Teeird Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Hello all! I'm thinking of investing $2000 or so with the power of leverage. My question is, what would be the biggest bang for my buck? Things like this to consider: Which "big" set is about to retire and would be worth more down the road? Should I invest $2000 into one type of set? Or spread the cash around? Ghost Train or Vampyre Castle? How many years should I hang onto X set? Thanks guys. Quote
Jeff Mack Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Well let's start with this, let us know what YOU would think would be good purchases? What have YOU been looking at for an investment, then maybe we can help you out from there. Everyone has different opinions, its helpful to know what sets you like overall. Quote
Doofy McGee Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Ghost Train or Vampyre Castle? Vampyre Castle! There, I helped. Lol. :) Quote
Jeff Mack Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 There are all types of ways to invest in LEGO, just like investing your money in stocks. Do I think you make money if you buy 20 Vampyre Castles. Yes I do. If you keep them MISB and hold on to them for a few years, you will make a return on your investment. But I do thinks it's a good idea to diversify your purchases. I personally think Ghost Train will do well in time as well as the other Monster Fighters. There are a lot of great sets to look into. Star Wars, Ninjago, etc. Quote
emazers Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 If you are spending the $2,000.00 right now, I would get all Haunted Houses with it. When these get retired you will never see it again, should be a $300-$500 Set after a few years. or get A few Vampire Castle's, A Few Tower Bridges, 2 Fire Brigades, Lord of the Rings Helm's way, Quote
Rich B Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Find a Taj Mahal sealed for $1,000-1,200, something tells me that set could hit $2,000+ before we know it. Quote
TheOrcKing Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 There is no right way to invest or spend money. I mean, everything has possibilities. Heck, you could spend all 2k on 150 or so STAR WARS Battle Packs and make a profit. Maybe not as much from 10 "Haunted Houses", but still a profit. Hey, it's whatever you like and have the room for! Quote
Teeird Posted January 22, 2013 Author Posted January 22, 2013 Thanks for all the helpful responses, my preferences don't really matter, but either way I like Star Wars, Monster Hunter, LOTR, and Ninjago I guess. I'm also a fan of the "Grand Emporium" set. You guys gotta be the most welcoming community I've been a part of, and I applaud you all. Quote
Doofy McGee Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Find a Taj Mahal sealed for $1,000-1,200, something tells me that set could hit $2,000+ before we know it. Nice call Rich! I wouldn't have thought of that myself, but I definitely have to give you credit for a good idea. Quote
stephen_rockefeller Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Thanks for all the helpful responses, my preferences don't really matter, but either way I like Star Wars, Monster Hunter, LOTR, and Ninjago I guess. I'm also a fan of the "Grand Emporium" set. You guys gotta be the most welcoming community I've been a part of, and I applaud you all. I have to respectfully disagree and say your preferences do matter. What if tommorow LEGO sets are worthless? Then what? My two rules ( which have come from this site) are 1. Buy what you like/love. 2. Diversify Quote
Jackson Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 with the power of leverage. Does this mean you are going to put $2000 on a credit card or take out a loan or something else? Quote
Rich B Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 I have to respectfully disagree and say your preferences do matter. What if tommorow LEGO sets are worthless? Then what? My two rules ( which have come from this site) are 1. Buy what you like/love. 2. Diversify Quote
Rich B Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Nice call Rich! I wouldn't have thought of that myself, but I definitely have to give you credit for a good idea. Thanks! I just clarified my statement about the Taj Mahal above, that this is something one should only do if they chose not to diversify and rather spend their money on one bigger set. Diversifying is most important though, so one should focus on that first. That being said I think that some of the bigger existing sets like the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, and Grand Carousel are all going to hit some seriously high prices in the future even though they are already outrageously expensive! Quote
Jackson Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 About diversifying, Warren Buffett (or someone like that) has said that if you know what you're doing, you don't have to diversify. Quote
stephen_rockefeller Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 I bet he wasn't talking about LEGO investments........... Quote
Doofy McGee Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Berkshire Hathaway itself is a diverse conglomerate of many different companies, so it must not have been Warren Buffett who said this. Lol. Quote
