10211 - Grand Emporium

[CNH1974]

Doesn't ROI depend on what you paid for it? 

Cos in that case I am up over 1050% on a Kingdoms Chess set I got for a fiver

[stephen_rockefeller]

Maybe he got his FB for a fiver and that is why he can say something like that with absolute certainly :/

[trekgate502]

My FB"s cost $120 each and doing fine.

My GE's are doing fine too. The ebay lowest purchase price already covers my purchase, tax for acquisition, fees and shipping.

Even with all that I would make $15 each.

Both sets are fine and were/are great investments.

[teohwp85]

Who was the seller, Amazon or third party?  Did the description say anything about wear, dings, etc. on the box (if you bought it from AWD, then the description should have told you these things).  If there was nothing in the description indicating that the box was damaged, then for a $150 set you should definitely call and complain.

It was sold by Amazon.com LLC. Condition is described as "New", nothing else.

[holleman67]

It was sold by Amazon.com LLC. Condition is described as "New", nothing else.

From the looks of the photos, if the seals are in tact and there are no holes then leave it be.

Or return it and I'll buy it from awd when it hits there!

[exciter1]

Just received the GE that I ordered from Amazon on September 18.

 

It is slightly banged up.

And the seal looks tampered with.

Is it worth filing a complaint with Amazon's customer service? Thanks in advance for the advice!

P.S. The production code is 27R4.

 

 

Mine arrived in worse condition than this and I'm ok with it.  Can't be too choosy at this point, our buying options are limited.

[Neosphinx]

Very funny. Selling price - 

 

Saving this post to see what you say if the ROI turns out to be higher.

Please do. The only reason why GE is worth more atm is because of the bigger demand from new investors post fb

[chipbee]

The only thing I agree on is that the price for GE is higher than FB on similar points of time. GE will never ever reach the ROI of FB.

you are assuming that the company has produced a lot more GE than FB. Also need to consider than GE is a corner unit, and like straight train tracks, corner units will have higher utility.

[Sauromosis]

Most likely, Lego made a big batch of these to fill backorders, and then posted the rest on its site.  The reason they haven't sold out yet is people like us worried about being banned.  

[trekgate502]

Most likely, Lego made a big batch of these to fill backorders, and then posted the rest on its site.  The reason they haven't sold out yet is people like us worried about being banned.  

 

I agree completely since many told us their summer backorders were just shipping in the last week, I think that they filled the backorders have posted left overs and when these are gone they are gone, similar to the one more SSD shipment we had with some popping up and then gone.  They probably have more GE than SSD for the same time point but I think this will be over sooner than people think.

[Yinchuan]

I would have to think that a double VIP points month would easily wipe out remaining stock, if it even lasts that long.

[mscheaf]

Went to Lego B&M St Louis today. They had no GEs at all. Had probably 10 Town Hall, Pet Store, Cinema, Parisian Rest., Tower Bridge out on the shelves. Maybe 5-8 Live Stars.

[speedsausage]

Went to Lego B&M St Louis today. They had no GEs at all. Had probably 10 Town Hall, Pet Store, Cinema, Parisian Rest., Tower Bridge out on the shelves. Maybe 5-8 Live Stars.

I know you didn't start this mscheaf but to be nit picky, shouldn't it be "Life" star?

[mscheaf]

I know you didn't start this mscheaf but to be nit picky, shouldn't it be "Life" star?

 

Yeah that does make more sense doesn't it? I think this set has lasted longer than both "real" Death Stars combined. Including construction time.

[mscheaf]

My GE from Sept 3 shipped today

 

Mine from the same date is now in process

[Sauromosis]

GE ordered yesterday just shipped...I fear the size of this batch!!!

[Zurno]

Just placed my order for one, don't want to risk missing out even though I would love to get the double points.

[Neosphinx]

Don't think you will miss out... I have a feeling they decided due to the immense popularity the last few months of their GE, that they decided to put on just one more run.

[Yinchuan]

What it came down to for me was whether the risk of waiting for October was worth the $10 credit. No way. Plus I applied an existing $10 credit anyways. Wash!

[redghostx]

The only thing I agree on is that the price for GE is higher than FB on similar points of time. GE will never ever reach the ROI of FB.

That's an interesting view.  I think that the Grand Emporium is a superior build and looking at my handy dandy BP price guide shows that the FB was selling UNDER US retail nearing its end of life and the Grand Emporium has been over US RRP all of this year and has been 20% or more over retail beginning in June 2014 (now at +40%).  It really seems to be trending towards a long steady growth and my guess is more profit long term than the Fire Brigade - my opinion of course.

 

 

Also, someone noted that the GE was the first with an interior design - the FB has an interior design and was a 2009 model.

[Crustybeaver]

TLG and LEGO Shop at Home are playing the sold-out; out-of-stock card really well. 

 

It's easy playing the sold out card when you're actually sold out

[Neosphinx]

That's an interesting view.  I think that the Grand Emporium is a superior build and looking at my handy dandy BP price guide shows that the FB was selling UNDER US retail nearing its end of life and the Grand Emporium has been over US RRP all of this year and has been 20% or more over retail beginning in June 2014 (now at +40%).  It really seems to be trending towards a long steady growth and my guess is more profit long term than the Fire Brigade - my opinion of course.

 

 

Also, someone noted that the GE was the first with an interior design - the FB has an interior design and was a 2009 model.

I don't disagree that GE can be the superior build,  It will grow for sure at a steady rate.

 

It's been a short while since I have picked up this 'business' but it was already noticed that there are far more people aware of the value of Lego. A lot of people have been searching the passing years for other investments. And they buy shitloads of those GE. GE is the set I have most of (of big ones) so I believe in its potential. The secondary market for Lego is becoming oversaturated for the 'local' customer base. I'm sure  that if Ed or Jeff could disclose numbers of unique searches on their value lookup, it would reflect that.

 

The margins you will be able to sell for will be slimmer than the margins you had on a fb just because more investors now then back then. 

 

Both sets are probably great sets. I am still waiting on my second hand baseplate for my second hand GE to build it and display. 

[redghostx]

I agree with you that there seems to be a higher number of speculators and I am relying on the likelihood that they will be selling these sets early in retirement and my sets will experience higher growth later in retirement.

[allen9917]

Apparently you are not here long enough to know FB was one of the most stocked up sets around this time last year? People were saying it was hoarded too much that it would not be a good investment...

[stephen_rockefeller]

Apparently you are not here long enough to know FB was one of the most stocked up sets around this time last year? People were saying it was hoarded too much that it would not be a good investment...

A few people were. There were many reserving judgement.