What Lego set did you sell today and for how much?

[brickvoyeur]

Quote

I'll read the Nightmare Before Christmas story this year, kids. 

Twas the night before Clearance
And all through the aisle
Steamrollers were packed
Into my cart like a pile

Exo Suits were hung
In the storage with care
Knowing that in a decade
They still will be there

Sergeant Jyn Erso was nestled
Deep under my bed 
With terrible proportions
And a face that looks dead

Wonder woman in her armor
And cheetah in her cap
The lasso of truth will tell you
That this set is pure crap

When out on my doorstep
A noise shook me awake
ShopJustice still delivering Olaf
Flat as a pancake

Faster shipping than FedEx
The turds as they came
I cried and I pouted
As I called them by name

"Now, Dots! now, Mario! 
Now Lego Movie 1 and 2!
On, Raiders! on, Mighty Dinos! 
On, Takodana and constractables too!

To the depths of the dumpster! 
Stacked 50 feet tall
Now throw away! throw away! 
throw away all!"

Each year I make efforts
To donate a bit more
But Toys for tots sends a bill
For returning them to my door

Since I can't give them away
I'll dig a big pit
It's the final solution
To get rid of this sh!t

I shook as I laughed
At the thought of relieving this pain
It was nearly 3am
So I looked quite insane

As I poured the kerosene
I cheered with delight
"I'll light you on fire,
So you're out of my sight"
 

Edited December 7, 2022 by brickvoyeur

[Pseudoty]

Not sure if this goes in the eBay fruitcake thread or here but why would he pay this much for a used SATURN V shipped to Alaska when he could buy a new one for $1 less with free shipping?

[Brystheguy]

11 minutes ago, Pseudoty said:

Not sure if this goes in the eBay fruitcake thread or here but why would he pay this much for a used SATURN V shipped to Alaska when he could buy a new one for $1 less with free shipping?

Maybe they, like me, don't ship to Hawaii and Alaska?
 

[Alpinemaps]

2x minecraft mountain caves in 2 days on amazon fbm - each for $730.  paid $200 each during amazon sale on 12/5/18.  one is going to someone in my own state which is very nice for shipping costs.
Classic 10405 Mission To Mars buckets for $95 paid $35 
ariel magic spell $85 bought at $23 permasale.
architecture louvre $170.
arch chicago $125 paid $17.
technic first responder 42097 for $95.  picked up a few of these for $30  during the target gift card dealses. 
non-lego - mega construx pokemon squirtle vs charmander for $75.  paid $5 on clearance at stop and shop .
 

I’ve had a Louvre sitting in my personal collection for years. I’ve always wanted to build it.

The state of sales of eBay has made me rethink personal collection a whole lot.

[redghostx]

I’ve had a Louvre sitting in my personal collection for years. I’ve always wanted to build it.

The state of sales of eBay has made me rethink personal collection a whole lot.

Unless you collect all the architecture, it's one you can sell. It's nice, but not wow imo and I have all the old buildings except Marina Bay.

[Alpinemaps]

2 hours ago, redghostx said:

3 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

I’ve had a Louvre sitting in my personal collection for years. I’ve always wanted to build it.

The state of sales of eBay has made me rethink personal collection a whole lot.

Unless you collect all the architecture, it's one you can sell. It's nice, but not wow imo and I have all the old buildings except Marina Bay.

Yeah, I only had a couple of the older ones (UN, White House), and those are long since gone.  For some reason, Trevi Fountain and Louvre just really impressed me, and were two of those architecture sets that I just *wanted* to have.  But, like I said, I've been rethinking a lot of my sets sitting in my personal collection boxes.

[RightDwigt]

Sold my Haunted House for $390 on BL.

Before selling, I got a handful of comments about how terrible of a person I am, and my price wasn't even the highest! I did truly consider keeping the set, but would hesitate to buy a pre-release for the sole purpose of flipping. If I was a wide-eyed innocent kid / family who got their LEGO catalog in the mail this week and saw this beauty that our family could build; only to find that it's been OOS for weeks while scalpers have jacked the price up almost 100% I would be pretty upset.