Ed Mack Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Buy the largest sets of a theme... Diversify into several popular themes like Monster Fighters, Friends, Ninjago, Large Creator and UCS STAR WARS sets... Never pay retail...Wait for sales if possible. Quote
stephen_rockefeller Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Themes like Prince of Persia, Pharaoh's quest and a few others are prime examples of why not to put all your sets in one basket. Of course we all know now how horrible of an investment these themes are/were, but what if when they came out someone decided to spend 2 Gs on nothing but Pharaoh's quest sets? All that money went down the toilet. That is why you diversify so that if you do pick some losers, hopefully you picked some winners. There are no get rich quick scenerios here, we collect/invest because we love LEGO. Quote
Jackson Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Warren Buffett said this: "Diversification is a protection against ignorance. It makes very little sense for those who know what they're doing." (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Warren_Buffett) I remember hearing this on a Buffett documentary. Anyway, he obviously wasn't talking about LEGO investing. But if we look back, were there signs that were missed that might have indicated that Prince of Persia and Pharaoh's Quest were investment losers? Quote
Doofy McGee Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Yeah, there were signs alright...Jake Gyllenhaal. :) Quote
Doofy McGee Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Sorry Jackson, Gyllenhaal jokes aside, you make a good point. I wasn't into LEGO investing when PoP and PQ were available, but it would be interesting to have been able to see all the factors to help learn why they failed. Quote
Teeird Posted January 22, 2013 Author Posted January 22, 2013 I could ask for a friend for the loan, that is what I meant. And why I said preference doesn't matter is because, ever since I was 3 (or so) I loved legos, legos have been my favorite toy since then. So as long as the sets aren't things such as spongebob or weirdo sets like Toy Story, I wouldn't have a problem keeping them. However, I do know that those sets (spongebob primarily) do hold great value, I'm just referring to sets I'm fond of. I'll look into the Taj Mahal set, but is there some chart of it constantly going up? It's quite a steep investment to just blinding go for. E: After seeing some completed Ebay listing of Taj Mahal, seems this set is already selling for $1.7k-$2K new. I'll see if I can luck out with one though. Quote
Doofy McGee Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 There is plenty of data supporting the Taj Mahal as a very good investment. The primary reason is this... It came out before there was such a widespread interest in LEGO investing. There is very little supply now in the secondary market, and it will only get smaller and smaller. Plus, the Taj Mahal is the BIGGEST LEGO set ever, in terms of piece count. That is saying something right there... Quote
stephen_rockefeller Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 I could ask for a friend for the loan, that is what I meant. And why I said preference doesn't matter is because, ever since I was 3 (or so) I loved legos, legos have been my favorite toy since then. So as long as the sets aren't things such as spongebob or weirdo sets like Toy Story, I wouldn't have a problem keeping them. However, I do know that those sets (spongebob primarily) do hold great value, I'm just referring to sets I'm fond of. I'll look into the Tah Mahol set, but is there some chart of it constantly going up? It's quite a steep investment to just blinding go for.ahhhh OK I got you now, I thought you meant you weren't interested in the sets as long as they made you money. Anyways LEGO investing is mostly a long term thing in my opinion so is your buddy cool with you holding on to sets for 2-5 years before you decide to sell? Who knows though you might pick a huge winner and be are to pay him back sooner than later. Quote
Ed Mack Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Warren Buffett said this: "Diversification is a protection against ignorance. It makes very little sense for those who know what they're doing." (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Warren_Buffett) I remember hearing this on a Buffett documentary. Anyway, he obviously wasn't talking about LEGO investing. But if we look back, were there signs that were missed that might have indicated that Prince of Persia and Pharaoh's Quest were investment losers? Great point. Warren Buffet also wants to pay "more" taxes. LOL. Maybe he is getting old. But nonetheless, many of us are not as smart as him and diversification acts as an insurance in a way. Also, I like many types of LEGO sets, so I buy many types of LEGO sets. Funny that you mention the PQ and POP themes. I have them all. LOL. I am actually writing an article on LEGO losers. ;-) Quote
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