Expert driven discussion

rocao

I think a potentially great use for the forum would be to identify experts in particular aspects of Lego and host an "ask me" thread. I find that format more inviting for questions and discourse than starting individual threads at an unidentified audience.

For example, here are some topics that I think would be of great value:

1) buying on eBay
2) selling on eBay
3) selling on Bricklink
4) bargain hunting
5) designing sets (LDD, Ldraw tips, techniques)
6) photography
7) theme-related discussion

I'll start the ball rolling... if you think you may be an expert in a field of interest, message me your credentials.

Cam_n_Stu

Great idea, I'd add 'Buying on Bricklink Internationally' - I'm in the UK and most of them items I want to buy are abroad so I have currency and shipment hassles which puzzles me and hence puts me off using it.

vynsane

This is a great idea. I'd like to put my hat in the ring for contention under the category for LEGO Digital Designer - I've been working in LDD almost exclusively recently, as I currently have no place or time to spread out and play with bricks, and have become quite adept at the program.

Also, you may want to create a category for writing quality reviews.

rocao

Great idea, I'd add 'Buying on Bricklink Internationally' - I'm in the UK and most of them items I want to buy are abroad so I have currency and shipment hassles which puzzles me and hence puts me off using it.

Hi Can&Stu,

I thought about buying on Bricklink when I made the list as a natural complement to selling, but I thought something in the form of a primer/tutorial would be sufficient since there aren't as many variables and tricks as there are on buying on eBay, for instance.

There are definitely some considerations though, so maybe it is warranted after all.

Yellowcastle

This sounds like a good idea. If only I had a superpower. :o). Oh wait, I'll throw my hat in the ring for CMF barcode and dimple reading. Ha.

Matthew

This is a great idea. I'd like to put my hat in the ring for contention under the category for LEGO Digital Designer - I've been working in LDD almost exclusively recently, as I currently have no place or time to spread out and play with bricks, and have become quite adept at the program.

Also, you may want to create a category for writing quality reviews.

I was going to say that :-)
I'll do LDD too.

atkinsar

good idea, shame I don't feel like an expert in anything!

drdavewatford

Not sure I'd describe myself as an expert, but I've certainly bought a LOT of LEGO on eBay, and used a fair few international Bricklink sellers ........

Si_UKNZ

Why not just ask the questions and youll soon find out who the experts are!

legowomen1980p

I am an Expert on Lego bricks, trends, sales, how to display lego bricks in a picture to post on Ebay for the maximum value, how to list things, why to only charge 99 cents and no reserve.. I am a Master in the sales of Lego Bricks, I also know how to market them to just about anyone.. I am a business major..
I have sold on E-bay and on Amazon.. I have stock piles of certain sets that I know will increase in value..
best idea...buy on bricklink and sell on ebay...
LEGO is a hobby I share with my partner.

Si_UKNZ

I have stock piles of certain sets that I know will increase in value..

OOh now that's interesting; which ones? Personally I like family home and medieval village for that purpose.

atkinsar

^ I would think Medieval Market Village is a shoe-in, as are the Winter Bakery and Winter Toy Shop.

drdavewatford

^ I would think Medieval Market Village is a shoe-in, as are the Winter Bakery and Winter Toy Shop.

Cheers, @atkinsar - always nice when someone validates your decisions ! I have multiples of all those sets because I think they'll increase in value. The John Lewis store was selling off the Toy Shop at £19.99 after Christmas this year, so I predict a big profit on those in a few years time.

atkinsar

Ha, I 'ordered' some Toy Shops from John Lewis for that price, never got them though as they cancelled my order. Looks like you were a bit more successful!

Matthew

^ I would think Medieval Market Village is a shoe-in, as are the Winter Bakery and Winter Toy Shop.

Cheers, @atkinsar - always nice when someone validates your decisions ! I have multiples of all those sets because I think they'll increase in value. The John Lewis store was selling off the Toy Shop at £19.99 after Christmas this year, so I predict a big profit on those in a few years time.

If you can bring yourself to sell them :-)

rocao

so I predict a big profit on those in a few years time.

Do you mean unrealized profit?

[edit]: oops, just saw what Matt said ^

rocao

I'm still looking for high volume sellers on eBay and Bricklink that would be willing to devote some time to host an "ask me" thread and/or write a tutorial based on their experience and wisdom.

Please send me a private message if you qualify and are interested.

Martin

Buying to sell is an interesting thread. I run my own online store and ocassionally people contact me to say they want to do the same thing and ask how I set up my business, where I get my stock from, etc. It seems to come as a bit of a surprise to them that I won't tell them...

jwsmart

I may not be an "expert", but I do think I've got some techniques to share on the ldraw/mlcad/lpub/pov-ray front. The content on ldraw.org is something like 8 years old. And it certainly doesn't cover the new multi-threaded version of POV-Ray.