IDK, I go back and forth but even if you find a buyer they are usually NOT happy in this situation which just goes against the spirit of LEGO, in my humble opinion. It's a whole different story after the set has seen its time on the fair market with ample opportunity for anyone who really wants to grab it at a fair price. As far as retired sets, that seems fair even if prices have climbed a lot. Those are going to established collectors who know what they're getting into and what it will cost; it's worth it to them. I am more than open to your opinions, of course. Just sharing my recent experience.

[jeff_14]

1 minute ago, baublitz said:

Sold my Haunted House for $390 on BL.

Before selling, I got a handful of comments about how terrible of a person I am, and my price wasn't even the highest! I did truly consider keeping the set, but would hesitate to buy a pre-release for the sole purpose of flipping. If I was a wide-eyed innocent kid / family who got their LEGO catalog in the mail this week and saw this beauty that our family could build; only to find that it's been OOS for weeks while scalpers have jacked the price up almost 100% I would be pretty upset.

IDK, I go back and forth but even if you find a buyer they are usually NOT happy in this situation which just goes against the spirit of LEGO, in my humble opinion. It's a whole different story after the set has seen its time on the fair market with ample opportunity for anyone who really wants to grab it at a fair price. As far as retired sets, that seems fair even if prices have climbed a lot. Those are going to established collectors who know what they're getting into and what it will cost; it's worth it to them. I am more than open to your opinions, of course. Just sharing my recent experience.

Agreed. What gets me is attitudes like the message I got last month from some woman complaining about my double retail price on a long EOL Friends set that was in stores for 2 years and often discounted (which is when I bought them). Apparently she needed this set for a birthday and I’m a “monster” for selling a set above retail years later. She took time out of her day to write that message to me despite not buying anything. And I’m the lowest price on Amazon Canada. I raised the price right then.

[calmdahn]

4 minutes ago, baublitz said:

Sold my Haunted House for $390 on BL.

Before selling, I got a handful of comments about how terrible of a person I am, and my price wasn't even the highest! I did truly consider keeping the set, but would hesitate to buy a pre-release for the sole purpose of flipping. If I was a wide-eyed innocent kid / family who got their LEGO catalog in the mail this week and saw this beauty that our family could build; only to find that it's been OOS for weeks while scalpers have jacked the price up almost 100% I would be pretty upset.

IDK, I go back and forth but even if you find a buyer they are usually NOT happy in this situation which just goes against the spirit of LEGO, in my humble opinion. It's a whole different story after the set has seen its time on the fair market with ample opportunity for anyone who really wants to grab it at a fair price. As far as retired sets, that seems fair even if prices have climbed a lot. Those are going to established collectors who know what they're getting into and what it will cost; it's worth it to them. I am more than open to your opinions, of course. Just sharing my recent experience.

Don’t feel bad for a second. The playing field is level. Everybody has the same opportunity to get sets when they’re released. LEGO does this either intentionally to create excitement, or because they have no real concept of the size of their market. Either way, more fool them. 

[brickvoyeur]

6 minutes ago, baublitz said:

IDK, I go back and forth but even if you find a buyer they are usually NOT happy in this situation which just goes against the spirit of LEGO, in my humble opinion. It's a whole different story after the set has seen its time on the fair market with ample opportunity for anyone who really wants to grab it at a fair price. As far as retired sets, that seems fair even if prices have climbed a lot. Those are going to established collectors who know what they're getting into and what it will cost; it's worth it to them. I am more than open to your opinions, of course. Just sharing my recent experience.

As I was scalping UCS Falcon's when they were released, and making more than double on cash sales, I laughed all the way to the bank.

You snooze, you lose. This market thrives on impatient people with money to piss away. If I didn't take their money someone else would.

[jeff_14]

2 minutes ago, calmdahn said:

Don’t feel bad for a second. The playing field is level. Everybody has the same opportunity to get sets when they’re released. LEGO does this either intentionally to create excitement, or because they have no real concept of the size of their market. Either way, more fool them. 

