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So I here people mention this a lot and I totally understand - 1. Frustrated with Idiot buyers 2. TIred of going to the post office everyday. 3. Want to smash your tape dispenser 4. Done with printing labels and paying stupid USPS inflated prices. 5. Done with USPS losing packages And more and more. So I thought I would share what is helping me through this on the off chance it might help someone else. I am a candid guy - probably too open sometimes - but in January I was really really struggling with this. December burned me out some and made me realize that I was frustrating myself to much. This was complicated by the fact that I was diagnosed with Depression several years ago. I have, through medicine and being lucky to have a fairly good life, conquered it for the most part. However, when I get tremendously stressed out, frustrated, or angry it causes a relapse which is tough to deal with. So I did a couple of things to figure this out because I knew I didn't want to quit. And I hope some of these things help you guys dealing with the same stuff. Just because you love something doesn't mean that its not capable of causing you serious grief. 1. I took a break. This was imperative. Not to just give myself a little time away, but to rethink what I was doing and accomplish the rest of the points. I was always afraid to put the store on vacation because I am losing money. Its an easy thing to consider though - How much money do you lose if you have to quit because you can't handle the stress? 2. Limit the stress factors. This one is tough, but probably the second most important to breaks. I sat down and actually wrote down everything that pisses me off about selling. That in itself was stressful, but I said to myself "what do I have control over here?". One thing I did was got Ebay notifications on my phone - every sale, message, etc. The thing is, I have another job. Everytime I get a message, I would immediately look at it and answer it. I got to the point where every time I got a message, my phone would buzz and I would think "Dammit some idiot buyer is mad about something." or "USPS lost something again". Several times a day I was stressing myself through diverted attention from whatever I was actually doing. So I eliminated the notifications. Instead I set times for myself when I would check messages, sales, etc. I made a routine. I check in the morning before work and after when I get home and answer everything then. Otherwise I don't even pay attention to it. Mad buyers is another issue. I say to myself - "People will be mad - let it go". So now i just apologize and do what i can to help them. I NEVER look at my feedback rating anymore. I trust that if I do things right no one is leaving me a negative. I used to check it everyday. Not worth it. Obviously there is more here, but to be brief (lol, right?) PM me and I would be happy to tell you more stuff I changed for this. 3. Improve Efficiency Things are a lot less stressful and a things don't go wrong as much when you are efficient. I now use small bags for all my minifigures so they can't lose their weapons, etc. I bought storage units to store and separate them with labels so they are easy to fine. I bought a label printer which has been amazing. I streamlined my process of packing. I changed my opening and parting out sets routine - I only do it on the weekends so I don't do it while I am tired from my normal job. 4. Take Better Records Tax time is pretty stressful no matter what. But doing it once showed me how I need to take down documentation for the rest of the time I do this. Next years taxes will be much easier and that makes me feel a lot better about the whole ordeal. 5. Find ways to make the stressful parts more fun I hate the packing - especially if I have like 30 packages to ship. So I had to find a good way to make it so after doing it I didn't feel like I wanted to punch through a wall. I am not ashamed to say, mine is music. I am a musician and obviously love music. I found that if I am blasting Led Zeppelin during packing, I don't hate it near as much. I do not pack without music playing anymore at all. I only part out sets while watching some of my favorite shows: Seinfeld, Workaholics, Law and Order, etc. 6. Be Cleaner I absolutely believe - a cluttered work space is a cluttered mind. At work people make fun of me because my work area looks like ground zero from a zombie movie. So I have changed the way I work and the space I do it in. It is MUCH less stressful to have plenty of space and have a clean area. My solution was to put built lego sets in it. I do not clutter my lego sets. There you go people. Long-winded, but I felt like I should share it. PM me if you have anymore questions or if you are feeling done with things. I know how it goes and believe me - as much as you feel like you can handle it, that feeling is a sickness no different than working with the flu. Its just mental instead of physical.

