Super Heroes 2012

[Lego Collector 777]

So far I have the following Lego sets for investment purposes (I am new to the Lego investment thing).

 

6865 Captain America avenging cycle

 

6866 Wolverine chopper show down

 

6867 Loki cosmic cube escape

 

6868 Hulk helicarrier breakout

 

6869 Quinjet aerial battle 

 

6862 Superman vs Power Armor Lex 

 

6873 Doc Ock Ambush

 

I agree that Captain America set is doing decent in value right now , Wolverine chopper showdown is doing pretty good in value and Loki cube escape okay I guess (based on what ebay prices they are going for).

 

  Here are some things to consider or are happening currently .

 

1. There are a ton of Lego superhero mini fig fake knock offs being sold everywhere for very cheap.

 

2. Lots of sellers on Ebay can sell superheroes sets for less than retail by a decent percentage off all the time it seems like (the more current ones) nowadays.

 

3. There are a lot more sellers for the Lego superheroes set line selling on ebay.

 

4. There are more sets nowadays that have more captain America , hulk , spider-man and iron man mini figs remade into other sets (age of ultron sets) including the quinjet just got remade into a newer color.

 

5.  The Quinjet , hulk helicarrier , doc ock ambush , superman are still almost sold just at the actual retail value right now on ebay (little disappointing to me).

 

 

With all this mentioned above is there any hope of any of these sets going for higher value then there current value?

 

Should I hold on to these sets for a few years longer? I can probably wait longer.

 

I was kinda hoping these sets would go as high as the original batman Lego sets in terms of value or maybe even double or

 

triple than actual value would have been good.

 

Any thoughts on this?

[justapilgrim]

Sell them all now for what you can and buy your exclusive of choice

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Brickpicker mobile app

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

have patience box them up and put in closet for a couple years

[BrickU]

I will say one thing...... I would say Feb is one of the worst months of the Year to sell anything no less Lego.  Its really hard to gauge what a set is worth in February.  Perhaps sell a few of each roll it into a Bigger Set?

[Veegs]

Without knowing your buy in price it is hard to say.

 

There was a nice window for the Hellicarrier breakout set before the new Hulk based set came out - you probably could have sold easily then (especially if you purchased at 20% off or more) but I think the short term window has closed, unfortunately.

 

Remakes and/or less minifig exclusivity are hurting the value of some of your sets, and I don't see them turning it around in the short term. I would hold at least until Christmas this year and then maybe try to sell some.

[Lego Collector 777]

Without knowing your buy in price it is hard to say.

 

There was a nice window for the Hellicarrier breakout set before the new Hulk based set came out - you probably could have sold easily then (especially if you purchased at 20% off or more) but I think the short term window has closed, unfortunately.

 

Remakes and/or less minifig exclusivity are hurting the value of some of your sets, and I don't see them turning it around in the short term. I would hold at least until Christmas this year and then maybe try to sell some.

 

I had paid about U.S retail prices on most of my sets. It probably was not the best idea to do so but I did not have much choice on price back in the day.  

 

 plus I am still new to Lego investing and where I live in Canada it is pretty hard for me to find decent discounts on Lego sets.  

[Darth_Raichu]

If you think 6866 is only doing pretty good, you'd better be prepared for disappointment down the road  It is doing phenomenal considering MSRP and when it was actually retired.

 

I would check the prices for the rest and sell (I know Canada is different than US) since the upcoming remakes are going to kill the values of those sets

Edited February 20, 2015 by Darth_Raichu

[justapilgrim]

So far I have the following Lego sets for investment purposes (I am new to the Lego investment thing).

6865 Captain America avenging cycle

6866 Wolverine chopper show down

6867 Loki cosmic cube escape

6868 Hulk helicarrier breakout

6869 Quinjet aerial battle

6862 Superman vs Power Armor Lex

6873 Doc Ock Ambush

I wasn't joking

Cap isn't all that rare, kinda like spidey

Chopper showdown may get another bump because other xmen set is retiring, but Deadpool movie in the works so we will get more Deadpool at some point

Plenty of hulk sets including new ones

New quinjet coming

Power lex one of most stockpiled sets

Doc ock isn't all.that rare or in demand.

Sell sell sell, or stick in closet and forget about them

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Brickpicker mobile app

[exciter1]

I had no trouble moving Quinjet/Hulk Helicarrier combos for $160.  You might also try pairing Wolverine Chopper with Loki's Escape for $100 to get them off your hands.  That's some nice profit there.

 

Too early to say on Power Armor Lex and Arctic Batman.

 

I sold Avenging Cycle, Helicarrier, and by Wolverine's during the frenzy around the holidays last year, so I really don't have any left in stock.

