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I thought it would be a great idea to check in on some sets that don't get a lot of press around here to see exactly how they are doing now. I love 'where are they now' editions of TV shows so if nothing else posting this will please me, and perhaps others like me. Also, I think learning from history is better than not learning history, so for new(er) members, these type of posts might be instructive at best or eye-rolling at worst. I was casually checking through my stockroom a few days ago, organizing, moving boxes around, admiring pretty sets, etc., when my eyes fell upon my admittedly small stash of #60026 Town Squares (in all fairness, I admit to only having four). I hadn't checked in on this old fellow for a bit so pulled up some eBay sold listings. I was pleasantly surprised to see the eBay trend price is $218 CAD with a few selling above that number (as of Nov. 12, 2015). This piqued my curiosity because I know I purchased these last year 20% off (plus VIP) from S&H in December 2014. For an eleven month hold I have to admit to being downright jolly about this set's performance. Perhaps it is because I was very conservative in my expectations (say, $200+ CAD 18 months after retirement or so) or maybe I am just happy anytime I 'know' I can sell a set for at least some profit after taxes and fees and such (it definitely placates my significant other as well to show her sale prices over $200 CAD so she knows this set is almost certainly going to make at least some profit). Not every set can be the Zombies or the Town Hall. I believe a solid portfolio should be balanced, and this large City set seems like it would have been a good one to add to any investor's portfolio at a reasonable discount. I know, I know, buy in is always a combative point in the forums, but I think we can mostly almost always 100% of the time agree that City sets can be found at discount at some point in their product cycle. So why has this quiet little (big) set done pretty well in the last eleven months? The Good: A short production lifespan. Brickset.com lists its availability from Aug 1, 2013 to December 2014. I can't remember the exact day, but it was post Boxing Day 2014. It lasted a bit at 20% off on Shop at Home, but not crazy long (like Kingdom's Joust at 20% off...which considering the derision some heaped on it whilst on sale, it will still eke out profits if sold today). I regret not grabbing a couple more, actually. I think I was entirely too concerned with festive celebrations and not doing due diligence to realize this run was actually well under what I will simply call 'average' (debate what average is to you in your own posts...to me it is around two years, give or take a couple months, so this was a significant difference from MY concept of average). I also was probably so full of holiday cheer that I forgot I had done quite well on 8404 Public Transport. Again, not fireworks, but bought at discount near EOL, held for less than a year and solidly collected cash. Virtual money in your portfolio isn't nearly as sweet as the real cash I got from selling my 8404's and pushing that money right back into other sets. Little buzz. I just reread some of the six (yes! all six pages!) of the 60026 discussion. It was a real barn-burner in some sections...scintillating reading, really! I posted in that thread a few times! And if you are reading this, you've already at least partially allowed your brain to think my jibber-jabber is relevant and useful to you! Also, I think if you took out the posts about the initial launch and the flurry of posts when it went on sale on S&H near the end there were possibly only a handful of other posts in the intervening 15 months. Boooo-ring! I think part of this is that (at least in Canada) it was a TRU exclusive and difficult to get with any significant discount. I seem to remember about 20% with some air miles bonuses about the best I could muster. South of the border I'm sure some of you used 'American coupon magic' (that is banned in Canada) to get your buy in crazy low, but I don't recall any massive sales on this set in my parts (which probably accounts for the rather paltry amount of chatter about this set). More expensive successor. I think having 60097 City Square come out at a higher MSRP helped 60026. I think one could make a counter-argument or argue that any successor ultimately will limit the growth of 60026 but I tend not to agree with any hypothetical naysayers. I imagine the kind of people buying 60026 over MSRP do so not in lieu of purchasing its 'replacement' (a large City 'scene', if you will) but buy it because they want it in addition to 60097. Higher values of one (at least to me) seem to go hand in hand with higher values for the other. City sets are winners! Ha! I know a multitude of BPers will disagree, but no matter! I have made solid, steady and often unremarkable gains on City sets and like it that way. If you look at City's 15.79% CAGR and then throw out the humdrum police and fire sets, you *might* begin to see that some of the more unique sets in this theme seem to do rather well, even though it is an unlicensed theme and whole subthemes are under threat of a refresh at any given time. That does mean a savvy investor has to be always on the lookout for rumors and leaks of future themes/sets so product can be moved when necessary, but that is a risk I'm willing to take. I don't wish I had fifty of these, partly because I don't have that kind of capital to tie up in a single set and partly because even if this set is $250-275 CAD next Christmas I don't know if I could quickly find a home for so many at once (and I rely on regular sales to keep the investing side of the machine running), but I do wish I had about 10-15. So, what can we learn by looking at a slow, steady gainer eleven months post-EOL? Hopefully something to help us make better choices going forward. I know I buy much more selectively now than a few years ago, and I try to find a comfortable little niche where I can buy-sell-rinse-repeat enough to keep money coming in and a smile on my face. Perhaps you'd like to join me? BigBlueDogBricks (Veegs) </p> View full blog article

