4209 - Fire Plane

[kzol]

How is this plane a bad investment?  It's been about a month or two since I've seen the last one on any shelves so to me it seems far too early to determine whether it's a winner or not.  Sure the fire theme gets repeated, but this is the only fire plane that has ever been available.  I'm looking to sell mine late this year before any new fire sets come out just in case their is another plane, but I don't anticipate that there will be.

 

I'm glad City gets no love here because it keeps the competition down for me.  You can make money with them, but like any sets, you just have to be smart when you buy.

[lodibricks]

I think we're rushing a bit on a set like this. I had a couple Passenger Planes I tried to sell too soon, ended up building one & giving one to a nephew. A year later, it's selling for 4x what I paid.

[MartinP]

I think we're rushing a bit on a set like this. I had a couple Passenger Planes I tried to sell too soon, ended up building one & giving one to a nephew. A year later, it's selling for 4x what I paid.

Patience. The key to investing. I think we need to wait another year before we see some serious gains with this set.

[Achilles]

Patience. The key to investing. I think we need to wait another year before we see some serious gains with this set.

 

Absolutely. It's still available online at MSRP from a couple big name retailers. It's impossible to know how it will perform until it's no longer avail for that price after a quick google search.

I think it is an interesting set, and I snagged some. It does have that fancy award sticker on it

[MartinP]

Absolutely. It's still available online at MSRP from a couple big name retailers. It's impossible to know how it will perform until it's no longer avail for that price after a quick google search.

I think it is an interesting set, and I snagged some. It does have that fancy award sticker on it

I grabbed some too when I found them on clearance at Walmart. I think they were 50% off or something like that. I will wait for at least a year before I consider selling them.

[terrymc4677]

City is a bad investment??? Look up 7893 and 3222. Two of my biggest success stories of ANY theme I have invested in. Like others have already stated though, you need to be careful what you buy. Police and fire get remade every other year on average, so either avoid those two sub themes, or make sure to dump your stock before the remakes hit the shelves.

[cladner]

i got 3 of these for $32 each a month ago at kmart.

i have tried twice now to sell these for BIN on ebay down to 44.99 with free shipping and had a few watchers but no bites so take it fwiw.

if i could do it over again i would not buy these though i think if i pair them up with some of the fire helicopters and fireboats i picked up at 50% off  i can make some money @ xmas.  with time they will go up but ...  long term i think there are safer bets elsewhere.  like in city railroad track crossings.

 

i wouldn't buy these envisioning quick flippin' money.

 

the coolest thing about this set is if i open it up i can get a chain saw to go with itchy and scratchy simpson minifigs.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

I got my fingers burnt even buying at 62% off. I now avoid all Fire/Police sets regardless of discount. The 4209 failing to reach even 3rd of RRP after EOL is a joke. The bubble has exploded on Fire sets I think. I doubt time will help this as prices were better when not EOL

ALL FIRE SETS ARE TURKEYS APART FROM 10197.

[redcell]

I will buy all of your fire planes from you at cost plus shipping.

[dbost01]

lol...I doubt that

[redcell]

Seriously.  For anyone who bought the Fire Plane at 50% or more off, I'll buy all that you have for your cost plus shipping.  If you don't believe that the set will rise in value, it's an easy out.

[cladner]

Absolutely. It's still available online at MSRP from a couple big name retailers. It's impossible to know how it will perform until it's no longer avail for that price after a quick google search.

I think it is an interesting set, and I snagged some. It does have that fancy award sticker on it

where is it still available online ?

 

 not at walmart, target, kmart, TRU.  its at msrp on amazon.

 

its officially retired by LEGO.

 

and it still can't even get 25% off MSRP on ebay from a seller with 100% positive feedback offering international shipping.

 

i think its a stinker but i will try and make some money on it when people are desperate at xmas.

[vincevaughn]

have one I got at a steep discount....going to bundle it with a 4427 Fire ATV around Christmas time.  I think it will do ok, not steller, but ok.  I go with my gut and my gut says its just a good solid fun set....

 

just my $0.02

[scuttfarkas]

Me?  I'll take whatever profit the 2014 Christmas Season will bring me and roll that over into whatever new 2015 sets are out there.  It's not a "must have" set and I'm sure  it faces competition for the "parental dollar" from whatever other FIre/Police City set is out there. What.....there's SEVEN fire themed LEGO sets on LEGO.COM right now.......you ain't getting much above retail for this one....

[dbost01]

AOFOLs that like the city theme buy planes.....period.

[TheOrcKing]

Every theme ever or going to be available requires some forethought in regards to what is chosen for investment even from those that all or most of the included sets have gone up in value since not all will earn the same gains. Just as Terry brought up the Walmart exclusive 3222 Helicopter & Limousine set, so shall I bring up the Target exclusive 8403 City House released within the very same year. Here's another, the non-exclusive 3221 LEGO Truck also from 2010. The key to each was a uniquely well-executed design with the chance of a very short production run, otherwise they were just so desirable that even when sold out people wanted more. Also the possibility of a repeat down the road seems rather slim although I can easily see another LEGO Truck pulling a trailer filled with boxes being released down the road.

