Advice for how to sell my childhood Lego collection (~100 sets)

[Rubygirl583]

Just looking for some advice on how to proceed. I have ~100 or so Lego sets, mostly from the 1990's, some more recent, that I'm looking to sell. They're used but all have the original instructions (almost all of which are in pristine condition)and all have their original boxes (though some are a little smushed/bent here and there from being stored in a big box for the last 15 years).

The sets are either 100% complete or at most missing a few non-essential pieces (e.g. minifigs, specialty pieces, etc. are all there). I've stored them in chunks in their original boxes and I'm in the process of going through each set and noting what pieces, if any, are missing.

How does one typically go about selling a collection like this? 

- Sell each set individually?
- Sell the larger sets individually and the smaller sets in groups?
- What's the best website to sell whole sets on?
- For the sets missing a few pieces should I make the effort to buy those ad hoc and complete the set before selling?
- Is it worth taking pictures of the box, instructions, and all the pieces for each set or do buyers not really care?

Any advice on how I go about what seems like a very daunting task would be much appreciated!

[justapilgrim]

Depends on what they are, if mostly star wars and Harry potter, you are in luck, same with old castle kingdoms. Best bang for your buck is probably to sell off one at a time, depends on what you have. BC or ebay probably the way to go

[donbee]

The more pictures you take, the happier your buyers will be. Too many shady people out there.

[jbacunn]

I would suggest completing the sets that are missing pieces using Bricklink. The value of sets are greatly reduced if they are missing pieces even if it's only a few. An investment of a few dollars can increase your return greatly.

[Zelgazra]

18 minutes ago, jbacunn said:

I would suggest completing the sets that are missing pieces using Bricklink. The value of sets are greatly reduced if they are missing pieces even if it's only a few. An investment of a few dollars can increase your return greatly.

To add to this, ideally you go through all of the sets first, or the vast majority, and create multiple Wanted Lists sorted on Bricklink by individual set name or number. Once you have 50-100 sets with 1-5 missing parts each, you can really start to get more bang for your buck in regards to shipping costs. The more stuff you have on your wanted lists, the more likely you are to find a large scale seller with the majority of your missing parts. Saves lots of shipping costs over ordering parts set by set. This might be painfully obvious, but worth mentioning just in case. 

 

Additionally, you can utilize the "Part Set" feature on bricklink to create checklists. Search a set you know you have the majority of parts for, part it out and tick the "Add minimum quantity" box, along with Minifigure Parts rather than Whole Minifigures (I personally find this easier since not all figs will be properly assembled from childhood) . Opt to Create New Wanted List and name it accordingly. Finalizing this process will create a Wanted List of all the parts in the set. Then you can break down the set in hand and simply delete or update the quantities as you confirm parts are present. Whatever is left on the list at the end are your missing parts. Using this method avoids the need to build the set to verify it. You'll probably need to build it again eventually once all the parts are in, to take photos for your listings, but I've found this to be the fastest verification method. 

 

If anyone has any improvements on my system I'm all ears, but I suspect this might be a useful strategy for anyone who hasn't established one yet!  

[Rubygirl583]

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. I'll definitely take lots of picture and work to complete the sets with missing pieces.

22 hours ago, justapilgrim said:

Depends on what they are, if mostly star wars and Harry potter, you are in luck, same with old castle kingdoms. Best bang for your buck is probably to sell off one at a time, depends on what you have. BC or ebay probably the way to go

Sadly I only have one old Star Wars set and no Harry Potter. They're mostly old castle, pirates, town, and space sets. What's BC?

 

[stephen_rockefeller]

59 minutes ago, Rubygirl583 said:

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. I'll definitely take lots of picture and work to complete the sets with missing pieces.

Sadly I only have one old Star Wars set and no Harry Potter. They're mostly old castle, pirates, town, and space sets. What's BC?

 

Brick classifieds........a service offered here.

[justapilgrim]

Brick classifieds........a service offered here.

With no fees

[Darth_Raichu]

1 hour ago, Rubygirl583 said:

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. I'll definitely take lots of picture and work to complete the sets with missing pieces.

Sadly I only have one old Star Wars set and no Harry Potter. They're mostly old castle, pirates, town, and space sets. What's BC?

 

http://www.brickclassifieds.com/

[Rubygirl583]

Ah I had no idea that existed. Thanks!!

[Rodeogeorge]

Teach a man (or woman) to fish.