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CND DeLorean Time Machine Looking For
Odeinoichus
Member Posts: 361
in Marketplace
Hey all, my brother is looking for a DeLorean Time Machine Sealed and is willing to spend a reasonable price in Canada for the set. I thought I'd ask if anyone is currently selling one in Canada for a price that is not exorbitant.
Shoot me a message and let me know.
Shoot me a message and let me know.
2
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Comments
Good luck. I hope your brother finds something affordable.
Yeah, no, see, 135$ is reasonable, at least to me, 180$ is just excessive. All LEGO on the secondary market is excessive, especially on E-Bay or Amazon third party sellers. People are asking for a markup of 200% half the time and people pay it because a lot of people just don't know any better.
If I bought him the damn thing for 135$ and told him I got a great deal on it without mentioning the price he wouldn't care, but a lot of folks seem to be in this business to make super rich profits off of hot ticket items sealed in box. 180$ Canadian is enough to get one of the Modulars, practically, I'd rather buy that for that price than a teeny-tiny DeLorean Time Machine.
Reasonable for some is not the same as Reasonable for others, to you 180$ is perfectly reasonable, I'm not sure why, I don't know your reasons for why you feel justified in paying 180$ for a discontinued set. My wheelhouse of reasonable is different from yours.
Hell, buying most of the parts themselves from LEGO loose costs 50$, probably a bit more once all the parts are actually in stock, but you can't get the Flux Capicitor element or the Minifigure torsos or heads. So you're stuck with an incomplete model. But even so as long as that one piece only costs a few dollars more on Bricklink, like 2-5$ for the Minifigures and the Flux Capcitor printed element you're still only spending around 60$ for the set including taxes.
Ultimately though it is all subjective. I was perfectly honest when I asked for a reasonable price, the fact that my reasonable doesn't include the cost of a Modular or half a UCS set for a dinky little car that can't even seat the two characters doesn't mean I'm being dishonest in what I said.
I thought there'd be some helpful people here since this is a site dedicated to LEGO as opposed to looking on E-Bay or elsewhere. Forgive me if my definition of reasonable doesn't match others who have larger pocket books to draw funds from and are willing to spend that much for the silly little set.
It typically isn't any one seller that can set a price as if set too high, no one will buy.
I feel your pain as I've been there before. You just have to weigh your wants next to how much you want or can spend. Best wishes on your search.
Also, if I can buy all the pieces fresh from the factory minus one or two items unique to the set LEGO isn't manufacturing anymore for roughly 60$ then getting a complete sealed set shouldn't cost more than, again roughly 135$ tops. That isn't a low ball offer after all. It's still almost three times what the set actually cost at retail.
I call that pretty reasonable, that doesn't even factor in shipping costs, which could bump it up over 140$. But again this is what I see as reasonable for a discontinued set of this size range. You see something else reasonable, that's perfectly alright with me.
You also have to factor in the current exchange rate, 140$ US is nowhere near as insane as 180$+ US, which is somewhere close to 250$ or in that ballpark range. (I should know, I've been paying close to that much for a lot of imports of late and I feel justified in spending it on high-end collectibles or entire waves of things to avoid going to the store and risk exposure to Covid or scummy parts-swapping/scalper jokers. Action Figure collecting is ten times worse than LEGO Collecting, at least when you buy LEGO you don't have to worry somebody swiped some of the parts inside or replaced it with an inferior item not depicted on the front of the box.)
I don’t think there’s a hobby, or anything for that matter, where the price of a long discontinued, sought after pop culture collectible hasn’t rocketed in price. The mistake here, is that you didn’t define what you consider to be ‘reasonable’ in your initial post. Nor did you provide a guide of what you, or rather your brother were willing to pay. That too would have been helpful.
In a fanatic’s forum, I think most, if not all (apart from you) would accept that ‘reasonable’ would be at the lower end of the going rate today. Not something close to its clearance price 6 years plus ago, which to be frank is ridiculous.
What’s worse, it that you’re also comparing the cost of parts only of the long-gone collectible with a current modular, sold as a complete set and making the cost per part cheaper still.
If you’re willing to make me a higher than reasonable offer, I might be willing to part with one of mine, but I am very attached to them. Very, very attached.
