10188 - UCS: Death Star

[Neosphinx]

Johnwray and ciglione are both right. Battle packs are sold for the minifigs and people can build their Lego armies or what have you. A kid asks his parents for the death star battle pack acne he is happy as first but the battle pack just isn't cool enough for him and he now wants the death. Then the nagging begins.

Can also be interpreted as sign of EOL. A good  commerical push of the DEATH STAR by pumping out a cheap DEATH STAR set to finish the stock for a reasonable price instead of discounting it? Can't have DEATH STAR soldiers without a nice big DEATH STAR.Personally, I don't look forward when my daughter has the age to communicate :-|

[biniou]

I think that when the DS will be EOL, it will be followed 1 or 2 years later with a DS II.

Somewhat what lego did with the 10188 DS following the 10143 DS II.

 

If it's as great as the 10143 (let's imagine nearly the same, but with movable panels and playability underneath) this will not help the 10188 IMHO.

[Guest]

 

A lot of sellers won't ship to Spain, but I will.

 

The postal service in Spain is very reliable. They deliver most packages in a couple of days.

They have tracking on the Website which is updated.

[Mos_Eisley]

Are the people saying you have to have the Death Star available for the battle pack to sell the same people who insisted that you can't have the Rancor Pit for sale without Jabba's Palace being available at the same time?

[trekgate502]

Are the people saying you have to have the Death Star available for the battle pack to sell the same people who insisted that you can't have the Rancor Pit for sale without Jabba's Palace being available at the same time?

 

That's a good one.  Absolutely not.  Its a bonus to have it and offer it as a freebie, while raising the EOL Death Star price to $1,500 each and throw in 2 battle packs.

[johnwray]

Whoa, that IS a good idea. I might have to stock up on some battle packs.

[GhostDad]

Are the people saying you have to have the Death Star available for the battle pack to sell the same people who insisted that you can't have the Rancor Pit for sale without Jabba's Palace being available at the same time?

That's an excellent counterexample.  Wish I'd thought of it.  For that matter, how can Lego retire the SSD when they're still making 75003 (A-Wing) to smash into its bridge?  I think this means 10221 is coming back later this year.

[Cashmoney-0]

I think the DS battle pack quill sell better on its own then selling it with the actual DS. I remember selling on eBay a gamboy, 2 player connector cord, games, and a gamboy pouch. I sold it for like 17 dollars when a gamboy by itselfwould sell for 15. The 2player connector cord by itself sells for 10 and so on and so forth. It's that people are looking at the big product when you bundle and really only want to pay for the main attraction. I've never bundled anything ever again... The other things in the bundle are just freebies for the purchasers.

[GhostDad]

I think the DS battle pack quill sell better on its own then selling it with the actual DS. I remember selling on eBay a gamboy, 2 player connector cord, games, and a gamboy pouch. I sold it for like 17 dollars when a gamboy by itselfwould sell for 15. The 2player connector cord by itself sells for 10 and so on and so forth. It's that people are looking at the big product when you bundle and really only want to pay for the main attraction. I've never bundled anything ever again... The other things in the bundle are just freebies for the purchasers.

There's a lot of truth to this, as a general selling principle.  If you force buyers to buy stuff they may not want (like extra lego sets, even related ones), you will absolutely receive less money per item than if you sold those items separately.  For inexpensive polybag sets, you might find that the savings on shipping (since you can stuff a ton of them in a big bubble envelope and ship 1st class) and your time makes it worthwhile, but it's really not easy to combine boxed lego sets (especially when one of them is a monster like 10188) for shipping in a way that saves much time or money on the packing and shipping process.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

There's a lot of truth to this, as a general selling principle.  If you force buyers to buy stuff they may not want (like extra lego sets, even related ones), you will absolutely receive less money per item than if you sold those items separately.  For inexpensive polybag sets, you might find that the savings on shipping (since you can stuff a ton of them in a big bubble envelope and ship 1st class) and your time makes it worthwhile, but it's really not easy to combine boxed lego sets (especially when one of them is a monster like 10188) for shipping in a way that saves much time or money on the packing and shipping process.

