The End of the Road?

[Dave]

I think I've come to a crossroads with my collecting and my Lego sets.  I've got tons of Hasbro 3.75" and 6" stuff, some other random stuff, and nearly every Star Wars Lego ever made.  1/4 are open (built or demolished and bagged up ) and 3/4 are still in their boxes.

I'm building out my display area and can't come close to having 50% on display.  Playsets, vehicles, and Lego take up the most room in displays.

Lego was fun to actually play with for awhile as my kids got in to them and we built sets together, but they've moved on and don't have much interest anymore.

I'm just not sure what to with my stacks and stacks of Lego, plus the new sets they're rolling out.  I've not bought much in the past couple of years as a lot has been rehash or not that interesting, so cutting the cord on new stuff won't be hard.  I just don't know what to do with my existing stuff.  Sell it? Keep it boxed?

I didn't have a hard time parting with other large chunks of my collection over the years (12", MicroMachines, Galactic Heroes), but I'm really struggling with what to do with Lego.  I loved Legos as a kid and still think they're so cool.

Have any of you current/former Lego collectors hit the same crossroads and made a decision?

The good news is the resale price of Legos is kinda nuts, so selling it off should be fairly profitable...

[Diddly]

I did exactly this a few months ago. I had debated getting rid of either Hasbro figures or LEGO for a good 2-3 years, and ultimately decided to sell the LEGO since it was taking up so much more space. It didn't help that the last 5 or so years of LEGO releases have been pretty boring; the same rehashed ships and speeders, all built mostly the same way with nothing really new or innovative in the designs.

I started selling off all of my boxed stuff a few months ago, and made a pretty penny; enough to fund an experimental treatment for an illness diagnosed cat I adopted (something called FIP which is basically a cat version of Covid). However, while moving last year, I had to open about half of my collection to save space and fit everything into two storage bins. I left the pieces in their sealed bags, but I'm now having to go through and sort everything out, find instructions and sticker sheets, match it all together... it's a mess!

I've sold everything via Craigslist. I was lucky enough to find a guy who operates an online LEGO store, and he buys stuff in bulk. There's likely something similar in your area; just have to have a bit of patience. Know that people are always looking for bargains, so I had to sell a lot of stuff for far less than it was worth, but still far more than what I paid.

I am keeping a few select sets, like the 1960s Batcave and my UCS Slave I. My dream is to eventually sell everything I want to off, and then get the $800 UCS Millennium Falcon and display that with the Slave I.

[EdSolo]

I'm in the same boat.  It has just gotten to be too much.  At this point, I've just started to sort through everything.  I am thinking of keeping more of the bigger playsets, like the Death Star, Cloud City, Ewok Village, etc.  I haven't got to the point of selling yet.  I would probably start with unopened sets.  At this point, I have been concentrating on selling off Hasbro stuff.  After about a year or so, I finally see light at the end of the tunnel.  I have sold off all of my 3 3/4" carded and loose figures and all my multipacks and deluxe figures.  I'm down to around 50 items left that are mostly vehicles at this point.  Then is task of trying to unload Hasbro 12", which I am doubting has much resale value.

I have had a couple of bulk sales.  I sold all my loose figures to one person.  I'm sure I could have gotten more money if pulled out certain figures and sold them separate, but it was so much easier not to have to sort and take pictures.

For Legos, I am sure a bulk sale is easily possible.  However, they are worth a lot and I'm sure a bulk buyer won't even pay MSRP on sets bought in bulk.  Everything I have sold with very few exceptions have been on FB marketplace.  That has been a relatively easy process.  Honestly, if you have the time, especially on sealed sets, I would try selling them individually or in small lots.  You will get the best return that way.

I have been tracking my collection in excel sheet for quite some time.  When I started selling, my desire was to try to cover what I paid for everything.  I figured that would be a tough order, but I have actually been successful so far.  Really, my Hasbro 12" figures are the only thing left I think I will take a loss on.  All it takes is time and patience.

[Dave]

I have been tracking my collection in excel sheet for quite some time.  When I started selling, my desire was to try to cover what I paid for everything.  I figured that would be a tough order, but I have actually been successful so far.  Really, my Hasbro 12" figures are the only thing left I think I will take a loss on.  All it takes is time and patience.

