holy lego where do I start

bchow

This is probley a lego builders dream, I found 4 crates of legos at a garage sale dating back to the early 70's. Alot of original boxes ect. Some motorized (working and complete sets) I don't want this stuff but understand it has value. Considering what I paid for them if I sell one person I'll make my money back. What is the best way to sell these? I don't want to take time to build the sets but have seperated the colors. is it best to seel this as a bulk lot? Or just ask people what they want / need.

pantenkind

Well, if you want the most money you need to verify which sets are there. Otherwise you will basically have to sell by the pound which will net you about 8-10/lb. You can also take the time to part out the pieces as some may be very rare. The bottom line is either you make a quick small profit with little time invested or you spend the time and potentially make a very large profit. That being said if you want to go the by the pound route I am interested.

bchow

Well, if you want the most money you need to verify which sets are there. Otherwise you will basically have to sell by the pound which will net you about 8-10/lb. You can also take the time to part out the pieces as some may be very rare. The bottom line is either you make a quick small profit with little time invested or you spend the time and potentially make a very large profit. That being said if you want to go the by the pound route I am interested.

Considering I've already sorted by colors my next is to separate highly desirable itmes, Id rather not spend hours looking what is desirable and what is not can someone give me the quickie version...Ie flowers doors windows ect.

I have boxes, instructions and or complete sets of the following
960
5510
901
961
6265
8836
6889
8826
954
6356
6361
6657
6612
6361
6679
6366
9820
6522
6013
383/6083
4010
6677
6875
6877
8034
6883
6480
6848
6648
6650
948
4010

I supose someone will tell me to do my ow homework but I'd appreciate some heads up. If anyone wants any of these, all off these/ pieces of these let me know.

bchow

Later on I can add pics. throw me a price

pantenkind

could you at least separate the list into what is complete, just instructions or just box? I cannot even begin to make you a fair offer without that info. As far as what pieces are rare, well someone else will have to help you there. I dont really keep track of that info enough to be much help.

pantenkind

You have some potentially good sets there. The only ones I would be interested in is 6356 and 6083. That is of course if they are complete with instructions. I dont care about the box either way. Or if you wanted to unload the lot as a whole I might be interested as well. First, where do you live? and can you upload some pictures?

oldtodd33

@bchow Pictures are very important when you are throwing money at something. Would you buy these sight unseen?

pantenkind

Yes, and since you literally became a member today people are going to be more wary.

bchow

okay no worries photos to come. Give me a few minutes

bchow

trying to figure out what sets people want then I can make the complete sets and just bulk sell the rest
I hate legos now after all this :)

bchow

okay understand these are all non close up images just so you know I am legit. I'd like to piece together the sets people are interested in than I can get you all the close up money shots you want. I'm not some hard up druggie just a gal who scored a big lego find at a g-sale. I know some of these are valuable i'm just wanted to be done with this and make some cash for my fly fishing.

bchow

more images..are these showing up? I just see red x's on my end

emilewski

I don't see any...

bchow

okay how do I upload these? I pulled from my photos? does the file have to be a specific size...will try again.

bchow

bchow

tada more photos hold on

bchow

photo 1

rocao

I think the problem is they are bitmaps (.bmp). You can view them if you download them but the forum software is not displaying them automatically. In contrast, JPGs and GIFs display automatically.

I would be interested in 383/6083, but to be honest, if the pieces are mixed together the interest goes way down because some of the original pieces from that set came from different molds and unless you were willing to pull all the pieces out and look for the tell-tale sign of the molding seam on the bricks, it wouldn't be any different from me piecing the set together on bricklink.

bchow

bchow

god I hate legos

bchow

are they showing up now?

davee123

Wow, there's quite a difference between "early 70's" and "late 70's"-- but it looks like you really meant from late 70's through the early 90's, which is probably one of the sweeter spots in terms of value. If you're talking about pre-minifigure sets (pre-1978), there's not a ton of value unless you've got complete sets with boxes and instructions.

