LOTR/Hobbit sets

[Matt C.]

Anyone a fan of these? The more i look at them, the more i think i'm going to be getting some. Some for investing, some for myself. These should pick in value later on, one would think right?

[Doofy McGee]

I've got to think that these will command a good price once they become harder to find and ultimately retire. The Lord of the Rings theme is a timeless classic. It was even before the movies came out. All three of the first movies in the trilogy are mentioned in most lists of the top movies of all time. The LEGO sets should appreciate well just based on the massive popularity of LOTR. There is already another movie in the making. Since the theme is so big already in terms of available sets, my advice would be to target the ones that have rare and/or awesome mini figures. Like the ones that are only available in one expensive set. People seem to love castles, so the Battle of Helm's Deep should be a winner, to name one.

[slobey]

LoTR/Hobbit is similar to Star Wars in that there are serious fans and collectors of all things relating to the movies. Where as Castle/Pirates etc are appealing to Lego fans. Hobbit/LoTR lego is appealing to a lot of people despite being Lego.

I can see these sets going up in value epecially the first wave as the people who buy the 2nd/3rd waves will be looking to aquire sets like Helms Deep etc.

[Doofy McGee]

I can see these sets going up in value epecially the first wave as the people who

buy the 2nd/3rd waves will be looking to aquire sets like Helms Deep etc.

Yep. Every day there are people either coming out of their dark ages or taking an interest in LEGO for the first time. There will be plenty of them who start collecting LOTR a year from now, and they will have missed out on the first wave. I would label LOTR as a very safe investment, and a theme not to be missed.

[jaisonline]

Anyone a fan of these? The more i look at them, the more i think i'm going to be getting some. Some for investing, some for myself. These should pick in value later on, one would think right?

I think the 79000 Riddles for the Ring set is going to be one of the more popular ones in 3+ years. When I see these on sale, I usually buy them 5 at a time (like MF's Swamp Creature). Should have a very nice ROI plus it doesn't take up much shelf space and is esy / small to ship.

It has nearly everything going for it, only thing lacking is being an exclusive.

Cheap way to get Gollum and Biblo.

Nice cave and minifigs.

Contains two RINGs.

Represents the most important part in the entire collection of books, Bilbo finds the ring.

[Doofy McGee]

I think the 79000 Riddles for the Ring set is going to be one of the more popular ones in 3+ years.

Why is that? I don't mean to sound like I am challenging your thought, just curious is all.

[jaisonline]

Why is that? I don't mean to sound like I am challenging your thought, just curious is all.

Cool. No, problem. Good question.

While small, the set still depicts one of the key scenes in all the books,

Cheap way to get Gollium, Bilbo, and the ring. The boat is just icing on the cake.

Despite it's smallish size, the cave is well designed and the hidden ring presentation is a nice touch.

Smaller sets usually have a shorter stock life compared to larger ones.

My price target is $30 by 2-3 years after retirement which isn't bad for a $9 set.

Despite my opinion (and gut feel), it all boils down to how long Lego makes this and how the last 2 Hobbit movies do.

[Veegs]

I can see Riddles fetching $30 in the 3 years, but after shipping & fees you need to sell a heck of a lot of sets to make some serious money. I'm not against this strategy, but it is what I think is referred to as 'grinding out profits'. Certainly not for everyone!

[Doofy McGee]

While small, the set still depicts one of the key scenes in all the books,

Cheap way to get Gollium, Bilbo, and the ring. The boat is just icing on the cake.

Despite it's smallish size, the cave is well designed and the hidden ring presentation is a nice touch.

Smaller sets usually have a shorter stock life compared to larger ones.

My price target is $30 by 2-3 years after retirement which isn't bad for a $9 set.

Despite my opinion (and gut feel), it all boils down to how long Lego makes this and how the last 2 Hobbit movies do.

Thank you. Great answer! I hadn't taken a good look at this set, so I didn't realize some of these cool things about it. The two rings will definitely be a nice touch later on. I am totally fine with selling a $10 for $30. Grinding out a profit might be more work, but I always try to keep the attitude that profit is profit.

The movies will do great. All 4 of them so far are in the IMDB.com top 250 best movies ever. I don't see that changing. I like your instincts for this set, and I am inclined to agree with you.

[IrishGuy66]

I love the movies and the sets look awesome, but unfortunately I've already started buying StarWars And Dc Superheroes sets, and I think I'll stick with them for at least a year to build up a pretty solid collection. Still I'm very interested in this theme, and will probably chose it and another theme next year to collect. Or I might just stick with my current direction. Any advice will be appreciated.

[jaisonline]

Thank you. Great answer! I hadn't taken a good look at this set, so I didn't realize some of these cool things about it. The two rings will definitely be a nice touch later on. I am totally fine with selling a $10 for $30. Grinding out a profit might be more work, but I always try to keep the attitude that profit is profit.

The movies will do great. All 4 of them so far are in the IMDB.com top 250 best movies ever. I don't see that changing. I like your instincts for this set, and I am inclined to agree with you.

Thanks Arock.

Regarding other concerns some might have...

When thinking about possible profits for a set like this (including the work that goes along with it), I think about the 2005's 7251 Darth Vader Transformation that retailed for $7.

