Pacific Northwest Brickpicker thread

[nolanfan34]

Instructions + bins does not equal sets necessarily. I am with bricks here. Depends on what you want it for - for building and MOC might be a good deal, for investing I would pass. Mixed bins take a ton of time to sort.

 

I would ask for more pics of the minifigs, that would make or break it.

[Hosamov]

I noticed it had been there a couple weeks. They say it's approx 24 Lbs all Lego and no smoke. Yeah, I don't know if I wanna sort thru that many lego bricks. I don't have that sort of time. Then again, let me ask about the minifigures.

IF most of the pieces and minifigs are there, it seems that it would definitely be worth the eBay market value to sort through and bricklink the missing pieces to sell. That's from a beginner though...

[zinger-lego]

Good morning Hosamov!

 

I recently paid about $6/lb for a bulk lot of 27lbs of Lego (total of $160) and it had several old sets in it (the Western theme) along with a bunch of others.  I took the chance on it as I saw it had a near complete Fort Legoredo and that alone was worth about $120 used.  I purchased the lot with completing and reselling sets in mind. After many, many hours I made about $100 on the deal.  At the end of the day, I sold off 3 sets and re-sold the rest on Craigslist @ $4/lb just to be rid of them.  Personally, I would not do it again, here is why:

 

Downsides

It's a lot of work and time

My collection of Lego is almost entire brand new or mint and I plan to keep it to only new bricks I have bought, so the extra parts were not valuable to me for MOC.

These Lego were well played with (eg: dirty, bitten, scruddy - the kid seemed to have a vendetta against minifigure legs)

Counting out a set, then inspecting to root out Megabloks, tooth marks, damaged pieces takes a lot of time

So after hours of work, I now had 3 or 4 sets counted out and a list of missing pieces, next stop BrickLink to try and find them all.  I spent hours comparison shopping enormous price differences on some old parts (a rifle was selling for anywhere from $0.10 to $0.95 and I needed about 10 of them).  I had to place 3 separate BrickLink orders and still didn't have all the pieces or the patience to complete the set.

Cleaning by hand thousands of Lego is not fun

It's a lot of work and time

 

Upsides

Found a cool old rocket ship set for my son I wouldn't have known about otherwise (You can buy used and complete on BrickLink for $10  )

Sort of an adventure finding rare pieces and figuring out what sets they go to.

 

I thought I would enjoy sorting through pieces a lot more than I did and if that's all there was to it, I would probably have been more excited.  But trying to turn a profit, I'd say I made less than $5/hour for all my efforts.  If you decide to go through with it, I wouldn't offer any more than $5-6 a pound, scrutinize the Lego when you see them for Megabloks, if you see some, no need to turn down the deal, but I would reduce my offer by at least $1 or 2 based on the density of them.  Some of the sets in mine were partially assembled and had a thick layer of dust on them, which means you will need to clean for sale or for playing with, so keep that in mind.  Looking at the pictures of the manuals and Lego, the Castle and the Indiana Jones are the only sets that might have some decent resale value but they are smaller play sets.  On the other hand, they look pretty clean which is a plus.  Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions about my CL experience.  

[Hosamov]

Zinger,

Wow, thanks so much for the insight!

 

I've looked at all the manuals shown in the pics and checked the used price averages via their PB pages (The ones I could figure out what they were ) and seems that quite a few might stand a chance IF the pieces are there or easy to acquire. I noticed a few of them are retired in there. I guess it will take me time to figure out what retired sets sell best (A definite learning curve, as I see it's a lot more work than I was expecting! Lol...) Also, the seller said they're going to dig all the minifigures out and count them for me so I can make my final decision. Of course, I didn't think of the risk that a dog or kid might have chewed the legs off some! That would seriously change things.

I'm thinking in my situation as a NEW eBay seller that it might be a good idea to try and put them together for sale as used sets and build feedback at least. Plus it'll give me some idea what I'm in for if I go the used route.

 

Again, sorry to bring this to the Pacific NW thread! I know it's like spam since it really has nothing to do with the pacific northwest. It's more my ignorance of lego and forums, as I haven't posted in one in eons.

 

Thanks again so much for the help!!!

 

-Hosamov

[Guest betsy805]

Fred Meyers has a pretty awesome deal going on till tomorrow.  They have a couple coupons, one where you get 25% off your toy purchase, and then another that you can stack on top of that for $10 off $50, $20 off $100, or $30 off $150.  PLUS if you spend $150 you get the free 20lb turkey.  Just got $143 worth of lego sets for $87 plus a free turkey

[kenaijoe]

Fred Meyers has a pretty awesome deal going on till tomorrow.  They have a couple coupons, one where you get 25% off your toy purchase, and then another that you can stack on top of that for $10 off $50, $20 off $100, or $30 off $150.  PLUS if you spend $150 you get the free 20lb turkey.  Just got $143 worth of lego sets for $87 plus a free turkey

 

Thanks betsy805. Where did you find those coupons?

[zinger-lego]

Howdy Kenaijoe!

 

The  $10 off $50, $20 off $100, or $30 off $150 can be found here --> http://www.fredmeyermedia.com/78310-Coupons.pdf

The 25% off was a text coupon to me but isn't specific to me.  Can be found here --> http://www.fredmeyermedia.com/mobile_coupons/P11-HOM.html

 

Hope those help!

[Guest betsy805]

they can also both be found in the printed ad in the entrance to the stores

[nolanfan34]

BUMP. Anything shakin' out there PNW'ers? Fred Meyer with some stuff on sale this week for 20% off, nothing too crazy though. 

 

I had to bump this for the Seattle area folk, I was at a Bartell Drugs today (small drug store for those unfamiliar). i think the biggest sets I have seen have been like the Hulk Breakout for the most part. I did see a Falcon once. Today I saw a Malevolence! On sale for $99, haha. Someone is going to get that for cheap when they randomly clearance it for like $50 someday. Too far for me to check often...

