Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

damnit. Now Im paranoid. I am gonna have to open every set I buy to be sure.

 

Hopefully I can trust it coming straight from the retailer bought online? who knows.

[Huskers1236]

   

It was meant as an ironic statement. I see that it was not clear enough. Next time I will put some smiley there or add that it is an ironic statement.

Yes, that would have helped.  But really, no company would ever try to mess with a portion of their buying public by purposely tainting their product.  IF they want to institute policies that inhibit the practice of reselling, that's one thing. Putting rocks in a box would be a whole different ballgame and would ruin their brand.  It's times like this that I'm glad I live in the middle of the country where this sort of thing doesn't happen with the regularity that you see in other parts of the country.  At the same time, I inspect seals on every set I intend to purchase, whether for building or investing.

[Darth_Raichu]

Sorry this happened to you frog. TLG really need to go back to using the perforated tabs

[weakside]

I guess for the tons of returned open sets, scams, thefts, missing pieces etc. Lego chalks it up as part of doing business.  Might be cheaper for them to forecast/absorb these loses than to redue packaging...once the returns or bad press/customer dissatisfaction reaches a threshold they will have to do something.  For some of us folks in Lego investing that don't open sets the alarms/paranoia seems louder than actual overal incidents.  'Normal' Lego buyers or investors that part of sets like Frog shouldn't have issues returning tampered sets if it's recently purchased.  But it would suck worse if you bought a set for your kid weeks/months inadvance for x-mas or a birthday and than get a nasty surprise when the kid opens it.     

 

Would be waay expensive but for med-large sets they could add a flap on the box (like some Transformer boxes), than when you flip it up you see a clear plastic window to check out the contents.  I guess for most consumers if Lego bags are switched it would be hard to tell too...unless you look for certain pieces/figs.  At least it would be harder for scam artists to fill the box with junk and return it.        

[weakside]

Sorry this happened to you frog. TLG really need to go back to using the perforated tabs

Guess I haven't been following or playing with Lego long enough to know what the perforated tabs look like. 

[Ciglione]

 

I guess for the tons of returned open sets, scams, thefts, missing pieces etc. Lego chalks it up as part of doing business.  Might be cheaper for them to forecast/absorb these loses than to redue packaging...once the returns or bad press/customer dissatisfaction reaches a threshold they will have to do something.  For some of us folks in Lego investing that don't open sets the alarms/paranoia seems louder than actual overal incidents.  'Normal' Lego buyers or investors that part of sets like Frog shouldn't have issues returning tampered sets if it's recently purchased.  But it would suck worse if you bought a set for your kid weeks/months inadvance for x-mas or a birthday and than get a nasty surprise when the kid opens it.     

 

Would be waay expensive but for med-large sets they could add a flap on the box (like some Transformer boxes), than when you flip it up you see a clear plastic window to check out the contents.  I guess for most consumers if Lego bags are switched it would be hard to tell too...unless you look for certain pieces/figs.  At least it would be harder for scam artists to fill the box with junk and return it.        

 

Lego used to pack larger sets with a flap where you could see inside. I remember some space sets from the 80's being that way. I would cheer for that packing method.

[Slogghead]

Looks like it is time to invest in a portable x-ray screen

 

Ideal for use in security, military, police and LEGO Brickpickers

• Suspect bag and package inspection
• EOD evaluation
• Vehicle inspection
• Customs searches including petrol tanks, airbags, wheels and dashboards
• Counter surveillance sweeps and through-wall scanning
• LEGO Investing

 

[vincevaughn]

  

Lego used to pack larger sets with a flap where you could see inside. I remember some space sets from the 80's being that way. I would cheer for that packing method.

I would too...loved those boxes. But they were too expensive, it was one of the reasons LEGO almost went under.

I would say these are very rare incidents. It is more troubling for the people who found them as that means the scammer is most likely in their area and could potentially have an operation set up which means more sets like these in the local stores.

Feel the weight, examine the seals and you should be fine.

