Bricktober Mini Modulars - 2014

[Ed Mack]

I don't know if this post was referring to me or not. But seems like it is so I will respond. It is TRU's policy for promos to be sold at retail after promo is over (or what are they to do? Throw them away?). All stores I called, (around 10) did not have ANY of these left. It just got lucky with this one. This particular one has a demographic that has no interest in Legos which is why they had so many. I bought 10 total sets. A little less than $1000 spent. Nothing compared to Ezmaer's 52 Haunted Houses and 75 Grand Emporiums. So maybe this post should be directed to people with these quantities and not someone who was just asking if it is a good idea to hold 10 sets. 10 sets is nothing, most avid investors here have 10 sets or are trying to get 10 sets of all the good sets.

If this was directed at me it's all good. You are entitled to your own opinion and I am entitled to do what I please to do.

It was not referring to you, but let me comment anyway. I was referring to people who clean a store out of any item. It brings negative attention to all of us. We do not all hit the maximum purchase amount when buying something like ravenb99 said. Many of us do not buy and flip short term. Moderating purchasing techniques and spreading around your purchases will help us all in the future.

A guy like emazers spreads his purchases out, by stores and time. He doesn't acquire 50 of an exclusive set in a one time purchase, that is why he hasn't been banned at every LEGO store.

Do what you want. I am speaking from experience and how not to draw attention to yourself. I have well over 7000 sets and never was banned, questioned or left Little Johnny with no sets to buy.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

It was not referring to you, but let me comment anyway. I was referring to people who clean a store out of any item. It brings negative attention to all of us. We do not all hit the maximum purchase amount when buying something like ravenb99 said. Many of us do not buy and flip short term. Moderating purchasing techniques and spreading around your purchases will help us all in the future.

A guy like emazers spreads his purchases out, by stores and time. He doesn't acquire 50 of an exclusive set in a one time purchase, that is why he hasn't been banned at every LEGO store.

Do what you want. I am speaking from experience and how not to draw attention to yourself. I have well over 7000 sets and never was banned, questioned or left Little Johnny with no sets to buy.

 

I think this is the reason I do so well at my TRU. I am there a lot but I never check out with tons of sets in the cart, even on clearance or anything else. I let price mistakes or things of that nature on my receipt go, don't return stuff. When I talk to those guys, thats what they complain about. In return, they always make sure I can use a coupon, throw in extra stuff, tell me about stuff they are about to clearance or put out, etc. 

 

And also I haven't had to explain to any of them why I buy so much.

[Ed Mack]

I think this is the reason I do so well at my TRU. I am there a lot but I never check out with tons of sets in the cart, even on clearance or anything else. I let price mistakes or things of that nature on my receipt go, don't return stuff. When I talk to those guys, thats what they complain about. In return, they always make sure I can use a coupon, throw in extra stuff, tell me about stuff they are about to clearance or put out, etc. 

 

And also I haven't had to explain to any of them why I buy so much.

Right, just be nice to people and don't abuse coupons or cashiers.  Don't be a LEGO "piggy" and buy up every set that was supposed to go to kids.  Now if there are two or three sets, no big deal.  But if you want to stay under the radar, a reseller shouldn't be rolling up to the register with 20 or 30 sets in a cart.

[ravenb99]

It was not referring to you, but let me comment anyway. I was referring to people who clean a store out of any item. It brings negative attention to all of us. We do not all hit the maximum purchase amount when buying something like ravenb99 said. Many of us do not buy and flip short term. Moderating purchasing techniques and spreading around your purchases will help us all in the future.

A guy like emazers spreads his purchases out, by stores and time. He doesn't acquire 50 of an exclusive set in a one time purchase, that is why he hasn't been banned at every LEGO store.

Do what you want. I am speaking from experience and how not to draw attention to yourself. I have well over 7000 sets and never was banned, questioned or left Little Johnny with no sets to buy.

Was not saying that at all. Think you missed the point on the "hitting the limit" comment from my previous post.  I was referring to when the HH SSD TH GE come up on Amazon,  WM, TRU and so forth.  Not on buying off Shop at Home or something watched and monitored more closely.  In those situations 99% of people are hitting the limit.  There not just buying 1.  (which was my point that there not saving for others)

 

I also hold sets as well but certain sets and situations are different.  Promotional items like these are more time sensitive and the first sets do the best so they do require a different level of buying patterns.  They are more of a short term product and then go back up later down the road after the flooding period hits.

