Sign up or log in to customize your list. Here's how it works: Anybody can ask a question The best answers are voted up and rise to the top I have a HUGE collection of LEGO sets that I want to sell. Ebay is too cheap and Craigslist takes too long. Is there an easier and faster way to get some good money? Unfortunately, even with the best market conditions, there is always a trade off between selling things at a high price and selling things fast. That's just a principle of marketing. That said, you might consider these options: BrickLink / Brick Owl These are sites that specialize in trading LEGO. I can't comment further, as I've only used these sites as a buyer, not as a seller. As a buyer, I've been impressed. Both Bricklink and Brick Owl take a commission for each order that goes through. Some people still rely on newspaper etc. adds for their purchases. Although they reach a smaller audience, they have three advantages over eBay:
Ads are generally a fixed price, so fees don't depend on selling price - ideal for large lots of LEGO. If you sell locally, you don't have to charge postage, as buyers can generally collect. It is arguable that people who mainly buy from local adds are generally less well informed about "realistic" prices than people who use web-based purchasing options, so may be willing to pay a little more (although this cuts both ways - they may under-estimate the true price of things, too). Despite your aversion to eBay, it is still be your best bet, simply because you'll reach such a large market. Prices on eBay are driven by the market - by what people are willing to pay. For this reason, I'm not sure that it makes sense to say that it is "too cheap". To get the best price for your LEGO, I suggest using the fixed price listing feature, setting the price at the lowest you're willing to accept. Of course, it may take a little longer to shift your collection if your prices are at the high end of what the market can tolerate.
An excellent picture and a good description make a big difference, too, as can your willingness to ship overseas. If you do decide to ship internationally, don't make the mistake of underestimating postage costs. I use eBay for all my LEGO sales, and I'm generally happy with the results. The only down-side is that the fees can be quite high, but I generally accept that for the convenience. Is the set new in the box, and never opened? Is it retired and rare? In that case, the skies the limit since the set may not be available anywhere. When I find my self in this situation I generally list for the high-end price on brickpicker, but include a best offer option. Do you have the manual, the box it came in and all of the parts and minifigures? and look up the trending used prices on the sets you want to sell. Use this information to sell the item on ebay (but be ready to pay Ebay 15% of your sale price right off the bat!). You can also try to sell locally, but you will have a hard time finding anyone willing to pay your asking price for what they will consider old used lego.
Is the set complete, but you have no box? See above, but adjust your asking price. Are we talking about a collection from your childhood that is in a tub in your parents garage? A bunch of 'sets' of undetermined completeness? Aim for $10 per pound, but accept $5 cause it sounds like you may be in a hurry. Thank you for your interest in this question. Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count). Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead? Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged star-wars trading or ask your own question.This series of articles explores the practical economics of buying, sorting and selling bulk Lego. I will help assess what it takes to make real money by describing my own experience buying a large used Lego collection on Craigslist for a discounted price, figuring out what sets I had, sorting the bricks back into the original sets, acquiring the missing pieces and reselling for a profit.
Along the way, I’ll call out some of the hidden costs and benefits for Lego enthusiasts. LEGO as an investment? Before I go deeper into the details of my project, I should point out that investing in Lego can be a big business for some folks. which helps people invest in Lego, although they focus on investing in unopened/new sets. On that site, you can see the current value of any Lego set (based on Ebay and other sources). It also allows you to record and track the value of your portfolio of Lego sets as if it were a stock market. I have purchased a couple Lego sets as a small-scale investment to support my hobby, but I don’t want to build up a large enough inventory to make it profitable. A couple ways to make money selling Lego: Most people invest in unopened Lego sets, hoping to sell them in a couple years when they are no longer available for a healthy profit. (Some of the most sought-after sets have doubled in cost in just two years, and that isn’t accounting for the possibility that you may have initially purchased the set at a discount.)
