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This blog entry I struggled with the title, and considered a "while you were sleeping" title or something else to really convey how I felt about the current state of Lego investing. Unless one were sleeping, it is easy to see how the Tumbler 76023 has taken off. "The Horde" should be proud. While I am sure plenty of Tumblers ended up in the hands of little Timmy, the horde can pat themselves on the back for plowing though the last 4,000 copies that Target and Target-eBay had left in record fashion being the last retailer standing after LEGO Shop at Home, Walmart and other online retailers ran out of stock. Lets take a quick peak at some numbers. Tumbler 76023 - Retired - Retail $199.99 - current Amazon Buy Box (USA) - $324.99 (as of 11AM on 1/26/16) - Approximately 62% initial bump. Yes I know that it is not the most accurate barometer of price, but I have to pick something. It looks to be trending just under $300 on ebay, with multiple completed sales over $300. Ebay may be cheaper at the moment, but it isn't far behind. Merida's Highland Games 41051 - Retired Retail $19.99 - Amazon Buy Box (USA) $32.90 (11am 1/26/16) increase of approximately 62%. I picked this set because of the $19.99 buy in was easy to compare to the $199.99 of the tumbler. Both retired in the USA on the same day, both have exact same "bump" although if you were not sleeping, you noticed trends and were able to stock up on your princess quota. I was able to grab a fair amount of this particular set for around $7. They were 60% off an already marked down clearance price. To achieve the same returns, one's buy in on the tumbler would need to be around $70. Anyone manage that price without them falling off a pallet somewhere? Doubtful. WIth my $7 buy-in I am around 470% increase before fees shipping, and I am pocketing around 350% after fees shipping. The Tumbler would need to hit about $939 to realize similar gains if purchased at retail. This set is small, easy to ship, and I don't have to have a heart attack about scammers and shipping issues when I ship out a $900 tumbler. Other Notable Mentions Ariel's Amazing Treasures 41050 - Retired Retail $12.99 - Amazon Buy Box (USA) $28.88 (11am 1/26/16) - Approx 222% increase. This is only other retired Princess set in the USA. I personally picked up 10+ at steep discounts (more than 50%), so was sitting on 400% gain before I dumped mine late last year and at Christmas time. Sleeping Beauty's Royal Bedroom - Sold Out Retail $12.99 - Amazon Buy Box (USA) $17.50 (11am 1/26/16) - These were blown out at LEGO Shop at Home for $9, and are currently on sale at targets for $5 or so. For those looking to instantly triple up on an item and get started selling, solid choice here to get going. Cinderella's Romantic Castle 41055 - Available Now Retail $69.99 - Available pretty much everywhere. This is the gambling set right here. This set will retire eventually, but we could have another dolphin cruiser on our hands and have a set that won't die. I personally sold a few in the $130 range (on ebay) during Christmas 2014. I think that this is a reasonable goal for this set to reach within six months or less than retirement. I personally think that this one is done and Lego recently made "one last batch", and when current supplies are gone, we will only see limited restocks. As an experiment for this article I wanted to see how cheap I could acquire them in the USA without too many tricks. I was able to pick up 4 from Jet.com (seriously horrible business model) for around $43 each (38% discount), with no tax using a 30% off first order and opting for no returns. They shipped from TRU and they lost around $80 in the deal according to my attached invoice from TRU. Seal codes were 47R5 for those keeping track, so fairly fresh. For me this set only needs to now hit $86 for me to "double up" and I should be sitting pretty when it goes over $100. If we truely had power as a collective, we should be after this one in full force. Note: This article was written "for the horde" and all the new investors that are all over the Tumbler with gold and glitter and rainbows. There are other sets out there doing just fine, we just don't talk about it.

