General Collecting and Investing Forum

I recently begin using Bricklink to acquire pieces for some custom modular building. I am primarily doing this to make a larger more diverse lego city to display. These custom modular buildings are not cheap when compared to the official modular buildings. Outside of setting up my own Bricklink shop and selling off the pieces, do you think there will be any chance of profit/break even by ebaying off the entire building in the future?

It seems like I'm having a harder time lately deciding whether or not to put my Lego investment dollars into older, rarer sets or buying new sets in multiples. I used to buy mostly older sets, but it seems that the market is getting a bit pricey. What is the best bang for your investment buck?

hi all, i am an OLD lego lover (meaning legos were my everything as a kid)... and a new NEWBIE when it comes to lego HOARDING... i was hoping that i could get some insight and education on the whole "lego investing collecting" experience. this past weekend i went to toys r us and bought 2 lego star wars Y wing fighter sets...priced at $45.99 each... but after BOGO discount (buy 1 get 1 50% off) each set came out to be about $34.45. is this a "tuck it into the closet and forget about it" type of thing? or are there specific lego sets that are meant to be collected and packed away for 10 years... please help...

I was going to post this in the old Passenger Train thread, but since it is about more than one item, I thought it deserved its own thread. First, the passenger trains and train stations I ordered through amazon.co.uk came via UPS. I was charged brokerage + custom fees. I sent a quick email to customer service, and they immediately refunded me my out of pocket costs. As one corner of one box was a little smushed, they gave me 15% off that set as well. I did have to chat with the UPS guy and write a couple emails, but it was still worth it, especially with CAN. retail (and even sale) prices so high. If UPS delivered your order, I'd make sure to get their customer s…

As part of trying to assess risks in 'investing' in LEGO, one of my questions is about LEGO quality. Sorry for generalizing, but often the trend for retail products, including toys, is for quality to decrease over time. This is done for various reasons including monetary to maintain or improve sales. My understanding is that LEGO has changed over the years, and I wonder if these changes have made it less good from an investment standpoint. I've read in member forums on sites like brickset.com about quality concerns. Apparently LEGO bricks may be thinner now or made of a less solid material then they used to be. Apparently this may lend to improved 'clutch power…

So it's May now... Time to talk about Christmas. What's the "it" item going to be? I hazard there are as many answers to this question as there are forum participants, and that they will further be subdivided into "it" for kids and "it" for oversized kids. If you were expecting my own guesses... alright, I'll say Destiny's Bounty (or the four headed dragon) and... hmmm... it depends so much on what goes EOL over summer doesn't it? Or how steeply R2D2 gets discounted. Anyhow, let's bandy this about for the next seven months, shall we?

Ever buy a Lego set that you didn't expect to take off in value? What is your favorite in your collection? What made you buy it in the first place? I was sitting and submitting a few sets into my own brickfolio and came across the City Camper 7639. I bought this set at a B2G1 free deal at TRU at slightly above msrp back then so the deal was decent. When I glanced at it today I saw that it nearly tripled in value from what I paid for it (less shipping and fees of course). I bought a few of them because I saw a MOC of someone converting it into a zombie fighting war vehicle. I thought the design and detail were clever and it was a solid looking all purpose vehicle …

Ok, so ive had numerous FB and GE sitting in a closet for years! Should i keep holding onto them and wait for them to retire, i imagine i should be soon, or should i return a couple of them and get a LEGO gift card and use it to buy some LOTR sets i know will retire soon? I feel i have to much $ tied up in these modulars and with how long they have been around they may not retire for quite awhile and even if they do the market is probably so flooded with them i dont see the price going up for a LONG time and when it does i just picture them selling for like $200 on ebay, barely enough to make any kind of profit at all.

I went on a trip this weekend that took me past 5 different lego stores and I went shopping in each of them to hunt for any deals and get a pulse on the current market. First of all, I saw almost zero LOTR sets on the shelves anymore, not a single weathertop, shelob attacks or orc forge, two stores still had Helms deep in stock and 3 of them still had mines of moria, Gandalf arrives, but the sets had made themselves scarce, the store managers said that they were not getting any more of these period (ok take that with a grain of salt) my eyes were definitely opened to their scarcity and really hit me that they would be GONE very soon. Secondly, and more to the point…

I watched a little of this show on Netflix and wondered if its possible for legos or other toys?

