darkSpyro

I've noticed a lot of issues with scalping going on. I scalp myself (not Skylanders), its a quarter of my income! Remember this, its not the scalper who's to blame, its the person who buys from them.

Skylanders; In a few years these are gonna be worthless. Especially when they finally make a game that isn't backwards compatible with the old guys. Hell Giants isn't even that backwards compatible. (Old guys won't use new level cap).

Legos. Legos man. Scalpers, thats where the action is at. I think I made close to $30k profit selling legos last year and I wasn't even a douche about it. I had to claim taxes on my reselling I made so much and I'm employed full time!

The trick is to be about 1 year or so behind. You don't have to run to the store and buy out inventory and deny them to other people to drive up prices. Nope. no douchebaggery about it.

Most of my sets I bought on clearance from a retailer, that sat on a shelf and WOULDN'T sell. You just sell them online a bit after they go "out of print" and boom. For some reason everyone wants it when they can't have it anymore. Go figure. You can even gamble more and hold the sets for years. Yes its not near instant money like scalping, but you don't feel the need to shower afterwards. Think of it like an investment. 4 digits down down usually means a return of 5 digits down the line. After my sales last years, I'm guessing Ill pull close to 80k this year. Thanks to Marvel and Lord of the Rings coming out, I'm sitting on a gold mine next year.

Some examples of my sales (Mostly through craigslist! **** Ebay and Paypal and their fees):

Lego Millenium Falcon: Retailed $400 I think? I paid $300 I sold it for $1400.

Lego Star Wars Trade Federation MTT Retail $100. I paid $75 a pop at TRU. Sold 5 of them at $300-ish a piece.

Lego Hogwarts Castle Retail $100 I bought 4 for $80 a piece. Sold all 4 for $600 a piece.

Thats just the big sets I sell. Some of them small ones go fro crazy amounts.

Don't believe me, take a gander at Ebay. I don't sell to much stuff on Ebay, to avoid the fees and what not.

Cool. I have never tried Legos. I know the Lego collectors are very particular with the packaging and would want them in mint condition. I usually resell stuff that is (1) small and easy to ship and (2) quick selling items. I did it for Skylanders but that was before the craze started. I thought Skylanders would never sell out.

How long does it take for you to sell the lego sets? One thing I hate with quick selling items is you could be selling too many in a day that it becomes more of your job rather than a side hobby or side job. I'd rather be working an getting paid by the hour instead of spending all my day doing packaging and shipping.

ya legos go for a lot lol i have never sold anything on ebay yet but i found a little gem at tru a couple months ago. Found 2 of the first halo mega bloks sets in production. Total retail price is $20. With BOGO and employee discount it was around $11 for both. keeping one for me and the other to sell later. I have already been finding it for around $50 on ebay and amazon lol

It's "Lego sets" not Legos... the plural of Lego can't be pluralised it's danish and it's a verb... you can't puralise a verb. Lego as a brand name can be used as an adjective but not as a noun and is therefore still not pluralisable. More than one Lego brick is "Lego bricks" more than one Lego set is "Lego sets". It's one of my pet peeves.

But I have to say I bought a box of 6 discontinued Lego Hagrid's Hut's (the first edition with the roof made from a folded plastic sheet... just because I wanted one myself but now each 1 sells for more than the price I bought all 6 for.

Quote:

Dear Parents and Children
The word LEGO(R) is a brand name and is very special to all of
us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your
help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our bricks
as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys' and not 'LEGOS.' By doing so, you will
be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very
proud and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you!

Susan Williams
Consumer Services (Susan's name is a
pseudonym for the service dptmt.)

Read more: http://stason.org/TULARC/games...l#ixzz1scFNqMqb

I hate to be get off-topic, but the old ones ARE compatible. You can play as them, but they just can't wear hats.

Quote: Deandria

It's "Lego sets" not Legos... the plural of Lego can't be pluralised it's danish and it's a verb... you can't puralise a verb. Lego as a brand name can be used as an adjective but not as a noun and is therefore still not pluralisable. More than one Lego brick is "Lego bricks" more than one Lego set is "Lego sets". It's one of my pet peeves.

But I have to say I bought a box of 6 discontinued Lego Hagrid's Hut's (the first edition with the roof made from a folded plastic sheet... just because I wanted one myself but now each 1 sells for more than the price I bought all 6 for.

Quote:

Dear Parents and Children
The word LEGO(R) is a brand name and is very special to all of
us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your
help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our bricks
as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys' and not 'LEGOS.' By doing so, you will
be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very
proud and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you!

Susan Williams
Consumer Services (Susan's name is a
pseudonym for the service dptmt.)