Probably I'm not the only one surprised by the early retirement of several quite recent Star Wars sets. I decided to make an overview of all non-polybag Star Wars sets in Europe and in the United States. The list below is the result. It is divided in subs '2013', '2014', 'January 2015', 'during 2015'. At least in the Netherlands you can find toy stores that still have some of these retired and Shop-at-home-sold-out sets, some even from 2013. Hopefully you will find this list useful in your shopping efforts. Collecting and investing conclusions: below list. This list was last updated 25 March 2016. Updates can be seen under the list. 2013 Number Name Price in USD Europe United States Miscellaneous 75000 Clone Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 705 days 75001 Republic Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 743 days 75002 AR-RT $19.99 Retired product Retired product US: 707 days 75003 A-Wing $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 701 days 75004 Z-95 Headhunter $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 707 days 75005 Rancor Pit $59.99 Retired product Retired product US: 717 days 75006 Jedi Starfighter & Kamino $9.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 350 days 75007 Republic Assault Ship & Coruscant $9.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 431 days 75008 Tie Bomber & Asteroid Field $9.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 340 days 75009 Snow Speeder & Hoth $9.99 Not on the site Not on the site UK: 119 days 75010 B-Wing Starfighter & Endor $9.99 Not on the site Not on the site UK: 152 days 75011 Tantive IV & Alderaan $9.99 Not on the site Not on the site UK: 179 days 75012 BARC Speeder with side car $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 732 days 75013 Umbaran MHC Mobile Heavy Cannon $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 743 days 75014 Battle of Hoth $49.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 352 days 75015 Corporate Alliance Tank Droid $19.99 Retired product Retired product US: 487 days 75016 Homing Spider Droid $29.99 Retired product Retired product US: 486 days 75017 Duel on Geonosis $39.99 Retired product Retired product US: 487 days 75018 Jek-14's Stealth Starfighter $69.99 Retired product Retired product US: 489 days 75019 AT-TE $89.99 Retired product Retired product US: 494 days 75020 Jabba's Sail Barge $119.99 Retired product Retired product US: 519 days 75021 Republic Gunship $119.99 Retired product Retired product US: 516 days 75022 Mandalorian Speeder $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 485 days 75023 Star Wars Advent Calendar $39.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 83 days 75024 HH-87 Starhopper $39.99 Retired product Retired product US: 533 days 75025 Jedi Defender-Class Cruiser $89.99 Retired product Retired product US: 501 days 10236 Ewok Village $249.99 Available Out of stock US: exp. 30 days 10240 UCS X-Wing Red 5 $199.99 Retired product Sold out (US: 893 days) 2014 Number Name Price in USD Europe United States Miscellaneous 75028 Clone Turbo Tank $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 441 days 75029 AAT $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 337 days 75030 Millennium Falcon $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 440 days 75031 Tie Interceptor $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 439 days 75032 X-Wing Fighter $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 438 days 75033 Star Destroyer $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 340 days 75034 Death Star Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 618 days 75035 Kashyyyk Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 617 days 75036 Utapau Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 615 days 75037 Battle on Saleucami $14.99 Retired product Retired product US: 632 days 75038 Jedi Interceptor $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 607 days 75039 V-Wing Starfighter $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 283 days 75040 General Grievous' Wheel Bike $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 650 days 75041 Vulture Droid $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 364 days 75042 Droid Gunship $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 642 days 75043 AT-AP $59.99 Retired product Retired product US: 617 days 75044 Droid Tri-Fighter $29.99 Retired product Retired product US: 676 days 75045 Republic AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Cannon $39.99 Retired product Retired product US: 658 days 75046 Coruscant Police Gunship $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 664 days 75048 The Phantom $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 452 days 75049 Snow Speeder $29.99 Retired product Retired product US: 490 days 75050 B-Wing $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 476 days 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter $59.99 Retired product Retired product US: 482 days 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina $69.99 Retired product Retired product US: 471 days 75053 The Ghost $89.99 Retired product Retired product US: 483 days 75054 AT-AT $99.99 Retired product Retired product US: 472 days 75055 Imperial Star Destroyer $129.99 Retired product Retired product US: 452 days 75056 Star Wars Advent Calendar $39.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 37 days 75058 MTT $89.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 511 days 75059 UCS Sand Crawler $299.99 Available Available JANUARY 2015 Number Name Price in USD Europe United States Miscellaneous 75060 UCS Slave I $199.99 Available Out of stock US: exp. 7 Apr. 75072 ARC-170 Starfighter $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 325 days 75073 Vulture Droid $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 331 days 75074 Snowspeeder $9.99 Available Available 75075 AT-AT $9.99 Available Available 75076 Republic Gunship $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 305 days 75077 Homing Spider Droid $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 330 days 75078 Imperial Troop Transport $12.99 Available Available 75079 Shadow Troopers $12.99 Available Available 75080 AAT $24.99 Retired product Sold out (US: 346 days) 75081 T-16 Skyhopper $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 330 days 75082 Tie Advanced Prototype $39.99 Available Available 75083 AT-DP $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 323 days 75084 Wookiee Gunship $69.99 Retired product Retired product US: 332 days 75085 Hailfire Droid $19.99 Available Available 75086 Battle Droid Troop Carrier $39.99 Available Available 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter $39.99 Available Out of stock US: exp. 21 Apr. 75088 Senate Commando Troopers $12.99 Available Available 75089 Geonosis Troopers $12.99 Available Available 75090 Ezra's Speeder Bike $19.99 Retired product Retired product US: 347 days DURING 2015 Number Name Price in USD Europe United States Miscellaneous 75091 Flash Speeder $29.