What to do with 127 sets

[Patty6728]

I hope this is the right place to ask this.  My son is in college and wants to sell his Lego collection.  As he is out of town and I am currently unemployed, I offered to help.  Now I need to figure out the best way to get the most $$ from them.  They are mostly loose in large boxes, with some partial builds.  I have found instructions for 127 sets, so potentially there could be somewhere near that many complete sets in those boxes.  The majority is Bionicle, but there is Star Wars, Space, Mars and others in there too.  I have spent days searching the internet for the info, but still can't really get a feel for if it is better to sort and sell complete sets, sort and sell by the piece (Bricklink), or sell bulk lots by piece or weight. I am hoping the experts here can help me figure this out.  I have time and like sorting the pieces, but I do want him to get the best possible price to help with his education expenses.  Thanks for your thoughts!!

[seapotato]

There is definitely a market for the older Star Wars sets. I would look up the used prices of the sets on Brickpicker and put together the larger sets that are worth more. You'd be able get more money selling a lot of the sets if complete vs selling as bulk.

[Travel125]

I would try and sort the pieces out into the complete sets and sell them like that. If there are any missing or broken pieces it is usually better to buy them and then sell the set as complete. It's possible that you would get more money selling it out part by part, but it would be really time-consuming and not worth the effort in my opinion.

[Zelgazra]

If you have the 127 instructions, you have the 127 set numbers. Head to the main part of the website here on BP under the Price Guide tab up top there... select Lego Lot Calculator. Type in your 127 set numbers (maybe do this in a text document so you can save the list and copy/paste in the future). It should find the sets, then you click the tab to toggle New vs Used (there's a master toggle up top, you dont have to change each set individually). It should then give you a total of the current** market value on the lot, providing it's all complete. 

**Brickfolio prices haven't been updated since end of December, so the numbers are a little bit off point as we wait for the latest data update to roll in. 

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

do not sell brick by brick on bricklink, will take forever.

sort and confirm what sets are complete.  Sell all 100% sets individually or group like sets in groups.  Sell whats ever is left as a lot.

[Patty6728]

Thank you.  I did look up a lot of the sets with the Lot Calculator (what a GREAT tool that is!!) and it does seem like putting the sets back together might be the way to go.  I am a little intimated by the number of Bionicles because there are so many, many unique pieces - not quite like sorting bricks and blocks.  Thanks again for your help.

[gregpj]

On 2/13/2016 at 0:31 AM, Patty6728 said:

Thank you.  I did look up a lot of the sets with the Lot Calculator (what a GREAT tool that is!!) and it does seem like putting the sets back together might be the way to go.  I am a little intimated by the number of Bionicles because there are so many, many unique pieces - not quite like sorting bricks and blocks.  Thanks again for your help.

When you get into the Bionicles, sort the larger pieces either by type and/or color. I.e. sort the helmets into one pile, armor-like pieces into another, weapons in another, and any large parts that are left by color. Don't bother sorting the small parts like gears and axles, they're easy enough to search through once you have the bulky stuff out of the way.

That said ... while older Bionicles definitely have collectors, not all of them are valuable and/or easy to sell. I suggest you treat these separately from the rest of the LEGO. Look for the most valuable sets... check Bricklink and eBay to see if any of those sets have recently sold. Build and sell the ones that look like they might have the best return for your time. With what's left, you might consider two options:

- Build and sell as "groups" similar characters <when you get to this point, get your son to group them together for you>. Or
- You may want to just sell the rest as a parts lot with the instructions, highlighting the most valuable parts (unique helmets/masks/weapons).

Personally the second option might be the best way to deal with the leftovers... Who knows how many missing pieces there will be and it may not be worth your time or money to buy the missing pieces to form the complete sets at that point.

[iahawks550]

Not to be rude, but you would probably make more money/hour working at McDonalds then you will sorting and compiling sets. Especially if this is something you haven't done before.

[KShine]

Post a few photos of what you have. Many here will be able to quickly tell you which sets would be worth pursuing.

[Migration]

1 hour ago, iahawks550 said:

Not to be rude, but you would probably make more money/hour working at McDonalds then you will sorting and compiling sets. Especially if this is something you haven't done before.

Dude, that's just wrong. Besides, everyone has to start somewhere. 

 

To the OP, like kshine said post some pics or just the set numbers and we can give you an idea of which sets are worth spending some time on and which would best be sold off as bulk.

[Salimr]

I did this exact thing for all my nephews sets for college money for him  be careful after you see how much your work earned you may not be able to stop!!! I seem to get about a big lot every other week now from friends wanting the same thing or picking some up on Craigslist.

I get to keep some of the sets for my kids as I am doing the work and build my ebay reputation. You have to enjoy doing this though. I have my kids and husband help so it's family time.

[thoroakenfelder]

If you and your son need money the fastest, selling by bulk is definitely the fastest. Be prepared for about $7 a pound. The absolute slowest way to sell is through bricklink by parts. It would take years to sell through a significant portion of those pieces, especially if you are not adding inventory that people would revisit your shop for. At the end of years, you might still have a sizable pile of LEGO that you'd still have to shift if you wanted out of the parts game. Not to mention the hundreds of small orders that would have nibbled at that pile for the preceding years. Sorting through what's there to make sets is somewhere in the middle.

You will have to sort all of the loose pieces, I recommend by piece type, not color. Then you will have to break down whatever is partially built, (Put those pieces in their own bags for easy retrieval.) Verify the parts of the partial sets and whatever is missing, search through your loose bulk for the missing pieces, if necessary optimize your missing items into the fewest bricklink orders possible, pay for those orders, wait for them to arrive, assemble the sets, take very good pictures, list them on ebay/brick classifieds/bricklink/craigslist/whatever. You have to be into the process, otherwise it is overwhelming and sucks.

Looking at bulk pricing, Bionicle is not good. I don't know how well it sells individually, but the parts are slow movers on bricklink. Star Wars is the best bet for higher returns. If there's Harry Potter or Pirates of the Caribbean, those would do fine. Don't sink a ton of time or extra money into low end low return sets. If you have small sets that are fully complete or need a common part that can be added to a bricklink order that you're already placing, that's fine, but $10 sets are no one's in demand items.

[Patty6728]

Thanks for all the great advice!

gregpj - I started on the Bionicles this weekend and did just what you said - except I definitely should have separated out the weapons - so much gray!!!  I will go the the Price Guide and figure out which sets are in the most demand and start with them.  Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

salimr - I can see where this can get addicting!  I like the sorting - kind of zen.  

thoroakenfelder - Thanks for the great advice.  When I get to the regular sets (non Bionicle) I will definitely will sort by type. Time is not really a factor yet, so I am going to try to put as many sets together as I can and sell the rest as bulk lots.  Thanks for your time.