Collecting MISB sets

[Lyichir]

I don't, but my dad does occasionally. He was peeved when my little brother opened and built his two original, numbered Santa Fe Super Chiefs, to say the least.

[Andy D]

I don't collect MSIB per-se. That said, I do have 20 or so sets still in boxes. The reason for this is, when I see sets I like, I know that if I do on buy them while they are available it will cost much more later. Many sets I get on sale, some I get first day or soon there after, just to make sure I don't forget.

I have no problems with people who buy multiples and sit on them to sell later. I have several sets that are from a few years ago, and if someone had not bought them and sat on them only to sell later I would not have them.

Two instances where I really wanted a set but could not find them at a reasonable price was the Cafe Corner and the Green Grocer. I ended up getting most of the parts on Bricklink (still spent more than I would have liked) and in some instances I substituted a part of a different color than was original so I could complete the model. To me it is not always about the original color but the design and a pleasing color.

Some folks like to collect things, either parts or sets, some people even collect coins or stamps. Collecting parts or unopened sets is kind of like collecting coins stamps, art or whatever, everybody approaches and gets satisfaction out of their hobby differently . Me, I find LEGO relaxing while building. I like to build sets, some I keep assembled quite awhile, some I only keep assembled a short time before I part them out for other projects. I am still somewhat new to LEGO, so I still learn quite a bit from building sets so I will be able to incorporate the techniques into my own creations.

Oh yeah, I don't keep the empty boxes, they were just the container, though there is some great art on the boxes, just no room.

Andy D

Edited September 22, 2011 by Andy D

[Eilif]

Got no problem with those who do.

However, I'm a MOC'er and I don't personally see any point to LEGO's sitting in the box or remaining in their original configuration for extended periods of time. I build nearly all the sets I buy, but I toss the boxes and it's a rare set that lasts for more than a few months on the display shelf before being canibalized for parts and sorted into my collection.

A few times I've come across old sets with their original boxes at resale, garage sales, etc. These I will build and sometimes sell to members of my train club. I realize the relative rarity of these sets-with-boxes and as well as the cash infusion, it's nice to know they're going to a home where they will be appreciated.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

When I look for a set, even if it is discontinued, I try to get it MISB, if I can afford it.

...if I buy a MISB set, I open it! There's nothing like opening a box that has been sealed for decades. And I don't feel bad at all: since I would never sell it, I don't mind it losing commercial value. But you get play value and you get to see it displayed.

OccasionallyI win a MISB auction for older sets but, only small cheap ones like this little guy from '96. I paid $2 + $2 to ship.

I will open that later for my new city. However, if I bought aset much larger, like 2150/4554 Train/Metro Station, I don't think I would, orshould I say could, open it. Not that I would plan on reselling it either. I'dprobably end up buying a second opened copy. I would have plenty enjoymentdisplaying decade plus old, unopened set.

[Justin1]

sometimes when a set arrives and it is really nice condition i just cannot open it and buy another one instead, i mostly buy older star wars sets when they were neater boxes, not so bothered about newer ones

[Karto]

Perhaps you can dial down the indignation and read again what I wrote, including the bits where I make it clear that I am writing from my perspective, as somebody who enjoys building with the stuff far more than looking at it stored in boxes. You know, the bits you edited out when you quoted me. I've tried to imagine what it would be like to have a large collection of MISB sets, but all I could imagine myself doing is ripping them open to build something. I don't see the attraction of collecting MISB sets and I don't understand why you see that as an insult.

I never wrote that I think my way of enjoying a toy is better than somebody else's. That's your interpretation. As far as I am concerned, you can enjoy your hobby any way you like.

Ralph

Well I've read your post again and it doesn't really change my interpretation (scuse my English ). I just want to point that there is quite a difference between saying: "I prefer building" and "I prefer building and I don't understand how you can prefer to store boxes and might so be missing the whole point of LEGO" (atleast, that's what I read). That comes indeed from your perspective, but it feels more like you're giving your opinion about someone else.

I'll try to explain myself by using a similar statement from my perspective: I realy like to collect complete original sets and in fact I don't really get it how you can spend hours building horrible things, then posting pictures, hoping to get a lot of positive comments and starting all over again. Doesn't that sound, well... a bit unfair?

I didn't really want to point your post in particular neither did I want to sound harsh (seems I usually do ), but I rather looked to make a general statement (as Johnnyvgoode refered to at the end of his initial post). Strange enough, almost every time we are speaking about collecting sealed sets, we get proses on the 'purpose of LEGO' or on how people don't understand this way of collecting (an opinion always comes from a personal perspective). In fact, there's nothing to understand.

Peace and love my friend.