Read more: http://stason.org/TULARC/games...l#ixzz1scFNqMqb

Thats what I meant when I said Legos. I just used the S as sets. LegoS.

Quote: PinkWater

I hate to be get off-topic, but the old ones ARE compatible. You can play as them, but they just can't wear hats.

Yes they are but the old guys are stuck at level 10 while the reposes and other ones made with giants have a higher level cap.

Quote: SkyDaddy

Cool. I have never tried Legos. I know the Lego collectors are very particular with the packaging and would want them in mint condition. I usually resell stuff that is (1) small and easy to ship and (2) quick selling items. I did it for Skylanders but that was before the craze started. I thought Skylanders would never sell out.

How long does it take for you to sell the lego sets? One thing I hate with quick selling items is you could be selling too many in a day that it becomes more of your job rather than a side hobby or side job. I'd rather be working an getting paid by the hour instead of spending all my day doing packaging and shipping.

Since I rarely have to use Ebay. Most people from craigslist come to me to pick them up. When I do ship out I live 5 minutes away from the post office. So its not a big deal.

I already have a full time job, so I know what you mean, I don't want all my free time packaging and selling. And I don't. And yes collectors want their boxes mint usually. I keep mine in very good condition. Read: I have no kids. That being said if a box gets a bent corner just make sure the person knows. A lot of these folks don't keep them in the box.

EDIT

Also, just take whatever doucheness is left from me doing this, down more notches, I start the bidding at what I paid for them. I don't set it at buy it now for an absurd price and hope someone impulse buys it, and they get left with an empty feeling. I think I did do a few buy it nows when I do rarely use ebay, but those were for select reasons (private auctions mostly).

Thanks StormbringerGT, thats good info to know.
I'm curious to see how long it takes for Skylanders to go the way of Zhu Zhu Pets, and fizzle out.
I bet Activision will beat the franchise into the ground before its over though. LoL

*facepalm*

Real jobs exists you know.

But, how do you know which sets will be worth anything, Storm?

Can't it backfire?

Quote: Ice Dragoness

*facepalm*

Real jobs exists you know.

Which I have thanks. And have had for about as long as you've been alive. Nothing wrong with making money on the side is there? Last year between me and the missus we grossed 90K. That's not a bad haul at all.

So, how do you know what sets to do that with? There are so many lego sets that come out, how does one know what will and won't be worth money?

And, you have to sit on the sets, right? So how can you make that much every year, when no one knows when each set will go out of print and go up in price?

Quote: GameMaster78

But, how do you know which sets will be worth anything, Storm?

Can't it backfire?

It hasn't backfired yet. Look as far back as the first sets printed. Which go for an insane amount.

As far as worth, the branded sets tend to go worth the most. Those hogwarts castles were just sitting on the shelf a few years back. Just sitting there. They went on clearance they I swooped in and bought them. I held on to them for about 6 months, watched the market a bit and made a weeks salary in a few hours time and some space in one our spare bedrooms.

Lego Lord of the rings I pre-ordered about 5 of each set. Next summer, closer to fall when they are out pf print, when its near christmas time. I will get into the 5 digits selling these. Those Marvel Superhero ones. Same.

Outside of branded ones, the Castle set sells very well once its our of print as do the space ones. I would buy any Ninjago you'll only make a little.

Honestly, find a lego set that's out of print, complete and in box and tell me if you guys can find it at or close to retail price. If you do its a rare Occurrence.

Anyway, I'm just saying though, not all resellers are douchebags. I make a very comfortable living, selling these things. Hell next year I may quit my job and do this full time from the comfort of my home.

GM, and this isn't me being snarky. I think that comes with research. Obviously popular stuff like Lego Harry Potter and Star Wars will sell really well. And they have a ravenous fanbase. But I am gonna guess if you watch the shelves right now and buy like he was saying...at the ends of seasons of stuff...and find the clearances. A good place for clearance items is Target. They tend to drop prices pretty low on clearance stuff. You can probably figure out the market the same way we did with Skylanders. I like this topic. I have 16 months ahead of me to kill time with and enough disposable income to throw some money into testing your method Storm. I am not in your region...so I won't be stealing your thunder too much. What other franchises do you think have good value... Transformers? Pokemon? I'm kinda curious at this point as we are all collectors at heart. We might as well start getting paid and supplement with it.

Hmmm...and yeah...I have a 40 hour a week job and no kids either at this point. No better time than now to make some side cash to cover my hobby costs and more.

I saw the marvel ones today, at a store.

When do Lego LOTR sets come out? How did you preorder them? Do you think the newer Harry Potter Legos will go for the same price? How about Lego DC?

