The Slippery Slope of LEGO RESELLING

[@astralflick]

The entire lego community was ruined when people who were never fans jumped in and saw it as a way to make money

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Yes! The pandemic brought both people back who were in there dark ages with Lego and those who’ve never liked it before coming in and acting like they’ve been here since the start.

[@nicholashunt4472]

Couldn’t have said it better myself. In my area, even thrift stores are price gouging any Lego that gets donated to them, because the staff are now self-proclaimed experts who think that The value of Lego is on par with gold.

[@nicholashunt4472]

⁠​⁠@@thecosmonaut4221you’re absolutely correct. I’m all for welcoming old and new faces into the Lego fandom, but it’s insulting to people like myself, who has been collecting Lego for 15 years, when these new people who have never cared before show up and claim to be within our ranks.

[@billshull9468]

Thankfully a few star wars sets DID NOT go to retire like the scalpers hoped. I was finally able to get the Ghost.

[@JallerS]

I always love when an expenisive minifigure appears in much cheaper set or in LEGO magazine for 5 bucks. The sound of butthurt of scalpers really makes my day.

[@misterbiscuit3706]

Lego Star Wars fans really just be like “Yea the best set that LEGO needs to make is random ship #47, with 30 mini figures with arm and leg printing, scale accurate, completely studless, under 100 dollars.”

[@lewisschreffler]

Don’t forget dual molded legs. They throw a fit when they don’t get that in a slightly expensive set

[@ImperialBrickProductions]

Another well done video, Lego reselling and investing has done untold damage to the community and disadvantaged fans who don’t have that in-person. I am genuinely praying for the reselling “market” to cave in at some point under its own greed and incompetence.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

One day the market will crash, will it happen soon? Maybe but at the same time it continue to grow in general, I see the market for some minfigs will be going down real soon but as for older sealed sets it’ll just continue to grow with time sadly

[@UrMomsChauffer]

It's happened to every hobby, not just LEGO.

[@lyrilmtv2428]

What should they do, just give away their Lego or break even for their efforts?

[@UrMomsChauffer]

@@lyrilmtv2428 what efforts?

[@tedwilliam5564]

@@lyrilmtv2428”efforts” i love lego man but all you did was spend money on toys 😂😂 i do it as a hobby and resellers ruin it 100%

[@YesName_1]

I don't mind people reselling sets. I don't like them selling them for ridiculous prices

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Same, there will always be a market for things it’s just cringe when people abuse that market for easy money

[@SO-ym3zs]

That's like saying you don't like people buying at ridiculous prices. It's two sides of the same coin. Should we get mad at people who buy a Lego set for hundreds of dollars from Lego, or from a reseller? Lego themselves are earning billions a year of boxes of plastic. Are they wrong for creating a product and then filling demand for it and earning as much as they can in the process?

[@YesName_1]

Im mainly talking about the people who sell things like phase 2 rex for £200 I also think sets should be sold for reasonable prices ​@SO-ym3zs

[@LarryPigeon1]

I dont mind them making a few bucks either it aint the world but those scalpers and dudrs who buy like 20+ packs should fk off

[@andynachos2045]

I don’t mind reselling sets, it’s perfect for people who missed out, but people who jack up the prices don’t deserve the sets

[@reddead__]

It really sucks because casual collectors like me have to deal with the consequences of investors

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Yeah it sucks for people like us who just wants a set I didn’t get when I was growing up, I have to rely on those extremely rare listings from people who don’t care about what they have and just sell, earlier in the year I manage to get a complete U-wing for $50 and a republic y-wing for $30. Absolute steals compared to how people with knowledge sells them

[@reddead__]

@@thecosmonaut4221 even worse is when they charge these prices for used sets, i wanted palpatine's arrest but the current prices are insane

[@thecosmonaut4221]

@@reddead__ problem is that they know people buy at those prices because those just coming in to the community don’t know better and help boost their sales, sad to see the same thing happen time after time since the pandemic to a lot of hobbies

[@masteroogway2661]

@@reddead__yes it’s a retired set and people want it. It will increase in price if supply goes down. If more people had kept it sealed it would actually drive the price down from more supply.

[@SO-ym3zs]

It's just free market supply and demand. If collectors/fans didn't want retired sets, there would be nothing to invest in or resell. Resellers are just filling a void left by Lego because, with some rare exceptions, once a set retires, it's gone for good. Resellers are actually keeping way more mint, in-box sets in circulation long term than otherwise, making them easier to buy, and prices on the aftermarket have largely been going down as more and more people jump into the reselling field and flood the market with retired sets that otherwise would have vanished for good from store shelves once retired. Scarcity is one of the biggest drivers of price.

