Bricklink's AFOL Designer Program 2019

[minicoopers11]

17 hours ago, isawred said:

watching the video now..... very interesting!

creates mixed feelings: from shear amazement to utter disappointment... 1) second coolest place to work!!! 2) only ship 2 days a week?!?!? 

either way i am thrilled to be out of the dark ages and look forward to future LEGO endeavors, both financially and physically!

note: as i re-read what i've typed i couldn't imagine working for bricklink... while the concept is super cool the pace/progress/motivations/inspirations/overall is lack luster.

The AFOL Designer Program was an exception to Bricklink’s normal operations (this is the first time (I think) they’ve sold anything directly). They used some of their employees and contracted with other companies to get it done.

[KShine]

This was an enormous undertaking, and they had little (if any) experience in any of the aspects of what they were attempting to do - I am amazed that it went as smoothly as it did.

[Al Legorical]

26 minutes ago, KShine said:

This was an enormous undertaking, and they had little (if any) experience in any of the aspects of what they were attempting to do - I am amazed that it went as smoothly as it did.

Second that. The actual products are very good, the packaging exceptional.

So far all I ordered arrived in good condition albeit slow. It’s not surprising that admin have been difficult to contact! 

Honestly, I thought they wouldn’t have got everything shipped before December.

My final order is on the way, so fingers crossed...

[$20 on joe vs dan]

Let's talk ceilings

I really don't know what builders were thinking when they sprayed that popcorn crap back in the 80s

So based on my newb perspective...using Comicon set appreciation, which I think is the closest comp along w/ the recent exclusive BHz...1

short term (1-2yr)...5x

long-term (2+ yrs)...10x

Edited August 27, 2019 by $20 on joe vs dan

[spener90]

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

Let's talk ceilings

I really don't know what builders were thinking when they sprayed that popcorn crap back in the 80s

So based on my newb perspective...using Comicon set appreciation, which I think is the closest comp along w/ the recent exclusive BHz...1

short term (1-2yr)...5x

long-term (2+ yrs)...10x

You are definitely optimistic.

[Al Legorical]

1 hour ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

Let's talk ceilings

I really don't know what builders were thinking when they sprayed that popcorn crap back in the 80s

So based on my newb perspective...using Comicon set appreciation, which I think is the closest comp along w/ the recent exclusive BHz...1

short term (1-2yr)...5x

long-term (2+ yrs)...10x

I’ll be happy to sell at 2x   As it stands right now the only resale venues are BrickLink, eBay and the usual market places

Lawrence hasn’t “made up his mind” wether or not to allow them listed on BrickOwl. I think he’d rather not.

i don’t believe they have UPC’s so can’t list on the other places, and once the glut comes about when wholesale orders are fulfilled I think all but castle will drop in asking price, resale is slow on BrickLink, and that’s with them still on the landing page. When no longer visible then they will become rather obscure.

... or you could be right!

[$20 on joe vs dan]

my thoughts were more about the max these sets COULD ever get. So any reason they could get higher?

I agree that, currently, the demand is not high likely due to being still nitchy and not mainstream (going rate is probably ranging at 1.5x to 2x)..but in terms of quality, design, and build/display...these sets are definitely top shlef....so that leads me to collectability.  Not having unique minifigures really hurt...as I've found their popularity often times drives set prices.

That said they are individually numbered and only 2500 which is a real small quantity and if I'm guessing...the majority went to AFoL collectors who aren't looking to sell as their top priority...unlike most other Comicon sets....therefore less competing stock in the market.

For the experienced folks here...did I hit all the key points?

 

[iahawks550]

The biggest hurdle is the number of people that know or care about these sets. Overseas demand could be the key, if a person is willing to ship. But, once these get off the front page of Bricklink, I'm not sure there will be huge demand for anything outside of 3-4 sets. 

We will see shortly. My two castles are still a week away from getting to me. That means there will be a ton entering the market in the next two weeks, I'm assuming. 

[eliminator]

My two castles arrived today, numbers 1786 and 1792. Ordered both at the same time around the 2300? mark.

I'm not really sure what to do with these. My original plan was to use the second set as a parts slave for the expansion. Now I might just sell it...

Edited August 27, 2019 by eliminator

[Mathew]

Has Jang Bricks even mentioned these on his channel?  Brickset front page?  Honestly I thought at least the Castle would have received more exposure.  I'm kind of kicking myself for not ordering one but $200 was a tough pill to swallow.  Lego should really pick up Lowenstein as an Ideas set...they could clean it up a little and bring it in closer to $180 (minus the fancy packaging).

