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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/08/2014 in all areas
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Craigslist find of 115 lbs. Lots of train stuff, have ID'd about 4 so far, the last 2 Freight Trains, Metroliner, and Maersk. It's pretty much all City/Creator stuff, looks like the person had a giant city built. Miles of track and baseplates. Hundreds of figures, many of them CMF's. Also found Grand Emporium and Pet Shop, as a bunch of stuff is sort of half built still. I got really excited finding the "Hotel" sign from Cafe Corner, but it appears to be home made as it doesn't match mine, so I don't believe that it's in there. There are no instructions, so it makes it very hard to discern everything. The people that sold it said they found it in a storage locker and really knew nothing about it. Paid $575, but it will be well worth it since it's mostly pretty recent stuff and seems to have been well cared for as it's not dirty, beat up, and was all in ziplocs.3 points
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So the results are in! I bought a DYMO 450. Super easy to get going and set up with labels for USPS. I cannot believe I ever used a freaking printer. This thing is INSANE! I thought I could also give people a little insight into my methods too. Feel free to suggest your improvements! So here are some starting points - I am all about efficiency when working so I do a lot of timing myself and taking statistics. So here you go: I ship an average of 12 things a weekday - about 20 for the full weekend or more. Most of these are minifigures and parted out sets or used sets I sell without the box. I use USPS for the majority of shipments obviously - first class. My old Process is this: Look at Ebay and see what I have sold. As I multi-ship, I write down the purchases into my records along with the zip code. I then print all the labels Using my records, I write on the tops of the labels what goes in each I then make my way to my Lego storage - in a room in my house I have tons of drawers and shelving. I retrieve everything I need. Once I have them, I cut the labels all at once and lay them out and place what goes with each on each label. I package them all and fold the tops of the labels down so you can't see what I wrote. I then use my tape dispenser and pull off enough pieces for every package (I do this on my kitchen counter so I put them on the ends) Then I tape each package. Minifigures are the toughest as the packages are small and you have to get all the ends down (I use 4x8s). Sets are easy because I can just set the label on the them and apply the four pieces of tape. I then bag everything up to go to the PO. On a normal night, the records and printing the labels take about 20 minutes for 20 packages. Picking them out from storage is 10 minutes. As far as taping and packaging, timing myself I find it takes me 30 minutes to do 20 packages (about 16 minifigures and 4 sets as is my usual). Adding in the label printer affects several things. Super fast printing. The 450 prints 51 a minute and you can get faster. My printer was pretty fast, but it didn't match this. Everything attached together. Why does this matter? ORGANIZATION! I write my records down in the order I print so... Everything lines up! Easy to go right down the list and tell what label is what. Also much cleaner. Sometimes papers start flying out of the printer. No ink. No refills except labels which are honestly about the same price of paper. Right now my cost per label is $.015. NOT LOUD. OMG loud printers piss me off. Really small. It is seriously like 4 inches by 8 inches. Will fit anywhere. As for timing? For the printing and categorizing labels, I cut 20 down to about 18 minutes from 20. It doesn't help me pull them out of storage unfortunately. Packing and taping - NO MORE TAPING! I hate taping so much for so many reasons. I pull it off and stick it. 20 packages... 17 minutes!!! Insane cut in time. So for me, it is saving me 15 minutes per 20 packages. Considering my usual time was about 1 hour - thats a 25% decrease. What did I pay for this beauty? 70$. Just doing a bit of very rough math, lets say with an average of 10 packages per day over the next year, pulling out one day a week and guessing that I add two days of 10 packages to equal my control of 20 (although thats probably not quite true) then you are looking at: (3 sets of 20 packages a week x 52 weeks x 15 minutes) / 60 minutes per hour 39 hours in a year this saved me. Assuming you would at least use this for a year, you spent $1.8 per hour to have this help you. Worth it? Yes. Dymo 450 Link USPS compatible labels Edit: The dymo has gone back up to $87. Watch and it may drop again.2 points
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The movie wasn't bad at all its pretty cool at the end when it all comes together. I'm actually pretty excited for Emmets contructo mech. Also it was interesting to find out that metalbeard was a good guy and not a bad guy. Oh and now I know why the 7965 Falcon won't go away lol.2 points
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For anyone who is interested I was forced by my wife to go to Tuesday Morning today and was shocked to see a bunch of Lone Ranger sets, Silver Mine was $39.99, also had Colby City, don't remember the price. They also had a bunch of small friends sets for $6.99 and an entire end cap of Hero Factory for 6.99. Not great pricing, but if you missed out on the Silver Mine or Colby City it's not that bad.1 point
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They weren't BN exclusives - they were at TRU, Amazon, etc. Not that anyone will listen, but can we please not just say things like you know something. "This set is coming back, it is because this..." or "This set is done. Its gone" whatever. GIve your opinion but some people are writing things like they know, like they are true and they actually have knowledge of them. None of you do without some logical proof. If you don't have that, please just offer things up as an opinion. Some newer people may take things out of context from people who think they know and really know nothing. And in my opinion, unless you are the people who actually make the decisions, you are only offering an opinion.1 point
