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In lugnet.general, Seth McCarus writes:
> That's the stuff dreams are made of. Literally--I'm always dreaming I come
> across such a find. It'll never happen in the U.S. though.
It might. It is less likely, with the dominance of chains and big-box
stores, but it did happen to me last spring in Canada.
I found a small, independent department/clothing store in Edmundston, NB,
called Hutman's. A permanent sign outside hanging over the sidewalk said
something like "Toy Clearance Basement sale."
I walked in and asked to go downstairs. The salesperson had to turn on the
light for me. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, it was like going
back in time. There were some old Go-bot toys, Barbie dolls, Tonka toys I
remember from the late 70's, ancient board games including one modelled
after the Atari video game "Berserk," even some Tyco bricks, and a wall of
lego from the 80's to the mid-90's...
After the spasms stopped, I asked the clerk for a sheet of paper so I could
take an inventory (which I will list below). I bought as much as I could
afford that day, and went back several times in the following months. The
staff came to know me as "the Lego guy." I haven't been back for several
months, but they were starting to re-stock the shelves with some new sets.
Anyway, I apologize to the community for selfishly keeping this gem to
myself. I kept sets that were more valuable to me than their market value,
but sold the rest on Bricklink. Some enthusiasts call this "scalping" and I
did feel a tiny pang of guilt, but this is an expensive hobby and I couldn't
resist. Of course, every penny I made has gone directly back into Lego,
either to S@H or Bricklink.
Here's my original inventory list, with the original quantity and the number
remaining last time I visited (in case someone nearby is interested). There
were a few sets I missed (Wild West, Aquazone, etc), but not a lot, and
nothing better than the ones I recorded.
Set# Name Qty
8844 Helicopter 2, 0 left
8845 Dune Buggy 1, 0 left
6842 Shuttle Craft 4, 0 left
6890 Cosmic Cruiser 1, 0 left
6886 Galactic Peace Keeper 2, 0 left
6450 L&S Mobile Police Truck 1, 0 left
6273 Rock Island Refuge 1, 0 left
735 Basic (Electric Fire Truck) 1, 0 left
260 Idea book 4, 0 left
6949 Robo Guardian 4, 4 left
6097 Night-Lord's Castle 2, 2 left
1788 Pirate Treasure Chest 2, 0 left
6044 King's Carriage 4, 3 left
6036 Skeleton Surprise 4, 4 left
1843 Space/Castle Value Pack 4, 0 left
6615 Eagle Stunt Flyer 6, 6 left
6484 F1 Hauler 1, 0 left
6277 Imperial Trading Post 1, 0 left
6268 Renegade Runner 2, 0 left
6263 Imperial Outpost 3, 0 left
6899 Nebula Outpost 5, 3 left
6889 Recon Robot 1, 0 left
6340 Hook & Ladder 3, 1 left
6334 Wave Jump Racers 4, 4 left
6545 Search N' Rescue 2, 0 left
6442 Sting Ray Explorer 1, 1 left
6559 Deep Sea Bounty 3, 3 left
6338 Hurricane Harbour 2, 2 left
6441 Deep Reef Refuge 2, 2 left
6078 Royal Drawbridge 3, 0 left
6082 Fire Breathing Fortress 2, 0 left
6983 Ice Station Odyssey 3, 0 left
6280 Armada Flagship 1, 1 left
6271 Imperial Flagship 3, 0 left
6342 Reach Rescue Chopper 2, 1 left
1786 Jailbreak Joe 3, 0 left
6451 River Response 5, 5 left
6351 Surf n' Sail Camper 3, 0 left
6336 Launch Response Unit 2, 2 left
6331 Patriot Jet 3, 0 left
1721 Sandypoint Marina 3, 0 left
6462 Arial Recovery 3, 3 left
6879 Blizzard Baron 3, 0 left
8808 F1 Racer 1, 1 left
8720 Power Pack 1, 1 left
8816 Off-Road Rambler 1, 0 left
6261 Raft Raiders 3, 0 left
6038 Wolfpack Renegades 1, 0 left
6267 Lagoon Lock-up 1, 0 left
6755 Sheriff's Lock-up 5, 5 left
6799 Showdown Canyon 4, 4 left
6057 Sea Serpent 4, 0 left
815 Grey Baseplate many left
317 Basic 3, 2 left
517 Basic 4, 3 left
527 Basic 5, 4 left
834 Basic Bricks Yellow 3, 1 left
832 Basic Bricks Blue 1, 0 left
And several other small basic trial sets left
Finally - I am not affiliated with this store. This is not a sales-related
message, but rather an example of what might still be out there, if you look
hard enough.
Jeff J
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Town without AFOL's
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| (...) Would it be too much to ask to take a small order from you. I remember set # 6036 Skeleton Surprise (4, 4 left) being my all time fav' from childhood. If you should ever have the opportunity to return to that shop, could i send you the money (...) (21 years ago, 11-May-03, to lugnet.general, lugnet.market.shopping)
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