WILD WEST sets wanted, high prices paid !!!

[Brick Miner]

ok, this is very untraditional for me, but im getting desperate. these sets are getting ridiculously hard to find !!! i am looking to add a couple sets to my SEALED IN MINT (OR NEAR MINT) BOX COLLECTION. this is different from a MISB set... note, the box must be mint or near mint. that means no price tags, or evidence of one being removed. no major dents, creases, color loss, folds, scuffs, pin holes, etc... minor color loss is acceptable (usually due to shelf wear). and slightly blunted corners are also acceptable. any slight wear and tear is acceptable (i am realistic).

here is a list of sets i am interested in, along with a price i will pay in USD.

wild west set 6769 (fort legoredo) = 200.00

wild west set 6765 (gold city junction) = 180.00

wild west set 6761 (bandits secret hideout) = 120.00

wild west set 6755 (sheriff

[Sonny]

@Brick Miner

I have allmost al the western sets with the boxes in good condition. But can you tell me whats the differents between usa boxes and europion boxes? Mabay i can help you out.

[Kikuichimonji]

American sets have "Building Toy" or something similar and the number of pieces on it (under the setnumber/name).

[Brick Miner]

American sets have "Building Toy" or something similar and the number of pieces on it (under the setnumber/name).

to be honest, i haven't looked at those specifications to see if they apply.

but here is a sure fire way of telling...

if the box says "wild west" in the top right triangle, its a north american version of the set.

if the box says "western" in the top right triangle, its european.

if i could get all of these from one seller, that would be great, so let me know !!!

[Sonny]

I'm sorry i can't help you out. I have all the boxes but there the EU version :-$

[Brick Miner]

ah, that is too bad sonny... but thanks for checking.

the european verions of the sets are very common in good condition, anyone know why or have a theroy ??? i have seen multiple copies of the european ones for sale in near mint condition (just in the past three months). as many as 10-15 fort legoredos and 5-10 bandit secret hidout, all in near mint to mint !!!

i have been tracking them and they are all over the interenet, and the north american verions are very rare in near mint condition !!!

- brick miner

[snefroe]

ah, that is too bad sonny... but thanks for checking.

the european verions of the sets are very common in good condition, anyone know why or have a theroy ??? i have seen multiple copies of the european ones for sale in near mint condition (just in the past three months). as many as 10-15 fort legoredos and 5-10 bandit secret hidout, all in near mint to mint !!!

i have been tracking them and they are all over the interenet, and the north american verions are very rare in near mint condition !!!

- brick miner

Because they didn't do very well in Europe? The wild west theme in general doesn't seem very popular anymore, so why would it be any different with lego sets?

[Brick Miner]

i hope that is true, and i can end up finding these sets at a price lower than what i am willing to pay !!!

i had no idea the western theme didn't do well in europe... i have always been told that europeans love old west movies and memorabilia ??? which i never would have suspected, living in the states.

thanks !!!

[snefroe]

i hope that is true, and i can end up finding these sets at a price lower than what i am willing to pay !!!

i had no idea the western theme didn't do well in europe... i have always been told that europeans love old west movies and memorabilia ??? which i never would have suspected, living in the states.

thanks !!!

well how many traditional wild west films of the last 20 years do you remember? At best, you get these highly critical or alternative movies like "dances with wolves" or "Brokeback mountain"... Besides, few producers of wild west toys, culture in whatever form, feel comfortable with the classic element of the theme: cowboys <-> indians...

Lego and Europe are no different, they're probably even more critical about American history than ever before...

[Brick Miner]

well how many traditional wild west films of the last 20 years do you remember? At best, you get these highly critical or alternative movies like "dances with wolves" or "Brokeback mountain".

ok, but im not total sold on your reasonings... comparibly, LEGO pirates have always done very well, and their are just as few movies about them... im not sure hollywood is the only element at play here. i don't think its that simple.

but again, i only asked the question... and i admit to not knowing much about this subject (the european market that is).

what i do know is that i like these sets, and hopefully i can find them !!!

their was a post in the castle and pirates forum recently (last week), that said the western sets are very hard to find and sell extremely well in the secondary market (one of these best themes actually)... that is really what influenced me in starting this thread. i guess you could say i didn't want to be left behind, getting these sets only after prices had risen !!!

anyway, if anyone else has any leads, keep me posted !!! brickminer

[WesternOutlaw]

Brick Miner: I purchased a Gold City Junction and the Bandit's Secret Hideout (North American version) before Christmas time around $80 - $100 each on Ebay. While I think this was pricey, both sets are well worth the money (in my opinion), because I love the sets and wanted a 2nd set. I recommend you keep checking Ebay and you will find them.