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It becomes a nightmare when you have to identify and build all the sets from the lot.1 point
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We should all talk about how hard it is to find good sets, how terrible selling on eBay is, how many times we've been scammed on craigslist. Let people know it's more than buy low sell high, that there is actual work involved. That should send them packing in droves.1 point
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I was just being honest. Many members don't realize the cost of operating a site like this. Unlike other LEGO sites, the main information(Terapeak eBay data) on this site costs money to obtain. Jeff and I are constantly trying to figure out if our investment(in non US data for instance) is worth it. If many members ignore our links to click on their own, the site will suffer. Either we will have to cut back on regions or charge for information if members continue to avoid our links. We have a ton of options and new data planned for our "premium membership" and this will work in conjunction with the Brick Classifieds(which Jeff is finishing up). It is hard for me to explain how cost effective the Classifieds will be for members, but I can tell you there won't be a cheaper LEGO marketplace when it comes to advertising fees. Our site traffic has quadrupled in the past year and many members are not resellers, so we believe there will plenty of potential buyers out there. We are hoping that the added revenue from the Classifieds and other new features will help keep the site free and full of data.1 point
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^This. That Martian will be worth a decent amount, enough to justify $75 worth of MSRP Lego, even without double VIP. Buy a HH for $190, selling Martian for (presumably) $20, you get about 10% off. Not bad when you consider no regular discounts on anything. Of course, double VIP stacked with this would be the icing on the cake1 point
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This has to be the quirkiest crossover in the history of ever that I feel surprised didn't happen sooner. April's issue of MAD Magazine will be very Lego related featuring the classic Alfred E. Neuman as a minfigure. Via The Brick Fan1 point
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Interesting method That`s of course assuming you can purchase items from across the border though. Many of us up here can`t do that. Ya it`s easy to get a US postal box, but there is the issue of time to consider as well. I work full time and getting away to go pick up items would be very nice, but it`s not practical for my schedule. If you and others are able, that`s awesome, keep doing it, you`re able to take advantage of many more sales. Definetly you have a solid method down, and if you`ve been able to go from $2000 to $10,000 like you said, there`s nothing else to say aside from "excellent work!" I`m not content to let large sums of capital sit in the corner for long periods of time, which really is the reasons I`ve personally passed on this sale today. But holding longer allows me to better fit my personal schedule and abilities at this time. There is no way I can run to the post office every day to pick up/ship out orders, which is part of the reasons I don`t sell very much. Still trying to figure out how to do this. Working on a Bricklink inventory, and have been for over a year, but the time investment really is killer. Definetly I`ve feel like I`ve learned how to go about flipping and when to hold/flip/at what price point, etc (thanks to everyone who has helped me learn since joining here nearly a year ago, you guys and girls are the best ), but the time commitment isn`t practical for me. Just can`t do it, and certainly there are many more who aren`t able to do it either. Once my store is open and I`ll (hopefully) be filling order, it`ll be a trial run to see how to juggle this sort of thing. Only reasons I`ve mentioned this is to try and say that everyone`s got their own strategies. There are some methods that definitely work better then others, some offer quicker returns, others offer larger ones, etc. Everyone has to figure out what works for them and how to build around it. That`s part of the fun! My motivation in this is as a hobby, with a desire to make some capital along the way. I enjoy learning and watching the sets and reading others` opinions and experiences. That is what keeps me involved, the money aspect is secondary. Got to have fun and I`ve promised myself that whenever (hopefully not ever) this becomes a chore or a heavy stress inducer, I`m out. Hasn`t happened yet, and to me that`s definitely what it`s all about1 point
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Nice post. And you get a +1 from me just for the Flight of the Conchords reference1 point
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Yes, there were several other reasons, but didn't help himself, after repeated warnings.1 point
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Although I think he may be back in a different iteration...shhhhhh.1 point
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Oh really? There are other lego sets? Are they making more than one at a time now? But seriously, to quote Flight of the Conchords, "Be more constructive with your feedback." What sets are more profitable? Why does it matter that you see it at 17.98 all the time? Wolverine's Chopper has tripled in value and I used to see it at 17.99 all the time. To say that you can find a set which is not yet EOL at 10% less than msrp can be said of what? 90 - 95% of all sets? How is that relevant? The point of a forum isn't to give an opportunity for someone to say, "you guys are wrong/dumb. Me smart." If you think the prevailing wisdom is wrong, make an actual argument.1 point
