Recent Acquisitions

[McMetal]

So, my brother passed away recently and we have been steadily cleaning out a couple of storage bins of stuff he had accumulated over the years, including a TON of unopened LEGO sets, mostly Star Wars. I’ve been gradually bringing the stuff home and cataloging it, thought I had reached the end but found four more big boxes today.

The stuff I brought home today had never even been removed from the original shipping boxes, in fact none of the shipping boxes had even been opened. Among the stuff I found was:

UCS Imperial Star Destroyer
UCS Tantive IV
Death Star II

Looks like those three alone are worth quite a bit now. For you LEGO guys, any suggestions on the best way to sell these? I figure I can always try eBay but would prefer a different option if possible.

Thanks for any advice!

[Rob]

Oh man…. I’m sorry to hear about your brother. 


As for selling this stuff, I’ve always used eBay but the other one that people always seem to recommend is Facebook Marketplace.  But I don’t use Facebook so I’ve never tried it.  If I have something I don’t want to ship, I’ll use Craig’s List still… but that’s rare.

Let me know what you’re looking to get for the UCS Death Star II.  That’s the only OT UCS set I don’t have and I’d be interested.

[Dave]

I’m sorry about your brother as well.

I’m still trying to figure out to do with my massive boxed Lego collection.  I too have several sets that go for huge dollars on eBay, but I’m skittish about selling something so valuable there based on some of the shady things I’ve had happen there.

I am tempted to try Facebook Marketplace, but I don’t know if I want to list them all and more or less have my address out there.  Maybe I’ll list them in smaller batches.

I think my first shot this summer will be to hit up a local toy show and buy a table and see if I can offload a bunch there.

Let me know how things go with your sale and if you find a good means for selling valuable sets.

[Rob]

I do have a buddy who sold an entire collection that way.  It was easy and quick, but he didn’t get top dollar by any stretch.  I guess it’s a matter of whether you value speed and ease or money.

[McMetal]

Thanks a lot guys, appreciate that. He was a great guy and I sure do miss him a lot.  :'(

I have thought about FB marketplace but have not had any experience with that. I guess there are some Lego specific e-commerce sites like Brickmarket like I’ve seen recommended. So I may look into that too.

[EdSolo]

Sorry for your loss.

First, go to bricklink.com.  Not only can you sell there (I haven't tried selling there, but I have bought random missing pieces I needed several times from sellers there), but they also list all sets with both current and recent sales prices for both loose and boxed sets.  It is a much better pricing resource than relying on ebay.

Second, definitely go with FB marketplace to sell.  There are no fees.  You listing gets set by your general location, so you are not giving out your address.  You can also have the listing open to anyone, so it gives you an ebay type audience.  I have had many people overseas ask about stuff.  Anyone local I just meet in a public area.

While selling everything individually can be quite tedious, don't go with the bulk sale.  You will make so much more putting in the work.  For example, the Death Star II is currently selling for $2500 on average for an unopened one.  MSRP was $299.  There is a lot of that out there for Star Wars legos.  If you have the original Cloud City set, 10123, that is worth $5000+ sealed just because of the Boba Fett mini fig. 

I have been selling off my collection for over a year now.  Started with about 400 sets both boxed and loose/complete.  I have sold somewhere around 55-60 sets.  Just from those sales I have made about 70% of the total MSRP of all 400 sets.  It is worth the effort and if most sets are sealed, it is a lot easier and less time consuming to sell.

[Jeff]

So, my brother passed away recently

Thanks a lot guys, appreciate that. He was a great guy and I sure do miss him a lot.  :'(

So sorry to hear about your loss.   

[McMetal]

Thank you, Jeff.

Rob, I will let you know about the DSII, it will probably be one of the last things I deal with since it is the largest out of the 70 sets I have to offload.

Ed - thanks for the tip on FB, I think I will test the waters and see how that goes maybe.

Gotta say, going through this has made me realize what a burden this kind of stuff can potentially become for the people who are left behind to deal with everything. Definitely makes me want to have a smaller footprint and also start meticulously cataloging everything “just in case”.

[Rob]

Absolutely no rush on my end.  I'm not actively looking for one and am in no hurry at all.

And I hear you on the burden thing.  I had a health scare in February where I found out I have a genetic heart condition… my case is apparently pretty minor and I have a great chance of it never affecting me in any serious way, but it carries a small chance of sudden cardiac arrest and it does kill about 1 o 1.5% of people who have it.

I previously figured I’d enjoy this stuff until sometime my 60’s then sell most of it, and just keep the vintage stuff.  But, before I got to the specialist who said my case isn’t severe and he’s not that worried about me, all I could think about was dying suddenly and leaving my wife with 5000 action figures, 250 statues, and a ton of Lego to deal with…

I’m collecting, I’m enjoying it… but at some point it will have to go.  Hopefully not for a long time yet.

[Diddly]

Sorry for your loss, McMetal.

I've sold LEGO on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Depending on the set, you will get a lot of hits. You'll have to weed through weird people too. Any sale I've made, I always do the meetup in a public shopping center parking lot, juuuuust in case. But also, my experiences have been pleasant. It's a lot like dealing with people on here, most people buying know their stuff and want to make it as quick and painless as possible.

If you really just want to dump the stuff, though, see if there are any LEGO resell shops in your area. We have one here called Bricks and Minifigs, which I think may be a national chain. They sell pretty much anything LEGO related and buy used sets both boxed and opened. They WILL do their best to undersell you (they prefer sets to either be carded or loose/fully built and lower the value from there), but again, if you just want to be done with it, it's probably the easiest route to go.

[Rob]

One more thought about avenues for selling... there is a Buy / Sell / Trade section for Lego on RS.  I'm not sure how active it is, but no eBay fees at least...

https://forum.rebelscum.com/forums/lego-shop-buy-sell-trade.722/

[Jeff]

see if there are any LEGO resell shops in your area. We have one here called Bricks and Minifigs, which I think may be a national chain.

They just opened one of these near me recently with plans for a couple others in the Twin Cities soon.

https://bricksandminifigs.com

I have heard too that they will try to lowball you (since they have to make a profit too).  I kinda look at them like a pawn show or trying to sell cards to collector shops.  If something is "worth" $100, they have to get it from you for 30-50% to make a profit selling it for $100.  You won't get the full value, but they take the brunt of the work finding the buyers. 

I guess it goes back Rob's point about whether you value speed and ease of selling them or full value/money.