 

Absolutely agree spreading the purchases around and intermittently does not draw attention.  Also agree treating everyone nice and respectfully is the way to go and will yield a great business relationship for years.    I would think by reviewing my posts made on this site you would see that and could see the majority of my posts is helping people that asked for advice or help.  

 

I don't use coupons at all at TRU.  I just don't have time to do that aspect of the business.  I bought large quantity from 1 store 2 times and that was after the promotion and the store manager was the one to make the call.  I politely asked if they were available to purchase and asked if there was a limit.  He stated I could buy all that I wanted to.  No cart brought up full of items in front of everyone.  All done at the service desk where they were held and discreet.  

 

I also have been doing this for a very long time.  Just never joined the site and always did it on my own.  I did not know there was a site full of others like myself.  I even posted a old "offer sheet" from 11 years ago the other day as I thought the community would like to see it.  It shows a difference of of the market has changed in a decade and how deals are different from the past.

 

Not sure how many sets I've purchased in my lifetime as I just started using the brickfolio recently but also have never been banned, questioned or any of that.  I also agree with pretty much everything your stating just wasn't sure why you called out this situation to begin with over a lot of other things that go on.

[Ed Mack]

Was not saying that at all. Think you missed the point on the "hitting the limit" comment from my previous post.  I was referring to when the HH SSD TH GE come up on Amazon,  WM, TRU and so forth.  Not on buying off Shop at Home or something watched and monitored more closely.  In those situations 99% of people are hitting the limit.  There not just buying 1.  (which was my point that there not saving for others)

 

I also hold sets as well but certain sets and situations are different.  Promotional items like these are more time sensitive and the first sets do the best so they do require a different level of buying patterns.  They are more of a short term product and then go back up later down the road after the flooding period hits.

 

Absolutely agree spreading the purchases around and intermittently does not draw attention.  Also agree treating everyone nice and respectfully is the way to go and will yield a great business relationship for years.    I would think by reviewing my posts made on this site you would see that and could see the majority of my posts is helping people that asked for advice or help.  

 

I don't use coupons at all at TRU.  I just don't have time to do that aspect of the business.  I bought large quantity from 1 store 2 times and that was after the promotion and the store manager was the one to make the call.  I politely asked if they were available to purchase and asked if there was a limit.  He stated I could buy all that I wanted to.  No cart brought up full of items in front of everyone.  All done at the service desk where they were held and discreet.  

 

I also have been doing this for a very long time.  Just never joined the site and always did it on my own.  I did not know there was a site full of others like myself.  I even posted a old "offer sheet" from 11 years ago the other day as I thought the community would like to see it.  It shows a difference of of the market has changed in a decade and how deals are different from the past.

 

Not sure how many sets I've purchased in my lifetime as I just started using the brickfolio recently but also have never been banned, questioned or any of that.  I also agree with pretty much everything your stating just wasn't sure why you called out this situation to begin with over a lot of other things that go on.

I brought the excessive buying/coupon use/return topic to everyone's attention so that a few people might listen.  It wasn't really directed at anyone specifically.  I usually stay out of these conversations, but TRU and their policies and how members interpret them and/or take advantage of them is always a hot topic around here, so let's try to come up with a reasonable approach to the topic.

 

I am not here to dictate to people how to spend their money or run their business, but being that we are all in this together in a non-direct way, I think it is wise to help some inexperienced members out.  First off, we are not all flippers who buy in massive quantities for a short term gain.  Many of these conversations(this one included) on this site are leaning towards the short term angle, which LEGO does not like to be quite honest.  I don't want a novice investor to think that this is the only way to invest.

 

A promo like the recent Bricktober event was a mess and it should have been implemented more clearly from the start.  I cannot fault a buyer for acquiring multiples of these sets if given the chance, but realize there could be consequences to those actions.  It is situations like this which can lead to other consumers complaining to corporate TRU or LEGO about the evil resellers buying up massive quantities of sets.  

 

It is my opinion that resellers in general have to be more discreet in their buying habits.  As more and more people enter the world of LEGO investing, I know it will be difficult to control some yahoos.  Some people don't care about the collectible or commodity they resell and change from collectible to collectible as much as they change underwear.  I get it.  Not everyone views LEGO sets and bricks in the same way.  Unfortunately, the situation has already caused many retailers to respond to this sort of excessive buying, return and coupon use.  I think if we all could be a little more careful moving forward, harsher restrictions and retailer policies won't be implemented.