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75092 Naboo Starfighter $49.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75093 Death Star Final Duel $79.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tyderium $99.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75095 UCS Tie Fighter $199.99 Available Out of stock Av. from 3 May US: exp. 3 Apr. 75096 Sith Infiltrator $89.99 Available Available Av. from 2 Aug. 75097 Star Wars Advent Calendar $39.99 Retired product Not on the site US: 58 days 75099 Rey's Speeder $19.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75100 First Order Snowspeeder $39.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75101 First Order Special Forces Tie Fighter $69.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75102 Poe's X-Wing Fighter $79.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75103 First Order Transporter $89.00 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75104 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle $119.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75105 Millennium Falcon $149.99 Available Out of stock Av. from 5 Sept. Exp. 3 Apr. US 75106 Imperial Assault Carrier $129.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75107 Jango Fett $19.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75108 Clone Commander Cody $19.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75109 Obi-Wan Kenobi $24.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75110 Luke Skywalker $19.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75111 Darth Vader $29.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75112 General Grievous $34.99 Available Available Av. from 9 Sept. All data were first gathered on the 25th of January 2016, except the Ewok Village and Red 5, which data were gathered on the 27th of January 2016. Data thereafter amended corresponding to the updates listed below. References: Brickset, Brickpicker and Lego Shop at Home. Exp.: "expected shipping in case item is out of stock". Av.: "first date of availability of a set". With retired sets, the number of available days is given. Green: more than two years availability. Orange: one to two years availability. Red: Less than one year availability. Updates 27 January 2016 10236 Ewok Village and 10240 X-Wing Red 5 were added. Thanks @fossilrock for the tip. 75058 MTT: changed from 'retired' in Europe to 'temporarily out of stock, retiring soon' in Europe. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'available' in the US to 'out of stock, expected shipping Feb. 10 2016". 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'out of stock' to 'available' in Europe. 75060 Slave I: changed from 'out of stock, exp. 29 Jan.' to 'exp. 9 Feb.' in Europe. 75079 Shadow Troopers: changed from 'out of stock, exp. 30 days' to 'exp. 7 Feb.' in US. 75094 Tyderium Shuttle: changed from 'exp. 26 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75095 UCS Tie Fighter: changed from 'exp. 26 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75099 Rey's Speeder: changed from 'exp. 26 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 29 Jan. to 'available' in Europe. 28 January 2016 10240 X-Wing Red 5: changed from 'temporary out of stock' to 'retired' in Europe. Note: was only 'temporary out of stock' for a few days; previous status: 'retired'. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'out of stock, expected shipping Feb. 10' to 'exp. Feb. 12' in US. 75075 AT-AT: changed from 'out of stock, expected shipping 29 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75101 First Order Special Forces Tie Fighter: changed from 'out of stock, exp. shipping 29 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'temporary out of stock' to 'available' in Europe. 29 January 2016 10236 Ewok Village: changed from 'temporary unavailable' to 'available' in US. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 12 Feb.' to '13 Feb.' in US. 75060 UCS Slave I: changed from 'exp. 7 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'exp. 26 Jan.' to 'available' in EU. 75079 Shadow Troopers: changed from 'exp. 7 Feb. US' to 'available' in US. 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Mar.' in US. 75096 Sith Infiltrator: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to '17 Mar.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 13 Feb.' in US. 30 January 2016 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 11 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'available' to 'temporary OOS' in EU. 31 January 2016 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'exp. 11 Feb.' to 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 6 Feb.' to 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 1 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 1 Mar.' in EU. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 13 Feb.' to '14 Feb.' in US. 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'exp. in 30 days' to '14 Feb.' in US. 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: changed from 'exp. 17 Mar. to '15 Feb.' in US. 75096 Sith Infiltrator: changed from 'exp. 17 Mar." to '15 Feb.' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. in 30 days' to 'exp. 6 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'exp. 13 Feb.' to '14 Feb.' in US. 2 February 2016 75060 UCS Slave I: changed from 'exp. 9 Feb.' to '8 Feb.' in EU. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 6 Feb.' to 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'temporary unavailable' to 'available' in EU. 3 February 2016 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: changed from 'exp. 15 Feb. to '14 Feb.' in US. 75096 Sith Infiltrator: changed from 'exp. 15 Feb. to '14 Feb.' in US. 75095 UCS Tie Fighter: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 8 Feb.' in EU. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. in 30 days' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'available' to 'temporary unavailable' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'available' to 'temporary unavailable' in EU. 4 February 2016 10236 Ewok Village: changed from 'exp. 9 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 75058 MTT: says 'temporarily unavailable, retiring soon' but when clicking on entry it says 'sold out' in EU. