10225 - UCS: R2-D2

[GhostDad]

I've been in the stock market long enough to know it's never a good sign when everyone says 'Buy now! Everything's a winner!'  This is supposed to be a thread for 'general discussion', not just 'positive discussion'.  The way anyone who expresses a less than cheerleader level of enthusiasm for a set gets immediately mocked as a total idiot is pathetic.

[bricketycricket]

I've been in the stock market long enough to know it's never a good sign when everyone says 'Buy now! Everything's a winner!'  This is supposed to be a thread for 'general discussion', not just 'positive discussion'.  The way anyone who expresses a less than cheerleader level of enthusiasm for a set gets immediately mocked as a total idiot is pathetic.

To be fair most of the criticism is "this set sucks, can't see why anyone would like it" rather than "this set is a bad investment because <insert thoughtful discussion here>".

[jerryherb]

i said it more than once and say it again. dont bet all your money on r2d2, there are plenty of others sets that have not been crowd-EOLed as of yet out there. 'tis the season to buy them. DIVERSIFY for a steady ROI.

Edited November 11, 2014 by jerryherb

[zskid00]

The way anyone who expresses a less than cheerleader level of enthusiasm for a set gets immediately mocked as a total idiot is pathetic.

 

Most of those who don't have as much enthusiasm for the set have never actually built it or maybe even seen it in person.  I think it's fair to say that those opinions may not be well rounded if they don't take into consideration the appeal of the product.

[Miami Bomb Squad]

No one says "buy now, everything's a winner" on Chima, Lone Rangers, Ninjagos, Castles, GS, etc......

[GhostDad]

I normally buy 25 of a set I'm interested in that's presumed near EOL.  With R2, I bought 12.  Reasons?  It's appallingly expensive on a price/weight basis, compared with modular buildings and even other Star Wars sets (notably DS).  Also, SW ships and minifigures have historically done better than models of characters.  R2 seems more like a large toy than 'Lego art' like 10179, etc., only R2 is of the wrong scale to interact with any other Lego toys (like a Harry Potter set could).  Hence my skepticism.

 

I'll add that I haven't built one.  Sinking $180 and many hours of my time into a model I'm not interested in seems like an expensive way to see the set built.  I have looked at many, many user-submitted photos on various fan sites and read dozens of reviews of the set.

 

All I am asking is that a well considered, yet mildly negative perspective like mine and a few others (Mathew, for one) not be met with junior high level smack talk.  I think Mathew had an incredibly valid point about how a $400 R2 might fare versus $30 toys of the same size that were more interactive.  R2 seems very much to be aimed at kids, who have a lot of other sources of entertainment competing for their relatively scarce dollars.

Edited November 11, 2014 by GhostDad

[Bold-Arrow]

No one says "buy now, everything's a winner" on Chima, Lone Rangers, Ninjagos, Castles, GS, etc......

for the right price I buy everything . There is money to be made in every theme you mentioned

[Miami Bomb Squad]

BA, that's because your loaded!

[naf]

I normally buy 25 of a set I'm interested in that's presumed near EOL.  With R2, I bought 12.  Reasons?  It's appallingly expensive on a price/weight basis, compared with modular buildings and even other Star Wars sets (notably DS).  Also, SW ships and minifigures have historically done better than models of characters.  R2 seems more like a large toy than 'Lego art' like 10179, etc., only R2 is of the wrong scale to interact with any other Lego toys (like a Harry Potter set could).  Hence my skepticism.

 

I'll add that I haven't built one.  Sinking $180 and many hours of my time into a model I'm not interested in seems like an expensive way to see the set built.  I have looked at many, many user-submitted photos on various fan sites and read dozens of reviews of the set.

 

Do you know anyone who decides to not buy an aftermarket lego set because the price/weight ratio is too expensive?  Or even the price per piece?  If that was the case then we'd all be out of business.  In my opinion, R2 is a unique set that can't be compared with anything else out there.  It's not a bust, and it's not a ship or playset.  I'll admit that makes it riskier than other investments because of the unknown factor, but I don't think the risk is that great compared to the potential returns.

 

None of the UCS sets (except for the "new" UCS like the Sandcrawler) are minifig scale, and none can "interact" with other sets, so I don't understand this criticism either.

 

My adult friends love this set, even non-Lego people.  My kids love it.  Hell, even my dad loves it and he thinks I'm dumb for putting any money into kids toys, whether for investing or for personal building lol.

[stephen_rockefeller]

To be fair most of the criticism is "this set sucks, can't see why anyone would like it" rather than "this set is a bad investment because <insert thoughtful discussion here>".

Thank you for using your brain before commenting.

[labfreak7]

I have been buying 1 or 2 of sets like these, as I am a rather small time investor, but I for one love this set, it was one of the first that I bought. I think it will do well because it has mass appeal from even non-lego enthusiasts; heck it was even on the big bang theory.

[No More Monkeys]

I think the retailers inventories are smaller than you think, especially for sets near retirement.  I only hint at sets after obvious signs.  The signs are there for all to see.  This is not magic.  

 

Availability at retailers is not, historically, reliable indicator. It is more reliable for exclusives I guess (cheaper sets do get wiped out towards christmas), but if not for that mysterious "change in focus" you are hinting at, people would not have put as much weight on reseller availability as one of the signs. We know that there is about 10 week cycle for big sets - depending on the demand (real or artificial), promos, and allocation for retailers, sets could disappear for 2-3 weeks, just to reappear again. 

