Unfortunately I have to make some returns ???

[retrosycick]

So on a previous post i had shown my recent shopping rampage at wal mart. I was actually thinking of parting out some of these sets, but have mostly changed my mind and decided to just stick with Real Estate Investing Instead of spending time parting these out. So my Lego investment strategy is just buy and hold. Now I have everything stacked and organized and must return many of the items back to the store shelves. Here is the actual break down of what i have at the moment and I was wondering what would you return if you were me.

I have had some good mentoring and some good advice and i i understand there are many different opinions on this site. Its just really hard to let go of something if there is value there. I also understand the large sets are regarded more on this site as a proven money makers ( Tower Bridge, Haunted House ) depending on how long you hold them.

What im trying to figure out is if there is any value in some of these medium sets. Let me know what you think if you feel like looking at what i have. Also let me know if you think I'm making a mistake at keeping or returning. Thanks.

 

 

                      City (Returning All)

 

1 x   4204 The Mine   $70.00  

3 x    4203 Excavator Transporter   $30.00

4 x   60005 Fire Boat    $21.00

12 x   4432 Garbage Truck   $13.00

3 x    7288 Mobile Police Unit   30.00

4 x    4439 Heavy Duty Helicopter   $35.00

1 x   4433 Dirt Bike Transporter   $13.00

                        

           Star Wars

 

2 x   9491 Geonosian Cannon   $13.00 (Return)

24 x    75004 Z-5 Headhunter   $35.00 (Return)

6 x   9498 Saesee Tiin's Jedi   $21.00  (Return)

9 x   9497 Republic Striker Class Starfighter   $25.00 (Return)

3 x   9499 Gungan Sub   $40.00 ?

2 x   9490 Droid Escape   $13.00 (Return)

6 x   9488 Elite Clone Trooper   $30.00 (Return)

9 x   9489 Endor   $9.00 (Return)

2 x   9493 X Wing   $40.00 ?

2 x   9492 Tie Fighter   $35.00 ?

                  

Lord of the Rings  /  Hobbit (I almost want to keep all of these)??

 

18 x   79002 Attack of the Wargs   $35.00 ?

15 x   9496 Gandalf Arrives   $9.00 ?

14 x   79000 Riddles For the Ring   $7.00 ?

7 x   79001 Escape From Mirkwood Spiders   $21.00 ?

1 x   9473 The Mines of Moria   $54.00 ?

4 x   9472 Attack On Weathertop   $40.00 ?

18 x   79003 Unexpected Gathering   $49.00 (Keeping)

1 x   9474 Helm Deep   $89.00 (Keeping)

11 x   9471 Uruk-hia Army   $21.00 ? (Want to Keep on The Fence)

 

Spiderman / Dc Universe / Batman

 

10 x   6863 Batwing Battle Over Gotham   $25.00 ? (Want to Return On Fence)

1 x   76008 Iron Man Ultimate Showdown   $8.00 (Return)

11 x   6873 Spider Man's Doc Oc    $21.00 ? (Want to Return On Fence)

1 x   76006 Iron Man Extremis   $8.00 (Keeping Just Because of Price For Kids)

5 x   6868  Hulk's Helicarrier Breakout    $35.00 ? (Want to Keep on The Fence)

3 x   76007 Iron Man Malibu Mansion   $17.00 (Keeping Just Because of Price For Kids)

2 x   6860 Batcave   $49.00 (Keeping)

 

Chima

 

3 x   70004 Wakz Pack Tracker   $21.00 (Return)

8 x   70006 Cragger Command Ship   $54.00 (Return)

 

Hope you like my messy living room 

[mikeur86]

If you look at overall themes Star Wars and City items really don't make for the best investments. Of course there are exceptions to those rules and usually those are the battle packs and larger ships. If I were you I would return all of the Star Wars items except for the Droid Escape and the Endor Battle Packs. Some of the others may be good deals but historically these Star Wars set take a long time to appreciate and really when they do your money could have been invested better.