EDIT: I can't lie, I would do this, until my script sells. Once my script sells, though, I have no need for this. People have been paid upwards of 1.5-2 mil for 120 pieces of paper with a story on it, that they wrote in less than a week. However, until that time, I can't lie, I would test this LEGO thing.

You know what sell like crazy are the mini figures of Legos. I think that'll probably be my tide me over hobby while I wait for Giants is to collect those. Anyone remember M.U.S.C.L.E.S ???

And I refuse to get into the matchbox/hotwheels collectibles...I see old men going after those and they get pretty violent with who gets what. I've seen them fight at the shelves for specific ones. Those are some mean SOB's going after em. GM. I don't think the DC ones would be too hot. Go look to see what is sold out on the daily Skylander run. I had someone having me check for the Monster Dolls for their daughter awhile ago. There's some weird trends for toys.

I have a complete LEGO Batcave from the first Lego Batman toys. It's all in a bucket. It's been opened, but I have the instructions and such, as well as the minifigures. Same for the Lego Deathstar. I have that, opened, but never built it.

Quote: xerokills

GM, and this isn't me being snarky. I think that comes with research. Obviously popular stuff like Lego Harry Potter and Star Wars will sell really well. And they have a ravenous fanbase. But I am gonna guess if you watch the shelves right now and buy like he was saying...at the ends of seasons of stuff...and find the clearances. A good place for clearance items is Target. They tend to drop prices pretty low on clearance stuff. You can probably figure out the market the same way we did with Skylanders. I like this topic. I have 16 months ahead of me to kill time with and enough disposable income to throw some money into testing your method Storm. I am not in your region...so I won't be stealing your thunder too much. What other franchises do you think have good value... Transformers? Pokemon? I'm kinda curious at this point as we are all collectors at heart. We might as well start getting paid and supplement with it.

Hmmm...and yeah...I have a 40 hour a week job and no kids either at this point. No better time than now to make some side cash to cover my hobby costs and more.

As far as stealing market, its huge, trust me. And its always growing. Everyday Lego gets a new fan and they look back at the old sets and say "Man I wish I was collecting back then". That's pretty much why they sell. If I was worried about the market getting flooded I would have kept my mouth shut lol.

Your returns are gonna be based on how much you buy. If you buy 4 $100 sets and Sell them for $300 bucks. Then you made $600. If you spend a couple thousand like I do not, you can expect way more. The best part is you don't have to worry about limited quantities. I have for the most part, never been able to not get a Lego set I wanted, as long as it was currently in production.

It also helps because I got a couple friends who work for Lego. They give me the store displays which sell for a tidy sum, and occasionally I can use their discount. Which I only tend to do for my personal collection.

If they made Pokemon Lego or Even Nintendo Lego, they would print money. I cross my fingers for that day.

Quote: GameMaster78

I saw the marvel ones today, at a store.

When do Lego LOTR sets come out? How did you preorder them? Do you think the newer Harry Potter Legos will go for the same price? How about Lego DC?

I pre-ordered the LOTR lego sets from my friend so I got a discount which helped a lot. As far as availability I believe its june. The new Harry Potter sets will be worth money. Most licensed stuff will be. Lego DC can be but Marvel is cleaning up now. I'd get some DC Stuff, wait till they stop printing them. Wait for a new batman movie and sell them.

The key rule, is you have to wait till the availability drops. The nice thing about lego, is if in theory you should never take a hit. If for some reason something goes sour, you will at least be able to move them for what you bought them for. However this is has never happened to me. The cheapest I sold something is double what I paid for. Most retail stores can't claim those profits.

Transformers are not doing so hot ATM. However that being said I did buy some of them (They are mega blocks btw) I bought around 1 or 2 of each of them. Once the next movie hits I'll probably sell them.

Remember the mindset you want for this is one of an investor. When you invest money it can take many years before you start seeing returns. This works the same way.

I can't make any guarantees though, I've been selling them for 3 years or so and I made 15k my first year. I mean anything can happen, but Lego isn't a fade and if it is, its a 30 plus year old fade now...

Oh for the forum Police, I think Lego Skylanders would be cool. Don't you?

Quote: xerokills

You know what sell like crazy are the mini figures of Legos. I think that'll probably be my tide me over hobby while I wait for Giants is to collect those. Anyone remember M.U.S.C.L.E.S ???

Those minifigs go for a crazy amount. However they are random. Like collectable card games you could get stuck with a lot of "commons" you can't sell for much.

