Buyers Remorse

Lordmoral

This is an evolving post
Hello, don't not know if someone else did something similiar but here is my take.
Ever buyer a set that you later regretted either by it not fitting a play area you are making or that the source material wasn't that good to you? The sets listed here aren't bad they aren't of my interest anymore and this list will help me stay away from impulse buys:
DC-
Kryptonite Interception (great forklift, average everything else, could have included a load truck);
SW-
Ep VII (enjoyed the movie but not currently my favorite time period)
First Order Troop Transport;
First Order BP;
First Order Snowspeeder;
Resistance BP; 

Coolguy5000

So it's basically you're own personal thread for what sets to stay away From? 

Scott1

Yes, I sometimes feel the same way. I put two Republic Gunships on my Christmas list and by the time Christmas rolled around I was building a Modular City with no use for the Gunships. I did make a few quick bucks by reselling them on eBay, though.

Lordmoral

scoiltreasa said:

So it's basically you're own personal thread for what sets to stay away From? 

Yes and to see how many people share my own feelings.

SumoLego

Eh?  Buy the sets you like and can reasonably afford.

Enjoy!

flord

I've had buyer's remorse. I've bought lots of things just for the minifigures and have had no interest in the rest (e.g. Battle of Tokadano).The only major one I can think of off the top of my head involving buyer's remorse is Cinderella's Romantic Castle which I bought at a great price. It sits in my basement unopened and unloved.

I have slowly taught myself to only buy things I really like, and to wait for a good deal on it too. 

ToddMyers

When I was collecting, one theme I generally avoided was Star Wars (the only exceptions were UCS R2-D2, 10179 and the chrome minifigs).  However, I ended up at the LEGO Store on May 4th one year and ended up buying a UCS B-wing for 1/2 price.  Built it and regretted it every single time I looked at it.  Bulky, hard to display, and bits would fall off it you looked at it sideways.  When I finally decided to start selling off my collection, the B-wing was the very first set to go.  I think that's the only set where I regretted the purchase.

Pitfall69

I have buyers remorse and I haven't even bought Assault on Hoth yet.

OrmskirkBricks

I have been very careful with what I buy, when I came out of my dark ages, I committed to SW UCS, but soon ended up buying other sets. The only set I regret purchasing is the original Marvels Ant Man set, and I only regret it as I don't want to open it due to its increasing value. This takes me into a different category of collector I didn't want to become!

SumoLego

Pitfall69 said:

I have buyers remorse and I haven't even bought Assault on Hoth yet.

We should do an experiment - is there a such a thing as 'Gifter's Remorse'?

By the way, thank you Samsung for programming an auto-correct that changes 'there' to 'their', incorrectly.  Aces!

Renegade007cjh

There have been plenty of sets (entire themes, even), which I've rabidly acquired, yet later looked at them on the shelf and muttered, "What the hell was I thinking?" SpongeBob and Disney Cars: I'm especially looking at you.

I guess the good thing with this obsession... erm, hobby... is that, as long as you didn't pay anything like RRP for a set, you're almost guaranteed to at least break-even if / when you sell or trade them. On the other hand, if you paid over the odds for them... lesson learnt!!

In fairness, I tend to suffer more from non-buyer's remorse - and the sets that fall into *that* category inevitably rocket in value. Sigh... But that's the subject of another thread!

Lordmoral

Renegade007cjh said:

There have been plenty of sets (entire themes, even), which I've rabidly acquired, yet later looked at them on the shelf and muttered, "What the hell was I thinking?" SpongeBob and Disney Cars: I'm especially looking at you.

I guess the good thing with this obsession... erm, hobby... is that, as long as you didn't pay anything like RRP for a set, you're almost guaranteed to at least break-even if / when you sell or trade them. On the other hand, if you paid over the odds for them... lesson learnt!!

In fairness, I tend to suffer more from non-buyer's remorse - and the sets that fall into *that* category inevitably rocket in value. Sigh... But that's the subject of another thread!

I am so sad that I could never get a Republic Figther Tank, Limeted Edition and one of my favorite vehicles from the Legend Clone Wars side. Driving that tank in SW Attack of the Clones (GameCube and in SW Battlefront 1&2) was amaizing. 

bookmum

Well I suppose all those star wars sets I bought from 1999-2004 ish got me back into lego, but they are probably the reason I never could afford driving lessons, buying a car, saving for a mortgage... etc! 

Wookie2

I don't regret buying any particular sets or Lego I own but I do regret not buying the 21104: NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover when I had the chance. Now it's pretty much out of my price reach and much harder to find.

mr_benn

There are certainly sets that I've bought that I've built and thought 'meh' - but at least they all come apart ready to be recycled...

legomental

Wookie2 said:

I don't regret buying any particular sets or Lego I own but I do regret not buying the 21104: NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover when I had the chance. Now it's pretty much out of my price reach and much harder to find.

There's one on ebay for £63

SprinkleOtter

One plus about operating a Bricklink store is that I never have buyer's remorse. No matter what, I win.