 

As for the city sets I never invest in them so my personal opinion would to be return them all. The Mine should do okay but you'll make more money off 1 Haunted house than two Mine's.

 

As for the Lord of the Rings sets these should do fairly well especially for the ones that are already retired/on their way out. I'd keep them all. Good thing about Wal-Mart is you have 90 days to return. In 90 days it will be November and most of these LOTR sets will be GONE. That should give you a good idea if they will be quick flips around Christmas time or if you don't want to risk them you can return(which likely won't happen).

 

The Super Heroes theme is a little iffy. Personally I would definitely keep the Batcave's. I purchased some Doc Ock's a while back when they did a combo with Cap Cycle and I ended up returning all of my Doc Ock's. I'd return everything but the Batcave's, Hulks and a few Batwings. The other sets may do well but these should be good ones.

 

And the Chima sets I'd return in a heartbeat. But that's just me. They are cool and my kids like them but these prices that you paid have been available on ebay for months now.

 

Anyways, thats my 2 cents. Everyone invests differently. LOTR can be quick flipped by Christmas. All the Avengers stuff should sell before 2015's Avengers 2 and yield some good money but its a longer wait.

[Diabolos80]

Um, you're gonna have a hell of a time returning such a quantity of product. Believe it or not, even walmart keeps track of returns. I don't know if they have enforced limits or not, but don't be surprised if you get stuck with store credit for a lot of that. Good luck.

Oh, keep the mine.

[ExoBro94]

Things you should keep:

City sets-

The Mine

Fire Boat

LOTR sets-

Weathertop

Uruk-hai Army

Superhero sets-

Batwing

Spiderman and Doc Oc

[El Guapo]

I am heavy into the LOTR and HOBBIT, so I would keep most of those.  Might return 10 of the AOTW and Gandalf Arrives, your prices were good, but not great. Probably keep the Uruk-Hai, as that is the lowest I have seen for that set, and for $21 I think you will make some good money on those.  They also should be retiring before the Hobbit sets (maybe not, just my personal opinion).

 

With Superheroes I'd probably return Doc Oc.  That's a good set, but not really a great one in my opinion. 

 

I think you might want to consider the Endor set as a keep...at $9 you got a good deal.  It would sell great with the Ewok Village coming out.  But sometimes you just have to cut the cord.  

 

You got some good deals on alot of that stuff...so Birthdays, Christmas, or whatever type of presents: LEGO for everyone!

 

Good luck.

[M4x18]

I think that it's clear from most of us that the City sets should go back.

 

I'm not going to get into the Star Wars sets as I'm not into them so haven't researched much.

 

LOTR I'd keep the ones you chose, Uruk Hai and Attack on Weathertop.

 

I feel the same about Chima and Marvel/DC sets as I do with Star Wars.

[Anakinisvader]

Are you returning the box fan too? 

 

If you would have found everything at 50% off I'd say keep it all, at 30%, not worth it.  I think you are being smart returning it.  I know many people cant find deals better than 30% off but, like I've stated before, there is just not enough meat on the bone (to quote American Pickers) to make it worth the investment unless you can get it cheaper. 

[peculiar23]

If these were mine I would consider keeping these as well.

 

                

9 x   9489 Endor   $9.00 (these battle packs seem to do well and move quickly due to the high minifig count) 

2 x   9493 X Wing   $40.00

2 x   9492 Tie Fighter   $35.00

                  

Lord of the Rings  /  Hobbit

I am with you on keeping them all, but i think you may see lower prices on the ones I took out.

 

15 x   9496 Gandalf Arrives   $9.00  (I really like this set and I know a lot of others don't think it will do that well, I see it as the iconic LOTR set that many adult fans of LOTR will gravitate toward.)

1 x   9473 The Mines of Moria   $54.00 (On the fence with this one.)

