I just realized that my stupidity as a child is going to cost me a lot...

[binici]

If I plan on rebuying the sets that I grew up with and loved so much!

 

Few I remember off the top of my head:

 

6270-1: Forbidden Island

6378-1: Shell Service Station

6395-1: Victory Lap Raceway

 

And much more, but need to do some research what I had...

 

What about you all? Don't you wish you had a time machine to tell young self not to be so foolish?

[krayzie]

No, my parents managed to keep all my legos. I also managed to keep all my boxes so I must of been OCD when I was young. They did however give away all my star wars figures / toys. I still remember playing with the at at, x-wing, etc.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I didn't have any as a child - but it hurts me inside everytime I see some child getting rid of all his legos for pennies on the dollar.

 

I have had several Craigslist deals I tried to talk people out of selling because when I went to pick it up I knew they will regret it in 5-10 years. Live and learn.

 

Outside of incredibly bad financial problems, I will never sell my Lego sets I buy to build. I buy everyone with the intention of keeping it forever.

[Sandwraith]

I didn't get rid of many of my sets from childhood... but i did take them all apart and put them in giant bins thinking that was the best way to store them... Would take an eternity to find and build them all again. Also a lot of my sets/pieces are severely sun damaged as they sat out in a room with lots of light for years. Just wish i took better care of them, but how would i have known at that age

[krayzie]

I didn't get rid of many of my sets from childhood... but i did take them all apart and put them in giant bins thinking that was the best way to store them... Would take an eternity to find and build them all again. Also a lot of my sets/pieces are severely sun damaged as they sat out in a room with lots of light for years. Just wish i took better care of them, but how would i have known at that age

lol I am still trying to find time to sort through my crap. When I was younger I thought the best idea to reorganize my sets was to dump them all together and part them out again using the manuals... Well I regret doing that as a child.

[legoman12323123]

My parents donated all my legos to poor people .. was the worst day of my childhood life!

[tonysbricks]

I have had several Craigslist deals I tried to talk people out of selling because when I went to pick it up I knew they will regret it in 5-10 years. Live and learn.

The Robin Hood has been spotted!!

 

 

On a serious note, shameful one actually. I was at an estate sale and it was a kid selling a huge lego collection, most of which I grabbed. His dad helped me carry stuff to the car and on one of the trips he told me they were selling everything because the kid's mom died. Ouch, I thought. So back inside the kid comes up and thanks me for buying his stuff, to which I reply "No problem but you are going to regret this in 10 years".

 

And then I realize I told a kid whose mom just died that he will regret selling some stupid toys. Dumb dumb dumb thing to say.

[krayzie]

The Robin Hood has been spotted!!

 

 

On a serious note, shameful one actually. I was at an estate sale and it was a kid selling a huge lego collection, most of which I grabbed. His dad helped me carry stuff to the car and on one of the trips he told me they were selling everything because the kid's mom died. Ouch, I thought. So back inside the kid comes up and thanks me for buying his stuff, to which I reply "No problem but you are going to regret this in 10 years".

 

And then I realize I told a kid whose mom just died that he will regret selling some stupid toys. Dumb dumb dumb thing to say.

In 10 years the kids going to come looking for you to reclaim his lego collection. It would probably make a decent lifetime movie.

[Migration]

For everyone regretting how they treated their toys as a child focus instead on how much fun you had while playing with them. Regret, for the most part, is pointless. And if all your childhood Lego is mixed in a giant box just consider it a bulk lot and have at it.

More on topic, I clearly remember tossing out the original boxes for the entire G1 Transformer line just before a cross country move. I sold off all my Transformers about 6-7 years ago, I could have easily gotten two times more if I would have kept that pile of cardboard.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

The Robin Hood has been spotted!!

 

 

On a serious note, shameful one actually. I was at an estate sale and it was a kid selling a huge lego collection, most of which I grabbed. His dad helped me carry stuff to the car and on one of the trips he told me they were selling everything because the kid's mom died. Ouch, I thought. So back inside the kid comes up and thanks me for buying his stuff, to which I reply "No problem but you are going to regret this in 10 years".

 

And then I realize I told a kid whose mom just died that he will regret selling some stupid toys. Dumb dumb dumb thing to say.

 

I am a sucker for stories like this. I would have done something dumber like told him to keep the money and the legos.

 

Problem is I get taken for a ride a lot too. lol. I am too believing in real life because I don't understand why people would lie about stuff like that.

[citymorgue]

I had some of the early Star Wars UCSs, and other smaller expensive sets. Some western sets, alien sets that are worth a decent penny, and many others. I don't regret telling my mom to give them away to my stepbrother's son, but it's just a bummer overall. What's ironic, is, I kept my Hot Wheels thinking those would be worth a ton of money and my legos wouldn't be worth anything....ha. Joke is on me. My Hot Wheels aren't even worth retail not including inflation lol. And my legos were worth thousands >_<. As the old saying goes, if I knew then what I know now...

[nolanfan34]

My mom never let me sell my Lego when I was growing up, no matter how much I tried so I could get money for baseball cards. So I still have them today. No instructions though - I know I had one of the original big spaceships, I need to see if I have the pieces to put it together to go with Benny when his comes out. I do still have a bunch of classic space minifigs. In fact one has a perfect crack in the helmet like Benny, so my son and I made his red space twin. 

[scuttfarkas]

If we all still had our toys/took great care of them....they wouldn't be worth as much today.

[binici]

If we all still had our toys/took great care of them....they wouldn't be worth as much today.

 

You must be living under a rock! j/k

I think I donated and when we moved, I lost some sets. Come to think of it, I was really anal about organizing them and taking care of them.

