Sorting Through the Madness - LEGO Haul Progress!

[@CarissaMcBride-qz1fc]

I’m curious if you ever go back and watch any of your older content? I was watching #15 - episode of the bottom blanket and it is almost eerie how well you were able to predict 2 years ago what you would be doing right now. I’m interested for your statistics type videos in the new year but I think no matter what, you can’t put a value on how awesome a job you have - you get to be your own boss, no commute, doing something you enjoy!

[@nubs_select]

For the most part I don't rewatch my older vlogs, recently I went back and edited one to blur something but besides that I usually only watch vlogs during the editing process. Spooky! :) Indeed! Working from home and being your own boss is amazing! The biggest plus is being able to set your own sleep schedule and if you need to take a few days off, then aside from shipping orders you have free time whenever needed! Even if i never make quite the same amount of money as a normal job with this id still very much prefer and choose this job :)

[@sk84life0]

its a good day when you find a Nintendo DS in the lego bin with games . never found that before . things I find are thumbtacs , USB , money, marbles, and random toys like cars and action figures etc.. Keep up the great work Nubs

[@nubs_select]

Yah the stuff found does seem to vary quite a bit! the worst by far are used Band-Aids :( Thanks!

[@sk84life0]

@@nubs_select Ohh forgot the best of the best . LOTS OF HAIR YUCK 🤮🤣

[@nubs_select]

Hair!!!! In a future vlog if you see it you’ll see how the one lot was so bad I had to wear a mask in order to even sort thru it! So must hair and dust!

[@mikep4514]

Busy Vlog. Nice to see the minifig pile growing.

[@nubs_select]

Indeed! Thanks!

[@FergH0va]

Just finding your channel and watching this video, here. Did you buy a house to sell LEGO in??

[@nubs_select]

Thanks for watching! No, this house is where I lived in and then I started selling lego here

[@2of2DCH]

Oh I'd potentially be interested in an animal bag. How do you find bulk options on Bricklink?

[@nubs_select]

Unfortunately I purchased that one via eBay and its for individual uploads not for bulk. Sorry!

[@2of2DCH]

@@nubs_select Good deal, thanks for replyin so quick! All the best. :)

[@nubs_select]

Likewise!

[@damienazzopardi1121]

Personally, I cannot imagine that you would make a profit if you only doubled your money on those used lots after all the time and effort to list and sell everything. Most pawn shops double their money and they are selling way fewer items at much higher costs and their businesses are not that profitable either. You should run the numbers on your profit margins on these ebay lots asap. You might find you are just covering costs and not actually profiting after you cost your own time.

[@nubs_select]

Great point! It will be very interesting to check the numbers once the new year arrives! However just from some super basic calculations that I initially used I figure even if it’s a basic city figure I usually sell its parts for about $2 at the minimum (.50 for the legs, torso, head, headgear on the low end) and then anything themed or such can be worth $5-$500 which is where most of the money is made. I did the math a long time ago and there are roughly 100 figures per pound so if I pay $200 per pound (high end of normal cost) that’s roughly $2 per figure (usually I get it between $50-$150 per pound) which would be a break even for the basic ones and a solid return on the themed and there is usually a solid amount of themed figures that make it worth it. However we should be able to get some solid numbers to work with sometime early next year which will be exciting!

[@damienazzopardi1121]

@@nubs_select Just remember though that your cost of goods is just the base cost. Generally, I find an overall gross profit on bricklink items is at the high end 50% after all costs are included (your time, your rent, your cost of materials, equipment, tax, fees, shipping and cost of goods). So if you are doubling your money, then your losing money on all the other costs in your business which is why you need to be well more than doubling, so that is the thing to confirm for sure :)

[@damienazzopardi1121]

Also be carful not to create cashflow issues, the more LEGO you have unsorted the more money you have lying around doing nothing. I see some sellers sitting on 2-3 years of work and still spend more on lego inventory. It's always best to have "just enough" to handle something unexpected.

[@nubs_select]

Indeed! I generally assume 10% in different fees for items I sell (Paypal, bricklink, refunds, etc) and beyond that, the rest goes to paying for the item, purchasing new inventory, rent, etc. Cashflow is indeed important! Personally, I highly recommend having a bare minimum of a 1-year backlog. Good deals aren't a guarantee and you can sometimes go a very long time without finding them so it's always good to buy when cashflow allows. Bricklink is a very long-term game, and in general, you want to have buying/selling plans figured out years in advance whenever possible as it's a very money and time-intensive operation compared to other businesses and as such due to its nature, most capital is tied up mid-long term. it's difficult at the beginning to build it up but over time as the initial purchases start paying off you can start to grow it more. But after a good few years of doing this "full time" I'd have it no other way as it's quite fun this way :)

[@damienazzopardi1121]

@@nubs_select I see, I think good deals might just be more plentiful in my part of the world then. We simply don’t have the room for that much lego, nor the funds