Hi all, I am new to the site but have invested in lego since 2001. I have a Lego shop near to me (in the UK) and soon found that MISB sets could produce returns and be a 'fun' investment at the same time. I bought a number of the large Castle chess sets when they were on sale in the shop and recall (I don't have any now) the large outer box had a xx of xx on the outside. Therefore implying there was a limited number made, unless it meant something else like the number of sets sent to UK shops? As an investor it would be great to know the production numbers, can any of the members comment on if this can be obtained? I assume that lego get a license deal with the likes of Lucas arts to produce so many? or maybe they keep producing them until demand drops off and just pay a royalty for each set sold/produced? Hopefully there is someone who may work for lego that would know in the membership of this site? Thanks.

Production run quantities and EOL(End of Line) data is very hard, if not impossible to get on most regular sets. On occasion, LEGO will tell you they are producing so and so amount on special sets. No doubt it would be valuable information, but information LEGO would rather keep to itself. Why? Because sales increase with uncertainty. LEGO benefits when collectors and investors constantly think that sets are going to be retired. The LEGO fan will start buying up sets when they believe an important set might be heading into retirement. This doesn't usually apply to the run of the mill sets, though.

LEGO will be doing their homework and I am under no illusion that Brickpicker is just one of the many sites that are monitored. If we do have a LEGO employee in our midst (highly likely?) then this person can't release any information on EOL, or similar, as effectively that is insider dealing. Pity, as such information would be highly advantageous to all the investors. However, that would also change significantly what we are trying to do. If we fully knew what was going to happen with LEGO sets and EOL's then we might as well just place our cash under the mattress or into a standard savings account. I'd prefer to gamble and take a flyer here or there, accepting that I will both lose and win in the bigger scheme of things.

Investment is really just a respectable way of saying gambling. The stakes are similar, so is the diffused adrenaline rush. If we knew production quantities or duration there would be neither the holy grails like 2260 nor closet-tenants who have morphed into seemingly permanent statues ala 10193.

LOL, gambling. I think Brickarmor got it just right. It really is just a very safe form of gambling. And there is no denying the adrenaline rush of getting a good deal or watching one of your sets increase in value. If EOL dates became public knowledge, our investing hobbies would forever change. As much as we all wish we could know the answers, it kinda would take the fun out of it. Besides, it only takes one person knowing before it is all over the internet in a matter of hours. It would feel for a second like you won the lottery if you got advance knowledge of an EOL date, but the excitement would disappear once you watch interest in that set drop like a brick (pun intended) because all the intrigue is gone.