71006 - The Simpsons House

[KPrevost]

There are MANY sets that went for less than $300.

Referring to The Simpsons House.

[KPrevost]

I sold one for 279 with free shipping. The set cost me 212. It was 18 to ship ups, after the fees I barely cleared 15 (plus VIP points).

I got two sets day one just in case it sold out. I'll see what happens after the 1st with the other. It needs to bring 300 to be worth the trouble.

That is what my calculations were approximately. I estimated shipping at $15. Good to know shipping was $18.

[Veegs]

There is also the fact that some people are not very good at math.

 

I feel this is a contributing factor to plenty of bad decisions (not just Lego investing, but it isn't immune!). 

[KPrevost]

Can you post your calculations?

Sure. The one set I saw sold for $232 plus free shipping. Remember these numbers are not exact.

$232 less eBay and PayPal fees of $26, estimated shipping $18 is $188. The set cost $200 plus tax.

If shipping cost less than $18 - you would net in the low $190s. But again the set cost $200.

[zskid00]

I think a lot of people were speculating a quick sell out for VIPs and a quick flip, but there seems to be plenty of supply from LEGO for the launch.  They did change the limit from 5 to 2 to 1 pretty quickly which was probably a good indicator of how fast they were selling from the start but they never sold out so the big money for flipping just wasn't there. 

[Miami Bomb Squad]

I really don't care. 

[imirish11]

If one were to sell the item at breakeven, which is around $250 based on cost (200+t), then you could still turn a nice ROI via: cash out VIP points, earn VIP points, 5% cashback + CC cashback. Those extra bonuses add up to $15-$20 + any VIP points cashed out. On top of that, if the seller didn't need to pay sales tax, add on another $15 or so. Even if you aren't turning a profit based on the price paid in store, a high volume of sales will put a nice chunk of change in your various rewards accounts. If the item were to sell above $250, then there's some extra profit for your pocket. Different sellers have different expectations for ROI, as well as turnover, but as Expected ROI declines to ~10%, this suggests that it's still quite easy for seller's to obtain one of these, sell it, go to the store buy another, rinse/repeat/etc. Of course, this all changes when more sellers enter the market after 1/31.

[hxckid88]

you never know what they may have paid originally. Example: I sold a kings castle recently for about retail.....I paid 45.00 for it. On the surface it looks like a loss. I could be wrong but I believe lego employees get a discount, I know what I would be doing if I worked there.

[marcandre]

That is what my calculations were approximately. I estimated shipping at $15. Good to know shipping was $18.

 

I shipped from NC to KY. If it had gone out West it would have been more, maybe as much as $30.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Im confused - I thought they came with a return shipping label and you could just ship them back to LEGO Shop at Home right?

[stackables]

you never know what they may have paid originally. Example: I sold a kings castle recently for about retail.....I paid 45.00 for it. On the surface it looks like a loss. I could be wrong but I believe lego employees get a discount, I know what I would be doing if I worked there.

I thought I heard lego employees no longer get discounts on exclusives.

[BearCrash]

I thought I heard lego employees no longer get discounts on exclusives.

 

That leads to the question: is the Simpsons House an Exclusive?

[rcdb1984]

it doesn't have a 10 model number, yet it says exclusive on it's website " As a LEGO

[Jojoyojimbi]

don't forget that if you sell it for exactly what it costs you you still get $10 in VIP points, to some people stocking up on free VIP points is worth it

[stackables]

That leads to the question: is the Simpsons House an Exclusive?

Yes

[asharerin]

After cash back and VIP points the cost of this set is $180 if you live in a tax free state. $230 shipped would be break even after shipping and all fees. At $250 the $20 profit may be worth it to some.

 

Lego employees in the USA no longer get discounts on merchandise. 

[rcdb1984]

for real? lame-o

[asharerin]

Im confused - I thought they came with a return shipping label and you could just ship them back to LEGO Shop at Home right?

 

No. You pay return shipping. If there is a problem with an item you can call and they will give you a return label.

[hxckid88]

I'm not sure where some of you are getting *** your numbers from regarding shipping and I've seen it on the forums a few times. I personally purchased 2 Simpsons houses. Thought I'd sell for 500 a piece. I quickly realized that was a pipe dream. I ended up selling both of them to the same person via ebay global shipping to a guy in China. It cost me $ 15.22 to ship both sets. These figures of 30.00 for one set are crazy. I used FedEx ground delivery 2 day shipping through eBay.

[stackables]

I'm not sure where some of you are getting *** your numbers from regarding shipping and I've seen it on the forums a few times. I personally purchased 2 Simpsons houses. Thought I'd sell for 500 a piece. I quickly realized that was a pipe dream. I ended up selling both of them to the same person via ebay global shipping to a guy in China. It cost me $ 15.22 to ship both sets. These figures of 30.00 for one set are crazy. I used FedEx ground delivery 2 day shipping through eBay.

You were able to ship 2 huge lego sets to China for $15.22 total?  That seems crazy cheap. 

[hxckid88]

Using ebay global shipping yes. You ship to airport exchange in Kentucky. Global shipping makes up about 25 percent of all my sales.

[stackables]

Using ebay global shipping yes. You ship to airport exchange in Kentucky. Global shipping makes up about 25 percent of all my sales.

So you ship the packages to KY for $15.22 and then Ebay ships them to China?  Is that how global shipping works? 

[KPrevost]

Using ebay global shipping yes. You ship to airport exchange in Kentucky. Global shipping makes up about 25 percent of all my sales.

I have been hesitant to join the Global Shipping Program in eBay. I have heard horror stories about it. Please tell me more about it. If it worth it - I will join it.

It would bring an increase in sales.

[hxckid88]

Correct. I think I'm going to write a blog or something as it seems most here talk about it but are just not familiar. Global shipping is amazing. I've never had an issue.

[KPrevost]

Correct. I think I'm going to write a blog or something as it seems most here talk about it but are just not familiar. Global shipping is amazing. I've never had an issue.

Do you exclude any particular countries?