Hi guys, How do you balance the desire to build a set vs the desire to keep it MISB for investment and return sale price? I like building - especially the big sets, but due to the cost sometimes struggle to justify spending the money on a 'treat', especially as money is not as available as I'd like (need a better job). When you look at some of the sale prices of discontinued sets and see it's worth 400 new, but only 150 used (a generic example) it makes my head rule my heart a bit. I suppose with some sets you could buy a used one to build, without box etc to save money, but what do you do when it's one of the modular's or lego exclusive for example that are never…

Hello i have been reading lots of articles and to be honest most sets hold value and when EOL hype and demand takes over. However are there any real turkeys to avoid??? Would be interested to have a list and reasons why

Do some of u think that the market of Star Wars is getting smaller or is it still thriving and will for many more years. I want to collect Star Wars mini figures but is the market for them one i can make money on or just collect?

I've been eyeing some sets and some are 20-30% off right now. I have never done a short-term flip or handled large amount of product--I am extremely hesitant. Anyone would be insane to pass up this! I was amazed to find that the minifigs are worth nearly as much as the discounted price! I am hesitant because I don't know if I am walking into a trap. I don't know if I will be able to get rid of them within the next few months. I do not intend to keep them long like my other options... The more secure route is to pick up a few Grand Emporium, Diagon Alley, and Medieval Market Village.

Was at Walmart in Texas this morning looking for HP Minifigs (no luck) and saw some new Harry Potter sets with large white stickers on them. One was set name/piece count/ages... Another one had country of origin disclaimer... Obvious these were from EU and then repacked for US Market due to plant closure in Mexico. Wonder if the instruction booklet inside is EU or US?

Hello, I am wondering if lego re-released the Vintage Minifigure Collection Vol. 5 from 2010 852769? I see they did make a re-release for vol 1-4 in 2012. Thanks a lot.

Hey everyone, I've recently purchased a 10188 Death Star from Amazon, but the bubble wrap around the box has an adhesive strip exposed to the box and started to pull some of it away as I was (slowly) trying to unpackage it. Anyone have any suggestions on its removal, or should I return it? I had purchased it with the intent to keep it MIB. Thanks!

Check out this LEGO Ferrari F1. They did an amazing job! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3E_BNEYSGM

This may be a silly question. But do TLG ever release official sales numbers for particular sets? For example: In 2012 we sold xxx of 10197 but only yyy of 10230

Usually when investing, I use money back ("shop with Amazon points") when purchasing already nicely discounted items. For example, I used $14 Amazon points when purchasing Jabba's Palace last Spring when it was $87 before points. This maximizes cost savings to the fullest. How do you feel about using points when buying items when they are slightly overpriced? For example, I can get a recently retired set for $10 more than it's "ebay going rate" ($120) but I have $58 in Amazon points to offset the higher than liked selling price. In this case, my purchase price would be w/in close striking distance of it's original MSRP. Your thoughts are welcomed.

I know that probably this has been talked about a lot over here. But it just kicked me this morning, with all the frenzy going on about Lego investing and being the modular sets one of the flagships of this trend made me wonder, is it really worth it to invest in a set that will be owned by a LOT of people? I know that different facts come into this, shelf time one of the most important ones, but having in mind that Grand Emporium and the Fire Brigade are still out there (words come and go about these two going EOL pretty soon but we've been hearing them for a while now) and assuming that all the newest modulars will follow the same path, won't every one who has hea…

When you go into the Lego Store, do you feel like the employees are up your butt trying to figure out what you are up to? I can't shop there in peace and do my Reconnaissance?

I have heard some of our very large seasoned investors here mention that small investors will have a tough road ahead and may be going away due to increased competition. I am curious, at what point do you think an investor will be large enough to succeed? Will only those with 50 tower bridges on hand and 20k plus in annual sales be able to thrive or will their be smaller investors like myself who will be able to make things work well? Am I wasting my time here? Should I go big or go home?

Bought a craigslist lot...many bricks marked on with permanent marker. Is there anything I can soak them in or something? Figured someone would know, thanks!

I know i read this somewhere but i cant seem to find it again. what was the math on how you price Lego pieces in a set?