Quote: xerokills

And I refuse to get into the matchbox/hotwheels collectibles...I see old men going after those and they get pretty violent with who gets what. I've seen them fight at the shelves for specific ones. Those are some mean SOB's going after em. GM. I don't think the DC ones would be too hot. Go look to see what is sold out on the daily Skylander run. I had someone having me check for the Monster Dolls for their daughter awhile ago. There's some weird trends for toys.

Yeah man, thats whats nice about lego, they don't pack in one "RARE GLOW IN THE DARK X-Wing" or only pack one Harry Potter Bus set in a box to drive up retardedness and make collectors happy. So you don't have that frenzy.

Quote: GameMaster78

I have a complete LEGO Batcave from the first Lego Batman toys. It's all in a bucket. It's been opened, but I have the instructions and such, as well as the minifigures. Same for the Lego Deathstar. I have that, opened, but never built it.

If that Lego Death Star Was sealed I could have sold it for you for around $1000 to $1500 no joke. Opened though, you'd take a lot less. wait which death star. The older one sells for more than the one with the newer one with the minifigs.

But how do you keep from slowing down the stream of money?

Isn't there downtime in there somewhere, where nothing will sell?

EDIT: Yeah. I bought the one with the minifigs. Which one is worth more?

LOL...Lego Skylanders...hmmmm.

Good advice there Storm. I'm just thinking...start small with maybe 2-3K investment into it and just sit on it a year and then parlay it into 5-10K the next year, which is typically gonna be better than you'd do putting it in other investments. And half the fun is collecting the stuff. Maybe I'll dabble in a few sets of things and see what happens. No worse than the whole Skylanders thing. Okay, back to doing some art.

Skylander related...working on any new repaints?

Quote:

Yes they are but the old guys are stuck at level 10 while the reposes and other ones made with giants have a higher level cap.

Is this speculation or fact? If so, that's retarded.

I put a lot of time into some of my favorite characters -- completely maxing them out.

Is there any word on having online PvP?

Sorry to go OT.

Quote: GameMaster78

But how do you keep from slowing down the stream of money?

Isn't there downtime in there somewhere, where nothing will sell?

EDIT: Yeah. I bought the one with the minifigs. Which one is worth more?

The one without the minfigs is worth a ton more. However, even if open, if its complete hang on to that minifig one. It'll sell for a lot, just later. They are still pretty easy to find.

As far as downtime, there sure is downtime! Usually right after your first investment. Since you have to wait a while to sell these. It has to be money you won't miss for quite some time. However you start buying every winter and every summer. That's when Lego rotates stuff in and out. Then you wait and sell them, usually but not always, about a year after they are not printed. This isn't a hard rule. Have to watch the trends. If a Marvel movie is coming out, wait till then, then sell them. Once you start doing that you will pretty much be making money twice a year to conicide with the yearish you bought the stuff. The chirstmas haul is the biggest and counts as around 20K of my 10K selling. Also you have to claim these as taxes if you sell on ebay. just a warning they take that seriously, if you make like over 4k you can't claim it as a hobby!

Quote: xerokills

LOL...Lego Skylanders...hmmmm.

Good advice there Storm. I'm just thinking...start small with maybe 2-3K investment into it and just sit on it a year and then parlay it into 5-10K the next year, which is typically gonna be better than you'd do putting it in other investments. And half the fun is collecting the stuff. Maybe I'll dabble in a few sets of things and see what happens. No worse than the whole Skylanders thing. Okay, back to doing some art.

Skylander related...working on any new repaints?

I started small exactly as you said! Of that 30K I made so far I've probably reinvested about 20K of it. Its a slow start but its an avalanche effect.

You'll be doing this in roughly six month blocks after your first year and then start to get money about every 6 months. You can always keep it small and just use it as hobby cash.

But what I'm getting at, is how do you keep the money going year round, once it takes off? How do you know there will be some liscensed set twice a year? Like in the winter, they could not release a liscensed set, but could the following summer.

Quote: Laurix

Quote:

Yes they are but the old guys are stuck at level 10 while the reposes and other ones made with giants have a higher level cap.

Is this speculation or fact? If so, that's retarded.

I put a lot of time into some of my favorite characters -- completely maxing them out.

Is there any word on having online PvP?

Sorry to go OT.

I've actually only heard speculation.

From a business stand point it makes sense and technological stand point.

"Yes you can use the old guys in your game! But if you want to get the most out of the sequel you will have to buy the new guys as well!" So from a marketing prospective its the best of both world for them, because officially it is backwards compatible.

Also those little chips on the old guys, already have the data they are allowed to store on them. That meaning, as a rough example, if they are only programmed to record data up to level 10. Thats as high as they will ever go. The Reposes might be there solution to this by allowing them to go to level 20 or whatever.

Again speculation, but I've heard this speculation from many sources.

