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I am very happy to report that both Darth_Raichu and gregpj have agreed to join the moderator group. Both have been members since 2013 and have always made solid contributions to forum. The forum is busy and so are the moderators. Some are busy getting Masters degrees others are busy at work or life or running their LEGO business. I was also getting a lot of pressure to hire a Canadian as a mod, so gregpj is helping me fill that quota Please congratulate these guys and take it easy on them out there!!

I first read this as "a few over the past 25 years" and it still made sense.

Just started collecting, new aquisitions. Picked em up for a decent price, 6211 has a contoured box, thats pretty neat. This is getting addicting!

... As Will Ferrell says, "It's a highly-sophisticated, interlocking brick-mechanism". My Wife and I have ours- "they" have theirs. The reality is... with a 3 and a 5 year-old in the house, almost nothing is safe. We place our display sets on top of bookshelves where they are well out of reach. I have been on business trips where I found Uni-Kitty hiding in my briefcase, and reached for an Eggo waffle in our freezer to find in the box- I kid you not- General Grievous and Queen Elsa. I am certain I did not put them in the waffle box. Regardless... everything else ultimately ends up in a pile of destruction and chaos, after initially enjoying the "planned" set display for 22-38 seconds. As many of us have experienced- you don't have to touch, breath, or feel a UCS Tumbler- just think about it alone, and panels start to crumble off. Just imagine such a set with a 3-year old boy who's sole ambition in life is to combine MY Tumbler with ALL of his Series 3 Mixels. This is a recipe for failure. And a battle I lose consistently. I wear MY Lord Business badge not with shame- but with honor. You'll know you've raised them right when they apologize for adding a hodge-podge of Ninja Turtles garbage to the top of your Tower Bridge and Super Star Destroyer.

Stephen's being nice... No it's not an "open" forum. It's a website owned and operated by the Mack brothers who graciously provide us a small space on the Internet to discuss Lego investing with other like minded crazies. And respectfully, you're posting the same questions over and over across different threads and asking the same questions that have been asked dozens of times. Some of the old farts around here just get a little testy is all.... And ask that new members post helpful and meaningful things from time to time rather than just pointless comments. So to bring us back... Have you ever built the TB? Ours is still sitting half destroyed in a Rubbermaid bin after my partner dropped it. She built it so it was just her feelings that were hurt. It's such a big set to display that we've never had the itch to put it back together or finish dismantling it.

Holy crap, thanks for reminding me about these things. I totally forget I have some stashed away. Are they really going for $30 piece? I feel like I just found a few $100 bills in an old pair of pants.

I am still debating finally breaking down and getting a Fairground Mixer to collect dust until the Ferris Wheel comes out.

It makes me chuckle to see people worrying that ToO has new seals, might not be retiring soon, etc. Of all the sets you could worry about buying too early, buying a ToO in 2015 is not one of them.

Who is these days ><

I just picked one up from craigslist earlier this week. "New" but the box/seals look questionable. I hope I don't have a box of megabloks! I was going to tuck it away for investment but now I might just have to open it and build it....you know, just to make sure it's complete. [emoji14]

I for one welcome our new overlords. :)

Finally a Sith moderator! Use your hate, it gives you power....it give you focus!!! Congrats

It was epic. The Death Star held up better than the TB but the TB was dropped from at least six feet up. DS was only 18" from the ground.

Tower Bridge is falling down,Falling down, falling down. Tower Bridge is falling down, 'cause of my fair lady.

It'll never be sold, but yeah that's what I'm saying. The best is that I wasn't home and she left it like splashed across the dining room floor and very politely asked me if I could pick it up when I got home.

as for immediate growth soon after EOL ide say ToO .... its walking the plank and will probably have a hard time recovering this 2x points ... SHouse will be around for 2x VIP in Oct.

To be respectfully honest there was no need to bump this thread with a post like this. First, no one said it was going anywhere or that it was gonna do better than the town hall. Second you really don't know if it's going anywhere, you are just speculating like the rest of us.

Two Red Fives. They had about 8. Limit was 2. I asked if they had any "minty fresh" ones in the back and they said "no, that's all we have." Once I revealed I wanted duplicates and refused VIP and paid with cash, they treated me like a criminal. No smiles, no thank you or come back again. I didn't want to risk a ban or have them run out of Red 5 before I could make it back tomorrow. I sacrificed a few bucks but if these are the last ones off the line I'm a happy Brickpicker. It should be fun to see if the same workers will be there tomorrow.

