Hello there, it's been pretty quiet huh? So, in 2016 I neglected getting some of the BIONICLE sets then, for a number of reasons, and I was recently looking into rectifying that on eBay and Bricklink. I found that- more than the 2015 sets and even years prior to that- the prices for the 2016 figures are ridiculous. Like, even used figures I see at $40-50 regularly, and the only decently priced ones are bootlegs from China . Don't even get me started on the mint ones. So... what gives? Why are people asking so much for these figures in particular? Ah well, thank you and have a good one!

This is something that has also confused me. If Bionicle G2 really sold as badly as people claim it had, why would it be so expensive on the aftermarket? I mean seriously, who would be crazy enough to pay 100$ on a 2016 Beast from Amazon?

I'd assume it means they weren't sold as widely as the 2015 figures, and were therefore harder to find, which doesn't speak well of LEGO's management or support of the theme.

11 hours ago, JoeyB said:

I'd assume it means they weren't sold as widely as the 2015 figures, and were therefore harder to find, which doesn't speak well of LEGO's management or support of the theme.

Yeah, but even the 2015 ones are quite pricey, even if not as much as the 2016 ones.

On 7/7/2019 at 11:34 AM, Lego David said:

This is something that has also confused me. If Bionicle G2 really sold as badly as people claim it had, why would it be so expensive on the aftermarket?

It is all about supply and demand now, not how well it sold when it was a retail set. High prices mean higher demand than supply.

If something doesn't sell very well, then people tend not to invest in it. If they were selling well at retail, then resellers would have bought many sets to put away for future sale, meaning reasonable stock would be available now and that means not too high prices as multiple sellers would have them. That would have given resellers reliable returns, but they woldn't be great returns as many people would be selling them. Whereas if they don't sell well at retail and go on clearance, then people will buy them when they are cheap but not for the sets, but instead to part out to get a reasonably fast return from the parts rather than the sets (as few people wanted the sets). So presumably there are not many complete new sets saved, hence they are expensive now.

The second wave of The Hobbit sets were apparently not selling well in the UK, so much that many stores reduced the final wave to 50% off within weeks of release. I bought a number of Lonely Mountain sets for £50 a piece. These were not selling at RRP (£100) at the time but it was easy to make money quickly by parting out Smaug and the minifigures for quick sales (those got you your money back and a little profit) and then slower sales for the remaining parts. The quick initial return meant it was good to part out if you wanted fast cashflow but also meant many of these sets were bought and opened. Whereas now, the set can sell for 4-5 times what I paid for them, simply because there are not many sealed ones left.