Sydney Opera House investing idea

[stephen_rockefeller]

Hey guys I have though about this and I think I am gonna try it, thought I would share the idea. I am gonna get some SOH architecture sets which are small and fairly cheap. I am gonna save them for when the time comes to sell the big SOH. It should sweeten up the deal a bit to include the small one when selling the bigger one in the secondary market and pull in some more profit. I like to do this with bigger sets and their small polybag counterparts and it seems to work well. What do y'all think?

[blueremains]

That's a pretty good idea Stephen.  I've thought about this myself and it may be worth it.

Here are a few things to keep in mind though:

The SOH small set retails at $39.99 but has been on sale recently for around $29.99, so not exactly polybag cheap.

Also, the small architecture sets don't seem to follow the regular cycle of EOL which is different than polys which seem to just have a few runs and are gone.

Out of the 20 architecture sets in the whole series, only 3 have been retired.  Two after 3 years, one after 8 months- the rest of them are still going strong.

The oldest is the Empire State building which debuted 8 months after the Live Star in Feb of 2009, so 4 years 4 months and counting!

I personally love the Architecture series- I just wish TLG would start retiring some of the older sets!!  

[LowestFormOfWit]

I've done this as well. I'm hoping it helps push both sets out the door while allowing me to pad the price a little since they get combined shipping.

[Redplanet]

I agree with selling big box sets with their small polybag counterparts. I dunno about you guys, but I have difficulty getting polybags where I am. Hah!

[emes]

I bundle things all the time, so I think it's a good idea. I've never bought and sold an Architecture set though so I don't have much idea about market demand for those items or if someone buying a large exclusive would necessarily care about the Architecture set.

[Grolim]

That is a pretty good idea.  Do you think you will earn more than just selling the Architecture set and large new set separately? 

[blueremains]

That is a pretty good idea.  Do you think you will earn more than just selling the Architecture set and large new set separately? 

 

Like LowestFormOfWit said earlier, at the very least you can save on shipping costs of the smaller set.  

[cambridge02138]

I bundle things all the time, so I think it's a good idea. I've never bought and sold an Architecture set though so I don't have much idea about market demand for those items or if someone buying a large exclusive would necessarily care about the Architecture set.

 

Not sure about other investors ... but as for me, I am interested in the large scale Sydney Opera House but not the one from the architecture series.  Similarly, while I am interested in the $200 X-wing, I am not interested in the smaller 9493 version.  I bought the 9493 solely for the New York Yoda mini-figure (Toys R Us exclusive from May 23 to May 25).

[spener90]

When is the Opera House going to be announced?

[OzGadget]

The question with the Sydney Opera House is will it be a set that will retain its value or be a shelf price item.

It is not foreseeable for it to increase in value like the Ultimate Millenium Falcon set, I see it will be an item where a small profit may be obtained.

It points to a new direction in the Architecture range by Lego, should there be more sets, the SOH may increase in value.

[abri123]

The idea is a good one, and would give buyers an incentive to purchase from you instead of others, but architecture set is a lot more expensive than a polybag so could you still get a good return by sending both together?

On the other hand if you have loads of the achitecture Opera house, I wouldn't want to hang on to them myself now, so depends if you want rid quick

[TheDarkness]

The Architecture set looks even worse now. You might be lucky with it, but with something that large and awesome, why would you want a turd sitting next to it, especially considering how expensive it will be.

[OzGadget]

The Architecture set looks even worse now. You might be lucky with it, but with something that large and awesome, why would you want a turd sitting next to it, especially considering how expensive it will be.

The interesting part is that with the SOH set, it cries out for more detailing. LED lighting of the internals, custom street lighting, additional sections for watercraft (sail boats, ferries) around the forecourt and even a sound chip or Bluetooth speaker to make it sound like it is holding concerts, etc.

[stephen_rockefeller]

The Architecture set looks even worse now. You might be lucky with it, but with something that large and awesome, why would you want a turd sitting next to it, especially considering how expensive it will be.

Yeah this idea is invalid now that we know what the creator set looks like.

[OzGadget]

Yeah this idea is invalid now that we know what the creator set looks like.

I have to claim bias to the new set as it is in my home state however if you could recommend a building instead of the SOH, what would it be and why.

[Ed Mack]

I like the idea. Remember, it's just a throw in or bonus to increase interest in the larger set. It doesn't need to stand alone or even increase in value. The money is in the larger set.

[TheDarkness]

The interesting part is that with the SOH set, it cries out for more detailing. LED lighting of the internals, custom street lighting, additional sections for watercraft (sail boats, ferries) around the forecourt and even a sound chip or Bluetooth speaker to make it sound like it is holding concerts, etc.

 

It does. Watching the video, I was a bit annoyed at how "blobby" the tan section was. Sure it is a lot of a rare colour, but they could have broken it down a bit subtly. By the time you throw more detail in though, that will negate it. I too was thinking of ferries, and even a Sydney Harbour Bridge nearby in a massive scene.

[TheOrcKing]

Figures, the big set version which was but a rumor before is finally released and already we are finding fault with it.

Let the nitpicking begin!

[LowestFormOfWit]

I like the idea. Remember, it's just a throw in or bonus to increase interest in the larger set. It doesn't need to stand alone or even increase in value. The money is in the larger set.

I have it working the reverse in one of my bundles.

 

The smaller polybag is the price driver. Obviously not the case here, but still! Got to be careful about generalizing around here...

[TheDarkness]

Figures, the big set version which was but a rumor before is finally released and already we are finding fault with it.

Let the nitpicking begin!

 

Nothing wrong with being picky and working out how to make some small modifications to it. Certainly not denying it's awesomeness!

[TheOrcKing]

Nothing wrong with being picky and working out how to make some small modifications to it. Certainly not denying it's awesomeness!

I know. It just sounds funny when the big reveal happens on stuff such as this and everyone is like "Oh wow, that's amazing!......Now if only this were changed, and this modified, and, oh, alter the color of that, and...." Ha ha. I wouldn't be surprised if down the road I'll find modifications done to this set on flickr and other sites to perfect the image.

[Diabolos80]

The only problem I see with the set's aesthetics is the roof. The underside of the sails aren't curved, and that bugs me. I don't know how Jaime could have made that work, but that's why I'm not a Lego master designer. Anyway, I will buy it, build it, and show it off to everyone who rings my doorbell.

[OzGadget]

I think the point does need to be highlighted that the new SOH set is a Creator set and not part of the architecture series. Same as the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower & The London Bridge.

My understanding is the architecture range is an office desk collectors item. The are miniature representations of wel known buildings, the overall shape of the building is its purpose, not the finer detail that the creator series has

[gallomania]

That's a pretty good idea Stephen.  I've thought about this myself and it may be worth it.

Here are a few things to keep in mind though:

The SOH small set retails at $39.99 but has been on sale recently for around $29.99, so not exactly polybag cheap.

Also, the small architecture sets don't seem to follow the regular cycle of EOL which is different than polys which seem to just have a few runs and are gone.

Out of the 20 architecture sets in the whole series, only 3 have been retired.  Two after 3 years, one after 8 months- the rest of them are still going strong.

The oldest is the Empire State building which debuted 8 months after the Live Star in Feb of 2009, so 4 years 4 months and counting!

I personally love the Architecture series- I just wish TLG would start retiring some of the older sets!!  

 

I read 3 sets withdrawn from the market ... are not two?

 

21001

21016

 

thank you very much

[M4x18]

I read 3 sets withdrawn from the market ... are not two?

 

21001

21016

 

thank you very much

As of today, only those two are the ones that have been retired. All of the others are available from LEGO Shop at Home.