Buying Pirate LEGO - where to buy, advice, tips and questions

[Scouty]

When they were released.

[Norro]

When they were released.

Help yourself to the information on Lugnet... for example:

Eldorado Fortress originally went for $66 US. But there has been some inflation since then...

God Bless,

Nathan

[Mister Phes]

Ireland and the UK is preferable...

I did a search for "Pirate LEGO" in Ireland and no results were returned. Then I did a search for "Pirate LEGO" in the UK and 5 pages were returned - no Star Wars auctions on them whatsoever.

So before I go any further I must ask Mr Norro if you could describe in greater detail exactly what you're doing to get the results you're getting?

[Mister Phes]

When they were released.

Now that also depends what part of the world they were in. If I recall correctly, in Australia Eldorado Fortress was around $120 Australian dollars. So, at current $120 Australia dollars is worth $88 US dollars, 46 GBP, or 68 Euros.

But that is now, and there are some things we must consider:

1. The exchange rates fluxate and I cannot remember exactly what they were back in 1989 - 1992 when Eldorado Fortress was in store.
   
2. Deprecation: Everything that is used decreases in value over time. The Eldorado Fortresses which have been opened and used are not likely to retain their original price, however one in MISB condition will be worth well more than US$66, and even their original retail price.
   
3. Adding to the deprecation factor is whether the set is complete, does it come with box and/or instructions, what condition are the pieces in, etc.
   
4. Another important factor is the seller's ability to list auctions and attract buyers. Some sellers are better at this then others and it can make a huge different in the final price.
   

[gylman]

I've been round the block on ebay. 5 years+, 1000 purchases more or less, and going strong. Not all Lego, but at least half. Sales too.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...ame=STRK:ME:UFS

1) use set numbers in searches, not only key words

2) search title and text

3) search whole world, not just your locale. Shipping is not that big a deal. People stress about it, and once in a while there is a problem, but usually it's a few bucks extra for a set that you might not see again at that price. In fact, some of my best bargains have come from HongKogn and Singapore (for genuine Lego). Australian prices are crazy, Lego as well as Shipping - I never buy from there. On average, British, German and US prices are best. Broad generalization of course.

4) use PayPal. Makes life far easier, and everything faster. Frankly I don't trust sellers who don't take PayPal anymore.

5) save your favourite searchs and have the emailed to you daily. This works for searchs that don't have a bazillion matches.

Personally, in addition to all of the above, which I do for specific items I want, I also just search on "lego", screening out bionicle, Exo-Force, Duplo, and Star Wars, since I have zero interest in those. This produces about 1000 new listings a day, which I can flip through in about 15 minutes. You get pretty quick at this after a while. The value of this is that some sellers mis-list their items, which means that other people's searches do not capture the auction, leaving you with less competition. Obviously this is time consuming, and probably not worth it on a time/money basis. But it's fun!

Regarding value:

MISB will double or triple the price of a good set. The only way to get a bargain on that is to find a seller that does not know the value of the set and lists with a low buy-it-now, and BUY IT NOW!. I've snagged some incredible bargains that way, but we are not talking dozens.... maybe about once every 3 months. Moreover, the only way to achieve this is to troll the listings on a daily or multiple times a day basis, searchign for new listed items, with Buy-it-now option. If MISB sets go to full auction the prices usually are not much different than Bricklink, and bricklink is more reliable. There are exceptions to this of course.

Value price point is clearly on sets with no box and no instructions. If you are a collector that's not so useful. But if you are a builder, since the instructions are online and the box just takes up space.....

What set(s) specifically do you want?

Mr. Phes, I am not sure what search you used, but I got 345 matches for Pirate Lego in UK. Most are crap, obviously, but lots of good stuff there too.

http://search-desc.ebay.co.uk/lego-pirate_...tZ2QQsofocusZbs

[Mister Phes]

MISB will double or triple the price of a good set. The only way to get a bargain on that is to find a seller that does not know the value of the set and lists with a low buy-it-now, and BUY IT NOW!. I've snagged some incredible bargains that way, but we are not talking dozens.... maybe about once every 3 months. Moreover, the only way to achieve this is to troll the listings on a daily or multiple times a day basis, searchign for new listed items, with Buy-it-now option. If MISB sets go to full auction the prices usually are not much different than Bricklink, and bricklink is more reliable. There are exceptions to this of course.

