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Very excited to have received the 'Create a Bundle' prize today. (Had to put the package on hold as I was traveling.) Thank you for the generous prizes! Will have a fun weekend building some of these

I had an Asian Guy last month asking me three times if he could get a discount. After three no's from my end, he asked me to include a present to his order. I included a drawing by my five year old daughter.

Another arrival. Time to get building,

walmart site-to-store with pickup in tax-free NH purchased with some 4% off gift cards. ordered 2 because that's how many are supposed to come in a case. check. closer inspection reveals these bad boys are MINTY. check check. and quite stale - October 02, 2014. ruh-roh - not a lot selling. and these are from after walmart ran out and then restocked them this month. time to order some more . I Walmart Site-to-Store for bulk ordering big sets. No banning there. just give me your money - thank you and come again. ordering for shipping to home from walmart is a disasterously different story.

Jeff is recovering from Pneumonia. He has been working 12-14 hours a day at his real job for the past three weeks because they had to fire one of his co-workers for screwing up his company's entire database. Just sayin'. As for letting other people mess with his code. He does on many occasions, but the data and price guide is tricky stuff and takes a long time and is not so simple. If you let people mess with your code, they have the ability to screw it up as well. I agree that it would be great if the prices were updated on a regular basis and for the most part it is. Your plan sounds great, but it really doesn't work in the real world. I'm sure Jeff will address the update this weekend. Neither you, nor @Jeff Mack, owe any of us an apology @Ed Mack. Until this becomes a subscription based website, we don't get the right to complain about the manner in which the plethora of valuable services and information are delivered. Keep up the good work.

Ebay Gift card $95 for $100

Not just you. They act like I'm stealing from them. They seem to have no idea that they're one step away from being Kmart...

Pretty much finished up the fences, just missing a couple axles to connect them. Not sure i'll keep the yellow 1x4 caution tiles on the bottom on each fence, but i do think i need to add a bit of detail to the foundation, maybe just tile it. Also played around a bit with having 1 fence with some of the coils broken, also unsure if i like it or not, but i think the idea is good as it breaks up the monotony of the fences a bit. To connect the angled fence to the vertical one; i did have to break the rules by manually cutting some wand pieces down to fit. Axles did not align properly so i needed something i could bend easily. Result looks good though and doesn't appear to be "illegal" from looking at it I still can't get the road started as the Bricklink order i made that included the monorail tracks, did not actually include them so i need to wait for the seller to ship them out again. Still need the pieces for the Goat enclosure, T-Rex sign, couple foliage bits, and need to decide on the Lawyers pieces. Otherwise it's getting close to finished! I have not put all the pieces together yet to see how it looks, waiting until i have every piece i need to get the full effect of it. I like this one! Actually last night looking at the MOC, i realized the lawyer in full Tan would blend in too well to the Tan baseplates, so i decided to probably go for a light grey. And this is a cheaper alternative to getting the Indiana Jones figure.

That attitude will change when they start releasing things you have accumulated...

So your girlfriend tolerates Lego? She lets you indulge in your collection? She doesnt mind that you like "putting tiny bricks together as a grown man?" She doesn't draw frowny faces ): in permanent marker on every brown cardboard box she finds on the doorstep? And she even wants to build a 2,000+ piece exclusive on her own? And your biggest problem is ... which set she wants to build? .......... On an unrelated note, I am looking to unload a dozen used 24x20x6 boxes. They're in great shape but each one has a massive angry face /; drawn on it in black sharpie. Some faces are angrier than others.

Finally, received my box. Thank you so much. Here are a couple of pics of my prize.

Yall need to chill the eff out! I have a truth bomb to drop on all of you...........you don't need the brickfolio to be updated on the hour to know what your sets are worth. There is a filter on ebay called "sold" where you can see how much a set has sold for recently. So stop being so damn lazy and start crunching numbers. You can preface your comments all you want with " this site is so awesome but....." but in the end you just sound like some ungrateful f%$#s! Stop asking about the update. Grow up and do some work for yourself. For everyone else thank you for your patience. Sincerely, The super serious grumpy crusty salty MOD

Code "BRCFEB" Seems to work for $20 off $100 on Lego. I tried it on 3 hydra smash's and it applied. I didn't go all the way through the checkout though.