[ravenb99]

I brought the excessive buying/coupon use/return topic to everyone's attention so that a few people might listen.  It wasn't really directed at anyone specifically.  I usually stay out of these conversations, but TRU and their policies and how members interpret them and/or take advantage of them is always a hot topic around here, so let's try to come up with a reasonable approach to the topic.

 

I am not here to dictate to people how to spend their money or run their business, but being that we are all in this together in a non-direct way, I think it is wise to help some inexperienced members out.  First off, we are not all flippers who buy in massive quantities for a short term gain.  Many of these conversations(this one included) on this site are leaning towards the short term angle, which LEGO does not like to be quite honest.  I don't want a novice investor to think that this is the only way to invest.

 

A promo like the recent Bricktober event was a mess and it should have been implemented more clearly from the start.  I cannot fault a buyer for acquiring multiples of these sets if given the chance, but realize there could be consequences to those actions.  It is situations like this which can lead to other consumers complaining to corporate TRU or LEGO about the evil resellers buying up massive quantities of sets.  

 

It is my opinion that resellers in general have to be more discreet in their buying habits.  As more and more people enter the world of LEGO investing, I know it will be difficult to control some yahoos.  Some people don't care about the collectible or commodity they resell and change from collectible to collectible as much as they change underwear.  I get it.  Not everyone views LEGO sets and bricks in the same way.  Unfortunately, the situation has already caused many retailers to respond to this sort of excessive buying, return and coupon use.  I think if we all could be a little more careful moving forward, harsher restrictions and retailer policies won't be implemented.

Well said, agree 100%.  Wasn't sure if it was directed at myself or others just took it that way as it was shortly after a comment I made.   Like you said everyone invests in different ways and my posts were not intended to persuade any novices into the short term flipping, but I can see how that could be interpreted that way.  I will keep that in mind in what future posts I make.  I just usually suggest other ways to make money in the business other than holding exclsuives for long periods of time.  There is clearly an extreme gap of investors that are on each end with not many in the middle ground. 

 

I'll be the first to admit I am geared more towards the short term than what some other investors on here are so my statements could be biased some towards short term sale.  My idea of a long term hold is 2-3 years compared to some of the 5-10 year holders we have on here (mainly due to my time in the reselling business as a whole and seeing different patterns and trends over the last 15 years since I started selling online).  A lot can happen in long periods of time and thats part of investing but for novices it could also be a big negative if thats all they did.  They wouldn't of made money on the short term flips and if there long term purchases went sour it could also be a bad experience for them just like only doing flips could be.

[trekgate502]

I thought I would throw in I still do quite a few quick flips of items to help generate some cash BUT over the last 3 months I have been learning from BP and those who blazed the trail long before me exclusives purchasing and medium to long term holds is the way to go if your able and I have been slowly converting my inventory to match that philosophy.  This Christmas is a great time for me to get rid of deals I bought that have been slow movers and convert into TH, AA, and other sets.  I am glad BP has shown me the light.  This is NOT in conflict with what Raven is doing, it is just as an individual for a hobby I find heading this way will be more long term profitable for me in my case.

[hxckid88]

I thought I would throw in I still do quite a few quick flips of items to help generate some cash BUT over the last 3 months I have been learning from BP and those who blazed the trail long before me exclusives purchasing and medium to long term holds is the way to go if your able and I have been slowly converting my inventory to match that philosophy. This Christmas is a great time for me to get rid of deals I bought that have been slow movers and convert into TH, AA, and other sets. I am glad BP has shown me the light. This is NOT in conflict with what Raven is doing, it is just as an individual for a hobby I find heading this way will be more long term profitable for me in my case.

This is a smart move my only worry is that many are doing the same.

[Alpinemaps]

I thought I would throw in I still do quite a few quick flips of items to help generate some cash BUT over the last 3 months I have been learning from BP and those who blazed the trail long before me exclusives purchasing and medium to long term holds is the way to go if your able and I have been slowly converting my inventory to match that philosophy.  This Christmas is a great time for me to get rid of deals I bought that have been slow movers and convert into TH, AA, and other sets.  I am glad BP has shown me the light.  This is NOT in conflict with what Raven is doing, it is just as an individual for a hobby I find heading this way will be more long term profitable for me in my case.

 

Word.

 

I'm doing the exact same thing right now.