With what you've got? It's really hard to tell. Here's what I see:

Set#	Year	Pcs	#Sold	~price	Theme		Name
=====================================================================================
960	1978	22	2	$35.00	Basic		Power Pack
5510	1986	285	4	$41.92	Model Team	Off-Road 4x4
901	1976	31	0	$40.00	Basic		Motor Set
961	1978	78	0	?	Technic		Expert Builder/Gear Parts
6265	1989	79	35	$25.13	Pirates		Sabre Island
8836	1992	273	0	$23.95	Technic		Sky Ranger
6889	1994	129	18	$8.08	Space		Recon Robot
8826	1992	95	5	$4.50	Technic		ATX Sport Cycle
954	1978	364	0	?	Technic		Helicopter
6356	1988	147	6	$29.82	Town		Med-Star Rescue Plane
6361	1986	159	6	$21.22	Town		Mobile Crane
6657	1985	62	15	$6.22	Town		Fire Patrol Copter
6612	1986	25	6	$6.96	Town		Fire Chief's Car
6361	?Again?
6679?	1980	75	3	$17.33	Town		Exxon Tow Truck
6679?	1991	71	9	$6.41	Town		Dark Shark
6366	1984	100	4	$38.73	Town		Fire & Rescue Squad
9820	1989	44	0	?	Accessories	Geared Turntable
6522	1987	22	9	$7.63	Town		Highway Patrol
6013	1998	7	6	$9.52	Ninja		Samurai Swordsman
383	1979	184	2	$133.06	Castle		Knight's Tournament
4010	1987	75	5	$13.87	Town		Police Rescue Boat
6677	1986	68	9	$12.03	Town		Motocross Racing
6875	1988	87	7	$8.36	Space		Hovercraft
6877	1990	56	15	$9.19	Space		Vector Detector
8034	1989	187	4	$16.33	Technic		Universal Set
6883	1987	104	5	$21.50	Space		Terrestrial Rover
6480	1986	114	12	$30.97	Town		Light & Sound Hook and Ladder Truck
6848?	1985	49	3	$20.43	Space		Interplanetary Shuttle
6848?	1988	56	6	$8.34	Space		Strategic Persuer
6648?	1980	38	1	$8.00	Town		Dump Truck
6648?	1992	57	7	$3.66	Town		Mag Racer
6650	1981	42	6	$14.06	Town		Fire and Rescue Van
948	1978	206	0	$30.00	Technic		Go-Kart
4010	?Again?

So, that's based on BrickLink data, although there are some in your list that are ambiguous (marked with a question mark), and some that are repeated (perhaps unintentionally?), and at least one where it's pretty far out of range (6013, which is from 1998).

That's also assuming that the sets are complete, and that you sell them individually, which means a lot more work for you, and a lot of time waiting for buyers to come along. But it would be roughly $700 or so, assuming the above list is accurate.

But given that I can see some elements from sets that AREN'T in your list, you probably have more sets that aren't listed. And also, chances are good that the sets aren't complete.

If you sell them as a single lot, without verifying the pieces, that brings the price WAY down, because you're basically making the buyer do all the work for you, and giving them all the risk if you're missing half the pieces. I'd guess the whole thing would be a value of between $75 and $1000 depending on what exactly you've got, how much time and effort you'll put in, and how you sell it, which is a pretty wide range!

[edit]Oh, and in the time it took me to look that up, I see you've posted some more pictures with a LOT of more valuable stuff than what was in the list![/edit]

DaveE

bchow

Dave thank you . Here's the deal I'm not hard up for cash and as much as I'd like to sit on the carpet and assemble lego sets I'd just rather not I'd rather let some Lego guru master get these and work his or her Lego skills. I'll post more close up shots if anyone wants otherwise some local craigslister is going to get these as I have officially decided I hate legos. This is in the Seattle area.

pantenkind

Message me with a bulk price your asking and a shipping weight and I am interested. I would hope since I was first to answer I would get first choice to buy :-)

Istokg

You should see my Living Room.... then you'd really start to hate LEGO..... (well maybe a little...)

