Is there something wrong with me?

[pterribilis]

Hi All,

After being a lego fanatic as a kid and having my father give all my lego away when we moved overseas (i had all the castle, space, and some city sets from the early/mid 90's) I have since started collecting again now that I'm 31. My son who is only 8 months old has no clue over what he will have to play with when he gets older, but anyway ...to my question at hand:

Is there something wrong with me? I have only opened 3 sets out of the 50+ I have purchased because I am afraid of it mixing with other sets and thus becoming a "bulk" rather than a "set." I just bought 11 series 4 minifigure bags and can't bring myself to open the bag as the ebay's and amazon's of today have really made me see Lego as an investment more so than a toy. It's driving me nuts anytime I see Cafe Corner or Market Place on sale. I say to myself constantly "if I see it for $400-500 I'll snatch it up immediately and never open it for 10+ years." I even broke down and bought Green Grocer for $340 in fear that it will hit the $1,000 mark soon. I have since purchased every modular building that has come out but I am lacking CC and MP. One day I hope to build a house and just have everything built and displayed in one room (the lego room). But gosh that seems so far away and I am afraid that by then I'll have more Lego than my wife has shoes Can anyone tell me if I am crazy or are there others out there that share the same anxiety and obsession?

[turtle1173]

As to your question, well, yes, you might have a problem. The good news is you are at the right place. Many of us have "Lego issues" also :)

[condor]

I'm in the same boat, I'm 31 with a two month old and got back into Lego 3 years ago. I haven't spent $340 on any one set though, my wife would not be too happy I typically only buy sets that are at a deep discount, unless they are specialty items, like GG, CC, Diagon Alley, Taj Mahal, etc.

If it bothers you to open sets, why not buy two? At least on the ones you think will appreciate. Then you can enjoy one and keep the second one sealed. I did that with the Taj Mahal and recently sold the sealed copy for $800. I could've waited longer, but my little storage room is gettin full.

I have a bunch of sealed sets too, but it's because I haven't had time to build anything. Once my son is old enough, I'm hoping we will spend lots of time building all the sets I've been saving up.

[sadowsk1]

Nah man, you're cool. I buy tons of sets and Lego is a mix of investment and hobby for me. The profit margins for myself aren't huge, but it supports the hobby somewhat. I like the box art and the sets but don't open many. I find the times that I do that it's for my nephew who loves to build anything new. I agree with Condor's assessment, buy two of each if it's something you like and then you'll still have one in package and one to let in the wild if your son is interested in them someday. I'm sure you've probably given some thought to whether or not your son will even be interested in Lego and how long it will be before he finds out that you have an ultimate stash in the house.

[pterribilis]

The idea of buying two is great, but not sure how "cool" it would be with my wife. I at least want to buy two of each one of the modular buildings. Gotta somehow figure a way to make up for it though.

@condor want to sell me your double of Cafe Corner? hehehe. I'm dying to get my hands on one.

[Rook]

Basically you're facing the classic "what am I?" question.

Assembler = Buys & builds & plays only with sets
Builder = Buys, builds, mixes, sells, sorts, etc.
Collector = Buys & builds & displays
Investor = Buys and waits a few months or years, jacks up the price and makes a profit off those that didn't have the money to buy it at the time it was released.

Personally I’m a Builder/Collector. I despise the Investor. I think TLG should sell old sets via their “Designed by Me” service. I think making tons of money off someone leads to fake sales. Were people think they’re “safe” buying online but instead get ripped off. To me Investors accidently promote this, by doing what is legal but which creates a frenzy type market were people can basically be robbed because their so desperate to find these rare items.

[condor]

The idea of buying two is great, but not sure how "cool" it would be with my wife. I at least want to buy two of each one of the modular buildings. Gotta somehow figure a way to make up for it though.

@condor want to sell me your double of Cafe Corner? hehehe. I'm dying to get my hands on one.

I wish I had two of them! I only have one and my wife got it for me for Christmas of '09 so I don't think I can part with it :) It's still sealed, but someday I'll have time to build it.