[donbee]

My two castles arrived today, numbers 1786 and 1792. Ordered both at the same time around the 2300? mark.
I'm not really sure what to do with these. My original plan was to use the second set as a parts slave for the expansion. Now I might just sell it...

I’ll get you your money back right now.

[Feanor]

I've just seen the first auction of one of the castle sets pop up on German ebay. I'd consider the German market one of the best case scenarios for this set (German designer, lost of medieval castles in Germany), so let's see how that works out. The seller wants 449€ as a starting price (well over double the 200$ initial price), so that might dampen initial interest quite a bit.

Edited August 28, 2019 by Feanor

[Al Legorical]

Finally all orders arrived, castles yesterday, all orders arrived in A1 condition. Frankly surprised seeing all the complaints. Castle is heavier than I anticipated 

[iahawks550]

If someone could help, TIA.

My castles (2) arrived in brown Bricklink boxes. If these are opened, are the inside boxes (I assume they are white boxes from the pictures) also sealed? Can we see the number of the set after opening the brown boxes?

[Jivepicnic]

If someone could help, TIA.
My castles (2) arrived in brown Bricklink boxes. If these are opened, are the inside boxes (I assume they are white boxes from the pictures) also sealed? Can we see the number of the set after opening the brown boxes?

Yes, the boxes inside the brown mailer boxes are sealed. The box itself is black and there is a white slip cover that shows the set number out of 2500. The inside of the slip cover has the backdrop that is designed to display behind the set.

[eliminator]

Has anyone built the castle expansion yet? Anyone plan to? Either using a second set for most of the parts or sourcing from scratch?

[squeakdigital00]

Yes
Yes
And
Yes

Sent from my SM-G955U using Brickpicker Forum mobile app

[locidm]

I built my expansion. All parts from BL.

[eliminator]

4 hours ago, locidm said:

I built my expansion. All parts from BL.
 

How much was the total cost of the expansion parts in your case? Mostly from the same store? New or used parts?

I'm tempted to slice open my second castle for 1000 of the 1600 expansion parts....but might be more financially responsible to just buy all the parts and ditch the second castle for a nice quick profit.

[Al Legorical]

17 minutes ago, eliminator said:

How much was the total cost of the expansion parts in your case? Mostly from the same store? New or used parts?

I'm tempted to slice open my second castle for 1000 of the 1600 expansion parts....but might be more financially responsible to just buy all the parts and ditch the second castle for a nice quick profit.

May as well, not many folks buying

[locidm]

How much was the total cost of the expansion parts in your case? Mostly from the same store? New or used parts?
I'm tempted to slice open my second castle for 1000 of the 1600 expansion parts....but might be more financially responsible to just buy all the parts and ditch the second castle for a nice quick profit.

I think others before me quoted something like $150-$180 shipped new. Mine was higher because like you I was going to open up a second set for parts, so I had ordered the training needed parts. But then I changed my mind and got the rest. The poster above me is correct that these sets are selling very slow.

[iahawks550]

They are selling slow on BL because people have priced these at 2x retail. These would probably move much faster around the $300 price point

[eliminator]

4 minutes ago, iahawks550 said:

They are selling slow on BL because people have priced these at 2x retail. These would probably move much faster around the $300 price point

Agreed. I have one up for sale locally and getting multiple offers of $300USD. Asking $400. Perhaps I'm just being greedy.

[Al Legorical]

24 minutes ago, eliminator said:

Agreed. I have one up for sale locally and getting multiple offers of $300USD. Asking $400. Perhaps I'm just being greedy.

No such thing as greed when investing, you take the risk after all. “Snooze you loose” to those that “wish they’d bought one”

unless you need the money, personally I would hold out for at least $400, there will be a buyer eventually.

when (if) they do a second run, the first lot will be more sought after IMHO, they are definitely thinking about it.

[CathyVT]

If anyone is interested, I'm selling a used Science Tower on eBay, and it's currently less than MSRP. It ends in a few hours. I meant to have the auction end on the weekend, but forgot, last Monday (a holiday in the US) that it was Monday, not Sunday (when I set the auction to end in a week). So someone might get a good deal since it's ending in the middle of a work day (very little data on how the sets are selling used - I haven't seen ANY other than mine). I only ship to the US, though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/293211376109 

Edited September 9, 2019 by CathyVT