Pirate Treasure and more!

[jamtf]

Went to visit some stores today and I literally struck gold! Found many discontinued sets from 1985 to 1995 (including Basic Building Sets, Town, Castle, Paradisa etc.) and they all went with me in the car.

Got some pirate sets as well, namely 6278, 6263 (2x in pristine box), 6262 (4x), 6270 (neat set!) and the pirate comic 6255 with the 2 figs! All are new unopened sets that were found in an old toy store. And since these were all priced at the original retail prices I guess you can say this was a lucky day! *sweet*

[Mister Phes]

That would be like a dream come true for me!

What kind of stores were these? Big chains or independent retailers?

[Scouty]

Awsome find Mr.jamtf! Is it possible that you take a pic of all these sets? I'm really interested in seeing your lucky find. Independant stores would the first place I'd look to find old sets.

[jamtf]

This was a store owned by elderly people, they were independant retailers and also sell lots of other stuff + they have a printing company. They own 2 different shops in 2 villages that are not far apart. I found Lego sets in both stores.

In 2 weeks time, I will go back since I was told that there was perhaps more in the attic. They will have some time to clear out the attic and in a few weeks, I will see what they found + buy some stuff that I forgot to take with me (including Flame Fighters from 1994 + the Paradisa Fun Fair and some more Paradisa sets since I only took 2 of the Poolside Paradise sets an only 2 Sand Dollar Cafes and they had more of these left).

I will make some pictures later today before everything will be transferred to the place where most of my sets are stored away and share them here.

[Mister Phes]

Got some pirate sets as well, namely 6278, 6263 (2x in pristine box), 6262 (4x), 6270 (neat set!) and the pirate comic 6255 with the 2 figs! All are new unopened sets that were found in an old toy store. And since these were all priced at the original retail prices I guess you can say this was a lucky day! *sweet*

Out of curiosity, what were the retail prices for these sets? Because if someone asked me I honestly couldn't tell them because the retail price is definitely not the price displayed at Lugnet.

[jamtf]

The retail prices I paid for the pirate sets were PM' ed to Mr. Phes at his request since I did not like the idea of sharing prices with anyone. Please don't ask for more, it is something I know and that I think is nobody else's business actually. No intention to be rude but I do not need to know what others have paid for their sets either. I'd like to keep this confidential.

Anyhow, here are some pictures of sets I purchased. It was a total of 37 sets all perfectly new and sealed and I did not even care to photograph the biggest sets such as the 2 Sail 'n fly Marina's and the Poolside Paradise sets.

Enjoy!

Lego sets 1

Lego sets 2

Lego sets 3

Lego sets 4

[Scouty]

Thirty-seven sets!?!?! Wow, you must have hit the gold mine! :-( Folders aren't public yet, but I'll edit the post when they are :-) .

I just saw the sets, awsome.

[jamtf]

Thirty-seven sets!?!?! Wow, you must have hit the gold mine!

Seems that I hit a store similar to the one that was cleared out by eBay seller onebreeze during last couple weeks / months, except not THAT exciting (no MISB 6086 castles, 6285 pirate ships and 6277 imperial trading posts). And yes 37 sets till now and I am not done yet!

[Mister Phes]

Anyhow, here are some pictures of sets I purchased. It was a total of 37 sets all perfectly new and sealed and I did not even care to photograph the biggest sets such as the 2 Sail 'n fly Marina's and the Poolside Paradise sets.

Lego sets 2

Lego sets 3

Lego sets 4

Maybe you could also post these pictures in a forum respective to their theme or Buy, Sell, Trade and Finds forum.

[Governor Broadside]

It's so strange (at least to me) that old sets like these are still available in some store. You're from Europe, jamtf, right?

Here on the west coast of the US I'd never expect to see sets more than a couple years old...

BTW, is there any kind of set number for that value pack at the lower right corner in the third pic?

[oo7]

It's so strange (at least to me) that old sets like these are still available in some store. You're from Europe, jamtf, right?

Here on the west coast of the US I'd never expect to see sets more than a couple years old...

I'm on the east coast of the US and I couldn't agree more! Near me I have small but chain toystores and big department stores like Target, WAL*MART etc. and I never see anything more than two years old! :-(

[Mister Phes]

It's so strange (at least to me) that old sets like these are still available in some store. You're from Europe, jamtf, right?

Here on the west coast of the US I'd never expect to see sets more than a couple years old...

Its strange to me too, I could never imagine finding sets that old in a store. In fact just recently I was in a toy store and the oldest set there was a Jack Stone set from 2003 which had been severely discounted. Even though it was only released 3 years ago it seemed very old compared to the rest of the stock, so something 10+ years old would be phenomenal.

[jamtf]

It's so strange (at least to me) that old sets like these are still available in some store. You're from Europe, jamtf, right?

Here on the west coast of the US I'd never expect to see sets more than a couple years old...

BTW, is there any kind of set number for that value pack at the lower right corner in the third pic?

Yes, depends on the size of the town and the country you are in. I am Dutch (European) and sometimes when you go to small towns with a small population, you just could run in something like this. Small towns have too less children for all the Lego toys they sell and usually, the kids want something of the new lines which they think is more cool and go to the city, especially if the local store only sells old stuff (that I am coincidentally looking for!). You will not find this in the cities since these are crowded each day with people shopping. Also, collectors go to cities rather than small towns since they can hit more stores and discounters such as Wal*Mart to find less old sets on clearance (also good if you need cheap parts packs). The old sets can only be found in small towns and then you need to be lucky that no one else went there before to do the same thing: clear out the store.