They do have some similarities...

Picked up 3 Falcons (75105) for $104.99 each...(gotta love the competitive price match) Is it just me or does everyone get the stink eye from people who ring you up?

I had no idea you thought those guys were real

Oh how these sets make me miss the 2015 vignettes.........

for all the leak-taking on it, GE's are selling within hours of listing on amazon at prices over 2x MSRP 16 months out from EOL. if that's "less less gain", i'll take it. The Tumbler is going to do very well next year when the 10 year anniversary of Ledger's passing and Dark Knight release whips up some Millennial teenage nostalgia. selling it now is good if you have to pay off your credit cards and get a free dinner a Chili's. it will be painful to read "What Set Did you sell today" thread next year and in the future though...

Alright, I put together some notes. Bear in mind this is just my experience and by no means definitive (or even 100% accurate for that matter). Ebay currently uses a search engine called “Cassini”. This was a relatively substantial upgrade, occurring sometime around 2013, as Cassini is much more akin to Google in terms of being “smart”. This was a tetonic shift in Ebay's search engine, and really means any pre-Cassini "Tips" should be disregarded. Rather than just pulling results based on keywords spammed into a listing title, it curates results based on likelihood of a best match based on a plethora of data points, from the listing title, item specifics, and description, etc. Worth noting that Cassini’s algorithm is naturally a closely guarded secret, and nobody knows exactly how it works. The other major impact of Cassini is it factors in your conversion rate – the percentage of people who purchase an item in your listing compared against how many view the listing. As a result, you need to be ever vigilant to avoid a listing that may pull highly in search results (think “New Lego Smaug!!!” for an unrelated product) but doesn’t result in many sales. Aside from Cassini, you need to be aware that Google is a major driver to your Ebay listings. Search for a Lego product in Google, and a well crafted Ebay listing will appear in the results. Hence your SEO (‘Search Engine Optimization’) needs to consider equal parts Cassini and Google. The following are key considerations for a listing that will maximize the visibility (coming up high in search results) as well as sales (coming up high in results that are actually looking for a product like yours). All in all the impact of Cassini is that your Conversion Rate is now the end all be all metric that you should be tracking and targetting (sidenote: a 2% conversion rate seems par for Lego on Ebay, while anything north of 10% is extremely strong). Worth noting conversion rates inherently apply to listings with a quantity >1, but it's believed Cassini accounts for your Conversion Rate *on the whole* (as a seller account generally) as well, and rewards/punishes your single-quantity listings accordingly. 1. Listing Title. Use keywords such as “Lego”, set/part number, set/part name, quantity (i.e., “x32”) for items in bulk, and condition keyword (other than “New” or “Used”). Avoid the temptation to use CAPS or adjectives (“New”, “LOOK!”, etc); both Cassini & Google tend to punish listings with these elements. My template tends to be as follows:x[quantity] Lego [element/set name] [theme] [elementID/set number] [designID] [alternative element names] 2. Item Category. Use appropriate Lego subcategory as accurately as possible. Unless you have 4+ variations, listing a “You Pick” style (Other Wholesale Lots category) is inadvisable. 3. Item Specifics. When possible, use Ebay’s Product Catalogue. This can work for some complete sets, but rarely works for parted-out sets or bulk bricks. Add specifics for Element ID, Design ID, Color, Size, etc. (particularly for lots of bulk bricks). Cassini & Google will both draw from anything in your Item Specifics as keywords, so don’t short change things here (and be as accurate as possible to avoid the trap of high short-term views, poor conversion, low long-term search results). 4. Item Description. Use your keywords in the first 1-2 sentences. Set the general font size to no larger than 12-pt, and put the keywords (culled from your item specifics / listing title) in 14-pt, and bold or italicize them. Cassini & Google will both disregard font larger than 14-pt, but will identify as keywords anything in a larger-than-body font and/or in special font style (bold, italic, etc). Apply any generic terms & conditions that apply to your sales in a 2nd paragraph. 5. Photos. Enough emphasis cannot be placed on this one – take live photos with a high resolution camera, and spend 2-3 minutes editing them for color/cropping/etc. Good photos can make up for a lot of shortfalls elsewhere, or sabotage doing everything else perfectly. 6. Store Categories. Use them. Further, go into the keyword builder and appropriately apply (accurate) keywords. Ebay/Google will utilize these fields in curating their search results. Ebay’s default settings are atrocious, so take some time on this front to apply befitting keywords that are generic to the respective Store Category (i.e., if you sell Minifigures, keywords such as “Lego, New, Used, Minifigure, Minifig, Collectible”, etc.). 7. Listing Format / Price. Fixed price is preferable to Auction. You should set a reasonable pricetag though based on the competition (and having done some quick research there for the “sold” price on similar items). Avoid using GTC on items until they have sold. If the item has not sold, it inherently has a poor conversion rate, and the conversion rate follows with the item as long as it’s listed. For items that have sold (and have a decent conversion rate), feel free to use GTC. Otherwise, let it expire as 7-30 days, and relist the item (having reviewed your listing and updating it as necessary); this resets your conversion rate for the listing and gives it “new life” in terms of coming up higher in search results. 8. Shipping. Anything under $20 I’ve found to be a poor option for “free shipping”. Charging a flat USPS-actual rate encourages individuals to buy multiple low-cost items. Make sure you’re taking advantage of the “combined shipping” and/or “promotional shipping” settings. I’d also recommend applying a “same business day” shipping time, but using a cutoff time (i.e., same day if sale is before 11am). 9. Returns. You’ll want to ensure you’re using Ebay’s 14-day moneyback return policy by default; consider setting it for 30-days if you want to distinguish yourself as having the utmost confidence in the quality of your product.

