Investment Value: Helicarrrier Vs. Ghostbusters Firehouse

[Bryboy747]

I am Looking to buy either the Ghostbusters firehouse set or the Avengers Helicarrier set to keep unopened as an investment.

I am interested in your thought/opinions/information on the issue and wondering which one will be better for fairly short-term (3-5 years) investment value.

Any advice will be welcome and appreciated.

THANKS!

Edited February 10, 2016 by Hinckley
Please do not post your subject title in all caps. Thank you.

[CM4Sci]

A grey ship that doesn't necessarily do a lot with exclusive figures, or a giant dollhouse with 10..? exclusive figures, amazing colors, fun firepole, nostalgia-filled playset?

It's your choice entirely. I didn't particularly care for the Helicarrier.

Edited February 8, 2016 by CM4Sci

[Markalus]

Neither. If you are looking at these purely for financial gain (ie. no emotional investment) I would go for sets that a) don't come in enormous boxes (storage = money) and b) are at or near their EOL. Certain modulars come to mind and historically most Star Wars sets increase post retirement. Ghostbusters HQ will do very well, now is not the right time to buy though. It could still be available @ retail in the 3 year timeframe you specify.

[mediumsnowman]

Boring grey brick that does nothing

I liked the Helicarrier. Enough that I bought that one and I haven't bought the Firehouse... yet.

[BimmerBoy]

The Marvel movie universe will continue on for many, many years. People who missed out on the Lego helicarrier will get nostalgic after the next Iron Man or Captain America or Avengers movie (each one) and start looking for Lego Marvel sets. The helicarrier will be in demand. There is not really any new Ghostbusters material beyond the remake/sequel with the female ghostbusters coming out soon. People might forget about Ghostbusters. That said, the sheer number of pieces in the GB HQ will keep it noteworthy for a long time, as it only trails the Taj Mahal and UCS Millennium Falcon in that regard. I don't think you could go wrong either way, but as noted above, look for End Of Life before buying. The helicarrier has been out less than a year, and the HQ was just released.

My guess is the HQ might go for more money, but it will be harder to move for top dollar. The helicarrier won't go as high in value, but it will be easier to move at top dollar. If you are patient, go with HQ. If not, go with helicarrier.

[Bryboy747]

My guess is the HQ might go for more money, but it will be harder to move for top dollar. The helicarrier won't go as high in value, but it will be easier to move at top dollar. If you are patient, go with HQ. If not, go with helicarrier.

WOW!

Thanks for the info!

Very well thought out!

[JonnyYeti]

Ghost busters HQ I think...

[BlueberryWaffles]

Ghostbusters HQ. Ghostbusters is a classic. People will always want it. Plus it's minifig scaled. And it fits in with the Modulars, which are extremely popular.

[MAB]

I wouldn't buy either for short term investment now. They aren't expected to retire in the very near future and the current promos do nothing.

[Bryboy747]

Alright then. Thanks again for all the input.

If not the HQ or helicarier, what set or group of sets should i buy now for maximum gain ($350 budget)

Edited February 8, 2016 by Bryboy747

[Captain Pirate Man]

Speaking of investment value, do you guys think The Tower Bridge will someday go to the value of Effiel Tower or the Statue of Liberty sets?

[HawkLord]

Neither. Big box sets from the past couple years are not going to flip for that much. Lego boomed after 2014, and nearly all sets after that time period are not going to pop much after they retire. More people are in the game now than ever and that means more copies of sets on the aftermarket. The only Lego stuff really worth chasing after for profit are super exclusive stuff, like SDCC.

This is so much like Star Wars action figures in the 90s where everyone was out hording material waiting for it to pop and it never did.

[anothergol]

This is so much like Star Wars action figures in the 90s where everyone was out hording material waiting for it to pop and it never did.

I'd agree that Lego probably isn't the investment it used to be, since everyone jumped on it, however

-it's still a solid investment because Lego is timeless and even if someone doesn't earn anything, he's most likely not gonna -lose- anything (especially with modulars). And considering that these days money in a bank account gives you pretty much nothing, well..

-star wars toys are crap, but no one would sanely invest in entry-prices Lego boxes either, it's the big & limited stuff that's always interesting. Just like resin statues generally don't lose value.

And I agree with everyone (ah, apparently not), Ghostbosters is a fad (I can't imagine this reboot keeping the franchise alive for long), no one is gonna want it in a few years. And even for the parts, modulars are a better investment.

Edited February 8, 2016 by anothergol

[wgemini]

Neither. Big box sets from the past couple years are not going to flip for that much. Lego boomed after 2014, and nearly all sets after that time period are not going to pop much after they retire. More people are in the game now than ever and that means more copies of sets on the aftermarket. The only Lego stuff really worth chasing after for profit are super exclusive stuff, like SDCC.

This is so much like Star Wars action figures in the 90s where everyone was out hording material waiting for it to pop and it never did.

Do you still see the modulars to be up at least 50% after retirement though? Not much an investment for me, but I am wondering whether I can lower the cost of the modulars a bit by getting 2 of each and then sell one to fund the next one.

[HawkLord]

Most of the modulars that are really popping are older, like green grocer. As time goes by and people get savvy, the newer ones won't pop like that. Look at the Star Wars UCS MF - that thing goes for crazy amounts, while most UCS sets after that have not. Yes, there was a trend for old sets popping, but now it is not as much of a guarantee.

