Regarding the value of your time, refer to the concept of 'Shadow Wages', which are used to estimate the opportunity cost of your time in cost-benefit analysis. Had to do this for a project in Grad school. Not fun. Essentially, regardless of current opportunities, your time is valued according to the amount of income you'll need to support yourself divided by your expected lifespan.

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I said earlier his week that you have to have a goal, and know what that is.

When it comes to strict profit, I'm looking to break even - I want to make sure that whatever profit I make covers the cost of the sets I buy to build.

With bulk lots, I'm definitely looking to make more than I spent on the lot. However, I'm realistic about it - I'm sure I'm making less than a $1 / hour sorting through the bulk. But, I find it therapeutic. After being a manager at work all day, I'm anxious to let my mind just concentrate on sorting bulk. So, it's an acceptable "loss."

This exactly how I'm going about this new adventure I'm embarking on. If I make a little extra $$$ above and beyond, awesome. As for the bulk lots, I haven't purchased any so I'm in no hurry and hopefully the first few I finally do purchase won't leave a bad taste in my mouth. :-P

Is this the wrong thread for me to predict the Quinjet will be $100 by Christmas?

 

Yes it is because everybody and their dog knows it will be at least $500 by Halloween and $900 + by Christmas. 

Re: "I like this so it doesn't matter if I'm making $1/hour" keep in mind that you (generic you, no one in particular) probably don't like ALL aspects of buying and selling LEGO.

 

Typically, people will love the thrill of the hunt - that's legit fun time for most of us. People usually enjoy unpacking the spoils when they arrive on the front porch. They probably enjoy looking at their treasure cave of sets. Edited to add: They like the money rolling in on sales part.

 

And then there are the less fun (for most people) things: storage re-arranging; dusting or dust-covering; paying for the storage space or dealing with storage issues; a little angst over potential under-performers as time goes on; taking photos of the items; listing the items on a venue; packing and shipping the items; normal customer service issues.

 

And then there are the things nobody enjoys: lost shipments, damaged shipments, bad buyers, sets that don't appreciate at all or lose value

 

There are a lot more to each of those three categories, of course, and everyone has a different tolerance for dealing with problems, but to make a broad brush, "buying and selling LEGO is fun! Who cares what I make?!" type of statement is probably not as accurate as you think.

 

Gamblers focus on their wins and sweep their losses under the rug in their own minds. I think some LEGO investors may be the same way, or if they haven't started selling much yet, haven't hit the "work" part of the "hobby" fun.

 

Thanks for putting this very accurately to words. I can't agree more with this summary. 

Thanks for the topic.  As a rookie, it's been a good read.  Plenty of informative posts, plenty of different viewpoints to consider, and plenty of posts that gave me a chuckle or two as well.

 

Cheers!