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Hi all, used to be a relatively active member of the forums back on its early years, but at this point it seems like it's been over 3 years since I actually posted anything - how time flies... Anyway, it's great to see how much the site has grown and changed over the years and although I never completely stopped checking it out, I am really looking forward to getting back into spending some more time in here going through all the great new content! To all of the familiar faces, it's great to see you and can't wait to interact with you again. And to all of the new faces, it's nice to meet you!

First images of the new Ecto-1 have just surfaced - that's going to do well!

Sold 30x 77905 Taskmasters Ambush for $2550 cash ($85 per) to a picker who messaged me after seeing my post in the 77905 thread. These may go higher, they may stagnate, but I'll never turn down double my investment the same day...in cash.

“Buying is easy” That’s so 2019.

That's because ne never stopped looking like the coolest person in the room.

elmasliefendi is usually spot on. But I've seen time and time again they'll post a piece of info, get slammed for said opinion ("who's your source?", "no that's stupid. you're wrong.", etc.), and then stay quiet... and then when that information becomes true, everyone is dumbfounded and says "huh? what? X/Y/Z site had/did not have it on such and such list! this makes no sense." (I'm over-generalizing here.)

just peed myself a little...

Yeah swung by UTC lego store... and they still had 4 GWP's sooo I caved to the emperor, cashed out some points and bought it

I love this question, because I struggle with some of the same ideas. I use this as a part time job and hobby, and while I don't need the income, it's really hard to keep defined lines on how much to invest, and how separate to keep my "LEGO" funds from my cash reserves, investments, etc. There's a tough balance in making sure you have cash to act on opportunity, and also always having it work for you. I've found something to be helpful, and I'll use two sets as an example. Lego 76119 Batmobile Pursuit of the Joker - RRP $30 Widely Available $21-24 Lego 10260 Downtown Diner - RRP $170 Widely Available (kinda) $170 I think both of these sets will be great 2 years from now, and have purchased both in quantity. I have an expectation of a 100% return on both at that time(slightly higher on the Batmobile). However, I've been much more careful with the Batmobile, because it isn't a liquid set. If I had to sell because I overstretched myself, didn't want to pass up a unique opportunity, etc., after factoring in shipping costs and/or selling in bulk(I am limited to Ebay/Bricklink/local) I'd take a 25-35% hit on the Batman sets. If I needed to liquidate the Diner, I could do so at approximately a break-even point. If I have $500 sitting around that I'm considering putting into play, but could conceivably need later, I'm much more likely to buy 2 or 3 more Diners than a bunch of the Batmobile, even though I think the total ROI on the Batmobile will be better in the long run. A bit of a ramble, but I enjoy thinking about this stuff. Jesse

LEGO grey baseplate $11.45

....I think my inner child just exploded. If Ghostbusters: The Video Game is not somehow retconned then technically Afterlife would be part four story-wise. And I am fairly certain all of that 'rust' is stickers. I can only spot a few of the same piece type sharing similar decals. However there is much variation between part type & decal design for the rest of aforementioned rust. With that said hopefully the Ghostbusters logo and license plates are printed. Those appear to be one-piece flat surfaces throughout.

Virginia! I'd say not. Born and raised in NC and moved to Titusville, FL at 15. We know the same stomping grounds.

I was totally kidding. Virginia. Grew up in FL, went to school in SC, so I have no room to talk. 🙂 Jesse

Same BS here. And yes luckily the Box is not smashed . But WTF amazon?

Don't worry about reusing your profits...that's how you really grow your money. Debt is another way, but I wouldn't recommend that until you have a very good handle on things.

Probably going straight up at Amazon Warehouse deals!

Amazon sent me a box of 14 Winter Fire Stations in a box the size of a small coffin. 5 of them were damaged - 2 are toast and 3 have minor damage . If anyone wants one for cost for a persona build pm me. The rest get returned Monday

Well the Reitman film is essentially GB3, so that works. Hopefully the rust is stickers so I can ignore them and show it off “in its prime” I wonder if they originally planned for minis but pulled them since the film got delayed? They can always put the minis with any sets they do.

Yeah won’t impact the little one. This one definitely won’t fit into the Firehouse. Lol.

I'll go with 2 weeks

Was able to get one finally. Those email alerts dont always work but this time it did. I should have gone for 2 but I was in a hurry. Good deal!

I would not leave the funds in paypal, because there is always the risk that someone hacks your account or paypal decides for whatever reason to freeze your account, better use another bank account.

