gylman

This is a relatively new thing. There have always been large numbers of AFOLs in Asia, but there has been a clear change in buying patterns in the last couple of months. There must be something going on in the Lego community in South Korea. I see about 6-10 SK buyers going crazy with classic lego sets in the last couple of months, with prices for castle sets especially at levels double or triple what they used to be. Hopefully it will pass and prices will go down to earth. I don't follow train at all, so I can't say if the same thing hasn't been going on there.

Not sure if someone has posted these before: Lego Parchesi http://shop.lego.com/product.asp?p=g572&cn=157&d=21&t=7 Lego Tic-Tac-Toe http://shop.lego.com/product.asp?p=G574&cn=157&d=21&t=7 The chess sets seem better value for money, but still, this is cute! (HEY! I'm a Madman! Cool! Thanks Yoda!)

i am definitely hoping for this. :-) maybe in 10 years i can retire... :-P but i think only the classics go up in price. the failures actually fall. groups like ufo, insectoids, i see being sold on ebay for next to pennies. the hotties like those you mentioned (castle, train etc) are the only ones that keep increasing in price. i also noticed for star wars, some of the redone sets actually fall in price. for eg, 7150 y-wing and advanced tie is actually very close to msrp or lower. i think it is because tie advanced was redesigned, and y-wing is about to be re-designed and released....so the old ones become "unwanted" much like the old b-wing and old a-wing. In general, the small sets (100 parts or less) don't appreciate much with time. Only the big ones (200, and especially 600+ parts) do. There are rare exceptions for special sets that have great figs or special parts. Medium sized and large MISB Adventurers sets are doing very well (even the stinky series like Dino and Amazon) Old West (but not a big theme) Paradisa, OMG! very well, but also not a big theme Town definitely increases in value, but not as much as some of the others unless very classic Good technic sets (i.e. nothing from this century except re-releases) always go up in value. There are relative minor themes that don't value well over time -Insectoids almost never come up MISB, only small sets -Rock Raiders (but the big set can get very expensive MISB, always more than retail). -Arctic It may be too early to say , but so far I have seen that Bionicle NEVER appreciates in price. The serious builders regard them as parts packs, nothing more. There is no sentimental value to having "Takua and Pewku" in your colection :-) (although I personally love that set!, along with the Boxor) I agree that some of the less interesting SW sets are starting to decline. I would predict that in general, Star Wars sets will not appreciate as much as more classic themes, and may ultimate decline, because they are dependent on being visible in the current pop culture. Star Wars is very hot now, but won't be in a decade.

Well, that goes back to the whole collector thing. Building it from parts, with scans from Peeron, is ok for some sets. I do that all time with old sets, then after a couple of weeks/months they go back to the parts bins. But the ones you wanted to get MISB or in excellent boxed condition because of sentimental value or wanting to "have a full set"- it's not gonna do it. Like has been said - supply and demand. No more MISB sets are being made of these old classics. It's not like they made millions of them. Every year a few more of the sealed sets "die". As long as Lego remains so vibrant and popular with adults, prices are bound to go up. I've been buying Lego on eBay for about 6 years. I've never seen prices significantly go down on any major subgroup of sealed set Lego, and some clearly have gone up over time (castle at the top of the list, trains too).

Agree that in absolute dollars, the 800$ for 6080 is not so stunning .Its just that this castle usually goes for about 60-80 dollars without the box, and that i have never seen any castle go for this much money before on eBay (Bricklink prices are often inflated like crazy, I think as bargaining starting points). Also, in 6 months tracking MISB castle sets, this was the first MISB 6080 I saw (I dont track europe consistently, so I may have missed one), and there isnt one listed on Bricklink.

