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I think I'm seeing a pattern emerge. These scenarios seem to play out thusly

Nothing with "Maersk" in the title should ever be considered a sleeper.

I knew you(and a few others) stated that the SSD was going nowhere. I know you have your inside info, which is always spot, so my head told me to expect another run, but there was always a chance it could have went EOL. It would have been a nice surprise. It still may go EOL in August, but the trend seems to be August of 2015 or 2016, and that makes investing in these large sets very questionable for some. Personally, it doesn't matter to me from an investment point of view. I buy and sit on these sets, so what does it really matter to me? It gives me an opportunity to buy more of this set, which in my mind is still one of the best investment choices out there. Many people get a second chance today to buy this set, so take advantage of it...

Glad I never bought into the hype of this as an investment. Would be difficult to sit on several thousand in SSD's not being sure if they are retired or not.

Its back up for sale at LEGO Shop at Home!! Just picked up an extra!

I had a vivid dream last night in which I received simultaneous text messages from my contacts saying that several sets, including the GE, VW, and SC, had just retired. I saw the timestamps of the texts: May 28th. Given the credibility of our other sources, I believe this dream is worthy of sharing. Ignore the vision at your own risk.

No. Good question. I will discuss it with Jeff tomorrow at work. He is working on the Brick Classifieds. He wants to get that to Beta stage in 2-3 weeks. Jeff has been reprogramming the entire site in his language(Cold Fusioin), away from the WordPress template. He wants to make the site faster and more functional with a better Brickfolio and Blog section, so I have been waiting to see his new blog editor so I can give people an idea what we expect for an approved blog. Basically, we want to pay(with LEGO/Amazon GCs) some qualified members to write up top notch blogs. There will be a group of writers who we think are qualified and have done excellent work in the past and we will invite them to participate. We will come up a list of some possible members and requirements soon...

It was almost a sure thing Lego would have Extra SSD to sell after they filled there orders, and I still think these will around til the end of the year, and like a few people had said look how fast the price increased in a month, so if it retired today or 6 months from now the price will shoot up faster if we see retired on the Lego site. So if you have the money get as many you can as Once retired these should be about $800 or so after the first year and with the Movie next year its just makes sense these will be very popular.I am getting 5 more and that is it. Ed

Received my Amazon Warehouse $114 Palace Cinema last night. It was actually still sealed w/ all 4 seals and only had one busted corner. Thanks again B-A.

My son and I are about 3/4 finished building the R2D2 I bought off eBay last week. Used but complete (so far so good) for $130. All we have left is the head. What an amazing and incredibly detailed model! I have several sealed but always wanted to build one, which is why I bought the used one last week. Sent from my iPad using Brickpicker