[Guest betsy805]

I might check out Fred Meyer today, since they posted that $20 off $100 coupon again.  I just got 10 Captain America's at Bartell's though!  Had to pay $14.99 for them, but there's still profit to be made with that

[nolanfan34]

Shhhhhh betsy. I am waiting for Bartells to clearance those...

[Guest betsy805]

Just got the email that Fred Meyer is doing buy 2 get 1 free on LEGO starting tomorrow.  Doesn't say it excludes any sets!  Will stack with the 10% off home goods bonus coupon  

[nolanfan34]

Haha, just came here to post the same thing. Unfortunately most Fred Meyers around me are pretty cleared out still from Christmas. I am wondering if it will work with sets they have on sale already - there were some good discounts going on some sets through Feb 1 I think. 

[nolanfan34]

Oh, and they DO have Lego Movie - and tons of CMF bags. Getting those for $2 each will be pretty good.

[nolanfan34]

ALERT - confirmed that sales prices stack with the 2 for 1. If you can find a Fred Meyer with a decent selection still after Christmas, potentially some great deals to be had. Going to post my haul in the "what did you buy" thread. Also, scan the sets you want, not all Fred Meyer stores are good about the sales tags on the shelf. 

 

Sample deal: 3 Galactic Titans, $70 each, after the 2 for 1 and the 10% off home coupon (takes care of the tax), an average cost after tax of $43 each!!

[Guest betsy805]

ALERT - confirmed that sales prices stack with the 2 for 1. If you can find a Fred Meyer with a decent selection still after Christmas, potentially some great deals to be had. Going to post my haul in the "what did you buy" thread. Also, scan the sets you want, not all Fred Meyer stores are good about the sales tags on the shelf. 

 

Sample deal: 3 Galactic Titans, $70 each, after the 2 for 1 and the 10% off home coupon (takes care of the tax), an average cost after tax of $43 each

 

None of the ones around me had the titan, but I did get two cinderella castles and a sunshine ranch for $43 each  

[nolanfan34]

Oh yeah, and some of the sale prices supposedly expire today, so some deals might only overlap for one day.

[nolanfan34]

None of the ones around me had the titan, but I did get two cinderella castles and a sunshine ranch for $43 each

 

Great deal on those. I am thinking about getting some of the castles, for that price even though it is a long time to hold, I doubt it gets much cheaper before Christmas '14.

[nolanfan34]

Last day of the Fred Meyer sale!! I am going to miss it. My bankroll will not. I hit probably 10 Fred Meyer this week, and noticed a number of things on clearance which should continue after the 2 for 1 is done. Many times they are NOT tagged on the shelves. Things I found include:

 

- Most $19.99 super hero sets, including Superman/Lex, Arctic Batman, Spiderman/Venom. I only found one of each, so maybe someone cleared them out to the ones I went to already. They will ring up $9.50 or so (at the 40% off clearance prices). Iron man 3 sets and new Superman sets do NOT ring up at clearance. Yet.

- Hero Factory brain attack bags. Look out for the Stormer, Surge, and Dragon Bolt bags. Sometimes they are hanging on the end of aisles. Dragon Bolt rings at $9.50-ish, the others are $6 and change. Sleeper sets, the Dragon in particular I like. 

- Ninjago - Temple of Light, Garmatron, Samarai Mech, etc. If you find Ninjago green sets, they should ring as clearance. I even found one Kai Blade Cycle.

- Certain Galaxy Squad sets. This is weird - the Wave 2 sets will ring as clearance, but the wave 1 sets are merely on sale. That does not include the Galactic Titan for some reason, that is just on normal sale as well. Although I predict the Galactic Titan will drop to $49.99 in the next week or two, just like the Epic Dragon Battle went to 50% off 4-5 months ago.

- Friends - I only found the Karate studio one for half off, but older wave sets if you find them, outside of the City pool, may ring up clearance.

 

Anyone find anything else? The one thing I couldn't find that I wanted at the 2 for 1 deal was the Rancor Pit, that was gone everywhere.

[ship]

Despite news of Walmart and target discounts at b&m stores, I'm finding the pickings in this area really slim.  Anybody having any luck?  That earlier Fred Meyer sale really spoiled me, since then its been dead.

[ship]

OTOH I did buy some t-bone steaks @safeway last night for $4.99 a pound, so there's that..

[zinger-lego]

Same as you ship.  The Fred Meyer sale really was great.  Been having fun building The Movie sets with my son.  

[nolanfan34]

I certainly haven't seen anything good at Target. Have had no time for Walmart this week due to work, unfortunately. I feel like so many places were just cleared out at Christmas in the Seattle area and never really got restocked.

 

Fred Meyer sale was great. Even this last Sunday, they had a one day bonus sale with the $10 off $50, $20 off $100, etc. They also lowered some sale prices to half off - at one of them that still had some inventory, I picked up 3 Star Wars Z-95 Headhunters, one Bug Obliterator, and a couple of small Friends sets for about $110 total after tax.

[Mezmaron]

Yeah, no deals lately, so no posts.

 

My children enjoyed the Lego Movie, so picked up some of those sets in TRU 20% sale.  They incorporate well with some cheap Lego City sets I had accumulated.

 

Extra Batman minifigs, since he plays a big part in the movie, are nice.  Pulled out an extra to complete the cast wth Emmett, Wildstyle, etc.

 

Mez 

[nolanfan34]

We are going tomorrow, I am very excited. My 5 year old is pretty much beside himself. He built the Metal Beard set tonight, and tomorrow after the movie we'll come back and build Lord Business' Evil Lair.