House of Fraser had a 40% sale earlier this week for their well-above RRP prices (now just 20%). I bought some MInecraft as it was a little cheaper than anywhere else - 2 separate deliveries. One was boxed and bubble wrapped, no problem. However the two smaller Legs were in a bag with no protection. They also had more stickers than Argos with one on the front of the box.

Very disappointing for a supposed posh retailer. 

1 hour ago, grabbitfast said:

Took my weekly trawl through the local lego outlets ie Smyths and Toys r Us and was amazed at the number of retired sets still on the shelves moreso Smyths who normally dump the retirees pronto not this year however,looking forward to some good clearance prices soon.

Will keep you all updated.

It's funny with Smyths, the biggest toy retailer in the country here and I haven't bought a single set off them this year. Crap discounts, no promos, no rewards system, only cashback/points you can earn on them is Avios points, it's lucky for them that they have a semi monopoly over here.

I've been into the Reading and Farnborough Smyths about 3 times each and never bought a thing. There's hardly ever a discount or voucher worth having.

15 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

I've been into the Reading and Farnborough Smyths about 3 times each and never bought a thing. There's hardly ever a discount or voucher worth having.

I find it helpful to go to Farnborough to at least look at the sets on the shelves. 

Not bought anything there either.

1 hour ago, Sprocket77 said:

It's funny with Smyths, the biggest toy retailer in the country here and I haven't bought a single set off them this year. Crap discounts, no promos, no rewards system, only cashback/points you can earn on them is Avios points, it's lucky for them that they have a semi monopoly over here.

I missed their clearances this year but have bought a few items when vouchers have combined with below rrp prices 

4 hours ago, roxio said:

only been out 6 months, so quite a long wait, RV was the best set to pair with, 18 months old and already doing the dance on LEGO Shop at Home

I had some belief in Vacation Getaways but looking at next years sets there's far too many Camping Vehicle alternatives

OK so after spending a fair amount of time on these forums I've come to the conclusion that whilst I love Lego, reselling it isn't for me. 

My wife and I started a reselling business (part-time) to help increase our income and we've been selling all sorts of stock from Boot sales, Facebook Marketplace, Charity Shops and our own personal items. I wanted to branch out into other areas, Lego was appealing to me because I loved it as a kid and I like the idea of investing on something for the future. 

The thing is, why would we invest our money into something which after 2 years might give us a 100% profit, when every £1 we're putting into our current reselling business is on average giving us £2 back and usually within 30 days. 

Our reselling business is a lot more work but I'm not patient enough to sit on £500 of Lego for two years and to slowly build up a level of stock without knowing if this is going to be profitable or not.

I've cancelled my Asda order from yesterday but I'm planning on keeping 2 x Yellow Subs a Catamaran and Stephanie's house which I will either shift for very small profit on ebay or try to shift on Facebook Market place before Christmas.

I will still lurk about a bit on here but I think I'm happy with our current business model for now, if I see some good sets discounted after Christmas then I may have another look but for now I'm not in a position to wait two years to start getting some returns back on these sets. 

Thanks to you all for helping me out and I hope the sets you've all invested in do work out for you all.
 

35 minutes ago, richiej1979 said:

The thing is, why would we invest our money into something which after 2 years might give us a 100% profit, when every £1 we're putting into our current reselling business is on average giving us £2 back and usually within 30 days. 

 

Your right, why would you. If you keep doing that even 6 times a year and keep reinvesting in stock you will do very well. GL 

4 minutes ago, botchy123 said:

Your right, why would you. If you keep doing that even 6 times a year and keep reinvesting in stock you will do very well. GL 

There's also very little risk.

If I buy 10 items for on average £1-£5 an item to resell at £10 - £20, and two of them don't sell for the asking price. It's really not an issue. 

51 minutes ago, richiej1979 said:

There's also very little risk.