[@G36645]

I did ask the M&R once for his reason for constantly bashing Lego and his response was “Lego screwed me with the UCS gunship” Which I think goes to show just how petty he is. He didn’t like a set so 3 years after it comes out he’s still hates the company for it and uses it as an excuse for anything the video with this exchange is on obi wan's meme huts video from the 23 september

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Ain’t no way, I need a link to this now lol

[@HondaOhnaka]

I wish i cared that much about lego to hate a 3 year old set. Sure i have sets i regret buying but not that bad lmao

[@G36645]

Wish I had the money to buy a set bad enough to complain about for 3 years

[@UrMomsChauffer]

He got booted from the LAN. That's his biggest gripe he won't mention.

[@chrislmaoo]

@@UrMomsChaufferit’s absolutely bc he got kicked from lan. I never even thought of that but your 100% right

[@felixh9363]

"Oh no Lego put Phase 2 Rex, a very popular and demanded figure that everyone, even with little money, should have access to, in a 12 Dollar set, now my 'investment' stock of 20 UCS Venators that I wanted to scalp for double the price is useless now! such a dumb company!" - LifeBricks, probably

[@nursestoyland]

Me personally, I don’t mind if the microfighter Rex didn’t come with the pauldron, and at least I won’t have to rely on my 501st officer as Rex

[@ju87d-3stuka7]

​@@nursestoylandAftermarket pauldrons are always an option.

[@davidburns7506]

It's not scalping if it is a mass-produced product that anyone can buy

[@CaptainGrat75]

@davidburns7506 Lego will never do that because they profit off of it

[@nursestoyland]

@@ju87d-3stuka7 yeah, like C4M and Cape Cantina

[@quentinhiller8831]

I have a sealed Bad Batch shuttle that I first planned to resell eventually, but I came to my senses once I got a job and I’m now saving it for the kids I want to have in the future. The ad Batch is a show that means a lot to me and I think it’ll be fun to share that with my future kids one day and the give them the shuttle just like the one I had watching the show. Much better use of it I think.

[@quentinhiller8831]

Bad* Batch

[@BreadValley]

I too have a similar pov. When i was a kid i really wanted the 2012 lego batman sets but missed out on them because of some finance situation. Now in my early 20s, i own all those sets in sealed condition and hope to open them once i have kids of my own to enjoy together.

[@ARCtrooper_bliz02]

Good save it

[@ARCtrooper_bliz02]

@@BreadValleyand a W thing to do its like 2 children openning a gift they both want

[@RayoMcQueen95990]

@@BreadValleyW future dad

[@Redeemedfatherof2]

I found it hilarious people complaining about buying a bunch of UCS Venator sets just to have the same Rex maybe coming out next year. "Ridiculous to buy such an expensive set just to have a non-exclusive minifig" bro you still have a gigantic awesome lego set...

[@thecosmonaut4221]

My last Lego vid talked about this lol yeah they’re acting like the venator is a gift with purchase of a $600 minifig

[@RayoMcQueen95990]

It’s funny because around the time the set came out there was the Rex micro fighter rumor already

[@Alph4Falc0]

M&R is a massive hypocrite, will complain that people are mass buying sets so they aren’t in the hands of the public, trying to guilt trip people using his little brother as a reason why you shouldn’t, but will mass buy his own sets at every store he can find. He also complains about the pricing and quality of Lego sets. But still receives free products from Republic Bricks who 1) overprices his custom sets and 2) the quality is mid

[@BusterPlops]

Also, you perfectly encapsulated mandr viewing, gone to him for so much LEGO content, but he’s so blatantly hypocritical, and any criticism is always either ignored or ‘shut down’ with some dead pan ironic ‘joke’ or an angry ‘rrrr’ then proceed to say he won’t go there ignoring the original legitimate criticism.

[@BOYGOSGO]

Exactly this^

[@FunFacts1212]

Fun fact, I collect LEGO for two reasons, 1. I’m a Star Wars fan and LEGO makes a lot of Star Wars sets. And 2. It’s plain fun to put Legos together, then rebuild and improve upon it

[@thecosmonaut4221]

So you’re a regular dude with common sense? Let’s fucking go!

[@FunFacts1212]

@@thecosmonaut4221 yeah, someone who doesn’t whine about imperfections on a 2 inch figurine

[@BansheeNT-D]

Whats your opinion on Mould King "Star Wars" sets?

[@judahthejwizard2734]

I love the new clones. I grew up with lego star wars games and i loved the guys who had orange. Even the cody from lego star wars prequels game who just had an ornage stripe was so cool to me so i bought a couple ATTE sets recentlt. My intention with my legos is to play with them as an adult and then give my collection to my kids so they can have the memories i do. It keeps getting mroe expensive, so i see it as early investing in cool childrens toys so my kids can have the awesome toys i did and still do in 10 years when battlepacks are 40 dollars and downsized.

