared. Clearance hunting for quick flip – grab those 50-75% off sets, and list them within a year to see if you can get >MSRP to get 75-100% ROI. Diamonds in the rough – take a punt on a few sets that you believe are “iconic” and not soon remade. Remember: First rule of fight club is that nobody talks about fight club. Sit back and watch others scramble over the “common” sets, and rake in the profits when the sets are retired and people realize they “need” them. Or at least, that’s the theory. Buy for part-out. Split your sets into minifigs, buildings and vehicles, and sell them separately for more than the original sets’ cost. I’ve had some luck with this strategy, though it was never my game plan – especially with Dimensions (minifigure and video-game discs sold separately, with the minibuilds as parts for my BL store inventory). Buy for parts. Look at which sets have good BL value, but be careful: unique/niche parts can drive up the value but see very little sales. Be selective. Don’t be a sheep. Tied to the previous point. It is so easy to get carried away. “Great deal on this SW UCS – now 30% off!”. Sure, but if you have a budget (and I recommend you have one from the get-go), plonking down a few hundred bucks on a set that you’ll likely have on a shelf for the next 2-3 years might not be the wisest decision. Plus, there are many others who jump in on this, so you need to battle your competitors in a game that is not your strength. Net, stick to your own plan. Document. Document. Document. Keep track of what you spend and how much you earn. A spreadsheet is good enough. Don’t count on profit until you have it in your PayPal account. Account for all expenses – boxes, shelving, tape, you name it. Find the right marketplace. Depending on your location, you have multiple options. Each marketplace has its plusses and minusses. The key ones are: Ebay. First choice for many. Used by bargain hunters, savvy shoppers and has generally a good, sizeable audience. To really have a good experience, you need to be honest in listing (duh), take lots of pictures, price right, ship fast, and have a return policy (and ideally, a generous one). Also, you need to use PayPal, and unless you work yourself up to Top Rated Seller, count on 12% of your total sale price (including shipping!) to be taken as fees. Amazon. Until very recently the absolute best place to start selling. Everybody shops at Amazon. Unfortunately, unless you pay $1k and provide proof of purchase (and potentially a letter from TLG proving you are an authorized reseller), you cannot list LEGO anymore. I was lucky to get grandfathered in based on a few sales I had in the spring and summer. FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) is the best one of the lot – limited effort (buy, add to inventory, pack and ship to Amazon – they take care of the rest) and a lot of eyeballs. This comes at a price: up to 20% of the sale price goes to uncle Jeff, but the “Prime” label makes up for that by commanding a premium price from buyers, and people happily click away. Plus, you get a chance to be featured in the Buy Box. Just be aware of returns – you might have to swallow the occasional destroyed item. Craigslist. Flea-market audience. Has the hassle of having to meet with people (and finding a place where to do this can sometimes take a lot of back-and-forth with your buyer), but once the sale is made you have no risk and no obligations. Also: no fees. BrickLink (and BrickOwl, its key competitor). AFOLs only. Limited eyes, but limited fees (1-2%). Your buyers know what they want. Shipping is extra, so no need to accounting for shipping costs in calculating your price. The only downside is that setting up shop properly is not easy – adding shipment methods, figuring out how to price those methods correctly etc. all needs some research. Of course you can do without, but you get more sales if you do it right. Facebook selling groups. No real experience here on my end. I’m part of my local Buying/Selling group, but what I see is not instilling much confidence: used cars, pitbull pups and phones. I doubt anyone will want to buy a LEGO set at a reseller premium there. Others have reported more success. There are other apps and marketplaces: Offerup, Kijiji in Canada, Gumtree in the UK, Marktplaats in the Netherlands and Belgium …. I have no experience with these but from what I’ve heard, they fit in with Craigslist/Facebook above. Conventions, flea-markets, garage sales. Very interesting venues, each with their own dynamic. You could get away with charging a premium at conventions (and potentially at flea-markets), but often your participation comes with a fee, so you need to account for that. Again, not an area I have dabbled in so far. Read up on key threads. Check what happened to 41999 to understand how the horde can get carried away sometimes. Read the Amazon/Ebay/CL threads for tips on how to get started, and for answers to commonly experienced questions. Check out the Ethics forum to understand what is being frowned upon – if we don’t keep certain practices and standards, retailers will counteract and remove things like the ability to stack coupons, or the acceptance of printed coupons, or even the privilege of a hassle-free return. And before you make your first purchase, check the speculative bubble thread – if you are still convinced you want to do this after reading that thread, you’re probably