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picked up these two sets today at an Estate sale in Mesa, AZ. #10195 IS BRAND NEW AND MINT. Other is opened and complete. $140 total.

Absolutely. I have exactly zero Death Stars by choice (except for the one in our personal collection). Since it seems this set is finally on it's way out, I am sure it will start to rise as expected, but several factors kept me away from investing in it. The high price point, the weight, the storage required, the looooooong retail shelf life with no end in sight, the potential for being scammed since it will sell at a premium, and the fact that it's more of a play set than a collectors item to be put on display. I felt there were several other exclusives that were safer plays for investing in so that's the route I took. That being said, like Ed mentioned, this is a great day for everyone who enjoys the gamble of investing in Lego, and I wish you all the best of luck. I'll have a lot of fun watching this one from the sidelines!

Short summary

It will probably fall back again a bit, but the SSD just hit $1000 lowest FBA price on Amazon.

Adults who don't know how to chew with their mouth closed....especially when they are eating potato chips.

sure. It's sold out.If you don't own one you'll have to spend 10%-15% over msrp.Since newer investors are dealing with veteran investors who have been stock piling for past 8 yrs roi will be longer for new investors ($280 buy in vs $399 etc)oh and what Darth_Raichu said.feel free add to list anyone.

What do we talk about now?

Couldn't resist adding a few more retired sets to the collection. $555 shipped for the pair.

for the new folks, this is a must read. Great blog from a member whose insight is missed on the forums as of late : http://community.brickpicker.com/blog/brickvesting/want-to-know-who-lego-drop-shipping-scams-negatively-affect-its-everyone/

I've been reading about the Death Star getting sold out yesterday & today but not one person on BP told me it was retired. I had to find out by watching a video...

OK... one more story. Same Walmart as that last one... so I go there today to find one last 75919 Indominus Rex for $99. I look it over... it's got a little pinching from the security spider but otherwise in great shape. I'm in a hurry, but luckily I find no one in line at the 20 items or less lane. I hand over my item. She scans it, and I get out my money. She starts working the security spider. Obviously she doesn't have much skill at it... she's struggling with it... she's straining. I see the wires pulled extra tight, digging deeper and deeper into the box edges... but I control myself. Now... instead of laying it down and working on a nice flat surface right in front of her (the conveyor), she decides to pick it up and jam it half-diagonal cockeyed between the conveyor, her knee, and the bagging carousel. She continues to work at it... twist it... tug it... veins are starting to become prominent on her forehead (and mine)... then I stop her, "WAIT a minute!" I lift the box out of her hands and show her... when she jammed it down on the bagging carousel, she actually had skewered the box onto one of those metal prongs that the bags hang from. There's a hole right in the middle of the back of the box the size of a quarter. "Oh... sorry... do you want to exchange that for another?"... "That's the only one you have," I tell her... and just walk away.

This must be the 'new, improved' DS I keep hearing about...

This happened w/ Phantom Menace too though. There was a huge buildup (bigger than Force Awakens for sure)----but guess what? Hasbro and every other manufacturer of Star Wars merchandise produced gazillions of product and it was, and still is, pretty much available at fractions of retail. Sure, there will be some rare gems that some manufacturer underproduces that will command a premium, but most of it will likely be Pyrite. X-mas will enjoy a nice spike, but I don't want masses to think it's going to be all glitter and confetti for resellers of Star Wars---it's not.

Well I am happy that it improved for you. They have a new caching technique in here to keep a lot of the load of the DB and web server. That is fine in theory, but it does hurt other areas of the site like the widgets on the main forum page and the widget I had at the bottom. It looks like the one that was at the bottom of all threads caused much of the delay as it wanted to update alot so you would hit it during an update and the page would not want to render until its done. This has been an on going discussion with the developers for about two months now. For now, I have just removed that bottom widget until some new update happens that might make that better for everyone.

I got a sealed 10217 Diagon Alley off CL for $140. Looking forward to building it with the family.

The Holy Hand Grenade by Alex Eylar

38 rocket raccoon/electro polybags, 4 raptor escape, and a 75003 A-Wing starfighter I found at BAM for myself.