[@sirisaacgluten6311]

Ah, lego content creator hypocrisy. I remember seeing MandR berate the 2022 Republic Fighter Tank for being too big and out of scale, and simultaneously saying the twice as big 2008 model is the best and most accurate.

[@kouliselef1933]

The best one for me was the 2017 one great scale and very good minifigures and only for 25 $

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Yeah I love it when people talk about scale and then proceed to shit on the newest gunship for being to small when it’s our first properly scaled gunship they’ve given us

[@mobiusraptor7]

@@thecosmonaut4221 But the irony is that if it's on display, who cares if it's not up-to-scale? It's only an issue if kids are playing with it, and even then they are too engrossed in their imagination to notice. I have so many sets that I had a ton of fun building, only for "content" "creators" to step in and say, "Hurr look at this problem, quit having fun". I'll just buy what I like and if the mistakes aren't egregious.

[@tri-thagoras4823]

Going to my first day 1 release on June 1st only to see grown men buying up like 20 captain rex y-wings was an experience 💀💀

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Please tell me you recorded it

[@tri-thagoras4823]

@thecosmonaut4221 nah but if u just imagine like a huge line of men over 30 scrambling past kids to grab y-wings from the restocking employees' hands, that'll do the job

[@rajingcajun488]

I feel like getting stuff before the street date is complicated. Because if it was already stocked on the shelf, I’m gonna be kinda pissed if I get told “yeah you can’t have this” and I will see if I can convince the customer service people to ring it up anyways. But if you’re trying to get things out of the stock room, you don’t have the “well it was on the shelf” argument and can frankly kick rocks…

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Lego sets being street dated is starting to become less and less frequent as they’re really enforced if it’s to release along side a movie, but even then some times those street dates are relaxed, so like that part says it’s a very location to location thing that varies drastically

[@stlhawkeye]

Yes! They def pretend to care about the community! Oh and the helmet holes don’t bother me haha!

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Careful there man, you’re making too much sense with that take

[@chomathyy]

nothing worse than being excited for a set for ages , like the 3 clones in that blister pack from a few years ago, and it constantly being sold out because of scalpers. i had to wait 6 months for it to be restocked on the Lego website because it would just constantly be sold out, and sold on sites like ebay for triple retail price

[@niccolomiglio6996]

Ngl, I like this video a lot. I collect nerdy shit, my shelves are begging for mercy and I have been surrounded by spineless bastards telling me that "it's ok", "you are doing what you wish", or "it's great". But at least I finally saw somebody mocking it as the sad hobby it is. Thank you so much, I really needed it. It's unironically eye-opening to see how people like me look to others and I may actually start doing something to sell/get rid of all of this shelf-clutter.

[@gusjurgens6588]

Crazy how hypocritical the content creators are. Keep up the great work!

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Thanks for the support man means a lot to know people like my content

[@Matt-FRESHMINTY]

"Mr Lifebricks, a second microfighter has hit the reseller market"

[@iblamerichey]

The toy companies orienting their products to adults ONLY will do nothing but long term damage. Kids are the future, that’s the truth. They may be on their gadgets all the time, but it’s not like they don’t buy toys. Adults playing with toys is not a bad thing, at all, but taking kids out of the equation. This comes from a Transformers fan.

[@gleamingcolt]

I definitely agree with this

[@mobiusraptor7]

Sadly, gadgets are being pushed towards kids more and more and it's only gonna get worse (ironically, the people behind those gadgets don't want their OWN kids using them). So unless there is a way to get them back into toys, they have to change their approach.

[@webzentertainment]

I do think it’s good that more people are invested into Lego these days, specifically when sets go into retirement it’s easier than ever to find the sets you missed out on new in box in the aftermarket for prices that aren’t unreasonable most of the time. Older sets from the 2000s onward are usually so rare and expensive even if in used, not so great condition simply because the supply just isn’t there. I don’t like how some people just go out and buy 50 battle packs especially when they’re double the retail value Lego used to sell them at but at the same time hey it’s their money they can do what they want with it

[@benlebeh]

For an actual Lego fan this is really frustrating. I used to buy used Lego to build MOCs but nowadays people ask for astronomical prices.

[@SO-ym3zs]

One solution: drop Lego purism and get bricks from other sources. There are plenty of other manufacturers out there with Lego-compatible bricks that are cheaper but of comparable quality.

