Brickset ForumHome ›
Please refrain from posting animated GIFs, memes, joke videos and so on in discussions other than those in the off topic area.
Dismiss this message to confirm your acceptance of this additional forum term of use.
Dismiss this message to confirm your acceptance of this additional forum term of use.
To Sell or Not to Sell...
sidersdd
USAMember Posts: 2,432
Was about to list a bunch of Harry Potter years 1 and 2 sets on Bricklink. Stuff I bought a couple of years ago off Craigslist from a lady who collected it. She had boxes and instructions for all but one set (Hagrid's Hut), and claimed she took good care of it - only had it on display, everything was 100% complete, yada, yada. I took a look at the Castle set when I bought it and it did indeed look to be in great condition. The stuff has been in a tub since then. Today when I went to finally take a look at the stuff and verify the contents were indeed 100% complete, I realized this stuff was in pristine, like-new condition. For 4711 Flying Lesson, the capes were crisp and couldn't have ever been used. Pieces were shiny as if they had just been opened from polybags. Same with 4695 Knight Bus - the purple was bright, and the clear pieces were indeed transparent and not clouded. For 4731 Dobby's Release, the old light gray and old dark gray were just like they were new old light gray and new old dark gray.
I thought to myself - ugh... I can't sell this... I can use these pieces!
If I'm lucky I could sell 4730 Chamber of Secrets for $170 as a used set. But the condition of the pieces makes the set worth $250 (using 6 month averages on Bricklink for new condition parts + the used box/instructions). Having missed the old grays and old browns (was in dark period then), this seems to me to be an opportunity to now have a fair collection of these elements available to me for MOCing - saving me the time and trouble of ordering them on Bricklink. I may just sell off the figs and special pieces (basilisk, phoenix, etc).
Anyone else encounter this dilemma? Bought a set for reselling, and then later decide you may want to keep it? Just can't convince yourself to sell it?
I thought to myself - ugh... I can't sell this... I can use these pieces!
If I'm lucky I could sell 4730 Chamber of Secrets for $170 as a used set. But the condition of the pieces makes the set worth $250 (using 6 month averages on Bricklink for new condition parts + the used box/instructions). Having missed the old grays and old browns (was in dark period then), this seems to me to be an opportunity to now have a fair collection of these elements available to me for MOCing - saving me the time and trouble of ordering them on Bricklink. I may just sell off the figs and special pieces (basilisk, phoenix, etc).
Anyone else encounter this dilemma? Bought a set for reselling, and then later decide you may want to keep it? Just can't convince yourself to sell it?
0
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Categories
- 24K All Categories
- 2 Announcements
- 2 Current Announcements
- 9.6K General
- 2.9K Collecting
- 3.3K Everything else LEGO
- 1.5K Building and Techniques
- 12.5K Shopping
- 1.6K Shopping USA/Canada
- 321 Shopping Elsewhere
- 9.8K Marketplace
- 62 Charity Sales
- 2K Brickset
- 70 News
- 13 Ambassador
- 2 Announcements
- 958 Introduce yourself
- 296 The Database
- 377 Brickset.com
- 268 Forum Operation
- 15 FAQs
- 1.1K Other
- 531 Community and Events
- 13 Fairy Bricks
- 249 Photography/Video
Comments
Hell, I picked up a pair of Batman Funhouses at the BOGO last week just to flip for a few bucks. I had no interest in the Super Heroes theme at all. But once I got home and actually looked at the box, I felt drawn to it. I'm still selling them, but I was a bit startled to realize how close I came to keeping them.
I'm from the world of men, and my heart is easily corrupted. Elrond pleaded with me to toss that set into the eBay fire, but I was seduced by Batman's power. I wanted it for myself.
The above almost came to pass...
I have a few older sets that I never got around to opening whose value have gone up significantly. I can't justify it to myself to open them up and I can't bring myself to sell them.
I have other sets that I bought for resale and I end up liking them too much to sell. But I still can't bring myself to open them since the value would go down. So a good portion of my collection just sits in my closet. Sigh....
The only exception to this I can ever see is if there wind up being five or more corner modulars. I find both of the current corner buildings to be awful, but bought them out of 'necessity' for hopefully creating a block one day. Outside of these, I don't own any 'valuable' sets that I can ever picture getting rid of.
Problem is, it is just a Jedi mind trick, because it does not matter what you paid for something, it only matters what it's worth today. :)
We all do this, we go to sell our car and think about what we paid, when that does not really matter.
Grr.... I kinda wish I had opened it sooner, at $1,000 I didn't mind so much, but there come a point where it is just nuts. :)
I don't 'think' you are collecting them so you can hand them down to your kids, but maybe.
But I think you actually should consider your option, maybe you are just mad! ;)
The problem will be when it comes to apply the hobby knife to the seal. I had every intention of opening when the time was right. I am really looking forward to the day when my kids get older and they can appreciate them with me. Problem is, who'd have thought a 10184 Town Plan for instance or a 10196 perhaps would ever be worth what they are today? I can't be alone on this one - even @LegoFanTexas is having trouble opening his UCS MF! If he can't then there's not much hope for the rest of us. :o)
People collect cars and don't drive them? My boss has umpteen cars in his 'museum'. He has because he enjoys. Just because one owns an object, it doesn't mean they have to use it for it's intended purpose. I bought fully intending to utilise their intended purpose, but things change - values change!!
