Hi all,
I've come to a bit of a crossroads as to whether I need to change my buying habits. I'm looking at all these sets that I've earmarked as 'Wanted' for 2013 so far, but can't help the feeling that I'm going to be wasting my money.
The reason I was still collecting Lego, was that at the end of the day, when I was finished, I could sell it all up, and recoup all my investment plus a bit more if I was clever about it. And in the last few years, I've been buying up big, (well, 'big' is a relative term here), the sets I like, but now I've not only run out room to display them, but have a couple of sets still sealed months after I bought them, for fear of once opening them, not being able to recoup my money.
For instance I've got #8070 Supercar sitting in my closet, I want to build, but once I do, have to display it, for which I have no space to, which is made worse by the fact that if I sell my #9395, #9394 Technic sets or even my #9398 Crawler to make room, I'll be selling them at far less than the Aussie RRP that I paid.
So, this brings me to say that the market has certainly softened to a point where anything bought at the Australian RRP (~+40% of US prices) is going to lose money at any point in the aftermarket. I'm going to even go out and say that even some sets bought at the US RRP, will lose money. #9465 Vampyre Hearse is a prime example, I'm thinking that I'll struggle to get my $35 back on that waste of time.
So, the cool looking Galaxy Squad sets, and the nice Lone Ranger sets I've been eyeing up will probably be something I pick up from eBay a few years from now in a bulk lot for $30 rather than $130 from my local Target or Kmart.
So, I'm I right or just having a bad night? Is money really only in the $150+ 'Flagship' sets these days?
I've come to a bit of a crossroads as to whether I need to change my buying habits. I'm looking at all these sets that I've earmarked as 'Wanted' for 2013 so far, but can't help the feeling that I'm going to be wasting my money.
The reason I was still collecting Lego, was that at the end of the day, when I was finished, I could sell it all up, and recoup all my investment plus a bit more if I was clever about it. And in the last few years, I've been buying up big, (well, 'big' is a relative term here), the sets I like, but now I've not only run out room to display them, but have a couple of sets still sealed months after I bought them, for fear of once opening them, not being able to recoup my money.
For instance I've got #8070 Supercar sitting in my closet, I want to build, but once I do, have to display it, for which I have no space to, which is made worse by the fact that if I sell my #9395, #9394 Technic sets or even my #9398 Crawler to make room, I'll be selling them at far less than the Aussie RRP that I paid.
So, this brings me to say that the market has certainly softened to a point where anything bought at the Australian RRP (~+40% of US prices) is going to lose money at any point in the aftermarket. I'm going to even go out and say that even some sets bought at the US RRP, will lose money. #9465 Vampyre Hearse is a prime example, I'm thinking that I'll struggle to get my $35 back on that waste of time.
So, the cool looking Galaxy Squad sets, and the nice Lone Ranger sets I've been eyeing up will probably be something I pick up from eBay a few years from now in a bulk lot for $30 rather than $130 from my local Target or Kmart.
So, I'm I right or just having a bad night? Is money really only in the $150+ 'Flagship' sets these days?