strong enough to handle what’s coming (or rozy-eyed enough to not care). Master the art of stacking. There are published deals (50% off at Target!) and there are “make your own deals”. The latter have the benefit that they are YMMV (your mileage may vary) – others likely won’t be able to replicate them. Several retailers (Toys’r’us, Kmart/Sears, Meijer, BAM, Ebay, Galeria-kaufhof and mytoys in Germany to name a few) have coupon and discount policies that allow for the stacking of offers. Combine sale pricing with credit card discounts, with reduced-price Gift Cards, with 20% off coupons, with Buy-one-get-one-free (BOGOF) offers, with points/rewards program certificates, until your buy-in price approaches $0. Then rub it in other’s faces on the "What LEGO set did you buy today" thread. Get in on those loyalty programs. For the price of a small piece of your soul, join as many rewards programs as you can. Ebay Bucks, TRU Rewards, Shop-Your-Way, Meijer mPerks, BAM club membership, Barnes & Noble membership, you name it. Carry the card. And if you don’t mind carrying multiple credit cards, use store-specific CC’s for your purchases, and earn discounts and cashback. Just pay them off every month, please. Be truthful in accounting. This goes two ways: Don’t get into trouble with the IRS. If you sell for profit, you are generating income. Better report it (plus in the US you can deduct the expenses incurred in making the sale, such as car mileage, shipping materials, storage materials etc.). Officially you should also register yourself as a reseller in your state/county (unless you block people in your state from buying from you). For my state (Ohio) this was really not a big deal – a small fee, some paperwork, and a twice-a-year reporting duty (so far always $0). Also, configure your selling accounts (Ebay, BrickLink) to automatically charge sales tax on purchases made by local buyers. You can only do this on Amazon if you have a professional selling account – when you sell as an individual you’ll just have to pay the sales tax out of the sales price. As a benefit: I get to buy tax-free in the few places that haven’t banned resellers (Amazon, Walmart) as long as it is for store inventory. Think about how you account for points, freebies etc. There are many ways to skin the cat, but I prefer this approach: Points never count as a discount on the purchase made to earn them, only as a discount on the purchase where they are used. Freebies count as a $0 purchase, and everything I earn on them is (gross) profit. So, those sets I bought at LEGO S@H for $75 to get the free Gingerbread House really cost me $75, even though I sold the GBH for $50 and made $40 profit after fees and shipping, and got 150 points as part of double VIP. Get approval from your S.O. (Significant Other). Some of us are blessed with AFOL partners. Some of us have bargaining partners – if you want to do this, then let me do my thing. Some of us have eye-rolling partners. And even some of us have to pretend and work undercover. Oh, and some don’t have partners, but I’m giving them a break and will not tap into my arsenal of AFOL bachelor puns. At least come to some sort of an arrangement. LEGO should never be the reason a relationship ends, and should never be more important than your S.O. I had big plans (and still have big plans) regarding my BL shop as well as regarding my LEGO Train building hobby. They’ve been slowed down – my wife protested against the amount of time I was spending on this and she was right. <Insert doormat pun here> Practice self-constraint. No you don’t have to buy it all. Often I go all the way through the checkout process and then take a breather. A quick comparison with other sites. Read some reviews. Think "yes it is x% off, but you still pay $y". And after amassing a closet full of LEGO: “First sell enough until you have more funds and more space, then buy again”. What also helps me is that I have a (very short) list of sets I really want to have for my personal collection. If there ever is a good deal on those, I’ll jump on it (ideally using Ebay Bucks or Credit Card reward dollars). For the other deals: there will be more deals in the future. Be helpful and you’ll be better off for it. Just like you need to build up a reputation of trustworthyness on Ebay or Amazon, I advise everyone to do the same on BrickPicker. Look out for your fellow BP-ers. Help them score a deal when needed. Post those deals when you see them (even if they don’t interest you), or at least, post them after you had your fill. Because all the goodwill you’re building up will help you get better deals yourself – via member-to-member private messages, or just by being "in-tune" with what is happening on the marketplace. And unlike many other platforms on the vast World Wide Web, Brickpicker is a very civilized, high-intelligence online forum. Conversations are kind, well articulated and insightful. Moderators intervene at the right time, and with clear principles. And everyone likes a giggle. Unless you are a professional reseller (and I know there are several that frequent BP), remember that this is supposed to be a hobby. You’ll enjoy it more when you keep your love of LEGO alive. Scale back when you don’t have time. Sell if you need cash. Pop seals and build if there’s something you’ve now taken a fancy to, or if the market for the set has cratered. But please, please don’t get in over your head.
