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| | | Author: | Dinosaur  | | Posted: | Mar 6, 2022 12:30 | | Subject: | Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 218 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| From my past few years experience with Lego, I am not sure about other themes
but modular buildings of Creator Expert usually rise up a lot in price once they
are retired, and there are really someone looking for it, rather than just a
marked up price without any asking. For example, I forget it's last year
or 2020, the 10260 (Downtown Diner) was about $120 here but now people in local
market are interested and bargain if it's $240, and they will get it without
hesitation if it's between $200-$220. The same case happens to the Garage
Corner 10264, not as much as that of 10260 but it can be sold out quickly and
smoothly if it's asking $170-$180 but I got it for $120 only in 2020. It
isn't only one or two people showing their interest, it's quite a number
of people. I'm happy earning some extra cash through this but I am at the
same time wondering why those people didn't get it last year or two years
ago and they are paying premium for the retired modular building when they are
retired? If they are real Lego players I don't think they will want these
overpriced set so much, rather than the new sets with normal price. If they are
not real players and they want to invest on it, they should have already bought
a lot two years ago for a better price and they don't have to buy from me
now. I really don't understand
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| | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Mar 6, 2022 12:49 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 83 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, Dinosaur writes:
| | From my past few years experience with Lego, I am not sure about other themes
but modular buildings of Creator Expert usually rise up a lot in price once they
are retired, and there are really someone looking for it, rather than just a
marked up price without any asking. For example, I forget it's last year
or 2020, the 10260 (Downtown Diner) was about $120 here but now people in local
market are interested and bargain if it's $240, and they will get it without
hesitation if it's between $200-$220. The same case happens to the Garage
Corner 10264, not as much as that of 10260 but it can be sold out quickly and
smoothly if it's asking $170-$180 but I got it for $120 only in 2020. It
isn't only one or two people showing their interest, it's quite a number
of people. I'm happy earning some extra cash through this but I am at the
same time wondering why those people didn't get it last year or two years
ago and they are paying premium for the retired modular building when they are
retired? If they are real Lego players I don't think they will want these
overpriced set so much, rather than the new sets with normal price. If they are
not real players and they want to invest on it, they should have already bought
a lot two years ago for a better price and they don't have to buy from me
now. I really don't understand
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Pure speculation here, but if BrickLink is any indicator, there is a strong interest
in retired sets, and not just modular buildings. Classic Space, Pirates, Castle,
etc.—you name it, and there is someone that wants to buy it. The old monorail
trains still have a strong following; I think there was a Kickstarter campaign
a few years ago to bring back injection-molded monorail track. Many people still
use the old 9V train system even though it's been more than a decade since
TLG stopped producing it and it's becoming increasingly expensive on the
aftermarket.
That being said, $240 for a set that cost $120 is not that unreasonable. The
10182 Cafe Corner retailed for $140 in 2007 and now it's selling for thousands
of dollars. I don't understand why anyone would pay that much money for it,
but I guess for some people it has sentimental and/or nostalgic value.
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| | | | | | | Author: | Dinosaur | | Posted: | Mar 8, 2022 17:30 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 68 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, wildchicken13 writes:
| | In General, Dinosaur writes:
| | From my past few years experience with Lego, I am not sure about other themes
but modular buildings of Creator Expert usually rise up a lot in price once they
are retired, and there are really someone looking for it, rather than just a
marked up price without any asking. For example, I forget it's last year
or 2020, the 10260 (Downtown Diner) was about $120 here but now people in local
market are interested and bargain if it's $240, and they will get it without
hesitation if it's between $200-$220. The same case happens to the Garage
Corner 10264, not as much as that of 10260 but it can be sold out quickly and
smoothly if it's asking $170-$180 but I got it for $120 only in 2020. It
isn't only one or two people showing their interest, it's quite a number
of people. I'm happy earning some extra cash through this but I am at the
same time wondering why those people didn't get it last year or two years
ago and they are paying premium for the retired modular building when they are
retired? If they are real Lego players I don't think they will want these
overpriced set so much, rather than the new sets with normal price. If they are
not real players and they want to invest on it, they should have already bought
a lot two years ago for a better price and they don't have to buy from me
now. I really don't understand
|
Pure speculation here, but if BrickLink is any indicator, there is a strong interest
in retired sets, and not just modular buildings. Classic Space, Pirates, Castle,
etc.—you name it, and there is someone that wants to buy it. The old monorail
trains still have a strong following; I think there was a Kickstarter campaign
a few years ago to bring back injection-molded monorail track. Many people still
use the old 9V train system even though it's been more than a decade since
TLG stopped producing it and it's becoming increasingly expensive on the
aftermarket.