 

Im a fan of combining if its hard to get rid of the other thing. DIscount it a bit and - shipping and the quicker sale it can be worth it.

[Neosphinx]

Im a fan of combining if its hard to get rid of the other thing. DIscount it a bit and - shipping and the quicker sale it can be worth it.

 

Like TMNT 79100-5 with Flashback Shredder

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Like TMNT 79100-5 with Flashback Shredder

 

Or any TMNT set honestly it seems like.

[trekgate502]

There's a lot of truth to this, as a general selling principle.  If you force buyers to buy stuff they may not want (like extra lego sets, even related ones), you will absolutely receive less money per item than if you sold those items separately.  For inexpensive polybag sets, you might find that the savings on shipping (since you can stuff a ton of them in a big bubble envelope and ship 1st class) and your time makes it worthwhile, but it's really not easy to combine boxed lego sets (especially when one of them is a monster like 10188) for shipping in a way that saves much time or money on the packing and shipping process.

 

 

 

Each person has their own views and that is fine.  I have a view on combining at times.  If I end up with 10 death stars, and the price for all of us someday goes to $1,500 on ebay, and we both have 100% feedback ratings, and we both are selling the set for $1,500 free shipping, and in mine I say plus bonus and then I state that I am going to give them 2 Death Star trooper packs free, shipped separately as a bonus to enhance it.  It costs me $25-30 for that and I think that it can move the set for people to pick mine over the other persons at the same price.

 

My son has a 10188 DS and he was super excited when he saw the Death Star troopers come out to add some to his death star, and that was his doing not mine.

 

That being said, it is not always like this.  Each person has to look at the items and situation.  I had a winter cottage and winter post office together in an auction for a discounted price and at buy it now it never sold.  But I broke it up into two BIN's, raised the price considerably on each stand alone so when added together they were 25% more than the combined BIN and they all sold out quickly.

 

Of course many here do not like the Not to Scale, Not UCS, Not Adult, Not Displayable, For A Kid, Unrealistic, 10188 DS.  I am all for that, so in those cases I recommend people not only to not get the Death Star Battle Packs, but don't get the Death Star either.  It will make it better for those of us stocking up on it.

 

I'm with Ed Mack on the buy it now if you want it.

 

 I think what happened to the SSD being in the catalog and going earlier than Lego probably thought because everyone was buying it up is going to happen to the 10188 DS.

 

I see it not making it to Christmas 2015.

[GhostDad]

Each person has their own views and that is fine.  I have a view on combining at times.  If I end up with 10 death stars, and the price for all of us someday goes to $1,500 on ebay, and we both have 100% feedback ratings, and we both are selling the set for $1,500 free shipping, and in mine I say plus bonus and then I state that I am going to give them 2 Death Star trooper packs free, shipped separately as a bonus to enhance it.  It costs me $25-30 for that and I think that it can move the set for people to pick mine over the other persons at the same price.

 

My son has a 10188 DS and he was super excited when he saw the Death Star troopers come out to add some to his death star, and that was his doing not mine.

 

That being said, it is not always like this.  Each person has to look at the items and situation.  I had a winter cottage and winter post office together in an auction for a discounted price and at buy it now it never sold.  But I broke it up into two BIN's, raised the price considerably on each stand alone so when added together they were 25% more than the combined BIN and they all sold out quickly.

 

Of course many here do not like the Not to Scale, Not UCS, Not Adult, Not Displayable, For A Kid, Unrealistic, 10188 DS.  I am all for that, so in those cases I recommend people not only to not get the Death Star Battle Packs, but don't get the Death Star either.  It will make it better for those of us stocking up on it.

 

I'm with Ed Mack on the buy it now if you want it.

 

 I think what happened to the SSD being in the catalog and going earlier than Lego probably thought because everyone was buying it up is going to happen to the 10188 DS.

 

I see it not making it to Christmas 2015.

