To open or not to open...

baldasurf

Hello fellow enthusiasts. I am new to the forum but not to the Brickset website. I am looking for opinions and advice. I just yesterday picked up the following sets: 6483 Coastal Patrol Boat (The set with the lights and sounds!), 6389 Fire Control Center and and a fairly desirable 6394 Metro Park and Service Tower. All 3 are brand new in the box, never opened. My dilemma is, do I break those seals and open them up and build them? Or leave them be for who knows how long?  I am an avid builder and collector. I appreciate LEGO first for the amazing toy that they are and second for the collectible/investment potential they have. I have been building and collecting LEGO for 41 years now and have amassed a sizable collection over those years.  So what would you do??

Huw

Open and enjoy them, of course!

Johnyk668

Hi and welcome, a little tip if you put a hashtag before the set number the forum puts a link to the set on Brickset so for people like me who don't know the sets it is easier to search for them.

On to your original question, do you want to display them or keep them BNIB for a potential resale in the future.

What do the same sets currently sell for on Bricklink and is it even worth holding on to resell them?

I say open them if you want to?

John K

Scott1

Since they're your sets, it's entirely up to you. Personally, I would save them. I could barely bring myself to open up a 2014 set, much less one from the 90's. But, as I said, the choice is yours to make.    

Johnyk668

EDIT- looking at Bricklink a BNIB #6394 is worth quite a lot with only one listed, will someone pay 3 grand for it who knows, opened sets go for about $100 US so a massive difference.

I say open them if you are building a nice city scape or display in box if not.

baldasurf

@Johnyk668  Thanks for the hashtag tip. Again, the forum is all new to me so the help is appreciated. I've seen the values on Bricklink and that sways me to keep them sealed up. But the 'kid' in me wants to build them and add them to my ever growing city layout. I have two boys and one says open them and the other says build them! So torn.... 

CCC

Did you 'pick them up' to sell them or build them?

Fauch

maybe there is a way to sell them and buy them used for much less. then I don't know which ones you are talking about.

baldasurf

#6483 #6389 #6394   I bought them to keep and add to my collection. They were too good a deal to pass up. Often I will sell a set if I already have it, but these I did not have. 

madforLEGO

You could sell them and buy used copies off of eBay as a used copy of those sets is much cheaper than what they are in sealed box.
Like others said though, they are yours and if you want to, break them open and build them.

baldasurf

@madforLEGO  I thought about the Ebay route... sell them and take the profits to put back into more sets. I wasn't actively looking for these sets. Stumbled across them on the Letgo app and they were too good a deal to pass up. I'm leaning towards building them. They are still worth decent money since I have the boxes and instructions with them. 

mh3490

Personally if it's a set from your youth open it, enjoy it, and keep everything piece the box and the manuel and u get the joy of building it which I feel is something priceless and if u ever want to sell it you will still get a decent amount for it 

MrKettle

I only buy Lego to build it, display it and play with it but I can understand the idea of people buying things for the value they have or will attain. I like to buy nice bottles of port with no intention of drinking them. 

So (for me) it comes down to: Why did you buy it in the first place? Did you think "oh that would look great in my city set!" Or did you think "Wow that could be worth a lot of money!"? 

Cost and value are are two separate things and people often forget that. Value is something YOU place on an item and it is up to you to decide if the value outweighs the cost. If someone was to give me a Taj Mahal, UCS MF and a Cafe Corner all sealed in new boxes tomorrow, I would rip open the boxes (never mind the seals) and build them all. If I had money to burn and could just afford to buy them I would and still build them. If I had to save up for five years to afford them I would still build them because their value to me as a toy/model far outweighs any fiscal cost associated with them.  Otherwise what you have is a box on a shelf. 

Tl:dr - think about why you bought them in the first place and let that be your guide. 