What... https://www.brickclassifieds.com/products/in-stock-75827-ghostbusters-firehouse-headquarters

The Sandcrawler is without a doubt one of the most iconic vehicles in the entire Star Wars universe. Ever since C-3PO first spotted this gargantuan transport, Star Wars fans have been very attracted to the idea of owning their own version, along with its extremely popular operators, the Jawas. Back in 2004 released its own version of the Sandcrawler. That set remains a pretty accurate version of what we originally saw in the movies, and for a long time it was also a very expensive set to acquire in the secondary market. As mentioned before, a big part of its appeal was that, at the time, it was the only set to ever include the Jawa minifigures. As you can see in the graph below, the original 10144 Sandcrawler has experienced a significant decrease in value. A year ago, you could acquire a used version for around $240; that’s $50 more than what it is currently selling for. Of course, it is not hard to explain the reason for this decrease, as LEGO released a much-improved version of the Sandcrawler during the second quarter of 2014. At the time, I have to admit that I didn’t really like the newer model as much as I do now. The newer version will hit its 2-year anniversary next year, and while LEGO’s product cycles have changed significantly over the last few years, I figured I would give my opinion about the Sandcrawler’s investment potential. As a personal note, I recently acquired a personal copy of this set for my personal collection, and have to admit that it is a pretty impressive model with really nice minifigures. One of the reasons I am confident this set will perform well once retired is that it includes almost 3,300 pieces, making it one of the largest LEGO sets currently in production. While size is not the only predictor for future growth, it has definitely contributed to the success of other sets beyond the Star Wars theme. In this case, the number of pieces allows for the design of the set to be extremely accurate to its movie counterpart. As mentioned before, the minifigure selection is also pretty solid, with the 4 Jawas and Owen Lars as its main highlights. It is important to mention that the release of this newer version has actually hurt the value of the Jawa minifigure in general, as it used to sell for closer to $30 and now hovers slightly over $10. Another aspect that I believe will contribute to this set’s future value is the instruction manual. While some of the older Ultimate Collectors Series (UCS) sets had really nice and bulky instructions (Death Star/Super Star Destroyer) the new Sandcrawler is one of the first, if not the first, to include what I consider a more collector oriented manual. Besides giving the builder step by step instructions, it also includes a nice introduction with some images and information about the Sandcrawler itself. A pretty nice touch that LEGO and Star Wars collectors will definitely value in the long run. LEGO officially recognized the set as part of the Star Wars’ UCS, making it the first set to be “stamped” with the new UCS seal on the box. While one could really argue the Sandcrawler does not really qualify as a UCS set for a couple of reasons (missing information label and the fact that it is a play-set and not a display piece), official recognition by LEGO is all it takes for it to be sought after by some of the most serious collectors. As we all know, UCS sets appreciate significantly after retirement, and this one should be no exception. Even if you were to completely dismiss the set as part of the UCS line, the performance of the original Sandcrawler over the 8 years before this new release was pretty outstanding. While the investment landscape has changed, the size and price don’t necessarily make this one easy to hoard for the average investor. I put this set in the same category as I do the Death Star and Ewok Village, not really UCS but not solely play sets either; more of a mixed breed that I am encouraged to see LEGO is willing to produce more often, as evidenced with the upcoming Hoth Rebel Base. It will definitely be interesting to see how these "sub-line" behaves once retired. Finally, it is my personal opinion that the Sandcrawler will retire at some point in 2016, probably by the end of the year. I will shoot to have at least 4 or 5 of these before July of next year, and invite every investor to consider it as part of their strategy as well. Thanks for reading. View full blog article

Hi anyone care to venture a guess at the value on this custom Lego Colosseum. It's around 24in tall and a little over 45in in diameter. I'm only guessing but I think it weighs around 100lbs. I dont know how many total pieces but it has to be in the tens of thousands. I can count hundreds of pieces just in a small section of the structure. Also included are around 135 roman mini figures. It came from a major movie studio prop department.

What's up doc ?

