drdavewatford

Opening sealed antique sets - wonderful or painful ?

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Yeah, I've got a small collection waiting to be built as well - Imperial Flagship, Cargo Train, London Escape, Marina. I bought my Town Hall several months ago and only just built it this last week (and ditto with Apple Tree House, which I built the week before).

I do it partly because I buy sets when they're a good offer, not particularly when I can afford them - so if I buy them in April but I've used August's budgeted Lego money, I wait until August to build them.

As other people have said, there's something nice about knowing that it's there waiting to be built...so if you've had a bad day, you can decide to come home and crack open a big set to cheer yourself up, or you can make yourself do a bunch of chores and then reward yourself with Lego at the end.

The only problem I have got is that the more I sit on Imperial Flagship, the more I wonder about the price going up. I've never sold a Lego set before and this is the first time I've been tempted...

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I do it partly because I buy sets when they're a good offer, not particularly when I can afford them - so if I buy them in April but I've used August's budgeted Lego money, I wait until August to build them.

I use pretty much the same line of thinking: I buy the sets when they are good value for money (which is when there's a good sale, at which point I buy multiple sets), not necessarily when I can afford them the most. In my mind, the money isn't definatively spent untill I actually *open* the boxes. So I want to spread out my purchases over the year that way.

The only problem I have got is that the more I sit on Imperial Flagship, the more I wonder about the price going up. I've never sold a Lego set before and this is the first time I've been tempted...

Don't sell it! It's such an amazing set, I wish I was buying Pirates back before it was discontinued... you'll end up regretting it!

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I'm doing the same thing with Mace Windu's Jedi Starfighter. The chore: sort my Lego collection!

Hehe, that's at least one of the tasks on my list! :classic:

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I have a couple of larger sets I have not built yet, the Earth Defence HQ, CITY Airport to name some. I have these, (Well the AC one.) to complete the set, but being quite big I don't have anywhere to display it long term and I don't really want it getting knocked about and dusty.

I also have a couple of CITY trucks from this years release not yet made. This is more of a case of knowing that there is something to look forwards to. With the smaller and mid range stuff I tend to buy one and make one, leaving two or three still to do for the anticipation value. It means I still get to build them but always know there is another one waiting.

There are a couple of larger sets I'd like and want to get before they are discontinued but it is having the room for them so they may get bought but then mothballed until I have a house that is large enough. Maybe I will one day?

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Wow, listening to all of you talking about having all those huge sets still in box is making me super jealous. If you can afford them, open them! They're meant to be built and played with.

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The only problem I have got is that the more I sit on Imperial Flagship, the more I wonder about the price going up. I've never sold a Lego set before and this is the first time I've been tempted...

No.

Do not sell that set. As Hive said, it's an amazing set. I'm not even I to ships and I bought this set. It's one of my favorite sets and one I've never taken apart, and don't intend to. Build it.

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I should be smarter about it. Usually when I buy a set, if I originally bought it to be built, I will then open it and build it, even if I don't have enough room. If I bought it for a parts pack, then I don't worry about it as much until I need it.

It is a magical moment when you first open something you really want and then build it. MMV was a fun one, although my builds kept getting disrupted with a toddler walking around.

I typically build them and then put them in the basement and forget all about them, unfortunately. I have 4 or 5 giant pirate ships on a few tiny shelves without room to properly display them. The IFS being one of them. One of the most beautiful sets ever. I'm glad I got it this past Christmas.

I currently have a few LOTR sets still in the box, but I am going to save those for Christmas. Talk about willpower.

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Ah willpower, or perhaps in this case won't-power.

I used to have the problem that I could barely make it out of the store before I wanted to tear the box open, but I've since found a more mature way of dealing with such urges. I buy in bulk and try to savor the experience of each kit as I get to them. I think at the moment I have seven kits waiting to be opened and I was planning on ordering two more later today.

Barring major economic calamity, I have no plans on ever reselling any of my kits; I just haven't gotten to them all yet. I like to keep kits on hand in part because you never know when you might need a little pick-me-up after a bad day at work or receiving some bad news, and Lego sets almost always improves my mood.

Looking on a longer time scale, there are times when my taste in kits and TLG's offerings don't quite align. They might introduce dozens of kits that just don't do it for me. In these times, I need something to tide me over until the _next_ product roll-out in the hopes of more appealing future offerings.

I have several sets I'm really looking forward to (like, pretty much all of the modular buildings - bought them all, haven't gotten around to building any of them yet ) I just need to find the time to work on them and the space to store them afterwards.

