So between all the September purchases to get in on the freebie bonanza, and the double VIP points in October, I'm going to end up with 3000 points/$150 to spend at Lego.com. So, what is the best way to translate that into real money?

 

I don't want to spend it on a long term investment at this point, so I'm looking for the best set to flip that will actually bring in the same amount I spend in VIP points - in other words, I want something I can re-sell in the near future for at least 10-15% above what I "spend" on it so after eBay/PayPal or Amazon take their cut, I have that amount in my pocket. What do you all think?

 

I'm thinking Vampyre Castle may be the best bet, but welcoming more seasoned perspectives. Thanks!

So between all the September purchases to get in on the freebie bonanza, and the double VIP points in October, I'm going to end up with 3000 points/$150 to spend at Lego.com. So, what is the best way to translate that into real money?

 

I don't want to spend it on a long term investment at this point, so I'm looking for the best set to flip that will actually bring in the same amount I spend in VIP points - in other words, I want something I can re-sell in the near future for at least 10-15% above what I "spend" on it so after eBay/PayPal or Amazon take their cut, I have that amount in my pocket. What do you all think?

 

I'm thinking Vampyre Castle may be the best bet, but welcoming more seasoned perspectives. Thanks!

I agree with you on the Vampyre Castle. The set is near EOL, and it should be worth good money in about a year.

I don't think anything at LEGO Shop at Home can be flipped to cover fees let alone make a profit. I think you need to keep for at lest a year. The VC may also be too popular and plentiful in the short term to see big profits.

I don't think anything at LEGO Shop at Home can be flipped to cover fees let alone make a profit. I think you need to keep for at lest a year. The VC may also be too popular and plentiful in the short term to see big profits.

Jedi Defender comes awfully close - I sold one on Amazon a couple weeks ago for $110 + shipping (but I hadn't paid full retail for that one).

I don't think anything at LEGO Shop at Home can be flipped to cover fees let alone make a profit. I think you need to keep for at lest a year. The VC may also be too popular and plentiful in the short term to see big profits.

Kingdoms chess set.

Why not just continue to bank the points until you can save up for something bigger?

 

Do you really need to make that $100-$200 that bad?

 

It just seems like a small margin to cash in the points now.

Why not just continue to bank the points until you can save up for something bigger?

 

Do you really need to make that $100-$200 that bad?

 

It just seems like a small margin to cash in the points now.

Personally, I would save up to buy something for my personal collection, like a UCS set or a modular.

You could buy 3 minecraft. I have flipped 8 sets of the 3. Not hard at all to do.

I have doubts any sets these days will have that kind of effect.  The points aren't going bad and clearly you have enough money if you've spent enough to earn 3000 VIP points.  Why don't you just return some of the stuff you bought if you need the money?  It will be a while before the VIP points go bad.

I have doubts any sets these days will have that kind of effect.  The points aren't going bad and clearly you have enough money if you've spent enough to earn 3000 VIP points.  Why don't you just return some of the stuff you bought if you need the money?  It will be a while before the VIP points go bad.

Don't the VIP points last two years? If that is the case, do not worry about using the points right now.

Jedi Defender comes awfully close - I sold one on Amazon a couple weeks ago for $110 + shipping (but I hadn't paid full retail for that one).

 

 

How did you manage to do that when LEGO Shop at Home has it for $89.99 with free shipping?

How did you manage to do that when LEGO Shop at Home has it for $89.99 with free shipping?

People are people. You should see how much people are paying for the 10240 X-Wing fighter. In the first few months after it came out, it sold on eBay for about $220-$240 per set! This happens most of the time when new sets are released. Sometimes people just can't wait to get it on a sale, so they buy it a full or above retail.

How did you manage to do that when LEGO Shop at Home has it for $89.99 with free shipping?

 

LOL.  How indeed...when every consumer is so patient and well-informed.

LOL.  How indeed...when every consumer is so patient and well-informed.

Some consumers are so patient that they miss out completely on buying a set while it is available on the primary market. Then they turn to eBay to get them.

