Sellers not willing to build the set...

[vr4kevykev]

Hey 'Pickers,

I'm interested in a set from the 80's that I wanted when I was a kiddo and there's a pretty good looking set on ebay right now. The picture on the listing is only of the pieces in the box. No mention if the set is complete.

I asked the seller to clarify if the set is complete or not and they said that they have not verified if it's complete. My question and her response is at the bottom of the listing

I've noticed a lot of sellers not willing to take the time to simply build the set.

In your experience are these more often simply lazy sellers or are seller trying to hide fact that it's not complete?

Do you ever buy sets that are vague as to the completeness?

Ebay Linky Link

Thanks!

[Jeff Mack]

To me that listing seems fairly solid. Its really hard to tell how many pieces are in those bags in that second photo. You could always ask if they at least did a count of the pieces.

[Ed Mack]

Hey 'Pickers,

I'm interested in a set from the 80's that I wanted since when i was a kiddo and there's a pretty good looking set on ebay right now. The picture on the listing is only of the pieces in the box. No mention if the set is complete.

I asked the seller to clarify if the set is complete or not and they said that they have not verified if it's complete. My question and her response is at the bottom of the listing

I've noticed a lot of sellers not willing to take the time to simply build the set.

In your experience are these more often simply lazy sellers or are seller trying to hide fact that it's not complete?

Do you ever buy sets that are vague as to the completeness?

Ebay Linky Link

Thanks!

Sellers with used sets that don't build them only hurt themselves. They lose money because people will offer less. I have bought sets that were not guaranteed and have had mixed results. Most of the time simple pieces can be replaced from my own collection. Maybe people just don't have the time or see the value in it. That being said, the set you are looking at looks to be in very good condition. The box looks in excellent condition and that is no small feat considering its age. Give it a shot.

[Chowrentoys.com]

I don't think most seller are trying to hid the fact that a set is incomplete. It is quite time consuming to build every used set you try to sell that is why some people just don't bother with it. As most of us know time = money that is why some sellers just don't even bother with it unless they really enjoy building every set. Most of the time if you buy from someone's personal collection it will have been built and if you are lucky enough to find from a real professional seller they would even take the time to wash it and then build it. I would stick with people's personal collection, because they would have at least built it once and would know if anything is missing.

[cardensb]

I found another site that shows a complete inventory by kit number. I rediscovered that Lego blocks have changed over the years. I went into my rubbermaid, looked at my leftover sets from the late 70's I had as a kid and discovered that I had some later model blocks (probably from a cousin's set). I suppose if I was going to sell an older set that cannot be built, I would at least inventory it and let the seller know that not all the blocks are originally from 1977 i.e. the open bottomed variations. The sets referenced were the Universal types - not a SW x-wing for example.