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 14 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75060 UCS Slave I: changed from 'exp. 8 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'exp. 14 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: changed from 'exp. 14 Feb. to 'available' in US. 75095 UCS Tie Fighter: changed from 'exp. 8 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 76096 Sith Infiltrator: changed rom 'exp. 14 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 10 Feb.' in EU. 75107 Jango Fett: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75111 General Grievous: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 5 February 2016 75058 MTT: changed from 'temporarily OOS retiring soon OR Sold out' to 'Sold out' in EU. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 19 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'exp. 14 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 10 Feb.' to 'exp. 10 Feb.' in EU. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 6 February 2016 75058 MTT: changed from 'sold out' to 'not on the website' in EU. 7 February 2016 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 19 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb. OR 19 Feb.' in US. 8 February 2016 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 1'9 Feb.' to 'exp. in 30 days' OR '18 Feb.' in US. 75060 Slave I: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in EU. 9 February 2016 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. in 30 days' OR '18 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'exp. 10 Feb.' to 'exp. 25 Feb.' in EU. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 10 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75060 UCS Slave 1: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75082 Tie Advanced Prototype: changed from 'available' to 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 11 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 'exp. 26 Feb.' in US. 75060 UCS Slave I: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 'exp. 26 Feb.' in US. 75085 Hailfire Droid: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 17 Mar.' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 'exp. in 30 days' to 'exp. in 30 days' OR 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 12 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 26 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75060 Slave I: changed from 'exp. 26 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 30 days' in US. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 14 February 2016: no changes vs. 12 February. 13 February not checked. 15 February not checked. 16 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 29 Feb.' in US. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 1 Mar.' to 'exp. 24 Feb.' in EU. 75060 Slave I: changed from 'exp. 19 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 75082 Tie Advanced Prototype: changed from 'exp. 30 days' to 'exp. 29 Feb.' in US. 75085 Hailfire Droid: changed from 'exp. 17 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 30 days' to 'exp. 29 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'exp. 25 Feb.' to 'exp. 24 Feb.' in EU. 17 February 2016: no changes. 18 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: from 'exp. 24 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 22 February (19-21: not checked) 75059 Sand Crawler: from 'exp. 29 Feb.' to 'exp. 5 Mar.' in US. 75082 Tie Advanced Prototype: from 'exp. 29 Feb.' to 'exp. 5 Mar.' in US. 75093 Death Star Final Dual: from 'available' to 'exp. 6 Mar.' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: from 'exp. 29 Feb.' to 'exp. 10 Mar.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: from 'exp. 24 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 1 March (22-29: not checked) 75059 Sand Crawler: from 'exp. 5 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75082 Tie Advanced prototype: from 'exp. 5 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75093 Death Star Final Dual: from 'exp. 6 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: from 'exp. 10 Mar.' to 'exp. 14 Mar.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: from 'available' to 'exp. 13 Mar.' in US. 25 March (2-24: not checked) 10240 Ewok Village: from 'available' to 'exp. 30 days' in US. 75034 Death Star Troopers: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75035 Kashyyyk Troopers: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75036 Utapau Troopers: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75037 Battle on Seleucami: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75040 General Grievous' Wheel Bike: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75043 AT-AP: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75044 Droid Tri-fighter: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75045 Republic AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Cannon: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75045 Coruscant Police Gunship: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75049 Snowspeeder: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75050 B-Wing: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75053 The Ghost: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75054 AT-AT: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75058 MTT: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75060 Slave I: from 'available' to 'exp. 7 Apr. in US. 75072 ARC-170 Starfighter: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75076 Republic Gunship: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75077 Homing Spider Droid: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75081 T-16 Skyhopper: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75083 AT-DP: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75084 Wookie Gunship: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: from 'available' to 'exp. 21 Apr. in US. 75090 Ezra's Speeder Bike: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75095 UCS Tie Fighter: from 'available' to 'exp. 3 Apr. in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: from 'exp. 14 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: from 'exp. 13 Mar.' to 'exp. 3 Apr.' in US. Conclusions and perceptions (attention, SPOILER ALERT as regards which vehicles aren't featured in the new Star Wars movie!) In 2013 there were 26 new Star Wars sets. All have been retired or at least can't be found on LEGO