Personally, I would save up to buy something for my personal collection, like a UCS set or a modular.

 

That's all I would really do with VIP points.  It just seems to me anyways, that if you have THAT much money to invest to bank points like that, there are better ways to invest the money to get bigger profits.

 

But yeah.  The few grand I've put into lego here lately has honestly been mostly for my personal enjoyment building the sets and stuff. And I'm saving my VIP points for the next big set Lego releases that I must have.

It's not that I *need* the money - it's more a question of how do I make sure that the 5% or 10% reward actually translates into savings. Sure, I could save up points to get something else I want - but after all the money I've dropped in the past two months, I honestly don't have anything else I want to buy right now for building (at least, not from LEGO Shop at Home - there are plenty of retired sets I'd like to have but missed out on over the past 30+ years I've been a Lego fan!). Except for the 2013 LOTR sets, but I've decided to wait to buy those when they go on discount - when I can get a real savings over retail, not a pie-in-the-sky 5%.

 

As investors, we talk about how buying from LEGO Shop at Home yields a 5% (or 10%) discount - but unless there is some way to convert that reward into real cash, it's not really a discount, just a nice way for us to convince ourselves that we have a good reason to buy from Lego.com. (The free poly bags *are* a discount, if you sell them).

 

As for how to flip the Jedi Defender - TRU generously helps us resellers out by jacking up their prices, which allows us to match them. There are millions of buyers out there who don't have access to a Lego store and have no idea that Lego.com exists. But they know about Amazon, so when their kids tell them they want Jedi Defender they go out and buy it. That's part of why being a reseller can be profitable!

It's not that I *need* the money - it's more a question of how do I make sure that the 5% or 10% reward actually translates into savings. Sure, I could save up points to get something else I want - but after all the money I've dropped in the past two months, I honestly don't have anything else I want to buy right now for building (at least, not from LEGO Shop at Home - there are plenty of retired sets I'd like to have but missed out on over the past 30+ years I've been a Lego fan!). Except for the 2013 LOTR sets, but I've decided to wait to buy those when they go on discount - when I can get a real savings over retail, not a pie-in-the-sky 5%.

 

As investors, we talk about how buying from LEGO Shop at Home yields a 5% (or 10%) discount - but unless there is some way to convert that reward into real cash, it's not really a discount, just a nice way for us to convince ourselves that we have a good reason to buy from Lego.com. (The free poly bags *are* a discount, if you sell them).

 

As for how to flip the Jedi Defender - TRU generously helps us resellers out by jacking up their prices, which allows us to match them. There are millions of buyers out there who don't have access to a Lego store and have no idea that Lego.com exists. But they know about Amazon, so when their kids tell them they want Jedi Defender they go out and buy it. That's part of why being a reseller can be profitable!

If you are not going to need the money right away, then you could wait a couple months to spend all the points.

If you are not going to need the money right away, then you could wait a couple months to spend all the points.

I certainly could! And if I knew of something more profitable for it to be spent on in a couple of months, I can see why I would do so. If, say, I knew for certain that SSD or TB was going EOL in the next couple of months, then it would make sense to wait and hope I could snap one up at $150 off before it sold out. But then, none of us know. So I guess the question is, what is the benefit of waiting/sitting on the points?

I certainly could! And if I knew of something more profitable for it to be spent on in a couple of months, I can see why I would do so. If, say, I knew for certain that SSD or TB was going EOL in the next couple of months, then it would make sense to wait and hope I could snap one up at $150 off before it sold out. But then, none of us know. So I guess the question is, what is the benefit of waiting/sitting on the points?

I see the benefit is less time for a set waiting to be sold. It would make much more sense to buy a SSD or FB, etc later if we know it will EOL. Unfortunately, we do not know when these sets will EOL, but we know that some may be going real soon, like the Vampyre Castle. That is the only benefit I see for waiting on points. For me I never let points stockpile. I just use how many I have on my next purchase from Lego.  

Well, that's kind of why I was thinking Vampyre Castle was a good bet. . .which is where this topic started.