Jackad7

Normally I would say open in them but with sets that old I say keep them sealed. If you really want to display them buy some already opened versions.

stlux

A word of caution on the value of #6394 : that high value listing has been on BL since forever. Looking at what has actually been sold, you see that one found a buyer for EUR 500. Still not bad, but rather far from USD 3000.
Still might be worth going through the hassle of selling it and buying a used one, but that's a personal decision. As others have mentioned, what is important is what you bought these for. If it was to build and you got them at a good price, just enjoy the feeling of having found a good deal and build them :)

Istokg

I agree that the value on the #6394 is closer to $600.  The moment you open the box, you just lost about $500 in purchasing power you could have used to buy other sets.  There's plenty of them in decent used condition that you could have for $100 with box and instructions (even in USA).  If that potential $500 (for that one set) means nothing to you then go ahead and open it.  Otherwise sell it as MISB, and pocket the $500. (after you bought a used boxed one for $100).

Since there was only one available to sell in the last 6 months (that Hong Kong one is ridiculously priced)... this set appears not to have been saved intact all that often.

Your call....

baldasurf

I saw that $3000 one listed. Pretty unrealistic in my opinion. They must not want to sell it that bad. As I've been reading everyone's great comments that are coming in, a common question has been asked: "Why did I buy them.."   So I guess to answer that I have to look at why I did buy them. The answer would be..  because they are LEGO and for the past 41 years(got my first set when I was 4) I have loved building LEGO. Only within the past 3 years or so have I started realizing the investment potential that comes with collecting LEGO. It's like an added bonus that something my kids and I really enjoy doing also has great investment potential. My love of LEGO predates my interest in them as an investment. So logic tells me I should carefully open them up and build and enjoy them for what they were designed for. 

paul_merton

If I'd paid near to their true value, I'd open them and enjoy them.

Even though I would have loved all of those sets as a child, if I'd managed to get them for a bargain price, I'd be tempted to sell them and buy loads more current sets to enjoy.

On the other hand, you have three sets. Open one and build it; then you'll know what to do with the other two.

GeordiePaul

I'd definitely sell first to confirm that you have the money in your pocket then use some of the cash to buy a used set, but I'm very frugal so the thought of losing $500 just by breaking the seals versus being able to have my cake AND eating it, it's an easy choice for me.

VorpalRyu

We buy sets for me, my wife & my children to enjoy, all our sets, even the event exclusives are opened & built, I don't see the joy in having pretty boxes to look at.

blogzilly

I'm many many posts in and had no idea about the hashtags. DOH!!

baldasurf

What I don't want to become is the creepy toy collector from the movie Toy Story 2 who was obsessed with new in the box toys and selling them. Like @VorpalRyu stated earlier, no "joy in having pretty boxes to look at." 

natro220

baldasurf said:

What I don't want to become is the creepy toy collector from the movie Toy Story 2 who was obsessed with new in the box toys and selling them. Like @VorpalRyu stated earlier, no "joy in having pretty boxes to look at." 

You do realize you just described like half the people on this forum?  Lol

baldasurf

Sigh. I know....Just looking for that extra encouragement to pop those seals. I think tomorrow evening they're comin' off! 

natro220

I know 6394 is valuable sealed, but I think I would get so much extra fun out of opening and building it for the first time.  But that set holds nostalgic appeal to me, among the top sets I wanted as a kid and never got.  If it holds nostalgic appeal for you...you should weigh that in your decision.  But it sounds like you don't have that connection.

chuckp

baldasurf said:

What I don't want to become is the creepy toy collector from the movie Toy Story 2 who was obsessed with new in the box toys and selling them. Like @VorpalRyu stated earlier, no "joy in having pretty boxes to look at." 

I don't think you're that guy unless you start enclosing sealed sets in acrylic or have issues with Cheeto dust. :)

However, with the crazy values retired sets go for, it's always worth considering if the set is something that you would ever part with.  If it's something I know I will never let go, there's no issue, it gets built. However, if a set is worth something and could be used to obtain something I don't have, that's a different story. 