If I buy 10 items for on average £1-£5 an item to resell at £10 - £20, and two of them don't sell for the asking price. It's really not an issue. 

I'd keep the Yellow Submarines for at least a year after retirement as this cold easily reach £100. I understand why LEGO reselling isn't for you and I felt the same last year. I'm now back and this time around I shift most of what I buy within weeks or even days at, say 25% profit in bulk. I'm now more selective in what I buy.

6 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

I'd keep the Yellow Submarines for at least a year after retirement as this cold easily reach £100. I understand why LEGO reselling isn't for you and I felt the same last year. I'm now back and this time around I shift most of what I buy within weeks or even days at, say 25% profit in bulk. I'm now more selective in what I buy.

I think I'm a quick flipping low life.

 

21 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

I'd keep the Yellow Submarines for at least a year after retirement as this cold easily reach £100. I understand why LEGO reselling isn't for you and I felt the same last year. I'm now back and this time around I shift most of what I buy within weeks or even days at, say 25% profit in bulk. I'm now more selective in what I buy.

You know the subs are the only set that I've bought that I'd say I have 100% confidence in. But even then, they've been discounted so much that I'd be worried about competition. 

1 hour ago, richiej1979 said:

OK so after spending a fair amount of time on these forums I've come to the conclusion that whilst I love Lego, reselling it isn't for me. 

My wife and I started a reselling business (part-time) to help increase our income and we've been selling all sorts of stock from Boot sales, Facebook Marketplace, Charity Shops and our own personal items. I wanted to branch out into other areas, Lego was appealing to me because I loved it as a kid and I like the idea of investing on something for the future. 

The thing is, why would we invest our money into something which after 2 years might give us a 100% profit, when every £1 we're putting into our current reselling business is on average giving us £2 back and usually within 30 days. 

Our reselling business is a lot more work but I'm not patient enough to sit on £500 of Lego for two years and to slowly build up a level of stock without knowing if this is going to be profitable or not.

I've cancelled my Asda order from yesterday but I'm planning on keeping 2 x Yellow Subs a Catamaran and Stephanie's house which I will either shift for very small profit on ebay or try to shift on Facebook Market place before Christmas.

I will still lurk about a bit on here but I think I'm happy with our current business model for now, if I see some good sets discounted after Christmas then I may have another look but for now I'm not in a position to wait two years to start getting some returns back on these sets. 

Thanks to you all for helping me out and I hope the sets you've all invested in do work out for you all.
 

This years end has been pretty poor compared to previous years,so I wouldnt throw in the towel just yet.

 

55 minutes ago, grabbitfast said:

This years end has been pretty poor compared to previous years,so I wouldnt throw in the towel just yet.

I agree. Sometimes it's best to get the bargains while you can and wait for the QFLLs to unload first and make a lot less profit than you! Eventually, the QFLLs will realise that it's not worth the hassle and just move on to derail another gravy train somewhere. If it's money that you can afford to tie up for 1-2yrs and have the space, isn't it at least worth a try?

6 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

Eventually, the QFLLs will realise that it's not worth the hassle and just move on to derail another gravy train somewhere. 

8 minutes ago, richiej1979 said:

I started on eBay selling genuine high-spec bike components and the "Alibaba Brigade" were soon competing selling very good fakes for a fraction of the cost along with those happy to make £1-£2 per sale on genuine items. After a couple of years, they were gone and the market recovered. I just hope that LEGO will recover in a similar way. If you're nervous, just keep an eye on the market and try some "virtual" trading to see how well you would've done during that time.

3 hours ago, richiej1979 said:

OK so after spending a fair amount of time on these forums I've come to the conclusion that whilst I love Lego, reselling it isn't for me. 

 

Good luck. It sounds like you do very well in what you do. Making money is never easy. For me, I can wait a few months for a return and I enjoy sourcing the sets I think might do well. I've bought some dud ones, but at worst I will break-even. 