Materials guide for LEGO selling & shipping Many members have asked for a centralized place where they can go for shipping box information. I'm going to pin this post and update it as new information is provided. I just want to take a few minutes and thank those who wrote the following articles. They are still very good reference materials for the LEGO storage and shipping process. I may develop this into a blog article eventually. Fcbarcelona101's : Selling LEGO : Basic Materials Guide Mos Eisley 's : LEGO Storage Wars Incompetech's Catalog of Amazon.com Box Sizes - (thanks No More Monkeys) Amazon Boxes Sorted list by length - courtesy of pstebbing I've scoured the forums and here is a list of box sizes with basic set information: Boxes: 24x20x8 : Super Star Destroyer; Death Star, Roller Coaster, UCS Sandcrawler, Assembly Square 24x20x6 : Thicker sets like Town Hall, Tower Bridge 24x16x6 - 60052 Cargo Train, R2-D2, Maersk Line Triple-E, 7939 Cargo Train 24x16x4 - Helm's Deep, Vampyre Castle, Black Pearl, Friends Riding Camp, Parisian Restaurant, High Speed Passenger Train, Jabba's Palace, Downtown Diner 24x20x4 : Grand Emporium, Pet Shop, Imperial Shuttle, Haunted House, Palace Cinema, Fire Brigade 24x14x4 : Dolphin Cruiser, Coast Guard Patrol 24x4x12 - Dolphin Cruiser, Coast Guard Patrol 20x16x4 - Volkswagen Camper Van, Olivia's House, Sonic Raider, Sopwith, Creator Bike Shop, Batcave, Quinjet, Moria & Ambush 20x16x6 : Thicker sets like the Republic Gunship; City Cargo Plane 20x14x4 : Attack on Weathertop, Hulk 's Helicarrier Breakout, X-Wing 9493, Black Gate 16x16x4 : Gungan Sub, Pre Viszla, Tie Fighter 16x10x4 : Council of Elrond, Desert Skiff, City Grand Prix Truck 16x10x6 : Thicker sets like Creator Family House, Hillside House 15x12x4 : Funhouse, Orc Forge, Tumbler Chase, Daily Bugle Showdown, Hulk Lab Smash 12x12x4 : Uruk Hai Army, City Cargo Truck, Creator Treehouse, City Fire Emergency 11-3/4x8-3/4x4-3/4 : Wolverine Chopper, Arctic Batman, Power Armor Lex, Droid Escape, Cloud Cuckoo Palace 12x8x3 - Battle Packs, CA Avenging Cycle, Catwoman, Gandalf Arrives, Holiday sets 10x8x4 : Battle Packs, CA Avenging Cycle, Catwoman, Gandalf Arrives, Holiday sets Envelopes: 4x8 : Minifigs & small polybags 6x9 : Polybags small & larger 10.5 x 16 : Larger shipments of 3 x polybags or more Packing Tape : buy in bulk or on sale : you can throw some in during a Staples coupon promotion to get up to free shipping Walmart.com Duck Brand Packaging Tape http://www.staples.com/Staples-Standard-Grade-Packaging-Tape-Clear-189-x-110-yds-6-Rolls/product_380107 Retailers: Uline.com : holiday sale starts first part of November (usually 30% off) Staples.com : use coupon promotions - $10 off $30, $20 off $75, free shipping over $60 Walmart.com USPS Priority Mail (free boxes at USPS.com) Michigan Box Company: Flat Boxes 18"-23" L (thanks pstebbing) GBE Packaging (thanks pstebbing) PackingSupplies.com http://www.packaging...ated_boxes.html (thanks pstebbing) Bubble Wrap: 3/16" thick x 350' ft x 12" wide - eBay Sams Club 3/16" - 12"x240' $12.98 (In store) ($.05/LF) (thanks pstebbing) I like to use large and small retailer plastic bags to wrap items in, even after I bubble wrap it. For battle packs and even small sets, I sometimes use Wal-Mart, Target, or plastic bags from any store. Additional packing isn 't really needed. Usually like 2 bags on bottom, one to wrap the item, and two bags on top. Make sure to cover the corners of the item real nice to provide extra padding. Rule of thumb : ship & pack all of your items the same way you 'd like to receive items you've purchased. Shipping Paper: Collect it when you receive shipments. http://www.amazon.com/Pratt-Multipurpose-Packaging-KPR30241200R-Length/dp/B00AI652CM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408061459&sr=8-1&keywords=pratt+kraft+paper+1200? Shipping Labels & Printers: Dymo 450 & Dymo 400 Brother QL-700 DoNotInsertIntoMouth's : How to setup your label printer for shipping on eBay Feel free to post a follow-up or point out anything I missed. I 'll update it with what everyone wants added. I hope this is helpful.