Edited February 8, 2016 by HawkLord

[Andy D]

I really question the value of LEGO as an investment. If one is investing in LEGO to make money you need to buy many sets and be prepared to store for a few years.

The resale is very tricky, some resellers are selling some older sets will remove the pieces and put pieces of lesser value in the box so the purchaser doesn't get what they paid for, then there's the rocks instead of LEGO and the most problematic is the purchaser who got the proper set and claims foul (rocks or wrong pieces) and the seller is left hanging.

If you decide to resell LEGO, just be careful who you buy from and who you sell to.

Just MHO, YMMV

Andy D

[MAB]

but no one would sanely invest in entry-prices Lego boxes either, it's the big & limited stuff that's always interesting.

They would. I just sold off my last Dino sets, the small sets sold very well. When you can pick up little sets like Wizard Battle for £4, it is very sane to invest in them. Small sets sell well to all budgets, don't take up much room and are often available at at least 50% off. So even 1.5x RRP means tripling your money.

[anothergol]

They would. I just sold off my last Dino sets, the small sets sold very well. When you can pick up little sets like Wizard Battle for £4, it is very sane to invest in them. Small sets sell well to all budgets, don't take up much room and are often available at at least 50% off. So even 1.5x RRP means tripling your money.

yeah, but how many will you have to sell to match just 1 large set?

Do you still see the modulars to be up at least 50% after retirement though? Not much an investment for me, but I am wondering whether I can lower the cost of the modulars a bit by getting 2 of each and then sell one to fund the next one.

I think that, as long as Lego keeps making modulars, there will be newcomers (like, myself, going back to Lego after 20 years) who will want older sets to complete the town.

They all connect together, so it's a big incentive for collecting. It's also still realistic to wanna have a full collection, whereas collecting every Lego SW is hopeless.

Sure Star Wars is a popular franchise, but if you're after an AT-AT or Millenium Falcon, there's a new one all the time, which is generally better than the previous ones (which is why UCS sets are a better choice), so there must be less people looking for old sets, except for those who wanna collect everything, there aren't that many.

Edited February 8, 2016 by anothergol

[Kretnica]

Neither will go up in value much due to number of sellers. There were numerous 'LEGO better investment than gold?'articles lately so everyone started buying exclusives like crazy.

Both sets could pull a Death Star and be available seemingly forever (5 years). So if you buy it now you will be losing money ( opportunity cost ).

I'd strongly suggest looking for other alternatives.. Only buy one of these huge sets if you plan to resell them locally in a very very short period of time (only works in an area where people have no other ways of obtaining such sets ).

Anyhow if you plan on reselling :

-always buy below msrp

-make sure the boxes are in great condition

-make sure you are buying with money you can afford to lose

Personally i'd invest in sets that no one else is buying (long term) and/or very popular sets that are constantly selling out (short term investment).

[MAB]

yeah, but how many will you have to sell to match just 1 large set?

I think that, as long as Lego keeps making modulars, there will be newcomers (like, myself, going back to Lego after 20 years) who will want older sets to complete the town.

They all connect together, so it's a big incentive for collecting. It's also still realistic to wanna have a full collection, whereas collecting every Lego SW is hopeless.

Sure Star Wars is a popular franchise, but if you're after an AT-AT or Millenium Falcon, there's a new one all the time, which is generally better than the previous ones (which is why UCS sets are a better choice), so there must be less people looking for old sets, except for those who wanna collect everything, there aren't that many.

How many large sets are you going to hold to ensure you get one that goes to 3x rrp.

Of course you have to sell more small sets to make the same amount of money, but small sets sell quite well as many people buy them. The number of people that will pay $600 for a $200 set if there are similar $200 sets available at retail is not so high. It probably won't be too long until they redo a modular. They might

not do a cafe corner again, but a cafe on a corner (and probably look better than the original, fitting in better with more recent modulars). Or another fire station in five years time. While you can still collect them all, I imagine some people will aim to have a nice display rather than a display of everything. A row of 12 looks good. Is it necessary to spend a grand getting an earlier one when you could buy four future ones for the same price?

[Bryboy747]

ok,

Now considering Tower Bridge and Sydney Opera House.

Any thoughts along those lines?

[geezerman402]

Tower Bridge has been available for foreeeeeeever, and I'm sure many people have stocked up on them already. So I think it won't increase an insane amount, and will probably take some time.

[santaends]

Go to brickpicker, we don't need your kind here.

In all honesty I will buy cmf box of 60 and keep it sealed. They double in value quicker than boxed sets.

[MAB]

Some CMF rise in value, but some cannot shift for RRP even years later.

[Robianco]

If you're going for purely investment then maybe pick up a couple of the Pet Shop Modular as that must be nearing the end of it's shelf life now. But as others have said the Modular gravy train must be close to ending thanks to people wanting the Green Grocer windfall over and over again.

Look for unique parts. Helicarrier has most of the minifigs available elsewhere so they're not going to improve the value much... I also don't think it's that great looking but that's a personal thing.

GBHQ seems like it would have a wider appeal as both a licensed GB set and as a large modular building... it also has unique prints and moulds on the figs so as long as they don't get released elsewhere should have their own inherent resale value.