Vee Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Hi, Can someone offer me some explanation on why there are some pieces that are rare, you can't easily find them in new state, even used there are not many sellers carrying it, when you find sellers they generally have just a few and then you find one seller that has one thousand or more of such piece, new. How is it possible that one seller can have so many new pieces of the same part while no one else in the world (well, no one else selling at Bricklink) has even a fraction of that, be them new or used? I can't understand. The only logical explanation is that this one seller bought hundreds of the one and only set that carried such piece. Is this possible, sellers buying hundreds of a new set, betting its unique pieces are going to keep being unique for the time being? Quote
fieldbricks Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Depends on the kind of piece. If it's a chrome piece, then the seller might be able to take regular pieces and chrome them him/herself. If its a minifigure or just an unique mold, the seller MIT have bought the piece individually on another site. Either that, or the seller might have bought lots of sets containing that piece. Probably a cheap set if that's the case. Quote
Vee Posted January 4, 2014 Author Posted January 4, 2014 So you mean that the part MAY be a fake? Adulterating a Lego piece makes it a fake piece even being still a Lego, right? In the case of the piece I am talking about, according to Brickset, it was only available in a set that retailed at 30 dollars. The seller would have needed to buy 150 sets to get the amount of parts he has. Even if he managed to buy with a discount, still he would be investing 4k in just one set? Crazy guy... Quote
Modulex Guy Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Also, some sellers probably know someone at Lego to get these parts, there are a few stores that have prototype and rare color parts that were never in any sets. they are still 100% Lego parts. And to the ones that have the insane amounts of rare parts, again, get them from either a LEGOLand, or Pick a Brick, or they buy a huge amount of sets. Quote
tomdobs55 Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Just out of curiosity, which piece is it you're looking at? Quote
Vee Posted January 4, 2014 Author Posted January 4, 2014 Please, see PM, I don't want to post the part here because people will have enough info to pinpoint the seller and I don't want people thinking that I am suspicious about this seller. I am not, so much so that I have an open order with him full of items. Also, this was just one example: I have seen this happen more than once with other parts and sellers. Due to my fondness for rare colors, I get into this situation more often than I would like. Quote
Cult_Of_Skaro Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Yeah, I was wondering this too. I was looking for replacement flags to my Black Falcon's Fortress, and this one guy has over 300, all priced at $3 a pop. Did he just buy 300 BFFs back in the eighties? Quote
Deathleech Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 There could be any number of explanations. The seller may have bought hundreds of sets, like you said, and is breaking the pieces down and selling them all off at a profit. The seller could of purchased them all from PAB. They might of also bought up all the other lots on BL and are creating artificial inflation by being the only seller with multiples of the same piece available. Of course they could be knock offs as well. It's really hard to say without more info and without knowing the seller. Quote
JopieK Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 There are more sellers with rare pieces in high numbers... they indeed almost always have a link with LEGO employees. Quote
Vee Posted January 4, 2014 Author Posted January 4, 2014 LEGO, Lego, Lego, why oh why... Anyway, I am cursed, I don't know why I like so much pieces that are so expensive! Right now I could make good use of a certain piece, I need 4 of them, it's a small piece. My research shows me it was never produced, never part of any set, still there is this one seller that has 70 of them, new, at 3 dollars each! To buy the four that I need, would cost me 17 dollars, the seller charges kind of a flat rate of $5 for shipping even the smallest order and he is not in another country... Quote
Faefrost Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 (edited) The seller may simply be very practiced at buying large lots off of eBay and splitting them up to resell. As such they may have amassed some stock in specific parts. Some factory seconds and leftovers do occasionally find their way out and onto the Internet. Lego has been known to let employees purchase chunks of these sorts of things over the years. So someone may have had a box or sack of these things sitting in the basement, and they are only now being rediscovered and offered up. These sorts of things, much like the early or prerelease Minifigs on eBay, tend to show up in areas near the factory's. The Lego Model Shops will occasionally dump blocks of older, obscolete weathered or unused parts out for sale. While rare, these offerings will often account for some strange clusters of parts, or parts in strange and unexpected colors. Edited January 4, 2014 by Faefrost Quote
Faefrost Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 LEGO, Lego, Lego, why oh why... Anyway, I am cursed, I don't know why I like so much pieces that are so expensive! Right now I could make good use of a certain piece, I need 4 of them, it's a small piece. My research shows me it was never produced, never part of any set, still there is this one seller that has 70 of them, new, at 3 dollars each! To buy the four that I need, would cost me 17 dollars, the seller charges kind of a flat rate of $5 for shipping even the smallest order and he is not in another country... When you say it was never produced or part of any set, I assume that the specific issue is it was never produced or released in the specific color you are talking about? If that's the case then chances are the parts that the merchant has originated in a Lego Model Shop. These are the places that make the display pieces, such as at the stores and parks. Before they sold off the theme parks the park shops could request parts in pretty much any color for the attractions. Quote
Vee Posted January 5, 2014 Author Posted January 5, 2014 When you say it was never produced or part of any set, I assume that the specific issue is it was never produced or released in the specific color you are talking about? Yes. I am talking about a specific part in a specific color. These "Lego Model Shops" do not exist anymore? Quote
Faefrost Posted January 5, 2014 Posted January 5, 2014 Yes. I am talking about a specific part in a specific color. These "Lego Model Shops" do not exist anymore? They exist. As an example the Life size Bag End and X Wing fighter that made the news last year were built by Lego's US model shops. The theme parks still have their own model shops, but they are not directly owned by TLG any longer. They do still have a close relationship, but it is unknown if they can still request any part in any color at will the way they used to be able to do. Sometimes a large display model gets broken down and the parts sold off, which can see some odd lots hitting the aftermarket. I think one of the parks decommissioned a huge airplane last year that resulted in a lot of locals obtaining bags of unusual colored parts. Quote
Vee Posted January 5, 2014 Author Posted January 5, 2014 Interesting, very interesting, but it does not explain one thing: these sellers are selling _new_ parts and parts from such auctions would have to be sold as used because probably one could easily tell that they have been used already. Quote
Faefrost Posted January 5, 2014 Posted January 5, 2014 Interesting, very interesting, but it does not explain one thing: these sellers are selling _new_ parts and parts from such auctions would have to be sold as used because probably one could easily tell that they have been used already. How does one tell the difference between a never used part and one that was used once on a model that was cleaned, polished and maintained by Lego professionals? Even the best new parts have spent time tumbling around in storage bins with millions of other bricks. Quote
Vee Posted January 5, 2014 Author Posted January 5, 2014 Sometimes I ask that to myself and I have no good answer. Quote
LEGO Historian Posted January 5, 2014 Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) How does one tell the difference between a never used part and one that was used once on a model that was cleaned, polished and maintained by Lego professionals? Even the best new parts have spent time tumbling around in storage bins with millions of other bricks. This one is easy.... All LEGO models built by Model Shops are glued.... there is no 2nd time for their usage... or storage... ... and eventually all glued models are either given away or destroyed. The ones that are given away were done so by counteracting the instructions for their destruction.... I once saw a heartbreaking image of a large number of "weathered" LEGOLAND Miniland models that were on a scrap heap 6 ft. high... awaiting their destruction... Edited January 5, 2014 by LEGO Historian Quote
weavil Posted January 5, 2014 Posted January 5, 2014 Weathered or not, I would have put them in my yard. Quote
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