Yeah, I concur. I often wonder where they get stuff. I've been able to un-earth some gems in bulk lots. I'm mortified that people will be willing to bid $400+ by only seeing the box. 

 

Thanks dudes. Just confirmed I wasn't totally crazy.

I'd buy if I could afford it. If its not really the set just reverse it on PayPal.

If this isn't a call for me to start my blog series on Goodwill, nothing is. 

 

There's good reason to buy sight unseen; there's some decent protection.  But there is a definite risk/reward for any set that you buy from them.

 

The biggest question I would have, if I were to bid on this; is this still sealed?  Has it been opened?

 

There's some real gems you can get, both boxed and in bulk lots.  But there are some duds there, too.

You could also find out the weight of the original Death Star 2, is it around 15 pounds as it states in the listing?  I personally would not bid on goodwill as you never know what you will find inside the box.  Maybe its just random megablocks mixed with legos or pots and pans or the real complete Death Star 2 although not likely.

If this isn't a call for me to start my blog series on Goodwill, nothing is. 

 

There's good reason to buy sight unseen; there's some decent protection.  But there is a definite risk/reward for any set that you buy from them.

 

The biggest question I would have, if I were to bid on this; is this still sealed?  Has it been opened?

 

There's some real gems you can get, both boxed and in bulk lots.  But there are some duds there, too.

 

 

I hadn't considered if it was opened. I'd assume not. However, I just sent an email asking.

Thanks for the tip.

It also depends what you're intent is with a set.  Are you looking for something to sell as new?  Depends on how you feel.

 

I've had success buying stuff and flipping it as new.  A few months back, I bought a couple of the Santa Fe Trains, and I doubled my money on them.  If you're looking for a set to build, then you're probably going to feel a little better.  (Although, I don't know the value of a DS II off the top of my head, so I don't know how it rates right now).

 

I've been looking for a Space Shuttle build for a while.  They pop up every few weeks on SGW, but I never pull the trigger, because the value always goes too high.  I have a threshold that I set in my mind on a value (don't forget to add in their high shipping costs).  If I can't get it for a good discount, then I'll forget it.

Ok friends...couple questions on a potential investment:

1.) Looking at the pics...does this seem legit? I'm mostly asking those who have it. Seals look good? In the right places? Etc?

2.) Based on your answers to #1...what's a good price on this?

Note...it's SEALED/NEW/NEVER OPENED!!!

Weigh it.

I never got an answer about opened or not. It sold for $601 + tax, which is another 10% and handling fees but this around $665.

Way too much for me to take a gamble.

Yes this is extremely rare and very heavy. Inspect seals for tampering and ultimately if worst comes to worst ask to open it and verify the boxes on the inside are sealed. Investment wise if you can't get a price low enough to flip then don't bother. There are other sets that will grow that money faster and easier to offload.

Would you believe $450 USD???

Weigh it.

15lb 3oz correct???

That's pretty close....for that price, I would give the money and take the chance.

If I were you I would tell him that you would pay $500 if he lets you open it first before paying. If it's legit then you pay $50 more and still double your money risk free.

One thing I was curious about is the seals look good, but the ones I've seen on eBay (sold items) have the seals with the little mini white/black barcodes on them. Should I worry about the one for sale here? Looks like they just have black rectangles on them.

The black rectangles are the normal seals on most LEGO sets.

 

That's pretty close....for that price, I would give the money and take the chance.

 

I agree with this.

This is really a no-brainer for me for that price...but I thought I'd throw this out there to get better education since I never owned the set before.

 

Thanks!

I hope this is the right forum, I have an investment question about the above mentioned UCS set.

 

I came across the 10143 set on eBay. It was listed as "new". The original box has wear on it, and the instructions (good condition) have been taken out of its packaging. Three of the four white boxes are included, one is missing. There are 38 bags of individual legos that have not been opened, while a few are in ziploc bags.

I was told, that someone owned the set before the person that sold it to me. That someone opened a few of the bags and was going to build it, but decided against it and finally sold it.

 

My question is, could this be sold as a "new kit" even though some of the bags have been opened, and a white box is missing. All of the 3400+ pieces are suppose to be there.

 

My other question, as much as I am an investor, I am also a collector. I have the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer and the Super Star Destroyer, so I am itching to actually build this. How much would I lose if I go to sell it in the future, and all the bags have been opened? I plan on wrapping the box and instructions to keep them from getting any more damaged.

 

So I guess in a nutshell, is this kit actually "new", and what would I lose if I opened the rest of the bags and built it?

I also have an additional copy of the SSD(10221) and R2-D2(10225) that are wrapped and kept in mint condition. The plan is to sell these two and hopefully many more someday down the road. Having a "new" copy of the Death Star II in addition to those sets, I hope I would be able to sell all to a collector. So that's why I am trying to find out!

Thanks everyone.

It's absolutely not new.

It's basically used, you might as well build it and make sure it's all there.

 

Your main problem is you have no way of knowing if the set is complete or not, just somebody's word. 

ditto 

-not new can't know if it's all there unless you open and inventory the whole thing

-defiantly build it, with the condition it's in you may as well

-fair warning not the funnest builds but very cool when done. very wabbly 

Here's the actual eBay listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/161463774477?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I offered $999, and had a 10% coupon, so really only paid $899. It seems like a good buy, especially since it has a box, instructions, and the sticker is untouched as well. I've seen them go for more for just the legos only.

So please correct if I am wrong! I'm not worried about nitpicking, even if it's listed as "new" by the seller. I just didn't want to cost myself thousands of dollars in the future by opening the rest of the bags.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it!

I hope it's complete.....the seller had no business listing it as new. Good luck to you.

There is a seller in the classifieds that apparently has 3 brand new Death Star II 10143 sets and for less than £600 delivered which seems too good to be true.

Do you think its likely a scam as its a new member with no feedback but is PayPal verified.

8 minutes ago, Andyperkins said:

There is a seller in the classifieds that apparently has 3 brand new Death Star II 10143 sets and for less than £600 delivered which seems too good to be true.

Do you think its likely a scam as its a new member with no feedback but is PayPal verified.

Stay away.