New investor, couple of questions

[minatoyellowflash]

Hi, i'm new to this buying LEGO for profit game but i'm finding it a enjoyable hobby as well as hopefully making a decent return on my investments in a few years! Lots of great info on this site and i've spent many hours reading on it but i have a couple of questions that i would appreciate your thoughts on. I often hear that i should not buy sets at full retail price however there are many sets that appeal to me that are only available from the LEGO (UK) shop such as the VW Camper Van, Mini Modulars and Haunted House of course so i was wondering should i just pay up and buy what i want knowing it's not going to be cheaper anytime soon or should i just focus on buying other sets that are available from Amazon and other such places that often have discounts? I ask because LEGO UK don't seem to really do any offers, last month it was a free Chima and this month it's a police helicopter but i was unsure if they ever do many actual money off offers? I am based in the UK and i can only buy online as i don't have a car, also there are no LEGO stores near where i live anyway so the online store is my best option for buying. Eventually i'm going to have to sell these sets and my biggest concern is that if i sell the sets sealed then am i correct in saying that if the buyer says the box was full of Cheerios or Megablocks then there is nothing i can do about it and i'll lose all my money because Paypal will back the buyer? If this is the case would it really be the end of the world if i list the items as unsealed in order to show photos of contents? I know this may put some people off but i still saw a UCS Millennium Falcon go for about it's current value the other day with the box open or would you say you do not usually get a good price on opened boxes? Since i only buy online many of the boxes are arriving with dents and scuffs so i'm thinking that since they are not mint anyway i may be best off selling the sets opened? One last question, how are Amazon for returns? As an example i would like to return a Tower Bridge as the box is a bit dented but how confident should i be that once amazon get it back they will refund my postage fees? It seems it's up to me to get it back to them using whatever service would be best and in this example i'm not sure i could use the post office due to size and weight so i'd need to use a courier i think but that's a lot of money in return postage fees that i would want back and it sounds a bit risky if Amazon decide a couple of dents and minor scuffs to the box does not justify them paying up on the return postage. What are other peoples experiences on this? Should i pay extra for tracking and insurance and if i do would Amazon pay me back? Thanks for your time

[Ed Mack]

Hi, i'm new to this buying LEGO for profit game but i'm finding it a enjoyable hobby as well as hopefully making a decent return on my investments in a few years! Lots of great info on this site and i've spent many hours reading on it but i have a couple of questions that i would appreciate your thoughts on. Welcome to the site.

I often hear that i should not buy sets at full retail price however there are many sets that appeal to me that are only available from the LEGO (UK) shop such as the VW Camper Van, Mini Modulars and Haunted House of course so i was wondering should i just pay up and buy what i want knowing it's not going to be cheaper anytime soon or should i just focus on buying other sets that are available from Amazon and other such places that often have discounts? I ask because LEGO UK don't seem to really do any offers, last month it was a free Chima and this month it's a police helicopter but i was unsure if they ever do many actual money off offers? I am based in the UK and i can only buy online as i don't have a car, also there are no LEGO stores near where i live anyway so the online store is my best option for buying. All LEGO sets go on sale at some point. The Haunted House and Camper have been discounted previously and will probably will be again. LEGO had a 10% off deal before XMAS and runs sales all the time.

Eventually i'm going to have to sell these sets and my biggest concern is that if i sell the sets sealed then am i correct in saying that if the buyer says the box was full of Cheerios or Megablocks then there is nothing i can do about it and i'll lose all my money because Paypal will back the buyer? If this is the case would it really be the end of the world if i list the items as unsealed in order to show photos of contents? I know this may put some people off but i still saw a UCS Millennium Falcon go for about it's current value the other day with the box open or would you say you do not usually get a good price on opened boxes? Since i only buy online many of the boxes are arriving with dents and scuffs so i'm thinking that since they are not mint anyway i may be best off selling the sets opened? Fraud is a new issue with MISB LEGO sets and I can make a point for having contents of a set verified in their plastic bags. Seals can be tampered with. Right now, MISB is the preferred selling method, but I can see a future where sets are opened to confirm contents.

One last question, how are Amazon for returns? As an example i would like to return a Tower Bridge as the box is a bit dented but how confident should i be that once amazon get it back they will refund my postage fees? It seems it's up to me to get it back to them using whatever service would be best and in this example i'm not sure i could use the post office due to size and weight so i'd need to use a courier i think but that's a lot of money in return postage fees that i would want back and it sounds a bit risky if Amazon decide a couple of dents and minor scuffs to the box does not justify them paying up on the return postage. What are other peoples experiences on this? Should i pay extra for tracking and insurance and if i do would Amazon pay me back? Amazon is excellent with returns. Slight damage to boxes might not be worth trouble or money to return.

Thanks for your time

[CrazyIvan]

I agree with Ed about Amazon returns. I have bought a ton of sets from Amazon in the past 3 months and just recently had 2 come in totally crushed. I did the online Amazon return process. Amazon shipped me a replacement set for one of the sets the same day I submitted the claim for replacement. The other set was no longer available and they credited my credit card when UPS received the package for shipping. In other words, they credited my account before they even had the set back at one of their warehouses. I am very impressed with Amazon and their return policy.

[cobi]

I too returned a set to amazon for "crushed Box". No questions asked. Had my refund within 2 days after being pick-up on my porch. Bought the same set 3 days later for $6.00 less. Crazy??

[Studebricker]

I'll add a thumbs up to Amazon's great customer service as well. I had a Lego shipment to my house that "walked off" before I got home and had a chance to open it. I called Amazon after it had been shown to have been delivered but was not there. They reshipped at no charge and I was very thankful. I suppose I could have been lying, but I am not that kind of person. I found out later that apparently, because it was a holiday weekend when many people are out of town, some lowlifes like to drive around and look for packages at people's front doors, and take off with their merchandise. I actually was out of town when the shipment arrived, but it arrived earlier than Amazon had estimated, or I would have arranged for someone to pick up my package for me while I was gone.

[heathx3]

just got the Fire Brigade and the Town Hall sets from Amazon, both for under $300 total. Neither box was crushed, however both boxes they were shipped in, were loosely taped and 1 was actually standing open and contents viewible to anyone. Packaging leaves a lot to be desired.