I have something to share with you all. Although probably better suited for the Craigslist War Stories thread. In all the craziness of the last couple of days, and in the interest of sharing, I wanted to point you to a Craigslist ad that came up today in SoCal (Orange County and Inland Empire CLs): Yes, you read that right. $100 Death Stars! Unbelievable, right? We all know how it is - if it's too good to be true... So, I decided to screw around and see what happens. Because I'm a map guy, and maps are fun, I want to give you a idea about places that I'm talking about. Corona and Lake Elsinore, California. After it had been posted about 3 hours, I sent him a note - "I'm interested, I'd like to buy 2, can we meet in Lake Elsinore?" (The important part is LE is about 15 minutes south of him (which is about 30 minutes north of me). I don't hear anything back for an hour. So, I drop him another note, to sweeten the deal - "I'm actually interested in 4 of them." That finally elicited a response, after about 4 hours. Here was the response: Here's why the location was important. There's basically no cities or towns between Corona and Lake Elsinore. There's no reason he shouldn't know where a town 15 minutes away is located. What's even more interesting is that he doesn't say whether the DSs are still available...he just points me to another CL ad that's been making the rounds for the last couple of weeks down here. I responded back to his email right away with a "LE is only 15 minutes south of you on I-15; are they DSs still available?" That was 8 hours ago. Radio silence (no surprise). Anyway, just a cautionary tale to share for a good laugh.

I think the DS will do great in the near term. Yes, I'm keeping one for my family regardless. The sales figures are most convincing for me. I didn't go too deep, just comfortable deep. I'm risk averse by nature, so I may miss a few, but I do like the winners. Seriously, does anyone know a fan of Star Wars LEGO that hasn't wanted the Death Star at some point? Even those on the sidelines either have one or want one.

I have several thoughts to this. I was at a goal of 10, bought 6 more, worried about it each time I bought 2 more. I am not worried at all now. It could spike re appear for a while one or more places it may not. But I feel confident it is winding down. I can also say I am ecstatic about Red Five all the concerns about the new Poe's X Wing blowing it out of the water were completely unfounded. That x wing is nice but it does not look substantial. It looks like it has been on a diet. Good things for Red Five especially if it goes. Makes me want to get more.

Another 60062 Arctic Icebreaker for $49.84 after tax. Used 25% cc coupon, $45 worth of rewards coupons, and 10% TRUTH. 5.5% sales tax. The cashier had to do a double take when she saw the total...lol.

We already got Pluto (sized) DS:

In an attempt to add some humor; will this affect your username? Maybe walkingsausage would be more appropriate.

I certainly hope not. But if Toys R Us clearances those last big what are they Call of Duty megabloks sets I will be flipping them too. You are more right than you know LOL. My wife bought for me without me knowing or asking 2 boxes of the Star Wars lucky charms knock off a week ago one I will collect mint in the box (yes seriously not to eat) and one I had some of for breakfast this morning. Not bad. I also have had some type of the fruit snack or honey maid grahams or something that I was handed the box that has cut out collector cards on the back to collect. Speechless. We just need that police guy driving around in a circle from the beginning of Die Hard and the scene would be complete.

After reading the post about the Lego store I decided to call the store we have here in Honolulu myself and see what I could find out. So here is the deal - I called the Lego store and acted like a good ole dad just looking to finally buy the Death Star for my six year olds upcoming birthday. I told the guy that I had heard rumors through the internet that the Death Star was no more and I was worried because I have been waiting until my kid was the appropriate age to actually enjoy building the Death Star. After conversing with the dude for about five minutes about dad stuff, dad jokes, etc. I asked him if any were in stock. He told me that they sold out two days ago. Then I heard typing over the phone and he said "we have a shipment coming in the first week of August". I asked if I could put my name down and reserve one, he said no problem, took my name and phone number down. I now have one reserved at the Lego store in Honolulu for the first week of August. Not sure really what this means and I believe no one on this site knows what any of this means. What I do know is that these are not the droids you are looking for. Cheers. P.S. Pirates is the best line ever created by Lego.

I'm already seeing Star Wars cereal and chewy fruit snacks at Target. You are on it! It has begun!

It's a $30 sale, so i'll take the risk. Worst case scenario I lose $10. Thanks guys!

picked up a pair of Farnsworth (21009) for RRP, one to build one to hold. small shop in the mall near TRU has lots of old stuff, most of it not particularly interesting, but there are occasionally good finds. Also grabbed an ISD at TRU for $88 before points, and a couple trooper packs with $15 in surprise points at Kmart ($5 on one and $10 on the other).

Some people want to make things more complicated than it already is. Stop talking this high-level finance BS. All I know is that in Europe banks are starting to charge you holding fees and negative interest for money you put on your account. That is a serious reason for me to invest in plastic bricks. Stop about inflation. Cause most investments we have till now have been inflation proof. Some even out-perform inflation. If you would say that all sets with the same piece count are exactly the same you would be right. But we do not put a value on a legoset due to its weight of plastic. It is the scarcity, design, and license that puts in a bigger factor. I am happy with my DS's which I bought at a very nice discount. Even if I bought them 1 year ago. So less money is stuck in them. If you needed to rent a storage space and pay for it. Please do you accounting. But for me that is too ambitious. I use the space I have. The space I pay for no matter if and how I use it. Another factor for me is HOBBY. A hobby that makes me money. Nothing more nothing less.

