How to Offload Extensive LEGO Collection?

Nucleus Acumbens on 22/01/2025 - 18:29

I have a lot of lego sets. Most of them are built with instructions and boxes.

What's the best way to go about selling them?

Auction house?

I have a lazy bone in my leg and have no desire to break them down and return the pieces to their initial numbered packets.

Even partially breaking them down into sizes for boxes suitable for posting seems like a situation wide open for scamming and dishonest practises and makes me consider caution

I have no confidence with the potential tricksters on eBay who may claim SNAD or swap parts out even keeping some for themselves.

Their no questions money back guarantee has been an absolute game changer for my selling activities.

Gumtree just causes me all sorts of cardiac events thinking about all the scam situations I've heard.

Garage sale could be good, but then burglars know exactly what I have and where to come and get it when not looking.

We are talking well over 1000 sets, ranging in size from the biggest ones ever made to a bunch of smaller ones too. Some are current, some are discontinued

Cash on Pick up seems to have similar complications

Because sets aren't glued together, if I transported them with me for negotiations to take place in a public place, this idea is full of holes and ripe for abuse.

So any advice on the most effective way to sell my lego collection without having to break it down or risk breakage during transportation?

Some auction house that collects the collection (don't mind paying commission)

Thanks

Oh, got two set of Phantom comic books from 1958. One mint, one read. A bunch of Mickey Mouse collectible watches too!

Toys & Kids Building Blocks LEGO

Comments

  • Davo1111 on 22/01/2025 - 18:40
    +5

    just to clarify, are these sets actually valuable? or do you think they are valuable?

    sell lego on fb marketplace or ebay. Dont put it all up at once, sell maybe 5 sets at a time.

    You'll find that there are lego collectors out there, they'll ask if you have more. Entertain it if you like. or see how the first sale goes, then if successful, reach out a second time. OR even ask what they are looking for.

    You pick up in person, cash only. Have them set up in the front of the house, dont just take people into your room of lego.

    • Miami Mall Alien on 22/01/2025 - 18:50
      +9

      This.

      Enter the set numbers into BrickEconomy and BrickLink to determine their current resale value and whether you actually have anything valuable on your hands.

      Complete sets with manuals/boxes are categorised as "used" in the Lego marketplace and won't command as high of a market value as BNIB (brand-new-in-box) but depending on a particular sets desirability, age and production run, you could still sell a used complete set anywhere from 2 - 10 times its original RRP.

      I've been selling my Lego sets on Scumtree/FB Marketplace for years without issue. The scammers are incredibly easy to weed out if you have a modicum of common sense.
      If you're paranoid about privacy then just meet people in random carparks but I've stopped doing that as it's honestly not worth the fuel costs for smaller value sets anyway and I've never had a single bad interaction.

      As for selling already built sets, I've found most buyers actually prefer that as opposed to a random number of ziplock bags with randomly distributed pieces that will make rebuilding it again an absolute pain without the factory numbered bags that most Lego manuals for larger sets will refer to.

  • CyberMurning on 22/01/2025 - 18:45
    +1

    Setup open lego home event.

  • martywins on 22/01/2025 - 19:15

    https://brickresales.com.au

  • askbargain on 22/01/2025 - 19:24

    Sounds like these sets were offloaded to you?

    • pegaxs on 22/01/2025 - 22:27

      I get that whole “deceased estate” vibe from it.

    • Nucleus Acumbens on 23/01/2025 - 02:09
      -3

      Nope, adult family got involved over lockdown so for a while there we were pumping them through faster than the shops could keep up with us.

      Do have about 20 smaller architect ones we inherited from one of our sons when he moved interstate but they have no books or boxes.

      • Benoffie on 23/01/2025 - 09:01

        If you happen to have Robie House… damned if I can find that anywhere (not new and not for the price of an SUV) 🙄

        • ihbh on 23/01/2025 - 13:25

          Is having the sticker important? If not buy the parts which aren't too expensive.