I have to admit that I am a fan of this ship. When I came back into LEGO collecting as an adult, I wanted Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter. I loved Star Wars, and I loved this ship. Sadly, it turned out that it was only available in the exclusive 7283 Ultimate Space Battle. I spent a lot of money bricklinking that set, only to be disappointed in how flimsy the build was. Eventually I got rid of the whole thing. I liked 9494 Anakin's Jedi Interceptor and 75038 Jedi Interceptor, but wondered if LEGO would ever revisit Obi-Wan's ship. As soon as this set was announced, my hands twitched to get one to build and review. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75135 Name: Obi-Wan's Jedi Interceptor Theme: Star Wars Parts: 215 Price: $24.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At 24.99 the price per piece works out to almost $.12 each. This is on the high/middle side of pricing for a licensed set. There are 2 minifigures. The minifigures are Episode 3 Pilot Obi-Wan Kenobi and R4-P17. Both figures are unique to this set. BOX CONTENTS Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 3 numbered baggies, a sticker sheet, and an instruction book. THE BUILD AND EXECUTION BAG 1: I've built 9494 and 75038. In fact I built and modified 75038 several times. I expected that I knew what to expect from this build. Right from the start it is different. I was pretty happy with this build. I had expected one or two inverted slope pieces, but you build it out of a variety of pieces. It's more interesting than the previous versions. I like that you're not using the same wheel pieces as usual for the thrusters. Although it doesn't look as much like a thruster port. I think that in all previous builds, the cockpit canopy was almost dead last on the build. It makes so much more sense to finish it up now instead of coming back to it. Obi-Wan wants you to have a nice day. BAG 2: Here you build the first wing. I noticed right off that instead of leaving a hole in the wing right next to the attachment points for the wing tips, it's just recessed. Notice the large void where the Astromech docking slot is. Check out the stickers. If you look at the comparison pictures at the end, you can decide if you like the sticker half hexagon, or the brick built shape on 75038. I like the details on the stickers, I just worry about them coming up later on. The blaster kind of disappointed me. It seems squat, and I dislike the gap between the cone and the rest that shows off the red pin. Here. you are building the "seat" for the droid. I was dissatisfied with how high she (yes, the droid is canonically a she) sticks up out of the port, so I tried removing some pieces. She still sticks up too high, and was impossible to remove. Although, funnily enough, her head came off and left the rest behind when I tried. (Just like in the movie.) The round bottomed plate seems perfect as a foot for resting on a flat surface. Another sticker showing off all of Obi-Wan's kills. I kind of like the difference in the slope I love the new outer wing stickers. I wish it could have been printed, but whatever. BAG 3: THis bag is pretty much the same as the last one, in mirror, without an Astromech. I'm going to skim this one a bit. Interesting that there's a big Astromech sized hole in here, I was pretty sure they were going to fill it in pretty soon. Almost the last thing you build here is a pod to attach to the bottom and fill in that hole. This made no sense and felt a little lazy since they were just mirroring the previous wing. It should have had a different design here. Hard to tell here, but the vessel does not rest on the wing pods or the base of the cockpit. It's completely on the tips of the wings. REACTION I loved this set, it was almost entirely satisfying. Some things were done better previously. I was not a fan of the Astromech socket. Poor R4 sticks entirely too far out and looks like a whack-a-mole. The fact that the ship rests on the wing tips instead of the cockpit base or even the pods on the underside of the wings is a design flaw, IMO. It places stress on the hinges that will more than likely cause them to slip and change the profile from the canted position to flat. I'm probably going to extend the lower part of the