I agree with Snefroe though regarding the lack of popularity with Wild West these days. Western movies are just not popular anymore in movies and culture. The old cowboy actors are dying off and the generation that once found the tough and lonely smoking cowboy a strong icon, has now been replaced by a liberal generatiion that would rather see the secret love affair between two cowhands.

It is unfortunate, but Westerns are a dying theme with just a handful of even average movies released in the past few years.

But at the same time, I was talking to a Lego rep a few weeks ago who indicated that Lego still gets a lot of people asking for Western sets to be re-released or for Lego to make new WW sets. *sweet*. I would love to see them pop up again and would buy every set all over again or other new sets if not like the 4+ theme Lego did with pirates.

[snefroe]

well, i'm not sure pirates sold very well either. I don't have any statistics on sales and, i'm afraid to say, i'm not always right on observations of current sales... :-$ However, I do think a pirates theme has more chances of becoming popular because it's politically neutral, basically harmless and all you need is a great actor like Johnny Depp to bring it back alive...

Western sets are highly priced because there's high demand, i don't know if they're popular with the general lego fan...

I mean, the production number was quite low and the production run was rather short, so in any case, supply on the 2nd hand market will be quite low, pushing price up. so maybe you have a relatively small group of die hard fans who are willing to spend quite a lot of money on them, like you, for instance...

[WesternOutlaw]

Keep asking Lego for these themes and maybe one day, we will see them again.

[Brick Miner]

wow !!! i just got outbid on a bandits secret hidout 6765 @ 162.00 USD on ebay... its the first one i've seen in a near mint box in this year !!! im really convinced these sets are becoming serious collectors items !!!

I purchased a Gold City Junction and the Bandit's Secret Hideout (North American version) before Christmas time around $80 - $100 each on Ebay. While I think this was pricey, both sets are well worth the money (in my opinion), because I love the sets and wanted a 2nd set. I recommend you keep checking Ebay and you will find them.

thanks for the encouragement, but i think you might have gotten a great deal brickster... that is, if those sets you purchased were in near mint to mint condition. prices ive see this year are way above 80-100 dollars !!!

However, I do think a pirates theme has more chances of becoming popular because it's politically neutral, basically harmless and all you need is a great actor like Johnny Depp to bring it back alive...

ah, this is a very good point !!! but a very good point as to why LEGO wouldn't bring back the western line... what i see is a secondary market dollar value increase, at least here in the states. just because LEGO wont rerelease the line, doesn't mean the prereleased sets aren't valuable.

the prices i listed above may be too low !!! brickminer

[WesternOutlaw]

Wow! And I thought what I paid was pricey. They were MISB. Only a little shelf wear, but boxes were good. One label was either cut/loose, and you could open the box, but all items were sealed in bags. Both were very good.

I'd still keep looking and I think over $100 for either set is too much.

[snefroe]

Wow! And I thought what I paid was pricey. They were MISB. Only a little shelf wear, but boxes were good. One label was either cut/loose, and you could open the box, but all items were sealed in bags. Both were very good.

I'd still keep looking and I think over $100 for either set is too much.

well, Brick Miner is right, these sets are extremely rare, so 160$ is a logical result. I wouldn't do it either, but then, i'm not really a western fan... I'm also not sure if ebay is a good source if you're not prepared to go "all the way". Ebay is well known by know and many fans are probably searching the site on a daily basis...

One question, tho:

when did the bidding really start? Was it an hour before closing or sooner?

[natelite]

I recently started ebaying and I have lost on all my bids at the last minute (usually like 15 mins before ending) which was extremely annoying. I am almost incline to think there's price gouging happening.

I was bidding on the more popular star wars sets but they were hardly rares as I would think lego made plenty of them. In fact, 7264 is still selling in europe. Do I really have to go to europe to buy them? Does tru uk ship overseas? :P

[Brick Miner]

ya, last minute bidding (less than 1 minute) has become a staple for ebay users. i always thought i had the advantage though, because i work from home. so, id always be able to plan my bidding when the auction closed. where as others might be at work, or whatever, and might miss the closing.

well, i guess for this auction i didn't have the advantage. we happened to be installing vonage (internet based phone service) on my computer that night. so, i had to bid 5 minutes before the auction closed. i put in a bid of 155.00 USD, just to be sure... (the current bid was 88.00 USD). i was the high bidder, up until the last 30 seconds left to go... when i was outbid @ 157.50... so i upped my bid to 160.00 (it wasn't high enough), then i lost when the auction closed and i ran out of time.