          • Benoffie on 23/01/2025 - 13:49

            @ihbh: Nah its not so I may have to chase the instructions. Just a cool build of a fave house, back when the series was actually about architecture…

  • Some Human on 22/01/2025 - 19:30
    +3

    I have no confidence with the potential tricksters on eBay who may claim SNAD or swap parts out even keeping some for themselves.

    As someone who has been selling on ebay for around 15 years and has done 6k + transactions, i have been scammed maybe 14 times. They were mostly INR for untracked items. One of my 2 INADS were my fault

    Really wish people would stop considering ebay to be a platform full of scammers. Most people on there are good. Block the ones that aren't. I would probably avoid selling overseas though, US buyers don't read descriptions.
    Sell the lower value sets first, then move onto the more expensive ones when your confidence improves.

    • godofpizza on 22/01/2025 - 21:16

      what type of items do you sell?

      • Some Human on 22/01/2025 - 22:22

        Started with my own personal lego collection, but I sell all different things now.

        Only issue I've had with lego buyers was 1 claiming INR on an untracked part. I sent it again tracked and they were happy.

    • moar bargains on 23/01/2025 - 12:06

      US buyers don't read descriptions

      So that's where the Australians who read descriptions are!? They're certainly not on Facebook Marketplace!

  • Switchblade88 on 22/01/2025 - 20:07
    +5

    Find the most recently posted Lego deals on OzB. Check who has consistently voted positive for each.

    Lookup their comments and see if they talk about their extensive collection and if they have other expensive tastes (watches, EVs, Eneloops)

    Send them unsolicited photos of your collection to see if they are interested

    • pegaxs on 22/01/2025 - 22:28

      Wooo… that’s literally me… and nope, not interested.

    • Baysew on 22/01/2025 - 22:35
      +4

      Unsolicited Photo

      • Benoffie on 23/01/2025 - 13:51

        Might show the partner so he appreciates how little my stash is 😉🤣

      • Nucleus Acumbens on 24/01/2025 - 08:46

        Sensational! At least it appears that you broke your sets down and reboxed them after the initial build, we however never did that and the task now seems too overwhelming!

  • ihbh on 22/01/2025 - 20:44
    +1

    1000+ sets. Goodness. Where do you store them, assembled? How much do you think you spent on them? Are you looking to recover cost, and then some?

    I've built around 150 system and 35 technic sets, with more to go. They are mostly second hand bulk lots and some free. I've spent not much more than $600ish on the second hand ones. I don't have massive sets, but some good ones such as the original Castle & Galaxy Explorer, Highway Rig, Republic Cruiser, Monster Dino, City of Atlantis, Roaring Roadster and some SW and medium technic sets, and the obligatory Boost & Mindstorms "for the kids' STEM development".

    I can see 5+ times these sets will pose storage problems for me. That's why I'm trying to work through the technic sets from 1977 with a fixed base of parts (more limited with vintage sets, but builds are very elegant and educational) and I will force myself to ignore colour differences and take apart the sets to build new ones.

    What's your mix of current to discontinued? I've noticed on Marketplace and the comments from Bricklink sellers that Lego second hand demand and prices have fallen off a cliff with cost of living increases. The older classic ones will sell quick, irrespective of cost of living pressures. For example, do you have Giant Truck and classic SW sets?

  • godofpizza on 22/01/2025 - 21:19

    sell on ebay by grouped categories.

    ensure you have good photos of set being sold. showing all angles and mention if there are any missing pieces/replaced or missing manuals/boxes.
    I've sold lot of used sets on ebay and as long as your description and photos are correct and clear. you shouldn't get any returns.

    Sealed sets are harder as i've had returns from scammers suggesting there were missing pieces from the set. Used sets are better because you have photo proof of the assembled set.

  • MS Paint on 22/01/2025 - 21:39
    +2

    Where's the dude that invests in Lego?

    @Aerith-Waifu

    • pegaxs on 22/01/2025 - 22:29

      Invests in Lego… like investing in Pokémon cards and $1 coins with “imperfections”.

      • Pelicannn on 23/01/2025 - 07:58
        +1

        To be fair, anyone who kept their pokemon cards from 25 years ago in good condition probably didn’t ‘invest’, but they sure as shit wouldn’t be sad about it right now.

