Question about 10179 Millennium Falcon and 10182 Cafe Corner...

[Ed Mack]

I moved the original post...Please refer to below post to see topic of this thread. Thanks.

[stephen_rockefeller]

Ed, can you please explain the phenomenon with the UCS falcon and cafe corner sets? I have heard several different reasons why they blew up in the secondary market.

[Ed Mack]

Ed, can you please explain the phenomenon with the UCS falcon and cafe corner sets? I have heard several different reasons why they blew up in the secondary market.

The 10179 Millennium Falcon is pretty straightforward. Iconic STAR WARS ship. Iconic LEGO set. The best ever IMO. 5000+ pieces, excellent display, minifigures, first 10,000 had a Certificate of Authenticity from LEGO, a 50th Anniversary set, etc... If you are a serious LEGO collector, it is the "Holy Grail of LEGO Sets." Even if you don't like STAR WARS or the theme, you have to recognize the 10179 as the top of the food chain of LEGO sets.

The 10182 Cafe Corner is a little more complex. The Modular Buildings were a sub theme that was developed from AFOLs and their ideas that were submitted to LEGO...kinda of like an original version of CUUSOO. In 2006, a poll was taken, aimed at the Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL) community. Adult fans were asked to share their ideas and opinions of what concept they would like to see for a future model from the Lego Group and the Modular Buildings were developed from that. The buildings were unique to LEGO sets at the time. Three stories and highly detailed sets made for very popular sets and the Cafe Corner was the first.

The Cafe Corner is a rather garish and gaudy looking building, but at the same time, you cannot take your eyes off of it. In it's own weird way, it is rather beautiful. It's the original Modular Building and is the rarest of the theme. It became super popular after it was retired, so many people did not buy it new, so they had to pay more than MSRP. The prices have exploded because people want to collect ALL the Modular Buildings to meet their 'need' to complete their Modular Building collection and there wasn't enough available to meet demand at a fair price, so the price exploded. It looks to be leveling off now, but at $1000+ for a MISB set, the set is too high for most collectors.

There are a handful of LEGO sets that are must haves for the 'ultimate' LEGO collector, and these two are at the top of that list. I hope this helps answer your question...

[stephen_rockefeller]

So does it have anything to do with the amount of sets produced? At the time of their release did you think that they would reach the prices they are at today? Also do you think that any of Lego sets that are in production at this time will see crazy prices in the secondary market.......10225 maybe???

[Mos_Eisley]

I can't speak for Ed, but I don't think anyone thought that the Cafe Corner would reach the level it's at today. If they did, they would've bought up as many as they could and I don't think there are too many people sitting on a pile of them. At $139.99, it was an expensive set, but not ridiculous. I knew this set would be a good investment, not as good as it turned out to be, and always intended on buying more than I did, but it disappeared before I got around to really loading up. There are plenty of great sets out right now, but I doubt anything from the current line-up will see these kinds of gains.

[Ed Mack]

I can't speak for Ed, but I don't think anyone thought that the Cafe Corner would reach the level it's at today. If they did, they would've bought up as many as they could and I don't think there are too many people sitting on a pile of them. At $139.99, it was an expensive set, but not ridiculous. I knew this set would be a good investment, not as good as it turned out to be, and always intended on buying more than I did, but it disappeared before I got around to really loading up. There are plenty of great sets out right now, but I doubt anything from the current line-up will see these kinds of gains.

I agree with Mos Eisley. I don't think most people were sold on the Cafe Corner when it was new. The Modular Building fad caught on when LEGO released the Green Grocer and people saw how awesome it was to build a city block with Modular Buildings.

I, myself, was just getting back into the hobby and was busy collecting UCS STAR WARS sets, so I didn't pay attention to some "inferior" CITY or TOWN set...LOL. Mistake. I ended buying a MISB 10182 for $500, which by today's standards is still an excellent deal, but I missed the boat myself. I did happen to buy a MISB 10179 for $399.99 though. If I only bought more. GRRRRRRRRRRRR! I had my finger on the proverbial "button" and was going to buy a second 10179 but my wonderful wife gave me a guilt trip and I didn't do it. Dammit!

Mos Eisley brings up another very interesting point where he says the current line up of LEGO sets will not see this sort of gains and I agree 1000%. LEGO investing five years ago was prime time in my opinion. Great sets overall and the LEGO 50th Anniversary special sets like the 10179 Millennium Falcon and 10184 Town Plan were great for the investor. Currently, there are too many people that are educated about LEGO investing(with more everyday) and some large amazing set will be noticed immediately and thought of as an investment . There will be no surprises on a large scale like the Cafe Corner.

That being said, I believe the LEGO investing market as a whole is as solid as ever, but you have to pick the right sets to make money, even if it's on a smaller scale. LEGO sets as a whole have been very steady in appreciation over the last two years and there are no current

"speculative bubbles" in my opinion. You have to grind out profits. You have to watch for trends and think outside the box(Holiday Sets anyone?). There is still money to be made in buying and selling LEGO sets, you just have to be smart with purchases and time it right on selling them...

[Damnation666]

I see a shift in popular sets. Those damn Ninjago and Friends sets are making huge gains. Might not be the next Cafe Corner in dollars, but maybe in % gained.

[Mos_Eisley]

The percentage gain is what is most impressive about Cafe Corner. Looking at 10179, sure $2,000 sounds nice, but that is only 4x its original value. Lots of sets hit 3-4x, it just sounds like a lot when a set is worth $2k. Cafe Corner is at 7.7x it's original value. I'm not saying there aren't nice sets right now, but I don't think anything that is available at this moment will be worth 7x+ its current value in 5 years. So percentage-wise, I think it will be quite some time before anything available today equals that type of investment.

[tigereyes5811]

I AGREE WITH THE FACT THAT I DONT THINK A SET IS GONNA SURPRISE ANYONE ANYMORE. TOO MANY KNOWLEDGEABLE INVESTORS OUT THERE. HARD FOR A SLEEPER TO SLIP BY, BUT ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. WHEN YOU LOOK AT CAFE CORNER ITS JUST AN OK SET IMO...ITS WHAT ITS WORTH AND HOW IT APPRECIATED THAT GETS EVERYONE INTRIGUED AND EXCITED, KICKING OURSELVES AND SAYING WISH I COULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING. LOL NOWADAYS I THINK FOR A SET TO BE A WINNER ITS GOTTA BE SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL...BUT LIKE ANYTHING IN LIFE THAT MAKES MONEY...GOTTA HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE AND ITS SOMEWHAT RARE.