LEGO has in a sense become a luxury brand. I find them similar to how my wife’s purse makers behave. They have their regular purses that get reissued from time to time like fire and police sets, but get their diehards and diehard wannabes excited with limited editions that they purposefully issue in limited quantities that they know will sell out because they want to generate buzz and demand. Plus they have their truly expensive bags, the UCS of the line, which separate the elite from the plebs. They tolerate resellers (but not counterfeiters) because they spread brand value and mystique. 

[RightDwigt]

Just now, calmdahn said:

Don’t feel bad for a second. The playing field is level. Everybody has the same opportunity to get sets when they’re released. LEGO does this either intentionally to create excitement, or because they have no real concept of the size of their market. Either way, more fool them. 

I do feel bad though, if only a bit. 😟 Of course it only takes one time like this for the "innocent" casual LEGO consumer to be made aware of the situation and try their best to be ready the next time. But oops, didn't realize they had to sign up for VIP membership and then wait on LEGO's buggy website to process that and POOF... new release slipped out of their fingers again.  

Is the playing field level though? VIP early release, Brickpicker forum advantage on in-stock and release dates, and not everyone can be available for the few short minutes or hours a new set is released (work, school, whatever). I do recognize your realistic response though. It's business at the end of the day. If we didn't do it someone else will. I'm also not going to wait forever while others take the opportunity. I'm just thinking I'll probably stick to the equally promising post-retirement market.

2 minutes ago, jeff_14 said:

LEGO has in a sense become a luxury brand.

This. My empathy lessens here. LEGO is NOT a necessity by any stretch. We're not hurting anyone's well-being by scooping up early releases or holding onto sets for a few years. It's an investment that pays off.

[RightDwigt]

6 minutes ago, brickvoyeur said:

As I was scalping UCS Falcon's when they were released, and making more than double on cash sales, I laughed all the way to the bank.

You snooze, you lose. This market thrives on impatient people with money to piss away. If I didn't take their money someone else would.

Okay I gotta admit the $500 in cash profit I made on mine felt pretty good too.  Kids and families weren't really buying that one.... it was the crazy AFOL and people like us who would pay anything anyways just to have it ASAP!

[KvHulk]

5 minutes ago, baublitz said:

Is the playing field level though? VIP early release, Brickpicker forum advantage on in-stock and release dates.

Seeing as everything you mentioned is publicly available for everyone to see, read, study, find, use, etc... Yes. The playing field is level.

[RightDwigt]

Just now, KvHulk said:

Seeing as everything you mentioned is publicly available for everyone to see, read, study, find, use, etc... Yes. The playing field is level.

Yes... But I think you know what I mean when I'm comparing us as resellers to the casual consumer. If the game is reselling, then yes all of us have the same advantage. But that's not everyone's game.

Not trying to start anything because I know that any of one of us would jump on the next opportunity to make a decent profit. Just sharing my lean toward reselling on the retirement side of things vs release. I appreciate your insight though, as I did ask for it.

[Poison Girl]

People who want these hard to find Lego sets either need diligence (to get the details ahead of time), patience (to wait until the set is easily available) or money.  Only the potential buyer can decide which one they are willing to use

[jeff_14]

6 minutes ago, baublitz said:

Yes... But I think you know what I mean when I'm comparing us as resellers to the casual consumer. If the game is reselling, then yes all of us have the same advantage. But that's not everyone's game.

Not trying to start anything because I know that any of one of us would jump on the next opportunity to make a decent profit. Just sharing my lean toward reselling on the retirement side of things vs release. I appreciate your insight though, as I did ask for it.

Technically all the info is out there but so too was all the info about bad mortgages being packaged with triple A mortgages before the subprime crisis if you knew and had time to dig into the massive disclosure statements.