Edited November 11, 2014 by No More Monkeys

[Ed Mack]

Availability at retailers is not, historically, reliable indicator. It is more reliable for exclusives I guess (cheaper sets do get wiped out towards christmas), but if not for that mysterious "change in focus" you are hinting at, people would not have put as much weight on reseller availability as one of the signs. We know that there is about 10 week cycle for big sets - depending on the demand (real or artificial), promos, and allocation for retailers, sets could disappear for 2-3 weeks, just to reappear again. 

That wasn't my point.  I was trying to explain that resellers are not buying up thousands of sets on a day like yesterday. I won't say a set is retiring if it was out of stock at a couple of retailers, otherwise, every set would be retiring. 

[Mathew]

A mindless Yoda meme means nothing in regards as to how well this set will fare in the aftermarket.  Truth is that it's all speculation at this point.  Did I say it was a bad set?  No.  Did I say that it wouldn't be profitable?  No.  I just believe that this set is over admired and over priced at it's original retail.  Also, consider if it really was selling well then Lego would not be discontinuing it before new movie release.  There's a reason that the Death Star is still in production.

[GhostDad]

@naf: price/weight is a proxy for value.  Lots of people actually do use price/piece to value sets (read reviews, discussions, etc.).  I prefer price/weight, even though it usually correlates, because it rightly credits certain sets (like trains) for having unusually large pieces (like track).  Anyway, does anyone expect the same level of returns from, for example, a $3.99 CMF figure versus a $2.99 CMF figure, where the series are essentially identical in appeal and differ only in MSRP?  Lego is steadily increasing prices, far above the rate of inflation (or income growth of our target customers), and this does cut into returns, especially for an exclusive that is generally bought at or around MSRP.

 

As I said before, interactivity with other sets and minifigures is a concern for those sets that are aimed at a younger audience.  HH has it.  DS has it.  The first Sandcrawler had it, and so does the second one.  R2 does not.  For me, it lacks the sublime 'wow' factor of some of the big UCS ships.  It's not very big.  12 by 7 inches, according to Lego.  It looks like a toy, but it can't really be played with.

[Young_Gun21]

A mindless Yoda meme means nothing in regards as to how well this set will fare in the aftermarket. Truth is that it's all speculation at this point. Did I say it was a bad set? No. Did I say that it wouldn't be profitable? No. I just believe that this set is over admired and over priced at it's original retail. Also, consider if it really was selling well then Lego would not be discontinuing it before new movie release. There's a reason that the Death Star is still in production.

Or they discontinue it because they 'have' to get rid of an old set to introduce a new. That way shelf space isn't messed up. LEGO has done it for years. Balance the income outcome ratio. Might want to check it out.

[stephen_rockefeller]

if it really was selling well then Lego would not be discontinuing it before new movie release.

False

[asharerin]

Curious to know if anyone would trade their HH straight across for R2? Both cost $179.99.

 

That should put this set in perspective.

[Bold-Arrow]

Curious to know if anyone would trade their HH straight across for R2? Both cost $179.99.

That should put this set in perspective.

note... Too early for R2

[tonysbricks]

Curious to know if anyone would trade their HH straight across for R2? Both cost $179.99.

 

That should put this set in perspective.

 

Not really. Would you have traded 2.5 RI for 1 HH in August?

[Young_Gun21]

note... Too early for R2

And the time frame is key. R2 in the movie will spike interest for not only the release in theaters but the next year after DVD/Blue-Ray. HH will be faster appreciating IMO but R2 will definitely surprise with how high he can get. It's a 2000 piece model of everyone's favorite droid. Come on.

[asharerin]

I don't think it is too early at all. In 5 years a 2 month gap on retirement date won't make a difference. Would anyone genuinely trade HH straight across for R2?

 

If not how many R2 would you take for your HH?

[No More Monkeys]

That wasn't my point.  I was trying to explain that resellers are not buying up thousands of sets on a day like yesterday. I won't say a set is retiring if it was out of stock at a couple of retailers, otherwise, every set would be retiring. 

I wonder then what "signs" are you referring to ? Are they of "public" nature? We can observe only availability at retailers and change in limits. Not much else to observe... 

[Mathew]

False

Then why is the VW Camper still in production?  Lego has the Star Wars license for another few years (or more).  If it's selling so well, from a pure business stand point it would make no sense to discontinue it at this time.  I said the same about the Haunted House and Town Halls.  Probably not big sellers due to their high price points. Yes, yes, the UCS Falcon was a slow seller but the main reason it's so sought after in the after market is because so few were hoarded away.  There will be 1000x the number of R2's, Town Halls and Haunted Houses on the after market.

[trekgate502]

A mindless Yoda meme means nothing in regards as to how well this set will fare in the aftermarket. Truth is that it's all speculation at this point. Did I say it was a bad set? No. Did I say that it wouldn't be profitable? No. I just believe that this set is over admired and over priced at it's original retail. Also, consider if it really was selling well then Lego would not be discontinuing it before new movie release. There's a reason that the Death Star is still in production.

The death Star is still in production for now but it to will have an end Sooner than most think I think