Yay!

Happy birthday, Ed! We really appreciate all that you (and Jeff, and the mods) do for this site. Thanks for creating this place, and to your parents for creating you,,,,and ok, now its weird.

I don't do much quick flipping either... 20% yields better than a final 5% off since you don't pay tax on the savings.. Many American buyers also pay tax - not quite as high, but I think a few pay 8%-9% which is high enough. The one that kills me is all those extra stacking credit cards savings and rewards points they have in the US. We have the Air Miles cash now, but I really do use those for flying!! I just don't expect to compete with the US sellers. I managed to flip a few RIs and even a couple Mars Rovers to the US but generally, I expect slower sales to cheap-o Canadian buyers. Toys R US and Walmart have had a virtual monopoly on the toy market in many parts of Canada (and even more so TRU). That's one reason Target was so nice... TRU had some much better deals when Target started moving in. When the writing was on the wall, the sales and clearance deals also disappeared. I've come to learn the Canadian eBay market is fickle.. certain things they'll gladly pay extra for, others not so much. Where I've been doing OK up here is dealing in the more expensive sets. As small time businesses or whatever you operate as, people who buy from you on eBay are going to look at two things: 1) Shipping Costs - Small parcels are cheaper to send from the US to Canada than Canada to Canada. The larger parcels can become just as expensive. - Canada Post charges dimensional pricing very quickly so having the right size box can easily save you good money on shipping. - By using PayPal and Expedited shipping, you can cut about 10% off the shipping costs in Canada (and have a great service) - don't believe what Canada Post says are their posted Venture One rates. That is a 5% savings but going through PayPal is another 5% or so which also helps with the fees. 2) Import Costs - Of course the crappy exchange rate is helpful to any old stock you may have lying around... many of us got a 10-15% bump in value on some sets just by the change in exchange rate. - GSP (as much as I hate it for buying) is great for selling within Canada. The brokerage fee charged on top of the taxes are ridiculous and the average buyer doesn't realize you pay taxes on anything being imported over $25 so when they're so front and center, it encourages them to buy in Canada. ** Edit - why this matters.. as a business that doesn't do $30k in annual sales, you don't have to charge tax. Canada Post could care less about that and they very rarely forget to collect the tax on delivery. ** We also buy a lot (too much) Lego for our own consumption... 20% is acceptable for a lot of them especially since we didn't know any better when we started buying Lego again for our kids. Reselling in Canada isn't for the faint of heart... long term holds is my main play and I sometimes hope for just a little luck.

I still remember sitting in the movie theater watching the Lego movie for the first time. Will Ferrel comes on screen in the basement with his son. Lord Business and a Creative Boy. It was a moment of reckoning I will never forget. My son and I stopped watching the movie looked at each other and said that's you. I am the dad Lord Business who must build by the book everything and keep it neat and organized. He was the boy who tears sets up and builds beautiful creations from them far more imaginative then I could. We both went back to watching the movie after a minute of epic foundation shaking of our worlds and it is one of our favorite movies. How do you deal with it? Embrace it. Realize to truly build beautiful things they need more than a Creative Tower box of bricks. They need mini figures and unique set pieces that only come in sets or brick linked. More than the pick a brick wall. Realize you are who you are and set up boundaries on which sets can be demolished and mixed and which can't. Build your sets your way. Let them totally destroy and mix mini figures, really unique pieces in sets and come up with wonderful creations. Everyone is happy. Life is good. Carry on.

Not too exciting compared to what some of you guys pick up but my biggest one time purchase since my 4 R2D2 in one shot. Today: 1 pet shop 1 palace cinema 2 lonely mountains All near mint boxes and the assistant manager gave me a Hoth Han (which I didn't have yet) instead of the bionicle poly.

You should display your smashed TB with an avengers set mixed in- making it look like London was under attack.

Just received one from EU LEGO Shop at Home - seal 06S5

Most probably clicked it from the "recent topics/posts" section, so can't see what section it's in. General rule of thumb is to just throw "Canada" in any title in this section. I'll likely be putting orders on everything on backorder haha, i'll also be checking local store to see what they have today.

Was not aware, probably because i clicked the thread and saw Pseudoty's post. I blame him! haha. either way, happy double vip then and forget DE. Go Flames!

