Why hunt for deals when other resellers can do the work for you?

[sadowsk1]

Browsing through Ebay after hearing about Lego clearances people were scoring I looked online at a couple of the sets on Ebay.  My example would be the Star Wars 9500 Sith Interceptor.  It's MSRP is 89.99 and people are selling it for as low as 60 dollars and some change on Ebay and there are more than one copy available in that price range.  33% off an unopened set is pretty sweet.  It almost seems easier to wait out the life of some sets and scoop it up when resellers are selling it hard.  I may not use this method for resale purposes, but it seems like it's worth considering when adding a set that is stocked in stores like Walmart, Target, and any other local competitive retailer.  It makes me think I can hold out on the 75025 Jedi Defender class cruiser.  The EOL life of this set will remain to be seen as it is expanded universe and could either sky rocket or continue to flounder, but 33% off from the comfort of my own home seems like a good deal to me.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Browsing through Ebay after hearing about Lego clearances people were scoring I looked online at a couple of the sets on Ebay.  My example would be the Star Wars 9500 Sith Interceptor.  It's MSRP is 89.99 and people are selling it for as low as 60 dollars and some change on Ebay and there are more than one copy available in that price range.  33% off an unopened set is pretty sweet.  It almost seems easier to wait out the life of some sets and scoop it up when resellers are selling it hard.  I may not use this method for resale purposes, but it seems like it's worth considering when adding a set that is stocked in stores like Walmart, Target, and any other local competitive retailer.  It makes me think I can hold out on the 75025 Jedi Defender class cruiser.  The EOL life of this set will remain to be seen as it is expanded universe and could either sky rocket or continue to flounder, but 33% off from the comfort of my own home seems like a good deal to me.

 

Absolutely agree. I do this all the time. Ebay has a lot better deals than people think if you know what to look for. I grab stuff on their all the time for way cheaper than clearance.

 

I passed up Unexpected Gathering at $50 for this reason.

[stackables]

Is this going to turn into a "drop shipping" thread

[Diabolos80]

Ebay never has deals. Ever. Everyone else should stay away from ebay. Nothing to see, move along B)

[Ed Mack]

Many good legit deals can be found on eBay.  It is also a lot of fun looking....

[Grolim]

Is this going to turn into a "drop shipping" thread

 

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

 

There will be legitimate bargains there for sure with people needing to quickly sell a set or collection for some cash and others that receive it as an unwanted gift etc.  But you do have to be wary of the fraudulent drop scammers as well.  Those low prices on retail sets are usually the first warning sign.

 

Tread carefully. 

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

 

There will be legitimate bargains there for sure with people needing to quickly sell a set or collection for some cash and others that receive it as an unwanted gift etc.  But you do have to be wary of the fraudulent drop scammers as well.  Those low prices on retail sets are usually the first warning sign.

 

Tread carefully. 

 

Oh definitely agree. I should edit to say - there are lots of legitimate good deals on Ebay. I had someone a while back who bought a storage unit worth of Legos and wanted to get rid of them quick because he knew nothing about them. I got some sweet deals from him.

 

60 for Jabba and 90 for a helms deep. 

[stackables]

Yep, like Grolim said, you have to be real careful about buying new sets well below retail. Doesn't make much sense selling a new set at a loss. 

[Fcbarcelona101]

Ebay never has deals. Ever. Everyone else should stay away from ebay. Nothing to see, move along

 

Best piece of advice I have ever seen on this site!

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Best piece of advice I have ever seen on this site!

 

Yeah I don't think you have ever found a good deal on Ebay have you? I see you post all the time about how much you hate it.

[justafrog]

I'm so glad everyone is being warned to stay away from supposed "deals" on eBay. More for me. You can't trust them!

 

(And yes, the ones that are discounted currently available sets are the ones to tune in your spidey sense and double check for the good old stolen credit card scam. If they're retired and being undersold, no such worries.)