Some folks try to find sets at a discount and resell them immediately for a profit. Others buy used Lego bricks and sets and try to sell for a profit. (This is the focus of this article.) What is Lego worth? Before you buy anything, you need a basic knowledge about how much used Lego is worth. The following is a rough guide based on my experience: New Lego sets have a MSRP of between 8 and 12 cents per brick. That said, most sets can be purchased for between 10 and 40% off if you are patient, take advantage of rewards programs and sales. (Many of the large “Exclusive” sets which adult fans want are much harder to buy at a discount.) Used Lego sets in good condition are worth between 50% and 75% of retail prices while they are still available in stores. 6 – 12 months after they are no longer available, used sets usually catch up with MSRP, and can slowly increase in value if they are in high demand. The rule of thumb for unsorted Lego is between 6$ and 12$ per pound.
If the bricks are sorted by color or include lots of desirable pieces, they are worth more. The value of Lego Minifigures varies greatly. Rare minifigures from a popular theme like Star Wars can sell for 5-10$ a piece. More common minifigures sell for about 1$. can yield much higher prices, but it requires a small warehouse to store your bricks and seems like an unbelievable time commitment. Based on these factors, I decided that buying a used collection containing older sets which I can sort into complete sets would be the best approach for me, especially if I could get it for a really low price. Deciding what to buy If you are looking to buy used Lego, you have a couple options: Ebay, Craigslist and Garage Sales to name a few… I prefer Craigslist as you don’t have to worry about shipping, and you can see what you are getting before making a payment. My goal was to buy a collection containing many sets which I could sort out and sell for a profit. I also hoped that the collection would include some themes which interest me.
(In my case: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Architecture.) Buying a profitable collection: I looked at dozens of used Lego collections on Craigslist listings before I made my first big purchase. I live in Seattle which has a lot of Adult Lego enthusiasts, so it’s harder to find a great deal here. Since I was traveling to the east coast for the holidays, I checked Craigslist in areas we were visiting and found some better collections for sale than anything I’d seen in Seattle. The collection which I bought on Craigslist wasn’t very detailed and included only two blurry photos. The listing said that it included the “6211 – Imperial Star Destroyer” set which was released in 2006, plus “some other sets”. The original craigslist post is gone, so I can’t show you exactly what was listed, but I can say that the listing under-represented the size of the collection. As the listing was a bit unclear, I sent the seller the following clarifying email:
“Are there any minifigures in the box? I am trying to determine if there are some nearly complete sets that are just missing instructions or not.” As they say, it never hurts to ask! In response, I got a lot more info than they put in their original Craigslist post: “There are mini figures in the collection as most of it came from sets. The sets were broken down and the boxes / instructions were thrown out. Here are just a few that are in the container: LEGO Star Wars Clone Turbo Tank (8098) LEGO Star Wars General Grievous Starfighter (8095) LEGO Power Miners Fire Blaster (8188) LEGO® Power Miners Claw Catcher 8190 LEGO Power Miners Titanium Command Rig (8964) That last one was $200 alone.. Obviously everything is broken down into 1 pile. Ie, they are not separated by set into ziplocks etc.” Getting this much new information was great for me, since I had more information to help make a buying decision than other potential buyers.
At this point I was confident that this would be a profitable purchase given the 150$ asking price. At the very least, I could resell the Imperial Star Destroyer to recoup my costs. I made arrangements to buy the collection, and was blown away by the two massive Rubbermaid bins which they game me. (This created two problems outside of the scope of this article: Figuring out how to get 60+ pounds of Lego back to my home in Seattle, and figuring out how to keep my wife from killing me for buying so much Lego on vacation!) Tips and Tricks to buy the right collection: I’m hardly an expert, but the following are some helpful tips to help make sure you get a good deal.People sell used Lego collections every day. You need to find a great deal if you want to make any money.If the listing isn’t clear, ask for more details. If you want a photo showing which minifigures are included, it doesn’t hurt to ask. You can always ask for a lower price too, although be sure to close on a price before you make arrangements to see or buy the collection.