Duplo advice needed

[blue leader]

I have never sold duplo sets before and need some input. My local WM has 10525 Big Farm for $40, and 10507 First Train for $30. There is a ton of each and it doesn't look like any have moved since going on clearance a week ago. I'm guessing they'll go down more. At what price are these a buy? Does duplo appreciate much? Certain themes more than others? Thanks for any input on this.

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[Ciglione]

I have been quite successful with Duplo. Just you have to be more selective on which sets to buy than with normal lego and buy them cheap (but that is a general rule). 

[stephen_rockefeller]

My advice is to stay away from it......

[jbacunn]

I did well with Big Zoo's that I bought last year when they went on clearance at LEGO Shop at Home at 50% off. I doubled my money by selling all during the Christmas season. You can go back and look in the forums for "Big Zoo Flooding the Market". There was much debate at the time on whether this was a good purchase. I had 6 and sold all of them in about a 2 week time period. They sold very easily. I would stay away from the smaller sets but big sets that are close to retirement and 40% off or more I think are good short term investments.

Edited January 5, 2015 by jbacunn

[blue leader]

Thanks for the input guys. Kind of sounds like what my gut was telling me ---> MAYBE, if the big sets drop in price even more.

[ISO8T0]

My best and quickest sales for the holiday were all Duplo sets. Totally surprised me.

I purchased pretty much all of them at a large discount of 50%+. Most from Target with a few at Kmart. These were small to medium sets. But like jbacunn said it's best to acquire these at least 50% off.

If they are very popular themes then 40% can also be a safe purchase. Small profits from these sets can pay for things like future packing materials, selling fees etc.

It's all part of the big machine.

[TheOrcKing]

[Achilles]

As others have already said, DUPLO can do well but you have to factor in a few things:

 

1. The boxes are much larger than comparitively priced LEGO sets. This can result in larger shipping costs and requiring more storage space.

2. "Generic" DUPLOs fare far less well than some "Generic" LEGO pieces, so be extra wary of buying the Box O Duplos. For example, the LEGO Creative Tower is selling for 101.35 right now on Amazon, and the DUPLO tower just 55. Both could be had at the same price, of course. Now if you spent $30 on each of those, you'd still be making some money on the DUPLO tower, just far less than the LEGO one. Similarly, people are not likely to buy a themed DUPLO set for specific/rare pieces for use elsewhere.

3. Margins are definitely lower. Where as one can usually take a gamble at 20-30% off of a LEGO set, definitely look at 50% or more for DUPLO purchase - One exception, I have been purchasing the DUPLO Disney Princess sets at 20-30% off as I have found them, and some of the returns have been quite good.

4. Personally, I'd avoid the PLANES theme like the plague.

5. DUPLO sets seem to have a lower ceiling in general. While lunatic Star Wars fans will pay $700 for a Star Destroyer, in general it seems even the best and most expensive DUPLO sets top out in the $150-$200 range. And those are rare. Very few go higher than that.

6. DUPLO seem to have a longer product cycle in general, as they seem to require less updating. 2-3 years is pretty standard as opposed to the 1-2 years for most of the LEGO sets, which means if you get in too early you may have to wait a bit.

 

In your example, Big Farm and Train at 30% are probably fine investments in that you will profit from them, though there's no telling when those sets actually will retire, and that money could better be spent now on other sets that are already disappearing - Most Walmarts are also clearancing Starhoppers, Malibu Mansions, Fire Temples, etc etc which may result in faster returns with smaller storage commitment. 

 

I personally think the Super Hero DUPLO theme will do quite well in the long run, and am definitely eyeing them. Most Target/Walmart are clearing out the Superman set now. 

 

So there are plusses and minuses, depending on your strategy, it could be worth fitting in. 

[blue leader]

Wonderful post. Thank you.

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