Nice write up. One thing to consider if buying this set for a long-term hold is the box has a seam that is glued shut on the bottom of the front panel. I would store the box upside down or flat on its back so that the weight of the elements are not constantly putting strain on the seam. I have had one that had perfect seals but a popped seam.

More JW polys at $40... Need to send more in now . Who needs an IR when u got a GT.

Is the murder the pro or the con...?

...Cause i don't have to sell mine immediately? It's kind of funny how the QFLL mentality would make someone even ask the question you've posed above. So there's a 39.99 set, and its exclusive, available at only 2 retailers in the US. It has already been selling for 70-85 in the US DURING it's production run. Wouldn't that be a nice set to have a year or two after they stop making it? I sure don't mind the idea of selling them shortly before Christmas, but i'm also happy to play the Lego game the old fashioned way and just wait for the Retirement tag to make its way across the pond.

The time for PS hasn't come multiple times. Grand Emporium Sold OUt in October last year. Fire Brigade went in December the year before. October-December is modular retirement season. We're in the thick of it.

I'm cool with it. He'll crack me offline.

Mail came today!

Hence the shorter availability window:

But the old one is such a nice set. Ah who am I kidding, found it in a Mom and Pop shop a few months ago, looked it up on Brickpicker, saw it was already nicely in profit and picked it up straight away.

I don't know if this has ever been mentioned before, but I have been using this site called FitShipper that is really helpful for determining box size and the most cost effective shipping method. http://www.flippertools.com/fitShipper/fitShipper.html They also are working on another tool that may be helpful related to Best Offer sales on ebay. You can enter the ebay item number or the URL for the item and it will give you the offer history. http://www.flippertools.com/tools/ebayOfferHistory/ebay-best-offer-actual-price.htm

A few people on RedFlagDeals are reporting finding LEGO Classic 10697 XXXL in Walmart for $40. This is a rumoured Black Friday deal that is showing up early in some stores. There's nothing in my neck of the woods yet, but the people who are finding it seem to be in Quebec. Just a heads-up to everyone to keep their eyes open for these.

We talked about it quite a bit here.

Mos Eisley Cantina is now in red sold out status on Shop at Home. Is this one leaving with the ISD? I think they came out at the same time.

Now it's 65% RRP? Last week it was only 50% RRP, and amazon prices seem to have fell another 10.00. Whatever. Saw 3 RE's at my local wm this week, and 2 IR's, and left them all. I've already hit my limit, and i'm not buying anymore. Like, a guy said before, why continue to hit the same few sets over and over, when there are many others out there to buy. I'm definitely in agreement with that strategy, because if we let these slow down, maybe lego will retire them in the states, instead of saying "wow, these sell in 2 minutes, fire up the machines". There's a point where you have to realize you're part of the problem, not part of the solution.

i can see SOLD OUT @TRU online...Great!!!

Does this meet the reasonable price for zero fees requirement?

Mock Tudor House

I'm joking with a fellow member. No whip is being cracked. Like I posted in the Paris thread, 99% of the forums have been lightly moderated because the vast majority of our current community know how to act civil.

Perhaps to refresh it WITH at helicopter or two. Preferably a police or fire one!

I guess we've entered the Cretaceous Period

Darn it, and here I thought the new one would make the old one worthless

Sold the older Destiny's Bounty 9446 for €197 shipped.

If I had missed Smaug, I would have paid the most for that. Easily. Not everyone has read all lotr books, and silmarillion is too abstract (although if there were a set with a balrog...) but many people have read the hobbit in one form or another. I think before Harry Potter, it was probably the fantasy novel with the highest volume count out there. Smaug practically is the essential fantasy quest. I'm being a little nostalgic, but that's easily what I'd pay the most for. I also missed mirkwood spiders and was really irritated. Also never picked up Helms Deep, which would have been deeply satisfying. It doesn't sell that well apparently, but the weather top set would be great too... Uh, yeah, obviously I wish I had them all.

This is one of those "under the radar" sets" that gets little love from collectors, but smart resellers know they are money in the bank.

Sad and happy to see them go... Bitter sweet... The good thing about investing in these sets is that they won't pull star wars or creator remakes on them and the movies were just popular enough. Even if they didn't make movies the books would have put these sets into the collectable catagory. 20 years down the road they may remake the movies...but doubtful and even more doubtful they would make the same sets. These are solid investments for all of you. Smaug is happily guarding his gold!!

Love the airplane reference

I think the cantina has a lot going for it, because you can't stop at one. You need 2 or more to make a proper cantina and the piece count in this one is just enough to convince AFOLs that this is a good enough start and design. Rose colored glasses here, or maybe I picked a bad day to quit sniffing glue.