What I'd like to be able to do is to magically find replacement sets (already opened) at affordable prices to build and enjoy. The fact that they've already depreciated takes the dilemma away, "$2,000 or 'pleasure of building a brand new set'?" It's really tuff.
The fact you're doubting it means that's probably what you should do.
@flump6523 - I completely understand... I did make a related decision this week, I'm not going to open and build my last Cafe Corner, I'm going to sell it and be without that set, unless I can find a reasonable used one. I had 3 of them originally with the intent to sell 2 and keep the last one, but now that I can get about $1,200 for it, it would be just nuts to open it and build it. So I'm quite comfortable with that decision, to sell it and move on. The money that generates will buy me all of the $150+ sets Lego releases this year, and I'll have plenty of fun with those. (UCS B-Wing & UCS R2-D2, I'm looking at YOU!)
So will I ever open and build UCS Falcon? I don't know... Thankfully I don't have to decide right now, I can just leave it in the closet and keep building other items, and if by this time next year it is at $3K, then the decision will be easy. :)
There has to be a point where you ask yourself why you collect, if you are never going to enjoy what I know you would consider the crown jewel of Lego sets.
If you collect for financial profit then of course it makes total sense, if not.....
@Si funnily enough I would say complete opposite :) If in doubt, keep. Once sold you will NEVER be able to justify buying another... Almost guarentee it!
If the collector edition is not sealed can you not build it with no fear of change of value? Or do you mean the box isnt sealed but the contents are?
Wow $1200 for CC, I must admit I had no idea it would command that kind of money. Suppose I see where you are coming from, although judging by other posts surely you have plenty of other items you can sell, are you not tempted to keep it as its the only one you have? I think if I could sell 12 of my 15 EN's and keep my 1 CC, I would do that.
I enjoy making sets, I enjoy opening MISB sets, but there comes a point whereby anybody is going to have trouble swallowing that kind of loss within a split second. It's nice to have things 'just to have'. I love the feeling of knowing I have all of that MISB goodness in storage waiting for me. I'm just dreading the day it's all laid out with me stood, arms by my side with a hobby knife in my right hand.
I understand where you are coming from though.
Out of interest, just had a quick look to see how much cash roughtly does disappear in that hearbeat?
New selling for around £950 - £1220
Used selling for around £845 - £975
So looks like you would lose £100 - £245 by opening.
Maybe its changes in circumstances that drive these decisions. If you start collecting when its just you or with a better half then you have less responsibilities. You buy, open and build without any thought of the money. Kids appear and you still buy but you don't have the time to build and then through no fault of your own its doubled in value. Suddenly you have something that is likely to help your family if times are hard which is particularly prominent in these tough financial times.
We don't have kids so when I get home I'm going to open (carefully) the 10179 that's been bought for me this week. It will slash the value but its worth it for me to enjoy the building of it.
Ultimately there is no right and wrong. All of our circumstances are very different. No matter if you build it, keep it or sell it though do it without regret. More money and more sets will always come along.
Enjoy your build. Make sure you have a nice large space free and that your other half knows she is unlikely to see you (or at least get your attention) for a week and even longer till she see's her dining room table again :)
And if the sets truly continue increasing in value, then your used set should as well (perhaps the curve will not be as steep, but there should still be value increase in the event that you need to liquidate).
Of course, you have to be willing to potentially accept less than mint used sets, but usually to me unless the condition is really horrible I can live with normal AFOL-cared for used sets, as the display as a whole is more important than a few 1x1s with some scratches, etc. Plus bad pieces can be replaced piecemeal if its really problematic.
I almost always buy a used set of the current big sets (if I can't find them MISB on a huge sale) and that keeps my "collected" sets apart from resale sets without temptation to open them.
My real concern if you do it that way Sell your minty one and buy used.
I think every time it took me more than a minute of searching through my 5195 pieces I would be thinking "arrrrggghhhh the git has lost pieces, it's not complete......oh, wait there it is", then 5 mins later "arrrrggghhhhh", dont think I could take the stress of a 3+ day build not 'knowing' that it is complete. And I know its possible that a mint version may not be complete, but the odds on that compared to a used version from some random blokey on the net...
Now, if the collectors edition had come with a chrome C-3PO, then people would have cared. ;) The box is not sealed, the parts are, so they are all in the factory sealed plastic bags, just like new. I might get more... Cafe Corner has gotten expensive... You can still get them on Bricklink for a reasonable price, but those sets are drying up quickly. Go look on eBay for the cheapest new in box set, or Amazon...
If I sold my pair of UCS Falcons, I could take my family on a nice vacation... We would have those memories forever, and there is something to be said for that.
Lego is not a zero sum game... someone suggested if I had 15 EM sets, sell 12 of them and keep the Falcon. That implies that it is an either/or, rather than both. How about I sell all 15 EM sets, plus the Falcon, and take the kids to Disney World? That is another reasonable option, and something they'll remember forever.
I was lucky, I got to go to Disney World several times as a kid, I remember those vacations very well, so not all of life is about Lego (yes, the shock and horror!!!)
My UCS Falcons, by comparison, are just boxes of heavy plastic bricks that take up space. ;P
Personally I would keep the sets and enjoy them. Use the bricks and build something epic
So, in my opinion, build the set with your kids if they are into it, keep it safe for a few years and then it will likely be worth more than the $2000 that the sealed ones are going for now.
Plus, years down the road, you would regret not building it if you had the chance.
$0.02