That being said, $240 for a set that cost $120 is not that unreasonable. The
10182 Cafe Corner retailed for $140 in 2007 and now it's selling for thousands
of dollars. I don't understand why anyone would pay that much money for it,
but I guess for some people it has sentimental and/or nostalgic value.
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Thanks for your comment, I understand what you said but your example is a bit
different from the situation I am observing. Old 9V train and Cafe Corner are
very old day stories. Since the time after they retire is too long it is easy
to understand why some people will get it for many reasons, e.g. they didn't
start playing or collecting Lego, they didn't have money....they want to
make investment on old Lego.... It's not too difficult to understand...
but I cannot really think of reason why a set that was readily and widely available
everywhere for $120 last year or two could now worth $240 or $200 and MANY PEOPLE
are showing their interest and making bargain for $200. As I said if they are
old Lego fans they should have already got it for $120 or never get it. If they
are new fans, I don't think those retired but overpriced sets are really
that appealing to them, they could just enjoy a new set for better price....
This is really a myth
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Mar 9, 2022 06:21 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 76 times | | Topic: | General | |
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Thanks for your comment, I understand what you said but your example is a bit
different from the situation I am observing. Old 9V train and Cafe Corner are
very old day stories. Since the time after they retire is too long it is easy
to understand why some people will get it for many reasons, e.g. they didn't
start playing or collecting Lego, they didn't have money....they want to
make investment on old Lego.... It's not too difficult to understand...
but I cannot really think of reason why a set that was readily and widely available
everywhere for $120 last year or two could now worth $240 or $200 and MANY PEOPLE
are showing their interest and making bargain for $200. As I said if they are
old Lego fans they should have already got it for $120 or never get it. If they
are new fans, I don't think those retired but overpriced sets are really
that appealing to them, they could just enjoy a new set for better price....
This is really a myth
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It is really quite simple. People pay high prices if they can afford them and
want something that they cannot get elsewhere for a better price.
How many modulars can you buy in a retail store now? Every new person that gets
into collecting the modulars now has this issue, once they have bought those
currently available do they wait another year to buy just one, or do they spend
a bit more and buy a past one from the range available on the secondary market,
one that will only increase in price if they wait longer and think they will
want it in the future. Some modular fans are not general lego fans, just modular
fans. Buying another current lego set that they are not interested in is not
going to satisfy them.
You also highlight many people, but in reality it is very few people that buy
retired modulars.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Mar 9, 2022 15:56 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 41 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, Dinosaur writes:
| | Thanks for your comment, I understand what you said but your example is a bit
different from the situation I am observing. Old 9V train and Cafe Corner are
very old day stories. Since the time after they retire is too long it is easy
to understand why some people will get it for many reasons, e.g. they didn't
start playing or collecting Lego, they didn't have money....they want to
make investment on old Lego.... It's not too difficult to understand...
but I cannot really think of reason why a set that was readily and widely available
everywhere for $120 last year or two could now worth $240 or $200 and MANY PEOPLE
are showing their interest and making bargain for $200. As I said if they are
old Lego fans they should have already got it for $120 or never get it. If they
are new fans, I don't think those retired but overpriced sets are really
that appealing to them, they could just enjoy a new set for better price....
This is really a myth
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It's a simple matter of supply and demand. Just because a set is retired
does not mean there is no demand for it. A fixed supply and a growing demand
means an increasing price. Modular buildings are some of the most in-demand LEGO
sets, so their aftermarket price tends to increase more than other sets. But
they are not the only ones (10194 Emerald Night comes to mind).
It could also be a sort of fallacy. This item is expensive, therefore it is valuable
and I should buy it. People will literally spend thousands of dollars on a clay
brick for this exact reason: https://www.ebay.com/itm/173863143890
But if you really want to know the real answer, you should really ask the people
that collect retired sets. I don't buy retired sets because I recognize that
at the end of the day, LEGO is just a child's toy and there is no reason
to spend thousands of dollars on it. But not everyone sees things the way I do.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Dinosaur | | Posted: | Mar 10, 2022 12:32 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 48 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, wildchicken13 writes:
| | In General, Dinosaur writes:
| | Thanks for your comment, I understand what you said but your example is a bit
different from the situation I am observing. Old 9V train and Cafe Corner are
very old day stories. Since the time after they retire is too long it is easy
to understand why some people will get it for many reasons, e.g. they didn't
start playing or collecting Lego, they didn't have money....they want to
make investment on old Lego.... It's not too difficult to understand...
but I cannot really think of reason why a set that was readily and widely available
everywhere for $120 last year or two could now worth $240 or $200 and MANY PEOPLE
are showing their interest and making bargain for $200. As I said if they are
old Lego fans they should have already got it for $120 or never get it. If they
are new fans, I don't think those retired but overpriced sets are really
that appealing to them, they could just enjoy a new set for better price....