Shop at Home anymore. In 2014 there were 30 new Star Wars sets. In Europe all of these but the UCS Sand Crawler have already been retired. The Sand Crawler is out of stock until tomorrow (expectedly). The Sand Crawler is also the only available set in the United States. The 'sold out' sets will probably retire soon. Whether the Sand Crawler (the last surviving Star Wars set of 2014) will be retired soon, isn't clear. On the one hand, it's a special set (UCS). On the other hand, it isn't featured in The Force Awakens. I recommend you don't wait too long to buy this set, just to be sure. If you happen to find any 2013 or 2014 sets on the shelves of your local toy store, now is probably your last chance to get them. Beginning 2015 there were 20 new Star Wars sets. Remarkably, 9 of them have already retired, 1 sold out (in Europe). Several of the other sets being out of stock and none of them having specific reference to the new movie, it seems likely the remaining half of these sets will be retired soon. If you can find a retired 2015 set in your shop, now is the time. These will probably become collector items, having only been available during 1 year. Out of those sets I personally have highest expectations of 75083 AT-DP. During 2015, 21 sets were issued. 7 of them deal with subjects found in the new movie. For easy reference, these are marked blue in the above schedule. Half of these sets are out of stock in Europe. I personally see this as an early retirement warning (especially for the non-Force-Awakens-sets), but opinions on this may differ. For the sake of completeness: no sets exist for numbers 75026, 75027, 75047 and 75061 to 75071. According to Brickset, 75057 is going to be a 2016 Marvel set (?) and 75098 is going to be a 2016 Star Wars set. View full blog article

When I first got into LEGO as an AFOL I was looking at all of the Star Wars sets that I had missed and how much they cost. It became necessary to figure out a way to get the sets cheaper or make more money. I knew that some people must be making money buying bulk lots and taking out the stuff they wanted and selling the rest. That seemed like 2 birds with one stone. I looked at the bulk lots on Ebay, realizing that most of what I would get from these guys were common pieces. So I started looking at bigger lots, somewhat intimidated by their cost. I figured, however, if an Ebayer was getting $10 for a pound maybe I could make some money just throwing stuff in a box, easy money. I made a purchase of about 50 lbs for about $350 because I saw some Star Wars sets and minifigures in there. Oh boy, easy money and some treasures of my own. Boy, was I wrong. The money is anything but easy. I quickly discovered that out of my 50 lbs of mixed LEGO, at least 5 lbs were easily recognizable as not building bricks at all. Tinker toys, K'Nex, Hot Wheels, plastic army men, broken action figures, Lincoln logs, playing cards, thumb tacks, thorny burrs and even broken glass was mixed into the ABS blocks. On top of all that junk, the real problems started. All of the Mega Blocks, BTR, and assorted knock off blocks knocked another 5+ lbs out of the lot. That's at least 20% of my precious blocks that was basically trash. As you filter through, you discover broken bricks, severely teeth marked ones and yellowed pieces. profits are getting slimmer by the minute. Ok, so I regrouped and focused on the sets that were obviously present. I pulled out the stuff I immediately recognized most of a TIE Interceptor, a little car, Jedi Interceptor with Hyperdrive ring, half an ARC Fighter, etc. All of these I scattered around me like ancient peoples paying homage to their creator. How do I go from lots of partial sets to lots of complete sets that I can flip to make back the money that I sunk into this thing? Well first I needed to figure out what was missing. So, I looked at instruction books to see what steps I needed to take to complete them and what pieces were missing from there. Utter bust. That's an awful way to do it. So I took apart the sets I had figured out and checked the inventory against Bricklink. I discovered what was missing, and that sometimes kids substitute pieces in the middle of a build. Now that I knew what was missing, time to turn back to 20 lbs of assorted bulk. digging through mixed bricks looking for the piece or pieces I need was time consuming and futile. Time to sort them out to make it easier. My wife and I sorted that 20 lbs of pieces by color. We had 10+ bags of pieces separated loosely by color (old and new colors mixing futilely.) That made it easier to look for pieces, but still sometimes wasting a lot of time trying to pick out a small piece in a big bag. After exhausting my patience, I turned to Bricklink to acquire the pieces I needed, dumping more money into this hole. Eventually I sold a bunch of sets I made from this and a few other bulk lots. Between the Bricklink orders I placed to complete them and the fees and shipping, I think I made some money. My book keeping was pretty terrible. But it all taught me some things. Some of these things I learned could help some people just starting out trying to find treasure in Bulk lots. STEP 1: Valuation So, you're looking at a bulk lot that you found on Craigslist, Ebay, a garage sale, another auction or whatever. How should you evaluate it? Weight: The volume of pieces will tell you roughly how much is there. 2 lbs = not a lot. 25 lb = a lot. Since you're not buying the sets one by one, you have to immediately realize that you are going to be getting dead weight in addition to the treasures that you seek. Visible sets: Any visible set that you can place is good. That will give you an immediate idea of what you can make out of the lot. No visible sets or parts of sets means that there may or may not be gold in there. Minifigures: If minifigures are present that's good. If licensed minifigures are present, that's even better. a loose rule I use is to look for flesh colored minifigure heads and hands. Sure there's some dummies in that group, and some good figures that have yellow heads and hands, but it's a good starting point. Instructions and boxes: Both of these are a good gauge to show you what sets may be present, but could be red herrings. Sometimes the instructions stick around long after the main components of a set are lost. Non LEGO stuff: There's always some detritus. The flotsam and jetsam of stuff that parents scoop up into the boxes. The most common stuff is non LEGO bricks. They're not always easy to pick out at first glance, but they're usually there. What you are looking for is how much of the lot is obviously