To conclude my story: I have spent considerable time over the first half of 2016 on building inventory, writing software to manage my BL store’s sales and pricing analytics, and sorted through about half of my sets and parted them out. I listed ~20k parts on BL, and have seen some nice sales coming through. However, as this is my hobby, I’ve had to take a break from adding to my BL store and it has been in hibernation mode over the past months as other priorities took over. I have continued to list sets on Ebay and Amazon to keep some sales going. I bought well – some initial purchases were not as good as some later ones when I got clearer on what I needed to look for in sets, however, those were offset by some lucky finds (Ghosts for half price, anyone?). I resigned myself to contributing to reporting sales and delightful banter to BP, and with ~3.5k posts to my name in just a year, I think I’ve been quite successful at that strategy at least.
To round it all up, some statistics from my first year:
Total resale purchases including supplies, shipping costs and fees: $7.3k
Average discount over MSRP: 44%
Total sales revenue: $3.0k
ROI on those sales: >175% (But I sold quite a lot of freebies which drive ROI up)
Average fee paid (Ebay, Amazon, BrickLink/BrickOwl): 11.2%
Parts amassed for my BL store: ~110k
Here’s to a great second year!

Today we are announcing the winners of the Brickpicker Minifigure Book Photo Contest.  Now that we have two books out there in the wild I can say that it is not easy.  Ed has a few months of sleepless nights and or nightmares and I become a stalker looking to get permission to use photos in books or I pretend I am a photographer and take a few thousand photos hoping one is good enough.  With that being said, I have to say that the first book was super exciting mostly because it was our first book but the second book was a lot more fun.  For one thing, we knew what to expect overall, but it was a lot more fun because we got to deal with and see what type of photos the public came up with. 
The first time I saw the photo below, I was in tears and laughed for a long time.  I loved it.  I knew we were in for a fun ride.

So many people were helpful, giving and just fun to deal with.  That we appreciate more than anything.  Some really invested an immense amount of time and that we are humbled by and grateful for.  At this time I would like to announce the Grand Prize winner chosen by Ed and myself. The winner is Markos Chouris from Australia. The amount of time he spent taking thousands of photos for us was truly amazing.  He contacted me very early on and offered to help take a ton of photos of many of minifigures you see in the price guide part of the books.  The sad part is that we unfortunately could not fit all the figures from our original list into the book. A few of Markos' fun shot were also able to make their way into the book as well.  Thank you Markos for your help and dedication to helping to make the book great.  You are the Grand Prize winner of a $500 gift card to Amazon or LEGO.
Below is a list of the other winners that were chosen by the publisher and will split up the remaining $1000 of gift cards. 
Durand Family (Anna, Geneva, Isaiah, and Josiah Durand):  (note: $200 gift card will be given to the four of you, thank you all for your submissions)
Heriberto Perez Acebo
Fabio Broggi
Charles Chang
Tony De Marzio
Daniel Flanagan
Brandon Isensee
Stephen O’Mahony
Anthony Varos
As a special note all participants whether you are in this list or not will receive a copy of the book from the publisher. I know I have a lot of the information from all of your for your photo releases, but if you are reading this, please contact me via PM or email ([email protected]) and type of your address so that I can give to the publisher (some are very hard to read).  For the winners above, please let us know whether you want an Amazon or LEGO gift card when you write me.  I will also try to reach out to all of you as well to make sure you are aware. All gift cards will be in USD($).
Thank you again to all of you and hope that you had a great time taking the photos.
Jeff & Ed
 

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