tractorboy Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 (edited) Thought I'd start a thread for Irish BP'ers to discuss deals, and general investment chat. Welcome! (I've just called it the Ireland thread as the letter ****** seems to be coming up as ***** for some reason. Northern Irish members are welcome too of course.) Edited April 28, 2015 by tractorboy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I much prefer the *********, it's like you've censored the North Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorboy Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 I much prefer the *********, it's like you've censored the North Haha careful now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Haha careful now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudcatsfan Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Is it true you folks still get decent discounts on the large exclusives? I saw someone note a 21% discount on the Death Star at Smyths. With the Euro vs the dollar, is there any chance you might be able to become an exporter to the US? or will the shipping costs just kill that?What about sets like the Red 5 Xwing? it seems to be close to retirement in the US, but well available in the Eurozone, you might get some great opportunities there if your market lags in retirement. I know the SSD's were available in the Euro well past when they were gone from the US. Seems like another interesting opportunity for you.PS my grandmother was born and lived in Enniscrone, so i have quite a fondness for your country. Good luck to you all, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lego_fan Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Greetings all. I live in london, but my storage facility (e.***. my parent's house) is in the midlands, so I am straddling markets here, and just starting out. I have been considering what mudcatsfan is considering, but I imagine that anything more than the personal limit and anything other than bringing it across with you on a plane would incur customs duty, so would probably make the idea of arbitrage of supply or pricing between Europe and the US or vice versa uneconomic.I've certainly been looking at that DS in Smyths, but I already have one, and the idea of having so much money tied up in a single set will either look very smart or very stupid depending on how many people out there have hoarded NISB DS's, and how many people actually decide they want them in the aftermarket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorboy Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Is it true you folks still get decent discounts on the large exclusives? I saw someone note a 21% discount on the Death Star at Smyths. With the Euro vs the dollar, is there any chance you might be able to become an exporter to the US? or will the shipping costs just kill that?What about sets like the Red 5 Xwing? it seems to be close to retirement in the US, but well available in the Eurozone, you might get some great opportunities there if your market lags in retirement. I know the SSD's were available in the Euro well past when they were gone from the US. Seems like another interesting opportunity for you.PS my grandmother was born and lived in Enniscrone, so i have quite a fondness for your country. Good luck to you all,Cheers fella.The DS has been at €340 at Smyths.ie for over a year at least, or as long as I've been doing this. Pixmania.ie was selling the SSD at 20% off with a Pixmania VIP card last year for a while. Apart from that, I can't really remember any decent discounts on exclusives here. I don't know much about shipping high quantity, but I would think the cost would eat up any savings on the DS pretty quick.People on mainland Europe seem to be able to find discounts on exclusives better than us. Like you say, I'm hoping we get a heads up on some SW exclusives going OOS in the US first, like the SSD last year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Cheers fella. The DS has been at €340 at Smyths.ie for over a year at least, or as long as I've been doing this. Pixmania.ie was selling the SSD at 20% off with a Pixmania VIP card last year for a while. Apart from that, I can't really remember any decent discounts on exclusives here. I don't know much about shipping high quantity, but I would think the cost would eat up any savings on the DS pretty quick. People on mainland Europe seem to be able to find discounts on exclusives better than us. Like you say, I'm hoping we get a heads up on some SW exclusives going OOS in the US first, like the SSD last year The lag in eol also works in reverse sometimes though, not a chance of getting the Maersk Eee over here, but freely available in the US. Hopefully we get some word of the PS retiring and we can all duke it out in Smyths for the last few sets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Is it true you folks still get decent discounts on the large exclusives? I saw someone note a 21% discount on the Death Star at Smyths. With the Euro vs the dollar, is there any chance you might be able to become an exporter to the US? or will the shipping costs just kill that?What about sets like the Red 5 Xwing? it seems to be close to retirement in the US, but well available in the Eurozone, you might get some great opportunities there if your market lags in retirement. I know the SSD's were available in the Euro well past when they were gone from the US. Seems like another interesting opportunity for you.PS my grandmother was born and lived in Enniscrone, so i have quite a fondness for your country. Good luck to you all,The Death Star is the exception rather than the rule, I'm afraid. There's not a huge supply of exclusives in the market here. Shipping costs would probably kill any exporting opportunities, although we do pay very high VAT (sales tax) of 23%, which I believe you wouldn't have to be charged, so that would bring a Death Star down to €276 or about $298. Individual posting would be about €70, not sure what it would be on multiples.The advantage we have here is that we can sometimes still