Bionicle & Hero Factory - general discussion

[LowestFormOfWit]

AFAIK they both use the same LEGO Technic connections via the axles, pins and ball joints.

 

Don't quote me, but I think it'd be pretty out of character for LEGO to not allow backwards compatibility with a successor line.

[ExoBro94]

Back in the day, Bionicle was my favorite theme. I currently have 95 Bionicle sets on display throughout my house. To be completely honest, that box looks like it contains a lot of leg pieces and a lot of weaponry. I do not see much other variation (enough to warrant the consideration of that bin). Used Bionicle pieces are also a nightmare...

[boomzoom]

My sons LOVE hero factory too. I think series 1 of Hero Factory is more like Bionicle and the pieces do not mix well with Hero Factory 2.0 or above. That's only my personal opinion. I have to set aside a box for Hero Factory 1.0 pieces so they don't mix with the other Hero Factory pieces. My sons love making their own hero and villains and it frustrates them that the 1.0 pieces are different.

[Blackjack]

AFAIK they both use the same LEGO Technic connections via the axles, pins and ball joints.

 

Don't quote me, but I think it'd be pretty out of character for LEGO to not allow backwards compatibility with a successor line.

 

(quote)    Not to really argue, but the last thing I would call them is compatible.  They use two totally different building systems, with Bionicle sets having most of the body and armor pieces held on with pins, whereas HF uses snap on armor.  Also, the limbs work very poorly together when you try to cross over.  Bionicle has much more creative potential and versatility when building, not to mention physical quality far beyond HF.

[Zoroaku]

Bionicle is my favorite theme because of it's depth and originality. I find that the lack of an Interesting story has made me lose interest in Hero Factory, but I do own all the 'good guys' from the original wave of HF.

[TheOrcKing]

I forgot this thread ever had a poll in the beginning. Well, it has now since been readded for your voting pleasure.

[Diabolos80]

My 5 year old now has 3 hero factory figures, and he plays with them almost every day. I helped him build the first one, and he immediately dismantled it and rebuilt it himself. For three days straight he would build it, disassemble it, then rebuild it. Then I got him a new one, and he built it all by himself. I was so proud Now he's a pro. Anyway he thinks they're way cooler than the boring old Sopwith and VW I play with lol. I like them too. When we have battles with them, horns and armor fly everywhere, legs are chopped off, bad guys are decapitated... You can't do that with Hasbro figures!

[comicblast]

Hero Factory. I couldn't say any of the Bionicle names!

[davidsevern]

Bionicle! They saw me the dark age and I'd never go back though Hero Factory seem to have a good line-up...

[ExoBro94]

If people think the Bionicle sets were bad, Hero Factory is 1000x worse. Less pieces per set and just junkier overall. And seriously, my Bionicle sets have been flying out of inventory so far. All of the sets I've listed so far have sold, and all went for above the brick-index prices. 

[comicblast]

If people think the Bionicle sets were bad, Hero Factory is 1000x worse. Less pieces per set and just junkier overall. And seriously, my Bionicle sets have been flying out of inventory so far. All of the sets I've listed so far have sold, and all went for above the brick-index prices. 

I've never sold a Bionicle set, but I have sold HF ones, and they sell very nicely. I've picked several up to quickflip on eBay, and all have sold in "Buy it Now" listings within one week [most being fewer than 4 days] of the item being listed. Not too shabby IMO, considering that I thought I would have to hold onto it for longer until it would sell. 

[ExoBro94]

I've never sold a Bionicle set, but I have sold HF ones, and they sell very nicely. I've picked several up to quickflip on eBay, and all have sold in "Buy it Now" listings within one week [most being fewer than 4 days] of the item being listed. Not too shabby IMO, considering that I thought I would have to hold onto it for longer until it would sell. 

 

Currently, I only sell on Amazon and I've almost perfected my approach to that site. It's a whole different beast compared to eBay, but if you play it right you can make a lot more money. I sold Toa Lhikan & Kikanalo two days ago MISB for $90 and Turaga Dume & Nivawk yesterday for $30 NIB. 

[whyiswoodchuck]

I like both of them

[boomzoom]

Hero Factory seems to me to be the same things repeating themselves, just with added upgrades. Hero Factory pieces are also HUGE and I don't really like them. Bionicle, in my opinion, just seems more professionally done.