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Lego is meant to be played with. If you have boxes just sitting around give them away or start donating more money to other worthy causes. *cough people starving around the world cough* I find people sitting on a cache of mint Lego slightly disturbing. :/ That being said I do own a small pile of sets that I buy to give away. So there are about 5-10 sets that are usually hanging out unopened in my house. ;)

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I never understood what's so special or "magical" about MISB, but I'm not a great fan of sets either. If you don't plan to sell there is just one logical option: open it and either build the set or a MOC. If your're really looking forward to building it, then wait for a suitable day, but do it, don't hesitate.

I think that bricks waiting in their plastic bags after many years are a bit sad and can only advise you to free them... but it's your decision!

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This thread is making me sad. I have about 10 sets waiting, no wait, crying to be opened. Then the vast majority of my sets(all but 4, of about 300) are bagged and boxed on a storage locker, except my Modulars, which are here in a box. I hate moving. :hmpf_bad::cry_sad:

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This topic is a very interesting read. Every time this sort of thread (keep X in the box or open the box and play/display X) shows up in a forum, we usually have those who are in favor of openning the box and those against it. The arguments supporting both views are both very sound in my opinion.

I was one of the first people to answer this thread, and I said that "if you have the money, by duos of each set -- one to keep in the box, another one to open up and play/display".

So on to my point.

I love Lego and I also love GIJoe. I open all Lego sets I buy. I only by multiples when I think more of the same set is good for a display or MOC, but I can only buy the multiples of the least expensive ones.

As for GIJoe, I usually have two of each figure. One to open and move, touch, make dioramas with and take pictures, another one to keep in the box and display.

I don't ever intend to sell any of my GIJoe or any of my Lego sets. But the reason I keep one "copy" of my GIJoe in the box is because just looking at it gives me that Christmas feeling. So I have one Figure to "do stuff with" and another one to display in the box like a permanent, continuous Christmas. Both things give me pleasure.

I don't know if anyone else feels the same way about their MIB items. I do. But it pains me to keep something in the box and never be able to touch it. So either I get a second one or if I can (usually due to prices), I open them up and enjoy them.

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This thread is making me sad.... I hate moving. :hmpf_bad::cry_sad:

My family's going to be moving in a little under two months. A good amount of our belongings are going to end up in storage for a few years. Unfortunately the family LEGO collection will be packed away during that time. We have about 50+ sets that haven't been built yet due to space restrictions. We'll buy other sets at our new home but we'll be apart from the ones that get stored.

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Alright...this is gonna be super embarrassing...

I have probably over 30/40 sets right now that I have not opened that (nor have I opened up one recently in many months; last one I opened was the Creator Log Cabin back in like October)...though at least I do have an excuse. I just flat out don't have the room to display any more that I build. I buy the sets on sale but then have no room to put them anywhere.

The list of sets I haven't opened is quite large...they range from small City sets to Green Grocer, UCS Falcon, Fire Brigade etc.

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Thank you everyone for all your hugely interesting comments, I never thought there would be such a rich mixture of views - this is a great community to be part of.

It is also amazing how much I can relate to alot of what is being said, particularly remembering what it was like to get new sets at Christmas and that if/when you do open a set and enjoy it, there are always more on the horizon (my wish list at LS@H is already around £500 again!). But, ultimately £ is v.limited, sometimes there are quieter spells of what I want to go for, so I think my saved sets can fill those periods nicely.

I've counted up and I've got ahem 19 sets I've not opened (that is about double what I thought!), ranging from a couple of small Kingdoms sets to MMV, MVR, the new UCS R2D2 & Imperial Shuttle & Deathstar. I also have a mint, boxed 928 I recently got off Bricklink to savour being a huge Classic Space fan (not having been able to get it first time around!).

Thanks again for all your comments, I'm really enjoying reading them...!

Edited by jamzee

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I've heard that before, "buy 2, one to open and one to keep." I'll direct this to Artifex(and generally, of course) since you mentioned it there. What's your reasoning for buying one to keep MISB? Do you plan on selling years down the road? Saving for your kids? Just because?

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I'm surprised of all this people having loads of Lego waiting to be open. What I ussually do is not to buy any Lego unless I'm building it immediatly. :thumbup:

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I'm surprised of all this people having loads of Lego waiting to be open. What I ussually do is not to buy any Lego unless I'm building it immediately.