[pterribilis]

Basically you're facing the classic "what am I?" question.
Assembler = Buys & builds & plays only with sets
Builder = Buys, builds, mixes, sells, sorts, etc.
Collector = Buys & builds & displays
Investor = Buys and waits a few months or years, jacks up the price and makes a profit off those that didn't have the money to buy it at the time it was released.

I would like to be between a Builder and a Collector, but investors are almost forcing me to be all three. I wouldn't even have any star wars, harry potter, or POTC sets if it weren't for investment.

At some point in time maybe I can trade my Pirates stuff for Modular buildings, or Harry Potter stuff for more City stuff. My ultimate goal is to have a mega city built on multiple levels without much mixing of any theme. If I only knew Cafe Corner was going to be so expensive....I think I'm getting into the collector bit too late in the game. Gosh, I only wish I still had my lego from when I was a kid. I could sell them for half of what "investors" are asking for on ebay and get both Market Street AND Cafe Corner.

[jsnweitzel]

My thinking is similar to Rook's. I don't collect Lego but buy them for my son and I always take an interest in what he likes. I've always been a collector of various things and buy him more lego than he needs because of this.

I recommend only buying what you will enjoy. Would you feel comfortable buying something like Cafe Corner if you knew it would have no value later? A collector would say yes, an investor would say no. Just like with any other commodity, it is supply and demand. There is no guarantee that lego will be in demand ten years from now. Even if lego is still as popular as now, you will have every other speculator trying to unload the three Cafe Corners stored in their closet for a $1,000 each.

Open your sets, enjoy them.

[gator06]

I would say open them and assemble them. Unless you are a pure investor, the assembly value of enjoying the sets has some value that you could express in a dollar amount. Remember, even opened and complete sets retain a considerable amount of their value. If the difference between Sealed and opened and assembled at some point is worth the use to you, then you have an easy decision. Consider it the "rental" fee or something. The biggest reason is that your son at this point does not care much, but when he is older you will probably open them anyway to play with him. If you open them now, you get that much more use out of them until then.

[NIGELTTF]

I'm a builder and an investor. About 1/4 of what I buy, primarily liscenced sets I got at a discount go into the "speculation" closet. I plan to open that closet in 2016 to see what I can score money or trade wise. Worst case scenario: more brick for building.

[pterribilis]

I'm a builder and an investor. About 1/4 of what I buy, primarily liscenced sets I got at a discount go into the "speculation" closet. I plan to open that closet in 2016 to see what I can score money or trade wise. Worst case scenario: more brick for building.

I am with you on that. If 3-5 years from now they aren't worth 2-10x as much as I purchased them...they are still bricks that I can use to build other things.

[koromo]

Since joining this little part of the world I have acquired more sets than I would have thought
in a more regular every-so-often habit.

I have enjoyed trading extras of minifigures which is odd coming from a practice of keeping things complete, though back then every mini had a smilie face and the same uniform. The sense of redundant is different now.

I do no revel in the thought of the time reconsitituting sets from the bulk-mixed-bin having done the very several times in my youth. Though if I could do it then it shouldnt be too much of a burden in the future. I kept all the manuals and then Peeron helped fill in gaps that came up.

Since a recent move last fall and another forth coming in the next year I will not enjoy taking down my display models yet again and this time dismantle the lot for longer term storage. I have not been tempted to sell segments or the entirity of the collection as I still see it as something cherished that can eventually be preserved by giving it to the next generation whether my own or other parts of the family.

Part of that notion has driven me to be a wee bit of completist in SW line, not clamoring over every set or re-release since I came out of my dark age but somebody will inheriting a pretty cool line up. My favorite is the Battle of Hoth bin. A theme I didn't get into much as a Kid was castle and now with my current project there is another neat collection thats shy one kings castle. Same with pirates I never owned a ship of the line so I hope I can add one before I close up shop.