4 x   9472 Attack On Weathertop   $40.00  (as a few others have said this set may due well because of people wanting 9 ring wraiths)

18 x   79003 Unexpected Gathering   $49.00 (Keeping)

1 x   9474 Helm Deep   $89.00 (Keeping)

11 x   9471 Uruk-hia Army   $21.00  (again this is the LOTR army builder pack)

 

Spiderman / Dc Universe / Batman

I am with you on all of these. 

10 x   6863 Batwing Battle Over Gotham   $25.00 ? (Want to Return On Fence)

1 x   76008 Iron Man Ultimate Showdown   $8.00 (Return)

11 x   6873 Spider Man's Doc Oc    $21.00 ? (Want to Return On Fence)

1 x   76006 Iron Man Extremis   $8.00 (Keeping Just Because of Price For Kids)

5 x   6868  Hulk's Helicarrier Breakout    $35.00 ? (Want to Keep on The Fence)

3 x   76007 Iron Man Malibu Mansion   $17.00 (Keeping Just Because of Price For Kids)

2 x   6860 Batcave   $49.00 (Keeping)

 

[MartinP]

Are you returning the box fan too? 

 

If you would have found everything at 50% off I'd say keep it all, at 30%, not worth it.  I think you are being smart returning it.  I know many people cant find deals better than 30% off but, like I've stated before, there is just not enough meat on the bone (to quote American Pickers) to make it worth the investment unless you can get it cheaper. 

I agree with you on that. I would keep the set if it was at a high enough discount like 50% off. When it comes to 30%-40% off, I would look at the set, how long it has been on the market, and many other factors to decide whether to keep it or not.

[metsrock507]

keep the city garbage truck. the small to medium city vehicles that have lots of detail generally are winners. see: lego city truck 3221 and lego city camper 7639.

[kerrmando]

Keep all of them and buy real estate with the profits in a year..

[StarPod]

Keep 6868. Good price and only set with the hulk in it. The hulk sells for around that price

[JoshTX]

You put a question mark next to the Gungan Sub but that's something I'd surely take back based upon past trends for Phantom Menace sets...they haven't preformed well for the most part, and I don't see a sub with Jar Jar doing much better.

 

No way in hell I'd be taking back the Uruk-Hai Armies. At 21 a pop, it's going to be hard to lose on those.

[mikeur86]

Um, you're gonna have a hell of a time returning such a quantity of product. Believe it or not, even walmart keeps track of returns. I don't know if they have enforced limits or not, but don't be surprised if you get stuck with store credit for a lot of that. Good luck.

Oh, keep the mine.

While Wal-Mart does track returns its more for no-receipt returns. If you have a receipt they will let you return anything unopened. My old roommate was a CSM(Customer Service Manager) and he would tell me about people returning whole cart loads of things all the time.

 

Though I'll admit it would be a little awkward returning that much stuff at once. I'd probably break it up amongst a few trips if it were me.

[wallwebber]

I would keep weathertops.

[jal4u2c]

As long as he has his receipt they have to take his returns. If you lose the receipt though, all bets are off. Although i have seen them say that since an item was a clearance item it couldn't be returned. I don't think that's the norm though. 

[retrosycick]

While Wal-Mart does track returns its more for no-receipt returns. If you have a receipt they will let you return anything unopened. My old roommate was a CSM(Customer Service Manager) and he would tell me about people returning whole cart loads of things all the time.

 

Though I'll admit it would be a little awkward returning that much stuff at once. I'd probably break it up amongst a few trips if it were me.

 

Yea I was actually going to try and dump as many off in one place as i could ill have to call them and see if I can first. That is if i can get them into my Honda Pilot in one shot. This is 4 wal marts worth of clearance. I went back again to one that i already picked through and they actually had put a few more sets on clearance at over 50% off. Keep checking at wal mart for some good deals.

[retrosycick]

You put a question mark next to the Gungan Sub but that's something I'd surely take back based upon past trends for Phantom Menace sets...they haven't preformed well for the most part, and I don't see a sub with Jar Jar doing much better.