The small retailers do not have clearance sales. They basically run their own store and do not need to listen to the store policy of for instance Toys 'R US. When they say a new line is coming, the stores need to get rid of discontinued sets as fast as possible. The small retailers just keep it on the shelves until someone comes along to buy. They are usually not in a hurry and in this case, Lego was not the main concern since they sell lots of other stuff and they run a printing shop as well. I did not know what happened to me when I saw this. I just kept picking boxes and had them being carried to the counter (too lazy to do it myself and too busy picking more stuff). The prices were quite OK compared to what nowadays is being paid for these on eBay and BrickLink.

The value pack does not have a number. I liked the box although I do not collect divers. The sets inside are 6555 see hunter, 6556 scuba squad and 6517 water jet. Originally, one of the sets - the cheapest - was a free bonus set. They still had similar castle bonues packs with fright knights sets (such as 6027) that I forgot to take with me. I will buy them if they are still there.

[Mister Phes]

I live in a small and it doesn't help me one bit!

I went to a second hand store once (well many times) looking for LEGO and they had one measily set. I asked the management if they got much Piraet LEGO in and they reckoned that the collectors would snap it up long before it got to them.

[jamtf]

I live in a small and it doesn't help me one bit!

I went to a second hand store once (well many times) looking for LEGO and they had one measily set. I asked the management if they got much Piraet LEGO in and they reckoned that the collectors would snap it up long before it got to them.

I live in a relatively small town as well and that did not help me either! Actually, you need a car and drive to towns smaller than yours. Mine has a 7,000 population which is too big and also the storekeepers here want to keep their stock up to date with the new line of sets to keep up with competitors (i.e. other toy stores nearby). :-( For them Lego is a building toy for children and they focus on that. :-/

I found a rather sleepy town with maybe 1,000 habitants or so and a store that does not specialize in Lego but on a whole different area of merchandise. Lego is a side product they occassionally sell but most customers come in the store for pens, paper work and printing. That's why most people would not expect to find the stuff I did. *pirate*

A genuine toy store is not the place to go, you must look for shops that sell toys as a side product. For them, it is not their core business and occassionally you might be able to find a thing or two. Maybe not much but be happy with it. I must admit that I was extremely fortunate to find so many old stock from Lego's golden ages (mostly before 1995, shortly after that Legoland pirates were discontinued). You can not foresee this to happen, you just have to go out the door and keep on looking for trails. Eventually, you might get the same sort of luck I did. Believe me, there is more out there. I would think a country like France or Italy could provide the same sort of things.

[Mister Phes]

The town in which I live has a population of 3,000 but here that's too small to warrant a toystore. It once had some of kind second hand store that sold second hand 80's action figure like Masters of the University and that's as close as its ever come. It closed down over 5 years ago though.

If I went to a even smaller town all they'd have is shops like a general store, butcher, baker (no candle stick makers though), real estate agent, etc. But nothing that would even sell toys on the side.

Eventually, you might get the same sort of luck I did. Believe me, there is more out there. I would think a country like France or Italy could provide the same sort of things.

Yes, I believe in Europe there are more gold mines to be found and France seems to be one of them. Just by looking at French eBay auctions I've observed hardly anybody bids on them. In fact I've just whitness a 6260 Shipwreck Island go by for under 3 euros and not one bid. Here that would fetch between 5 and 10 euros. It definitely wouldn't go biddless.

Best of luck to those who live in countries with sleepy towns that stock LEGO!

[Scouty]

Have you ever bought from Ebay.France?

[jamtf]

Have you ever bought from Ebay.France?

Yes, once I got a few sets from a seller in France. They were many new sets at decent prices, only 1 type of pirate set was included, the 6237 Pirates Plunder but I got 6 of them or so. That was a good experience.

A less good experience was when I bought 6405 Sunset Stables. On arrival it appeared that the box was damaged.

[Minifig Lecturer]

Anyone have a photo of lego pirate treasure / coins, on a white background?

[Scouty]

Interesting Mr. Jamtf. Have gone back to the store? Or just wipe them out of pretty much all their stock? :-D

Calvin, why do you ask?

[jamtf]

Interesting Mr. Jamtf. Have gone back to the store? Or just wipe them out of pretty much all their stock? :-D

Calvin, why do you ask?

Yes, I went back and purchased everything they had that I considered interesting enough to own. There were no pirate sets left, got them all the first time I went there (only 2 or 3). :-( I got all of the Town sets but even bought Technic, Time Cruisers, M-Tron, Blacktron, Futuron, Fabuland and a few Basic sets with mainly bricks. And I also got 2 sealed 6370 houses (with the shrinkwrap plastic still in perfect shape) and 2x sealed 6380 hospital, which was the biggest surprise. These were found in their attic and had been there for over 20 years!! It was a good buy altogether but I do not expect to find something similar again. Problem is that I have trouble parting with the extra sets I got since they are in such good shape.

I did not buy everything though. The store still has the Duplo, some Technic and sets from series such as Spyrius, Life on Mars, etc. since these did not appeal to me. Besides, I ran out of money as I literally felt like a kid in a candy shop. Could not stop picking boxes! :-$