It's not the sensors. The sensors are actually the only good reason to get the NXT - they are far more capable than the old ones. There is conversion cable, which will do motor and sensor, http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail....6&pl=10&ID=1263 But.. -education does not ship to Canada (I have to go through 3rd party) -$250 CDN for a kit with a bunch of useless crap and 3 cables (well, actually the rechargable battery is not useless crap, I admit). -on backorder. And 3 cables doesn't exactly solve my problem. Even if it did, I don't know that the NXT can drive 3 motor at the same time (someone on Lugnet said it could, but talk is cheap, while buying all this stuff most certainly is not). I imagine someone will make custom cables one day, and sell them on bricklink and eBay. I can wait. The other problem, as someone else said, although it's purely cosmetic, is that "it just doesn't look like Lego anymore". I don't think bargain prices on classic Mindstorms sets are going to go down, frankly. They may even go up.

Well, naturally. But if said individual were to use a different email address each time, and run around to all the internet cafes in Australia (or whatever country said individual may be from, of course), and also use all their parents', uncles' aunts', friends', friends family's, computers as well, spreading a virus that has only the effect of sending an email politely requesting the return of Pirates, an email virus that mutates between each host so that the email differs each time it is sent.... All is possible if there is a will and a true believer.

I say they will. Lego constantly recycles their ideas. Pirates are a universal children's theme. POTC has brought them back into the light again. And I've heard that apparently some lunatic named Pex or Pez or Fez or something like that sent over 2 million emails from different email addresses to The Lego Company demanding the renewal of this theme. It's a shoe-in.

I was a fan of the old Mindstorms, but I have to say that I have not had even a hint of an urge to get NXT. I was excited when I first heard about it, but when the reality of backward incompatibility hit me, I decided to put my time elsewhere for now. Also, I hate the new motors. Maybe once it has been around a year or two, some 3rd party libraries worked out for it that are reliable, compatibility issues partially addressed.... and I have 400$ I am not using for buying MISB castle sets.... I am worried, however, that if this line is unpopular it will spell the end of Lego's efforts in this area, which would be sad.

Nah, the rich folk have the pirated versions movies of the movies delivered to their 12 seat surroudn sound home theatres. The subway system here works well if you are on the subway line, but otherwise not.

They can feel free to contact me at Euroricks. I need this last one for my collection.

in the words of the president..."dubya" tee efffff...$18 for a movie?! what theater did you go to? one lined with golden trimmings? even CAD that's pretty ridiculous. just get the dvd mate and save yourself some money. and why pay for parking? it's not like canada has a shortage of land. i guess some of that goes to the medical and welfare system... Movie tickets vary. If we go to a matinee with the kids they are down to 10 bucks for children, 13 adults. Evening shows are never less than 15$ for adults. Doesn't correlate with the quality of theatre either. If you go to a suburban mall, with big parking lots, Parking is free. If you go downtown Toronto, where I live, there hasn't been free parking here in 20 years. It's 2$ per half hour, maximum 20. My parking bill for work is 300-400$ per month. Life in the big city folks.

but that doesn't cost $60 *wacko* I am talking Canadian dollars. Errrr: 18 dollars for daddy 12 dollars for two girls = 24 dollars 10 dollars for crap food 10-15 dollars for parking (YES, we pay for a large underground parking garage!) Total: 62-67 dollars Sad, isn't it. In Canada the price of the set is inflated beyond the exchange rate (50% more vs 12% on exchange), so in the US it is significantly less expendive than a night out.

I don't normally like these kinds of sets, but even I agree that this is the best fire truck ever, and own one.

LOL. I doubt the US subsidises that region. Within 10-20 year it will likely be the other way around. :-D

There is a site, I forgot the name, from China, which has the most insane display of minifigs, all organized by theme and variations. It is possible that this is the same person. I'm sure someone will post the link.... I just forgot it. Gah.