StuBoy

^ Nooooo!! Is that sunlight streaming all over those white bricks?!?! :)

bchow

Message me with a bulk price your asking and a shipping weight and I am interested. I would hope since I was first to answer I would get first choice to buy :-)

Asking me to price legos is like asking you to restore a vintage trailer. I know how, you don't, and likewise. I am already in the talks with a potential buyer. But will entertain all offers. Today I am sorting for closer up images. Its kinda like storage units. Ya kinda know what your getting but not really and isn't that half the fun :)

bchow

You guys have got to have some serious OCD issues in order to patiently deal with legos. I think they need to hide legos in prison and when prisoners find all the pieces AND assemble then they get out of jail....its pure torture.

pantenkind

I know it is none of our business, but what did you pay for all these? Its not going to affect resale because the value is there. This is the kind of find I live for at garage sales!

bchow

I am separating an taking extensive photos will be back later today

madforLEGO

You should see my Living Room.... then you'd really start to hate LEGO..... (well maybe a little...)

Thats all you have in your living room? You should see what used to be my dining room...lol

bchow

Prepare yourself.....$30 bucks it was all I could do not to jump up an down. Hubby was less than thrilled to see that many legos come in at once :)

davee123

Wow! Yeah, for $30, that's quite a steal! You could probably have an easy turnaround for a hundred or so no problem, maybe even a few hundred! More than that and you'd have to put in some longer-term effort-- but making between 3x and 10x your money? Nice find.

DaveE

bchow

So far I'm at 32 lbs of legos with probley still another 10 to sort . Actually it's growing on me. I won't be able to post pics yet I have about 100 pics and thinking shutterfly might be the best approach for viewing in case anyone is curious. I am soaking the white ones in hot bleach right now. Hahahah just kidding a little Lego humor for your day.

dougts

so about $0.70 per pound. You got a huge steal, even if it was just a bunch of LEGO with no instructions, boxes, or complete sets included.

Honestly, if you want the most return on your investment with the smallest effort, listing the whole lot (or even 4x ~10-pound lots) on ebay is probably your best bet.

Medium effort would be building all the complete sets you can using the parts and included instructions, and listing each set seperately on ebay and/or bricklink, then dumping the remainder as a bulk lot. Obviously, trying to build the more valuable sets first would be the way to go.

Matty_Storm

Removed by @Matthew

bchow

.70 cents per pound nice try Doug ;)

dougts

no, no, I was saying YOU paid $0.70 per pound, and telling you what a good deal you got. You misunderstood me, I'm not bidding.

Eric

Wow dude, that's just amazing. Good Find. :O

pantenkind

^ Bchow is a woman...not a dude :-)

And seriously, why can I never find a deal even close to that. I would be happy finding that lot for 100.00!

dimefield

^ They come around you just have to be vigilant...and quick for local deals.

bchow

Sorry guys in have the help of a small child....he could find a needle in a haystack it was his find. I'm having to bribe him tremendously since he thought he might get them. He pulled the super charm and this woman sold it because she thought he was so cute.

bchow

no, no, I was saying YOU paid $0.70 per pound, and telling you what a good deal you got. You misunderstood me, I'm not bidding.

haha I figured it was something like that...just giving this lego forum some humor since you probley get bored talking about the same old stuff. I didn't think you were bidding thats why the winking smily face at the end of my sentence. :)

bchow

^ They come around you just have to be vigilant...and quick for local deals.

Surprisingly this was late in the day, IDK people missed that one...oh well

bchow

whats a good book to get to find values?

davee123

There really aren't any books-- the best place (pretty much ONLY place) to look for LEGO valuations is BrickLink. To find the value of a particular set:

1) Select "Catalog Items" in the drop-down at the top of the page

2) Enter the set number that you're looking for (or the set name, although the text matching is very poor on BrickLink), and click "Go!".