I don't know why you guys are slamming this....this idea would totally work! ....if they sent each set locked and sealed in one of these: Actually, please forget that I even mentioned this, I've got my new business venture planned, all for a mere $7 per month per subscriber.

Actually, I do make a 50% return, at least, after all expenses and operating costs are accounted for. I lived through the sports cards days and learned the hard way. It is hard to do but you have to learn patience. Not everything is going to be a 41999 right off the bat (sorry I brought it up, please don't lock this thread). I don't buy at retail or 10% to 30% off because there isn't enough meat on the bone to make a decent profit. I don't sell cheap and I learned long ago not to waste my time unless I see $$$$$$. To each their own but I like to get compensated for my time.

Hello! My name is Matthew! This is my Lego Star Wars collection. I have 47 Lego sets in my room and 1 in my living room. (47 Star Wars sets). One set isn't in the picture which is the Luke Landspeeder set.

I don't know if it will come in, but online Target down here in Australia had Diagon Alley appear as in stock. Only able to add one to my cart (then went to sold out). It was 20% of retail, so picked it up for $103.20 AUD. I am waiting for a notification to say "whoops, that is not available," but we'll see. Good score if it does get shipped.

Cover the studs with flat 1x2 and 1x4 tiles. Add Oracle ABL LED lighting and possibly add a motor once I see what the resistance of the treads are

It seems to me this is generally a bad idea for multiple obvious reasons, and more not-so-obvious reasons. 1. How can they keep track of all the pieces that might be stolen? Everyone knows how much value there is in LEGO, and anyone can simply pick up an interesting figure from an expensive set and resell it. They claim they check every set to make sure it's complete, but someone has probably already found a loophole. (A possible answer could be the fact that they must have an address to confront someone if suspected of reselling, but even then, you can gift sets to someone's house when they aren't there, pick it up, rinse and repeat. People are getting more creative with finding ways to make a few bucks, and for some that's through thievery.) 2. Who wants to RENT LEGOs? Most kids I know like building their own creations out of other sets to make their own creative vehicle or building (heck, I even do that). How are they going to keep the kids from not tearing up the set and mixing it in their own collection? Do the parents then have to buy the set from them? Do they have to spend hours picking out the pieces? Kids are messy and irresponsible, and the parents are sometimes the same. (They say you can buy the set from them at a discounted price, but how much of a discount and from what price? Original retail, or current retail?) 3. Only 1 at a time. I know that it makes it easier to keep track of, but what if you want to play with say, an X-Wing and a TIE Fighter, but can only rent one at a time? No answer to that except buying one, but that defeats the purpose of renting them, doesn't it? They suggest registering two accounts, but then you're paying TWICE as much to rent sets per month. 4. Renting. I don't know if it has changed, but there used to be 3 plans to choose from, Fan, for $15 (Get $25 sets and under), Super Fan (approx. $50 sets and under) fro $25, and Mega Fan (all sets) for $39. The only plan that is worth it to me is Mega Fan because you can get EVERY set, including the uber-awesome Death Star that retails for $400. I think most parents and kids would gladly pay 10% to build that set and play with it for a week or more! However, when it gets down to it, unless you live close to their shipping place, you are waiting on average 7-8 days for ONE set. For something like a small $20 City set, that is unacceptable. That means you can barely get 2-3 days of play for one set while waiting 8 for it to get there. If you've done the math, that's only 3, or if you're lucky 4 sets per month. THAT sucks. 5. Overall price. Since we're on the subject of Math, it doesn't seem like too much money at first, does it? $40 for a month of renting sets rather than $120 for sets all over your house, not bad. BUT, let's take a closer look. For those who thought that word problems were useless, I

What is your favorite Lego Architecture set? I love the Lego Architecture Series and have built almost every model. I just completed an article on my blog where I've identified my 5 favorite sets under 50$. I'd love to hear what other fans of the Architecture Series think. LINK: http://tomalphin.com...cture-sets.html Some questions I'd love to hear your thoughts on: How many people on this forum have built most of (or all) of the sets in this series? What's your favorite set? What most important for a great set in the Architecture series? Realism, advanced building techniques, great parts selection, the instruction booklet, size of finished model, price? Sincerely, ---tom