[Migration]

Looks like it is time to invest in a portable x-ray screen

 

Ideal for use in security, military, police and LEGO Brickpickers

• Suspect bag and package inspection
• EOD evaluation
• Vehicle inspection
• Customs searches including petrol tanks, airbags, wheels and dashboards
• Counter surveillance sweeps and through-wall scanning
• LEGO Investing

 

The possibilities are endless. Just think how easily you could find the golden ticket.

[Ed Mack]

LEGO can correct this situation by either producing boxes with a see through flap like was done in the 70s/80s(...as mentioned above) or a completely sealed box that must be ripped open to gain access to the contents.  

 

MISB is a term that will be useless very soon.  CVIB will be the new acronym of choice...

 

Contents

Verified

In

Box

[Ciglione]

" Lego investing is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get ".

[Darth_Raichu]

Guess I haven't been following or playing with Lego long enough to know what the perforated tabs look like.

Perhaps I should have said perforated thumb tab Basically what you see on smaller boxes (Riddle for the Ring, etc). A perforated half circle on one end of the box where you would push it with your thumb to open the box. Since the flaps are sealed shut, it would be harder to open and reseal this type of box

[justafrog]

For those curious, the weight on my set is just over 1.5 pounds, so it is a little lighter than the 1.93 shown on BPer. Picking it up, it doesn't feel too light or too heavy for LEGO in that sized box, at least to me.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

This is why I now only buy expensive sets from Lego directly.  Reboxed crap in the UK is rare (unless it's from Argos) as most retailers ask for your contact details before accepting and refunding a returned item.  This is why there's NO WAY ON EARTH that I'll buy a 10179 on the aftermarket.  If it's been filled with Mega Bollocks along it's journey and resealed cleverly, you'll never know until your buyer wants his

[El Guapo]

Buying on line will protect you from this (as much as you can be).  Also purchasing from retailers that aren't as lax with their return policies.  My biggest worry is selling a set to someone (a scammer) who then claims (erroneously) that the contents aren't real.  What recourse do I have if I haven't opened and verified the contents myself?

[Ed Mack]

Buying on line will protect you from this (as much as you can be).  Also purchasing from retailers that aren't as lax with their return policies.  My biggest worry is selling a set to someone (a scammer) who then claims (erroneously) that the contents aren't real.  What recourse do I have if I haven't opened and verified the contents myself?

You have none.  That is why MISB is going the way of the Dinosaurs.  

[justafrog]

Buying on line will protect you from this (as much as you can be).  Also purchasing from retailers that aren't as lax with their return policies.  My biggest worry is selling a set to someone (a scammer) who then claims (erroneously) that the contents aren't real.  What recourse do I have if I haven't opened and verified the contents myself?

 

I'd think none, unfortunately, unless said scammer has a history with eBay or Amazon of shenanigans.

[weakside]

Buying on line will protect you from this (as much as you can be).  Also purchasing from retailers that aren't as lax with their return policies.  My biggest worry is selling a set to someone (a scammer) who then claims (erroneously) that the contents aren't real.  What recourse do I have if I haven't opened and verified the contents myself?

Yup, you can't really say they are lying or prove it.  More headaches, it's the cost of doing business I guess.  Would be a total turn off for sure.  There's probably more people doing this (easier) than people opening up boxes and filling it with junk for return at retail.  The only recourse is to save/tag the buyers name...and you can ban them or see if they buy from you again.  Notify amazon/ebay, maybe certain buyers claim wrong contents exponentially more than average and can be parsed out.       

[Shotgunredd]

How do you get a tax exemption Mrs Frog?

[Sandwraith]

 

Too bad, not every store will want to spend the time/resources to check video and their system to try and see who actually returned this.    

 

I would agree with this, in my experience though it's been the higher ups who don't seem to care.

 

I used to work as a manager at Blockbuster (R.I.P.) a while back. One day doing inventory i noticed some of the coloured Wii controllers were missing. I knew we didn't sell them as i was in the day before and they were still on the shelf. So i took a bit of time during my shift to go through the security tapes to see what i could find. Sure enough i see two men with big bulky coats in the aisle picking them off and putting them into a lined coat (so they wouldn't set the alarm off).