On a wider scale. it is difficult to find a return in anything these days. Property prices are high. Equities are high. Commodities, like oil, have crept up this year. Forex is a gamble. As for cash, interest is poor. 

Where else can you get a return? I have no idea... so I'll keep trying the things that interest me until I see opportunities elsewhre. 

Quick example bought 14x 75919 IR sets from Smyths last year £80 each granted did have to do a bit of running around to get them, still have 9 of them,have a quick look on Amazon see what they are going for now.

11 minutes ago, Villager Chris said:

Good luck. It sounds like you do very well in what you do. Making money is never easy. For me, I can wait a few months for a return and I enjoy sourcing the sets I think might do well. I've bought some dud ones, but at worst I will break-even. 

On a wider scale. it is difficult to find a return in anything these days. Property prices are high. Equities are high. Commodities, like oil, have crept up this year. Forex is a gamble. As for cash, interest is poor. 

Where else can you get a return? I have no idea... so I'll keep trying the things that interest me until I see opportunities elsewhre. 

If you can accept the risk.... Cryptocurrencies! Banks, property, stocks and shares aren't worth it for such a meagre returns which are often below inflation. Take some risks and live a little!

13 minutes ago, grabbitfast said:

Quick example bought 14x 75919 IR sets from Smyths last year £80 each granted did have to do a bit of running around to get them, still have 9 of them,have a quick look on Amazon see what they are going for now.

Such winners are not predictable. It sounds like richie wants Lego reselling to be a reliable business stream while for the rest of us (Tabby excluded) it is simply profitable fun.

Edited December 7, 20178 yr by Scatterbug

1 minute ago, Scatterbug said:

Such winners are not predictable. It sounds like richie wants Lego reselling to be a business stream while for the rest of us (Tabby excluded) it is simply profitable fun.

Have to beg to differ on that one Jurassic Park and Scooby Doo were very predictable.

5 minutes ago, grabbitfast said:

Have to beg to differ on that one Jurassic Park and Scooby Doo were very predictable.

You can't make a living on 2 themes (which is the context I'm talking about).

Edited December 7, 20178 yr by Scatterbug

4 minutes ago, grabbitfast said:

Have to beg to differ on that one Jurassic Park and Scooby Doo were very predictable.

I agree which is why I went in huge on Raptor Escapes and Mystery Machines ;-) To be honest I only took a chance of the Raptor Escapes as they were the only ones I saw at 50% off at the time, I love raptors anyway and I didn't see that many on the shelves - great result! The Mystery Machine was a total no-brainer, especially on a 3-for-2 sale or less.

27 minutes ago, Scatterbug said:

You can't make a living on 2 themes (which is the context I'm talking about).

You can do it on 1 set if you buy enough of the right set at the right price. In hindsight, I'd have bought 1,000x 21103 Deloreans which was entirely possible at the time as they were everywhere and often heavily discounted - such a hideous set too!

Seriously... I do now invest in several themes, but avoid STAR WARS and SUPER HEROES as there's simpy too many sets produced, too many rehashes and too much competition. Themes like CITY and FRIENDS are OK if you take advantage of the crazy >66% off prices and go in big. I even buy Duplo... at the right price!

Edited December 7, 20178 yr by TabbyBoy

20 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

You can do it on 1 set if you buy enough of the right set at the right price. In hindsight, I'd have bought 1,000x 21103 Deloreans which was entirely possible at the time as they were everywhere and often heavily discounted - such a hideous set too!

Seriousl... I do now invest in several themes, but avoid STAR WARS and SUPER HEROES as there's simpy too many sets produced, too many rehashes and too much competition. Themes like CITY and FRIENDS are OK if you take advantage of the crazy >66% off prices and go in big. I even buy Duplo... at the right price!

Of course. But all eggs in one basket can blow up in your face.

Anyway, interesting people are jumping to the defence of Lego reselling when the 'don't bother' response has been so prevalent.