Governor Mister Phes Posted September 3, 2005 Governor Posted September 3, 2005 I've been wondering where eBay and BrickLink sellers get their LEGO from. I'm not talking about the average joe trying to make money by having an online garage sale. I'm referring to those sellers that get incredible amounts of LEGO and are continually selling it all the time. Where does it come from? Do these people continually go round second hand/pawn shops, flea markets, news paper classifields, school fairs, garage/yard sales, etc. sourcing supplies for their stores? Or is there some secret method or place these seller know about where they can get heaps of cheap LEGO? Really, I'd like to know! I haven't actually asked any of the sellers yet because they may not tell me. Afterall, why would they? It might hurt their business. So first I'm going to ask everybody here if they know this secret. Because I am certainly baffled how they manage it. Quote
Hobbes Posted September 3, 2005 Posted September 3, 2005 Where does it come from? Do these people continually go round second hand/pawn shops, flea markets, news paper classifields, school fairs, garage/yard sales, etc. sourcing supplies for their stores? All of that plus ebay and bricklink... I don't know that but it's a conclusion I draw from having seen ppl buying tons of stuff on ebay and then finding their stores on bricklink... Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted September 3, 2005 Author Governor Posted September 3, 2005 Ah yes, if they buy it off eBay and sell it on BrickLink, where do the eBay sellers get it from? BrickLink? Therefore it would be just be exchanging hands back and forth between the two online communities, which doesn't really account for all the people who actually buy it use or collect, nor the new sets and pieces that appear every day that have been on neither communities. Of course I could be wrong as I don't scour every eBay and BrickLink seller to see where the pieces are going... Quote
snefroe Posted September 3, 2005 Posted September 3, 2005 some sellers have a real company in trading lego; some even have large buildings with 4-10 people working in them, don't forget, they get 1000's of pieces. they need to be sorted, sometimes cleaned, checked for quality, there administration,... they buy lego from whoever sells, i guess... they sell stuff everyday and they probably have a discount at the post office... others only have small operations, going to the post office once a week or so, doing all the work after official hours,... Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted September 3, 2005 Author Governor Posted September 3, 2005 They're all very good points! Yet they still don't explain where the LEGO is coming from! Quote
snefroe Posted September 3, 2005 Posted September 3, 2005 second hand, pabs, lego stores, individuals trying to get money of the old toys,... Quote
Hobbes Posted September 3, 2005 Posted September 3, 2005 They're all very good points! Yet they still don't explain where the LEGO is coming from! What is it you don't understand? Since TLC alone is entitled to produce LEGO it can only be second-hand stuff those "stores" are selling. And that you get at flea markets, ebay, bricklink. Or you happen to stumble upon a sale and buy 20 new copies of one set (once you re-sell it it's technically second hand, even if unused). Or you intercept the mail-man before he delivers the birthday gifts for your neighbor's kids. Or Santa... Or the Easter Bunny... Quote
jonfett Posted September 3, 2005 Posted September 3, 2005 I am pretty sure that you can buy bulk amounts of parts off S@H, of course with a discount. Big sellers would probably use this. Then don't forget some sellers will have old collections to sell too. Jon. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted September 3, 2005 Author Governor Posted September 3, 2005 By second hand sets I'm referring to those which are used and over 5 years old no longer available on S@H. I'm well aware of the methods sellers acquire brand new sets. Its the older pieces and sets continually put on sale that's got me puzzled. The amount some sell make it impossible for the pieces to be from their collection. They couldn't possibly have that much LEGO. Its like they have an infinite supply! It must be coming from somewhere! The majority of it can't be from other online sellers due to the number of buyers that actually keep it for themself and the number of new pieces continually appearing. Eventually I'll ask these sellers to see what they tell me. But for now I'll leave everyone here to guess then I'll see how close you come if I ever get a straight answer. Quote
Hobbes Posted September 3, 2005 Posted September 3, 2005 Its the older pieces and sets continually put on sale that's got me puzzled. The amount some sell make it impossible for the pieces to be from their collection. Second hand. They couldn't possibly have that much LEGO. Its like they have an infinite supply! It just seems like it. It must be coming from somewhere! The majority of it can't be from other online sellers Then it's from a garage sale... due to the number of buyers that actually keep it for themself You know that from where? and the number of new pieces continually appearing. Eventually I'll ask these sellers to see what they tell me. But for now I'll leave everyone here to guess then I'll see how close you come if I ever get a straight answer. This is really bothering you, isn't it? Quote
snefroe Posted September 3, 2005 Posted September 3, 2005 don't forget, pirate, a few of these sellers have a huge network of people in large communities. it reminds me a bit of diamond dealers. they travel to africa and then they just visit all the small centres and let people know they're buying diamonds. in this case, it's probably the same, but the goods come to them, they just use all sorts of distribution networks... Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted September 3, 2005 Author Governor Posted September 3, 2005 I care bare it no longer! Next time I buy some LEGO of such a seller I'm going to ask them! Yes, Hobbes this is really disturbing me! Quote