Good luck.  I sold my 12" collection off about six years ago on eBay and broke even or actually made a bit of money.  Many of those were sold below retail, but a few like the speeder bikes went for a lot and made up for it.  I opened it up to international buyers and found a few that paid top dollar.  That freed up a ton of space.

[Brian]

Although I don’t probably have the amount of LEGO that you guys do, I have been having the same thoughts overall with my collection. It isn’t that I don’t enjoy it anymore, quite the contrary, but we just don’t have the room for it all. Over the past year plus I’ve been downsizing the amount I have on display, to have a cleaner, non “a toy store threw up here” look, which has lead to packing stuff up (and then to selling stuff). I’ve always liked the idea of “when something comes into the collection, something must go out”, but that is sometimes easier said than done.

Like your story Dave, I got into LEGO because of our daughter. I have so many fond memories of building LEGO with her, which led to me starting to buy some sets as well (I never had any as a kid). Now that she has kind of lost interest, and packed all of hers away except for one (TFA Falcon), I’ve done much the same. I only have my OT Falcon out and displayed (as well as a Mega Construx Castle Grayskull). Everything else has been put away. I only ever picked up OT sets, so I don’t have a ton, but still quite a few.

Much like with action figures, it is difficult to purge them. I truly do admire those that can and do. I’ve sold off a lot over the past few years, but much of it has been non-SW, so it was a little easier. I always disliked the idea of having so much of my collection in totes in the basement/garage/etc, but I know I have 12 or more full as I type this. Seems silly.

[Jedi Idej]

All of you lasted way longer than me. I bought lots of the introductory sets in '99 (??) and haven't picked up any since. Still have them because selling stuff is a pain. And I figure I can hand them off to my nieces and nephews if they ever got a liking for them.

I stopped by briefly at the house of a friend's friend and they had all these cool Star Wars ships strung up in a case in the living room. It wasn't long before I realized the LEGO was a family thing (and Star Wars, no less). Pretty cool for those of you who shared that passion for building blocks with young ones.

[Dave]

For Legos, I am sure a bulk sale is easily possible.  However, they are worth a lot and I'm sure a bulk buyer won't even pay MSRP on sets bought in bulk.  Everything I have sold with very few exceptions have been on FB marketplace.  That has been a relatively easy process.  Honestly, if you have the time, especially on sealed sets, I would try selling them individually or in small lots.  You will get the best return that way.

Holy crap.  My 13 year old son has been spending some time checking eBay for the value of some of my older sets and some of these are kinda nuts.

So far the winner in value appreciation is a sealed UCS Tantavie IV that would sell for $1200 that I got from the discount aisle at TRU for $100.

It looks like in general most of the 20 year old sets will sell for about triple their original value. 

Its nice to see that I've got some options if and when I'm ready to get rid of these.

[Rob]

Yeah, they say that Lego outpaces gold in value. 

I have ten years worth of unopened sets that have been waiting for me to have more display space... I've been toying with the idea of selling the sealed sets and using the proceeds to re-purchase used copies.  I tried that for the first time with the Black Pearl back in January.  I originally bought it for $70 on clearance... sold it for about $800, and after eBay fees, buying a new one, and tax on the new one, I managed to pocket about $250. 

We're moving soon and doing a renovation, so if I could extract a few thousand dollars out of all these sets, I'd probably be smart to do that. 

Here's a photo from like a year ago of the pile, it's grown since this:

[Nicklab]

OMG!!!!

The biggest sets I’ve gotten that my kid and I built are the Darth Vader castle and the Resistance Transport from Galaxy’s Edge.  I toyed with the idea of getting a Tantive IV or the Ghost but the prices get crazy.  I think I might get the Razor Crest before that set gets retired. 

[Rob]

Yeah.  I've collected every OT SW set since the beginning in the late 90's.  I'm short 3 or 4 sets, but it's basically all there.  Anything not shown in the boxes there, are in ziploc bags in rubbermaid bins.  We're under contract for a condo right now where I have most of a finished basement as a collection / movie room.  i'll know how much I can get on display later this year. 

[Matt_Fury]

I think I might get the Razor Crest before that set gets retired.

The best part of that set is that it now comes in it's current state....no building required!

Rob,

I thought about showing that impressive collection to my kids, but it would cost me so much money because they would want all the ones in your collection they don't have!