Ok everyone, I need some feedback here please. I have the opportitunity to buy 10 Fire Brigades and 10 Grand Emporiums (all NISB) for a total of $4000 from a friend who has been sitting on them and now needs the money. That comes out to $150/ea for the GE's and $250/ea for the FB's.. The question is should I or shouldn't I? What do ya think, good deal or not. I'm on the fence with this one.

Like I said if he is a good friend....... I have one or two very good friends that if they needed this help I would help them, then again I'm not selfish.

If you get pleasure out of helping friends - You are selfish, in technical terms haha..

$4000 seems to high to me. I would offer around $3500 and what happens from there.

Ok, maybe I should have been more clear on this. My friend doesn't really "need" the money, he "wants" the money to start a 3rd business. He is not in any financial trouble, he's actually better off then me. He is a friend that I recommended to him to buy these sets as an investment. Well 2 years later he has no interest in lego investing and just wants his money back + some due to the FB EOL. I think I'm going to offer him $3300.

No brainer then that's too much for someone who doesn't "need" it.

I would make him an offer he couldn't refuse. Start with $ 2,500 to get him out of the cave. Then you will see. I would help my friend as well. But not by paying him to much. I would be helping him with instant cash and take the sets from his hands. If after the transaction he would need more money I would loan it to him for 2 points a week.

$4000 is an absolutely absurd price, this isn't how things work in the real world. Sure, it makes sense in a way, they GE is $150, the FB is $250, so $4000 is the "street price" right?

NO WAY!

 

1. These are Ebay prices, due to fees and shipping, you can safely knock off 20-25% off the purchase price of all these sets to see what the sellers are actually getting in the end - Ebay prices are notoriously higher than other online stores simply because sellers MUST build these costs into each transaction. 

This brings the price down to $3000-$3200 for the lot

 

2. This is a LOT, a lot cannot be sold for more than or the same as the sum of its components, otherwise, why would you buy a lot? A lot must mean a discount because you are buying the sellers quantities, which means they are getting the convenience of selling their inventory on their terms. Inherently in business, the cost of buying bulk gives you more power as a buyer.

 

I Think this would bring the price down to $2800-$3000

 

$4000 is a lot more than he could ever GET out of those sets if he sold them, if he wants to get the most money, he could list them on ebay and worry about listing and selling 20 different items to 20 different people and he might net $3100 in the end after all that work. I can guarantee that there will be a buyer issue in one of those, you almost can't sell that many large sets and not have at least one complaint to deal with, this costs money and time. Also, he may have to ship them to Hawaii or Alaska, and pay premium prices, if they stay in the lower 48, it may go all the way across the country and he will have to pay the most shipping costs. People tend to work these things out to their advantage.

1 year ago I had some certain legal issues and needed money fast. I actually sold both of my Fire Brigades I had to a friend for $100 each. I knew it would hurt me as they were about to retire but needed the money badly. In the end he resold them for a nice profit so I'm happy for him.

He must really trust you or have a lot of disposal income to drop approx 3K on an investment he is uninterested in 2 years later

He asks you 4.000 $ to get.....? This is the question. I think He asks you 4.000 to get 3.000...offer 2.900 to pay no more than 3.200

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Don't buy from a friend.

 

Always regret on one of the parties when they are in need of quick cash.

 

Better yet, help him sell them.

 

thats not true, they could easily work out a deal that benefits both of them.

Safe investment, but one you would have to hold on for a couple of years before you could really make your money back. I'ld offer him $3500 for the lot and take it from there, atleast there you can make more than half the money back quickly, and just have room for profit once the GE hits it EOL.

If I had $4000 to spend on Lego today, there are a lot of things I spend the $$$ on than this collection at his asking price.