 

Only had more Hulk Helicarriers to pair with Quinjets, because I ran across a Wal-Mart clearance stash shortly after Christmas this year.

[jbacunn]

I don't look at Super Hero sets as great investments right now. They remake the minifigs continuously and there are only so many characters for them to use. A minor change to the minifig costume will only entice the hardcore collectors to buy. Take a look at how many Batman minifigs there are. I think it's around 15-20 including Batman 1. I am only a buyer of these sets at 40% off or more. I don't put them in the same class as Chima and Ninjago but it's approaching that territory. With the Avengers movie coming out you may just want to cut your losses and sell or wait until Christmas.

[isocleas]

There's no other theme thats driven by the mini-figures as much as Super Heroes. So remakes eliminating one-ofs or exclusivity of figures combined with China fakes makes it tougher to predict long-term winners. Its still a great theme for xmas sales and QFLL situations, and some of the sets that don't get remade will still appreciate nicely. Atleast my shelf full of batcaves and funhouses hopes so. 

[belljohn]

I had paid about U.S retail prices on most of my sets. It probably was not the best idea to do so but I did not have much choice on price back in the day.  

 

 plus I am still new to Lego investing and where I live in Canada it is pretty hard for me to find decent discounts on Lego sets.

 

I think your time frame is way too short.  What kind of profits are you expecting?  You can make decent profit on your first 3 right now when you consider making $10-20 after fees on a $20 set good.  When you are just starting out, I wouldn't worry about making a killing with your first sets.  Buy stuff and sell some stuff.  Learn how every aspect of this business works from listing, packing, shipping, and dealing with returns.  None of the sets you have listed will lose you money.  They might cost you some time as you learn.  

 

I have started selling avery one except PowerArmor for decent profits on eBay and Amazon.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

I think the heat has gone out of 6865 CAAC, it peaked at about

[zskid00]

 

 

I was kinda hoping these sets would go as high as the original batman Lego sets in terms of value or maybe even double or

 

triple than actual value would have been good.

 

 

This was an unrealistic expectation for these sets.  The first Batman theme was short lived and ended abruptly.  With no other superhero sets on the horizon at that time the prices went through the roof, but this time around it's a longer line filled with remakes of the minifigures.  Some sets are doing just fine, but others will struggle so you have to be selective.  They won't all be winners.

 

 

Chopper showdown may get another bump because other xmen set is retiring
 

 

Say what!?!  The X-men set isn't even a year old.  It just came out last June.

Edited February 20, 2015 by zskid00

[exciter1]

Say what!?!  The X-men set isn't even a year old.  It just came out last June.

 

 

The X-Men set will probably be around until at least Spring 2016.  We've seen retailers clear stuff out like this before and they either carried them again, or not.  Daily Bugle Showdown at Wal-Mart and Target last year is a good example.

[Achilles]

This may be more wordy advice than you wanted, but here's my analysis: 

 

A: Don't pay MSRP. As an investor, unless a set is a surefire bonafide winner, do not pay retail for any non exclusive. You're going to be competing with people who got these sets for 25-50% off. Some exceptions happen when say, a set is gone most everywhere else, already selling for well above MSRP, and you happen to stumble on one. But personally, if you're going to spend MSRP, get an exclusive. There's no reason not to. Less people get/hoard them, less are made, and the value is assured to go up. 

 

Among your sets, I bought Captain Americas at retail ($15) when they were basically disappeared, and sold them that season for 40-$45. The sets one is able to perform this with is very rare. Friends Stables/Vet, Hulk Hellicarrier are other recent examples where lingering sets were profitible while still being found on some shelves. But they are the minority. This usually happens of course in Nov/Dec during Holiday sales season, or right after the holidays when rare sets might still linger.

 

B: Think longer term. Many of these sets disappeared/retired late 2013. I believe that in general, for proper gains to realized, one must wait at least TWO YEARS (or two Holiday seasons at worst) to really gauge the popularity of these sets. As more and more people get involved in LEGO investing, I think this time frame is ONLY GOING TO GET LONGER. You're competing with people who are happy to make very very small profits, so you have to wait for the supply to dry up before the value increases. So for these sets, I think you'd be looking at this coming holiday season to really gauge. However, as other members have mentioned, because of the refreshes and other factors, it could behoove you to move these Captain Americas, Wolverines, Hulks and Lokis (who've already experienced growth, and future growth could be limited) - and reinvest. The Quinjets, Power Armors, and Doc Ock have not really experienced their growth yet, so I think those I would hold on to unless you are feeling itchy about them. 