I would keep it sealed unless you fear there are drapes in the box look at the completed listings for 10179, I know a completely different beast, but this seems to be a big selling point. Not sure what the numbers show. I will trade you my two NMISB for your case and throw in 2 rapunzel polys, darn shipping ;)

I think I'm seeing a pattern emerge. These scenarios seem to play out thusly

true. i'm just 'concerned' those future AFOLs you speak of that are willing to pony up $800 later will now be able to buy 10220s at retail (for X more months / years) before the price hits $800 (or something new comes along like a "super duper star destroyer" ) case in point = the 10188 Death Star. think about all the people who spent $330 to $400 buying them regularly since 2010 thinking it would retire. 4 years later, the future AFOLs those early 10188 investors were banking on are still sitting on their sets. The Tower Bridge is in the same boat.

very true. however, it seems sets are produced in greater quantity and for longer durations than before 2011. the annual revenue reports seem to support this as TLG is now the #1 toy manufacturer. the exception is something like the fire brigade since that entire theme has a cult (in a good way) following.

already done my friend. If it holds i will order another 5 next week.

Anyone buying $400.00 set without a plan is a fool. Assuming no discount 30 of these sets you back 12k. At the current price befote today your paper gain was 6k. I would say that is pretty quick out of the gate. When it crosses 1k each i will pay attention, 1500 i am really happy, 2k i am listing for sale. If that takes 5 or 6 years i am good with that. The return is worth the risk.

Man, I'd be happy to get some deals at KMart on an SSD, but I think they'd just slap a rope on them and use them for a sled.

Actually, it might hurt less. Like with the nails - the more the better. Not that I would try it though. Lego can be mean to feet.

It really hurts if when you walk over a few Lego bricks, but I can't imagine walking over a pile that big.

It was almost a sure thing Lego would have Extra SSD to sell after they filled there orders, and I still think these will around til the end of the year, and like a few people had said look how fast the price increased in a month, so if it retired today or 6 months from now the price will shoot up faster if we see retired on the Lego site. So if you have the money get as many as you can without Cgarging on a Credit Card and not being able to pay the balance each month. Once retired these should be about $800 or so after the first year and with the Movie next year its just makes sense these will be very popular. Ed

The thing is that this set was never going anywhere, not yet anyway. So this wasn't a case of TLG bringing something back, it was just people overreacting to a temporary shortage. The real damage is that when it does really retire, it's not going to climb like it did during this false alarm. It will climb, but at a slower rate as many will be adding extra SSDs to their inventory that they wouldn't have otherwise had.

Whether you believed the retirement hype or not, having this set become available once again hurts all LEGO investors. Having a large exclusive like this retire after a 3 year run would have been a bonus. Now, this set becomes a huge question mark for some investors and sets a bad precedent for future large(and expensive) set investments.

Not from what my garbage man has told me. I am guessing early 2016 when the next big UCS set from the new film arrives.

I bet he's using it as an intruder alarm. Smart kid.

That looks just like my most recent bulk lot.

not overly expensive items but interesting. it's not like i found a van gogh or gold coins hidden. back in college during my frat days, i purchased a light-up Spuds MacKenzie dog for $2 at a yard sale. made in 1986. someone added a "porn star" cap and a caddy emblem. everyone loved it during the parties. i still have it to this day and it works. no idea where the cap is but everything else is there. other than being dirty, it's in excellent condition. regularly sells for over $100. other than spuds, i have an unopened 1985 dirge transformer. paid $15 back in 1989 at berlin (nj) flea market. up until 6 years ago, i had no idea it sells for over $200 ungraded. related to lego, i was quite surprised in 2011 to find out my childhood King's Castle 6080 set was selling for over $100 used w/o the box. i kept all the boxes with my sets all these years.

Ordered Tower Bridge from amazon WH for $166. Hope it's not too trashed.

Stopped by a couple of Walmarts while on a business trip to the middle of nowhere, South Carolina this week. Got 30 series 5 minifigs @ $2 each, and 2 Creator Forest Animals @ $10 each.

Don't open a case unless you can't work things out with the seller on your own. An opened case will go on his seller record even if he fixes the problem, so it should be a last resort. Just try to work it out with him directly.

If you want to sell in one large lot, I would just list all at close to MSRP. Don't try to take current resale value. Once you factor in the duds against the EOL winners, it will probably be a wash in the end. If you have others that are already EOL and have increased in value significantly, I'd pull those out and sell them separately.