[isocleas]

Not all city sets are losers. Two recent ones that come to mind are the old police station and k9 unit which on amazon are going for $150 and $75 respectively. I purchased some of each somewhere between 35-50% off and have already more than doubled my investment with each. They were still around just a few months ago.

[Alcarin]

Not all city sets are losers. Two recent ones that come to mind are the old police station and k9 unit which on amazon are going for $150 and $75 respectively. I purchased some of each somewhere between 35-50% off and have already more than doubled my investment with each. They were still around just a few months ago.

 

The question is which theme has the MOST losers (of the evergreens)

 

I bet its City

[cladner]

Every theme ever or going to be available requires some forethought in regards to what is chosen for investment even from those that all or most of the included sets have gone up in value since not all will earn the same gains. Just as Terry brought up the Walmart exclusive 3222 Helicopter & Limousine set, so shall I bring up the Target exclusive 8403 City House released within the very same year. Here's another, the non-exclusive 3221 LEGO Truck also from 2010. The key to each was a uniquely well-executed design with the chance of a very short production run, otherwise they were just so desirable that even when sold out people wanted more. Also the possibility of a repeat down the road seems rather slim although I can easily see another LEGO Truck pulling a trailer filled with boxes being released down the road.

 

 

This isn't a crapping on city thread.  its the fire plane investment potential.  I think the Fire plane has limited cagr potential compared to other things.

That's why Fire Plane "made it" to the Kmart 50% clearance pile.  at least with 50% of you will make some money.  some day... as long as a cooler fire plane doesn't come out next year.

i wish 3222 made it to the clearance bin at Walmart.

[TheOrcKing]

The question is which theme has the MOST losers (of the evergreens)

 

I bet its City

Is there really such a thing as an 'evergreen theme' anymore? Trains are technically part of City just as the airlines are and those seem to do fairly well to pretty good. Star Wars overall isn't as big of a thing as it was once upon a time, Castle and Pirates barely get any spotlight anymore, and original Space themes in general are a real game of 'hit & miss' with plenty of misses. Super Heroes is probably decent for the moment but it is starting to show signs of being watered down in recent set designs.

I wonder what straight percentages showing the winners compared to the losers for each year under every theme would look like?

[Alcarin]

Is there really such a thing as an 'evergreen theme' anymore? Trains are technically part of City just as the airlines are and those seem to do fairly well to pretty good. Star Wars overall isn't as big of a thing as it was once upon a time, Castle and Pirates barely get any spotlight anymore, and original Space themes in general are a real game of 'hit & miss' with plenty of misses. Super Heroes is probably decent for the moment but it is starting to show signs of being watered down in recent set designs.

I wonder what straight percentages showing the winners compared to the losers for each year under every theme would look like?

 

I never saw City theme taking a break as far as yearly releases go......

 

So any theme that has been out for more than 10 years+ and never took a break is evergreen in my book.... Its my own definition I know....

 

And City certainly is one of the longest going theme without breaks.......

 

It would be fun to look at such graph.... but problem is some themes have so little sets (Atlantis, Prince of Persia) and that would skew graphs.....

 

Best thing would be to see how many ''bad'' sets each theme has in numbers not percentage and I am fairly certain City wins the race

[TheOrcKing]

This isn't a crapping on city thread. its the fire plane investment potential. I think the Fire plane has limited cagr potential compared to other things.

That's why Fire Plane "made it" to the Kmart 50% clearance pile.

i wish 3222 made it to the clearance bin at Walmart.

I know it wasn't meant to be but sometimes like all good plans, they tend to go awry especially when another member had in the beginning stated how up for the set in question they were to then change their mind later on after starting a "City sets are bad investments" ideology. I admit seeing the Fire Plane reach a half off sale from any store would make seeing this as not the best set to invest with; however, clearance sales are not always the best proof of evidence for that. A year ago when I still had a Kmart, there was a few Attack on Weathertop, a ton of Uruk-hai Armies, some Olivia's Houses, Vampyre Hearses, and a couple others that did make it to the half off sale.

 

I never saw City theme taking a break as far as yearly releases go......

So any theme that has been out for more than 10 years+ and never took a break is evergreen in my book.... Its my own definition I know....

And City certainly is one of the longest going theme without breaks.......

True, what we now call City was originally Town to at one time being named World City and all the while there were many branches going in varying directions.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

I've just donated a factory sealed box of 4x 4209s to my local school for their May Day raffle.  I'd rather see local kids benefit than be ripped off by a tight-arse eBay buyer.  I don't care what anyone says, this set is a turkey.

[allen9917]

This thread is all about the 'potential' and it may very well be a turkey, but your point is purely based on such a 2012 set not making decent returns in early 2014. If that's the expectation going in, then you got yourself to blame for losing money.  

[Guest TabbyBoy]

This thread is all about the 'potential' and it may very well be a turkey, but your point is purely based on such a 2012 set not making decent returns in early 2014. If that's the expectation going in, then you got yourself to blame for losing money.  

 

I made a killing when I sold 146 of these as one big job lot for