Adding to that... Some sellers poorly describe their auctions so eBay Buyers can't find them unless they thoroughly search. So I take advantage of seller like these as much as possible! *skull*

Value price point is clearly on sets with no box and no instructions. If you are a collector that's not so useful. But if you are a builder, since the instructions are online and the box just takes up space.....

Not all builders are aware of websites like Peeron, so instructions can be important. As for the box, I've noticed in this part of the world a box can significantly increase the value. Maybe that doesn't stand true for everywhere though, hence why I'm researching it in The Imperial Trading Post Records.

Mr. Phes, I am not sure what search you used, but I got 345 matches for Pirate Lego in UK. Most are crap, obviously, but lots of good stuff there too.

I only got 204 matches, very little crap and no Star Wars. Then again it depends what you refer to as "crap"

[gylman]

As for the box, I've noticed in this part of the world a box can significantly increase the value. Maybe that doesn't stand true for everywhere though

I'm reasonably sure that for any set worth buying a half-decent box adds significant cost - not only to the price, but also to shipping.. One more reason why value falls on the side of no box, no MISB. Personally, though, I've stopped buying sets without boxes unless they are ridiculously cheap so I use them as parts packs and never build the set. After a while you get tired of seeing shoe boxes or ziploc bags with Lego in them. Lego box art is usually so beautiful.... it's a significant part of the Joy of Lego.

[Norro]

Thanks for all your help! 'Pirate Lego' as opposed to 'Lego pirate' or 'pirate' within Lego does seem to turn up better results. It may not be possible but I would love to see just sets. Also how do you 'screen out' gylman? Manually or otherwise?

Thanks again and God Bless,

Nathan

[Mister Phes]

Yes, there is a way to screen out but there is a downside to it. The downside is some sellers try to appeal to a wider audience as possible by including keywords that aren't related to their auction, so by screening it excludes these auctions which you may be looking for.

To filter out an certain word like Starwars do this:

Pirate lego -starwars

This should remove all instances of "starwars" from your search.

To filter out more than one word, do this:

Pirate lego -(starwars, starwar, "star wars")

So everything in the parenthesis will be ignored, just seperate the words with commas. If there is something that contains two words use quotation marks to let the search know when the word begins or ends, otherwise it may interpret them as two different words.

[Norro]

That's brilliant, thanks so much! I'm off to find my 6244 now....

God Bless,

Nathan

[Mister Phes]

Exactly how are you going to find your 6244? Or put another way what search string are you going to use?

You never mentioned anything about 6244 earlier in the thread!

[Norro]

Exactly how are you going to find your 6244? Or put another way what search string are you going to use?

You never mentioned anything about 6244 earlier in the thread!

When I use ebay, I'll be searching for 'pirate lego' (as I'm interestd in quite a few sets) with filters as needed/I gain experience, until I find one at a decent price. 6244 just happens to be the one I'm most interested in (I know you can search just for it). Thanks again for your help...

God Bless,

Nathan

[Mister Phes]

So you're in the market for an Armada Sentry are you Mr Norro?

If the price is right I grab these where ever possible so I can get that extra Imperial Armada mini-figure and the green doors.

Are you getting Armada Sentry for the set, or do you have another use for its pieces? Have you seen what Rupi did to Armada Sentry? If not check it out here!

[Norro]

So you're in the market for an Armada Sentry are you Mr Norro?

If the price is right I grab these where ever possible so I can get that extra Imperial Armada mini-figure and the green doors.

Are you getting Armada Sentry for the set, or do you have another use for its pieces? Have you seen what Rupi did to Armada Sentry? If not check it out here!

I bought a very cheap one a while ago but wasn't satisfied with the quality of the pieces so would like a 'real' one for my collection. Of course everything in my collection goes in the parts bins, and that fig and those green doors would be very welcome! Thanks for the MOC link as well.

God Bless,

Nathan

[jamtf]

I saw a MISB copy of 6244 sell today for

[gylman]

I bought a very cheap one a while ago but wasn't satisfied with the quality of the pieces so would like a 'real' one for my collection. Of course everything in my collection goes in the parts bins, and that fig and those green doors would be very welcome! Thanks for the MOC link as well.

God Bless,

Nathan

But if everything goes into the parts bin, wouldn't bricklink be a much better way to get the parts you want?