BTW, that's a pretty nice haul for $400! 

baldasurf

The nostalgic bit isn't really there because when that set came out I was in high school and not really tuned in to LEGO a whole lot. I think girls and getting a car were probably occupying my mind more! LOL.  As an adult collector and builder now, I appreciate all those 80's and 90's sets more and more all the time. Value is important to me, but not as much as actually building and adding the set to my city layout. I recently acquired the #6399 Airport Shuttle/monorail and was never even aware of such a set back in the day. But I appreciate the nostalgia of it and it is now one of my favorite sets. I think #6394 will be the same way for me. 

baldasurf

@chuckp   No issues with Cheeto dust... yet!!   And thanks. This haul was just a small piece of what I picked up this weekend. I had to brag about my finds under the 'Brag' thread. It was a busy LEGO weekend! 

Rainstorm26

I struggle with this decision for my UCF MF.  It is new in the box.  Not a 1st Generation. It has a small hole in the box of about 1/4 inch.  I guess it comes down to the hassle factors of selling the existing and acquiring a used one.  I've never sold any of my lego sets.

Brew

Finally did it! My son and I are building our new mantle piece. Have been sitting on the fence for a long time now. 

redarmy

Oooh...she pretty!

SumoLego

baldasurf said:

What I don't want to become is the creepy toy collector from the movie Toy Story 2 who was obsessed with new in the box toys and selling them.

Hmmm.  I like Cheetos.  But I do not own a chicken suit.

VorpalRyu said:

We buy sets for me, my wife & my children to enjoy, all our sets, even the event exclusives are opened & built, I don't see the joy in having pretty boxes to look at.

I always admire @VorpalRyu.  His outlook inspires me to do more building - and to open sets in advance so they don't become 'too valuable' to build later.

(And to buy incomplete sets to 'restore' them to pass them along.)

Brew

Glad I did. I found a broken bag inside with some loose pieces. Everything was there, but if I would have sold it someone could have complained and I would have refund some of the $ or worse. 
What a fabulous set though! We are going slow and savoring the build. 

eloiasia

I just can't get the idea of buying the lego set just to store it away, the whole point is to have fun with it and exprience the build, and if you take a good care of your sets then they should get your moneys back in some cases. A person who has a stack of sealed lego sets might call him/her  self a collector but never a true lego enthusiast :) so my answer is allways, OPEN!

mr_benn

@Brew - what a great set to build, I hope you enjoy both the build and the finished item, it's the best ship Lego have ever produced (IMHO!)

madforLEGO

eloiasia said:

I just can't get the idea of buying the lego set just to store it away, the whole point is to have fun with it and exprience the build, and if you take a good care of your sets then they should get your moneys back in some cases. A person who has a stack of sealed lego sets might call him/her  self a collector but never a true lego enthusiast :) so my answer is allways, OPEN!

If you have the space to break open the set, sure open it. I, and I'm sure others, do not have the space though... yet. I plan to get my house and have a LEGO MOC train layout.

However, until then, I buy the sets and they sit, because I'm not going to miss buying one of a set and have to pay dearly later when I want one and they are no longer made. If I did open and build these, then Id have to take time to dismantle all of them when I move, or if I run out of space to display.

dspigel

madforLEGO said:

eloiasia said:

I just can't get the idea of buying the lego set just to store it away, the whole point is to have fun with it and exprience the build, and if you take a good care of your sets then they should get your moneys back in some cases. A person who has a stack of sealed lego sets might call him/her  self a collector but never a true lego enthusiast :) so my answer is allways, OPEN!

If you have the space to break open the set, sure open it. I, and I'm sure others, do not have the space though... yet. I plan to get my house and have a LEGO MOC train layout.

However, until then, I buy the sets and they sit, because I'm not going to miss buying one of a set and have to pay dearly later when I want one and they are no longer made. If I did open and build these, then Id have to take time to dismantle all of them when I move, or if I run out of space to display.

I 100% agree with @madforLEGO I have many many sets stacked up in a closet. To an outsider it appears that I am hoarding them. In essence I am. I have no space in my house to build and display them as I want. So instead of waiting till that time, I buy them now and will save them. I don't care to pay the crazy markup for retired sets. I enjoy looking at everyone's completed builds. I can't wait till I'm able todo the same. 

When end the day comes that I can build as I please, I'll have years worth of sets waiting on me. Besides I like having a small lego like store in my house.

eloiasia

madforLEGO said:

If you have the space to break open the set, sure open it. I, and I'm sure others, do not have the space though... yet. I plan to get my house and have a LEGO MOC train layout.

