79003 - An Unexpected Gathering

[jerryherb]

More like $330 + shipping on eBay.  So better than a double.  And about 25% less volume (easier to store) than a modular like FB.  Unexpected Gathering, however, does not excite me.  It's a midsize set in a lousy theme that had a longer than normal retail life.

not after fees and sales tax tacked onto the original purchase at msrp. sales are down and the price has been pretty much stagnant for the last 8 months.

http://www.brickpicker.com/bpms/set.cfm?set=10217-1

Edited June 17, 2015 by jerryherb

[redcell]

It all depends on your buy-in price.  UG is looking good for me right now...price has risen steadily over the past 6 months and is now sitting at 3x my average buy-in.

[zskid00]

It all depends on your buy-in price.  UG is looking good for me right now...price has risen steadily over the past 6 months and is now sitting at 3x my average buy-in.

Absolutely.  Returns vary greatly due to buy-in prices.  UG was discounted regularly during it's life cycle and there were great opportunities to get it cheap which makes the current $100 price look really good with room to grow.

[TheDarkness]

Given how Hogwarts Castle that was not an exclusive, had lower MSRP, and a 4th remake could easily outperform DA, I'd say the criticisms had their merit

Not really. Just impatient investors. 
If people want to throw all their cash on one set more power to them. You have diversity to spread the risk... but people still whinge regardless. 

[Darth_Raichu]

Not really. Just impatient investors. If people want to throw all their cash on one set more power to them. You have diversity to spread the risk... but people still whinge regardless. 

Not talking about buying just 1 set.  Even when you buy both HC and DA, DA is worse performer between the 2, thus merit the criticisms

[BrickLegacy]

My average buy-in was $35. I cashed out by trading a stack to a fellow Brickpicker. We both will make double our money when it's all said and done. Win-win all the way around. I love those type of deals.

[TheDarkness]

Not talking about buying just 1 set.  Even when you buy both HC and DA, DA is worse performer between the 2, thus merit the criticisms

No but you aren't always going to pick the winner every time, that is my point. I have multiples and am very happy with their returns. I don't regret not having castles at all. 
I think people talk way too much nonsense and are way too critical, expecting the next big buck in a flash. 

[iahawks550]

Certain buying practices make EVERY set a winner. Some just more than others.

[Ed Mack]

Absolutely.  Returns vary greatly due to buy-in prices.  UG was discounted regularly during it's life cycle and there were great opportunities to get it cheap which makes the current $100 price look really good with room to grow.

Yes. This makes all the difference in the world. Great set that will make some nice gains given some time. But as we know, if a set doesn't triple in value 3 months after EOL, it's a real terd.

[Darth_Raichu]

No but you aren't always going to pick the winner every time, that is my point. I have multiples and am very happy with their returns. I don't regret not having castles at all. 
I think people talk way too much nonsense and are way too critical, expecting the next big buck in a flash. 

I am free to evaluate and criticize any set, whether I put money into it or not.   All I said was the criticisms on DA had their merits.  And it was not about regret either, it was about putting objective evaluation on a couple of sets that were retired 2.5 years ago.  

[mudcatsfan]

Yes. This makes all the difference in the world. Great set that will make some nice gains given some time. But as we know, if a set doesn't triple in value 3 months after EOL, it's a real terd.

If sets aren't immediately flippable while still on store shelves, and in production they're losers. 

Also it would be better if people just came to my house rather than making me ship them. 

Also, it would be even better if i didn't have to buy the sets in the first place, maybe just have people buy the sets themselves and send me the profit.

Ok, i think that's the prefered business plan. Now to sit back and watch the profit rolllllllllllll in.

My brickfolio CAGR #'s are gonna be SICK

Edited June 18, 2015 by mudcatsfan

[Veegs]

If sets aren't immediately flippable while still on store shelves, and in production they're losers. 

Also it would be better if people just came to my house rather than making me ship them. 

Also, it would be even better if i didn't have to buy the sets in the first place, maybe just have people buy the sets themselves and send me the profit.

Ok, i think that's the prefered business plan. Now to sit back and watch the profit rolllllllllllll in.

My brickfolio CAGR #'s are gonna be SICK

This should be fleshed out and made into a blog post!

[El Guapo]

If sets aren't immediately flippable while still on store shelves, and in production they're losers. 

Also it would be better if people just came to my house rather than making me ship them.

Also, it would be even better if i didn't have to buy the sets in the first place, maybe just have people buy the sets themselves and send me the profit.

Ok, i think that's the prefered business plan. Now to sit back and watch the profit rolllllllllllll in.

My brickfolio CAGR #'s are gonna be SICK

I don't like this.  No mention of hotcakes or TRU parking lot means your new strategy has some serious flaws.

 

Back on topic:  I think the best thing that UG has going for it is that it is a really nice set.  Great build and great colors with a nice assortment of minifigures and some great detail.  In the end I think that is what will help this set rise and end up being a very solid investment.

[GhostDad]

If sets aren't immediately flippable while still on store shelves, and in production they're losers. 

Also it would be better if people just came to my house rather than making me ship them. 

Also, it would be even better if i didn't have to buy the sets in the first place, maybe just have people buy the sets themselves and send me the profit.

Ok, i think that's the prefered business plan. Now to sit back and watch the profit rolllllllllllll in.