Maybe there needs to be a CAD forum (along side the Photography & Building Techniques forums)?

rocao

@legowomen1980p: there is some good information in your post, but I'm afraid it's derailing the original purpose of this discussion: my request for credentialed experts to lead various topics.

I'd like to get the discussion back on track, but I don't want to lose the valuable information you've provided. Can you please start a new discussion and copy and paste the text of your post? Once you do that, I'll delete it from here.

legowomen1980p

done

what type of creditably are you looking for?

Istokg

Well, just joined today (been on LUGNET and BRICKLINK for years).... and if there's something you need to know about some of the older LEGO items.... I think I might be able to help... especially since I wrote a 2,200 page UNOFFICIAL LEGO SETS/PARTS COLLECTORS GUIDE (1949-80s) on CD. I'm now finishing up (pre-orders available) another volume from 1980-circa 1993.... (1992-3 was when TLG got the UK license back from Courtauld's British LEGO Ltd. subsidiary)... 1993 was when the entire world of LEGO came under TLG's control... and the end of the 12V train line... not sold in the UK.

Anyway... after that shameless plug (did I forget to say I'm selling them in my USA Bricklink Store "Gary Istok's Rare Bricks")... if you need any answers about old LEGO... I may be of service... :-)

drdavewatford

Welcome, Gary - fantastic to have you on the forum ! Beware however that people will forever be picking your brain now they know you're here......

davee123

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about LEGO in general-- sets, company policies, element history, etc. But probably my biggest area of expertise is on the online LEGO community, particularly its history. I put together a general LEGO trivia game show for BrickFest back in 2004 (I learned quite a lot!), and I've been pretty active in the community from 1999 to present. I was a cycle 6 LEGO Ambassador, a founding member of NELUG, and I've been close with various LEGO employees (I'm also not all that far from Enfield, CT). I've had ties to the administration for LUGNET and Peeron (and been only casually involved in their administration), and have done various small projects on my own for the community (scale converter, AFOL History Project Redux, BrikWars trooper/vehicle scorer, possibly forthcoming LUGBULK software).

Am I an "expert"? Hmm... probably? Most of the time when I see questions on various forums, I can either answer them or can answer them after doing a quick few minutes of research for specifics.

As for the whole "ask an expert" concept, how would this be envisioned functionally? A "sticky" thread with questions for a particular expert? I guess I can't promise (if selected as an expert) that I'd check in regularly and answer questions, or even that I'd want to if the volume were too high, but I DO have fun answering questions when I've got the time.

DaveE

Istokg

Here's an old (obsolete) but still functional webpage for my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide (1949-80s) on CD... you can browse 4 chapters of the guide. There's some pretty old images out there, some going back to the early 1950s.

I had the folks at the Billund Collections/Archives help me with providing some images, and some bits of information. However, prior to 1970, the Billund Archives are rather skimpy, and most of my research was via mainly thru European collectors.

If a link doesn't work right away, try it again... all the PDF chapters should be available for your viewing pleasure.....

http://www.geminisystems.net/lego/

I'm working on finishing up the years 1980-93 shortly... and will produced a massive 3,000+ page (over 1/3 million words, and many thousands of images).... that covers the entire 1949-93 era. I picked 1993, because that was when TLG bought back the license from Courtauld's Corp. for British LEGO Ltd. of Wrexham Wales. Starting in 1993, TLG was the direct producer of LEGO sets worldwide. Also that was the end of the line for the 4.5V and 12V train systems.

Cheers,
Gary Istok

Istokg

I didn't want to create a separate thread on this... but this is one of the many anomalies I talk about in my LEGO CD's... for those that have ever owned Volume 1 (1949-80s).

Canada has had some rather unusual LEGO sets over the years. In 1973 all of Europe, Asia and Australia (and under different set numbers... the USA) introduced new basic sets 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (USA had 105, 115, 125, 135, 145).

These new 1973 sets had the new LEGO logo, which looks almost identical to the 1998 introduced current LEGO logo (the 1973-98 version has yellow coloring within and between some of the letters).

Well Canada was continuing to use the old Samsonite sets, and the new 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 sets weren't introduced there until late 1974.

But when you look at a copy of a 1975 Eaton's Catalog image (Eaton's was once Canada's largest department store)... it shows the larger sets... 7 and 8 with the old pre 1973 "Open O" LEGO logo (and the 1965-74 bilingual "Building Toy" writing).... while the smaller sets show the new 1973 logo (with no other writing).

Compare that with an image from a 1973 German catalog showing the new sets... all with the new (1973) LEGO logo.

Did someone at Samsonite of Canada make a box design mistake... a year after the logo change?? This is a very odd mystery. It doesn't seem likely that Samsonite of Canada would have produced the boxes for the new (future sets) before the logo design change, and just hold onto the boxes for over a year??

Very strange!