[meowingthings]

Yep, like Grolim said, you have to be real careful about buying new sets well below retail. Doesn't make much sense selling a new set at a loss. 

I am one of these resellers you speak of. 2 months ago I sold Attack of the Wargs for $32.99. Days after Christmas I sold the Black Pearl for $89.99. Just the other day I sold Cap Cycle for $12. I made a good profit on every one of them. Also Uruk-Hai for $19.99.

 

Look at all the people finding Lone Ranger stuff on clearance at Target. They can re-list well below retail and still profit.

 

I agree to be careful but just because it is cheap doesn't mean they are losing money.

[stackables]

I am one of these resellers you speak of. 2 months ago I sold Attack of the Wargs for $32.99. Days after Christmas I sold the Black Pearl for $89.99. Just the other day I sold Cap Cycle for $12. I made a good profit on every one of them. Also Uruk-Hai for $19.99.

 

Look at all the people finding Lone Ranger stuff on clearance at Target. They can re-list well below retail and still profit.

 

I agree to be careful but just because it is cheap doesn't mean they are losing money.

I will have to make sure I remember you name when the classifieds open

 

I have zero luck with clearance around my area..

[Guest eightbrick]

It seems I'm a bit behind on this thread. To answer your original question of "why hunt for deals when other resellers can do it for you?":

 

1) As low as the resellers are selling it, they have to had found it for even lower (assuming they are legit, but I won't get into the drop-shipping debate)

 

Other than the small percentage of people, usually parents of a child who just got "double-gifted" with the same set, who are selling the set because they somehow got a hold of it and want to get rid of it for a quick buck (hence the price reduced from retail), most of the sales here are going to be resellers. These people who are trying to dump unwanted stuff fast usually don't know a lot about Lego, and you may end up with a person who lists a set as MISB just because they saw all the other listings for the set said that when in fact the set is quite damaged.

 

Now, for the rest of the people, them being resellers, who are selling the items for below retail on Craiglist or eBay, they will have had to have found the set for a lower price somewhere else - they need to make a buck. I have a couple sellers who pull this stunt on my local Kijiji (canadian craigslist), selling sets that are known to be on clearance at Walmart such as the police station, for slightly below retail (eg the police station was on clearance for 60 almost nationwide, they were selling one for 100). From a business perspective, just knowing that you aren't getting the best deal should be a big no-no. And let's look at how these people are getting these deals: through clearance. Heavily clearanced items are sometimes not the best indicator for a good aftermarket resale value.

 

2) Getting a set on eBay for 33% off is no where near as exciting as getting one at your store for 50%

 

As attractive as online shopping is, it lacks the excitement and enjoyable nature of cleaning out the clearance aisle at your local Wally's, Target, Tescos's or what have you. Hunting for clearance deals, at least for me, is part of the fun of Lego investing. Biting on one of the fifty available listings for an Infiltrator below retail isn't nearly as exciting. Plus, online shopping can complicate things. That get's into my next point. Hunting for the deals on your own doesn't necessarily mean you have a worse chance of scoring a set below MSRP than bidding for one on eBay. I'm sure any of you familiar with eBay has had the annoying experience of being sniped at the last second. Gas to go on these Walmart road trips is expensive, yes, but so are Paypal fees and shipping charges.

 

3) Buying it yourself in person is safer

 

As rare as tampered boxes are, they happen.  Maybe someone was having a bad day, or maybe they really just needed to pay the rent because every so often a Lego box will be chock full of the wrong stuff. In store you can examine the seals of the box(es) yourself and get the assurance that you don't need to put it through an airport screener to make sure it's actually Lego inside. Sure, you can leave negative feedback on the guy, but he can just play dumb and you will be left arguing for days, weeks or months, with your capital all tied up.