My brickfolio CAGR #'s are gonna be SICK

Unless you designed the set yourself, there's no reason to be offended when someone says it hasn't had the best returns.  And the OP was asking about buying this set now at $89, not $35, or for $20 cash in a TRU parking lot.  There are surely better current deals than $89 for Unexpected Gathering.  It's also entirely accurate to compare Hobbit sets unfavorably with Harry Potter, SW, or heck even Friends.

[TheDarkness]

I am free to evaluate and criticize any set, whether I put money into it or not.   All I said was the criticisms on DA had their merits.  And it was not about regret either, it was about putting objective evaluation on a couple of sets that were retired 2.5 years ago.  

To each their own. Ed hit the nail on the head. 

[TheOrcKing]

An Unexpected Blizzard by eyescream54

[JRandall]

Just an awesome modification..

[froncz]

I think this is the gem of LOTR/Hobbit sets. I am a massive LOTR fan, but not that interested in most of the sets tbh (too many battle/movie scenes recreations which I'm not huge on) - apart from ToO this was the one that immediately caught my eye. While ToO is out of my price range at current prices, i just had to get 79003 for my collection. In Europe it is currently priced at 150% RP at the lowest, going up to as much as 2xRPP at some sellers. I managed to get one for +/- 100 EU which is close to RP in my currency and I couldn't be happier about it. It's stunningly pretty, has great minifigs, iconic building and what an awesome build! I saw that in US/Canada you still can get those at close to RP. Unless these were massively hoarded, I would expect a really nice profits of those in say one year if I were an investor. Easilly the best LOTR set in my opinion.

[templesweeper]

18 minutes ago, froncz said:

I think this is the gem of LOTR/Hobbit sets. I am a massive LOTR fan, but not that interested in most of the sets tbh (too many battle/movie scenes recreations which I'm not huge on) - apart from ToO this was the one that immediately caught my eye. While ToO is out of my price range at current prices, i just had to get 79003 for my collection. In Europe it is currently priced at 150% RP at the lowest, going up to as much as 2xRPP at some sellers. I managed to get one for +/- 100 EU which is close to RP in my currency and I couldn't be happier about it. It's stunningly pretty, has great minifigs, iconic building and what an awesome build! I saw that in US/Canada you still can get those at close to RP. Unless these were massively hoarded, I would expect a really nice profits of those in say one year if I were an investor. Easilly the best LOTR set in my opinion.

Yeah, per dollar spent, this is the best one.  I got one for my own collection and I've been holding on to a boxed set for a little while now that I got for $40 a while back.  It's going for about $100 right now in the U.S.  Not bad, but nothing spectacular.  I do love the set, though.  It was one of my favorite builds ever.  They crammed a lot of creativity into that set. 

[dcdfan]

I think this is the gem of LOTR/Hobbit sets. I am a massive LOTR fan, but not that interested in most of the sets tbh (too many battle/movie scenes recreations which I'm not huge on) - apart from ToO this was the one that immediately caught my eye. While ToO is out of my price range at current prices, i just had to get 79003 for my collection. In Europe it is currently priced at 150% RP at the lowest, going up to as much as 2xRPP at some sellers. I managed to get one for +/- 100 EU which is close to RP in my currency and I couldn't be happier about it. It's stunningly pretty, has great minifigs, iconic building and what an awesome build! I saw that in US/Canada you still can get those at close to RP. Unless these were massively hoarded, I would expect a really nice profits of those in say one year if I were an investor. Easilly the best LOTR set in my opinion.

Where is this close to RRP in the US?

[froncz]

I saw some new sealed sets from US/Canada on bricklink close to RPP in my currency which is around 90-100 USD. The shipping would kill me though. So yeah, that's higher than US retail - as usual LEGO RP is higher in Europe. Sorry for the confusion

[dcdfan]

I saw some new sealed sets from US/Canada on bricklink close to RPP in my currency which is around 90-100 USD. The shipping would kill me though. So yeah, that's higher than US retail - as usual LEGO RP is higher in Europe. Sorry for the confusion

Ah. RRP here was $69.99

[froncz]

Yeah, the cheapest one sits at Bricklink at 93 USD atm. By the way  - still hunting that ToO. But the EU prices are killing me as well

Edited January 5, 2016 by froncz

[Sozial]

10 hours ago, froncz said:

I think this is the gem of LOTR/Hobbit sets. I am a massive LOTR fan, but not that interested in most of the sets tbh (too many battle/movie scenes recreations which I'm not huge on) - apart from ToO this was the one that immediately caught my eye. While ToO is out of my price range at current prices, i just had to get 79003 for my collection. In Europe it is currently priced at 150% RP at the lowest, going up to as much as 2xRPP at some sellers. I managed to get one for +/- 100 EU which is close to RP in my currency and I couldn't be happier about it. It's stunningly pretty, has great minifigs, iconic building and what an awesome build! I saw that in US/Canada you still can get those at close to RP. Unless these were massively hoarded, I would expect a really nice profits of those in say one year if I were an investor. Easilly the best LOTR set in my opinion.

Beside 9471, 79003 seems to be a good performer yes. I will hold mine until we reach 230-250€.

[thebluewizard]

On 1/6/2016 at 2:54 AM, Sozial said:

Beside 9471, 79003 seems to be a good performer yes. I will hold mine until we reach 230-250€.

I wonder if that will happen in 2017.