I have been looking at collecting legos for a while and was just wondering about the sets more gear towards adult collectors. Is seem all of the "hard to find sets" (lego website) are pretty much in the model number 10XXX range. Is that number range as of right now pretty much assigned to low production (not in retail usually), generally large sets, and aimed at the adult builder and/or collector? When does the ebay price data get updated on the site? B.R. Totoro

Yes, in my experience the 10XXX sets are in limited distribution. They are the more expensive sets and are available brick and mortar-wise only at Lego Stores (or theme parks) and online at sites such as Amazon, Target, or Toys R Us. Usually, they are exclusive to Lego stores and shop@home for a few months and then get moved out to the big online retailers.

eBay data updates around the beginning of each month. 10XXX are typically 16+ for the recommended age range, and well over $100. They are definitely geared toward the older crowd, but I wouldn't say they are necessarily limited in production. At least not anymore. For a while the Modulars had shorter shelf lives, but now LEGO has caught on to us investor types. They seem to keep cranking out sets as long as they feel like now. Lol. Jerks.

Then the "hard to find" classification lego uses is kind of a marketing gimmick in reguard to the current 10XXX sets? Don't suppose we have a way of finding out how large a production run is for any of the sets. I don't see any data for December, am I missing something or it is not ready yet? B.R. Totoro

Then the "hard to find" classification lego uses is kind of a marketing gimmick in reguard to the current 10XXX sets? Don't suppose we have a way of finding out how large a production run is for any of the sets.

I don't see any data for December, am I missing something or it is not ready yet?

B.R.

Totoro

December data is about a week away, right around the middle of the month. I expect us all to see nice gains again for the December run on Lego products on ebay, and then see the dip in January prices come February update.

December data is about a week away, right around the middle of the month. I expect us all to see nice gains again for the December run on Lego products on ebay, and then see the dip in January prices come February update.

This.

Then the "hard to find" classification lego uses is kind of a marketing gimmick in reguard to the current 10XXX sets?

"Hard to Find" has no bearing at all about production quantities or length of time in production. A "Hard to Find" item might be in production for a few months or several years. There is no consistent way of knowing how long any Lego product will be in production.

In reality, nothing is ever really hard to find, the tag really just means that it is not in full distribution. You won't find "Hard to Find" items at your local grocery store, or the small mom-and-pop educational toy store in town. They are reserved for the big 4 players (Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Amazon) in one way or another. Smaller toy sellers won't have access to those items directly from Lego.

So, essentially, "Hard to Find" can mean different things, but it will always mean that its distribution is limited in someway.

"Exclusive" is the tag to look for. It means that it is only available from Lego Stores and shop @ home. However, I have seen many Exclusive sets from the past couple of years such as the Kingdoms Joust or the Monster Fighters Haunted House move from "Exclusive" to "Hard to Find", so just because it is "Exclusive" today won't mean that it will still be "Exclusive" tomorrow or a year from now.

Hope this helps.