I bought this set for me, but now I'm not feeling it. Since its discontinued now, I can sell it and get something else.

or

I bought this set to sell, but it is doing very poorly in the secondary market. I guess I'll just have to open it as an extra parts pack...

monkeyhanger

I suppose anyone that stocked up on Exosuit has buyer's remorse, just about going for pennies over retail on ebay and once selling fees and shipping add up, you're on a 20% loser.

But perhaps that wasn't the point of this thread, more "what do you regret buying that you bought for yourself to build and play/display?".

On that score I don't think I have any regrets, everything I bought has been very much wanted and hasn't disappointed (even the much maligned "Home One" - I like it!. My biggest regret is a lack of display space. I put all my Hoth stuff into storage last year because it was that or my Endor stuff, and owing to the wider colour palette, the Endor stuff looks a bit more interesting on the shelf. If I had a UCS AT-AT to bolster the Hoth stuff then it would probably be there in place of the Endor stuff.

TheOriginalSimonB

Right now I'm wishing I'd looked a bit closer at the Condrai copter before I bought it today. Turns out the decorative skeleton torsos don't have the right shoulder joints for the spare arms I've got. Still, I did want that yellow ninja.

monkyby87

I haven't had much buyers remorse for what I did buy, but more what I didn't buy.  Each set, even if I'm not a huge fan of it in the end, I still value.

MaffyD

I have 'gifted' remorse. Well meaning relatives who think any Lego remotely connected to the things I like will do. So, I have a #8138-1 : Phantom Crasher because I like cars, and #7113-1 : Tusken Raider Encounter because I like Star Wars.

Obviously, my children like them, but I'm not sure that was the point of the gift...

MissKittyFantastico

It's got nothing to do with its quality in any way, but: Bionicle.  I bought a whole bunch of them when I was getting back into Lego in a big way - around when the element-themed gladiators were the thing they were doing - and they were good, really.  But over time all the minifig-scale sets have built up to the point where that's the 'world' of my Lego shelves, and Bionicle doesn't fit.  A month ago, when I was moving furniture and rearranging everything, the last remaining holdouts of my Bionicle era got disassembled and put into the storage bins, and I can't say I mind their absence.

mustang69

I got #76028 Darkseid Invasion on clearance at Target a year ago or so. The only reason I got it was because of the price and it was Lego. It's a nice little set but I realized a little afterwards I would have much rather put the money into something more my focus or that had good MOC parts.

JudgeChuck

I regret the #5004404 Police Chase freebie that was given away by TLG a couple of months ago... ;-)

natro220

I regret a bulk lot I bought of Craigslist.  It was when I first came out of my dark age, and I didn't really know what was a deal or not.  I agreed to buy a box of "genuine Lego" from someone off Craigslist for $100.  When I got it home, half or so was another brand, which went into a pile and I think eventually the garbage.  The rest was a mixture of early 2000's stuff I have no interest in.  No minifigs, no instructions, just random stuff.  Everything there was absorbed into my parts collection, so every now and then I come across a strange part and wonder where it came from....it's funny how some really weird pieces were made in small quantities back then.

stlux

JudgeChuck said:

I regret the #5004404 Police Chase freebie that was given away by TLG a couple of months ago... ;-)

That's what little nieces and nephews are for ;) If you don't have those, colleagues' kids? 

MaffyD

^ I was going to say a similar thing. My son LOVED the two little cars - invented whole storylines with plot and characters as he drove them around the table. Made me smile.

stlux

That Police Chase freebie was simply not aimed at AFOL's. (as much as we might regret that) I haven't had a chance yet to give it to them, but I can see my nephews have a lot of fun with it. (they are 4 and 6)

JudgeChuck

Oh, it got given to my daughters almost immediately and the parts ended up in their collection. :-)

ToddMyers

The year the LEGO movie came out, I gave away my unwanted LEGO freebies to any kids who came dressed as LEGO anything.

Redbullgivesuwind

The Space Slug set it was horrible, small and gray. I made a special stop on my way to a holiday for it. Built it when I got back. And listed it for trade straight after. 

xwingpilot

^ I assume opening it lost quite a bit of value?

I don't have any buyers remorse, but I didn't ever imagine buying sets that wouldn't be displayed. As it is I've broken down the mini build polybags (#30051 and #30246) I bought after photographing them with their larger equivents, and I also don't display the build that came with #75134 (that was really a purchase for the minifigures though).

Redbullgivesuwind

@xwingpilot not really I swapped it for the Ferris Wheel. Which, at the time was a pretty good d. Although, I haven't looked at the prices since then so it may have gone up. 

SumoLego

My only Lego remorse was being in a pseudo-Dark Age between 2001 and 2009.  (School, Wife, Children proved distracting.)

I only bought UCS SW vehicles during that period for myself.  Thankfully, there was another collector in my family that covered (hoarded) some of the gaps.

cleverusername

Znap.

I also regret some Craigslist lots. The last one I bought will probably be the last random tub/box I buy. It was so gross. In addition to the standard crayons and pet hair, there was general dirt and a brooch with a pin. Scary! I started sorting through but it was so bad, I threw it all away. The best part of the lot was the round tub with handles; we use it for yard work!