[@ToaArcan]

I'm gonna buy the Rex microfighter and enjoy a tasty cup of scalper tears, just like I did with the Dark Troopers and the P1 Commander.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

“Life like this sure is great”

[@BusterPlops]

Smashed it yet again. I’ve really wanted to start my own KZbin channel with my own content, not necessarily to grow, just express myself in a way I know I’d find interesting. Anyway, I’ve been struggling for a while with a motive or push to do so, but seeing you put out what you’re truly passionate about and not some formulaic algorithm eating crap, but really well done content you care about has given me the push I needed. So thank you mr cosmonaut ❤️

[@thecosmonaut4221]

I have no idea how to respond to this, thank you for your support but I’m also happy to know that out of all the content creators out there, my dumbass was able to respark your interest in content creation The biggest thing no one will tell you is about editing, editing phase is a big obstacle that puts off many people from doing this stuff but I want to emphasize that it’s not for everyone, I love the process because I’ve been doing it since I was in elementary but I also acknowledge that it’s not for everyone, just have fun with it at first. Please do not have any ideas of making it big or having X amount of subscribers by Y date. That’s a fast track to depression my friend. Have fun making content, make sure it’s stuff you want to to make and not be forced by the algorithm to do anything. Also remember that it’s the internet, digital footprints are a thing lol

[@TheLEGOZora]

Hearing "cuuso" gave me big time respect for you.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Still have the original Minecraft sets in my garage lol

[@simonawad9656]

Another great video! As someone who has multiple 501st battle pack sets I was able to grow that collection over the shelf life of the set normally. I waited for sales and ask for one for Christmas' or birthdays. I opened them all up and built them because I enjoy having a small clone army to mess around with. My intentions with getting these were not for resale but for my own enjoyment!

[@somethingtoputonpizza6667]

Me watching the video: hmm yes lego is very expensive... The back of my mind:**everyone dies in girls' last tour** (space song starts playing)

[@thecosmonaut4221]

My Monitor’s Wallpaper: *Living was Fun wasn’t it*

[@somethingtoputonpizza6667]

@@thecosmonaut4221 when I first watched of the anime I was confused about the abrupt ending Then I saw how it's supposed to end and I was like **sad blade runner edit here**

[@leighneil]

Great Video mate. I hate scalpers, and in my opinion the biggest issue with them is that people end up paying their ridiculous prices and this validates and enables them... If no one bought scalper's items at their inflated prices they'd soon go away.

[@SO-ym3zs]

The same is true of products from Lego. Many people complain about Lego's prices but keep buying from Lego. People should put their money where there mouth is.

[@WolfStory]

@@SO-ym3zs Agreed.

[@mochalavender9398]

​@@SO-ym3zsthe morons that buy scalped products always use impatience as an excuse.

[@CanadianFitted]

Me and my father have collected for our whole lives and agree the resellers have ruined lego for us, instead of becoming vultures and buying/selling to afford the older sets we are probably just going to give decent deals and sell off most of it just because it is a waste of time to collect anymore with people going out and getting 10 sets just to resell the minifigs a year later for $100 each.

[@connormccrea9887]

Seeing the distribution bit reminds me of Transformers distribution. I haven't seen 2 year old toys in person, and it's wild how bad TF distribution is everywhere

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Main reason why I just buy shot online now

[@sm-033]

Another thing that gets me with scalpers is just how condescending they often are when you bring up the fact that they're very likely preventing kids from getting a set they want. I swear most of the time they act like it's the fault of the kids and their parents for not getting to the sets first, as if it should even be their responsibility to compete with scalpers in the first place. Chances are they already make more money than a lot of families anyway, there's no reason to be so unsympathetic about it

[@thecosmonaut4221]

I talked about that in the vid BUT that section of the video was scrapped because I wanted to really keep this on the neutral side not really leaning one side of the spectrum and let the viewers make their own decision. But in the comments tho yes, I hate talking to people who are clearly just in it for the moneyed especially recently with the new battle packs being scalped already, seeing a lot of KZbinrs go onto Instagram and tell their viewers that sets are now in stock but then proceeds to buy all of them and tell them you can get the sets on their site. It’s the same group of people who dismiss Lego as a kids toy and that adults are now the main buyers which is not at all the case but why even try to argue with them because their viewpoint on the matter is already set in stone. Was this a coherent and cohesive message? Maybe

[@11Survivor]

This video has made me appreciate that I have excellent distribution of LEGO at my local LEGO store, tbh. They're a franchise but they have every new set in stock day 1 and keep them stocked for around 6 months at the least.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Lucky

[@KataIIama]

I treat every second hand Lego purchase I made as most likely to be deceiving, therefore when my things arrive I am hugely happy to see its legit 👍🏻

[@MrCreeperKicker]

Something I think I understand better now is I need to treat my mini figs with love, those bad boys take some serious tech to make!

[@Karamaru_Crow]

And I am like I just wanted the Old Republic sets complete because I like the game and could not afford it when it was on shelves.