not LEGO. Do you see doll parts, nerf darts, Pokémon cards, buttons, etc.? usually this is a good sign to me. It means no one has searched it. but it is a pain to filter through. Filth: Sometimes you can see how dirty and played with the bricks are. Most bulk will be dusty or dirty. Some will even have paint or marker on them. So with these factors, let's talk about how they factor into the valuation. an average lot is usually in the $4-$6 per lb range. Average lots show some partial sets, some minifigures, maybe a few instructions, relatively clean, with not a lot of obvious non LEGO stuff. Depending on the quality and quantity of the better stuff, you might increase your valuation, but remember you're not paying top dollar for what you see, because there's still a lot of work to come. Plus, you're going to get some amount of stuff you don't want. I have been known to go as low as $2-$3 a pound for stuff that had no obvious sets, mediocre looking or no obvious minifigures and excess junk. Then again, I have gone as high as $10 a lb for lots of minifigures and several mostly complete sets of some value. Some people stick to a hard $5 lb. Some lots of only minifigures I have seen sold for close to $100 lb. Figure out your comfort level and stick to it. Be prepared to have wasted your money on a big group of Mega Blocks. STEP 2: Sorting and figuring out what you have Once you get the lot, now you have to do something with it. Boxes full of bulk sitting in the garage is just hoarding. You're doing this to make your money work for you. So, I start by trying to pull out all the non LEGO, but also anything that gives me a good idea of what is there. Pull out minifigures, instructions, partial sets and set them aside. I bag the partial sets, with the minifigures and instructions wherever possible. I would never again sort by color. Finding a red 1x1 modified tile with clip in a big bag of red parts is much harder than looking through a bag of 1x1 modified tile with clips of assorted colors. Instead I start by throwing all the flats in one box. Slopes go in a second box. Bricks are a third box, etc. It's the most general sorting at first. As I go, I look for unique identifiers of sets like printed pieces or unusual shapes. Once the initial sorting is accomplished, I sort again by element. STEP 3: Completing sets The best way to make back the bulk of your purchase price is to complete the sets that you received. Some people will complete everything that they can, others disdain anything below a certain dollar amount. It's up to you how far down the rabbit hole that you are going to head. Once you get your sets, you need to figure out what is missing. Even if the set looks complete, it is best to verify. Some people will make substitutions in the middle of a set. Your customers may not appreciate substitutions, especially if there are megablocks in the middle of a build. So, it's time to take them apart to verify the inventory. If the sets are partial, you definitely should take them apart to figure out how much is missing. Look through your new bulk to see if you can find the rest. Focus on the expensive sets first. Check through your minifigures, instructions, and interesting pieces to see what sets may have been broken down entirely and see if they are worth reconstituting. You could do another survey of your bulk to see if the seemingly random bulk is hiding some treasure. I look for the part numbers on the interesting pieces. Finding the part number can be difficult, since it's usually inside of the LEGO piece and hard to spot, except with the right light. If the piece appears in multiple sets, I check for context with other pieces in the lot. Again, the interesting pieces generally have a unique shape, sticker or printing. If you can't complete them this way, or even with other bulk you might have, then you have to decide if sinking some more money into them is worthwhile. Does spending $10, $20, or $50 more make sense? Only you know for sure, but you've already dug a hole into your resources and time. It's either keep digging, or see if you can punt it off somewhere. I tend to try to get as many sets working at a time as I can. Hopefully this will help me to get the most missing pieces for the least orders. STEP 4: Dealing with the true bulk You're going to have leftovers after you pull out the stuff that is easiest to sell. You have several options. You could write it off. Put it back in a box and donate it or stick it in the garage, hoping to forget about it. This is generally the least appealing option to me. I've put time and money into this, so I want to recover something more than the tax write off or another box in the garage. Sell it as bulk. You could try to recover something from it by selling it all as a big lot, or even breaking it up into more manageable 1, 2, 5 or 10 lb lots. There's a lot of competition that way, but it's not super hard to do. Save the pieces to help you complete other sets in your next bulk lot. This is appealing because you already have it on hand. There's no guarantee that it will do the job, but at least you have a chance to cut down on further expenses. Sell the pieces individually through Bricklink or Ebay or some other venue. This is the most time consuming way to do it. It's also the way to get the most total value from the pieces, eventually. A lot of pieces may not sell quickly if at all, but you have a higher return on every piece that does sell. So, after all of that. You have to figure out whether it was worth it. If you made some money, or got some stuff that you wanted for less than the going rate, it will give you that rosy glow. It's fun to initially dig through all of that stuff searching for buried treasures. When you find something, it really does feel like it's all worthwhile. In the long hours of sorting, searching for pieces, and waiting for Bricklink orders it may be less fun. Waiting for the stuff to sell to recoup your costs is even less fun than that. I like to do it, but at the end of the day, the monetary returns vs. my time may not be the best. It may be the worst paying job that I have ever had. You really do need to have a plan for evaluating what you are buying and for dealing with it once you do. If you've never done it before, it may be overwhelming. It will take a little while to get more proficient. It's definitely not a quick buck, but money is there to be had. If you are disorganized, if you lose patience, if you don't have the time,you're just throwing money into a hole. May the bricks be ever in your favor. pictures are used to demonstrate example bulk lots from real auctions.