The buyers are eating them up because you're the cheapest. Other sellers won't match your pricing because they know there isn't much profit to be made at your price. Do as suggested above. You have to build your shipping and fees into the price. Side story that is related: Every once in a while on eBay or Amazon I'll see a new seller come in and undercut everyone at what I consider unsustainable pricing. Experienced sellers will hold or even raise their prices until the new seller sells out. Then business resumes as normal. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be the lowest. :)

And just like that the ToO is OOS...

When I picked up a couple Red Fives today they had to pull like 6 or 7 down off the shelf before I finally found two I was happy with. I can't imagine the Death Stars are in better shape unless they keep them sealed in the carton in the back. Full disclaimer: I ordered a DS off Shop at Home tonight. (edited for spelling mistake)

I am changing my investment strategy. I am sitting on a pile of these and I am trying to reduce my multiples of smaller sets. Besides, I'm not bullish on this set anymore. I think the hoard bought up all that was produced. I hope I'm wrong on this set because I have plenty to keep long-term. For now, I'm happy to convert 5 of these into 0.75 Red 5s. It will be interesting to see how these sets compare the weeks leading up to Christmas.

So what your saying is you have an extremely large lump of coals ahem lego bricks half assembled and half utterly destroyed in a plastic box with no motivation to rebuild it, redisplay it or break it down to store it or to verify it is complete and sell it. LOL. Above in Jest, Somewhat... ROFL

I am worried about this set. It isn't getting much love other than from the Mixel Wizard. If the carnival theme takes off, this first set could be a gem, no?

Less than a year old and going strong at $30, easy. Possibly one of the best Shop at Home offers ever (3x VIP was good too)? I hope LEGO offers some decent polybags later this year.

Now while the bridge works well stand alone, IMHO the SOH does not. After I built it I came to realize that it would benefit from having a bridge in the background :)

This is a great post. All Canadian Brickpickers should read this! Nice job

So, the 10231 that I built is still in the moving box from 3 years ago, but 60080 strikes me as extremely similar.

I'm glad I was able to contribute to something no one knew about I wonder if they would retire a set less then a year after it coming out. This might be the best chance to get it for such a low price. I will stick up

I think you could do OK with pairing certain, slightly less common figs (ie: Burns + Smithers). But avoid the 5 family members

Happy Birthday Ed Mack! Another year gone with another to pass. Nah, I know what Ed wants. I'm sending him some puppies!

Umm, I'm just going to take your word for it on that one. Well, unless you have a good soup I could try, I can't turn down a giant bowl of Chicken Noodle.

Or buy early and avoid the line altogether

Don't get caught off guard by 10188 Death Star disappearing. I don't think it really matters when it goes. I know it's a running joke, but if you want a few, don't lose sight of it. I thought it might be important to bring up, since Double VIP is beginning this weekend. I really don't care how long it's been out there, how many are stockpiled, etc. etc. This thing will remain a winner even when it finally drifts off into the sunset.

Ask them to add the new address to their paypal account and then ship away. Ex Astris, Scientia. All prices in US funds.

Welcome to BP! Now that kids are discussed lets talk about how you keep sets from girlfriends. Last year she got pissed off at her workplace and I went home to see a newly built Imperial Flagship. Three months later an Emerald Night followed. The latter is my fault because -1. did not tell her how expensive IF is so she assumed EN is cheap -2. that time I was the one who pissed her off.

A little bit of disciplining goes a long way ;)

I kragle them.... muhahaha I usually get two sets of everything... one to open and one to have my kids build. They get the 'beat up' boxed ones. lol I set my kids up so they know their stash and they know my stash and we all get along. (until mom tells them pick a set out and build it from dad's stash when dad was not home..... lol) Buy loose legos for the kids off of ebay or garage sales for them.

One of my TRU shipments. This box was 20 x larger than a Unimog w/ zero air bubbles.

Keep those stacks down to 10 - 12 sets each or you'll have some flattened modulars at the bottom to deal with in 24 months. Also note that a large cat weighs about as much as two GE's, so keep the stack a bit on the short side if the top set will be serving as a feline lookout tower. Had to learn all this the hard way. Can't believe Lego doesn't put helpful warnings like this in place of the useless "Don't feed pieces of your Fire Brigade to any child three years of age or less"...

All Hallows Keep by - Derfel Cadarn -