Predictions on Discontinuing Sets and their Secondary Market Value

PapaBear

^ Well don't leave us waiting in anticipation.  What did the string say

SprinkleOtter

PapaBear said:

^ Well don't leave us waiting in anticipation.  What did the string say

"All signs point to maybe."

Bumblepants

With Walmart and Amazon US discounts on the Firehouse and Brick Bank we should declare that proof they are on the way out and begin a panic!

stevemack

PapaBear said:

^ Well don't leave us waiting in anticipation.  What did the string say

127.3mm

I hope you didn’t want imperial sorry

TheOriginalSimonB

^we would prefer to avoid any Imperial entanglements.

Farmer_John

kbw said:

 If you had to guess, how much time do we have on the Ghostbusters Firehouse HQ? End of year?

Personally, I think LEGO has made more money on the Ghostbuster's Firehouse HQ set than Columbia Pictures made on the second Ghostbuster's movie.

SumoLego

You mean the reboot.  As I recall GBII did pretty good at the box office.

(And I am still afraid of Vigo the Carpathian.)

Farmer_John

^Wow...I learn something new on this site every day. I didn't realize there was a second Ghostbusters with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd (or maybe I just forgot), but I'm sure it was much better than the chickified version from 2016. Some things are just better left alone...

jnscoelho

^Totally agree with you.
Fortunately Robert Zemeckis has been able to stop a Back to the Future remake, but I fear that won't last long...

SumoLego

jnscoelho said:

^Totally agree with you.
Fortunately Robert Zemeckis has been able to stop a Back to the Future remake, but I fear that won't last long...

If there is more LotR content coming... there will be another Back to the Future.

BrickByBrick

^NO!!! Leave Back to the Future alone!! Make a different time travel movie. If they have to make a movie with a delorean, don't touch anything else from the original trilogy

CCC

Forward to the Past, with Farty McMye.

MAGNINOMINISUMBRA

Man if we were Eurobricks users we would ALL be so totally timed out...
Back to the derail...

SumoLego said:

jnscoelho said:

^Totally agree with you.
Fortunately Robert Zemeckis has been able to stop a Back to the Future remake, but I fear that won't last long...

If there is more LotR content coming... there will be another Back to the Future.

Is this the LOTR TV series they have been talking about for like...forever.  And, if so, what network is making it?  And how weird will it be to see Middle Earth Westerosised?  I'm sure this Hobbitses will be fine, half men are VERY fashionable!

SumoLego

^ I think either Amazon or Netflix paid something like a billion dollars for the limited franchise.  The Tolkien Estate was in litigation for years over those rights and as I recall Christopher Tolkien wasn't at all thrilled about the LotR films, and even less thrilled about the Hobbit trilogy.

juggles7

I've noticed renewed interest in the older Lego sets (they're catching a bid). Here's why:

In November 2017, Amazon Studios spent $250 million to outbid Netflix for television series rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s world-renowned Lord of the Rings fantasy series. Produced in conjunction with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, publisher HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema, the project will explore new storylines preceding The Fellowship of the Ring, with the option of an additional spinoff series based in and around Middle Earth.

pharmjod

LEGO Ideas Old Fishing Store 21310

http://www.walmart.com/ip/LEGO-Ideas-Old-Fishing-Store-21310/56134544

$109.99

Astrobricks

^ OOS now :(

kbw

Bumblepants said:

With Walmart and Amazon US discounts on the Firehouse and Brick Bank we should declare that proof they are on the way out and begin a panic!

Thanks for letting me know. Now to buy from Amazon or Lego for Double VIP. . .

Astrobricks

kbw said:

Bumblepants said:

With Walmart and Amazon US discounts on the Firehouse and Brick Bank we should declare that proof they are on the way out and begin a panic!

Thanks for letting me know. Now to buy from Amazon or Lego for Double VIP. . .

Well, double VIP is only a 10% “discount”, so that makes it simple.

MrJackson

Yea but those VIP dollars add up. It was much easier to explain to my wife that I only paid $29.99 for the UCS Falcon than list price. 

Astrobricks

MrJackson said:

Yea but those VIP dollars add up. It was much easier to explain to my wife that I only paid $29.99 for the UCS Falcon than list price. 

And she let you get away with spending at least $7700 to get that many VIP points in the first place? Sounds like she’s already fairly forgiving. :)

MrJackson

Final thing I bought before I left working at Lego. So the employee discount didn't hurt either 

560Heliport

Can I ask what the employee discount is, or are you not allowed to say?

MrJackson

I will tell you that it is worth getting a job at an LBR store.

stevemack

Yup, just don’t sell any on though as it’s against ur employment t&c’s I think

1265

560Heliport said:

Can I ask what the employee discount is, or are you not allowed to say?

50% discount.

SumoLego

1265 said:

560Heliport said:

Can I ask what the employee discount is, or are you not allowed to say?

50% discount.

Depends on what kind of employee you are.  Part-time or seasonal employees at the retail stores only get a 30% discount.  Full-time managers at the retail stores get 50%.

And then there are limits on the amount of product you can purchase.  I think part-timers could only get $250.00 worth of discounted product.

Corporate folks get 50%, and have similar product limit amounts.