I hope the folks who don't like "not to-scale" sets also apply that standard to minifigures.  None of those are to-scale.  The heads are way too big relative to the bodies, the necks are too short, the knees don't bend...  Honestly, all Lego minifigures are just a disaster when it comes to realism.  The first thing I do when I buy a Super Heroes set is toss all the minifigures in the trash so they don't spoil the look.  My uninhabited Funhouse is a thing of beauty.  There's a spider nesting in the little cart and a couple dead flies lying around here and there.  It looks awesome on display.

[jerryherb]

I hope the folks who don't like "not to-scale" sets also apply that standard to minifigures.  None of those are to-scale.  The heads are way too big relative to the bodies, the necks are too short, the knees don't bend...  Honestly, all Lego minifigures are just a disaster when it comes to realism.  The first thing I do when I buy a Super Heroes set is toss all the minifigures in the trash so they don't spoil the look.  My uninhabited Funhouse is a thing of beauty.  There's a spider nesting in the little cart and a couple dead flies lying around here and there.  It looks awesome on display.

 

dude you gotta stop being so negative all the time, youre harshin up my buzz

[Bold-Arrow]

I hope the folks who don't like "not to-scale" sets also apply that standard to minifigures. None of those are to-scale. The heads are way too big relative to the bodies, the necks are too short, the knees don't bend... Honestly, all Lego minifigures are just a disaster when it comes to realism. The first thing I do when I buy a Super Heroes set is toss all the minifigures in the trash so they don't spoil the look. My uninhabited Funhouse is a thing of beauty. There's a spider nesting in the little cart and a couple dead flies lying around here and there. It looks awesome on display.

wow...I hope you are joking about tossing the minifigs or putting them away. You can sell them or ship them to me ;)

[Darth_Raichu]

dude you gotta stop being so negative all the time, youre harshin up my buzz

pssst we still need him around to fight those pesky knockoff bricks/minifigs sellers from China

[GhostDad]

wow...I hope you are joking about tossing the minifigs or putting them away. You can sell them or ship them to me

Very much so, yes.  That was all just a roundabout way of saying that collectors like all kinds of stuff, not just perfectly accurate renditions of very large vehicles.  Those are great, and I would love to have a 10030 on display if it wouldn't set me back $1400, but there are also lots of great minifigure-scale sets out there, notably including GG and CC, and collectors seem more than willing to pay up for them.

 

And...  I have a question for someone with more experience using this site.  Is there a way to set up the price graph for a set on a longer scale, so I can see the price change over a period of years instead of just the past twelve months?  That would be some nifty information to have (I think lego sets generally get a nice bump in the months right after EOL, and then slow down significantly in the years that follow, but I can't be sure without seeing price data for a longer period than seems to be available).

[biniou]

I think the DS battle pack quill sell better on its own then selling it with the actual DS. I remember selling on eBay a gamboy, 2 player connector cord, games, and a gamboy pouch. I sold it for like 17 dollars when a gamboy by itselfwould sell for 15. The 2player connector cord by itself sells for 10 and so on and so forth. It's that people are looking at the big product when you bundle and really only want to pay for the main attraction. I've never bundled anything ever again... The other things in the bundle are just freebies for the purchasers.

 

If you really wrote "gamboy" instead of "gameboy" or "game boy", you have the reason why you did a disappointing selling.

 

(because of ebay's referencing and browsing)

[Cashmoney-0]

Each person has their own views and that is fine.  I have a view on combining at times.  If I end up with 10 death stars, and the price for all of us someday goes to $1,500 on ebay, and we both have 100% feedback ratings, and we both are selling the set for $1,500 free shipping, and in mine I say plus bonus and then I state that I am going to give them 2 Death Star trooper packs free, shipped separately as a bonus to enhance it.  It costs me $25-30 for that and I think that it can move the set for people to pick mine over the other persons at the same price.

It would be much much easier to price a $1500 item at $1480 if you wanted to move inventory faster. Because still at this point they just want the DS for the best possible price and don't necessarily care about getting the battle packs. 