[mscheaf]

I thought I would throw in I still do quite a few quick flips of items to help generate some cash BUT over the last 3 months I have been learning from BP and those who blazed the trail long before me exclusives purchasing and medium to long term holds is the way to go if your able and I have been slowly converting my inventory to match that philosophy.  This Christmas is a great time for me to get rid of deals I bought that have been slow movers and convert into TH, AA, and other sets.  I am glad BP has shown me the light.  This is NOT in conflict with what Raven is doing, it is just as an individual for a hobby I find heading this way will be more long term profitable for me in my case.

 

You have to have some quick flips when you are getting started or you are just spending a ton of money for 2-3 years with nothing coming in until all your exclusives have been retired for a bit. Most people can't do that in the beginning. If I had the kind of money where I could just not care where 10-20k goes every year, I wouldn't need to be doing this for extra income.

 

Now in the long term, yes I hope to not be flipping at all, but in the beginning I have to cover the costs of all these exclusives with SOMETHING or that's it for me.

[trekgate502]

I agree with all the posts thanks guys.

[Tommahas8012]

So today i was in a TRU out of town to see if they had any modulars. I talked to 4 employees there, including a manager who were all hanging around the front desk (slow day)

 

They said they did have modulars but they were not allowed to sell them. I asked if they were going to ever. They told me to keep a lookout for ads in the coming weeks. 

 

Now i know that employees are not always the best with factual information but it made me wonder if this set might be a limited supply on the shelves for holiday season or something. It does not happen often but it would not be the first time that we saw a promo that later was made available elsewhere.

[Alucard1982]

So today i was in a TRU out of town to see if they had any modulars. I talked to 4 employees there, including a manager who were all hanging around the front desk (slow day)

 

They said they did have modulars but they were not allowed to sell them. I asked if they were going to ever. They told me to keep a lookout for ads in the coming weeks. 

 

Now i know that employees are not always the best with factual information but it made me wonder if this set might be a limited supply on the shelves for holiday season or something. It does not happen often but it would not be the first time that we saw a promo that later was made available elsewhere.

 

May be a similar promotion to what the Australian TRS are running, if you spend $75 online (LEGO) you receive a random set. However, we don't have an option to ship to store and get hit hard with shipping costs.

[hxckid88]

So I had a mini heart attack twice tonight. I know how highly I'm thought of around these parts so I thought I'd let you all know. Here's what promted the heart attack...

So I thought it would be a good idea to have my. Nephew separate bricktober sets. Thought it would be educational. He is 3.He started jumping and almost fell flat on them all. Happend twice. he then after stacking tried jumping over them barley made it . I was about to have so many pancakes. I fired him. Child labor sucks.

Edited November 6, 2014 by hxckid88

[zskid00]

You must not have any kids of your own yet.

[trekgate502]

Or maybe Dogs....

 

I have one that wants attention and comes in and tries to step on any ebay packaging boxes and product they can.  Have to be careful.

[dubzero]

Flip other toys to make $$ to buy Lego in a slow and steady fashion. Win - win. ;)

[minicoopers11]

Sacramento, CA area Citrus Heights TRU has them on the shelf for sale at $19.99 each. Except the fire station.

[TheBrickClique]

So my local tru was willing to sell their sets today when I asked. They had weeks 1, 2, and 4 but out of 3. I bought two of each. I'd like to build two complete sets. If someone has two extra week 3 and needs of one the others, I can check to see if they'll sell another two tomorrow to trade. Send me an IM with which week you need.

[zskid00]

Mine had an absolute boatload of the Theater on the shelf tonight.  I bet there were more than 50 of them and that's after they were on the shelf for a couple weeks of Bricktober for sale to anybody.  They also had quite a few Fire Stations and Town Halls but not a single Pizza Place.  I am only interested if I can complete sets and get the TRU CC 10% off on Thursdays or Saturdays. 

[hxckid88]

Is it just me or is there a need for a trade thread on these so much trading going on in pms..... We need a three way call feature or something.

[zskid00]

I would definitely be interested in trading for some Pizza Places if anyone needs any of the other 3.

[trekgate502]

We got 3 p pizza's here do I here do I here yes I here 3 fire's, who has got a town hall, offer 25 25 25 20 20 20 do I here 15 now?

 

hehe I think this is great everyone working out trades on these bricktober sets, it is starting to sound like an old fashioned auction hall (except its trading not selling!)

[Alpinemaps]

Maybe set up a shared Google Doc to list what you have to trade, and what you need?

[hxckid88]

It's funny how some of us have such easy access to some while same person can't find one of that set. I've never even seen a theater yet I've seen and have a truck load of pizza.