Reasonable cannot really be defined using what something sold for many years ago. It can only be defined on what it sells for now.
So tell him he gets better value buying a modular. Of course, a modular is not really a replacement for what he wants, but still. Of course resellers are in it to make money. Sometimes sets bomb, other times they do well. Most resellers will sell at a price the market will bear. It is pointless to go under as that is giving money away.
So tell him to do that, and forget the box and printed instructions. Or also buy those second hand.
That is the second time you have put the set down, calling it teeny-tiny and dinking that can't even seat the two minifigures. If it is that bad, don't buy it. The price is not the cost of any modular or half any UCS set. It is the cost of a CURRENT modular or half a CURRENT UCS.
Third put down for this silly little set. Why would you spend even a reasonable $135 on such a silly little set if it is that little and silly?
There are people that are helpful here. If it was a current set I'm sure people would help you out if finding one is hard. But this is something that would have been bought as an investment 6-7 years ago, and held for all that time, and could be sold to someone else at a higher price. Why would they sell an investment to someone else for less than it is worth now? Especially to someone that doesn't even like the set and keeps putting it down.
I have been purchasing LEGO since I was a kid, I ventured through my dark ages and I have been collecting for quite some time. I do not, however, purchase from the secondary market. If a set is discontinued and I miss out on it I may want it, but I'm not about to spend tons and tons of cash on a single set when I can maximize my buying power by purchasing more current sets for the same price.
I don't buy LEGO for an investment, I don't buy LEGO to keep in the box and re-sell it 8-10 years later at a huge markup. I buy LEGO to open, build, display, enjoy and collect.
And as far as liking the hobby to my other hobbies, I get a lot more support and encouragement from folks locally who re-sell action figures or other collectibles as opposed to this hobby. Nobody in the LEGO Hobby is willing to part with anything for less than three times the cost of a set at retail. So be it. I'm not going to fault them for getting whatever they can out of this hobby that they enjoy. Perhaps I should have just kept my mouth shut and forgot about doing my brother a solid, but whatever, live and learn.
I'll stick to building my sets and doing what I want with what I pick up and just ignore the rest of the community if this is how they want to receive me.
@CCC Your posts are very insightful, thank you very much. The set I own I'm not about to sell it for a small amount of money, I don't sell my LEGO, I keep what I enjoy. Just because I criticize the set doesn't mean I don't like it on my shelf with the rest of my Ideas sets. The thing is an older design, quite frankly I'm surprised LEGO hasn't re-invented it like they do many other sets, but for a one-off license I suspect thinking they'd re-make/re-release something that sold poorly at retail to begin with is simple wishful thinking. (Also I think Playmobile scooped up the BttF license at this point.)
I guess you both taught me the lesson that asking a community for help really doesn't pay in the end because that community is going to just tell you off for being too cheap when it comes to a 7 year old off-the-market LEGO set. If you want something, buy it when its available or shell out the big bucks even if it means going into the financial hole for a 400 piece set. Gotta support all the hobbyists in the LEGO Community by re-selling everything at the market price after all, it isn't like they aren't just plastic building bricks and things meant to be enjoyed and played with.
Is it any wonder Brickset's site is struggling to keep afloat when you guys hound and belittle anybody who asks a simple question. I like the site, but this community seems to be spreading the negativity most commonly found on the Internet much like everywhere else.
“What is he asking for?”
“Something reasonable.”
“What’s reasonable?”
”Clearance price of 2014.”
”Urm, that’s not reasonable.”
“Well neither is the cost of a modular.”
Give it a few years, and today’s modular will be ‘unreasonable’ as well. Tell me, what do you think is a reasonable price to pay for a Cafe Corner today? $1000 or $70? Most wouldn’t let it go for less than $2000, $3000 maybe, which in fact would be entirely reasonable if it was the only one out there. What is entirely unreasonable, is expecting someone to give up their value of their discontinued sought after set because you feel it is better value to buy a current modular for the same price. This is something you need to come to terms with.
I agree with you in that $180 for the Delorean is not reasonable (for me personally) but as others have mentioned, the general reasonable price is based on the market through supply and demand. People who still have this set bought it because they want it or to resell and maximize profit. You can't fault people for not giving you a set 25% off market value when you yourself won't let go of a set you are so-so about to your own brother.