[CMP]

There were only 3 sets I didn't build, and left in the box for a while. The UCS AT-ST, Jedi Starfighter/Hyperdrive, and the B-wing. I later dumped them straight into the parts bin.

So...nope. If I knew Ebay a little bit better, I woulda kept the AT-ST and tried selling it. That's the only real time I wish I was an Ebay seller/MISB collector.

[Trent]

I think some of it is lack of understanding - I can appreciate that someone else might like to have a row of MISB sets up on a shelf, but because I take my enjoyment out of putting the bricks together, I don't fully understand why someone would just look at the boxes. That's not to say you can't do it, or you're wrong for doing it - but just that I don't understand it.

I can understand (although I don't really agree with it) people buying MISB to sell on; you're making yourself a middle man in a retail situation if you didn't ever intend to build it and hoping to make a profit from it - and I can understand owning a set that you didn't get around to building (life does sometimes get in the way), discovering that it's leapt up in price and you feel that you'd be best off selling it and reinvesting the money in other sets.

...but I don't really understand buying MISB secondhand. It's always nice to build with new bricks, but I think I would be fearful that the box didn't contain Lego. It always crosses my mind when you hear stories of MISB collectors getting a new secondhand MISB set - if nobody has ever opened it, how do you know it's Lego in it?

It's a bit of a Schrödinger's cat situation...

[Andy D]

I think some of it is lack of understanding - I can appreciate that someone else might like to have a row of MISB sets up on a shelf, but because I take my enjoyment out of putting the bricks together, I don't fully understand why someone would just look at the boxes. That's not to say you can't do it, or you're wrong for doing it - but just that I don't understand it.

I can understand (although I don't really agree with it) people buying MISB to sell on; you're making yourself a middle man in a retail situation if you didn't ever intend to build it and hoping to make a profit from it - and I can understand owning a set that you didn't get around to building (life does sometimes get in the way), discovering that it's leapt up in price and you feel that you'd be best off selling it and reinvesting the money in other sets.

...but I don't really understand buying MISB secondhand. It's always nice to build with new bricks, but I think I would be fearful that the box didn't contain Lego. It always crosses my mind when you hear stories of MISB collectors getting a new secondhand MISB set - if nobody has ever opened it, how do you know it's Lego in it?

It's a bit of a Schrödinger's cat situation...

For some people LEGO may not be their hobby. Buying and selling on eBay may be their hobby, and LEGO is what they buy and sell. For them the challenge of seeing if they can make a profit is where they get a thrill out of their hobby.

I have absolutely no problem with these people. I have several sets I would not have, because someone buys and sells LEGO on eBay (thank you).

As for the amount they ask and sell the sets for... If it is more than I want to pay, I look elsewhere and let someone else pay their price.

I have 4 Technic sets that I bought, fully intending to build them, but my interests have changed, so I am now considering eBay to sell them so I can get something else that I may like. If I can make a few dollars that just helps someone who would not otherwise have the set and I can buy more of my new interest.

We all approach our hobbies differently whether it is LEGO or collecting stamps or the chase on eBay.

Andy D

[Trent]

Well, quite - but both of those things that you've described come under the second paragraph of my post: buying intending to sell on, and buying to build but the build not happening, so you end up selling on.

What I was saying was that I don't understand people keeping MISB boxes and intending never to open them. That's where there's a paradox, because the value is in the belief that the Lego is in the box - the Lego doesn't have to be in the box to command a high price; there just has to be confidence in the product. What other people do with their money is totally up to them, but I just figure that if you never intend to take the bricks out of the box and you're a collector rather than a seller...then it doesn't really matter what's in the box (because you'll never know)...

[Andy D]

Well, quite - but both of those things that you've described come under the second paragraph of my post: buying intending to sell on, and buying to build but the build not happening, so you end up selling on.

What I was saying was that I don't understand people keeping MISB boxes and intending never to open them. That's where there's a paradox, because the value is in the belief that the Lego is in the box - the Lego doesn't have to be in the box to command a high price; there just has to be confidence in the product. What other people do with their money is totally up to them, but I just figure that if you never intend to take the bricks out of the box and you're a collector rather than a seller...then it doesn't really matter what's in the box (because you'll never know)...

The "never opened MSIB" is just like a stamp or a coin or art collection... Something to look at and I can understand looking at art. But, I too would rather build my LEGO than look at the boxes.

Hopefully if you buy it direct from LEGO the set contents are as listed. I can see where you are coming from on the MSIB purchased from the secondary market (eBay, Bricklink, etc.).

For all the MSIB collectors who purchase from the secondary market... Hopefully the cat is alive.

Andy D

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Well, quite - but both of those things that you've described come under the second paragraph of my post: buying intending to sell on, and buying to build but the build not happening, so you end up selling on.