I recently started ebaying and I have lost on all my bids at the last minute (usually like 15 minutes before ending) which was extremely annoying. I am almost incline to think there's price gouging happening.

yes, if you are bidding on a competitively priced item, or an item that rarely comes on the market, you probably wont win unless you watch the bidding end during the last minute. as a good rule of thumb for highly desirable items, id say that prices double during the last minute.

Wow! And I thought what I paid was pricey. They were MISB. Only a little shelf wear, but boxes were good. One label was either cut/loose, and you could open the box, but all items were sealed in bags. Both were very good.

ah, yes... that was the difference, brickster... the condition of the box can drive the price up considerably. and the difference between a seal being intact or loose can mean huge differences in price. for example, i placed my bid on the 6761 @ 160.00 last night. the box was perfect with no price sticker or evidence of one being removed. now, i have a 6761 for sale in my bricklink store for 85.00 USD. my copy for sale is MISB with the box being near mint (except for with three price stickers on it, two on the front, and one on the back). both copies are the north american version of the set. so, in this case, three price stickers make the difference of 75 dollars to me !!!

see i have a copy of all the western sets opened... and i have a second copy of most still sealed in their boxes. but only a couple of those MISB sets have mint boxes... see, im looking to collect a SEALED IN MINT (OR NEAR MINT) BOX set !!! that is all the western sets in pristine condition (no price tags, no major wear, and all seals still intact). i new it would be expensive when i started it... but i figured selling some of my non-mint box versions would give me some extra spending money... well, after seeing a 6761 go for 160.00, i realize i might not have enough dough !!!

anyway, ya... a MISB 6761 that is not in a mint or near mint box will go for around 80-90 dollars, i have one for sale right now !!! but one that is in a mint box is going to go for about double that !!! well, that is what i found out last night anyway !!!

- brickminer

[WesternOutlaw]

While I only buy MISB sets over EBay, because I don't want open/loose pieces that have been "played with", I am willing to accept sets with boxes that are not perfect. You have to ask yourself if you're buying Lego or the box?

So basically, you already have a new unopened set (or a few), but want a box that looks like Lego SAH just shipped it (free of stickers or marks). Good luck.

[natelite]

Yup. Right now I have drastically reduced my expectation and started bidding on used items too as long as the seller feedback is high and the description was "assembled once by an adult owner in a smoke-free home for display only." I figure the premium for a misb is only like $5-10 for ME. Afterall, once I open the box the value declined immediately. If it was only assembled once (this is based absolutely on the seller's reputation hence I only bid on high feedback sellers) I think it should matter little. It's like the difference between a virgin and a non-virgin. As long as it is not heavily used, I don't mind it being slightly used but that's just me. :/

[Brick Miner]

ok, i got the BANDITS SECRET HIDEOUT 6761 on ebay in a great condition with no price tags... seller said it came straight from a factory sale... simply perfect, except for the price... 200 USD !!!

anyway, im still looking for the rest...

- brickminer

[Brick Miner]

im still looking for these sets...

wild west set 6769 (fort legoredo)

wild west set 6765 (gold city junction)

wild west set 6755 (sheriff

[Jipay]

I'd suggest you to browse Ebay France. They are often selling WW sets for a decent price !

[jamtf]

I only have 6765 MI(S)B (box seals broken) and 6764 MISB (re-release of 6755). The first one was purchased last year in the UK, the latter was bought couple weeks ago as new old stock in a Dutch toy store!

Unfortunately, both are European "Western" versions, something you do not want. Do not forget that the European sets such as Legoredo and 6765 have the shooting cannons which is a premium. Good luck with the search.

By the way, I am new here (European) and I happen to like western sets. It reminds me of the Clint Eastwood movies from the early 1970s and of course the classic Once upon a time in the west.

[Brick Miner]

HELLO jamtf !!! thanks for the reply !!! and thanks for checking your western (WW) sets for me.

check this out... i would never have believed this, but a toy collector that lives about 30 minutes from me heard i was looked for NEAR PREFECT copies of north american versions of these sets. well, he drove down and came to my house with almost every western, pirate, and adventurers (desert) set !!! it was an unbelieveable find !!! AND IT WAS IN MY HOUSE !!!

however (unlike how he was advertising) a lot were not NEAR PREFECT. none had price tags (which is huge for the collection im trying to put together) but some had surface wear (most was pretty minimal, but im picky).

anyway, i picked up all the WW sets, and my SEALED in MINT-box collection is now only missing 6769 !!!

i wish i had money for his pirate sets also ;-)

and surprisingly, some of his adventure sets were overseas versions *wacko* so i didn't get those.

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in any case, if you enjoy these sets, definitely check out the History & Adventure forum. me and a couple other members try to keep the WW a close (and dear) memory *wub*

- BrickMiner