cockpit to relieve the weight on mine. I like the stickers. I can completely understand why people don't like them. Hell, in many cases I agree. I just like the added detailing that we wouldn't have gotten without them. I compared the 9494, 75038, and 75135. I liked the added detailing on the wings. I liked the kill marks and the hexagonal cutout. The brick built cut out on 75038 seemed awkward to me. I like the blasters better on the 75038. I think that the slopes are kind of a wash. I couldn't tell you which was more accurate, all I know is that I am glad to have them both. The Dark Red pieces of this set appeal to me. It goes with all of the other Republic vehicles. It's just more satisfying with the rest than Anakin's jarring yellow one. Too bad it is impossible to display with wings extended unless you build a stand for it. Both of these figures are unique. The printing on the R4-P17 is extensively, but subtly different. Obi-Wan has a serious and a worried expression. The head with headset is the only real difference between this one and the one packaged with 75040. FINAL THOUGHTS As I recently blogged about, the future of Star Wars investing is (most likely) changing. We're looking at a future that may be lacking in Prequel era sets. This particular iteration of the Jedi Interceptor has been on the backburner for over a decade. I feel like this set is sure to be a steady gainer. If you can package this with a 75038 Jedi Interceptor or even better add a couple 75041 Vulture Droids, you'll have a winner. The low buy in of this set will keep away most of the prestige level buyers that eschew anything that's not an exclusive. The relatively low level of speculator interest in the cheap sets will keep away the riff raff. Look for a price drop online in a few months as Amazon and Wal-mart try to offset buyer fatigue. Initial values will likely be low as people anticipate PT stuff to continue to be dogs. A spate of post retirement clearances will have the horde fighting each other for the bottom on this set, but stick it out. This set will have legs. Stick it in a hole and bring it out again in a couple years. I know that some of this probably sounds like the overly enthusiastic ravings of a fan, so let me sum up my thoughts. It's a hero ship that pairs nicely with existing retired items. It's unlikely to be remade anytime soon (after all it's been 11 years since the last time.) Younger fans who came of age with the Prequels and Clone Wars will be getting better jobs with more disposable income and will be looking to get sets that remind them of their youth. It's likely to get passed over because A.) it's a cheap set and easily available and B.) it's a Prequel Trilogy design so the common thinking is that it's just not as good. That last point may continue to hold some water amongst older collectors, but someone has been buying all the PT sets that have been coming out for a decade and a half. RARE PARTS I'd like to take a look at some of the rare or unique parts that are in this set. This should help to highlight the pieces that may become more valuable once this set is out of production. Trans-Black Windscreen 10X6X3 with Jedi Starfighter pattern with a square cutout was only available in 1 other set 75038 Jedi Interceptor Dark Red Flag 5x6 hexagonal was only available in 2 other sets 7283 Ultimate Space Battle and 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter Dark Red Wedge Plate 8X3 (Right and Left) were available in 2 other sets 7283 Ultimate Space Battle and 7259 ARC-170 Starfighter Dark Red Plate 1X10 was available in 3 other sets 60069 Swamp Police Station, 75019 AT-TE, and 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina Dark Red Wedge, Plate 6X3 Cut Corners was available in 2 other sets 70137 Bat Strike and 75003 A-Wing Starfighter Light Bluish Grey Tile 1x1 Round with SW Republic pattern was available in 2 other sets, 75038 Jedi Interceptor and 75076 Republic Gunship Microfighter EXTRA PIECES COMPARISON PICTURES The control areas are all different. 9494 had a joystick, 75038 had a tile with a big sticker and 75135 has nothing notable. See how much higher out of the socket R4 is than R2 Here are the new R4-P17 (left) and the older one from the Kamino Planet set (Right) View full blog article

