10188 - UCS: Death Star

[Locutus001]

Yeah to all of you who took this "because LEGO cares for us investors" too serious... sorry that you got it wrong ;-P

 

But what I write doesn't differ from what you say: LEGO wants max. profit.

YES! Max. profit is gained when cusomers are satisfied and diversity is there.

LEGO Star Wars doesn't necessarily need what you call a flagship.

A new big playset would be more profitable than a new version of an old set that is thrown on the market just a couple of months after the old one is gone.

 

So in my opinion maxing the profit and NOT bringing out a new DS just 5 minutes after the old one retires are going hand in hand.

[biking_tiger]

 

Most resellers help the brand and TLG. Through their actions they

1. flush excess inventory fast
2. create a healthy aftermarkt of used and new product which offers true credibility and value to the product
3. help collectors
4. enable the return from the "Dark Age"
5. offer insightful information about the quality and value of each product sold
6. create a vast and liquid market in all corners of the world
7. promote the brand strongly through their shops

Some resellers have bad habits. They

1. Squeeze customers out of the market and force prices up
2. Clean out product before 'normal' customers have time to react
3. Buy huge quantities, therefore distort a normal life cycle of a product
4. See lego as a money-makers, therefore lacking respect for the product's mission statement
5. Undermine the pricing policy of TLG on Exclusives, poduct lines: over / underpricing to the frustration of TLG and its customers
6. Overinvest, creating excess Supply in the future and excerbate the risk of a bubble and boom-bust for TLG

So all in all, if resellers follow a good code of conduct, there shouldn't be a problem. Banning the "bad elements" is only normal. 

And with time, TLG will control better this indirect supply chain too, therefore flushing out that "tricky" behavious. 

For me, the net balance of resellers in very positive for TLG. It's only a minority that bothers them I think. 

regards

​Well said. We can all benefit from the long term view (playing the game with patience and strategy aimed at both profit and survival), but too many resellers/investors see LEGO as a get-rich-quick proposition, hurting themselves.

[Val-E]

Availability date now pushed back to 22nd June.

[inversion]

Availability date now pushed back to 22nd June.

​As far as we know it's only the panic buying. No signal for anything.

[trekgate502]

Said the brigade of the noble 100 as they rode into the valley.

 

rofl

[exciter1]

Said the brigade of the noble 100 as they rode into the valley.

 

rofl

​I can't imagine how much lint is on your clothes from all the ROFL'ing.

[Ed Mack]

Don't forget Speedorz.  Once Chima's done, that's it for them!

In all seriousness, remakes are a concern.  But Lego in the past has always allowed several years to elapse between retirement of a SW exclusive and its remake.  I got to sell the last of my 10144's for just under $400 before 75059 hit the shelves.  A bigger, better OT DS released basically anytime next year would make me sad, but I do not think this is going to happen.  However, if it does, I will buy one of the new bigger, better DS's myself if and only if it is, in the immortal words of the Emperor, a "fully operational battlestation".  For the $600 - $800 such a set would cost, it had better be!

​The 10188 is one of the most popular and iconic LEGO sets of all time.  When it retires, it will be a wanted set and will appreciate very, very well...regardless of the next version.  Collectors will want the 10143 and 10188 to go along with the new model, which will be different enough to be a set onto its own.  Did the iconic 7191 lose value when the 10240 came out?  No, because it was an iconic set.  The 10144 Sandcrawler lost value because the new set was a UCS and a better version.  It will be hard to top a 4000 piece, $400 set in my opinion.   

[inversion]

Said the brigade of the noble 100 as they rode into the valley.

rofl

​If it is retiring or not, what you see now has nothing to do with it.

[aandk1997]

Just to throw fuel on the fire.......everyone is assuming it is a remake of the 10188.  Why couldn't it be a remake of the 10143?  They remade the ucs xwing, why couldn't they remake the ucs death star??  Maybe they retire the 10188, maybe they don't.........but they may release a new death star next year to coincide with the new movies in the form of the new death star in the ucs format?? 

[trekgate502]

​I can't imagine how much lint is on your clothes from all the ROFL'ing.

Trek is one happy guy!

someone Whois excited had a great post but it just got deleted!

[inversion]

Just to throw fuel on the fire.......everyone is assuming it is a remake of the 10188.  Why couldn't it be a remake of the 10143?  They remade the ucs xwing, why couldn't they remake the ucs death star??  Maybe they retire the 10188, maybe they don't.........but they may release a new death star next year to coincide with the new movies in the form of the new death star in the ucs format?? 

​10143 has nothing to do with 10188, they are for different audiences. Not exactly substitutes. If the current DS retires LEGO will have to produce a new flagship in the same category.

[biking_tiger]

Said the brigade of the noble 100 as they rode into the valley.

 

rofl

​What every happened to the valley of death and the 600?

Edited May 10, 2015 by biking_tiger

[trekgate502]

​What every happened to the valley of death and the 600?