find sets on the shelves a good while after they've gone EOL, so we already have an idea how they're performing post retirement. I was able to pick up some Arctic Batman vs Mr Freeze sets recently for less than RRP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val-E Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 I agree. Knowledge is power and a lot of the time it is better to be able to acquire post EOL TH´s or SSD´s at RRP once you can see how the market swings than take on discounted items that are nigh on impossible to move on at a profit later (Lone Ranger, Chima) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 So where does everyone tend to buy their Lego? Find any good bargains recently?I managed to pick up some nice deals in Debenhams recent sale, got the Arctic Base Camp for €42 and the Agents Mission HQ for €48, both 50% off, plus got points back on their card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorboy Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 ...The advantage we have here is that we can sometimes still find sets on the shelves a good while after they've gone EOL, so we already have an idea how they're performing post retirement. I was able to pick up some Arctic Batman vs Mr Freeze sets recently for less than RRP. I was just wondering that. Do you guys hit the B&M stores much to look for post EOL sets? I would think there's lots of big EOL sets just sitting on shelves or in store rooms of toy shops in small Irish towns. I don't drive so I don't really get around to B&M shops and just do my shopping online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm in Dublin, so there's not a lot of small toy shops, it's Smyths and not much else. I think next time I am down the country I'll be popping into every random shop which sells Lego.I got some great deals in Debenhams physical store, discounts weren't online. Just got lucky, popped in one day, not thinking I'd have much luck and there was 50% off some big sets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorboy Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 Right, cool. There's a Ken Blacks in my town, but I've never set foot in there as it's a good bit away on the far side of town. I think Blacks is like a re-branded Smyths. They buy through Smyths but they're an independent store. I should really get off my ass and check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 If they're anything like Smyths then there's no difference between their b&m offerings and their online. A few good deals at Smyths on the Death Star and the Sea Cow and that's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorboy Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 If they're anything like Smyths then there's no difference between their b&m offerings and their online. A few good deals at Smyths on the Death Star and the Sea Cow and that's about it.Yeah, I'd be hoping they might have some post EOL stock though. Only one way to find out I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 If it's like any of the Smyths I've been in they'll have some EOL'd superman sets at less than half price and that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyman Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 will like follow the like of Toys r us and discount the lego star wars sets to celebrate may 4th? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 will like follow the like of Toys r us and discount the lego star wars sets to celebrate may 4th?Was in Smyths yesterday, they had no Star Wars discounts other than the usual ones and had no mention of anything for today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorboy Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 What are you lads using for shipping large NISB sets? I won't be getting into any serious selling for a few months yet, but I'm putting a couple up for sale in the next day or two.I've used GLS to ship some large used sets before, and it costs €41 to ship to EU and €26.50 to the UK. Add another €4.50 onto that if you want them to collect from your address.Is there any cheaper options? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I'm in the same boat, I've only just started, so I've put a few small items up on ebay to try and get some feedback as I've not sold on ebay before.I've a cheaper option for the UK which is Parcel Motel, I've used it before for receiving, but never sent with them before. Cost for UK is between €14.50 and €16.50. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabslayerT Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Whats the craic lads? Another newbee to this lark. Lucky enough to be sitting on the border with Nor'n Iron. Still getting use to the strange looks from the staff in smyths while pondering purchases, except when the wee one is with me. I think we're at a bit of a disadvantage here with smaller toy stores, they seem to be way over asking price and not too many discounts for that matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorboy Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Whats the craic lads? Another newbee to this lark. Lucky enough to be sitting on the border with Nor'n Iron. Still getting use to the strange looks from the staff in smyths while pondering purchases, except when the wee one is with me. I think we're at a bit of a disadvantage here with smaller toy stores, they seem to be way over asking price and not too many discounts for that matter. Welcome aboard. Yeah, I think some retailers in Ireland are still living in celtic tiger fantasy land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket77 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Welcome aboard. Yeah, I think some retailers in Ireland are still living in celtic tiger fantasy land.Name checking Smyths by any chance?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorboy Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Name checking Smyths by any chance?? Nah, just retailers in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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