This is really a myth
|
It's a simple matter of supply and demand. Just because a set is retired
does not mean there is no demand for it. A fixed supply and a growing demand
means an increasing price. Modular buildings are some of the most in-demand LEGO
sets, so their aftermarket price tends to increase more than other sets. But
they are not the only ones (10194 Emerald Night comes to mind).
It could also be a sort of fallacy. This item is expensive, therefore it is valuable
and I should buy it. People will literally spend thousands of dollars on a clay
brick for this exact reason: https://www.ebay.com/itm/173863143890
But if you really want to know the real answer, you should really ask the people
that collect retired sets. I don't buy retired sets because I recognize that
at the end of the day, LEGO is just a child's toy and there is no reason
to spend thousands of dollars on it. But not everyone sees things the way I do.
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I don't sell on Bricklink, but I sell to local people nearby, because I don't
want to pack and ship and handling the mess of online transaction. There are
a lot more people than I expected in my city of small population who are buying
retired modular buildings sets but the price has risen up a lot, which is to
my surprise. None of them I met were children or youngsters who may not care
about money given by their parents, they were all mature adults, if they are
real fans or collectors, they should have got it before it retired, rather than
paying premium for my retired sets, if they are not fans, the only reason I can
think of is looking for potential investment, then I cannot think of who is going
to buy their sets because they must be selling at a price higher than that they
got.
I'd like to once emphasize that I am NOT talking about very classic or old
retired sets, because the time gap is too long there are tons of reasons I can
think of, I don't even have one. I am talking about modular building sets
that may be first released a few years ago (e.g. 2018 or 2019 or even 2020)
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Mar 11, 2022 14:15 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 42 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, Dinosaur writes:
| | I don't sell on Bricklink, but I sell to local people nearby, because I don't
want to pack and ship and handling the mess of online transaction. There are
a lot more people than I expected in my city of small population who are buying
retired modular buildings sets but the price has risen up a lot, which is to
my surprise. None of them I met were children or youngsters who may not care
about money given by their parents, they were all mature adults, if they are
real fans or collectors, they should have got it before it retired, rather than
paying premium for my retired sets, if they are not fans, the only reason I can
think of is looking for potential investment, then I cannot think of who is going
to buy their sets because they must be selling at a price higher than that they
got.
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Then you should ask those people, instead of asking on the forum and then arguing.
| | I'd like to once emphasize that I am NOT talking about very classic or old
retired sets, because the time gap is too long there are tons of reasons I can
think of, I don't even have one. I am talking about modular building sets
that may be first released a few years ago (e.g. 2018 or 2019 or even 2020)
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There's essentially no difference between a set that was retired five minutes
ago and a set that was retired fifty years ago. Fixed supply + growing demand
= increasing price. In fact, the sharpest increase in the price of a set typically
occurs immediately after it is retired, followed by a longer period of slower
growth. Some people simply don't have an opportunity to buy a set while it
is available for whatever reason (financial, too busy, not enough space, etc.)
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Mar 11, 2022 15:01 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 42 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| | | if they are
real fans or collectors, they should have got it before it retired, rather than
paying premium for my retired sets
|
Have you ever made a mistake, not buying something then regretting it, or putting
it off and missing out, or not being able to afford it at one time but then can
six months later,
or changing your mind about whether you like something
too late.
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Dinosaur | | Posted: | Mar 12, 2022 16:18 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 42 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, yorbrick writes:
| | | | if they are
real fans or collectors, they should have got it before it retired, rather than
paying premium for my retired sets
|
Have you ever made a mistake, not buying something then regretting it, or putting
it off and missing out, or not being able to afford it at one time but then can
six months later,
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or changing your mind about whether you like something
I do, I regret not having got 10260 before it retires but now I will not think
about getting it at all, I'd rather get the Hotel and in fact I have already
got it for $180, paying less for more compared to 10260, then why getting it?
In other words, I believe that those who are paying premium for retired modular
buildings are mostly investors but I cannot imagine who is going to pay even
more for their sets already bought for double the price
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | wildchicken13 | | Posted: | Mar 13, 2022 13:15 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 34 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, Dinosaur writes:
| | In General, yorbrick writes:
| | | | if they are
real fans or collectors, they should have got it before it retired, rather than
paying premium for my retired sets
|
Have you ever made a mistake, not buying something then regretting it, or putting
it off and missing out, or not being able to afford it at one time but then can
six months later,
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or changing your mind about whether you like something
I do, I regret not having got 10260 before it retires but now I will not think
about getting it at all, I'd rather get the Hotel and in fact I have already
got it for $180, paying less for more compared to 10260, then why getting it?
