Subject:
|
Re: Insane prices.... nothing new
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.market.theory
|
Date:
|
Tue, 11 Jan 2000 12:57:03 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
296 times
|
| |
|
|
D. Jezek wrote in message ...
> In lugnet.market.theory, John DiRienzo writes:
> > A sealed Lego Castle (6081 or 6086) sold for $800 in one of Matt Chiles
> > past auctions, and I don't think we have seen any price like that in the
> > past year!
>
> 800 bucks for a 6086? Wow! That must have happened during my dark ages.
> Matt's final auction bids are insane because he has a well established
> reputation over the years and also includes free shipping and insurance. • So
> if you buy something from him, you're 100% sure it will arrive as
described.
I remember paying him for shipping, but your right - he has a great
reputation, and, at the time, he had far and away the best selection of sets
in his auctions. eBay seems to have eliminated his "cornering" of the
market - not that his "monopoly" was a bad thing, I think it was natural.
And the market worked itself out (evolved into a more efficient market), for
the better, thankfully.
> The supply and demand are interesting.
> By the way how's this for comparison?
> http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231247506
> http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231249212
> Blacktron Renegade and Message Intercept Base selling for the same price.
Thats what I meant by inconsistency! My point is that overall, Lego is
much easier to find these days, and in many cases (if you do some work),
cheaper, too.
> Also for an interesting fact, I bought an unopened red beard runner on eBay
> for $81. In my large pirate auction, it was sold opened for $152.50 which • was
> more than a near-mint black seas barracuda went for ($148.01).
I think the more recently discontinued a set is, the more chance of
massive price variations and valuations by individuals. I have sold at
least a dozen RBRs, and the price differences are shocking. IMO, the reason
is because there are a lot more of the recently discontinued sets still
around than sets that were discontinued 5 or 10 years ago. There are more
of the newer sets on the market, and so the amount of time one spends
pursuing the set has a great effect on the final price he pays. Some are
willing to spend a lot and do little work, while others are willing to put
in some effort to save a lot - it all depends on how much one values his $.
> The bearded runner had a box but still, it looks good displayed in a dark
> closet while the BSB would look great displayed anywhere and is a 10 times • as
> good of a model as the 6289 is. I don't understand what people see in the
RBR.
I have a few assumptions about the recent slump on the BSB prices. I
think it is normally selling for half of what it sold for a year ago. We
can thank eBay for that, too. Before eBay got a Lego category, finding a
BSB was actually very difficult and expensive. With the category added to
eBay, people began to realize they could sell their old Lego for pretty good
prices. I never really thought the BSB could be that rare (perhaps, sealed,
but not used) - it was the original "flagship" set of the Pirates theme, and
must have been sold in mass quantities during its first couple years. I
think the people who got those as a kid are now realizing they can sell them
(primarily because of eBay), and at this point in their lives (Dark Ages)
consider cash more valuable than Lego. I think eventually the price will go
back up, after the NLPs (aka mundanes :-) ) sell off the BSBs and they
become harder to find again. I think in five or ten years, the BSB will be
the most desirable Pirates set, by far, especially compared to the RBR.
I think a lot of people don't realize how much better the BSB is in
comparison to the RBR, and see the RBR as a better value than the BSB.
Plus, a few of the people buying the RBR already have the BSB, and are just
completing their collection before the RBR price goes up any higher (which I
doubt it will continue to do for long).
A similar situation exists with 6080 and 6085 - they can't truly be rare
in used condition (tons were made and sold). Most of the 6080s are probably
already in the hands of collectors (or Lego fans, at least) instead of the
original hands who let them go during their Dark Ages. The 6085 is probably
in the same position as the 6285 right now, being bought up by Castle fans
from the NLPs who don't need them. Eventually there won't be many left
besides those owned by collectors, and they will be harder to buy (more
expensive, harder to find). The 6080 is already less common than the 6085,
and I think the price on both of these will rise steadily. Both had dropped
in price during the past year, too, but the 6080 is selling for about the
same amount it did a year ago, while the 6085 is still catching up.
As the prices started to drop last summer, and the market still grew, I
thought it was a very good time to be buying Lego. I think most of the
stuff out there is being bought to keep, which means its going to be a lot
pricier when the supply dries up. My advice, get them before the hoarders
have them all! The people hoarding aren't willing to pay ~that much~ for
any old set (although certain people will always pay pretty penny for that
certain something), so you can still get a fair deal, but once most of the
supply is in hoarders' or collectors' hands, it will be much harder to find
good deals. Look at vintage Star Wars toys, comics, baseball cards, stamps,
etc, if you disagree.
Further, it is a fact that there is profit in selling old stock these
days, but the supply of old stock is drying up pretty quickly, too. Notice
I haven't sold too much (well, a little - what I can get my hands on) really
old good (interesting, collectible) stuff on eBay lately, as its gotten a
lot harder to find and more expensive over the past year alone.
For those complaining about insane eBay prices, I say love it while it
lasts, we are in a buyers market, for now, but probably not much longer. If
a price is insane, don't bid - wait for another, if you think there is a
reasonable chance there will be another. I am talking about old sets,
primarily. Who knows how long insane prices for recently discontinued and
currently available sets will last, probably longer than with the older
sets, until a more efficient marketing device than eBay is initiated.
Although most of us have not liked the idea of a price guide all along, I
think we will be seeing one (in some form) soon, FBOW. That could alleviate
some of the insanity regarding new sets, but at the same time, may hinder
the accessibility to old sets, if its not accurate (and how could it be 100%
accurate?!) People tend to read price guides incorrectly, too. Anyway,
enough. Thanks for reading.
--
Have fun!
John
The Legos you've been dreaming of...
http://www114.pair.com/ig88/lego
my weird Lego site:
http://www114.pair.com/ig88/
"Censorship is yet another tool in the dumbing-down of America
by a power structure that relies on a populace too lazy or ignorant
to think independently." -Vanessa McGrady
|
|
Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Insane prices.... nothing new
|
| (...) I sometimes wonder how long the people who marvel at the "outrageous" eBay prices have actually been following Lego prices. Sure, there are exceptions where people pay way more than they need to but as a rule discontinued Lego sets are much (...) (24 years ago, 11-Jan-00, to lugnet.market.theory)
| | | Re: Insane prices.... nothing new
|
| John DiRienzo wrote in message ... (...) eBay (...) reason (...) Part of the problem is uneducated buyers not realizing how many of these are out there (and not knowing that people bought them for bargain prices - I'm a lot less willing to bid up (...) (24 years ago, 11-Jan-00, to lugnet.market.theory)
|
Message is in Reply To:
11 Messages in This Thread:
  
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
This Message and its Replies on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