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Ed Mack is correct of course. Anyone who doubts this line in the sort term will miss out. Serious flipping potential. Especially for the exclusive sets - Rescue Reinforcements, and the Plumbing set for example. I think they will have a hard time keeping these on the shelves, and once they sell out online, there will be a nice window for you short term flippers. Long term I agree, not sure there will be explosive growth, but I would still bet on Benny's spaceship at the very least.1 point
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I saw the movie tonight and was instantly compared to Lord Business by my other half. The movie is a lot like the sets in a disjointed fashion but the spaceship and the boat looked really neat.1 point
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$64 was the clearance price it went to last summer at WM. If it's a WM in the boonies, could be a relic of last summer's clearance.1 point
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I preordered the game at GS today and they gave me the western emmet minifig. I don't think I am going to pickup the game now. I believe the minimum preorder amount is $5. Now I can just get the walmart copy for the DJ and go to regal to watch the movie for sleepy.1 point
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*GASP!* Martian Manhunter!!! Looks like I will be placing a few LEGO Shop at Home orders in March!1 point
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I think the most dangerous thing is if Lego investing was ever featured on TV in any way. This is extremely unlikely but lets say 60 Minutes or 20/20 or one those shows ran something about how thousands are now investing in Lego or whatever. Heck, all it would take is a 2 minute segment on the nightly world news. It would be over the next day when thousands of investors would jump in. The secondary market would be flooded and all profits would be lost. The only thing that would still be worth any kind of money would be retired sets that new investors could no longer get their hands on. Anyone who thinks more resellers in the market isn't changing anything is kidding themselves because I was here in 2012 and things are definitely different now.1 point
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This is the one that worries me the most. Some sets only sell 10-30 per month on eBay. If resellers are stockpiling hundreds or thousands of certain sets it could take years to sell through all those. Not to mention more resellers means more sets available in the secondary market which drives down prices. I worry too many people are happy with such slim profits that everyone will just undercut the next person.1 point
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LEGO, those racists. Actually, they are resellerists. Always mocking the resellers by teasing us into thinking something is going EOL. I bet the same guy that changes the prices all the time on Amazon is the one pressing the "make more" button at LEGO.1 point
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Count me as one of them - I picked up two at $30 each at the Target clearance. My first foray into Lego TMNT...and you never forget your first.1 point
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Rumors Lyrics Artist: Timex Social Club Album: Rumors How do rumors get started, they're started by the jealous people and They get mad seein' somethin' they had and sombody else is holdin' Tell me that temptation is very hard to resist But these wicked women, ooh, they just persist Maybe you think it's cute, but girl, I'm not impressed I tell you one time only with my business please don't mess Look at all these rumors surroundin' me every day I just need some time, some time to get away from From all these rumors, I can't take it no more My best friend said there's one out now about me and the girl next door Hear the one about Tina, some say she's much too loose That came straight from a guy who claims he's tastin' her juice Hear the one about Michael, some say he must be *** I try to argue, but they said if he was straight he wouldn't move that way Hear the one about Susan, some say she's just a tease In a camisole she's six feet tall, she'll knock you to you knees Will you look at all these rumors surroundin' me every day I just need some time, some time to get away from From all these rumors, I can't take it no more My best friend said there's one out now about me and the girl next door I can't go no place without somebody pointin' a finger I can't show my face â'cause when it comes to rumors I'm a dead ringer It seems from rumors I just can't get away I bet there'll even be rumors floatin' around on Judgment Day I'll think I'll write my congressman and tell him to pass a bill For the next time they catch somebody startin' rumors, shoot to kill Will you look at all these rumors surroundin' me every day I just need some time, some time to get away from From all these rumors, I can't take it no more My best friend said there's one out now about me and the girl next door What's mine is mine, I ain't got time for rumors in my life I'm a man who thinks, not a man who drinks, so please let me live my life What's mine is mine, I ain't got time for rumors in my life I'm a man who thinks, not a man who drinks, so please let me live my life What's mine is mine, I ain't got time for rumors in my life I'm a man who thinks, not a man who drinks, so please let me live my life Will you look at all these rumors surroundin' me every day I just need some time, some time to get away from From all these rumors, I can't take it no more My best friend said there's one out now about me and the girl next door Look at all these rumors surroundin' me every day I just need some time, some time to get away from From all these rumors, I can't take it no more My best friend said there's one out now about me and the girl next door Stop (Stop) spreadin' those rumors around Stop (Stop) spreadin' the lies Stop (Stop) spreadin' those rumors around Stop (Stop) spreadin' the lies Stop (Stop) spreadin' those rumors around Stop (Stop) spreadin' the lies Stop (Stop) spreadin' those rumors around Stop (Stop) spreadin' the lies Stop (Stop) spreadin' those rumors around Stop (Stop) spreadin' the lies1 point