Exclusive sets as an investment

[Koenders]

Hi,

What are good 2018/2019 exclusive sets to buy now as an investment for later?

I like multiple sets like the Bugatti Chiron (42083) or Y-Wing Starfighter (75181) but are these smart investments for later? What are thing to look at and what type of sets are not overproduced? How can you recognize good sets? ?

 

[Ed Mack]

Hello...I think you need to start reading some blogs and posts.  There is plenty of information out there.

[The Builder]

I think some of the speed champion sets for 2019 show tuns of promise, that's what I'm laying my money on. (That doesn't mean you should!) 

I bought the tron legacy set as 50% an investment and 50% as a display set. It's performing very well for me so far, I think it could go up in the future.

But I agree, read the blog posts and forums and keep learning, you'er going to make mistakes, and that's okay, just keep learning!! 

[crayxlp]

5 hours ago, Koenders said:

Hi,

What are good 2018/2019 exclusive sets to buy now as an investment for later?

I like multiple sets like the Bugatti Chiron (42083) or Y-Wing Starfighter (75181) but are these smart investments for later? What are thing to look at and what type of sets are not overproduced? How can you recognize good sets? ?

 

there are different approaches what to buy / resell later.. its like how many people that many opinions. Some also focus on the currently retiring sets while the time span to keep them (before reselling further) could be quite short.

[$20 on joe vs dan]

I like to think of myself as an Opportunistic Collector; which means my goal is to buy 3 of what I like

1 to build, 1 to sell to recoup costs, and 1 to be a lottery ticket...I like to think of this as a sustainable approach

This said, I only got into Legos about 3 months ago.

I think the biggest lessons I learned (so far) are:

1. nothing is really scarce

2. if I don't intend to build it right away...there's really no need to sink money to get something at or near RRP (I've got a Hogwarts Castle that I intended to build w/ my boy in maybe a couple of years...so that's $400 worth of oppportunity costs wasted)

3. The deals I have seen during my first LEgo Black Friday and Christmas season are just bonkers...I may never be able to purchase anything for less than 30%off again

4. I spend more time thinking about storage and display than actual Lego building 

5. Brickpickers is just 4 guys with too much time and too many Legos and bitter as hell

Edited December 19, 2018 by $20 on joe vs dan

[Guest TabbyBoy]

27 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

I like to think of myself as an Opportunistic Collector; which means my goal is to buy 3 of what I like

1 to build, 1 to sell to recoup costs, and 1 to be a lottery ticket...I like to think of this as a sustainable approach

This said, I only got into Legos about 3 months ago.

I think the biggest lessons I learned (so far) are:

1. nothing is really scarce

2. if I don't intend to build it right away...there's really no need to sink money to get something at or near RRP (I've got a Hogwarts Castle that I intended to build w/ my boy in maybe a couple of years...so that's $400 worth of oppportunity costs wasted)

3. The deals I have seen during my first LEgo Black Friday and Christmas season are just bonkers...I may never be able to purchase anything for less than 30%off again

4. I spend more time thinking about storage and display than actual Lego building 

5. Brickpickers is just 4 guys with too much time and too many Legos and bitter as hell

I've not yet seen one set that is "Hard To Find" as per LEGO's misleading description, which shouldn't be legal. If you want a set at a realistic price, you'll get it eventually. I agree that nothing is scarce and rarity is a thing of the past. There's not one single set that I've been unable to buy or had to pay over RRP for, even my CUUSOO Hayabusa was easy to find at a discount. Of course, if you can by a set cheap, so can thousands of others. My strategy now is to have buyers lined up for instant offloading which means that I no longer worry about long term storage. However, a nice set at 75% off is still worth buying in vast quantity. I've had to sell a lot of turkeys at a loss, but the relief it brings is well worth it.

[kumas]

I would consider only these for investment right now: UCS Falcon, Hogwarts Castle, Ninjago City, Carousel (Rollercoaster later)

[Guest TabbyBoy]

41 minutes ago, kumas said:

I would consider only these for investment right now: UCS Falcon, Hogwarts Castle, Ninjago City, Carousel (Rollercoaster later)

The problem in the UK is that none of those sets are exclusive as the big retailers like JLP and Smyths often get them soon after release. Not to mention the vast amount being produced these days. They're too high risk for me and too big to store for years, so I now pass unless it's to build. I have to "think outside the box" ?

