Just bought 50lbs - tips for new seller (by set/pound/minifig)?

[raynre]

Hey everyone!

 

So my son has been playing lego for a while (I used to play as a kid too) but seemed limited in what he could build based on the amount/type of lego we have. So I bought 50lbs of lego from craigslist and now there's so much I'm sure he won't be able to play with it all. So I've been reading around and discovered the magical world of used lego selling

 

Anyway, I wanted to try what many of you do and sell some of our lego with the aim to make a profit so that it can fund more lego (brand new sets that he picks out himself and/or more used lots). From what I've gathered, the best way to sell mixed lego is to sort it, build any sets as near complete as possible and then sell them. We got a lot of instructions from the 50lbs including Indiana Jones and early Star Wars.

 

Can you guys give any advice for someone starting out? And is it better to sell minifigs with the sets or individually? eg. I have 5 Indy Jones figs and I see they go on eBay for like $6 - $10 each. Oh, and the other question is, what sites are recommended to sell lego by sets and lbs? I keep hearing eBay is kinda hardcore so your profits tend to be lower.

 

Thanks so much!!

[Migration]

Figure out what sets you have and start with the most valuable one, get it as complete as you can from your lot and sell it with its minifigs. Don't fear eBay, for all it's faults it's still a very good starting point, at least until brick classifieds launches. There are several blogs on this site that will go more in depth.

[Neosphinx]

I never used ebay before. If there is a free alternative to sell your sets, do it.

Making complete sets from a vrac is best way and most profitable way to go. Just be careful with buying those used lots.. Sometimes they have already been scavenged and all that is left is junk.

[r0by76]

I buy quite large bulk lots from time to time, and the first thing I do is washing them (i use the washing machine, others they wash by hand). Not that I am a fuzzy guy, but sometimes the bricks are so dirty/dusty. I think this is a good advice, especially if you have a baby/kid who's going to help you.

 

Once they are clean and dry, I start to sort them and believe me it is a real pain. A LOT of patience and spare time is required, so I do it on the weekends or at night.

 

Once they are sorted and properly packed and labelled, you will decide how and where to sell them. The easiest and quickest way is to sell 1 kg (a couple of lbs.) of mixed bricks, mixed plates, mixed slopes, mixed tiles, etc, on ebay.

[Guest betsy805]

I generally separate out the minifigures, accessories, and printed/stickered pieces first.  Then wash the rest.  Make a spreadsheet of sets you have along with current values/number of pieces to determine if it's worth putting the sets together.  I go down the spreadsheet doing the highest price/brick sets first and keep a 'wanted' list in bricklink of missing pieces to order once I'm done putting the sets together.  I will often sell without instruction manuals, but not without minifigures.  Good luck!!

[r0by76]

I generally separate out the minifigures, accessories, and printed/stickered pieces first.  Then wash the rest.  Make a spreadsheet of sets you have along with current values/number of pieces to determine if it's worth putting the sets together.  I go down the spreadsheet doing the highest price/brick sets first and keep a 'wanted' list in bricklink of missing pieces to order once I'm done putting the sets together.  I will often sell without instruction manuals, but not without minifigures.  Good luck!!

 

If you use BL to keep track of your inventory, you can even upload it (in .xml format) to Rebrickable, and it will provide a list of sets (regular, mocs, or both) you can build with your pieces. It's a very usueful feature I think.

[raynre]

Thanks for the pointers guys! A lot of variety of options. First things first, keep going with the sorting, which I'm actually finding kinda fun!

 

That BL .xml to Rebrickable sounds awesome. I've found a bunch of minifigs that don't go with the instructions I have so I assume there's random set pieces in my stash, so Rebrickable will be really helpful.

[Victorymike18]

Thanks for the pointers guys! A lot of variety of options. First things first, keep going with the sorting, which I'm actually finding kinda fun!

 

That BL .xml to Rebrickable sounds awesome. I've found a bunch of minifigs that don't go with the instructions I have so I assume there's random set pieces in my stash, so Rebrickable will be really helpful.

At least I'm not the only one here that enjoys the sorting process! To me it's like a treasure find, especially when you come across unique pieces to lookup and they clue you into the potential sets within. Also, getting to the bottom and finding the Minifigs accessories is fun, just not the dirt and grime part...