As the cost of retired sets move higher and higher I was wondering which ones people have resigned to the "set that got away" category.   For me, they are the Taj Mahal, 10179 Falcon, and the Unexpected Gathering. 

Still holding out hope on these NISB 

7181  - Tie Interceptor
10143 - Death Star 2
10175 - Vader's Tie
10182 - Cafe Corner
10189 - Taj

Edited July 7, 201510 yr by jaisonline
Added set names

grand carousel and taj mahal 

yeah, I thought their prices were high before.  the prices are getting even higher.  Used 10196s earlier this year could be had for $900 (under $800 with some luck). Now the prices are around $1,400+.  

Same with the Taj to some extent.  These mid to late non-licensed exclusive 2000s sets with 2-3 years of retail just keep going up and up.

The Zombies...I remember seeing them on the shelf at Target but never bought one because it never went on sale. Next thing you know it's completely gone from the retail market. Now it's too overpriced for what you get with it IMO.

i'll sell you one for a nice deal  ha 

MISB prices have actually decreased a tad before last Halloween. 

The Zombies...I remember seeing them on the shelf at Target but never bought one because it never went on sale. Next thing you know it's completely gone from the retail market. Now it's too overpriced for what you get with it IMO.

But Zombies is easy to Bricklink, unlike some of the others. True, you have to substitute the Moon (?) Stone and the color of the bride's hair, but that's the bulk of the extra cost. I did it earlier this year for less than $20.

I would like to own / build Cafe Corner.  However, I would then want Market Street and Green Grocer.  Finally, I'm insane enough to want every other modular.  I just don't have the display space.  Thus sadly I will not ever buy Cafe Corner because of my self-control issues. 

Now if I lucked into one for 1/2 of market price, i would just sell it.  The temptation of building it would lead be down a dark path.

I remember looking in the Lego section of FAO Schwarz in 2002 at Yoda (7194) and the Statue of Liberty (3450) and thinking how cool they were, how far Lego had progressed, and how I would never be able to afford them.  Those would be two on my list I will probably not be able to get, but I will never say never.

I also remember being at a Lego store in 2007 and awestruck by GG, CC, and GC, all three in one place.  I could not find a way to afford them then, and amazingly, I doubt I will be able to find a way to afford them now.  Although I did find a way to trade for an open box, sealed bags GC last year.  But a sealed one is probably just a dream.   

 

For different reasons than everyone else...  Castle Greyskull...StarShip Enterprise...Sigh...

Okay, I know that wasn't quite the question...but o well...

Edited July 7, 201510 yr by pickleboy

Fortunately I don't collect anything, so there's nothing out there that I want but that I will never get.

Imperial Flagship. But I can buy one for like 400 euro if I want. Maybe I will trade one with a Town Hall

Cafe Corner

Taj Mahal

UCS Death Star II

Imperial Flagship

VW Beetle

Black Pearl (affordable but can't justify it)

Winter Village Bakery/Toy Shop/Post Office (see above)

Only out of the dark ages last year, so I've missed a lot clearly.

Haven't yet ruled out the Green Grocer or UCS Imperial Shuttle 

 

Imperial Flagship. :-(

Cafe Corner

Taj Mahal

UCS Death Star II

Imperial Flagship

VW Beetle

Black Pearl (affordable but can't justify it)

Winter Village Bakery/Toy Shop/Post Office (see above)

Only out of the dark ages last year, so I've missed a lot clearly.

Haven't yet ruled out the Green Grocer or UCS Imperial Shuttle 

 

I would think Jeff Probst wouldn't give these purchases a second thought...

But Zombies is easy to Bricklink, unlike some of the others. True, you have to substitute the Moon (?) Stone and the color of the bride's hair, but that's the bulk of the extra cost. I did it earlier this year for less than $20.

but purists like some of us need those slightly "special" elements and never heard of this practice called substituting.  

But Zombies is easy to Bricklink, unlike some of the others. True, you have to substitute the Moon (?) Stone and the color of the bride's hair, but that's the bulk of the extra cost. I did it earlier this year for less than $20.

I need to do this and sell mine.  I bought one, with a coupon at some point.  I think they had a $5 coupon you could use during this period, but I think that's the best deal I saw on it.  They disappeared quick, but I guess I'm glad the Monster Fighters theme appealed to me and I had to get the whole set shortly after they were released.

To add to carousel

i never thought I would get a deal on monster fighters zombie set for my son, pre lego phase for him

Zombie set complete with box on ebay for BIN $40 

Edited July 7, 201510 yr by Elkkthunder

It was a sad affair when I bought Winter Toy Shop, Curiosity Rover, BP, and QAR for around MSRP but could not justify opening them due to how high their market prices were.  Also, Imperial Flagship would be nice to have

I never had any desire to build the Zombies sets and gladly sold them for average of 4.5x MSRP  They might as well go up higher but I was satisfied with that level of performance 

Grand Carousel. My wife would not let me spend retail on it while it was out, but now she knows better. Still a sore spot for me. Maybe she will get it for us.

The huge Mtron mega core magnetizer. Part of the classic space era

What set do I want but will never get? Umm....I don't have enough time to try listing them all.

One for sure, the Death Star.

One for sure, the Death Star.

Hysterical...

Cloud City

With the new theme park line, Grand Carousel becomes that much more important for the collector.

That would be the millennium falcon! Ah wait Taj Mahal is cool as well. Glad I bought a second hand X-Wing way below second hand value. To build and display. Got two sealed and boxed to pay for the other ;-)

UCS Falcon......can never justify that amount for a lego set now......quite a shame.

I'm sure I've answered this before, but since it's on my new post list...

10179 UCS Falcon

10196 Grand Carousel

10210 Imperial Flagship

10212 Imperial Shuttle