Where Are They Now? is an ongoing blog series dedicated to analyzing specific high-profile Lego sets that have been targeted for investment and sold out / retired a year or more in the past. The idea is to review and summarize a wide range of investment factors surrounding the set a few months before, during, and after it stopped becoming available at retail prices... then look at the financial performance of the set thus far, and perhaps discover a clue about future growth and/or similar sets yet to retire. I absolutely have to begin with the Lego exclusive set that blew the doors off the investment world in Fall of 2014: Town Hall. Released: March 2012 Last Available (US): October 2014 Months Availabile: 31 Retail Price (US): $199.99 Pieces: 2766 Minifigures: 8 A Little History The modular building series, starting in 2007 with Cafe Corner, quickly became extremely popular with both AFOLs and investors, rivaling Star Wars UCS as the well known "Top of the Line" Lego sets. Those first two buildings, including Green Grocer, were only available for a little over 2 years each which helps explain their astronomical appreciation. However, by the time late 2014 arrived, a pattern had obviously been established in most investor's minds that the rest of the series was sticking around approximately 4 years per set. Fire Brigade had departed in late 2013 after 4 years, Grand Emporium was several months past its 4th anniversary (and expected to retire), and Pet Shop had been available for 3.5 already. Virtually no one had Town Hall on their radar as a candidate for retirement at the time. A few savvy individuals opened their eyes in Spring 2014 when it went temporarily out of stock, but the vast majority were non-believers and focused their attention and wallets elsewhere. Popular Opinion This modular series centerpiece was also a poor seller in comparison to its brethren as it sat "gathering dust" on store shelves. Partial evidence of this fact was observed by many (including yours truly) that seal codes on these boxes were commonly a year or more old, while others in the modular series had been produced only a few months or even weeks prior to being offered at retail. Apparently Town Hall just wasn't selling. Take a look at the date stamps on posts 6 and 7 in the official Brickpicker thread to see how ignored this set was. Several possible reasons for the lack of popularity, especially as an investment, include: The $200 (US) price point - significantly higher than the other modular options available at the time. A large box that takes up significantly more space than other modulars. An arguably "ugly orange" / "boring" design, with less aesthetic appeal than many would like. Clear expectation that it would be available for at least another year. Now, Pay Attention... On Oct 1, 2014 Town Hall went to backordered status at LEGO Shop at Home, then Toys'R'Us online went out of stock. The next day, Target sold out, and Lego status when to Sold Out as well, followed by Walmart (all according to reports made in our Town Hall thread). Eyebrows were officially raised, especially given the then-recent quick disappearance of Haunted House, when many expected that set to stay widely available through Halloween. But still a large number of investors thought it was unwarranted panic, citing the double VIP point promotion as well as the in-and-out of stock "dance" that Grand Emporium had been doing for much of the year without actually retiring. That's when our illustrious troll-guru leader Ed Mack dropped an atom bomb disguised as a feather, on page 7: "Very soon, this will be the busiest thread on the site." Part Nostradamus classic, perhaps part self-fulfilling prophecy, this statement became more than true and the thread exploded over the next few days as investors and end users everywhere slowly but surely realized the huge ugly orange wedding chapel was actually going away... and maybe... just maybe... they wanted one (or several) after all. Last available on Oct. 4 from Lego US / Canada, occasional small batches of stock popped up at various retailers, both online and physical, for over a month... but you had to be very lucky or a truly dedicated soul (wearing out your F5 key or weaving scripting magic) to catch one of these opportunities. There was a final production run in weeks 38-39, corresponding to late September, that trickled out (primarily to resellers) during October. It seemingly was not too extensive, however. Show Me the Money! Meanwhile, eBay prices shot up into the $300-$350 range within a day.The Brickpicker Price Guide reflected this huge surprise retirement factor as New 10224 values reached $400 before Christmas and climbed steadily to the $530 range in Spring of 2015, before leveling off for several months. Some investors were happy to buy in at over 2x MSRP, predicting continued growth in late 2015, which simply hasn't happened. Still, the set currently shows a 25% CAGR, outstanding by almost any measure. New prices have seemingly stabilized around $550 on Amazon, $500 on eBay, and $450 on Bricklink for the time being. Brick Classifieds currently follows suit. A substantial increase in Used values occurred on eBay (U.S.) from around $250 to $400 late last summer, continuing up to $450 now. It should be noted that the rest of the eBay world seems to have an approximate 20% premium on New over Used sets, a much wider gap than the U.S., and certainly closer to "normal". However, average Used sales over the last six months are $400 on Bricklink as well, proving strong demand for opened Town Halls. Perhaps end users hit their financial limit later this year, choosing to accept pre-owned copies at nearly half the price instead... so many doing so, in