Lots of good advice here so far. I'll try to summarize from my point of view set a goal, make a plan, and then stick to it. when I started out, my goal was to subsidize the lego hobby. I would buy 2 at discount and quick-flip one for ~50% gain to subsidize the one I built. Or sell off minifigs and keep the bricks to make the bricks nearly free. later, realizing that better returns could be made with a bit longer hold, I dropped both of those strategies and started buying in bulk. My goal changed, and thus so did my plan. don't spend money you can't afford to lose I think the strategy of keeping your lego funds in a paypal account is quite good. This will put a natural brake on your spending, and trigger the pain center of your brain if the funds get too low. Credit cards reduce the impact on that pain center, and make it easier to over spend (on both lego, and life). always keep in mind that buying is easy, selling is hard. Don't buy more than you can afford to store, or have time to sell. When you're starting out (say for the 1st year or 2), its a good idea to keep all of the funds from sales in the account and add to it from other sources when you can. This is the building phase. Once capital is built up, and your buy/sell process is working smoothly, then you can draw funds from the sales---i.e. reinvest 1/2 and pull 1/2, depending on storage/time constraints. Hope this helps.

RIP Sean Connery

If you can, I would buy sets with a points or cash back credit card rather than PayPal balance. May be harder to track funds, but your spreadsheets should be doing that, and you get a little something extra for your efforts. However, to respond to your original question, it all depends on what your aims are. If it is to maximise returns, I would say you should re-invest everything (and track it all through a spreadsheet), if it is to fund personal Lego purchases, then as you say set aside a certain portion of your profits, ideally in a separate account, for that.

Yeah nothing really other than what you said, the day to day eventually just sort of took over and found myself just logging in less and less. I actually continued buying LEGO for myself even when I wasn’t active in BP, and every now and then would buy a good deal on Ebay to quick flip as well, just not as much as before.

This is absolutely ridiculous. My wife would divorce me.

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A key aspect that took me a bit to appreciate is shipping. This is a good read: I began buying my own boxes a few years ago. Like someone else said, if you're shipping air, you're losing money. Even if the buyer is paying for shipping.

Welcome, again.

If you buy a set for $100 and sell it for $50, you haven’t made $50 unless you sold in-person on Craigslist. You’re out marketplace fees, taxes, and the most valuable thing, your time. If you’re doing this as an investment you’re much better off opening a Roth IRA and getting into a tech or medical mutual fund and let what you invest passively grow and compound with interest. LEGO reselling is not a passive thing. You have to constantly hustle to find stock at the lowest price, be on multiple marketplaces and provide excellent customer service even when your buyer acts like a jerk. If you are serious about selling you’ll dig in here and read and listen and absorb stuff like a sponge.

Welcome back man, it's been too long.

This is a great question. Basically what we are doing here is retail arbitrage... different variations for each person, some like the quick flip, some are buy and hold... I would suggest that since you are just starting, you should focus on the quick flip, while understanding that you will miss on that sometimes, so your second parameter should be sets that you feel will appreciate after they retire... it is all a bit of a guess and a hunch, and as you go you should develop an explicit strategy based on what works for you. Regarding the "am I doing it wrong" question, no, as long as you aren't pulling out "profits", and you are letting all of your capital ride, you are doing it right. It will take a while for the capital to accumulate (and you should be tracking all of your invested capital (meaning money you put in) and your buy in costs, and your sales.). But, this is a bit like an exponential curve, so for a while it will seem like you are doing a ton of work for a small amount of money, but if you truly let it all ride, and you don't get stupid and bet it all on Jyn Erso buildable figures, it will grow much faster than money in the market. But... remember.. Buying is easy...

I remember driving around southern california, getting notices, quickly pulling over only to find I was foiled again.

I figured so 😀

TH back on Amazon. Go! Go! Go!

The answer is still VW T1 and Death Star.

You mean the answer isn't Fire Brigade and Tower Bridge anymore?!?

Do we need to bring you up to speed with which sets to buy right now? Just in case you lost your password to the secret part of the forum with all the answers that we don't share publicly.

Low risk buy at 50% or more even if it doesn't retire right away.

Well, I did re-introduce myself prior to making that post so it feels like I covered my bases....haha But, in all seriousness, great to "see you" again!

Once again, information that would have been useful 2 months ago!

Local LEGO store had Slave 1 at 20% off. First time i've seen it on sale and hadn't bought it yet. I usually only purchase in store what is on sale and in an amount to get the promo.

I totally agree. As someone in for 30 before the limit was added, I rolled the dice. Color me incredibly surprised that it sold out already. I had this one DOA based on the limit, but hopefully in the end I'll be glad my impulse buying won out.

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