I hope I'm wrong however!

Quote: GameMaster78

But what I'm getting at, is how do you keep the money going year round, once it takes off? How do you know there will be some liscensed set twice a year? Like in the winter, they could not release a liscensed set, but could the following summer.

hey storm you say get an out of print one if you come across it, but how do you know if its out of print? just knowing what your looking for or another way?

@Storm, that does make perfect sense, tbh.

Just can't see myself buying ALL "new versions" of old characters (Stealth Elf, Voodood, etc).

Quote: StormbringerGT

I've noticed a lot of issues with scalping going on. I scalp myself (not Skylanders), its a quarter of my income! Remember this, its not the scalper who's to blame, its the person who buys from them.

Skylanders; In a few years these are gonna be worthless. Especially when they finally make a game that isn't backwards compatible with the old guys. Hell Giants isn't even that backwards compatible. (Old guys won't use new level cap).

Legos. Legos man. Scalpers, thats where the action is at. I think I made close to $30k profit selling legos last year and I wasn't even a douche about it. I had to claim taxes on my reselling I made so much and I'm employed full time!

The trick is to be about 1 year or so behind. You don't have to run to the store and buy out inventory and deny them to other people to drive up prices. Nope. no douchebaggery about it.

Most of my sets I bought on clearance from a retailer, that sat on a shelf and WOULDN'T sell. You just sell them online a bit after they go "out of print" and boom. For some reason everyone wants it when they can't have it anymore. Go figure. You can even gamble more and hold the sets for years. Yes its not near instant money like scalping, but you don't feel the need to shower afterwards. Think of it like an investment. 4 digits down down usually means a return of 5 digits down the line. After my sales last years, I'm guessing Ill pull close to 80k this year. Thanks to Marvel and Lord of the Rings coming out, I'm sitting on a gold mine next year.

Some examples of my sales (Mostly through craigslist! **** Ebay and Paypal and their fees):

Lego Millenium Falcon: Retailed $400 I think? I paid $300 I sold it for $1400.

Lego Star Wars Trade Federation MTT Retail $100. I paid $75 a pop at TRU. Sold 5 of them at $300-ish a piece.

Lego Hogwarts Castle Retail $100 I bought 4 for $80 a piece. Sold all 4 for $600 a piece.

Thats just the big sets I sell. Some of them small ones go fro crazy amounts.

Don't believe me, take a gander at Ebay. I don't sell to much stuff on Ebay, to avoid the fees and what not.

I agree that the buyers are part of the problem but the scalpers are also, I'm not talking about people who sell rare or older stuff, just the ones who hog all the new stuff to jack up the price. Why do they feel that they deserve part of the money for a product that they had nothing to do with the creation of? that's mostly what is wrong with this world, greed! I know we are only talking toys here but seriously, you know as well as I that if it were something more serious, like maybe a food shortage or something that most scalpers would be doing exactly the same thing with food... letting the people that cannot afford to pay ten times the price suffer while profitting off the people who can afford it. There is a difference between a businessman and a scalper.

Very interesting, Stormbringer.

My wife and I spent about a month building all the Kre-O Transformers and we were always surprised that the Lego shelves were bare. I knew the Lego market was huge, but not scalper huge.

... If nothing else, Lego is to be commended for figuring out a way to work with DC and Marvel simultaneously. Those two hate each other like Coke and Pepsi.

Quote: vinzclortho37

Very interesting, Stormbringer.

My wife and I spent about a month building all the Kre-O Transformers and we were always surprised that the Lego shelves were bare. I knew the Lego market was huge, but not scalper huge.

... If nothing else, Lego is to be commended for figuring out a way to work with DC and Marvel simultaneously. Those two hate each other like Coke and Pepsi.

I know right? Yet they got them both. At the same time. Im not sure if that was a great move, especially with Avengers coming up!

Also with those Kre-O transformers, my biggest gripe is that they don't transform! If you want them to go from vehicle to Robot you have to rebuild them! Ugh!

Storm just a quick question I have a glow in the dark wrecking ball would you suggest i sell now while prices are high, I saw one go for $220 australian or do you think after giants comes out?

Quote: drummerw

Storm just a quick question I have a glow in the dark wrecking ball would you suggest i sell now while prices are high, I saw one go for $220 australian or do you think after giants comes out?

^ Sell it unless your collecting. Think about it.. the $200 would practically pay for your set. I bought 4 whamshells the other day on accident. Well I got two and my boyfriend got the email and bought 2 for me as a gift ... we just chuckled about it! I ended up selling 3 out of 4 for $150 ($50 each) so that pretty much paid for 15 of my other skylanders.