Well budget cuts ...

actually foggy and and in a hurry I saw you increased it from 500 to correct 600 lol...

budget appropriations

[KShine]

​The 10188 is one of the most popular and iconic LEGO sets of all time.  When it retires, it will be a wanted set and will appreciate very, very well...regardless of the next version.  Collectors will want the 10143 and 10188 to go along with the new model, which will be different enough to be a set onto its own.  Did the iconic 7191 lose value when the 10240 came out?  No, because it was an iconic set.  The 10144 Sandcrawler lost value because the new set was a UCS and a better version.  It will be hard to top a 4000 piece, $400 set in my opinion.   

​While I completely agree with your opinion on the 10188 - I must point out (as I have mentioned before) that the new X-Wing absolutely did have a negative impact on the desire and value of the 7191.

[Ed Mack]

​While I completely agree with your opinion on the 10188 - I must point out (as I have mentioned before) that the new X-Wing absolutely did have a negative impact on the desire and value of the 7191.

​The 7191 has held its ground for nearly two years since the release of the 10240, remaining over $900.00 (US).  One can argue that the growth has been stunted.  My argument would be that the 1300 piece UCS 7191 has plateaued after 15 years.  These sets all have a ceiling and $900.00 looks like the ceiling for the 7191.

[KShine]

​The 7191 has held its ground for nearly two years since the release of the 10240, remaining over $900.00 (US).  One can argue that the growth has been stunted.  My argument would be that the 1300 piece UCS 7191 has plateaued after 15 years.  These sets all have a ceiling and $900.00 looks like the ceiling for the 7191.

​I sold the last new & sealed 7191 I had for just under $1,200 (actually 1,196.25) back in 2/13 (and that was at a discount I put on it quickly after hearing about the new one). Years ago, I sold many used ones for 400-500 - Even partials could get more money than complete ones do today.

But back to the Death Star - Nothing short of a 10188 2.0 release, or a 50% off sale is going to hurt this one.

[just2good]

I haven't been on here much due to a busy weekend, but I'll catch up on reading some of your posts.

 

So if this doesn't retire this year are you and just2good (if that really is him) going to say you were wrong with as much enthusiasm and gusto? Or will you just vanish from this thread like everyone else who made sure fire 100% take it to the bank predictions on the EOL of this set over the last 7 years?

​I'll own up to it here if my source is wrong. But, I mean, I don't even post here, so you won't see much of me around anyways. I'm not an investor, after all. I just wanted to share news with people that was posted on another format, and then someone posted it here and I heard it caused an uproar of sorts. I respect you guys, so I wanted to clear a few things up.

Edited May 10, 2015 by just2good

[biking_tiger]

Well budget cuts ...

actually foggy and and in a hurry I saw you increased it from 500 to correct 600 lol...

budget appropriations

​Yep, my memory of British history and Tennyson's poetry is a little fuzzy, too.

[TheOrcKing]

​Maybe a Death Star keychain?

​One would need a pretty big pocket to carry that around. Ha.

[TheOrcKing]

I haven't been on here much due to a busy weekend, but I'll catch up on reading some of your posts.

 

​I'll own up to it here if my source is wrong. But, I mean, I don't even post here, so you won't see much of me around anyways. I'm not an investor, after all. I just wanted to share news with people that was posted on another format, and then someone posted it here and I heard it caused an uproar of sorts. I respect you guys, so I wanted to clear a few things up.

​It's alright, you're cool. Only thing going AWOL around here is some people taking a rumor a little too far as though it were gospel instead of gossip.

 

[pickleboy]

​It's alright, you're cool. Only thing going AWOL around here is some people taking a rumor a little too far as though it were gospel instead of gossip.

 

​I actually heard it was being replaced with a UCS Spaceball One...

[TheOrcKing]

​I actually heard it was being replaced with a UCS Spaceball One...

​I'd "brake for nobody" on that.

[GhostDad]

​Maybe a Death Star keychain?

​The problem is that spherical key chains don't fit very well in actual pockets.  But I could imagine Lego releasing a 3-inch diameter DS Christmas ornament or something.  That would actually be pretty cool.  Maybe a Lego insider saw a blurry photo of one of those next to someone's MOC of a micro-scale SSD and thought 'Wow! A 4-foot diameter, fully-enclosed DS playset is right around the corner!'

[meowsmeowsmeows]

I haven't been on here much due to a busy weekend, but I'll catch up on reading some of your posts.

 

​I'll own up to it here if my source is wrong. But, I mean, I don't even post here, so you won't see much of me around anyways. I'm not an investor, after all. I just wanted to share news with people that was posted on another format, and then someone posted it here and I heard it caused an uproar of sorts. I respect you guys, so I wanted to clear a few things up.

​Thanks for posting your clarification of your inside information on this site and your information on new sets on Eurobricks.  I generally see your information about new sets second hand on brickset, but you have been reliable through your source in the past, so I don't doubt some kind of new Death Star is in the works for some time in 2016.

From the collector's standpoint, I'd be curious to see what Lego does that differentiates the set from 10188.  From the investor's standpoint and echoing Ed Mack's thoughts from above, I also think 10188 will do well no matter what new Death Star set comes about -- perhaps it will be a set focused only on Ep 4 or on the new Rogue One movie.

 

[dcdfan]

After a couple of weeks OOS, Toys R Us & FAO have stock again.