Collecting Unopened Sets

[Ackbar]

I have alot of unopen sets only because i take my time building them, i'm not in a hurry... I also have a family of 5 and that takes alot of time away.. The only positive thing is i will alway have stuff to work on, and i keep buying new sets too...lol

I do buy them to build, if unopen the more money in the future...

Agree with this!

And the fact that I want to display my sets, which isn't possible when the collection grows...

After all these years I actually feel a bit tired when I look at the 2012 lineup… Star Wars Lego is still developing, when will it end…? But hey, I’m a collector and will probably buy most of the 2012 sets anyway!

[lego envy]

Agree with this!

And the fact that I want to display my sets, which isn't possible when the collection grows...

After all these years I actually feel a bit tired when I look at the 2012 lineup… Star Wars Lego is still developing, when will it end…? But hey, I’m a collector and will probably buy most of the 2012 sets anyway!

Me too....lol

[CaptainBermuda]

It wouldn't be for more money, because if you keep the boxes and all the parts together and you plan on selling it, as long as they're together I dont see a signifigant money difference, and by the way you must be very tempted to open them

[Hartfan]

I have around 27 boxes of SW lego unopened. They are from 2009,2010,2011. I feel like now I'm a collector so I want to have them in boxes. Maybe one day I will open them and build to display. I just need bigger house for it... ;-)

[MaceWindu]

I'm collector but I always open boxes. After building I put my sets to the schelf. I can't keep it unopened!

[382nd Legionnaire]

I really see not opening sets as wasteful in my opinion. I can't wait to crack open a new box of Legos. Only exception is if I receive a set I already have as a gift or something. Then I look to resell the set on ebay.

[DarthR2-D2]

I just skimmed through 3 pages of a conversation just to say, "If you don't like LEGO enough to open and build it (Just to look @ the box) I will be more than happy to take them off your hands if you'd like me to." ...

Edited December 7, 2011 by DarthR2-D2

[Brinstar]

I agree with the general sentiments expressed here. I think Lego more than any other toy needs to be opened and built to be enjoyed. I understand that MISB sets can and generally do skyrocket in value and some people see it as a business investment but for me Lego is a hobby and one I would struggle to enjoy if I left the sets unbuilt in their boxes just to accumulate value.

[Werlu Ulcur]

Collect unopened Lego sets?!?

That just isn't possible in my universe. It would be like the rain falling up.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Werlu Ulcur

[filospinato]

I've only got a couple of unopened SW sets, a Tantive IV, Venator and a couple of battle packs, plus loads of series minifigs. Oh, and a white Fett, mini X wing and two shadow ARF troopers. They were all on sale. I ended up getting a Venator in a lot of parts, so I'll probably resell that one. I haven't had a bad enough day in a while to warrant building the Tantive. The minifigs will probably stay sealed and put on display, no real need to MOC/play with them.

[AFOL SF]

I've had unopened sets stored away once, I believe. I got eight of the '07 Droid BPs when they were on sale for $2.50 each during a one-day sale at the Brand Stores right before they were retired. Opened six, stored away two since I really didn't need all those droids at the time. Then, last year, I was having one of those days where I just wanted to build a new set, so I grabbed them and built them. Honestly, I don't think I have the willpower to keep LEGO stored away when I could be playing with it. My only current unopened sets (if you can call them sets) are a Chrome Vader, Chrome Stormie, White Fett, and Shadow ARF, which are still in polybags because I have multiples of them and they make nice display items, except for the Shadow ARF of which I have one but see no use for it if it were opened.

Brickdoctor, sir... would you happen to have an extra open White Fett you would like to sell or trade with?... I'm still looking to own one, open of course...

[Brickdoctor]

Brickdoctor, sir... would you happen to have an extra open White Fett you would like to sell or trade with?... I'm still looking to own one, open of course...

If that's a serious post, sorry, no, I don't.

[Ceroknight]

I always open my sets, sometimes I regret doing

But if I were to, it would really be a 'just because' sort of thing...or because of multiple minifigures...