fact, that buying competition drove the Used price up to nearly New values. Another factor could be that this set is quite difficult to piece together, reportedly commanding about $500 for all pieces and instructions (no box), before adding multiple shipping and handling charges. Do we assume New prices will begin the inevitable climb upward again soon? Or will Used values dip back down a bit first as Americans realize the relatively small difference right now? One would think the gap should widen again, one way or another. From a longer-term perspective, will there be another huge increase in Town Hall values at some point in the next year or two? Or will it simply rise steadily, seeking four-digit sales (then returns) closer to 2020? No one can say for sure, but it IS going to gain value again. The only questions are how fast and how far. Several seasoned investors believe this is one of a very small number of "special" sets released in the past few years that have the potential to reach the $1000 mark. Some optimists were even hoping it would approach that threshold in late 2015. The one wild card in the game which could completely invalidate such bullish predictions is the possibility of a remake. I certainly don't see that happening, but I doubt anyone could have guessed over a year ago that Winter Toy Shop would be remade, either. If Lego ever decided to duplicate Town Hall, the value of 10224 would obviously drop like a rock. What to Do with Mine? If you are holding and can afford it, my personal advice is to keep holding. The relatively low supply of this set compared to so many other exclusives should make it an even bigger winner in the long run. Simply out-waiting sellers who are happy to take 3x their buy-in is a path to more profit for the rest of us. As more and more of these get bought and opened, a sealed Town Hall will become more of a collector's item, vaguely similar to Cafe Corner and Green Grocer before it. Of course it will never catch those sets in value, but it is a virtual lock for the "bronze medal" of modular building investments. On the other hand, if you are a buyer who missed out... seriously consider looking for a current "deal" (whether new or used), and get yours soon. It is only a matter of time before this set keeps rising in value, and if there is another big jump, you will avoid several hundred dollars of regret by acting now. I believe we are in a temporary "lull" with Town Hall's value (especially New), and if so, the more buyers that take advantage of it, the sooner the lull will be over, financially benefiting those who do. I definitely do not recommend picking up this set at current prices as a pure investment anymore, however, as fresher and more predictable opportunities are widely available. The Big Picture: Above all, realize - if you don't already - that Town Hall in many ways kicked off the maelstrom of CHAOS representing a marked change in Lego retirement (and production) schedules. Many investors "learned their lesson" when caught empty-handed with(out) this set, and adjusted their strategies to accumulate target stock numbers on subsequent exclusives earlier and more gradually. Of course, some were doing this already, and happen to have been proven smarter in this particular case. One only need glance at Pet Shop, Death Star, Tower Bridge, and T1 Camper Van to see that a strategy which works best for one set may not work for others, however. Whatever your budget and investment angle, use the retirement of Town Hall as a reminder that anything can happen, and that when the truly unexpected occurs, historical gains may be had. Additionally, avoiding the herd/horde mentality is proving to be more and more of a wise choice, starting most noticeably in the months prior to the day of infamy when 10224 became the busiest thread on the site! Special thanks to the following individuals for suggestions and editing help: jaisonline

No quiet "moo moo" noises being heard regarding the 70810 MetalBeard's Sea Cow set. It's quite impressive when any set increases over 40% from MSRP ($249.99) within only 2 months of "availability" *. Currently, MISB prices are $350 on average (bricklink, amazon, ebay, brickpicker) * note: availability varied by region and retailer. While most Lego collectors and investments were buying sets such as The Tumbler, Death Star, Pet Shop and UCS X-wing in the closing months of 2015, 70810 was quietly going in and out of stock before disappearing. Not everyone was ignoring this set or quite by surprise of it's recent performance. Check-out the forum topic for this set (link below). So now that it's "retired", why the 40% jump in value in 2 months? "Supply vs. Demand" in my opinion. It appears Lego didn't produce as many 70810s as other Exclusive sets based on reported box tape seal codes. Maybe the set lost it's initial appeal. The Lego Movie debuted 2 years ago. Many of its features become available in cheaper sets such as 70816 Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP! and Emmit's 70818 Double-Decker Couch. There was also a larger version of Metalbeard available (70807 The Movie MetalBeard's Duel) The $250 cost was deemed too expensive. We may never know why this set was ignored by many at retail. One thing was certain, the majority of online 70810 reviews were positive. Regarding the long-term aspects, only time will tell if demand continues to make this set rapidly appreciate. The upcoming Lego The Movie sequel will most help as well as if Metalbeard appears in other Lego movies (Ninjago, Batman, etc...). For more information about this set, please visit the following brickpicker.com page and the original Designer Video. http://www.brickpicker.com/bpms/set.cfm?set=70810-1