Hey Canadians, just a heads up Canadian Superstore has ALL Superheroes and Ninjago on for 20% off. This includes all new Superhero sets. Not an amazing deal but if you're looking for some deals on the new sets this isn't bad. Lego selection at my local store is poor but i imagine some might find lots to look at their respective stores. Also my local store had a massive general toy clearance going on, shelves and shelves of random toy clearance. Might be worth checking out! have fun

An M:Tron Mine MOC you say....

Welcome and good luck with the parting out.

....You want an ass?! I thought you were one. :mosking:

Picked up a 5 lb mixed lot at a yard sale while killing time before my sons baseball practice, $1.50! Found almost $3 in change in it while I was washing it!

I did this when they have the christmas pick a brick box. I took about 50 minutes to pack it all in lol. it was the first one ive done!

Here's a blog about how to pack those cups http://blog.brickpicker.com/pick-a-brick-cups-can-you-pack-an-investing-punch/

Picked up some sets from a local CL seller. All NISB 7779 Batman Dragster 4501 Mos Eisley Cantina 7264 Imperial Inspection 4480 Jabbas Palace 4475 Jabbas Message 4476 Jabbas Prize 7655 Clone Trooper BP 8014 Clone Walker BP 7250 Clone Scout Walker 7659 Droids Battle Pack 7200 Final Duel 1 7201 Final Duel 2 4 Tusken Raider minifigs All minifigs from Spider man set 4806 Doc Ock's Hideout. I paid $275 for the lot. Especially happy to get those Tusken Raiders to add to the collection!

Phew, I'm glad it didn't say "five finger discount".

The "cha-ching" of the EBAY app is like music to my ears. I like hearing it all day everyday. I think one of the biggest stress factors is ROI (return on investment). If you aren't getting at least 50% return you are working and stressing for nothing. We aren't Walmart. Margins must be higher to survive. This is why so many people come and go out of the collectible/retail markets. They work themselves to the bone for what? 10%-30% ROI. Is it really worth it? I've said it multiple times: "If your money isn't working hard for you --- you will be working hard for your money"!!!!! Sing it like Donna Summer.

Looks like you need some more shelf space!

My purchase from ebay of a winter toy shop, bakery and post office arrived and it looks like everything is there - I have a group of us preparing to build them tomorrow and this may be my best use of $170 in a long time.

I don't understand why some folks get bent out of shape hearing what Lego reps say or 'arguing' with other posters. Just take it as chit chat. No harm done. Would people prefer reps say I don't know as strict company policy? Some reps are actually telling the truth...they don't see any new orders coming in from their schedule perhaps. And if new stock does come in it might be a surprise to them too. I hope the GE is gone sooner than later but if I buy some in April, it's really not going to depress me if it's available all year or even into 2015. Same with Tower Bridge or Pet Shop. You make your own judgement and go with it.

Complete Black Pearl, No Box. 199.95 Going to miss that sitting on my bookcase.

If trend is anything to go by GE will be around till the end of the year Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker

How many times do we have to hear, "He was smart enough to buy it first and sold it for double MSRP while it was OOS and that's not right. Welcome to Business World chumps. -I don't always go shopping, but when I do I buy Lego-

I think long term the Unexpected Gathering will post the best ROI% of them all. My only concern is that they will keep it around for the next (Dec) wave of Hobbit sets as it is iconic, popular, etc....

Its because they don't speak English.

If that set was an official LEGO set, I would have a giant roller coaster right now.

You guys need to shop at Kmarts where no employee ever give a **** about you, even AFTER you ask for help :D

The real issue here is that you still have a blackberry ;)

Here is a chart with Market Street for those interested.

I'm not sure about handing out awards to flippers. They'll probably just turn around to "flip 'em like hotcakes". :mosking: