How much does Lego box condition affect resale value?

[Quacs]

Agree with you for the most part but if a buyer has a choice between two sellers selling the same set for the same price and one box is perfect and one is crushed they are most likely going to buy the perfect box especially if it's going to be given as a gift for Christmas/birthday so I think you would have to reduce price at least some to entice buyers.

Sent from my iPad using Brickpicker

Agreed - the dinged box is easily mitigated by dropping your price by a few bucks. On a retired exclusive, that's usually chump change.

Another option is to wait until the clean box sells, then list at the same price.

Bottom line - don't let minor box condition defects dissuade you from buying at a good price.

It's up to you to determine what a good purchase price is for you.

Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker

[holleman67]

If a box has been opened, but all pieces are inside their sealed bags within the box, can you sell as a "New" item on Ebay and just disclose that the box has been opened or do you have to classify as "Used"?

I wanted to chime in from my personal experience as I thought in my case eBay would back me but I lost. I parted out the republic gunship 75021. Sold the gunship by itself, listed it as new as I just pulled the figs and stapled the bags shut. Listing was put for new, title stated new gunship no minifigures include and the description had that in caps. Case opened for item nit as described. I called eBay thinking I was good and the rep said since the set was opened and contents removed the item was no longer new as new constitutes as a never opened package. So don't get screwed. Now I put used for this listings and put in the description that they bricks are new never played with, fresh out of the package.

[Trains 'n boats]

Hi everyone,

 

With so many purchases being online, it seems like a lot of stuff can get dented.  How much do you care about imperfect (not destroyed, just imperfect) boxes?

 

Thanks!

 

TNB

[comicblast]

Generally, dinged corners and occassional creases don't really affect the resale value of a set later down the road, unless you plan on AFA Grading your set. I generally take them, unless they have bad seals or holes in the box. If the price is good enough I generally just take the set. You can't expect clearance sets to be perfect!

[MartinP]

I don't care very much about minor damage on any set. Like comicblast said, it doesn't affect the value much. If I want to build a set that I have, I usually find the set that has the most box damage and build that one. I guess I want at least one set that has some minor damage so that I can build it.

[naf]

I don't care about box condition because I'm just going to open and build the set anyway.  If I'm buying for investment I try to get the best boxes I can since you never know how picky a  buyer is.  However, I think most buyers are pretty reasonable when it comes to box condition.

[dubzero]

Good morning!

In your experience, how much does a slightly damaged (creased, scraped, dented) box affect resale values?

[Huskers1236]

From those that have sold a few of these, it doesn't seem to make much difference.  Yes, you can probably ask a bit more if you have an extremely nice box and somebody will come along and pay that price, but it generally doesn't seem to affect price much if the damage is minor.

[Migration]

Read this.

http://blog.brickpicker.com/brickvesting/the-impact-of-box-condition-on-lego-investing/

[dubzero]

Read this.

http://blog.brickpicker.com/brickvesting/the-impact-of-box-condition-on-lego-investing/

Great read. Thanks!

[thekragle]

Did one of you guys return a couple ToO's to Amazon?  I just picked up 2x from Warehouse for $173 each.  Said "like new, no scratches, no damage".  I've never noticed, but  do ALL Amazon returns go to WH or do the perfect ones normally go back into normal stock?

 

They are probably the two I returned recently. The Lego packaging was damaged on both of my Towers because amazon did not use any packing material. They both had 'smashed' bottoms.

[MillerTime]

They are probably the two I returned recently. The Lego packaging was damaged on both of my Towers because amazon did not use any packing material. They both had 'smashed' bottoms.

 

That's a little bit ridiculous - you do realize these are being shipped across states to reach you right? Geeze someone's OCD

[Young_Gun21]

That's a little bit ridiculous - you do realize these are being shipped across states to reach you right? Geeze someone's OCD

Ridiculous? If I buy something then I expect good condition. Big noticeable damages are not something you need to keep (Eol excluded). I didn't pay $200 for a box that's been through the meat grinder.

[Locutus001]

That's a little bit ridiculous - you do realize these are being shipped across states to reach you right? Geeze someone's OCD

 

Ridiculous? If I buy something then I expect good condition. Big noticeable damages are not something you need to keep (Eol excluded). I didn't pay $200 for a box that's been through the meat grinder.

 

I agree, if there is damage then this is not what I payed for. Some damage sure can be tolerated but a certain amount is too much.

Why do I pay good money for a set? Because I want it in a certain condition. If I want to have a used one where the white bricks look yellow I can buy it from my neighbours kids. A collector might want to display the box as well as the set, or just store it so he can resell it after he is done enjoying building and displaying his set.

 

A set without a box is worth so much less, so it's only fair to assume that a highly damaged box is the same as a missing box = used set.

Would you buy a MINT super new set for 300$ under the condition that the original box is missing but he will deliver it in a shoe box? I sure wouldn't.

[Alcarin]

 

 

so it's only fair to assume that a highly damaged box is the same as a missing box = used set.

 

That is such a wonderful thing, a set without BOX is Factory sealed bags set without box, and NOT USED, as long as bags are factory sealed (all of them)

 

Dont spread pleasantries please.

 

many people (myself) included would rather pay for sealed bags (without box) since that reduces shipping for a big margin (usually) and paying maybe 5-10% less than boxed (NISB) set.... but you save alot on shipping in most cases.

Edited November 7, 2014 by exciter1
Edited, no name calling

[Alfiepops]

That is such a wonderful thing, a set without BOX is Factory sealed bags set without box, and NOT USED, as long as bags are factory sealed (all of them)

 

Dont spread pleasantries please.

 

many people (myself) included would rather pay for sealed bags (without box) since that reduces shipping for a big margin (usually) and paying maybe 5-10% less than boxed (NISB) set.... but you save alot on shipping in most cases.

 

Nobody is spreading the good word here. It is just opinions of what is acceptable damage and what isn't. Some people are slighly more forgiven than others. I

i.e if you are going to dump the box because you are going to build your LEGO and you don't have room for empty boxes taking up space, then you may not care about condition. Investing on the other hand means condition can affect profit so condition is much more important. Locutus001 is simply pointing out that Lego without a box or heavly damaged can equate to the price of a used set (even if bags are still sealed). Maybe not exact, but pretty close particulary if it is a set that may not be in huge demand or is still in circulation.

Edited November 7, 2014 by exciter1
Edited for content

[Locutus001]

Thx, that's exactly what I wanted to point out.

Of course it is up to everybody to decide for him/herself, but for me it is like this:

As investor: Of course I need a MINT Box

As Collector: MINT Box is the best thing, to be honest I'm not a big fan of storing all those boxes but I do know people who actually do. My girlfriend actually likes the boxes more than the actual set since most of the time the set in the box's design looks so good that it's a display piece itself.

Another one puts the boxes on display behind the actual set because he loves them as background, etc. etc. etc.

 

As Builder: I actually don't really care about the box. But when I have the choice to buy set xyz for 100$ and I get it witout box and without manual vs. without box with manual vs. with damaged box + manual vs. with MINT sealed box I would have to lie to you saying that I wouldn't go for the MINT sealed one in top condition. Personally depending on the set and the overall price I'm even willing to pay a little bit more for the MINT one even though I'm just going to open it.

There also are people who sell their LEGO boxes without the sets. So either they build the sets themselves or sell them separately (I can't tell) but the fact is that the box itself is worth something. In some cases people pay more for the box than they pay for some LEGO sets. (we're not talking about 10$ sets but rather 50$ sets).

 

I didn't mean to offend anybody, I mean at the end of the day buy and sell whatever you want, but I feel that way.

I also bought a ToO in a damaged box since it was on discount, but honestly I wouldn't have bought it otherwise or if there would have been any box in better condition. Those sets I see as "maybe I'll build them myself someday"-sets.

[Cross]

My purchases are all long-term investments, and for that reason- I highly, highly value box condition.

 

My goal, on a set such of ToO (of which I have many) is to hold this very long term. If I am on the receiving end of a business deal for 1k or more on a Lego set, I would anticipate the aformentioned set- box included- being in exceptional quality.

 

For the quick-flip squad it may not matter; personally speaking- if I were to spend over a thousand dollars on a Lego set, I would expect top condition and quality in every aspect.

[jaisonline]

My purchases are all long-term investments, and for that reason- I highly, highly value box condition.

My goal, on a set such of ToO (of which I have many) is to hold this very long term. If I am on the receiving end of a business deal for 1k or more on a Lego set, I would anticipate the aformentioned set- box included- being in exceptional quality.

For the quick-flip squad it may not matter; personally speaking- if I were to spend over a thousand dollars on a Lego set, I would expect top condition and quality in every aspect.

90% of my sets are also long-term holds.

I use to be the same exact way about box condition. Then reality set in. It's just a box. Being sealed is what matters to the majority of AFOL buyers in the secondary market for expensive sets. Additionally, no matter how well I pack my sets when selling (and my packing skills are solid), I'm still at the mercy of the postage carriers.

I rarely ever buy sets when they are released but if I do, that's when I'm anal about box condition. Same goes for if I'm at the store and there are 2+ copies of the same set, of course I'm buying the better box.

Since most of my set purchases are toward the end of a set's retail life, box condition is less important especially when I'm buying online. Additionally, severe damaged boxes are sometimes discounted either before or after the sale so that money saved is more important to me.

But hey, everyone is different,

[jaisonline]

A set without a box is worth so much less, so it's only fair to assume that a highly damaged box is the same as a missing box = used set.

Not entirely true. For nightly desired sets (pretty much all $900+ MISB valued sets like 10179 UCS MF, 10196 GC, 10181 EF, etc... the box might add anywhere from 5% to 10% going by bricklink box sales. For lesser demand / valued sets, boxes go for / add significantly less to the value of the set.

Personally, I like to buy used sets when they have boxes.

As a seller, I noticed by buyers don't care about boxes except for highly desirable sets. I still have 2 empty Black Pearl boxes that were MISB but the buyers told me to ship the sets w/o since postage costs less (and usually the box value is less than postage).

Regarding severely damaged sealed set boxes, pretty much the same thing applies. Pretty much all buyers from my selling experience only care about 2 things a:

1) brick condition including minifigs (if the bags are sealed, this isn't a prob).

2) are instructions included? This is key. Then they ask about condition.

[KShine]

A set without a box is worth so much less, so it's only fair to assume that a highly damaged box is the same as a missing box = used set.

Would you buy a MINT super new set for 300$ under the condition that the original box is missing but he will deliver it in a shoe box? I sure wouldn't.

 

This isn't true - A new set without the box (new & sealed bags w/ instructions) will sell for much closer to the price of a new & sealed box, than to the price of a used set. 

[Deadfraggle]

I am a collector looking for a few retired sets to round out my collection (yeah I'm that guy who will pay over MSRP, call it my OCD kicking in). If it's likely to end up built and on display, do I go for the cheapest used price or pay a little more for a box opened, but bags sealed set? For me, gauging a good price for like "new" sets that aren't NISB is the hardest area to evaluate. Do I compare against new set prices, used prices, split the difference? I'm just curious how others out there approach this situation.

[seapotato]

My PS arrived with a dinged corner but my b&m doesn't have any in stock. Guess I'll be keeping it and from reading various posts, in the long run it shouldn't matter. It bothers me though lol.