71312 - Ekimu the Mask Maker

[Val-E]

Seeing as this bad boy is now at 90 USD on Amazon.com and not even available in Europe, it deserves its own thread as the hero set of 2016.

6x RRP in 1 year sounds damn fine to me.

 

[vincevaughn]

Agreed, found a store with a bunch of these still on the shelf two weeks ago. Bunch of other bionicle as well.

.....One of the few times i have armswept at MSRP and was happily be bopping out the door to my car.

[Val-E]

These never made it beyond a few TRU here - I guess a few specialist shops may have got a handful but most would never even have had a chance to make an order. 

It´s weird that 71313 and 71314 are displaying the same turdy residuals as most Bionicles yet this one, 71315 and 71316 are really doing well.

[mizeur]

23 minutes ago, Val-E said:

These never made it beyond a few TRU here - I guess a few specialist shops may have got a handful but most would never even have had a chance to make an order. 

It´s weird that 71313 and 71314 are displaying the same turdy residuals as most Bionicles yet this one, 71315 and 71316 are really doing well.

71314 is still on TRU's shelves and ebay store in the US. 71313 has appreciated a bit here because the inventory cleared. 

[Val-E]

I guess Ekimu was either underproduced or in more demand being the only good guy. Doesn´t explain why some baddies are doing better than others as you need all of them to make the big bad guy.

[Alpinemaps]

Dang.  I'm not into Bionicles, but that is a fancy looking set.  Really like the looks of that.  I'm bummed I've never noticed it before.

[Val-E]

1 hour ago, Alpinemaps said:

Dang.  I'm not into Bionicles, but that is a fancy looking set.  Really like the looks of that.  I'm bummed I've never noticed it before.

You and 99.9% of other reseller scum! That´s what turned it into gold.

[TheOrcKing]

This looks awesome under a black light. Well all transparent pieces do but you know what I'm saying.

[zskid00]

Bionicle was probably my best investment theme from last year. Great returns on them.

[Forsaker]

Bionicle was probably my best investment theme from last year. Great returns on them.

Same here, thanks to Val-E for the early flag on this.

[Val-E]

115 USD on Assmazon and only the 3 sellers.  That´s an easy 7.5 times RRP in a year.  Something we are unlikely to see repeated. Meanwhile, in Europe you can only find it at Amazon.de for 100 euros.

If someone has told me one year ago that a Bionicle and an Elves set were going to be the best performers of the year, I´d have laughed long and hard.

Edited December 14, 2017 by Val-E

[Pet-Brick-er]

one year ago many of us still had hopes in the glorious past, few thought to change strategy. After all rehashes today many have changed strategy, few still hope in the long hold, in the big sets

[TargetZero]

20 hours ago, Pet-Brick-er said:

one year ago many of us still had hopes in the glorious past, few thought to change strategy. After all rehashes today many have changed strategy, few still hope in the long hold, in the big sets

all about buy in. i never bough a set at MSRP hoping doing money on it. but i know for sure plenty of them will sell at MSRP after EOL, so 50%+ discount is always a winner(well i didnt buy nexo at 50%

[Val-E]

8 minutes ago, TargetZero said:

all about buy in. i never bough a set at MSRP hoping doing money on it. but i know for sure plenty of them will sell at MSRP after EOL, so 50%+ discount is always a winner(well i didnt buy nexo at 50%

That´s a low risk strategy, but investing at RRP in the right Elves or Bionicle brought way better results than any 50% regular set. The hard part is picking the "right" ones.

[TargetZero]

12 minutes ago, Val-E said:

That´s a low risk strategy, but investing at RRP in the right Elves or Bionicle brought way better results than any 50% regular set. The hard part is picking the "right" ones.

which is called cambling, but a lot of those sets i've had them at 50%, at walmart but not in quantity just lucky picks was there at the right moment.. 

Wall-e would have been a good picks at low % off. But i've paid 60% offf at least cause they were 42$ instead of 70$ and the 2nd was half so 21$....  it's gambling at some point.

I better like the low risk strat

Edited December 15, 2017 by TargetZero

[Val-E]

Reselling Lego is always a gamble because you can never control future demand or supply from your rivals. Having a low buy-in shortens the odds on success but you can still pick the wrong sets e.g. Nexo or Angry Birds.

Ekimu would have not been such a success if it had proper supply and a normal production life - just think of all the other preo 2016 Bionicles hanging around like a bad smell in many shops.

[Villager Chris]

10 hours ago, Val-E said:

Reselling Lego is always a gamble because you can never control future demand or supply from your rivals. Having a low buy-in shortens the odds on success but you can still pick the wrong sets e.g. Nexo or Angry Birds.

Ekimu would have not been such a success if it had proper supply and a normal production life - just think of all the other preo 2016 Bionicles hanging around like a bad smell in many shops.

The question is, would Nexo and Angry Birds be the wrong sets a year or two from now?

Edited December 16, 2017 by Villager Chris

[Val-E]

4 hours ago, Villager Chris said:

The question is, would Nexo and Angry Birds be the wrong sets a year or two from now?

Maybe and yes.

[cladner]

and then there was one.

1 seller on amazon - $124.99.

my personal rocket 10667 is bowing down with 5 sellers and $97.99. 

well played foxfire sales, 1 seller, you win.  seems the price is too low to be honest - if i had mastery of the listing i would put it at $199.99.  even $299.99.

0.01% grandmama shops on amazon and her precious lil baby needs ekimu to complete his set so he can throw it in the closet and move on to the next thing.

 

Edited December 16, 2017 by cladner

[Ed Mack]

6 hours ago, Villager Chris said:

The question is, would Nexo and Angry Birds be the wrong sets a year or two from now?

Maybe, but probably not...Bionicle and Hero Factory sets are unique.  I have been preaching about Hero Factory and Bionicle sets for years.  I always thought they were awesome sets, with their ability to combine with other sets in the theme to make larger, more radical models.  They are not for everyone.  Some don't even consider them LEGO sets, but there is a passionate fan base who love love them and would like to see more produced.  It really might be my favorite theme. 

Only the current STAR WARS Buildable figures come close and there are no options to combine them.  Kids, especially boys, love the Bionicle and Hero Factory themes.  LEGO really needs to come up with something similar instead of reissuing older sets.  In a way, the Mixels theme was similar and will also be a very good investment (if it's not already).  It was another theme that enticed a person to buy multiples to complete a larger set (MAX).  

[Val-E]

2016 Bionicles had a favourable supply to demand ratio. Few buyers and fewer sellers.

Earlier Bionicles are still on shelves.

[Val-E]

Still stuck at 115 USD with 2 sellers  but seems to have been wiped out from all Euro Amazons apart from Amazon Uk, where it is  a US import. Bargain at only 135 GBP plus shipping.

[Darth_Raichu]

27 minutes ago, Val-E said:

Still stuck at 115 USD with 2 sellers  but seems to have been wiped out from all Euro Amazons apart from Amazon Uk, where it is  a US import. Bargain at only 135 GBP plus shipping.

Wake me up when it hits USD 150

[Pet-Brick-er]

Wake me up if someone finds buyers, still have 25 but no buyers 

[Villager Chris]

58 minutes ago, Pet-Brick-er said:

Wake me up if someone finds buyers, still have 25 but no buyers 

Indeed. I have a few sets on Amazon that are the lowest price, but remain unsold. I'll have to keep them or reduce further. 

The value is only what buyers are willing to pay, and buyers are very smart these days. Apart from the very keenest of collectors, who would pay a small fortune for a Bionicle set?