Need advice about selling old sets please...

[Topbannana]

Hi there!

I'm new here after stumbling across the site while researching my treasures

I recently dragged all our old Lego out of the garage. It was originally kept for my son but to be honest he prefers breaking it all up and building elaborate models of his own, for which he has a large bin of odds and ends so the whole lot is destined to go.

I have many sets from the 80s as well as a few from the late 70s and early 90s. All of them are unboxed but have the original instructions and are in excellent condition. I have a few questions as to the best way to sell these sets and would appreciate any advice you could give. So...

1) Is it vital that the sets are 100% identical? At the moment we are making sure that characters have the right colour hat/ hair etc. Is this really detrimental if they do not?

2) Are smaller sets (valued at about

[Huskers1236]

Answering your questions,

 

1)Try to get as close to original as you can.  Being 100% complete and original goes a long ways with some people, and will make you the most money.  If you have any color changes or missing parts, be sure to note them in your listing, buyers will appreciate honesty.  To complete sets, Bricklink is an amazing resource for finding missing pieces.  Some parts may not be worth it, but many pieces only cost a few cents and completing sets can sometimes be pretty cheap.  Try to combine your needs into the fewest sellers possible, as shipping eats away at earnings.

 

2)  You will always make the most money selling individually, but sometimes it's not worth the time to list and ship 100 small items. 

 

3) Ebay will get you the most traffic, but fees can be a pain.  I'm sure the UK has something similar to Craigslist like we have where you can advertise sets you have.  Brickpicker will in the future have a Classifieds section to do the same thing, and I'm sure there are many members that would like old sets.

 

4)  Dust is easy, some dish soap and warm water does wonders.  For yellowed pieces, a mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide and some Oxyclean will brighten those old pieces.  Leave them out in the sun for about a day and slosh them around a bit to make sure different sides get direct sunlight and you will be amazed at how much better the pieces look.  This works on the old blue and grey pieces as well.

[CNH1974]

I agree with the above.

But I have no problem selling very small sets individually. I charge

[MartinP]

To answer some of the questions. I would try to get the set as close as possible to 100% complete. I would try to sell each set on its own, to make the most profit. For cleaning pieces, there is a great blog article on the site about how to make certain colored pieces look better. Hope this helps.

[Topbannana]

That's great thanks

Honestly speaking, the majority of sets are all complete perhaps with an odd change of hat or similar that I obviously deemed more suitable at the time but all the bits are still there somewhere.

My first ever set was the town square (1592) which is 100% and has spare stickers etc as well.

I must admit to a bit of a pang at selling them all but I haven't looked at them for 20 years so its time to be rid really.

[MartinP]

That's great thanks

Honestly speaking, the majority of sets are all complete perhaps with an odd change of hat or similar that I obviously deemed more suitable at the time but all the bits are still there somewhere.

My first ever set was the town square (1592) which is 100% and has spare stickers etc as well.

I must admit to a bit of a pang at selling them all but I haven't looked at them for 20 years so its time to be rid really.

Good luck selling those sets.

[Ed Mack]

I would suggest building each and every set you are selling to check for completeness and to take a photo(s) of the completed set.  Try to replace missing pieces with pieces from your own collection.  Many of these older sets basic pieces are somewhat easy to replace.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I would suggest building each and every set you are selling to check for completeness and to take a photo(s) of the completed set.  Try to replace missing pieces with pieces from your own collection.  Many of these older sets basic pieces are somewhat easy to replace.

 

Exactly - the person you sell to is probably going to build it, so it makes sense to test it out before hand.

[CNH1974]

That's great thanks

Honestly speaking, the majority of sets are all complete perhaps with an odd change of hat or similar that I obviously deemed more suitable at the time but all the bits are still there somewhere.

My first ever set was the town square (1592) which is 100% and has spare stickers etc as well.

I must admit to a bit of a pang at selling them all but I haven't looked at them for 20 years so its time to be rid really.

Also any set that is not complete, or where you have replaced something, state this clearly in your auction listing. It will save arguments later. :)

[Huskers1236]

Take some pictures and show us those old sets, many of the youngsters here probably don't even know what classic Legoland sets even look like.

[MartinP]

Take some pictures and show us those old sets, many of the youngsters here probably don't even know what classic Legoland sets even look like.

Hmm... That would probably be me. Most likely I will not know what they look like.

[Topbannana]

We are building them one by one at the moment- it's a hive of excitement in our house I can tell you :)

[CNH1974]

Take some pictures and show us those old sets, many of the youngsters here probably don't even know what classic Legoland sets even look like.

  

I have lots of those, but Jeff/Ed would shout at me if I gave links to "all" my auctions.

We are building them one by one at the moment- it's a hive of excitement in our house I can tell you

That's the fun part :D

[Quacs]

  

I have lots of those, but Jeff/Ed would shout at me if I gave links to "all" my auctions.

 

 

Just post the pictures then.  Copy the link to your pictures on eBay (righ-click on the picture, click "properties" and copy the url of the picture), click the "Image" icon on the lower tool bar of the post editor and paste the link.  That will allow you to show the pictures easily without becoming an advertisement for your eBay listings.

[CNH1974]

Hehe, or I could just upload a few.

 

Here's a selection to be going on with

[Quacs]

Wow - amazing how many of those I had as a kid: #3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

 

Great collection!

[CNH1974]

Hehe, that's just a small selection of what I have sold. I only had #7 & 12 as a kid.

Maybe we should start a new thread; Upload your vintage pictures. :D

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

make sure to read the blogs on selling on ebay.  it has been more helpful then any other source I've found

[Huskers1236]

Hehe, that's just a small selection of what I have sold. I only had #7 & 12 as a kid.

Maybe we should start a new thread; Upload your vintage pictures.

I wish my parents would have taken pictures of my setup when I was a kid. Tons of Classic Space that got set up on my bed, since that was the moon, and then Victory Lap Raceway down on the floor for all my vehicles to race around the room.