Also keep in mind inflation is ~10% over the last 7 years. If you paid $400 7 years ago you actually paid $440 today.

Pretty sure he means the shipping box. It's a qood question I hadn't considered. I'm curious what other more experienced sellers say as well. Seems like having it sealed in the shipping box might be interesting to some buyers as it'd be more rare but also probably easier to get scammed that way. Personally, if I was buying 3rd party I would want to see the box art and seals to make sure I'm getting what I'm paying for.

Quick question, I visited my local LEGO store and picked up a DS yesterday. I had the clerk open the factory box so I could inspect the box inside. 3 boxes later I found one that was minty. All the others the exterior box was perfect with no dents or obvious signs that the contents would be damaged. So my question is as both a collector and investor....... Does opening the factory box effect value when you go to resell and if you don't and the buyer opens it to find its damaged could that ruin your reputation of selling what you believed to be a pristine set? Thanx guys

I think this is great advice. Mudcatsfan also put out some good points that same day regarding sell price vs. take home profit. I love the Death Star. It launched a few weeks before my son was born. He got one for Christmas when he was five, and that will probably live in our memories as the most magical Christmas ever. The little guy built it at least ten hours per day for five days in a row. And of course, for all the right "investor reasons" I love this set even more. But I only have 2 in my inventory. Could have gotten ten more in the last couple days, but decided against it. I would pretty much have had to get these at $427 (with tax). If I can sell one for $550 on ebay (or $565 on Amazon)... with fees, shipping and insurance, I might make $10 if I'm lucky. Price will have to hit $635 on ebay before I can even make 20%. And with so many of these being stored for so many years (and so many sold in the past week)... I just think it is going to be a long, long term investment. I hope I'm wrong. I hope it goes to $1000 by this time next year, and I'll be kicking myself. But just want to repeat (to the newer investors) some of the good advice I've seen here on this site... If you're thinking about "going all in" on the DS... think carefully about your rate of return, and your time horizon.

Lego Techniques: #3 Staggered Shingles by Sean and Steph Mayo

Poes x wing has made me very happy about this set indeed.

I've seen it done a few times before here, here, here, and here.

I now can officially call Prime day... Brown Wednesday! Overall a waste for most.

I keep waiting for that rock to break...

lol I did not buy a single thing today for amazon other than some household staples not on sale yesterday, I did plenty of damage for me.

Yep. That's why I only sell large sets out of my trunk in the parking lot of Big Al's Bait 'n Tackle (Big Al is a personal friend of mine, and helps out by monitoring the entire transaction through the scope of his .50). Cash up front, no muss, no fuss. On a related note, signature confirmation provides zero help versus item not as described claims. Also, it's no longer required (to fight non-receipt claims) by eBay or PayPal for any transaction under $750.

I think Ecto-1, Ferrari F40, Ewok Village, UCS Tie 75095, Simpson's House, Fairground Mixer, Mobile Crane 42009, Volvo 42030, need added

Seriously... if this won't become a winner we should all retire from this business.

Just remember how it was with SSD. DS could come out of "sold out" on LEGO Shop at Home July 30 Amazon could suddenly have a few in August. TRU could find a few pallets with seal codes from 2011

go console yourself with (8 Ecto's)x how many death stars you were going to buy. there now - don't you feel better? I predict DS will be the LEGO set that gets Amazon crankpot parents the most PI$$ED this holiday season - kudos to u fatman etc.

Class act sir, you are

I am guessing people are spending all their money on a big ball?

I think it's time we all move on. This is a great day for all of our members, regardless of whether or not people invested in Death Stars or not.

option 3 you don't care either way but keep buying and selling them while others decide if its retiring or not

I wonder if all the hate for Ewoks is based on age. I'm 34 and love this set and those Return of the Jedi scenes. That puts me at a very young age when ROTJ came out (3-4. So naturally a furry little Ewok would be fun and entertaining, especially when they manage to beat up all those storm troopers using handmade weapons. If, on the other hand, I was an adult, teenager, or even pre-teen when ROTJ came out, I'd probably think they were too childish for space warfare. The key to investing isn't what I believe...its what the market believes in. I think a lot of AFOLs in there 30s would love to have this set to build with their children or display proudly. I'd pay $400-500 easy to have a sealed one in my collection if it were already retired.