        I sold a bulk of my pokemon cards before the boom around 2013-2014 and with pricing these days, I regret ever selling them.

  • blam6 on 22/01/2025 - 22:52

    Find the market value of the sets using the sites mentioned and then go to Lego FB communities etc and look for a reseller that might be keen to buy the whole lot. There's also a few aussie lego shops that will buy them from you

  • GnarlyKnuckles on 23/01/2025 - 01:30
    -3

    LOL …

    If you were in fact the original purchaser and assembler of '> 1000 sets' (which is virtually impossible; you are claiming that you bought and assembled one set every single day for 3 years?), be prepared to lose a LOT of money. You will be able to unload/sell your stuff, but not for anything like the amount that you paid for it, and as you have alluded to above, trying to sell it 'already assembled'/'out-of-box' is a complete nightmare.

    I think this is a 'joke post' because much of it makes no logical sense, but if it is a legit post/question; I think you would get the most money by selling your entire collection to one person. It will probably be about 20% of the retail price, if you are lucky. Or less.
    Alternatively, you could agonise over this issue for many, many years, and still achieve nothing better than that, and likely even less.

    Sorry for your loss.

    • Some Human on 23/01/2025 - 17:04

      Collectable Lego sets generally appreciate in value. OP likely has majority collectable sets. He is more likely to gain money on them than lose it. I sold a bunch of mine for more than I paid.
      OP would get the most money selling them individually on a platform with millions of eyeballs.

      I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but it sounds like you have no idea what you are talking about.

      • ihbh on 23/01/2025 - 18:50

        He is more likely to gain money on them than lose it.

        There are two types of gains. One due to inflation - but you lose the opportunity cost of your money, and the other is a "real" gain. E.g. smallish sets were $5 at some point years ago, but $50 now. The $5 set someone bought years ago sold now would likely get more than $5 due to inflation, then there is the rarity/demand, etc.

        collectable sets

        What do you classify as these?

  • Pelicannn on 23/01/2025 - 07:59

    1000 sets belongs in a bloody museum. That is just insane for a personal collection 😳

    Hope you didn’t pay retail because the majority will be worth less and you should expect that.

  • Benoffie on 23/01/2025 - 09:09
    +3

    I sell Lego and there's a few things to remember:

    • auction houses are an instant 20% loss, unless negotiated otherwise. This option is only worthwhile for sets youve attempted to sell but cant move or sets you really can pin a price on (regardless of wht the websites say). Lego retailers haunt AHs.

    • FB, eBay are still great options for sets with known values where they are in retirement and have hit that plateau stage. Example - 21310 Old Fishing Store is one I would put here. The selling history is solid, it's popular, and why lose 20%?

    • obviously, as others have mentioned, Lego specific websites. Ive actually never used them but i may need to soon (I too am starting to offload)

    The first thing you need to do is an excel spreadsheet of the sets - number, name, year, condition, retired, hit price cap? Y/n?, what $ cap is atm etc.

    Then based on that, sell sets that are at cap or have been at cap for years. Dont sell new or newly retired sets that haven't hit cap. For these, the lag is now longer due to Lego's release schedule changes

  • Suspect420 on 23/01/2025 - 09:43

    Do you have the 42130 BMW S1000RR? If in Sydney i'll happily come and pick it up

    • Subere on 23/01/2025 - 12:03
      +3

      Heh. Sounds like OP just needs to post a classifieds in OzB with a link to the aforementioned spreadsheet.

  • Cluster on 23/01/2025 - 11:18
    +1

    Local auction house. I attend several here in Adelaide and they'd be happy to take a Lego collection. If it's extensive then they'll even make it a specially featured auction. Be aware however that the real value in Lego is having completely sealed and unused sets. As soon as they're opened the value plummets.

    Be aware of fees. Sellers usually pay 20% and buyers 17%. And people attending auctions will probably have an eye on reselling, so you're not going to get anywhere retail value. But, auction houses can move a lot of stock in a day or two. Selling it yourself may take months on eBay, and at an auction house you avoid all scammers and time wasters.

  • casho on 24/01/2025 - 11:42

    Any 1980s sets?

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