By the way ACPin, how are you able to vote on more then one choice?

[Alldarker]

I too have plenty of unopened SW sets... Mostly due to either having them double (and buying a second one at clearance) or just not having enough space to display them.

That also means it's the biggest sets which often stay MISB: currently UCS Millennium Falcon, UCS Death Star II, Dropship / AT-OT, 6211 Star Destroyer, 7675 AT-TE, Battle of Endor to name but a few, although I do have quite a few smaller sets MISB as well.

I did recently sell a MISB Sandcrawler I had double... Hardly made a dent as far as extra storage space was concerned, though.

[KeepLeft]

You must have extremely strong will power not to open these sets. The longest set that I had that remained unopened was about two hours and that was only because I bought two sets and was busy on the first.

[GRogall]

Oh dang! I'm guilty of the same thing.

Why do I do it? Can't help my self I guess, And that a girlfriend gets 30% staff discount sometimes does not help the situation at all........ :devil:

And I just don't have the room to open them.......

[Brickadeer]

Usually, I buy only sets that I like, that have an intrinsic value for me. Furthermore, I think that my taste of what is a good set and what is not is shared by others as well.

The reason why I leave a couple of sets unopened is, plain and simply, the absence of a reason to open them. It's fine to have them and to know that I can open them anytime I want to.

From time to time I sell older sets. That is usually the case when the set is remade and the new one looks cooler and seems to have a higher intrinsic value than the old one, e.g. 6212 and 9493. But selling them is neither the purpose of buying them nor the purpose of leaving them unopened.

[AngryChair]

I'm guilty of this but purely for the reason that in my flat I didn't have space to build them and display. I mainly use my Lego for animating but I also enjoy seeing the angry reactions from my brother Vindice who even though has much more Lego than me hungrily eyes up my unopened sets.

[DFOL]

I too had a few unopened sets in storage. I recently opened them just for the joy of building them, but i put the models back in the box afterwards simply because i don't have the space yet to display them all properly.

[Werlu Ulcur]

Darn, he has an unopened Republic gunship...

[PocasNuckie]

I have 38 unopened sets, but only 8 are Star Wars. These numbers do not include some dozens of Polybags I also have.

I do this for a mix of reasons:

- Little time for LEGO;

- The avaiable time is for other LEGO projects than not building sets;

- I do not have space for them, and there's no way I am leaving them at the mercy of dust;

Cheers

[Diaaabo]

I have a few MISB sets like Battle of Endor and the Death Star, plus chrome stormies and Vaders, that I plan to resell or trade for in a few years. I might end up opening them tho.

[legolandia]

Personally I only buy what I like and if there is something I like I most certainly want to display it so that I can see it. I just bought the SSD and loved putting it together but most of all love having it on display. There is no way on earth that I would spend £100+ on a set and then just store it away. It makes no sense unless you get a kick from the fact that you know you own something.

As far as the dust excuse goes I dont care much for it. Dust isnt going to eat the Lego away. If it gathers dust that dust can certainly be cleaned quite easily, especially nowadays when there are fancy tools to do it.

Personally I only buy what I like and if there is something I like I most certainly want to display it so that I can see it. I just bought the SSD and loved putting it together but most of all love having it on display. There is no way on earth that I would spend £100+ on a set and then just store it away. It makes no sense unless you get a kick from the fact that you know you own something.

As far as the dust excuse goes I dont care much for it. Dust isnt going to eat the Lego away. If it gathers dust that dust can certainly be cleaned quite easily, especially nowadays when there are fancy tools to do it.

The majority of people that I know who buy items and keep them unboxed, do so with the intention of selling them back in the future to make a profit. If the items sold are not limited editions (like Lego SW sets) I have no issue with that because everyone was allowed a fair chance to buy one, but when it comes to limited editions (like the SWTOR collectors edition game) then I do object to what some unscrupulous individuals do.

[Piranha]

I don't have any right now but when I do it is because I have too many and not enough time to open them, thus resulting in finding hidden treasures every so often