Jeff does get help (he just doesn't advertise what he and Ed personally pay out of pocket for), but the eBay data is entirely different. Jeff and Ed pay real dollars for it and there is a real risk to giving that data to a third party. They could steal it or screw it all up... That's a pretty big risk. And I don't really get why you care what it is month to month? Investing is not a short term plan... Long term results will eventually come... And i mean this sincerely but if the only way you are judging your investments is via brickfolio values you're doing it wrong. It's a single factor... I used to watch mine closely, now I'm lucky to look at them every 4 months. I know what's going on by reading the forums, watching eBay, etc.

FBM.

Already made my $5 * n profit on RE, now it is everyone else's turn

or the complaint thread

This is LEGO, everything is serious!!!!!

Honestly, that thing shouldn't be able to fly at all. Imagine the tonnage being lifted by those four turbofans. It's almost enough to make you doubt the realism of the Avengers series in general.

Yes, your fellow countryman and active BP-er @Stragus has built an awesome utility called BrickSync which does just that. Really recommend it.

get your friends or relatives to open up an account and order the set for you. or run the banhammer gauntlet but be cool, order 1 at a time, wait for it to ship before you go back for more. mix up your order history with smaller orders of other exclusives between the exclusive's that are limit 1. also make sure you have multiple kids on your VIP account and then make sure that you order each duplicate set for a different kid - the triplets all love star wars these days.

I'd much more prefer a cancel request over a return request any day...

The word CLEARANCE should not be used unless items are discounted 40% or better!

Had a coupon and points bonanza at KMart.com. 5 x 75094 - Imperial Shuttle Tydirium - averaged out to $54 each

To be honest, If you invested heavily in the Chicken Suit Guy - it was kinda like putting all your eggs in one basket.

The kiddo cracked open an RE last night. The first set we've opened from this line. Getting high on our own supply.

Yeah, kind of the same feeling here, though I'm not really grumpy. I do miss the updates and feel the same way about brickfolio updating "market-values" being the main "thing" on the site. But I do understand that Jeff and Ed spend more time getting actual revenue-things going, like Brick Classifieds. That hasn't really gotten of the ground like they hoped it would, but choosing to go free until it gains enough traction is a very good choice. I'm very thankful that they spend that much effort and time into a wonderful 100% free site, though it could use some extra volunteers to keep the price-updates going. Maybe that would be a good idea.

Life happens.

Nice read, I recently picked up a handful of these sets @ $34.99 (competitive price match) and I didn't plan on building any but after looking at your pics this looks like a fun build.

Not really, but that depends on your buy in price. This was easy to snag for $50-60 and has only been retired 15 months. LEGO did us no favors by making this available for a third year and then there was the Target Black Friday blowout in 2014, but I have nearly doubled my money on this set for the ones I sold in December and January. Exactly!

Hello, First post. Got the tumbler from Amazon. However, the seals on one side of the box are loose and I can't even read the seal codes. The box itself is in poor condition. What should I do? Return it, ask for a discount? How do I know all the pieces are there? thanks in advance for any advice.

I've had that happen on Bricklink, same exact circumstances. I just dropped the buyer a note and asked if they really meant to purchase. It's always been "oops, I was just checking out the system."

I would be willing to pay TRU full price...