 

 

That said, there are times when I think buying from other resellers for investment purposes is a good idea. Some people just live in really bad areas for Lego investing, and they see a set go on clearance once in a blue moon. I used to think of myself as one of those people, and it took me awhile to realize I just wasn't trying hard enough. Or, you could be speculating that the price is going to rise really fast once its looming EOL occurs in which case anything below retail is a go. Some people would argue for this with the Captain America Cycle. My take? It's better to be the reseller than the buyer. Nearly always.

[StarPod]

Best piece of advice I have ever seen on this site!

What about the star destroyer someone found for 280 and my falcon I scooped up at 500?

There will always be that guy who sells something that they do not know what they have

[Diabolos80]

What about the star destroyer someone found for 280 and my falcon I scooped up at 500?

There will always be that guy who sells something that they do not know what they have

Haha that never happened. Right? Right?! lol

[Fcbarcelona101]

What about the star destroyer someone found for 280 and my falcon I scooped up at 500?

There will always be that guy who sells something that they do not know what they have

 

Shhh, that is all on your mind!!

 

 

 

I was the one who got the ISD for 280, but don't tell anyone

[sadowsk1]

If a seller has good feedback I don't really have concerns.  It is good advice to avoid deals too good to be true from sellers with low feedback I enjoy the convenience of it.  I imagine scoring lots of sets at 50% is very enjoyable, but that doesn't typically happen for me so I don't have an interest wasting my time that way.  It's a different experience for everyone and the hunt for a good deal on Ebay suits me just fine.

[Darth_Raichu]

I rarely score good deals on ebay. Mathematically, it is harder to get one item desired by 10 people (as in ebay) than 999 items desired by 1000 people (as in Amazon). With similar investment in research time, I have a better chance getting the item at Amazon or similar places. All I have to do is to be the 998th person who find the deal. Whereas at ebay when the person ahead of you buys the ifem, it is time to research all over again.

[exciter1]

I rarely score good deals on ebay. Mathematically, it is harder to get one item desired by 10 people (as in ebay) than 999 items desired by 1000 people (as in Amazon). With similar investment in research time, I have a better chance getting the item at Amazon or similar places. All I have to do is to be the 998th person who find the deal. Whereas at ebay when the person ahead of you buys the ifem, it is time to research all over again.

 

I agree, but it probably depends on your region.  Getting deals on EBay for me is too much work.  It's much easier to hit the clearance deals and score big.

[Ed Mack]

Finding deals on eBay takes persistence and patience. Many people are too lazy to total up lot set totals to see if a deal is a good one or not. I find quality lot deal all the time. Many times, the sellers are legit and need quick cash, to my benefit. There is nothing more fun that scoring a sweet deal on eBay and grabbing some quality sets that people ignored.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Finding deals on eBay takes persistence and patience. Many people are too lazy to total up lot set totals to see if a deal is a good one or not. I find quality lot deal all the time. Many times, the sellers are legit and need quick cash, to my benefit. There is nothing more fun that scoring a sweet deal on eBay and grabbing some quality sets that people ignored.

 

Definitely. I love looking through giant lots. Another one of my favorites is big lots with Best offer.

 

Half the time I know I wont buy it. It is just fun crunching numbers and seeing if I can make a profit.

[Ed Mack]

Definitely. I love looking through giant lots. Another one of my favorites is big lots with Best offer.

 

Half the time I know I wont buy it. It is just fun crunching numbers and seeing if I can make a profit.

Right, Best Offers are a great tool. Throw a low ball figure out. You never know when a person is desperate.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I find myself accepting some of them just because I am tired of looking at the set and I already made money off of it.

[TheOrcKing]

With some of the crazy discounts we've heard people currently finding or found in the past, it shouldn't be difficult to think some people can sell a set for below or at retail and still make a profit legally. I agree you always need to be cautious and read feedback among other things to consider. I haven't bought a really big set from BrickLink or eBay so I'm not too worried about something like a $40 set being dropshipped but it could still happen. I also usually buy sets you can't still purchase from a physical store or even online. To add, you can also find some good deals on BrickLink too aside from eBay.