However, until then, I buy the sets and they sit, because I'm not going to miss buying one of a set and have to pay dearly later when I want one and they are no longer made. If I did open and build these, then Id have to take time to dismantle all of them when I move, or if I run out of space to display.

Sure, I know were You're coming from, we all have different aproach to certain things and same goes for collecting, the thing is, how do You even know if You are going to like any of these sets that You are collecting right now if You don't eperience them as You go.

See for me Lego is just a bunch of plastic molds and cardboard box, well.....damn good plastic molds but never then less, it's not more then that, until I get to build and then I grow to like it and  when I see my kids playing and enjoying it or I get to admire it displayed in my cabinet that is when the true nature of the lego comes to life.

All I am saying is to simply enjoy it as You go rather then wait for more space, or maybe ask yourself
do I really need so many sets.

darkstonegrey

I acquired an unopened copy of #6394 last summer for $145.  It was reasonably priced due to having sat in a musty warehouse for years before it was found by the seller.  I wanted a copy that was unopened with the intention to open it immediately primarily to ensure that the electronic components were new, and I did not yet have those parts in my collection and wanted to build with them.  The price to source those parts new individually was nearly half the cost of what I'd paid for the set.  I also wanted the joyful experience of opening a sealed 90s era set which I missed out on due to lapsing into my dark age in the early 80s.

Took about a month for the musty smell to dissipate from the box and papers.  The electronic parts are working great and most of all the build was so satisfying.  I had lots of fun configuring it to run off my 9v train gear since I did not have 9v batteries on hand at the time.

I encourage you to open #6394 if you paid around the same price - well worth it and you'll probably be able to recoup most of that even opened and kept in good condition if you ever decide to part with it.

datsunrobbie

I'd check Bricklink and eBay sold listings to see what recent sales look like, then decide if the potential cash profit from selling the MISB set is worth more than the joy of building it.

catwrangler

Congratulations (and welcome!) @darkstonegrey on that find - I suspect we've all got different ways of handling this dilemma, but I'd definitely agree on opening stuff containing electronic components which may degrade and become hard/expensive to find over time. Worst case scenario is, at least you know now and can replace the parts before it becomes even more exhorbitant. 

I never used to be able to understand people stockpiling Lego and buying more of it, not even for future worth as a sellable sealed set, but just from not getting around to building. I figured it was for people on much higher budgets than me. Then I realised late last year during the two Tesco 3-for-2s that it made a lot more budgetary sense for me to splurge and stockpile too, particularly <em>because</em> those offers were putting a lot of sets in my reach, simultaneously, that I ordinarily couldn't afford.

And that's how I've ended up with *counts on fingers* eight sets stacked in my wardrobe to dole out to myself over what should be a much more restrained buying time for most of this year, when things will still be on pretty low discounts, if any. 

TikiLuki

I'm with others here who've suggested getting complete-in-box versions and selling these for profit. I may do that with some of my older unopened sets, too.

darkstonegrey

darkstonegrey said:

I acquired an unopened copy of #6394 last summer for $145.  It was reasonably priced due to having sat in a musty warehouse for years before it was found by the seller.  I wanted a copy that was unopened with the intention to open it immediately primarily to ensure that the electronic components were new, and I did not yet have those parts in my collection and wanted to build with them.  The price to source those parts new individually was nearly half the cost of what I'd paid for the set.  I also wanted the joyful experience of opening a sealed 90s era set which I missed out on due to lapsing into my dark age in the early 80s.

Took about a month for the musty smell to dissipate from the box and papers.  The electronic parts are working great and most of all the build was so satisfying.  I had lots of fun configuring it to run off my 9v train gear since I did not have 9v batteries on hand at the time.

I encourage you to open #6394 if you paid around the same price - well worth it and you'll probably be able to recoup most of that even opened and kept in good condition if you ever decide to part with it.

Revisiting my old posts and just realized I indicated the wrong set number - meant to say set #6483

omnium

@baldasurf never did say if they opened the sets or not! :)