While this set might not be as successful, it is similar in size. Shipping will be far easier than mailing larger sets (hence, boxes and other materials should be cheaper). I expect the buyer to pay for shipping or I'll include that in my auction price). I'm also estimating being able to pack multiple sets of these in the same time it takes to pack and mail a larger set such as Helms or Imperial Shuttle.

I'll list the sets maybe 10 at a time so avoid flooding eBay every month.

If I sell 100 sets for $25 each after fees, I'll be very happy w/ $1,600 profit when my cost was $900. It is tough to do that in other non-Lego investment areas. Of course, I need this set to be a home run

[Doofy McGee]

Again I have to agree with you. There may be good profits in large sets, but they are just such a pain to find boxes for, pack, and then ship. Maybe I am small time, but I love a good $15-$20 profit if it was very liitle work to come by. I just might advise against 100 of any set, cheap or otherwise. That is a lot of duplicates! If for some reason, the value drops, you will have a lot of un-valuable sets to try to move.

[Doofy McGee]

I love the movies and the sets look awesome, but unfortunately I've already started buying StarWars And Dc Superheroes sets, and I think I'll stick with them for at least a year to build up a pretty solid collection. Still I'm very interested in this theme, and will probably chose it and another theme next year to collect. Or I might just stick with my current direction. Any advice will be appreciated.

I also love the Super Heroes themes and collect them first and foremost. I do buy Star Wars here and there, but it is just so massive. It's hard to keep up with. But as anyone will tell you, diversity is a good thing to have when making investments. Super Heroes and Star Wars will do well, but so will LOTR. Don't be afraid to grab some.

[IrishGuy66]

Thanks for the input, I am starting to really consider LOTR but my brother bought the Attack of the Wargs set for $50 bucks and the brickfolio assessment is a lot less. He bought it at Walmart and Lego sells it for 50 as well, so I'll probably stay clear of hobbit sets.

[Doofy McGee]

Thanks for the input, I am starting to really consider LOTR but my brother bought the Attack of the Wargs set for $50 bucks and the brickfolio assessment is a lot less. He bought it at Walmart and Lego sells it for 50 as well, so I'll probably stay clear of hobbit sets.

The Brickfolio values are so low because these sets are brand new and widely available, so no one needs to pay secondary market prices on them yet. You definitely don't want to buy now because your money will be tied up longer while you are waiting for these to retire. After about 8 months when they start to get a little more scarce, start watching for deals and start buying. Just don't wait too long! :)

[shawn_low]

If I sell 100 sets for $25 each after fees, I'll be very happy w/ $1,600 profit when my cost was $900. It is tough to do that in other non-Lego investment areas. Of course, I need this set to be a home run

It comes down to what your time is worth. How much time will you spend preparing the ebay listing, actually listing, packing the set and getting it shipped off or going down the the post office? Rinse and repeat 100 times. Could get tiresome real quick. :-)

[Grolim]

The LOTR and Hobbit lines are interesting ones for me. Firstly, I'm collecting all the LOTR sets and specifically the minifigs. I have 2 Hobbit sets and am debating whether to pick up just the minifigs from the rest. I just don't think the sets from Hobbit have been that great apart from Unexpected Gathering 79003. As others have said, the LOTR/Hobbit appeals to broader collectors than just Lego fans, with people collecting stuff from this franchise, much like Star Wars. However, I think the appeal for kids is a lot less (SW has the Clone Wars series), so the market is mainly older fans so potentially smaller. This is why I'm a little mixed on some of the sets and am unsure whether they will be hugely profitable as investments. Sets that have great playability (eg Goblin King, Orc Forge, Shelob) don't seem as targeted to the potential audience as sets that have great display potential (eg Helms Deep, Unexpected Gathering). Although the Hobbit is a little more younger targeted and could over the course of the next few years pull those younger fans into more of the LOTR stuff. That said it seems like the production runs COULD be a bit shorter on the LOTR/Hobbit lines as I'm already seeing less availability on them in stores now. Lower supply will help investment. One other big thing in its favor is the minifigs, they are awesome, and may sustain a lot of the demand for sets. Personally, I'm investing in Helms Deep, Urak-hai Army, and Unexpected Gathering. The others might not necessarily be losers, but relatively speaking I think there are safer bets around.

[Blackjack]

Those Elf Guard polybags look like something I'm going to stock up on. They are a Toys R Us exclusive at only $5, and sell for $10 on this site. This is really great investment as the value go up at least 100%.

[IrishGuy66]

Those Elf Guard polybags look like something I'm going to stock up on. They are a Toys R Us exclusive at only $5, and sell for $10 on this site. This is really great investment as the value go up at least 100%.

I just bought one awhile ago, and after watching my money double like that I'm going back for three more first thing tomorrow.

[emazers]

The Lord of the Rings Battle Helm's Deep will be discontinued this Spring, so if you don't have any yet you should stock up, as these will be big bucks in a few years.

[glucapg]

79000...790001....79002...79003....79004...79010...what will be the best?

[redeemed763]

79003, theres not even a close second

[Goblin scribe]

Lotr is an amazing theme and glad to have it in my collection,however cheaper sets are hard to come by now such as shelob attacks and uruk-hai army so just wondering where those are usually in stock.

[redeemed763]

Online? I don't shop retail unless I am scouring for mark downs.

[whiteboy02]

I'm a big fan of these and there great for investing especially the Barrel Escape and the Orc Forge.