 

I notified our LP program to file a report and contacted the district manager with what i found. I told them i had hard evidence, and each one of them essentially told me: "thanks" and that they wouldn't really do anything about it. They didn't even want the tape...

 

These guys came back numerous times too, each time i had to ask them to leave and was strictly instructed not to accuse them of anything or call the police. Why? i have no idea, nor did i entirely care as it wasn't my money they were stealing, but i made sure to watch them like a hawk when they were in the store as doing loss reports is a pain in the butt.

 

So it's entirely possible the people at the store level do in fact do the work to find out how they were screwed over by, but the people upstairs might not care as much : After all it looks bad for the store managers when their store is highly rated for lost/stolen goods. I would know, our location was the worst in the district, and i even came to them with a possible reason as to why! (actually i had many other ways to fix this, but they were all shot down and nothing changed).

 

Ah well, not all are like this obviously, but i thought i'd share my story!

[justafrog]

How do you get a tax exemption Mrs Frog?

 

It varies state to state, but in California I applied for a reseller's permit through the State Board of Equalization, which allows me to buy items I'm going to resell for the price of the item only, no sales tax.

 

Various merchants online and off have different requirements to get set up with them for tax-free purchases.

 

At Kmart local stores I pay for my purchases at the CS counter where they know (or can get a manager to show them) how to override the sales tax, and some keep a copy of my permit on file, some just ask to see a copy, etc.

[Darth_Raichu]

I would agree with this, in my experience though it's been the higher ups who don't seem to care. I used to work as a manager at Blockbuster (R.I.P.) a while back. One day doing inventory i noticed some of the coloured Wii controllers were missing. I knew we didn't sell them as i was in the day before and they were still on the shelf. So i took a bit of time during my shift to go through the security tapes to see what i could find. Sure enough i see two men with big bulky coats in the aisle picking them off and putting them into a lined coat (so they wouldn't set the alarm off). I notified our LP program to file a report and contacted the district manager with what i found. I told them i had hard evidence, and each one of them essentially told me: "thanks" and that they wouldn't really do anything about it. They didn't even want the tape... These guys came back numerous times too, each time i had to ask them to leave and was strictly instructed not to accuse them of anything or call the police. Why? i have no idea, nor did i entirely care as it wasn't my money they were stealing, but i made sure to watch them like a hawk when they were in the store as doing loss reports is a pain in the butt. So it's entirely possible the people at the store level do in fact do the work to find out how they were screwed over by, but the people upstairs might not care as much : After all it looks bad for the store managers when their store is highly rated for lost/stolen goods. I would know, our location was the worst in the district, and i even came to them with a possible reason as to why! (actually i had many other ways to fix this, but they were all shot down and nothing changed). Ah well, not all are like this obviously, but i thought i'd share my story!

I would imagine the big stores choose not to do anything about petty theft up to a certain point because it would cost them more in lawyers' fees to prosecute than to write off the stolen items

[mcortez]

LEGO can correct this situation by <snip> a completely sealed box that must be ripped open to gain access to the contents.  

 

 

Didn't someone already note that they seem the percentage of punch-boxes (the ones with the semi-circular tab you punch in to open time) has started to increase again?  I seem to remember a time when ALL the sets were that way, but it's a foggy memory from either the 80s or 90s.

[naf]

There was an article posted here about how box condition really doesn't affect sale price that much, I wonder if the same would apply to open boxes?  Personally, when buying a set, the only thing I care about is if the actual numbered bags are still sealed, not the outer cardboard box.  In fact, when buying on bricklink, I usually request that the set is sent without the box as this cuts down on shipping.  The added benefit is that both the buyer and seller know the box contents beforehand to avoid any issues.

 

There are probably some people who collect and never open the boxes, but there probably aren't many of those around (these aren't action figures), and wouldn't cut into your customer base too much.

[vincevaughn]

What about sets that have loose bigger pieces in them? Constitution Train Chase comes to mind. Even if those pieces were bagged before shipping it would still ruin the new feeling for me.