snefroe Posted September 4, 2005 Posted September 4, 2005 there was a shop called "usedbricks" or something and they had pictures on their bricklink site showing the warehouse, the incoming lego, the sorting process,... that was really impressive. i think they're closed for the moment because they had to move. their place was getting too small... but then, they had more than a million parts to sell... not sure how many parts you have, pirate, but i surely don't have a million pieces and i already need a room or two. and how much time would you need to sort 100000 bricks coming in every week or so? Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted September 4, 2005 Author Governor Posted September 4, 2005 I'm not sure how many parts I have either but I know I'm running out of space! My LEGO sets are sprawlling out onto CD cases, scanners, printers or whatever surface is flat and stable enough to support them. Of course this is rather incovenient but I have no choice! 100,000 bricks or so is very impressive! They'd need to employ a team full time to amass that many bricks! Quote
snefroe Posted September 4, 2005 Posted September 4, 2005 I'm not sure how many parts I have either but I know I'm running out of space! My LEGO sets are sprawlling out onto CD cases, scanners, printers or whatever surface is flat and stable enough to support them. Of course this is rather incovenient but I have no choice!100,000 bricks or so is very impressive! They'd need to employ a team full time to amass that many bricks! they sometimes do. it depends on your operation... in this case, a lego seller is just like any other trader: products need to be checked, sorted, stored,... it takes time, money, people and space. they're just businessmen dealing in lego, that's all... Quote
Kenn Posted September 4, 2005 Posted September 4, 2005 My wife spends hours in second hand shops, that's how we get our used Lego. We then sell the stuff we don't need to support the rest of the habit. There's often funny biz on Bricklink though. One clue came when a seller had 200+ Maersk ships before they hit the market. Clearly not right but then no one ever said life is fair..... Ken Quote
snefroe Posted September 4, 2005 Posted September 4, 2005 My wife spends hours in second hand shops, that's how we get our used Lego. We then sell the stuff we don't need to support the rest of the habit. There's often funny biz on Bricklink though. One clue came when a seller had 200+ Maersk ships before they hit the market. Clearly not right but then no one ever said life is fair.....Ken you've got a point there. sometimes it seems people have an illegal channel that reaches all the the way up to the lego factory ;) Quote
mutley777 Posted September 5, 2005 Posted September 5, 2005 i use to sell on bricklink and i was always looking for stuff to sell in toy shops and on ebay. sometimes things would be badly discirbed on ebay and would be in wrong catagorys and you could get things at a cheap price. i was never a big seller and only sold star wars as this was my main interest in lego. some times the big sellers would buy from me if they thought they could make a bit more on top selling it on again. as for your question on bulk buying it all depends on how much you are willing to put into your buisness at the start. i once brought 8 at-at's in a sale and sold all of them except 1 for a good profit less than a week later. but had i held on to them till the sets were discontiued i would have mad a real killing. if you can sit on stock for a while you can make the best money. some of the big sellers must have a full business account with lego as then they can by at a discount right from the start. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted September 6, 2005 Author Governor Posted September 6, 2005 sometimes things would be badly discirbed on ebay and would be in wrong catagorys and you could get things at a cheap price. I love those auctions! Check this one out I won recently! Very cheap hull - I doubt I'll come across another one like this for a long long time! Quote
Hobbes Posted September 7, 2005 Posted September 7, 2005 I love those auctions! Check this one out I won recently![...] "Another eBayer that walked the plank with style! Superb transaction!AAAAA+++++++" Your profile is quite entertaining, especially that feedback from August 26th... Quote
snefroe Posted September 7, 2005 Posted September 7, 2005 here's a related question to the ebay activity: does anybody know when it's the best moment of the year to sell/buy lego on ebay? Quote
Hobbes Posted September 7, 2005 Posted September 7, 2005 To sell: when there are no holidays (everybody's home, more potential buyers). To buy: when there are holidays (nobody's home, no "competition"). Quote
SuvieD Posted September 7, 2005 Posted September 7, 2005 Just before Christmas, Nov 1-Dec 15 or so to allow for shipping time is one of the best. Also in the US I would say the time period from March to May for numerous reasons. It is usually muddy, people have just gotten their tax returns and the junk people got for Christmas is worn out it's appeal and people want to turn it into some cash. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted September 7, 2005 Author Governor Posted September 7, 2005 Any time of year is good for me to buy! I'm always finding bargains and good deals, but that's probably got a lot to do with the time and effort I spend into programming eBay searches to do all the work for me. My advanced searches find the auctions that the general searches won't pick up. I remember finding a Cannon Cove Auction (with box) that for some reason wasn't viewable in any of the general searches, categories and not even in the sellers list of items for auction! So I was the only one able to view the auction (I checked the hit count on the auction page) and nobody else could find it to bid on it! Quote
Darkie Posted September 9, 2005 Posted September 9, 2005 One addition to how some people get their LEGO--a lot of time. When TLC clearances a set, they pick up masses of them. In five or six years when demand goes up, they sell it for a whole lot of profit. At least 200%, I'd wager. If you pay $5 for a set, then sell it for $20? I'd say that's good profit. Quote
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