[@woundedzilla1517]

I’m 20 years old and turning 21 in a couple months. I have no real plans to sell any of my Lego sets because I buy them to ironically enough play with them because it’s a toy, a really fun one. I hate price gouging and reselling because it makes things harder to find and impossible to get on the aftermarket.

[@ZontarDow]

Regardless of the community, collectors and investors/speculators/scalpers are inherently at odds with each other

[@Idksomekidwholikeslego]

HOLY CRAP I GOT HERE SO EARLY, these videos are great btw

[@thecosmonaut4221]

I want to say thank you for the support, I’m glad you love the videos despite the inconsistent upload schedule

[@legokaistudios4794]

As a Lego fan, I collect sets for only one reason. I love building Lego sets. But when, say there is a minifig you never got because you were a wee tyke when it released that is overly expensive, It can become difficult to get even when you're old enough, because it just doesn't seem worth 70 dollars (*Cough* Casual Kai. *Cough*) Great vid all around, and I hope you do more like this in the future! Also side note: I love the adorable little Frieren plushie you used to represent casual consumers like me. Idk just something enjoyable I found in the vid.

[@mauriceartiles3968]

I tell my gf “oh I’m investing to sell” when actually I’m just building my collection and have no intent of selling. Shits coming with me in the grave lol

[@TobyEchozap]

"scrubbed the video from the face of the internet. " man just like the bad bricks podcast... apart from the bits he couldnt hide. spicey takes in there oh boy.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

My boi unlocked a memory I forgot I had

[@austint918]

It’s not just Lego either anymore. Ever since covid every hobby I have has been ruined by resellers.

[@RayoMcQueen95990]

Exactly, I love to collect 3 things: Lego Ninjago, Cars(the movie) diecasts and Toy Story accurate scaled toys, and the only one of those 3 that has remained fairly normal is the cars collecting, it’s ridiculous

[@bobskanal]

One can complain about resellers. But in the end they are most probably just as materialistic as one self.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

I don’t think that was my point lol

[@bobskanal]

@@thecosmonaut4221 that massage wasn't meant to be directed to you. I think "one" is a better option, for that what I wanted to say.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Fair enough my bad Chief

[@UrMomsChauffer]

The difference between the HasLab releases and LEGO releases, the HasLab is crowd funded, and only gets made if it hits the goal. It can be resold immediately for profit, but it doesn't prevent anyone from getting it at the original cost, because there is no stock to buy up to create a false market.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Yeah looking back wasn’t really a great comparison but was still used to show that their new Adult orientated line

[@ZedLego]

Extremely underrated video

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Thanks man would love if you shared the vid around

[@laurielkami1100]

i personnally hope that lego will step into the market and stop the overpricing of everything . It's already really hard to buy things on the shelves or local websites because people have access to the current value of things and want to sell them at the same price because they dont care . But when you need to always be on red alert because a set is slightly below market price and every scalper in the country will jump on it in the minute to sell it 3x the price two weeks later it's really annoying . Imo lego or the governements need to put an end to scalping by setting a roof price on aftermarket items or a tax on resellers/scalpers that overprice everything . Investing is ok but creating a fake value by a fake demand because YOU bought all the sets to sell the figure a 200$ is not good for anyone

[@Daddyvader7]