3) If there's multiple matches, click on the set number (on the right) that matches the set you meant. If there's only 1 match, you will be taken directly to the item page:

4) On the item page, click the "View Price Guide" link. Sometimes, if no price information is available, there won't be a link :(

5) The Price Guide page will tell you all the times that the set has been sold on BrickLink in the last 6 months (either "new" or "used"), and what prices people are selling the set for currently (new or used).

Unfortunately, BrickLink doesn't distinguish between "very slightly used" and "horrifically used". So if a set sold used for $100, but also for $20, it could be because the set was incomplete, or it was badly damaged, or simply because the seller had really low prices! It's impossible to tell. But usually, there's at least SOME information that you can use to help gauge how valuable a set is.

Another option is eBay, but that's difficult. You can search completed auctions with the set number and the word "LEGO", but you'll often get instances of someone selling the set in a group of other sets, or something that received no bids during the auction. So it's tricky to get a good idea of the fair price.

If there are other valuation services for LEGO sets, I'm not really aware of them. I'm often disappointed that BrickLink keeps its data around for only 6 months, and maybe someone else has kept tabs on BrickLink prices historically (and/or maybe other sources?*), but I'm not aware of any public services for it, if so.

DaveE

* I DO recall someone once starting a service with eBay prices in that manner, but eBay effectively sent them a cease and desist order. Well, more accurately, they said "pay us for using our data, or else you have to stop".

bchow

Dave how do I find individual part numbers on random stuff? There doesn't seem to be an outlandish variety but certainly some weird parts I've never seen, but then again I'm not into legos. I'd like to gauge what's "rare" vs old. I do have a red case
And a red tile with the printed words Lego which I read on here were of desire, however I guess that depends on who wants it and how badly.

bchow

I guess I could go thru the manuals... But I don't recall the older manuals having part numbers.....

davee123

That's pretty difficult-- most parts actually have the Design ID molded on them, but it's hard to discern. For the parts you're looking at, they'll likely have a 4-digit Design ID (5-digit Design IDs didn't arrive until the late 90's sometime, I think). Sometimes, it's written plainly, and sometimes there wasn't room to write it on the part, so they divided it into two halves. And to make matters worse, they sometimes will write the mold cavity number on each part, which makes it difficult to tell which is the Design ID and which is the mold cavity number.

Oh, and in case it wasn't already complicated enough for you? You'll notice that I called them "Design IDs" and not "Part Numbers". That's because Design ID is the *type* of element, and "Part Number" is a combination of both the Design ID and the Color Number. So a 2x4 brick has a Design ID of "3001", but the Part Number is a totally different number, depending on the color.

As you noticed, in modern sets, they write the Part Numbers next to the parts at the end of the instruction booklet-- but they've only been doing that for the last few years. So that won't help you, unfortunately-- unless you just-so-happen to find the exact same element in the exact same color used in a modern set.

The other handy way to find the Design IDs (those are the numbers BrickLink uses) is to look up the set that the part came in on BrickLink, and look at its inventory. That'll tell you what the Design ID is, or at least, the ID that BrickLink uses to identify the element in question. And of course THAT's difficult, because you probably don't know what set a random part came in!

In the end, you'll have to learn an awful lot about LEGO in order to find out Part Numbers and Design IDs on your own. It's hideously complex, and in addition to learning how LEGO deals with these numbers, there's also a lot to learn about how the hobby community deals with them.

You could also ask people online (I think there's a thread dedicated to identifying parts), although you may often need to post a picture to help describe the part you're looking for.

DaveE

atkinsar

If there are other valuation services for LEGO sets, I'm not really aware of them. I'm often disappointed that BrickLink keeps its data around for only 6 months, and maybe someone else has kept tabs on BrickLink prices historically (and/or maybe other sources?*), but I'm not aware of any public services for it, if so.

This is exactly what I've been working on, a site that tracks sets values over time based on Bricklink price data. Now that I've teased you, I have to tell you I'm not quite ready to unleash it on the world yet, but it is only a few weeks away, it's just going through a bit of a makeover at the moment.