The chance of finding a set for a reasonable price shrinks. If sellers see that there are people out there paying insane prices then they will want that price for their set, too. It might take longer to sell, but eventually they'll get the price. And "we sane people" sit by and watch... Speaking of which... an opened, but VERY good condition set just went today for another insane price. I was outbid by a South Korean. Sigh. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=110018297402 And look at this prices for an unsealed 6073 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=110018297432 Sigh

<searches furiously for Adventurers or Castle sets> <sighs and walks away>

"The unpredictable future?". Is that a gray goo scenario?

Clearly I would agree. As you said before, a man of 40, with good income and hectic life may find in these items some joy in remembering his childhood, and frankly these old sets and their boxes are like works of art. The current Lego boxes are pathetic compared to what they used to be. No one would scoff at spending a few hundred dollars on a work of art to decorate an office. How is this different (except that it is more useful in case you get sick of the art)? Hell, how many of you people smoke? How much do you spend on smokes in a month? I get there are a few EB regulars who might be reluctant to answer that question. Also, regarding value..... I would argue that quality Lego sets are a better investment than diamonds or many precious metals. Investment quality depends on value and liquidity. With regard to value, the prices are steady and rising for these old sets in mint boxes. And, they have great liquidity (on eBay or bricklink). Arguably it is easier to make Lego into cash than almost any other non-bank related investment.

MISB is Mint in SEALED Box. Bags are closed. Stickers unapplied. Hopefully side box seals are still on, although with age the glue tends to wear off. This item has never been built. MIB (Mint in Box) is routinely used by sellers to indicate a very good quality item which has been opened and built, but is still in excellent and complete condition. Stickers may or may not be applied. Personally, i have not been happy about the term MIB. I too used to think it meant a totally new item, but I have found many sellers who do not agree, and as long as everyone is clear about what is being sold in the description, I guess that's OK. Frankly, sometimes a MIB box is in better condition than a sealed box that has too much shelfware. Many sellers, however, do not distinguish, and use MIB for a sealed box too, which gets confusing. Clearly, though, if the box is sealed and bags have never been opened, assuming the boxes are equivalent, MISB is totally superior to MIB, often having double the value or more. That's why that 6080 set went for so much. Here is a good example of MIB, assuming the inside of the box is as good as the outside, which it is (I have seen it). This is a good seller. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=290018132997

Yeah, wut he sed! (thanks BM, for convincing me that I'm not insane). Seriously, the last time I saw a set this nice, the guy wanted 1500$ for it. I laughed at him, and he sold it to someone else. He was..... get ready for this..... from South Korea. For all I know, the current high bidder, also from SK, is the SAME PERSON! OMG he is going to corner the world market on MISB 6080 sets! That's it ! I have to break up this evil plot..... .<breaks piggy bank> DANG, still 500 dollars short.

Meh, in this price range, it is irrelevant whether you pay 10 times or 20 times the original cost for a child's toy. Collectors pay insane money for stuff for no rational or tangible reason. That is the essence of collecting. It is inherently irrational. Trying to rationalize whether a set is worth 400 (to me, this one was) or 800 (too much for my blood) is not possible. And if I had bought it, it would have sat on my desk. I can't sleep with it, can't bring it with me everywhere I go, and can't let my kids touch it. I would NEVER even consider opening it (I have about 3 copies of this set, but none witha box). I would show it to people, they would think I am an idiot, and then I would eventually take it off my desk and store it. Is that rational? Hell no, it's totally stupid. Like me. *sweet* *wacko* Gyl

Got it from Shop@Home Canada. http://shop.lego.com/product.asp?p=8681&cn=37&d=9&t=4 I'll be picking up another one soon. Here is how you use this set: -have fun buiding it, display for 1-2 weeks. -take the little cars apart and try to make more interesting cars. THere was some guy on Lugnet, I lost the link unfortunately, who made some truly beautiful little cars with parts from these and other small sets. If anyone finds that link, please post it. They were really nice. -toss the big bricks, plates, and all else that makes up the Garage into the bins/dividers for future use. All for the same price as taking two kids to a movie, getting popcorn and a drink, and parking. Highly recommended.