A Great example is the new Captain Rex, people have upped the price and it is selling for over 400$ and if we have a new version or a reselling in a new set then that's great for everyone but the scalpers. However, if that version of Rex stays exclusive, of course, we expect the price for it to stay high. I have a Phase 1 rex, found out it goes for 150-200$ in good condition. If I sell it for the going price, does that make us all scalpers is my question, selling a figure we own for its current market value, while I don't care much for scalpers, I do see Lego investing as a positive thing, as it makes sense some sealed sets, figures, parts, would eventually go for more money based on S+D and overall I.P. For example, if a set goes up 100$ in a year sealed, and someone bought two of them, one to open and display to a collection, and one to potentially resell if it goes up in value over time, is 100% normal and understandable to me, I have an old coworker of mine, who bought two Venators, one is sealed and they plan to resell it in 2024/2025, and I do think its smart on that person for taking advantage of the potential future market. I'm a part-time real estate agent, so your analogy resonated with me as an adult going into my 30s in just a few years, I want to go into the house flipping avenue of the housing market, which is no easy task and very volatile, as housing is a spiral nitch of the market, you can invest in the house you purchase, rent it, flip it, or sell it as is if the market naturally increases in your area and for your home. Lego is similar in the sense you can buy it, not touch it, keep it sealed, and resell it at a later time at a 20% gain. However, you can also flip it, taking broken pieces to your minifigures and replacing parts to sets you have opened and used or display, and it can still potentially make a profit whether you decide to replace the parts with better-conditioned parts or keep them as is and get some money back. The last option, known as the renting option, loosely tied to what I touched on with housing, transferred to Lego would be something like going to a Bricks and Minifigs, which I do enjoy, and am not upset at for selling figures or sets for the market value they currently cost, and let's say you bought a figure for 20$ and then you went and decided, I dont want this anymore, I'll resell it back to the community. I bought it because I knew the market value for that figure hasn't changed in 15 years and probably won't, so I can potentially use it for an MOC and resell it for my money back again for roughly what I paid, I know this isn't renting and it is buying, but again, I'm connecting loosely to my analogy and not all the "pieces" line up with the analogy so I have to stretch it a bit. Overall, scalpers take advantage of collectors, and collectors just need to be smart when buying or adding to their collections. Don't buy the Venator Cap Rex when you can get a newer version for 2024 unless that specific version is your favorite or the rarity of that figure is so exciting that you must have it in your collection, which I can understand, nonetheless, I digress. In those particular cases, I see that. However have patience, Don't be so quick to buy aftermarket like the Cap Rex when you may pay 200$ for it and another may be out in a year for 10-15$. I understand lego stated it would be exclusive, and I see why people are upset, as companies often lie or misdirect marketing using shady practices and tactics that directly affect the aftermarket value, everyone who thought it would stay exclusive, is now upset who bought it, and it is nice to pay 650$ and have some exclusivity in terms of the mini figures it comes with, not only would that help lego in the future on returns but help the community be more trusting when it comes to company and customer relations. So while I don't hate Lego for taking back their word, I definitely won't be trusting them in the future whenever they say something is exclusive to a UCS or any set in general, take it with a grain of salt, as for the helmet heads, it never bothered me, I can see why it may for some, but not for myself, much success, prosperity and peace to all during this holiday season, happy collecting!

[@WillcollexStudios]

Being able to get 2002 Phase 1 Clone Troopers for cheap would be awesome... Maybe some day... God bless you man, great video.

[@Sodamanboi]

Killer thumbnail my guy lmao

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Thank you man lol

[@mitchellbambam5926]

I don’t understand what some people want out of this. Investing with toys is stupid, and as someone who collects stuff for fun I hate to see how stupid some people are. Resellers want to sell an item to another for profit, whereas collectors seek to find personal value in what they possess. A reseller relies upon a more hardcore or extreme collector to make a profit, by selling to people who seek a value in that particular set or item in such a way that they will pay extra cash for it, weaponizing supply and demand to eat up local stock of desired items. Some call this person a scalper, I call them words that will get me banned from any social media site. The problem with these sort of resellers is that eventually, people won’t have enough money to afford this stuff, will stop caring, or flat out die. Bad distribution with desired products also doesn’t help the case. I agree heavily with your points, but people need to quit acting like crack addicts. If something prices you out, find another way or just quit. And 3p/custom stuff exists, so if something looks really good then just go for it!

[@LeRossSawin-Porter-tt6hr]

Also, Jonak Customs makes pretty good replicas of super rare minifigs and I cant wait to see what the jedi bob i just bought is like

[@Shark_Studios2]

My guy just whent after others without shame threw other content creator's under the bus and I love it 😂

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Yeah lmao anything goes in 2024

[@AWOLbriks47]

Took your advice and got boil and waxer helmets from gcc. Can't wait to get them in hand. They look awesome!

[@OpticBlast-yk5hf]

As far as LEGO’s distribution goes, it’s decent compared to Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series. It’s so bad that I’ve had to buy figures on Mercari that aren’t even meant to be discontinued yet. I still don’t have Black Series Jesse because he’s been out of stock forever.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Lmao back when I was collecting black series that’s all I saw was goo Lego but then When I got out of it and started to collect Lego again all I saw was good Black series distribution like there’s just no winning lmao

[@superbrickfigs2959]

Thanks for making this video! Appreciate the last part towards the end!

[@thecosmonaut4221]

You’re welcome man I’m glad you enjoyed my video

[@hautti5]

W video, once again. Keep it up my man!

[@thecosmonaut4221]

I want to say thank you for the support, it means a lot for me!

[@blueawesomedinosaur]

My only holdups with customs are I'm afraid to mix official and custom figures or get confused about which is which and being concerned if the paint is safe to touch ( about cheap customs you find for like $5 for 3). I already have some customs that I've casually gotten for cheap and sometimes they're pretty convincing and cool but those two things keep me from messing with them.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

My February is about customs so maybe that will help you out

[@counterclockwisefilms3814]

I love these vids. They call out the raging hypocrisy of the LEGO Star Wars online community and I’m it makes me so happy

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Thanks man I hope the hypocrisy in the community begins to turn next year

[@Vestyyy887]

Holy shit,Chito is talking about Legos!