Finally got my first Tumbler in the mail! Picked it up on Amazon earlier this week. Very impressive looking set...I was surprised how huge the box is. Seems like a great build. I am new to this whole Lego Collecting thing...what does 01R6 on the tape mean? Just Kidding...its 40R5

I think it's definitely the hype driving this. I joined very recently. I'm a builder but tend to only buy larger STARWARS sets. The forum has expanded my interest but still at heart love the build I think many see lego as quick fix for quick cash. Banks are paying no interest so Any investments that gives when a moderate return are being flooded

The origins of this set have been uncovered by a Disney archivist. They found an unreleased, 1991 straight to video film by the same name in the Lucasfilm vault. Now we can understand how an assault by two could be successful. From the promotion materials: The action is heating up on the ice planet Hoth! When trooper Kesva Pelon (Steven Seagal - Above the Law, Hard to Kill) discovers that his ex-wife, Toryn Farr (Kelly Le Brock - Weird Science), joined the Rebel Alliance, became chief communications officer for the base on Hoth and has been abducted by a ruthless wampa, he must take matters into his own hands. But Kesva wouldn't dare assault the Hoth base alone! He is joined by longtime Imperial Academy friend and the Galactic Empire's finest speeder bike pilot, Squad Leader Brase McRol (Chuck Norris - The Delta Force, Missing in Action) Together, they are a two-man wrecking crew, leaving death and destruction in their wake. They must act fast if they hope to rescue Toryn and punish the Rebel scum for letting her be taken! "Norris and Seagal are an action tour de force!" - LA Times

I would hate to see Daryl leave too. If it's true he's doing a reality show for six episodes maybe they will have his death where no one sees the body. That way the writers could bring him back later on if Reedus wants to return.

I just had a record weekend with my Ebay storefront (veritasbricks). Went from an average of 2% conversions, 5 listings sold to 21% conversion and ~45 listings sold. My single biggest piece of advice to anyone struggling in the current Ebay sales environment is to invest an hour into Google, particular "Ebay selling SEO" and "Ebay selling tips & tricks". I spent an hour on Friday doing that, then 2 hours Saturday updating my ~100 listings, and the results were instantly a 500%+ increase in sales. I don't have the time to delve into all the nuances, but feel free to check out my listing formats, and/or msg me with any particular questions. I'm selfishly not inclined to spend an hour sharing my "secret sauce" here, but if you're seriously interested in comparing notes I'd be happy to do so offline. Maybe we could at least share a link to one another's storefront on our respective Ebay sites so we can mutually benefit instead of direclty competing

I was being totally sarcastic and i think the delorean was highly hoarded - at least it was by me i had 3 dozen and i'm just a small timer. i'm up to 4 dozen ecto. i think any movie based theme is automatically being hoarded, especially a successful movie with the fanbase of Back To The Future. All the hoarding protagonists always ignore the demand side of the equation which we have to guess at. With movies, you have a proven commodity - at least with films like Back to the future, ghostbusters, star wars, Jurassic world - you're dealing with blockbusters. then you get sets like Prince of Persia, Lone Ranger which were total box office flops and you know that the sets are probably not going to do well. Based on the previous incarnation of ghostbusters and the reboot coming up this summer the demand will see a bump. it's just a matter now of when the retirement happens. or doesn't happen.

I have no idea what the "average full time bricklinker" makes. I know what we make and I'm not telling. My husband and I put in about 70 or so hours per week between the two of us, we have two part time employees who put in about 10 or 15 hours per week (one of those we'll be increasing hours for soon). We make enough to stay beforehand with our bills and enjoy some of the elegancies of life. We anticipate our income going up over the next three years. We do not anticipate the ability to purchase a cozy summer place in the Seychelles. Our "warehouse" is a 15 x 30 (I think) storage unit where we spend between 2 and 4 hours per day. Our sorting room is our dining room, where we never dine. Our office is in our bedroom where we have two computer work stations and a king-sized bed that our 3 Chihuahuas graciously allow us to share with them. I've never liked working for other people so when I've had the choice I don't, but most people with a marketable education or some kind of skilled labor would easily be able to make as much as we do and many could make more. Being able to coddle my middle-aged white woman minor health issues, take an afternoon nap anytime I want, and basically organize my schedule however I like so long as I put in enough hours each week, makes the enterprise very worth it to me and has since I was a young stay at home mom with a used book business on eBay.