The average person doesn’t follow websites or become a VIP or even get emailed offers from LEGO. They think about LEGO when little Timmy has a birthday and asks for something. Even parents or their kids who are big fans often don’t know the simplest tricks. For example, a friend of mine was proud that he had gotten all the Lego Batman movie sets for his son. I asked him if he had the Penguin rolls Royce. Deer in headlights. That set was only available at the LEGO store/ website for a short time. He did his buying at wal-mart or Toys R Us. I didn’t have the heart to go into all the various poly bag and other promos I was certain he didn’t have. Maybe one day he’ll discover he can’t live with his failure, and where will that bring him? Back to my Amazon store. Maybe I am a monster. 

[Lego Lass]

1 hour ago, jeff_14 said:

Agreed. What gets me is attitudes like the message I got last month from some woman complaining about my double retail price on a long EOL Friends set that was in stores for 2 years and often discounted (which is when I bought them). Apparently she needed this set for a birthday and I’m a “monster” for selling a set above retail years later. She took time out of her day to write that message to me despite not buying anything. And I’m the lowest price on Amazon Canada. I raised the price right then.

I get the same types of messages on eBay...."You know, the retail price for this set is $X". Yes, I know that; and I also know that this set retired several years ago, so you can no longer buy it for $X. And my sets are usually around the lower end in pricing too. Do these buyers actually think they're going to shame us into going lower...or are they really that clueless about supply and demand?

[Ogelwoc]

Used Falling Water for $350.
Used Town Hall for $600.
Used Ninjago City for $350, was thinking should hold longer but decided to reinvest the money on other sets.

Used Falling Water for $350.
Used Town Hall for $600.
Used Ninjago City for $350, was thinking should hold longer but decided to reinvest the money on other sets.

[SpaceFan9]

(Not sure if this should go here, or under covid trends ...)

Just had my strongest week, dollar-wise, since the start of March, and it pushed me over a significant milestone, illustrated below.

The Milestone: I've sold more in the past 10 weeks than any of my previous yearly totals. Quite shocking, really.

[exracer327]

Any product with a limited production run has the possibility to become a collectible.  This is true for cars, guns, Hummels, Hallmark Ornaments, coins, stamps, and... LEGO (to name but a few).

The problem is; some people think of LEGO as only a toy and they are just mad that a previously discontinued set has appreciated in value well beyond its original purchase price. 

So please let me take this moment to chastise everyone who refuses to sell me a new, sealed SSD for $300.

[scurt1s]

On 6/11/2020 at 10:39 AM, Lego Lass said:

I get the same types of messages on eBay...."You know, the retail price for this set is $X". Yes, I know that; and I also know that this set retired several years ago, so you can no longer buy it for $X. And my sets are usually around the lower end in pricing too. Do these buyers actually think they're going to shame us into going lower...or are they really that clueless about supply and demand?

Reminds me of Renee from bargain hunters. He always says "I can sell a rolex for 10k never hear from them, I sell a timex for 9.99 and I get a million questions, return requests, etc" Hence, I try to sell the higher end stuff, never offer free shipping. Don't want to deal w/ bottom feeders.

[Alpinemaps]

Reminds me of Renee from bargain hunters. He always says "I can sell a rolex for 10k never hear from them, I sell a timex for 9.99 and I get a million questions, return requests, etc" Hence, I try to sell the higher end stuff, never offer free shipping. Don't want to deal w/ bottom feeders.

In a former life, I was a sales guy for a map production company. I’d sell their services. If it was a book publisher, with 200 maps for a text book that was a $20k order, I wouldn’t hear anything.

The 1 map / $500 map person would constantly call and want all sorts of special requests. I hated dealing with them.

[Migration]

1 minute ago, Alpinemaps said:

In a former life, I was a sales guy for a map production company. I’d sell their services. If it was a book publisher, with 200 maps for a text book that was a $20k order, I wouldn’t hear anything.

The 1 map / $500 map person would constantly call and want all sorts of special requests. I hated dealing with them.

That’s one hell of a map. 

[joch29]

it was tough to let go...BNIB 6866 for $200.  

Edited June 16, 2020 by joch29

[Shortbus311]

it was tough to let go...BNIB 6866 for $200.  

I still, after these years of selling, don't comprehend what drives people to spend $200 on a set on Amazon that they could have paid $100 for on Ebay. Not hating though, congrats on the sale!