 

I am going to use a more extreme recent example: Black Pearl 4184, retired Sep 2012. By Christmas was around $140, which could still be very profitible for those who got it on sale, but by Christmas 2013, it was 220ish, and this Christmas up to $350ish. That of course is a very popular and extreme example.

Let's look at a more random set: LEGO 3661, City Bank Transfer, which was a Target Exclusve MSRP $49.99. It retired in Nov 2012, it was selling for about $65 by Christmas of 2013 which is unimpressive, but was close to  $90 by this past Christmas, and now the cheapest on Amazon is $135 and there are only about a dozen people selling the set currently. 

 

C: LEGO Strategy: I am not sure if this is a policy aimed at resellers/counterfeiters, but as others have mentioned, the sets are disappearing and replacement minifigures are coming right out. Captain America Vs. Hydra, Hulk Lab Smash, etc. 

[Veegs]

I had paid about U.S retail prices on most of my sets. It probably was not the best idea to do so but I did not have much choice on price back in the day.  

 

 plus I am still new to Lego investing and where I live in Canada it is pretty hard for me to find decent discounts on Lego sets.

 

I am also in Canada and rarely pay retail (unless the set is already EOL and it has already taken off). If you follow some of the threads on this site and you pick your spots you should almost always be buying in below retail - especially on $20-$50 type sets.

 

The Daily Bugle is a nice pick right now - sold out at S&**** and, while many Spiderman sets will get remade, I'm wagering we don't see another Bugle playset for some time (and if rumors start, I'd probably have a window to move them before the refresh). Bat vs Tumbler is also good - unlikely we'll ever get more 'Dark Knight' movie branded sets.

[exciter1]

Let's look at a more random set: LEGO 3661, City Bank Transfer, which was a Target Exclusve MSRP $49.99. It retired in Nov 2012, it was selling for about $65 by Christmas of 2013 which is unimpressive, but was close to  $90 by this past Christmas, and now the cheapest on Amazon is $135 and there are only about a dozen people selling the set currently. 

 

Thanks, I have one Bank Transfer set left and hadn't seen the prices have climbed recently.

[supergtp1]

This may be more wordy advice than you wanted, but here's my analysis:

A: Don't pay MSRP. As an investor, unless a set is a surefire bonafide winner, do not pay retail for any non exclusive. You're going to be competing with people who got these sets for 25-50% off. Some exceptions happen when say, a set is gone most everywhere else, already selling for well above MSRP, and you happen to stumble on one. But personally, if you're going to spend MSRP, get an exclusive. There's no reason not to. Less people get/hoard them, less are made, and the value is assured to go up.

Among your sets, I bought Captain Americas at retail ($15) when they were basically disappeared, and sold them that season for 40-$45. The sets one is able to perform this with is very rare. Friends Stables/Vet, Hulk Hellicarrier are other recent examples where lingering sets were profitible while still being found on some shelves. But they are the minority. This usually happens of course in Nov/Dec during Holiday sales season, or right after the holidays when rare sets might still linger.

B: Think longer term. Many of these sets disappeared/retired late 2013. I believe that in general, for proper gains to realized, one must wait at least TWO YEARS (or two Holiday seasons at worst) to really gauge the popularity of these sets. As more and more people get involved in LEGO investing, I think this time frame is ONLY GOING TO GET LONGER. You're competing with people who are happy to make very very small profits, so you have to wait for the supply to dry up before the value increases. So for these sets, I think you'd be looking at this coming holiday season to really gauge. However, as other members have mentioned, because of the refreshes and other factors, it could behoove you to move these Captain Americas, Wolverines, Hulks and Lokis (who've already experienced growth, and future growth could be limited) - and reinvest. The Quinjets, Power Armors, and Doc Ock have not really experienced their growth yet, so I think those I would hold on to unless you are feeling itchy about them.

I am going to use a more extreme recent example: Black Pearl 4184, retired Sep 2012. By Christmas was around $140, which could still be very profitible for those who got it on sale, but by Christmas 2013, it was 220ish, and this Christmas up to $350ish. That of course is a very popular and extreme example.

Let's look at a more random set: LEGO 3661, City Bank Transfer, which was a Target Exclusve MSRP $49.99. It retired in Nov 2012, it was selling for about $65 by Christmas of 2013 which is unimpressive, but was close to $90 by this past Christmas, and now the cheapest on Amazon is $135 and there are only about a dozen people selling the set currently.

C: LEGO Strategy: I am not sure if this is a policy aimed at resellers/counterfeiters, but as others have mentioned, the sets are disappearing and replacement minifigures are coming right out. Captain America Vs. Hydra, Hulk Lab Smash, etc.

personnaly I wouldn't hold the quinjet either with the new one coming out (just going to make wait time even longer) IMHO