Bricklink/BrickOwl - Discussion, questions, & answers

[raindog]

18 hours ago, airhanny said:

However, I don't want to play a game that quickly buying current hyped/excellent part out value sets and then race-to-the bottom. If this is the only game to survive running BL then probably i will not want to do it........... I'm looking something more sustainable, slow and steady for long run.

With that statement, I'd probably just take any spare change and invest in dividend EFTs like VOO or QQQM and read a book or work on my physical fitness while my accounts grow bigger and bigger.  If I was given the option to go back 15 years ago and practice that I would do it without hesitation.  I enjoy selling LEGO but it is also a colossal time killer and money sponge.

[legorunner]

22 hours ago, airhanny said:

75940, 43181

The advice above about not opening a store is definitely sound, but I'll play a bit of the devil's advocate and just say that I think its a matter of what your goals are. I put most of my parts into storage for now because the time to pull orders was starting to cut into family time and causing stress. Maybe one day I'll bring them back out, but for now, its not worth it. That said, I still have a small inventory that I enjoy adding to and selling. I was booted from Amazon last fall during the "purge" and sold most of my sealed set inventory to some nice members on this forum, so I really enjoy having BL to still be a part of the LEGO market. Perhaps most importantly, the profit I made from my store this past year was enough to cover my personal LEGO purchases over the year, which was the goal from the beginning when I stumbled down this rabbit hole. 

I'd suggest that if you are really interested, you start small, part out a few sets sets, figure out what organization works for you, keep your prices low to make some sales and attract buyers, and see if you enjoy it or not. Of those two sets, I didn't look at the overall part out values, but the dinosaurs in 75940 aren't highly desirable but at least give you a floor for your value. 43181 has terrible mini figures so maybe not a great one to start with - like 10 sales total across both in the past 6 months. 

Short version: if you want to have a small hobby to enjoy, go for it. If you want to grow wealth, take @raindog's advice and just invest. 

[Darth_Raichu]

22 hours ago, airhanny said:

I saw this freebie from @Pseudoty and thank you. 

However, I don't want to play a game that quickly buying current hyped/excellent part out value sets and then race-to-the bottom. If this is the only game to survive running BL then probably i will not want to do it. I do not mind to have this kind of game once in a while (it's part of the fun and making money while it lasts). I'm looking something more sustainable, slow and steady for long run.

Like selling sets, I do not like to flip, most of the time I wait 2-3 years before selling. Besides selling sets part-time, I have full time office job but fully remote. With this remote job I often feel bored, and want to add BL for fun and make a little bit of money long run.

I have some sets that I bought years ago and kind of stalled, for example 75940, 43181 (I bought them with 40% discount of msrp). Would I be able to part out these kind of sets, and off course keep adding good part out value sets, and finally make some sales once I have enough inventories?

I bought bulk LEGO 9 years ago thinking of doing some part outs for my Bricklink store.  The boxes are still in my basement as I have not had time to break the sets, clean, and do the inventory.  I can't justify the time needed vs ROI when I have sealed sets to ship out + day job.  

Also race to the bottom is the name of the game these days for most toy categories anyway