MrJackson

The 30% is only for people who are on their initial probationary 90 days. If you're kept on as a regular employee it bumps to 50. Spend limit is $2,500 annually after discount. There are stipulations: don't abuse it (let a friend by $1200 worth of stuff), don't trade your discount for favors from people, and above all, don't buy and then flip - that is fireable. I was there about 4 year, 3 as a supervisor. The falcon stock finally stabilized to the point where we could buy it, less than a week before I left working there. If you like Lego and have a store close, it's worth an ask....

Astrobricks

And you collect VIP points too? That is a nice deal.

Switchfoot55

^I assume the amassed VIP points are on the discounted purchase, not the full value of the item?

MrJackson

Correct. More accurately they were on whatever my final dollar total was after any redemption I used. Honestly a good chunk of VIP dollars I earned that eventually subsidized the Falcon were from Bricks and Pieces orders during double points for pieces for Brickadelphia. Once news of the Falcon hit I started saving VIP points in earnest hoping I'd be able to eventually get it. Cut it close, but it's in my basement, patiently waiting for when I get around to amassing the pieces for the Hangar Bay 327 MOC and build a coffee table, hopefully before the school year starts and I'm back at work. 

madforLEGO

Interesting.. the 48x48 baseplate is now 'sold out' at S@H US

SumoLego

MrJackson said:

...Spend limit is $2,500 annually after discount...

l would be remiss not to mention that the limits change (sometimes year-to-year) and there are odd parameters when buying in-store and online.  S@H is a nightmare to deal with.  (Not that I know this first-hand, but a few years ago there was a really arcane systems of having to get supervisor approval to put in a S@H order.) 

The retail employees tended to have a easier time, but only because they didn't have to utilize S@H.  I would be interested to know if the people that work for S@H have a simple method to order stuff for themselves.

MrJackson

It is arcane, dealing with employee purchases through S@H. I've actually used that exact adjective to describe the process, and it does require manager approval, although employee discounts need to be rung out by the manager or ASM anyway. Apparently normal supervisors used to be able to do it but that was before I started and long before I got promoted. The discount's been 50% for a long time as far as I know; well before I got there. 

piratemania7

Has anything been mentioned or does anyone have any ideas about the potential after market performance of the LEGO Batman Movie sets? Nothing in particular just overall.

madforLEGO

piratemania7 said:

Has anything been mentioned or does anyone have any ideas about the potential after market performance of the LEGO Batman Movie sets? Nothing in particular just overall.

Id like to think the sets with different bat suits may be in demand as well as the villian characters that may be sought after for collectors. That should mean most of the TLBM sets may do OK, but only if you get them on discount (like most LEGO sets in terms of secondary value).

pharmjod

I'd say given the number of sets I've seen on deep discount (50% or more off) and the performance history of the LEGO movie swts I'm not optimistic about the LBM movie sets. Which is a shame, cause I personally like most of them.

Pitfall69

^^^Very few if any of the sets will make a decent return. You might do better parting the sets out and selling the minifigures.

Pitfall69

It's crazy, I had a dream last night that I was at a Target and they had a bunch of The Zombies sets and I didn't buy any. 

SprinkleOtter

Pitfall69 said:

It's crazy, I had a dream last night that I was at a Target and they had a bunch of The Zombies sets and I didn't buy any. 

No, no. Nightmare.

kbw

So the GB Firehouse is listed “out of stock” at S@H. No backorder available, just out.  Might be time to jump on it at Amazon or WM if you want it. I believe it’s also out of stock at Target too

SumoLego

Geez, it's about time!  Is the Helicarrier retired?

Switchfoot55

^Not yet. I heard they're doing another run of the Helicarrier to combined with the nano Hogwarts. A Heliwarts set for the ages.  

kbw

It’s available for backorder now. CRISIS AVERTED.

SumoLego

Switchfoot55 said:

^Not yet. I heard they're doing another run of the Helicarrier to combined with the nano Hogwarts. A Heliwarts set for the ages.  

If I can retrofit some friction pins before the GBHQ is retired maybe we can build a Heliwarts Hoghouse?

Switchfoot55

^Yes! This is the true ingenuity that Lego is lacking! 

But let's not sell ourselves short. UCS Heliwarts Hoghouse (it'll have a plaque, so obviously UCS)

MAGNINOMINISUMBRA

Pitfall69 said:

It's crazy, I had a dream last night that I was at a Target and they had a bunch of The Zombies sets and I didn't buy any. 

#9465?
Welcome to my EXACT reality!  Australian Targets were one of the few places to get them. I did pick up one at very initial release (thinking that It looked cool). By the time it was evident that it would be a star, they disappeared in the blink of an eye...

Eaglefan344

Road plates 7280 & 7281 state "call to check availability" on S@H and have been decreasing by about 4 cents a day on Amazon...

PapaBear

kbw said:

It’s available for backorder now. CRISIS AVERTED.

The good ol' momentary sold out trick to get you all too buy.  Hahaha, amateurs



Yea, so I bought one.  I had points to blow.  Shut up

Pitfall69

^That is probably the reason I had the dream...I mean nightmare. I did the exact same thing. Although, my wife was the one who bought one for me...Marriage; that's a different sort of nightmare ;)