 

No way in hell I'd be taking back the Uruk-Hai Armies. At 21 a pop, it's going to be hard to lose on those.

 

very confused on weather to keep these or not, I think some haunted houses / tower bridge will always outperform but those sets are not currently on sale ???

 

18 x   79002 Attack of the Wargs   $35.00 ?

15 x   9496 Gandalf Arrives   $9.00 ?

14 x   79000 Riddles For the Ring   $7.00 ?

1 x   9473 The Mines of Moria   $54.00 ?

[JoshTX]

very confused on weather to keep these or not, I think some haunted houses / tower bridge will always outperform but those sets are not currently on sale ???

 

18 x   79002 Attack of the Wargs   $35.00 ?

15 x   9496 Gandalf Arrives   $9.00 ?

14 x   79000 Riddles For the Ring   $7.00 ?

1 x   9473 The Mines of Moria   $54.00 ?

 

Well, if you want to narrow it down some more, I'd take back ALL of those Gandalf Arrives. Why? Because all of the elements of that set can be found easily in other sets, and that will likely weaken the overall outlook of this set, though it might be appealing for parents later on as a cheap way to get both Gandalf and Frodo. Still I'd take them back, but that's just me. You'd free up 135 bucks which would probably be better spent on other smalls that you can flip easier, a few Orc forges or a big set or two.  

[retrosycick]

Well, if you want to narrow it down some more, I'd take back ALL of those Gandalf Arrives. Why? Because all of the elements of that set can be found easily in other sets, and that will likely weaken the overall outlook of this set, though it might be appealing for parents later on as a cheap way to get both Gandalf and Frodo. Still I'd take them back, but that's just me. You'd free up 135 bucks which would probably be better spent on other smalls that you can flip easier, a few Orc forges or a big set or two.  

 

I think the advice I was really looking for was more for (18 x   79002 Attack of the Wargs   $35.00 ?) Would you keep these or return these ?? An earlier post said to return these because you would see them cheaper later on, and having $600 or so invested here is a large chunk of change. Thanks for your help everyone.

[mikeur86]

This might be the only set those Wargs are in...they may be a nice little investment and at that price they have practically all been taken on the shelves of the Wal-Marts by me. So if your Wal-Mart has things on shelves for a while and they are able to discount it further I'd wait. But if people scoop them up then 35.00 isn't bad. I only have 5 of this set. 18 is quite a lot. Return half and keep the other half until your 90 day marker to see if anything potentially could change the way the investment turns out(ie: retirement)

[Guest eightbrick]

Make sure you keep those fire boats and excavator transporters. Those are going to be big money five years down the road. Other than that, I don't really have any new advice for you other than what I gave you in the other topic. JoshTX has covered a lot of the important bases for you well.

[Alcarin]

This might be the only set those Wargs are in...they may be a nice little investment and at that price they have practically all been taken on the shelves of the Wal-Marts by me. So if your Wal-Mart has things on shelves for a while and they are able to discount it further I'd wait. But if people scoop them up then 35.00 isn't bad. I only have 5 of this set. 18 is quite a lot. Return half and keep the other half until your 90 day marker to see if anything potentially could change the way the investment turns out(ie: retirement)

 

 

Nah I am 95% sure we will see wargs in battle of 5 armies or maybe even in attack on dol guldur who knows...

 

I am almost 100% this will not be the only set with that mold....

[Jeff Mack]

I will be interested in seeing how much you can return.  If they don't take it, I will make you a special one time offer of buying it all back at 50% of what you paid.  That is extremely generous!!!

[Guest eightbrick]

I will be interested in seeing how much you can return.  If they don't take it, I will make you a special one time offer of buying it all back at 50% of what you paid.  That is extremely generous!!!

Ha! No way are you going to be dealing with Mr. moneybags over here! I'll double his offer and take 'em for 25% of what you paid! What do'ya think eh? That's a once in a lifetime opportunity!