[trekgate502]

It would be much much easier to price a $1500 item at $1480 if you wanted to move inventory faster. Because still at this point they just want the DS for the best possible price and don't necessarily care about getting the battle packs. 

 

We each have our own approaches.

[Cashmoney-0]

If you really wrote "gamboy" instead of "gameboy" or "game boy", you have the reason why you did a disappointing selling.

 

(because of ebay's referencing and browsing)

Ha. Yes I spelled it correctly "game boy." My swipe text likes to auto-correct to "gamboy" for some odd reason...

[r0by76]

I can't believe we're discussing the little Trooper set as a reason why the DS won't retire. We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

A $12 battle pack is not a gateway to a $400 playset; it's a way to get some "army" minifigs out there. Clones, battle droids, Imperial whatevers, Hoth rebels, Endor rebels

[junkrigger]

One problem, as I've learned through painful experience, is that some of the world's Lego-loving middle class is stuck in countries with non-functioning postal systems and governments.  I finally gave up shipping to Argentina after the third "lost" parcel in a row.  Russian law now basically prevents incoming parcels to individuals from reaching their destinations.  Ditto for a dozen other countries.

 

With China and India, though...  I've always been willing to ship there, but I have never had a buyer in India and only one in China.  Canada, with its ~30,000,000 people, has generated about a hundred times more business for me than China's ~1,351,000,000.  Personal experience says the Chinese and Indians simply don't want to buy my lego sets.  Does anyone on here do significant business in India or China?  If so, speak up!  I'd love to know your secret.

 

I have sold Lego and other items to Chinese buyers through their social media sites and taobao but I had help. I can speak but not write and without that good luck.  I see the young college age to mid thirties women buying expensive beauty and fashion products and the men this age buying technology and toys, including lego.  This market will grow as the younger generation inherits the wealth, I have first hand seen that grandma born before 1940 won't even spend money, though she has lots, to buy a washing machine to make her life easier, next generation buys a washing machine and nice house, but won't' waste money on fashion or luxury, and the kids born after mid 1970 will buy all sorts of frivolous items including toys and lego.  This market will develop.  People everywhere if they can afford it buy products from the best most reputable companies.  Also protections for intellectual property will increase as more Chinese nationals wish to protect their IP at home and internationally.  Spoke with a China national Professor of Science at University of Saskatchewan this weekend and it is true that China wants to spend its vast reserves buying technology from the U.S. which we have been and I hope will continue to be reluctant to do for obvious reasons until more protections are in place.  

[GhostDad]

I have sold Lego and other items to Chinese buyers through their social media sites and taobao but I had help. I can speak but not write and without that good luck.  I see the young college age to mid thirties women buying expensive beauty and fashion products and the men this age buying technology and toys, including lego.  This market will grow as the younger generation inherits the wealth, I have first hand seen that grandma born before 1940 won't even spend money, though she has lots, to buy a washing machine to make her life easier, next generation buys a washing machine and nice house, but won't' waste money on fashion or luxury, and the kids born after mid 1970 will buy all sorts of frivolous items including toys and lego.  This market will develop.  People everywhere if they can afford it buy products from the best most reputable companies.  Also protections for intellectual property will increase as more Chinese nationals wish to protect their IP at home and internationally.  Spoke with a China national Professor of Science at University of Saskatchewan this weekend and it is true that China wants to spend its vast reserves buying technology from the U.S. which we have been and I hope will continue to be reluctant to do for obvious reasons until more protections are in place.  

Well, I'd love to see it happen.  Current Chinese IP law seems to essentially be "As long as you stamp your own [Chinese] company's logo on the product, you have nothing to worry about, even if it is literally identical to a foreign company's copyrighted, trademarked, and/or patented work".  I could print out copies of The Hunger Games, (The Hunger Games, by GhostDad), and voila!  An instant bestseller, and so much easier than having to write the books myself.  In fact, several Chinese "authors" have reworked the Harry Potter novels, preserving 98% of the text, but renaming the characters so they're all Chinese.  Sigh.