 

Have to agree with you on the repeating part. I meant how many different versions of Stormer, Furno, Surge, etc do we need? But both my sons love Hero Factory. It is their favorite Lego's theme. they love both following the instructions to build the Hero/villains or make their own. when they had friends over, Hero Factory was usually what their friends would pick to play with. It is fun to build your own, then battle.

[spectre1130]

I love the newer HF sets.  I have few myself and would love more if I had the disposable $.  Black Phantom is going to do well in the long run IMO.  I only wish I had bought more than 1.  Some of these newer Brain Attack releases look way more solid and beastly.  I bet some of these will do well.  Core Hunter looks good for down the road I think too.

[MartinP]

I really do not like the themes and I am not sure what would be a better investment. There are so similar.

[ExoBro94]

Bionicle fans are almost entering AFOL territory. I expect to see I rise in the themes CAGR. No sure if I should start selling my sets now or hold out a little while longer.

[terrymc4677]

if bionicle was released 12 years ago then the kids who loved them and had them are now currently in their dark ages. this is probably why hero factory is the current better performer. once those kids who grew up with bionicle come out of their dark ages then those values should increase. personally, I don't care for either one. they are too "action figure-ish" for my taste, which is not the form of lego that I grew up with in the 80's. If I wanted action figures, then it was star wars, gi joe, he-man, transformers, and thundercats for me.

[spectre1130]

I only had one set of Legos when I was a kid.  They were expensive back in the 80's too.  I too loved all the awesome toys from that era, especially Transformers and Muscle.  I still kind of dig a lot of these sets because the parts are so interchangeable between them.  I only open a select few of my sets, and these are usually some that I do buy an extra one just for this purpose.  I think as stated earlier, the kids that grew up with Bionicle will get out of the teenage/college years were they swore off these 'toys" because of an image to uphold, and will eventually be coming into the market sometime soon down the line if they pursue a life in collecting childhood items.  They will want these sets MIB etc. 

 

If this happens with Hero Factory as well, then now is obviously the time to start looking into them more closely.  I can see why some collector's are just not into them though.  They aren't the Legos your pa played with.  But just look at sets like Black Phantom that were selling on the shelves just about 6 months ago for $19.99 on sale, and look at their average now.

[Dallas20]

Last night I picked up 6 of the Breeze for $3.50 at Wal-Mart. I knew absolutely nothing about the line but I figured at a 65% discount there had to be at least some profit potential there. I also picked up two of the XL sets for $14...again quite a nice discount!

 

I cleaned their shelfs out and saved the receipt in case I couldn't sell them. That is where my question comes in. I am very new to Ebay, with only 15 feedbacks and was wondering what the best way to sell these on ebay would be? Bulk, Auciton, Buy it Now? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[stephen_rockefeller]

Probably bulk or buy it now........I don't think they are sought after enough to make money auction style.

[Quacs]

 

Last night I picked up 6 of the Breeze for $3.50 at Wal-Mart. I knew absolutely nothing about the line but I figured at a 65% discount there had to be at least some profit potential there. I also picked up two of the XL sets for $14...again quite a nice discount!

 

I cleaned their shelfs out and saved the receipt in case I couldn't sell them. That is where my question comes in. I am very new to Ebay, with only 15 feedbacks and was wondering what the best way to sell these on ebay would be? Bulk, Auciton, Buy it Now? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

I agree with Stephen - there's not enough demand for these to drive them to high auction prices. List it as a Buy It Now listing, check the sold listings and the lowest current listings, and price it somewhere in between. They will sell.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I have passed on a bunch of these on clearance but I may need to rethink that looking at the CAGR.

 

The bad thing is the shipping angle - some of them would maybe cost $5 to ship, so even if you grab a 5$ set and can sell it for $15 later, you still aren't making a ton of money.

[Dallas20]

Thanks for all of the quick responses!

 

DoNotInsertIntoMouth - how would you suggest shipping these? Again, I am extremely new at this but I was thinking of putting the smaller ones I got for 65% off into a padded envelope.

 

Thoughts?

[nolanfan34]

A question to those who have sold lots of Bionicle/Hero Factory sets in the past. I picked up a 10 lb lot recently of these. No instructions. A bunch of them are put together, but I have no clue what is complete, what isn't, etc. Is it best to just leave them as is for pictures, and post the lot that way? Or should I break them down into piece types - heads, weapons, arms/legs, etc. I have seen stuff posted both ways on eBay and am curious if people have thoughts on either approach or if it even matters. And yes, maybe not a smart buy if I am asking this question, haha, but for $20 I figured what the hey.