Great, I may have to go back to TRU and pick up the 4x4's. I pass by them every time. Now, some guy on the internet I don't know has convinced me I probably need this.

When sifting through lots, I prefer to call them Mega-turds

Seller got back to me and offered a 25% discount. I don't think I am going to take it and probably end up requesting a full refund. The first bag was around 60% non lego pieces. The description mentions nothing about possible non lego pieces. I can understand a couple slipping though but the majority of the pieces being mega bloks is unacceptable.

We have some super hero fanatics here so I will let them weigh in.......I'm unsure of its potential myself.

Even with tax, you would be paying a little more than retail for the single $40 set which practically makes the $70 one almost free. These would have to bomb so badly as an investment to make a deal like this not worth it which I couldn't even fathom. Worst case scenario you end up selling either set around retail unless you had to sell them together as a bundle due to the box. I don't know how these bundle cases are setup to be honest.

i say Yay ... for a handfull ...

Thanks exciter, this is excellent. Got dimensions to add, incl some 2014 sets: Boxes: 24x16x4 - Parisian Restaurant, 60051 High Speed Passenger Train 24x16x6 - 60052 Cargo Train 24x20x6 - Tower Bridge 20x16x4 - 31026 Creator Bike Shop & Cafe

Just built the 70727 Kai's X-1 Ninja Charger. It's a pretty slick set, and when finished the car has that brawny 70s muscle car vibe. Love it.

Here is the BN Robie house locator when you search your zip code set it to 100 miles and look at the bottom of the results page for the next function to see more results. I used this to track down a few and it works great. They will hold it for you for 3 days and you can receive a text if it is truly located in stock. Also you don't have to pay until pickup so if the box is destroyed you can pass. http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/search/store.asp?EAN=673419159685&zipcode=19904-1988

I picked up a used one for $150 last week. Box and manual included. If you watch these on eBay closely you can get a used one for less than $200. By the way, I love this set. Don't understand why some don't like it. Sent from my iPad using Brickpicker

Pay for it with some BN GC at 15% off. Due to the weight Mint boxes are hard to come by

Unfortunately yes, unless you can negotiate for the seller to cover return shipping. If they don't agree, I'm not sure that you can get ebay to help you in any way with getting it covered.

Considering how much of a short run Lego did with last year's advent calendars, I don't think we will see any of the heavy discounting from previous runs on these or any future ones at this point onwards so chances are if you want one then buy it soon as you see it. I remember people really wanting last year's Friends Advent Calendar; could be a potential

I chose Ewok Village just because I've built all the others and don't have one and would like to see it built before buying some and presumably building one.

Looks like you'll be building the Cloud City and Ewok Village from the current results, jaisonline. I hope you have enough room for both. Haha.

since folks already found summer release sets at TRUs, but nobody reported seeing ghostbusters, we will have to assume that if TRU does have them , then only online. I am just considering if it would be worth it to storm TRU stores June 1st with stacks of coupons, waving hands and mumbling random numbers, to get a chance for below MSRP action on these...

I can see what you are saying. It's currently valued 10 GBP under MSRP, but the set has only been retired for about five months now. Maybe you should have waited a little while longer until you sold them so that you could make a profit.

After seeing quite a few threads like this get really derailed i hope this site at some point evolves into two sites. A US/Canada site and a Euro/UK etc. Sight. The markets are not the same and the retiring/supply etc. In these two markets are not even close. People are arguing about things that are meaningless to the point of investing in Lego. I really have a hard time caring what retires in europe and when since it really has little impact on the US/Canada market. It is nice to have an open forum but with the site.getting bigger threads are really getting derailed. For those "investors" who are buying this "luxury" toy for investment but do not beleive in the market to reward the investment, i suggest you move on. You are a monetary loss waiting to happen. I mean no insult but people below any governemnts median wage base are not the target market here. If you do not get that i suggest you move on. This thread is about 10221. Please take the other stuff somewhere else.