In other words, I believe that those who are paying premium for retired modular
buildings are mostly investors but I cannot imagine who is going to pay even
more for their sets already bought for double the price
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I don't think the people buying retired modulars are investors. I think the
people selling retired modulars are investors. Remember the old adage, "buy low,
sell high"? Buying expensive retired sets violates the first part of that principle.
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Mar 13, 2022 14:21 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 50 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| | | In other words, I believe that those who are paying premium for retired modular
buildings are mostly investors but I cannot imagine who is going to pay even
more for their sets already bought for double the price
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Come back in two years and you'll probably find buying a retired modular
now was a reasonable investment. Not a great investment, as buying current sets
will be a better investment. Not as good as buying then current sets two years
ago though. And that wasn't as good as buying then current sets 4 years ago.
And that wasn't as good as 6 years ago, and so on. Now everyone, including
people not really into lego, know modulars are an investment. So they are no
longer as good as they once were.
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| | | | | Author: | rab1234 | | Posted: | Mar 6, 2022 13:55 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 93 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| 2 most common reasons I would think:
- Someone getting back into LEGO now after a long break and wants to collect
them all.
- someone who didn’t have the cash back the because they were in school or whatever
reason and they now have extra money.
In General, Dinosaur writes:
| | From my past few years experience with Lego, I am not sure about other themes
but modular buildings of Creator Expert usually rise up a lot in price once they
are retired, and there are really someone looking for it, rather than just a
marked up price without any asking. For example, I forget it's last year
or 2020, the 10260 (Downtown Diner) was about $120 here but now people in local
market are interested and bargain if it's $240, and they will get it without
hesitation if it's between $200-$220. The same case happens to the Garage
Corner 10264, not as much as that of 10260 but it can be sold out quickly and
smoothly if it's asking $170-$180 but I got it for $120 only in 2020. It
isn't only one or two people showing their interest, it's quite a number
of people. I'm happy earning some extra cash through this but I am at the
same time wondering why those people didn't get it last year or two years
ago and they are paying premium for the retired modular building when they are
retired? If they are real Lego players I don't think they will want these
overpriced set so much, rather than the new sets with normal price. If they are
not real players and they want to invest on it, they should have already bought
a lot two years ago for a better price and they don't have to buy from me
now. I really don't understand
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| | | | | | | Author: | Dinosaur | | Posted: | Mar 8, 2022 17:41 | | Subject: | Re: Who is buying retired modular buildings? | | Viewed: | 66 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, rab1234 writes:
| | 2 most common reasons I would think:
- Someone getting back into LEGO now after a long break and wants to collect
them all.
- someone who didn’t have the cash back the because they were in school or whatever
reason and they now have extra money.
In General, Dinosaur writes:
| | From my past few years experience with Lego, I am not sure about other themes
but modular buildings of Creator Expert usually rise up a lot in price once they
are retired, and there are really someone looking for it, rather than just a
marked up price without any asking. For example, I forget it's last year
or 2020, the 10260 (Downtown Diner) was about $120 here but now people in local
market are interested and bargain if it's $240, and they will get it without
hesitation if it's between $200-$220. The same case happens to the Garage
Corner 10264, not as much as that of 10260 but it can be sold out quickly and
smoothly if it's asking $170-$180 but I got it for $120 only in 2020. It
isn't only one or two people showing their interest, it's quite a number
of people. I'm happy earning some extra cash through this but I am at the
same time wondering why those people didn't get it last year or two years
ago and they are paying premium for the retired modular building when they are
retired? If they are real Lego players I don't think they will want these
overpriced set so much, rather than the new sets with normal price. If they are
not real players and they want to invest on it, they should have already bought
a lot two years ago for a better price and they don't have to buy from me
now. I really don't understand
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But the problem is - Fact is, there are A LOT of people asking for retired sets
but are there really A LOT of such people who get back into the world of Lego
every year who also want to pay premium for retired sets?
Another example, in May 2021 the 80107 (CNY set) was the only item on big clearance
sales but it still wasn't sold well, the lowest price I could find in a big
shopping mall here was about $60 which was a really great price, and it was sold
out only after two weeks of the sales (I kept an eye at the store every day).
it was put on an eye-catching position but yes, it took two weeks before it
could be sold out. I talked to the staff they said yes it was hard to clear this
set. This year, I am testing the price because I have two sets of it, I marked
it $90 and quite a number of people showed their interest and now they are all
sold, I regret I didn't get more. At the same time, I really don't understand
why they didn't get the new CNY set for better price or why they didn't
get it last year....
It's really a myth.
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Germany, Berlin
USA, Illinois
United Kingdom, England