You didn't have other avenues before?

My viewpoint on this is a little limited, as I've only been "in the game" since August of last year. I have 3 of these NIB and was able to pick up a used copy in a local bulk lot, and think it's fun build, pretty good model, and great play set (my boys, 6 and 4, love coming to my office just to play with it). I'm kinda surprised this wasn't more popular; some of it may have had to do with TRU pricing it over MSRP for most of it's life. I don't think the Dewback maxifig is so desired for fans of SW, but it's got Luke, Obi Wan, Han, Greedo, 3 Bith Musicians, and a Sandtrooper. These are iconic minifigs from an iconic scene in the first movie. Having been remade once, MEC could be remade again, but it probably won't be for a while. If you're buy-in was under $50 (and it should have been with coupon/gift card/truth magic), this should be a winner. The piece count is a little on the low side for a set at this MSRP, but it's not unreasonable. It has a maxifig, it has a vehicle, and it has 4 unique minifigs (with Han appearing in only 1 other retired set, 75030). You've got about $40 worth of minifigs here before you price out the Dewback (let's call it $15-20). If this set does retire and disappear from retailer shelves in the next few weeks, Star Wars hype could push this over $100 this holiday season. God forbid the new movie gives us an easter egg like more Bith musicians...who knows? I'm going to probably try to sell 1 or 2 on CL if prices start creeping over $100 on eBay, and hold 1 NIB and my used set for long term. Edit- 222 current listings on eBay. Will be interesting to see if these start getting snatched up or if eBay gets flooded with more listings at higher prices on the "news".

target and walmart sold out of ISD for online shipping in the last day so amazon bumped their price. great news about Cantina - perfect timing. definitely right about all these Vader sets fading into the sunset. stock has dried up. gonna git sum last minit cantina's - i have 26 of these maybe i can make it to 30 today. it just seems like yesterday they were newborn... hard to imagine a set with Bith minifigures isn't going to do well.

Virtual profit is the best kind and doesn't take up too much room in your wallet.

If only that list had been made in the shape of a dartboard it would have all made much more sense....

...without words. (third picture with a normal lego figure)

Very nice review. But what happened to... let sleeping dogs lie?

My dear eBay seller. You've put up with uncounted ridiculous demands. You've paid eBay extortionists fees. You slaved away, printing and mailing packages. Welcome to the eBay $100K club! Have $100K in eBay sales! Let us recognize you here! You're a Master of Online Commerce, a Prince of Paypal, a Duke of the Deal. I'd bet Jeff will even authorize a new Badge for you, right here on BP. (pretty please!). Exalted status to those with $250K, and Lifetime Emeritus Membership for any $500k seller. Do we have a Million Dollar member yet? Pics or it didn't happen (Check your eBay dashboard, and you'll see your lifetime sales). Drum roll, please....

I must have been standing right next to you as my wife had 15 of 400 and I ended up with 17 of 400.

Pickers gonna pick...

With a current ~$100 buy-in, easy availability, and the set marked "sold out" in the US and "retired" in the EU, this is pretty much a no-brainer. I'd guess you're looking at a 50-60% bump as soon as stock is depleted in the US. It's rare we get a decent-sized SW set like this as retired/sold out and still see substantial discounts from MSRP and easy acquisition. This kind of opportunity is not an every-month occurrence in our little hobby.* Figure this as a $200 set by next summer, especially if the movie is a big hit and not a dog (see: Ep I-II-III). *even a few slow-selling dogs bought at 50%+ off MSRP early this year have appreciated nicely in the last 6 months for a healthy return. A few good examples are Mechdragon (bought for $17 at TRU and now selling for $40+) and 4204 The Mine (bought for $50 at TRU, and clearing $100 today). Even the Jedi Cruiser - bought at $57 from TRU back in February, is starting to clear $90+ on eBay, with some very recent BIN sales at $99. All good stuff.

I get mine from Lego store. I know the sets fit perfectly and they are free as it saves the employees sorting them out. :-)

Rua Amarelo by Andrew Tate

Lego Mid-Century Modern House by Rob Bender

So, what's different about last year's set and this year? Price and look/feel. Last year was $99.99. And it looked like a bunch of different parts. This year's set is one big house, and it's price point is $30 cheaper. No way LEGO leaves money on the table. I think that's why they went with a smaller price point set this year. I'm sure they've noticed it's selling as well as it is. Makes sense to bring it back next year, and follow up with something similar next year as well.