20 replies to this topic

[Captain Grog]

In my quest to purchase the remaining classic pirate Lego I need, I often find it difficult to know what a good deal is. Many eBay and Brick link sellers seem to price their goods too high. So I thought maybe we could help each other get an idea of what fair prices are for used classic pirate Lego. I'm not sure how we can do this, there already is a thread for latest purchases but maybe we could share in a separate page what we are paying for such sets so we could get an idea of what the averages are. Obviously we need to compare apples to apples so we would need to agree on the perimeters for determining condition of the sets.

[SirSven7]

Sadly your going to be paying a reasonably high price for any LEGO that has been discontinued and if your after LEGO from the 90s thats just the way it is.

What you need to decide is if your buying unopened mint sets (crazy expensive), complete sets used but in very good condition with a box (expensive) or used average/good condition no box (reasonable).

For example I bought the Imperial Trading Post for £90 and the Armada Flagship for £35 both from bricklink, in good used condition (no box), which I feel is great for sets that old.

But I have also seen those same sets sell unopened (mint) for five times as much money, which I would not pay.

Ebay is a good place to go if you don't get into a bidding war, whereas bricklink costs a little more but gives you the freedom to browse and buy when your ready (rather than when the clock counts down).

[Captain Grog]

I managed to get a boxed Black Seas Barracuda for $200. The l
Lego was in excellent condition, box fair to good. I also got an Eldorado Fortress boxed for $90. Lego was mint box was good. I feel I got good deals I both but for sets like ITP or SES they seem over priced.

[Sebeus I]

I got two SES so far,
the first one was 100 Euro, box included but one minifigure was missing
the second one was 75 Euro, building instructions included but anchor and one small mast were missing
I consider both of them reasonable.

[SirSven7]

Yeah I'm not really seeing a problem with prices, I say whatever the buyer is will to pay is what a sets worth, if I see something I have to get then I'll pay for it.

some unopened pirate sets will set on Bricklink for ever and cost hundreds however that doesn't mean they are worth that much.

75 is a very good price for the SES I am impressed  

[On Stranger Tides]

I hate shakos because theyr not my period. ill sell as many as u want for 2 per dollar.

[Frank Brick Wright]

SirSven7, on 20 February 2012 - 06:50 PM, said:

Ebay is a good place to go if you don't get into a bidding war, whereas bricklink costs a little more but gives you the freedom to browse and buy when your ready (rather than when the clock counts down).

I cannot agree with this. Ebay is, for my experience, an awful place to buy Legos. There are bids all the time, the owners of the sets often enough bid themselves and it is just an enormous pricy mess.

Bricklink is, according to my experience, fairly cheaper. You are able to get the sets are reasonable prices and you have a HUGE range to choose from. If you want to by minifigures, for instance, you can achieve cheap prices by buying tons of torsos in BL and legs in separate, though if you try buying them as "minifigs" they will be quite expensive too.

[Brinstar]

Its difficult to place a precise value on sets because prices fluctuate so much. On ebay I've seen the same sets in roughly the same conditions for completely different prices. Bricklink is much less hassle but it can be difficult to find a UK seller selling complete sets at reasonable prices.

[SirSven7]

Frank Brick Wright, on 21 February 2012 - 12:18 AM, said:

I cannot agree with this. Ebay is, for my experience, an awful place to buy Legos. There are bids all the time, the owners of the sets often enough bid themselves and it is just an enormous pricy mess.

I agree that it can get messy but somethimes a gem or two can be found, for example i got the cannon cove set for £5 on ebay and I got the black falcons catapult for £8.

It takes alot of effort but occasionally you can get a decent deal (but not always).

and as Im from the UK bricklink is lacking occasionaly and export costs can be quite alot (for example I won't even look at sets to buy from the US or Canada)

[Captain Grog]

Determining average prices shouldn't be that difficult. We are the experts and the ones buying and selling these sets. My idea was to put our collective knowledge together to determine what the equilibrium price would be. (For those of you that haven't studied Economics, the equilibrium is the price where the supply curve intersects with the demand curve, thus giving you the true market price.)

[SirSven7]

This sounds like a lot of work, if you want advice on a few sets sure but to determin the fair cost of all, that will take time.

Here is a couple of sets and the prices I would pay

Eldorado Fortress = £150 - £100

Enchanted Island = £60 - £40

Imperial Trading Post = £140 - £80

Good luck with it all

Edited by SirSven7, 22 February 2012 - 12:15 AM.

[Skipper]

SirSven,some of your prices seem a little high to me. I've been thinking about getting an Eldorado Fortress () recently, and if I remember the average was around 90 USD, 100 tops - around 60 pounds. And I got my ITP around a year ago for 76 pounds, again on the lower side of your estimate.

[SirSven7]

thats a good price, when it come it england and america you guys get the lego cheaper anyway though you could be right about the slight overestimation

I'll change it.

Eldorado = £120 - £80

ITP = £100 - £80

Enchanted Island = £50 - £30

[Yawgmoth]

I usually search ebay for good prices on sets, daily ..since 3-4 months now, so in my experience I can tell you I'd not pay more than:

$25 for a 6267 Lagoon Lockup

$25 for a 6270 Forbiden Island

$30 for a 6279 Skull Island

$50 for a 6273 Rock Island Refugee

$50 for a 4195 Queen Anne's Revenge

$50 for a 4184 Black Pearl

$60 for a 6274 Caribean Clipper

$70 for a 6289 Red Beard'ds Runner

$80 for a 6285 black seas barracuda


I can even provide with evidence of some of the lots that I have either bought or that had passed by my eyes :P

www.ebay.com/itm/190629179651?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

SO...good prices are all over ebay..you just gotta search well, and have some patience :P

Hope this had helped a little :)

Edited by Yawgmoth, 23 February 2012 - 05:30 PM.

[Captain Grog]

Wow those prices are low but none of them have the box. Do you follow prices for boxed sets too?

[Edmond Dantes]

Captain Grog, on 24 February 2012 - 05:03 PM, said:

Wow those prices are low but none of them have the box. Do you follow prices for boxed sets too?

None have the box, most of the sets are incomplete, all are used and most don't have minifigs.  The prices listed really don't reflect reality imo.

[Sebeus I]

So you're really looking for boxed sets, you mean like unopened sets ?
those would be very expensive.
Personally I even prefer unboxed sets, I even like it if they're not 100% complete or there are no building instructions included, that makes them much cheaper  

[Yawgmoth]

Edmond Dantes, on 24 February 2012 - 06:08 PM, said:

None have the box, most of the sets are incomplete, all are used and most don't have minifigs.  The prices listed really don't reflect reality imo.

Box is just something that would add a lot on shipping.. useless then...

I have bought several lots of minifigs before, so I dont care if they comes with minifigs or not :P

and lastly,.. they came all on great shape and nearly complete, so..that wasnt much of a trouble for me hehe

[Captain Grog]

I prefer to buy near mint sets with the box but not MSIB. Since shipping is based in weight, the box wouldn't add that much to shipping costs.

[Yawgmoth]

Captain Grog, on 01 March 2012 - 03:00 AM, said:

I prefer to buy near mint sets with the box but not MSIB. Since shipping is based in weight, the box wouldn't add that much to shipping costs.

Shipping is also based on box size...at least thats what I believe..

[Norro]

Everyone probably forms their own mental price guides after a few months of stalking lego sales, but if you want a rough and ready way to compile a price list, why not use the BrickLink average sale price, Lagoon Lock-Up for example, and then add a standard percent discount (if you are a patient ebay searcher) or increase (if you insist on near mint condition)...

God Bless,

Nathan