Looking for Info/Feedback on Retailer "Brian's Toys"

wagnerml2

Here is a dealer out of Wisconsin who is advertising purchase prices for Lego sets. Wondering if anyone has dealt with this buyer. Some of the prices on the pricelist are interesting.

http://www.brianstoys.com/buylist.pdf

Bandit

Hey, I'll be happy to buy anyone's MISB sets for half of what they're worth, too! PM me please!

I'll even one up their price of $250 for a MISB 10179, and buy it from anyone willing to sell for $300!

wagnerml2

Agreed. I was curious after seeing the list if anyone had dealt with this dealer and what their experiences were. Someimes they even lowball you after you send the mechendise to them and pay even less.

luckyruss

I reckon there's a "1" missing there - £1,250 would seem more consistent with the prices for x-wing, the UCS destroyer, etc

prof1515

Brian's Toys is for collectors so it's not for your average Lego fan. Box quality matters to collectors. 99.99% of Lego fans are not collectors; they're consumers.

Brick_Obsession

I said this on another site about the same topic and will say the exact thing again.

"I see no problem with their pricing. No one is putting a gun to a persons head to sell it to them. In fact, it's good business sense on their part. Who pays top dollar for something only to turn around and sell it and make no money on it?

If you don't like it, don't sell it to them. I certainly look for the best deal when I am searching for items, they are no different."

Bandit

Of course, they can do as they please. But you'd have to either be stupid or desperate to sell it to them at those prices...

meyerc13

LEGO is only a small part of what they do. Let's say there is some kid who has outgrown his LEGO and wants to buy Star Wars action figures. It would make complete sense for the kid to sell his collection to them in exchange for cash or store credit to buy Star Wars. That's who their buy list is targeting, the kid who wants to get out of LEGO, not a collector looking to make a buck selling extra sets he doesn't need.

black_towr

Yea they have their hands in vintage 80's toys, video games and many other things. They've been around for a very long time and haven't really heard about any real problems with them.

Bandit

LEGO is only a small part of what they do. Let's say there is some kid who has outgrown his LEGO and wants to buy Star Wars action figures. It would make complete sense for the kid to sell his collection to them in exchange for cash or store credit to buy Star Wars. That's who their buy list is targeting, the kid who wants to get out of LEGO, not a collector looking to make a buck selling extra sets he doesn't need.

I don't think it makes any sense at all. :) Sell it on ebay, make twice as much, and buy twice as much Star Wars junk. Unless, like I said, you're either desperate, you don't realize you're getting ripped off, or selling on ebay is just too much work for you, and you'd rather lose hundreds of dollars by just offloading it all at once.

lulwut

Buying low and selling high is not illegal, just don't get all hurt when you get lowballed when they are in the business to make money.

Yes, there are market segments that they can cash in on. Gamestop apparently is very good at this.

meyerc13

You mean list it on ebay, get someone who claims they never received the item, and get nothing. For the casual seller, ebay is hardly a sure and safe bet. I know I'd rather post it on Craigslist or find a store willing to buy it off me (even at a loss) than take my chances on ebay. Also, with a reseller like this, you can get rid of it all in one shot. Plenty of people take a loss to not have to mess around selling items individually.

dougts

^ yeah, there's certainly a market need being filled there. it's another option for people who don't' want to go through the time and trouble to sell there items in individual lots.

there's nothing dishonest or unethical here - they go around buying stuff up from people who want to unload it, then turn around and recondition/resell it for profit. This is hardly novel or new or sneaky. they aren't trying to pull one over on anyone (as far as can be seen on the surface).

Bandit

I've never had one problem selling or buying on ebay. Each to their own. I would argue ebay is even more of a sure and safe bet for the casual seller, as problems are rare, and you're not going to run into any unless you're buying/selling in large quantities. Is this your company? ;)

dougts

^ nope, never heard of 'em.

But I do have a complete set of SW Ep1 action figures (unopened) collecting dust in a box in my garage. maybe I'll see if these guys want to buy the lot.

Redbullgivesuwind

I dont understand the people on this thread who think that this company should offer the full price on the toys. Its a buisness they have to make money so offer half or three quaters the price then sell it on for the full amount. Whats not to like? If they bought it for face value they would straight away price them out of the market as to make a profit they would need to sell it for much more.