[cbaker1974]

I guess I am a collector and investor. My main problem is that I spend more time actually reading forum posts and blogs about Lego than I actually spend building. I've gotten all of the modulars and built those to have a fantastic looking display, but those hours really pale compared to how much time I spend every day on various Lego sites (both from researching deals and viewing mocs/discussing upcoming sets, etc.).

As for investments...I am not ashamed to say that I invest in Lego. I have spent a LOT of time researching what sells and what doesn't, what makes a good potential profit, and what the current open market prices run. For example, when Lego City Garage went on sale multiple times at TRU this summer (combined with clearance), you could get it for around $50-60. They sell now on eBay/Bricklink for $100-110 which is just at or above MSRP. There's nothing unique about this set really, and it will probably not rise in value much over the next couple of years, but I can still double my initial investment (or close to it) because I took the time to research the large discount opportunity, drive and locate several sets, and then store it until a reasonable selling time (taking into account the research to determine that it is discontinued and this will affect the supply).

What I'm trying to get at here is that successful Lego investing can be a lot more work than just "buy everything in sight and let it sit". Yes, just like any other investment, there is speculation involved, but if you are an informed investor who puts research time in on both the buying and selling end, and get to know the product well, then I don't see any reason to get upset at such people...we are earning money for our work.

I do see a lot of people complain about how there are people who "victimize" and prey on the hapless on eBay. Yes, there are a lot of people who do crazy things, like double the MSRP of the latest Hogwarts castle (which is still available at mass retailers), hoping to "catch" an ignorant buyer, but the reality is that these listings rarely sell and certainly not with a frequency to make a consistent profit. If I start an auction at a penny for Cafe Corner and it gets bid up to $750, then am I greedy? This is just the market at work, supply and demand. I didn't knock over any kids to buy it back 3 years ago, and I'm not forcing the hands of the bidders to keep upping the price...not sure how that kind of thing can be faulted, I think it is just people who unfortunately missed on the release and wished that Lego didn't retire sets.

[lukeskywalker]

^ Thanks for the post. I wholeheartedly agree.

[condor]

cbaker1974, thanks for the insight. I used to buy pretty much anything that was discounted 30-50% and hope that it would sell later one. I soon realized that that doesn't really work. Atlantis, Space Police, and Creator (except for the houses and large scale stuff) for example haven't really appreciated any. Granted, it's been only a couple of years since they've been out, but I need the room to store more things I buy.

I think we're off topic in this thread though. Should we start a new one where we can discuss potential investments? If you don't mind sharing your secrets that is :D

[legitimatealex]

I'm just going to say that make sure you don't spend beyond your means. Having pretty much 0 disposable income I've got to stick to buying only on clearance. If you end up buying more LEGO than you can afford then you should evaluate how it is affecting you in a negative way. Other than that, no there is nothing wrong with you. You have a hobby, you like to collect and build and display. Everyone should have a hobby.

[sadowsk1]

I'm just going to say that make sure you don't spend beyond your means. Having pretty much 0 disposable income I've got to stick to buying only on clearance. If you end up buying more LEGO than you can afford then you should evaluate how it is affecting you in a negative way. Other than that, no there is nothing wrong with you. You have a hobby, you like to collect and build and display. Everyone should have a hobby.

This might be too much question, but between this thread and the one about investing in Lego. Do you see yourself paying the high after market prices for sets you wanted when you have more disposable income or would it be difficult since you knew how much it used to cost?

[legitimatealex]

I probably wouldn't buy the sets. Maybe the minifigures but not the sets. Its not so much I knew how much they cost but because I tend to go crazy with collecting and right now I'm at the mindset that if I don't purchase it now, I have passed on it for good.

[condor]

This might be too much question, but between this thread and the one about investing in Lego. Do you see yourself paying the high after market prices for sets you wanted when you have more disposable income or would it be difficult since you knew how much it used to cost?

I don't think I would. If it's something I really wanted, I would have bought it when it was out. Although if you buy something and keep it sealed, ie. Cafe Corner, UCS MF, etc. you could trade that for a high priced set you wanted.