[Stevenplays]

My parents donated all my legos to poor people .. was the worst day of my childhood life!

My god... What was wrong with your parents?

[teeth]

The Robin Hood has been spotted!!

 

 

On a serious note, shameful one actually. I was at an estate sale and it was a kid selling a huge lego collection, most of which I grabbed. His dad helped me carry stuff to the car and on one of the trips he told me they were selling everything because the kid's mom died. Ouch, I thought. So back inside the kid comes up and thanks me for buying his stuff, to which I reply "No problem but you are going to regret this in 10 years".

 

And then I realize I told a kid whose mom just died that he will regret selling some stupid toys. Dumb dumb dumb thing to say.

 

I applaud you honesty in sharing this story with us.  We all have said something stupid we later regretted.  You did help the child by giving him money that I'm sure they needed. If you're motivated and time and chance allows, you may want to seek this child out again (if he's in your area), and do something nice for him (give him a toys r us gift card?).  I have a very, very, very short list of people that I one day would like to apologize to for, for something I've done in the past.  A year ago, I was able to make one apology, and it lifted a lot of burden off of me.  Hope this advice helps

On another note, my mom had the foresight to keep the things that we really liked as kids...Lego, Star Wars, G1 Transformers, He-Man.  Some I've sold, some I've passed onto my son.  In fact, the whole reason I got back into Lego building was that two years ago, my mom told me to clear my old room in her house of all thetoys.  My 4 year old son saw the box for set 375 (the yellow castle) and asked me to build it.  And that opened up my sons love for Lego.

[MartinP]

Those are a lot of interesting and sad stories. My mom is trying to get me to sell my Lego sets to help pay for college in the future, but so far it is a big NO! I told her about all the stories of people selling these in their childhood only to find that they are worth a fortune to get back.

[wilandirene]

I rebuilt my Classic Space Galaxy Explorer a few years back.  Some of the pieces were cracked/missing but otherwise it was/is a great way to relive my childhood.

 

I can't believe the prices this set commands now! 

[fuzzy_bricks]

I still have mine. Most instructions too, I just need to sort them out. 

I quit playing with them one day after she mixed them all up because I wouldn't clean up my room. Years later I mentioned this to her when she asked why I quit playing with them. I wasn't trying to guilt her, but I've got several sets since then, including a Technic combine, Falling Water, and a Wampa Cave. 

[Alpinemaps]

Maybe because I'm older (40s), it doesn't matter as much to me.  But, I don't have any of my stuff.

 

I did for a LONG time.  In fact, I'd say I got rid of all my old toys within the last 6 years.

 

I had LEGO that I gave to my nephew about 6 years ago.  He loved it.  He's 10, and he still plays with those LEGO bricks.  He's happy, they're getting played with.  I could feel regret, but why?  I made my nephew pretty happy, so I'm good with it.

 

I had a ton of 1980s GI Joe and Transformers, and 70s/80s Star Wars.  Sold them to my wife's cousin (and his 7 year old son) about 3 years ago.  This was about a year before my son was born.  I don't regret getting rid of those, too.  They were taking up room in the garage.  I'd rather they be with someone that cares about having them.  I figure when my son is old enough, there will be new, cool toys that we'll want to have.

[Shiden Kai]

I could see myself going in the same direction as Alpinemaps once I hit my 40's. In my minds eye, Lego sets are non-essential items.  They are cool to have, but if the day ever comes to where they are just sitting around, collecting dust, and getting no real 'love', well.... that's the day when I'll either sell them or pass them along to a kid who'll actually play with em'. 

 

That all being said, I'm nowhere close to that stage atm!  Hell, I only just now emerged outta what people here refer to as the 'dark ages'.  So I'm going to kick back and enjoy the whole 'wide eyed' phase of the game while I can.  

 

Oh, and I was lucky.  My parents never sold my toys!  

[matt1147]

I had a TON of Gi Joe, Transformers, Star Wars, Micro Machines, and even some play mobile. Me and my brother (2 years younger) actually took good care of all our toys but then my parents had 2 more boys 8 and 10 years younger than me and we passed it all down to them only to see it all get trashed eventually......everything except my LEGO that is! I had those boxed away in my parents attic all through high school, college, and getting married. Pulling out my collection is what got my son who was 4 at the time (now 7) into LEGO and me out of my dark ages. Realizing their value got me into investing and to this site. So I had both the love of lego and the foresight to save those at least!

--------------------

Visit my eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/mo-state-bricks

[waddamon]

Those are a lot of interesting and sad stories. My mom is trying to get me to sell my Lego sets to help pay for college in the future, but so far it is a big NO! I told her about all the stories of people selling these in their childhood only to find that they are worth a fortune to get back.

i guess you could go get a good job while you go to school full time so you can keep the toys. Unless your legos are worth about 100k, then who cares. If i wanted to now i could go back and buy all of my child hood stuff many times over. I have a few sets my kids play with. These are investments now. Do what you have to to work hard, get an education with little to no debt that will enslave you and you willl be able to buy all the legos you want. My past guides decisions about the future, and should help shape our selling decisions on this website. What helped our old stuff become so valuable was time and a dwindling supply, yet people want to sell right away, or if something doesn't appreciate immediatly they think it was a bad investment. Since this is an investment website i figured i would end up talking about that aspect.

[Blackjack]

These are the only two that I'll be buying from when I was really little.  Like everyone else, I have great memories of these sets from when I was 4 and 5.

 

http://www.brickpicker.com/bpms/set.cfm?set=7315-1

 

http://www.brickpicker.com/bpms/set.cfm?set=6559-1

[marcandre]

We all had stuff when we were kids thats worth a fortune now. At least those of us over 30. It got used up or sold for the next thing, that's part of being a kid.