What I was saying was that I don't understand people keeping MISB boxes and intending never to open them. That's where there's a paradox, because the value is in the belief that the Lego is in the box - the Lego doesn't have to be in the box to command a high price; there just has to be confidence in the product. What other people do with their money is totally up to them, but I just figure that if you never intend to take the bricks out of the box and you're a collector rather than a seller...then it doesn't really matter what's in the box (because you'll never know)...

You do make a fair point. I've always thought that if I have a box and never open it, and the box has no parts in display (like many of the 80s and 90s sets), then there's not that much difference to me if the box was empty.

However, I do understand that many do see a difference between having an empty Lego box and having a sealed box full of Lego. Old sealed sets do look beautiful after all, even in their boxes. Of course, that is not to say that I prefer the look of the boxes rather than the look of the sets.

[Ralph_S]

Well I've read your post again and it doesn't really change my interpretation (scuse my English ). I just want to point that there is quite a difference between saying: "I prefer building" and "I prefer building and I don't understand how you can prefer to store boxes and might so be missing the whole point of LEGO" (atleast, that's what I read). That comes indeed from your perspective, but it feels more like you're giving your opinion about someone else.

I'll try to explain myself by using a similar statement from my perspective: I realy like to collect complete original sets and in fact I don't really get it how you can spend hours building horrible things, then posting pictures, hoping to get a lot of positive comments and starting all over again. Doesn't that sound, well... a bit unfair?

That's not a similar statement at all. Unlike in your statement, there was no judgement in what I wrote.

"I really like to collect complete original sets and in fact I don't really get it how you can spend hours building things, then posting pictures, hoping to get a lot of positive comments and starting all over again", without the 'horrible', would have been similar.

In response I would have explained to you that I really like the creative process and the challenge of trying to figure out how to make something, that I enjoy buying parts thinking about what I want to do with them and that although I like getting comments, I was building long before EB existed and would very likely still be building if it didn't exist, simply because I enjoy building so much. I would also have explained that I enjoy looking at a collection of models that I built and that are unique. I would try to explain what's fun for me. I'd also try to convince you to have a go yourself, because I think building is so much fun and reckon you might enjoy it too if you gave it a go. Do you actually build stuff yourself?

I didn't really want to point your post in particular neither did I want to sound harsh (seems I usually do ), but I rather looked to make a general statement (as Johnnyvgoode refered to at the end of his initial post). Strange enough, almost every time we are speaking about collecting sealed sets, we get proses on the 'purpose of LEGO' or on how people don't understand this way of collecting (an opinion always comes from a personal perspective). In fact, there's nothing to understand.

Peace and love my friend.

If you didn't want to point at it, perhaps you shouldn't have quoted parts of my post as an example.

Try, if you like, to look at this from the perspective of somebody who builds and who likes getting his hands on LEGO parts to do new things with. If you were in that position, wouldn't you feel that leaving them in a box is really just a bit of shame? You compared collecting LEGO to collecting paintings. If I use that analogy, looking at LEGO as the medium to create new things with, you're collecting pots of paint. Alternatively, if your focus is on the model, I'm a painter. I make my own paintings. I'm pretty sure there are few painters who collect paintings made by somebody else.

There is obviously something to understand and I honestly still don't.

Ralph

[Peppermint_M]

What a clever metaphore there Ralph_S!

I too see bricks as my medium. I buy a lot of the smaller sets and the PaB for my supplies and off I go, hoping to capture some subject, from a book, a film, the TV, from a real life chance sighting or some image in my head created through great application to all of the above, in brick.

I also paint water colours of landscapes (nothing special but they make nice gifts for tha family)I would never dream of collecting paint. Oh sure, I stockpile my favourite brand and I always have many more brushes than I need but I always intend to open them when I need to.

The collection of MISB sets seems like an investment more than appreciation of art (Like keeping a painting in a box or under sheets) Collecting built sets is more similar to having paintings and prints on the wall. An appreciation of the artwork more than creating ones own.

I could never keep sets sealed or just built. I am relentlessly driven to creativity, mainly to stop my ideas overflowing (I get into a funk and feel pretty down if I can't pin down an idea in the best form because of circumstances or situation at the time. Yes, I am mad) I write, doodle, draw and build. I share these things purely because I loved building them and I want to let others see.

Now, please lets keeps this nice an cerebral.

[Ralph_S]

^I'm glad you like the analogy

For the record: I have nothing against people who collect MISB sets. Everybody has his or her own way of enjoying a hobby.

I am genuinely curious what the attraction is. Is it being able to look at the sets in a theme and knowing you have them all, or, alternatively, the thrill of the chase of going after the particularly rare sets that you don't have yet?

Cheers,

Ralph