Once again, I understand that the current market value of the set is not reasonable to you (and me). But that IS the market value which means that is the reasonable value to the general public. You will have to either take it or leave it.
I hope you are not left with sour feelings towards the forum because of what I feel like was an initial miscommunication/misunderstanding. I know many people here are very generous with favors and helping others out.
There are many sets that I kick myself for not getting at retail. One set I missed the boat on (literally) was #10210. It went for $179 at retail and now goes for over $750 sealed. If I wanted it badly enough I would pay the going rate. I also have the option of BrickLinking the parts or buying used. You can commit to trolling eBay for a few weeks but in the current pandemic-influenced market it seems most retired sets are selling for a premium.
Maybe this is a good opportunity to try MOCing a nice Delorean as a gift for your brother!
The community does help each other with reasonable requests, but sometimes people take the mick. I've sold stuff to others at cost of below market value which is great if they wanted it and would also do the same for me or others, but when you see the same item appear in their BL shop or on ebay, you feel somewhat different. I remember once someone contacted me to chat about something similar as they had done a bonusball giveaway and as soon as the winner received it, they put it up for sale here - not even trying to hide it.
I do not want this set for clearance price thank you very much. I was going 135-140, current offerings online are 180, but 180 US, which as I continue to say is 250$ CND with current exchange rates. That to me is where the unreasonable amount is. Even 180 CND from a seller in Alberta, was it, is still highly expensive for a set of this scale.
I avoid the secondary market like the plague because I'm on a strict budget, the prices of retired LEGO sets is insane, I refuse to acknowledge that lucrative business opportunity because it's rather difficult to justify that kind of cost or commitment.
It is apparent that many here are willing to accept this factor of LEGO buying after a set retires. They see it as the norm. I see it as an asinine pill of misery and inflation creating a massive investment capital opportunity for those with deep pockets, but for the rest of us living paycheck to paycheck we make do. We ooh and ahh, but at the end of the day, we're just not going to get what we want no matter how long we save up for it because the interest keeps climbing.
I was smart, as soon as I saw it at the LEGO store I bought it, my brother was probably not collecting at the time, or if he was he wasn't looking for these sorts of deals as readily as possible and prioritizing other bills to be paid. He lives in another Province these days. I don't know what else to say, I made a post, I did my part I got some very reasonable comments and IMs and then I started to get attacked for having a different definition of reasonable. Not personally attacked in a sense, but talked down to and belittled as if I'm some kind of newbie or incompetent jerk looking for a hand out.
I'm sorry, but I don't appreciate that kind of attitude in prose. Meant or otherwise. I'm also sorry if my initial post was vague, my brother didn't communicate to me what kind of price range he was looking for, and honestly I think he's being way more unreasonably cheapo than me, but he's family, what can you do? Can't really choose them or tell'em to wake up and smell the plastic ABS.
My experiences selling LEGO sets is also rather telling as I seem to have a bear's time getting rid of anything. Which has mostly nothing to do with this, but if I have to cut all of my sales to 50% off just to get rid of the damn things, then seeing how expensive and profitable it is for folks selling boxed stuff is just crazy. Especially when my loose set prices don't seem crazy high to myself, but again that's my observation of the fact. Buying and selling LEGO is not for everybody, I'll stick to throwing my old sets away at less than market value so some kid can enjoy it and looking at coveted items for my own collection from afar. (Lookin' at you Ghostbusters Fire HQ.) *SIGH*
Plus you have to remember some sets are duds. If LEGO re-releases something similar, or updates figures or has better prints, then what used to be a good investment might drop back. And then there are the ones that never rise much above RRP, if at all. So when a good one comes along, sellers will make the most out of it to offset any bad.
There are some things I'd love to get off the secondary market, but there is always so much coming out every year I'd be drowning in LEGO by now if I even attempted it.
The one exception is probably going to be that Firehouse HQ Set, but I really need to put money aside for it before I even begin to look seriously for one. Plus they might release a new version with Afterlife coming out and sets planned for that... unless they dropped that franchise and let Playmobile have all rights.
The market for an item is set at the nexus between what a seller is willing to sell, and what a buyer is willing to pay. $180.00 is not your market.
Collector markets be like they is and do what it do :0