When you watch my videos, you will often hear me talk about my successes when it comes to buying and selling LEGO but I’ve also had a lot of missed opportunities along the way. The good news is that these missed opportunities have been invaluable learning experiences where I can look back and challenge myself on what I could have done differently.
Today I want to share some of those learning experiences with you. Here are my top five sets that I would have loved to have added to my inventory but did not.
5. LEGO Creator Maersk Line Triple-E 10241
When this LEGO set came out, I immediately thought that this was a dud but for some reason I couldn’t get it out of my mind. This was during the time when I was still a little bit “green” to reselling and I had visions of having a hundred of sets that nobody wanted to buy.
This wasn’t the first time that LEGO designed a set featuring the Maersk company, and with the movie Captain Phillips being centered around a Maersk ship, I definitely should have seen that the demand for this would be there. At the time this set did have the “Hard To Find” label on it but there was ample supply because this set simply wasn’t moving.
A few years after this set retired, I struck up a conversation with a gentleman at an airport who works for Maersk and I mentioned the LEGO set. He said that not only was he aware of the set, his company has a warehouse full of the set and they give them out for promotions, employment anniversaries, and gifts.
LEGO Creator Maersk Line Triple-E 10241 ROI 316%
4. Star Wars: Millennium Falcon 7965
As many know every couple of years LEGO releases a new Millennium Falcon design, so why is this the one that got away?
For me the $139.99 price point was very attractive, and the box wasn’t too large so it would be very manageable to store 100 units in the inventory.
This was also right before the Last Star Wars trilogy was to be released so I knew once the first trailer to Episode VII came out people would start to become very interested in this set (Episode VII sets were not being released).
In the end I was never able add this to my inventory. I have purchased other Millennium Falcon sets since then and have had a decent ROI but this will always be the one that got away.
Star Wars: Millennium Falcon 7965 ROI 224%
3. Fallingwater 21005
Having taken many school field trips to Falling Water as a child I knew what the potential value of this set was going to be. As you’ve likely realized by now, I love to have some connection to a set to really understand why the demand will exist. You just can’t think of Frank Lloyd Wright without thinking about his Iconic Falling Water design.
Even though I had no doubt of the investment potential I just didn’t have the capital to purchase it at the time.
What made my predicament even more agonizing was I knew of a warehouse that had 500 units just sitting there for anyone willing to purchase them. I did not have the skill set of raising capital early on in my reselling career, so it was a huge missed opportunity for me.
Fallingwater 21005 ROI 423%
2. Friends Stephanie’s House 41314
As soon as I saw this set I wanted as many as I could get my hands on.
The previous Friends house set, Emma’s House, was a set that I let didn’t have an opportunity to purchase so I made it a point to make sure I would purchase this one. I shared my excitement with every other reseller and even a few friends named Stephanie.
I knew I had a lot of time to pursue this set so I managed other priorities regarding my business. As time moved on, I kept pushing this set to the bottom of my purchasing list. I was receiving Architecture sets that were getting ready to or have already retired at a discounted price and eventually the supply on Stephanie’s House ended up drying up.
Even though it currently has a 84% ROI, it should have a strong performance during the next two Q4s.
Friend Stephanie’s House 41314 ROI 84%
1. Star Wars Poe’s X-Wing Fighter 75102
This was a set that I had absolutely no interest in purchasing when it was released.
I felt that with the numerous sets the new Star Wars trilogy would produce, the value of this set also would not have a significant return on investment. Despite this set being unique in that it is a black X-Wing, I still felt that there are too many X-Wing sets for it to have a strong return. Every time I would visit every big box chain this set was everywhere. Not only that it was heavily discounted as well.
Benny’s Spaceship, a set that I thought this was similar to did very poorly the first two years after it retires and I thought that Poe’s X-Wing Fighter was on the same track. Boy was I wrong!
While the RRP ROI is only 187%, I would have had a even greater ROI if I purchased this around $50 (which you can do if you know what you’re doing). There was a unlimited supply and I had the capital. I just didn’t pull the trigger.
Star Wars Poe’s X-Wing Fighter 75102 ROI 187%
Honorable Mentions – Should Have Bought More
I also want to give some honorable mentions for sets that I did buy, but wish that I bought more of.
More Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Boba Fett 75533
One day while at work I received a text from a reseller in my network who sent me a link to discounted Bubba Fett set that a big box retailer was selling online.
At first, I wasn’t too interested in the set because at the time the Star Wars theme didn’t interest me.
Eventually I concluded that this set was a good buy and I pulled the trigger on it. The problem was I did not order as much as I should have. At the time there was a unlimited amount of this set available and I had significant capital to invest in but because of my hesitance to put money into the Star Wars theme I didn’t order as many sets as I should have.
As you can see, it has done well!
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Boba Fett 75533 ROI 348%
More Architecture Studios 21050
Similar to the Bubba Fett set I did own this set and had a quite significant position, but opportunity did pass me buy.
One day I received a call from a LEGO buyer in my network and they mentioned that they had approximately 75 units that they needed to get rid of and they were willing to offer me a discounted price in order to move them. Regretfully I turned them down because it was still uncertain if this set was scheduled to retire.
I made an educated guess that it was going to retire and it did a few months later but there have been times in the past that I guessed wrong, Tower Bridge and T1 Camper for example and those sets were currently sitting on the shelf collecting dust. Instead I put the LEGO buyer in contact with another reseller from my network and he was able to benefit from my mistake.
Architecture Studio 21050 ROI224%
Challenge Yourself!
Each year I challenge myself to step away from my comfort zone and execute things I have not accomplished before.
Purchasing at least a small quantity of Poe’s X-Wing Fighters, increasing my position in Architecture Studio’s, and being resourceful enough to raise capital for Fallingwater early on in my reseller career are just a few examples.
What’s important is consistently giving yourself and your business critical feedback on ways to improve. That should intern grow your business exponentially.
I hope you found this insightful. If so, make sure to check us out on YouTube, where we give tons of more experience and strategies for LEGO reselling and investing. Also, we have a free Facebook group – join if you would like to learn from like-minded LEGO investors.
What were the ones that got away for you? Post a comment below!