OrmskirkBricks said:

The only set I regret purchasing is the original Marvels Ant Man set, and I only regret it as I don't want to open it due to its increasing value. This takes me into a different category of collector I didn't want to become!

Everything that I have purchased in the last few years was because I wanted to build it, or maybe use it in a display piece for work. I have many sets that I have not had the time to open and build. Some of those, like Ant Man, have dramatically increased in value. I agree with OrmskirkBricks; I don't want to be a collector like that. But I worry that aftermarket value is slowly swaying me that way.

Lordmoral

Jek-14 E-Wing; it was great for a Legends ship to be made into a set but other than the Cline Securty Trooper and the Generic Bounty Hunter I don't have any use of the set other than to display it (which it does a great job at).

MaffyD

^^ I feel the same way about how my unopened UCS sets make me ponder (only two of which I have built). I've had the Falcon for nearly a decade and still not cracked the seal! Dammit!

ecmo47

^Sell the sealed one, buy and build a used one, use the rest of the money for a nice holiday! 

MaffyD

^ Yes, I've been given that solution before. It's a good idea, but I've never bought used before and it makes me worry like second hand cars make me worry...

JudgeChuck

^Buy from a reputable dealer? Possibly an oxymoron, when referring to car dealers, however... ;-)

stlux

@MaffyD I've only had positive experiences buying used Lego on BL so far. A lot of sellers add detailed descriptions, especially for this type of set, so you know what to expect. And if anything was not 100% right, the seller has always made it right in no time. Just don't buy it from somebody with 0 feedback though ;)

Bosstone100

Can you feel buyers remorse BEFORE you buy? As a rule, I don't collect Star Wars. I had the first releases back in 1999 and early 2000 but had to stop for money reasons. Since then, I've only picked up the UCS Tie Fighter and Red Five X-Wing (great looking sets). I have a B-Wing but bought in the great B-Wing purge of 2013 (or was it 2014).

Anyway, I have been considering buying #75093 Death Star Final Duel (it's a great looking set) and #75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber (although I'd need two to round it out).

I don't think I'd regret the purchases per se but the opening of the can of worms if I start allowing myself to buy random Star Wars sets, which ends up turning into yet another theme to collect with 15 plus years of catch up to do.

piratemania7

Nothing specific, but from time to time I think about all the sets - usually small ones that i bought for one random reason or another - and have since sold or given away that proved to be distracting and a "waste" of my time and money.

stlux

Only set I regret buying so far is #4480, the 2003 version of Jabba's Palace. #9516, the 2012 version I purchased later, is so much better, especially when combined with #75005 Rancor Pit.

Mosdvs

stlux said:

Only set I regret buying so far is #4480, the 2003 version of Jabba's Palace. #9516, the 2012 version I purchased later, is so much better, especially when combined with #75005 Rancor Pit.

I stop getting buyers remorse on Star Wars set knowing there is a strong possibility they will re-release a new and better version of the set.

I bet the 2019 version of Jabba's Palace is gonna be better ; p

JooTog

For me, any buyer's remorse I might feel fades away quickly.

There has been a couple of City subthemes (e.g. Swamp Police) that I got on 40+% discount and shortly after asked myself "Why?". But at the end, with the set in my hands, I liked it and it becomes a welcome addition to my LEGO collection.

Regarding Star Wars re-releases, I don't mind as long as they are improved versions of the sets and do not come a year later (looking at you #75159). I buy and enjoy them when they come, and will buy and enjoy any future, improved sets. I have the 2003 version of Jabba's Palace and I enjoyed it a lot back them. That a better version came out later just makes me dust out the old one and revisit how awesome it was back then and how things have changed and improved today.

Here's for an overdue, improved version of Yoda's hut from #4502. Cheers!

catwrangler

Slizers! I'd forgotten all about this, but I bought a three-pack of Slizers at a good price, thinking they looked fun... and discovered they were like the unholy spawn of Technic and K'Nex in terms of hurting my hands. Gave them to friends and, when Bionicle came around, just assumed they weren't for me...

willobee498

Slizers (or Throwbots on my side of the pond) were a highlight of my Lego loving youth!

I have had many instances of buyers remorse for things, but never Lego... at the end of the day, a set I don't care much for is still a bunch of parts to use in the future. 

sir_Bricksalot

mustang69 said:

I got #76028 Darkseid Invasion on clearance at Target a year ago or so. The only reason I got it was because of the price and it was Lego. It's a nice little set but I realized a little afterwards I would have much rather put the money into something more my focus or that had good MOC parts.

Same here.  Picked this set up just because it was 50% off.  Most of my buyers remorse sets are ones where i had no interest in them previously but then walked past the clearance isle and impulse purchase!

I know the solution here :)

Lordmoral

The King Siegue Tower from the Knights Kindoms II line.

Don

Minecraft was what got me out of my Dark Ages. My goal was to collect the entire theme. Then the theme kept going (I had expected it to be small), and my interests broadened to modulars and such. I have several large Minecraft sets I've decided I have no real interest in. But not too bad really - a couple hundred dollars "wasted" is ok since that theme got me back to Lego! And I do really like some of the Minecraft sets I have. :-)