Every set I buy has it's own build date, and there are plenty unopened. Unfortunately it is an unscheduled date as I have hit the main problem most collectors hit: Space! With so many great looking sets from city, I have had to halt any new builds for storage reasons, but don't want to miss out on them. They are much easier to store in their boxes, with no worries of random parts (like antennas) falling off and getting lost. I already fear a move just from the fact my built sets will be in a truck bouncing around default_classic.gif

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Well, I'm one of those guys who keeps a lot of his sets unopened. There are tons of sets that are waiting to be opened - but not by me :laugh:

I love having LEGO as a hobby, but I'm not willing to spend this much money on all of those sets I wanna have. So, what I do is waiting for a set to be on sale at my local mall or look on ebay for good buys. When I find them I usually buy a couple or a little more (if it's a small set I sometimes buy a lot of 'em).

I cannot wait opening up new bought sets and I'll never be able to understand people who have the patience and strength to keep them MISB! The good thing is I only need to open one set, so this way I don't mind leaving a set MISB if I already have it. The sets I didn't open are goona be stored for a while or are being sold right away if I can sell them at a higher price than I bought them.

Handling it this way I've been able to enjoy a great hobby at a fair price. All in all I'm only spending about 30-40% of the original price on each set (I used to make a list to see what I'll be ending up with). But this only works in case I kept the double set for quite a while until its price increased (Star Wars Sets are usually the best :wink: )

That's the reason why I keep some of them MISB :sweet:

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I wish I had the willpower ythose of you that keep sets MISB. The LEGO is just too fun to open and build, even if I do have multiple copies! :tongue: I've considered trying to keep some in their boxes to sell later, but I'm not sure. When I need some cash, I'll let you all know.

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Saving up sets in MINT state for a while until you open them is fun. I do that in Christmas so I have to expect for some time.

When a set may not last long on shelves and you really need a chance to buy it, you end up buying it. But then there is not enough time to enjoy the set, or you'd like to wait for a specific date. It is good to wait, if you can, it adds up on the expectation.

Of course, don't wait years.

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I would open it and build it and enjoy it. As long as you keep the original box intact and in good shape, you can always sell it later as an open box. If it's rare enough, I'm sure people will pay good money for it.

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There are some things (comics, coins, toys, commemorative plates, etc.) that I _do_ collect as investments. In these cases, I always buy three: one for myself; one to sell once the asking price has tripled to recoup my original investment; and one to sell for clear profit. That said, I NEVER treat Lego this way.

I have a fair number of sets that are still mint in box (more now that I just spent the better part of a paycheck on that VIP event last Saturday) but I don't consider them investments to be hoarded away waiting for something to appreciate. (I appreciate them right now) They are more a sort of insurance; insurance against a having a bad day and not having a Lego set to come home to; insurance against shipping delays or limited store inventory when the mood to build strikes; insurance against getting stuck in a blizzard and having the power go out (yes I have built by candlelight wrapped blanket with no heat); insurance against having to disassemble an older kit to build something new. There's a sort of comfort to be found in knowing that 365 days a year, I can open a closet door and it's virtually Christmas right down to the satisfying "slllttt" sound of slicing through the seals with an X-Acto knife and the creaking of the cardboard as the flaps open for the first time since the box was packed at the factory.

I can understand wanting to keep a kit sealed. I got the new holiday sleigh set this weekend and it's taunting me with its little "Limited Edition 2012" logo in the corner. The collector in me keeps saying "Oh, this is special, keep it sealed it will be worth something some day. On the other hand, the engineer (read that as "creative big kid with expensive toys") in me says it already worth something and it's true value comes from opening it up and building it, not stowing it in a closet. I know I won't be selling the kit, so it really just a question of when I chose to open it; I know how things will end for _my_ copy of the set, but I can understand the anguish of the debate, especially when you hear about what set scalpers are making on things like the Green Grocer, Imperial Flagship or the Emerald Night these days (not to mention genuinely vintage sets that really _are_ hard to come by in mint condition).

I say, if you love LEGO bits, set them free. There may be profit in "mint condition" dust collectors, but there is very little joy.

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I've only got one set that has never been built that is really old. It is the base set for the Ice Planet 2002 space range. It is still in the box, I've opened the flip up lid to look at the parts all nice and clean but never opened it or built it. The main reason for this was that I never had room to display it without it getting knocked about. I still don't have room. I have read some reports that say it is a crap set, others that it is a good one. I would love to have it out and see as I did enjoy the other sets in the range. The reason i don't is simpl,y because there is nowhere to put it not because I am worried it may decrease in value. I have no plans to sell it, it is LEGO it is supposed to be played with.

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