Its alot easier for people to go to these people sell it to them and than go on to ebay and list it sell it for not always a great price and then slapped by ebay fees. I rarely sell on ebay after a few bad experiences of people not paying for stuff. Instead I go to my local comic store and he buys bits off me. I get less than face value but I also get cash in hand and its done their and then.

monkeyhanger

It's like cash converters for toys. You go to cash converters with a £300 RRP computer you know they'll give you £50 for it and try to sell it for £150 or whatever. It's an easy option - you're giving them the hassle of turning a profit on it. Either have an easy time of it and offload your collection for not much money or put a lot more work in and sell yourself on ebay etc - how much do you value your time for the extra money. Nothing shady going on. They offer you a low price and you say yes or no. Whether they try and lowball you further later by claimimg parts were missing etc when they receive them, that's another matter ("webuyanycar" is good at lowballing their valuations online when they get to see the car in person).

RTO

Actually, Brian's toys has very reasonable prices on smaller, MISB Star Wars Lego sets. I just sold them four sets for $135 (they paid for shipping) and only paid the Paypal fee. I had those four sets listed for $117 on Bricklink and thus saved 3% (BL fee) + received more money from Brian's Toys (~20% more after fees were taken into consideration).

They paid the same day the shipment arrived - I was extremely pleased.

I had sold 3 MISB sets previously on Bricklink, before I saw Brian's Toys' buy prices and I would have made another 5% selling to Brian's Toys (almost the same buy prices as I sold them for, plus no 3% for BL fees).

wagnerml2

@redbullgivesuswind - I was not complaining and certainly people have a right to do wahtever. I was asking because I had never heard of them and saw them advertising on the BS home page. I thought their prices were kind of low, so I was wondering if anyone had ever dealt with them. In my experience in the past outfits like this get your sets and then tell you there are issues and offer even less than their advertised prices. I was just wondering this companys reputaion.

wagnerml2

@RTO out of curiosity, what sets did they buy from you?

black_towr

Yea I'm not sure what's going on in this thread. Is this the first time many of you have heard of resellers? Why so much hate?

Bandit

Who's hating? All I ever said is, I think you'd be stupid to sell them your stuff. I don't care what they do, and I don't care if anyone sells them their stuff. That's their prerogative. If they can convince someone to sell them something for half of what it's worth, more power to them. But ebay's not hard. If I had 5 sets to sell (and I do), I'd rather save $500 and sell on eBay/Amazon (and I do), thanks.

Redbullgivesuwind

@wagnerml2 that wasnt aimed at you just a general comment at the price comments. Which seems to hit a nerve sometimes. :-D

RTO

4476, 7128, 7139, 7200, 7201, 7203, 7204 were the seven I had for sale - I don't remember which I sold on Bricklink and which to Brian's Toys.

That being said, please note I said I would recommend them for smaller sets - they are cheaper to mail (they only pay for shipping up to a point), and I've noticed their buy prices on larger sets aren't quite as good.

RTO

My sets were in perfect condition and they paid exactly what they quoted. I'm sure if the boxes were damaged in transit, they would have offered less.

I also picked up all these and many more on Craigslist, so I was in for a large profit, no matter what. I was happy to sell for more than I could have received on Bricklink, that's for sure, but I do have a few more listed on Bricklink that should go for more than what Brian's Toys is offering. Also, please note they only buy sealed sets at this time - not used sets.

dougts

so, at the bottom line it seems clear:

It's a legitimate business and is another option for people looking to unload LEGO and other toys, but it clearly isn't the be-all, end-all solution for everyone in every circumstance. Options are good. Inform yourself and make the choices appropriate for you and your specific situation.

Brick_Obsession

The way they work is they will quote your sets, and then inform you that if you do not have "C9" rated products then they will pay you less based on what they see. Here is a quote I received from them about it

"We are strict graders. If your items are below C-9 condition (unless stated otherwise), there will be deductions. To see our grading scale, please visit http://www.brianstoys.com/custom.aspx?id=4. If there are any other questions or want to confirm that you are sending the collection, please email, fax, or call. Please package the shipment carefully and include a copy of your list with the price quote(s) and your name, address, phone/fax, and email address."

If you click on the link it goes into further detail. So, the only problem I do see is that you ship your item there and they say "C7" where you think it's "C9". Now you haggle, or have your items shipped back, at your expense I am sure.

Still, related to this topic overall, I see no problem with what they are doing. You should just know all the facts before making decisions like this route.