[nolan808]

1 hour ago, TabbyBoy said:

I've not yet seen one set that is "Hard To Find" as per LEGO's misleading description, which shouldn't be legal. If you want a set at a realistic price, you'll get it eventually. I agree that nothing is scarce and rarity is a thing of the past. There's not one single set that I've been unable to buy or had to pay over RRP for, even my CUUSOO Hayabusa was easy to find at a discount. Of course, if you can by a set cheap, so can thousands of others. My strategy now is to have buyers lined up for instant offloading which means that I no longer worry about long term storage. However, a nice set at 75% off is still worth buying in vast quantity. I've had to sell a lot of turkeys at a loss, but the relief it brings is well worth it.

I like this idea of having buyers lined up to instantly offload products but where do you find these people lol. Wish I knew how to get a network of people willing to shed there cash there and then for big quantity's, this would make my life so much easier.

TabbyBoy is the king so any help would be appreciated. ?

Edited December 19, 2018 by raulaco

[Guest TabbyBoy]

4 minutes ago, raulaco said:

I like this idea of having buyers lined up to instantly offload products but where do you find these people lol. Wish I knew how to get a network of people willing to shed there cash there and then for big quantity's, this would make my life so much easier.

TabbyBoy is the king so any help would be appreciated. ?

Getting out there and basically selling yourself. I don't have young kids (just cats, one is a Tabby!), but there are a few schools near me and I often volunteer to help them out via our residents' committee. I talk to parents and LEGO is mentioned in nearly every conversation, not always by me. I also own a sign company and have some built sets on display which often get a mention when customers pop in. It's basically word-of-mouth, the ONLY form of advertising IMHO. Every time I go to the coast, I look for independent toy shops and emporiums to see if I can strike up a deal. The Watchet Marina Shop sells retired sets, has loads of loose minifigs/bricks and displays a 10179 for example... I wonder where he got his stock from? ? 

If you go to work or frequent schools, ask to put a leaflet on their notice board saying that you sell retired LEGO sets. Put a note in the sets that you sell on eBay will a list of what else you have. I also donate polybags and turkeys (as in crap sets) for raffle prizes.

[KShine]

2 hours ago, TabbyBoy said:

 I've had to sell a lot of turkeys at a loss, but the relief it brings is well worth it.

I don't sell at a loss - I make all of my purchases worst case net break even from day 1.

There are always great deals to be found - so learn obscure item/set values, be patient, and when a way too good deal shows up, load up.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

1 hour ago, KShine said:

I don't sell at a loss - I make all of my purchases worst case net break even from day 1.

There are always great deals to be found - so learn obscure item/set values, be patient, and when a way too good deal shows up, load up.

If you've had a pallet of Tower Bridges and VW Campers since 2012, the time to offload them is long overdue. I lost about 10% on it all, but that released funds to buy more sets at large discounts. I had no problem typing "99" into the quantity field when Tesco has sets discounted and on 3-for-2. Those cheap Airports, Spaceports, Volcanoes and Pop Star Buses have looked after me very nicely. If there's a cracking deal now, I pile straight in... big.

[KShine]

9 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

If you've had a pallet of Tower Bridges and VW Campers since 2012, the time to offload them is long overdue. I lost about 10% on it all, but that released funds to buy more sets at large discounts. I had no problem typing "99" into the quantity field when Tesco has sets discounted and on 3-for-2. Those cheap Airports, Spaceports, Volcanoes and Pop Star Buses have looked after me very nicely. If there's a cracking deal now, I pile straight in... big.

Yes - The pallets of lg exclusives strategy days are over. Can someone still get lucky? Yes - But relying on luck is not a winning strategy.

It made some sense back in the day, when a LEGO sets life expectancy was somewhat reliable (a year or two), and retired actually meant it wouldn't be coming back.