Buying in bulk.

[WinshipA]

Because of their widespread use, both Bricklink, and especially Ebay, don't offer the same value for money on large lots of assorted bricks anymore.

As mentioned in another thread, the most profitable method is searching in more unconventional areas, such as classified ads or garage sales.

I advertise on online add sites, such as craigslist or kijiji. I usually pay $4-5 per pound for used, assorted LEGO (from sets, not the traditional ambigious brick).

I was curious if this was an acceptable rate? I am an avid LEGO collector and keep most of it, but I often sell some of it on EBAY to balance out the relative costs. I am in contact with a guy who is willing to accept $150 for about 40ish pounds of LEGO. Judging from past experience (buying in 10, 15, 20 pound lots off of random people), most of the LEGO is pretty old, id assume mid-eightees ro early-ninetees). Older lego, although it has its charm, is generally less usefull for MOCs because it doesnt include many of the useful specialty pieces you see today. Forgive me if I am making any wrong assumptions.

I guess what i'm trying to know, is whether or not it is worth it. MOC's out there, is there a market for older LEGO? I generally only buy LEGO this way, unless a current set just melts my heart (ex. medieval market village).

[Shadows]

Without seeing it, it's impossible to estimate the value.

It might be 40lbs that includes a monorail, a bunch of old knights, an array of classic town sets, a maersk helmet, 3 forestwomen, a white ninja princess and a bunch of white pigtails.

It might be crap.

I've heard that $4-5/lb is a decent rate, though honestly, I don't buy LEGO by weight. I might place a $100 order that weighs 8 ounces, but I wouldn't spend nearly as much on many times that weight in unknown parts. Especially used unknown parts. I'm iffy enough on individual used parts that someone says are like new, I don't think I'd have any faith in a big bag/box/bucket of bricks.

I gamble on eBay, would consider the same elsewhere, but not without a picture. Consider that your best advice here... see what you are getting before you pay, know what you're looking at, be familiar with the going rates for things you are interested in, mentally calculate the value to you (not based on what you think things are worth to someone else, there is no telling if anyone would buy anything you tried to resell) and act accordingly.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[mania3]

It's tough to say. I've gotten ripped, and I've found treasure troves. LEGOLAND sells LEGO at $31.96 per pound. So even with regular pieces, you're going to win at that rate, provided they aren't chewed up or trashed.

[CP5670]

Older lego, although it has its charm, is generally less usefull for MOCs because it doesnt include many of the useful specialty pieces you see today.

If you're looking at sets from the mid 70s or earlier, then you're probably right for the most part. Many 80s and 90s sets, on the other hand, contain numerous very useful pieces that are no longer around today. As IS said, it really depends on what exactly is in the particular lot.

I've heard that $4-5/lb is a decent rate, though honestly, I don't buy LEGO by weight. I might place a $100 order that weighs 8 ounces, but I wouldn't spend nearly as much on many times that weight in unknown parts. Especially used unknown parts. I'm iffy enough on individual used parts that someone says are like new, I don't think I'd have any faith in a big bag/box/bucket of bricks.

I'm like this too. I try to maximize how much "useful" Lego I get for my money (in terms of part condition and selection, which is entirely subjective), instead of just the total quantity or weight of pieces. I'll have to pay more with a Bricklink order, but all the pieces will be exactly the things I wanted.

Edited April 17, 2009 by CP5670

[brickbitz]

There in lies the problem. What is LEGO really worth?

These days I rarely gamble on large random used lots, unless I'm able to inspect it first.

Some people's idea of valuable good condition LEGO is the all the bits gathered up from the bottom of the kids toy box, the hoover and whatever's lying around the garden. As an adult collector this sort of stuff doesn't appeal to me, even if it did come from some rare set originally.

Ebay and Bricklink are part of the problem here as their widespread use has led to some people overestimating the value of their chewed, scratched, discoloured kid's toys.

Sure there is a market for certain hard to find items in good or better condition, but for the most part you are talking about common place 20 year old bits of ABS plastic produced in their millions. Some people seem to think it's a given that their kids can mangle it to death and then it can be sold on for a small fortune because it's ** SUPER RARE ** vintage LEGO.

This is becoming common place at our local car boot fairs over the last couple of years. My favourite example last year was someone who had a large red tub full of LEGO sets, there was a Model Team rig in there and a couple of other technic sets. They wanted £120 for this tub of LEGO, the truck was 90% discoloured on the greys and whites, the instruction books torn to shreds, and the LEGO generally looked manky and battered. Needless to say I passed..

The upshot is really that LEGO is only worth what you personally will pay for it. Paying by weight for used LEGO is difficult in my opinion because there's no guarantee that any of it is in good condition. $4-5 for a pound of crap is no good, yet $10 dollars for a pound of great bits would be fine. If you are prepared to risk $150 on unseen LEGO go for it. You may find a real bargain or it may just be a load of filler, for the bin or the back of the cupboard.

[WinshipA]

Thanks for all the great advice guys.

I've generally been pretty lucky when it comes to this. I bought a 25 pound lot about a month ago, for about 100 or so. Using the pieces, the available instructions and some help from peeron, I assembled as many sets as I could.

It contained quite a few sets. Mostly old city sets: Police station, airplanes, helicopters, stunt planes, trucks, the rocky mountain retreat, etc. and then the odd pirate/lego/space (forbidden island, dragon wagon, and some space police).I think I counted about 30+ minifigures too, which is great as well. Although dusty, it was all in good condition. I figure I could easily sell what I dont need on Ebay.

Im mostly just in these situations to get pieces for MOCS: minifigures, accessories, and the odd specialty piece. Other than that, i just plan to sell it on Ebay to fund my Bricklink excursions.

I called the guy and I think im gonna pop up over tonight to check it out. Its under no obligation, so I can easily just walk away.

[WinshipA]

So I bet many of you could barely sleep, tossing and turning, awaiting the results of my little excursion.

Well, I bought the LEGO from the seller, and it was a lot more than I expected. He initially told me it was 30 lbs, but afterweighing it, it was closer to 75. The weight of 75 does include the tupperware bins and the assortment of crap that was included (megabloks especially. I would say, after sorting out all of the garbage, its about 55-60 lbs of pure lego.

I paid $200 for it, which is approximately $4.lb if you only count the LEGO. $4-$5 are the rates I usually charge (assuming they know anything about the value, if not then Ill buy a box for $5 and wish them good day).

I think $4/pound is incredibly reasonable. Given the costs on Ebay, after shipping, they can easily be over $10-$15, depending on the size of the lot. All of the pieces look to be from sets, and basic bricks seem to be a minority.

I seem to have a little bit of everything actually: A lot of star wars, adventurers, castle, pirate, harry potter, ninja, classic space, artic expedition, ice planet, soccer, city, forestmen!, indians, islanders, etc.

It was a really good haul. Counting the number of minifigures, im at about 100 right now. After sorting, I think ill hit 110-120 or so. I could potentially recover my costs, and then some, just by selling the minifigures themselves.

You can really do a lot with 50 pounds of lego bricks. I might just sell the star wars though, as there is a huge market for it on EBAY, and its mostly useless to be for castle-building. Im running out of room anyways, I might have to.

[Erdbeereis]

Wow, sounds like you found some good stuff!

It seems you have gotten an excellent deal.

[WinshipA]

Wow, sounds like you found some good stuff!

It seems you have gotten an excellent deal.

Thanks! I think so too. Although, I think I'll be regretting this decision once exams are done next week. Its going to take ages to sort.