[Norro]

But if everything goes into the parts bin, wouldn't bricklink be a much better way to get the parts you want?

For extras or MOC specifics, yes. But the collector in me likes to buy sets (as in know I have the instruction manual and capacity to reassemble it... a few shreds of box would be nice as well). I would love to be castle/pirate complete someday, so I normally try to buy at least one of the set before I move in on 100 green doors on BL X-D .

God Bless,

Nathan

[Mister Phes]

I bought a very cheap one a while ago but wasn't satisfied with the quality of the pieces so would like a 'real' one for my collection. Of course everything in my collection goes in the parts bins, and that fig and those green doors would be very welcome!

Do you ever keep any of the sets built?

For extras or MOC specifics, yes. But the collector in me likes to buy sets (as in know I have the instruction manual and capacity to reassemble it... a few shreds of box would be nice as well). I would love to be castle/pirate complete someday, so I normally try to buy at least one of the set before I move in on 100 green doors on BL X-D .

What I do is I keep one set built, then any duplicates I get I disassemble for pieces. That way I know I have the pieces so I can reassemble it if necessary.

[Norro]

Do you ever keep any of the sets built?

What I do is I keep one set built, then any duplicates I get I disassemble for pieces. That way I know I have the pieces so I can reassemble it if necessary.

I never leave sets built.... Lego is all about the MOCing to me, the collector portion is satisfied when I 'own' one.

God Bless,

Nathan

[jamtf]

Coincidentally, I picked up a nice 6244 at a toy market (mainly old toys but only a couple Lego sets seen) today. It came in good used condition with the original box and instructions and was missing a few minor pieces (2 black round bricks and coins) and the paddles need replacing for they have stress marks. Other thing is that the Spaniard had lost its head since the person in the Armada outfit appeared to be this diver:

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=3626bpx26

I have no spare Imperial Armada head but think I am going to switch his head for this one:

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=3626bpb012

or a Rascus head.

And I bought a whole lot of instructions today as well! No pirate ones though... mainly town, castle and classic space.

[Mister Phes]

This would make for quite an interesting Imperial Armada head!

He looks quite friendly and unspanish!

[Landlubber]

There's no "easy" way for searching on ebay. Any of the auctions that come up witha simple search are the ones that get the most interest because everyone can find them easily. This means they usually fetch a high price. SOmetimes the best way is to trawl through and find the set that hasn't been listed with a very good description.

I once got a Skull Eye Schooner for $50AUS (20pounds) , nearly complete and with instruction because the seller hadn't used the words "pirate,skull,ship" in his heading and he had it listed under the bulk lots section with the heading "lego boat" or something like that.

Another time I got the big Islander set (enchanted island?) for 1.35pounds

For your "easy way" to find sets, there is a category called sets/themes and a subcategory called pirates. Its currently showing 125 items.

[Scouty]

Help yourself to the information on Lugnet... for example:

Eldorado Fortress originally went for $66 US. But there has been some inflation since then...

God Bless,

Nathan

Now that also depends what part of the world they were in. If I recall correctly, in Australia Eldorado Fortress was around $120 Australian dollars. So, at current $120 Australia dollars is worth $88 US dollars, 46 GBP, or 68 Euros.

But that is now, and there are some things we must consider:

1. The exchange rates fluxate and I cannot remember exactly what they were back in 1989 - 1992 when Eldorado Fortress was in store.
   
2. Deprecation: Everything that is used decreases in value over time. The Eldorado Fortresses which have been opened and used are not likely to retain their original price, however one in MISB condition will be worth well more than US$66, and even their original retail price.
   
3. Adding to the deprecation factor is whether the set is complete, does it come with box and/or instructions, what condition are the pieces in, etc.
   
4. Another important factor is the seller's ability to list auctions and attract buyers. Some sellers are better at this then others and it can make a huge different in the final price.
   

Thanks for the information!

[Mister Phes]

Having mentioned all that I'd expect a MISB Elorado Fortress to sell for over US$120.

Anyway, I've realised I haven't answered Mr Norro's question!

[Scouty]

Sorry Mr. Norro for changing the topic's original idea. What's frustrating to me is being outbidded last minute. There's a bunch of frustrations with ebay. I hope you foind the same set soon at a good price!