[@BrunoSantosTDL]

Probably unpopular opinion, but I truly don't consider buying and storing Legos "Scalping" because of the sheer quantity there is, but maybe America is so crazy, people truly buy out the entire store. Considering a Lego lasts 1-2 years average, it's plenty of time to buy a set you want, maybe extras if you are trying to invest. Heck, I have a few here and there sealed I think can be valuable as time goes by but there's not exactly a lack of any legos here in Portugal. Again, maybe it's different in NA since most of the big Lego Investors and videos are from the other side of the pond. Now what I truly despise and I consider scalping is buying very limited products / rare with the idea of flipping for proffit right away. Example: PS5 when it was released. It was SO HARD to get a PS5 when it was released, the quantities were so low, everytime a store got a few in stock, it would be sold out in 10 mns tops. People buying those from consoles with the idea of selling right away for an even bigger price, now that's Scalping. Lego isn't like that, there's so many of them and if a set is oooooold and still sealed, yeah, makes sense it's worth more (but I'm a TCG guy too, so I'm "used" to the idea of old stuff, mostly sealed, being worth more. It's a collecting thing)

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Well yeah it starts to be considered scalping as well yes stuff is mass produced but along side the people buying up the entire stock (although not as common unless a KZbinr lives near) you then have the deal with the distribution of a product in said area, I live in the Los Angeles area and distribution is horrible, I normally don’t see any new sets until a year afterwords as the little stock that does come through is bought up immediately and sold for double the price, How’s it like collecting Lego in Portugal ?

[@BrunoSantosTDL]

@@thecosmonaut4221 Holy ... ok, nevermind what I said, if it takes a bloody year for anything new to reach a major area like Los Angeles, I can understand the anger and frustration of someone going there and *YOINK*. I have only returned to lego in 2021, mostly Star Wars, and I'm a true Scrooge McDuck; I always go for the sets retiring that year and I always try to go after promotions, or big sales like May the 4th but I never failed to see the brand new sets in our (mostly) brand new lego store. It opened last year. Before that, we had some retails stores with plenty of lego, some online only stores or even the lego site. Never failed to see the brand new stuff in stock over there.

[@GabrielGardner-wx2ph]

Brother I fucking LIVE for MandR slander. Dude is an actual baby masquerading as an adult with a hobby Edit; your vids are sick pls upload more I subbed 🤝

[@Legostarwarsstopmotion]

I was thinking of reselling but I learned that I shouldn’t do that as it’s just plastic and I should play with it or save it for my children to play with. But still tho. It’s horrible for people to resell. I dident learn this till seeing this channel. Ty

[@AJVfilms]

Great video and I admit this great summarizes my thoughts on this matter since I feel like these “complainers” will go and a resell the same stuff they call “bad” and tell their fan base to buy from them instead. About the customs , I full heartedly agree and I have recently purchased custom parts to make figures that would be super expensive if I wanted official ones. Don’t get me started on knock of figures and parts too. 😂

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Besides my experience with the custom world I’ve heard that knock offs are starting to become more comparable to the real deal now, like the Ali express Black series clones

[@ledekou1983]

05:07 encapsulated the two different varieties of adult MOC builders, not limited to but especially including Lego Star Wars fans. One are designers who work out incredible building techniques to use pieces in new and unconventional ways to push the limits of what shapes are feasible within the Lego system, often putting out display only models which Lego would never release due to fragility and/or exorbitant piece count -aaaand then there are people who *mainly* run a youtube channel focussing on brick investment who therefore have a lot of bricks which they like to stack on top of each other. *cough* Looking at you SolidBricks and Mandr. *cough*

[@Thecaptianstudios]

i love how he uses the guy from toy story 2 as an example of a reseller when the guy was actually a collector

[@RayoMcQueen95990]

He sold the entire Woody collection for a shit ton of money tho

[@christiancarpenter5567]

the first time i went down this rabbit hole, it was with that guy Republic Bricks auctioning off lego figures, which i thought was odd.

[@beyondlego97]

Once I saw a guy selling a set that was still available for 200 usd when the set is 100 with the excuse that it was out of srock on the lego page lol guy was trying to make people feel desperate to buy foe no reason, disgusting. Then a few weeks ago that same guy sols his whole collection because he got "bored" more like he wasn't makin enough money from ripping people off!

[@thecosmonaut4221]

You should see the prices of sets when they just release, I’ve seeen sets retailing at $100 selling and actually sold for around $300 and let’s not even look at sets before release

[@eoincrehan3239]

This guys gonna make it, can't wait

[@OnePlusOneEqualsZero]

Just wait until the Shadow Arf from 2011 shoots up to over $1,000, collecting all the clones gonna be impossible for most

[@judahthejwizard2734]

Ill admit i have become more of a collector lately but its only because i saw some of my old minifigs and sets ive played with were worth something so i sell it for 10-20 less than whatever mercari guys are selling for like rex and davy jones so i can buy some battlepacks. Since I was little, i wanted a clone army and now im a working sdult so i biguht 144 332 troopers from battlepacks and i am not planning to sell them and scalp people after it retires. I just wanted an orange clone army. I think of it as me trading in my old stuff ive played with for new stuff to play with and i wont be buying 100 battlepacks and filling a warehouse because if i had that much money, id invest it in stocks and realestate, not childrens toys. Thats my main point if confusion for the toy market. If you have enough money to drop tens of thousands on lego sets, why not just do adult investing instead of making a toy your business? I can see how selling old toys on mercari can get some spending money but the big guys seem sad to me.

[@AlVainactual]

I fought through hell (like, 3 different online stores) to get a reasonably priced 2023 Tahu Bionicle set. Those fucking scalpers have priced the modest 25-35$ worth kit to 90-120$. Fuck those guys.

[@thecosmonaut4221]

You mean that one gift with purchase with no exclusive bit too it?? That’s crazy man because it’s the Bionicle brand alone that’s driving that price up holly hell

[@ToaArcan]

Damn, I never got GWP Tahu. Didn't have the money for a GWP when it came out, and I didn't care for any of the themes it was actually available with so I definitely wasn't about to drop £100 on toys I didn't want just so I could get a freebie, and then the aftermarket was just insane.

[@aksel125]

Yes, I’ve been thinking this for a while now. I just haven’t been able to articulated as good as this video did. Great video fr, on ja, omm, Frfr….

[@thecosmonaut4221]

On jah Fr fr man, thanks for the feed back I really appreciate it man

[@reidcunningham5906]

The only time I partake in reselling is if I want certain pieces or minifigures I want. Bricklink and ebay are great, but I don't care about the "Lego gurus" you mentioned, and most of the people on Bricklink, at least my experiences on the site, are very fair their prices.

[@ominous4765]

Yeah the only youtuber i can think of off the top of my head is bricksie that does it for collecting

[@latexwhistledown342]

I’m probably in the middle of the collecting spectrum but leaning heavily to the laid back side. I’d probably get anxious if I know I could be getting something and feel like time is running out before it stops being sold. But I never have gotten more than 3 of the same set, and the only reason I would is if one of them broke and couldn’t be fixed, or if I needed a lot for a MOC I was making.

[@giygas9305]

I would only sell discontinued legos at a reasonable price to someone who doesn’t look like a scalper. Like a friend or a little kid/family. If I put something up online like that, it’s gonna get sniped by a bot.

[@SMCwasTaken]

Its sad because Lego City is getting worse 2018 was the last good year of Lego

[@thecosmonaut4221]

How so?

[@jimmynackers]

My best mate had a few GCC’s. Beautiful mini figs! Personally as a huge Lego fan the prints wore almost better!! Figs feel amazing! I personally saw little to no difference from an actual mini fig.

[@kanjiklubskywalker4951]

I recently opened a bricklink store to sell off some of my old star wars figs and i'd say i don't have a particular reason for doing it. I just saw these figs collecting dust and decided to sell them. So basically i think sometimes people sell just for the sake of it and not to further their collection or their pocket

[@mehtheorc]

Whatnot has been really bad for hiking up the prices. I worry that kids could get sucked into that too and pay a lot without knowing better

[@Seddyhere]

The funniest thing is that Ryan acts like lego doesnt even care about fan and the star wars ip. As if DC wasn't gotten like ONLY 3 sets in the last 5 years

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Didn’t you guys get literally 1 4+ set and that was it last year lmao

[@Seddyhere]

@thecosmonaut4221 plus I think the last one to have a justice League member that wasn't Batman was Shazam in a batwing that I think was 3 years ago, the last set that had Flash was 5 years ago!

[@DaltonLunday2103]

Reselling is good if you aren’t just stealing sets from the stores and saving them for value. The best resellers are the ones who had sets they don’t want anymore and price their stuff accordingly.

[@concreteguy69420]

I know the Lego Star Wars resellers are bad, but these city resellers are also ridiculous but are more reasonable thankfully.

[@Goofybear253]

As a member of the wrestling figure community we face the same issues. I been interested in listening to videos about legos lately idk why but love your video man

[@s1nth_]

1:25 blast from the freaking pass bruh

[@Fishysalmon02]

GCC>>> Official lego style, resellers sell at retail. Cheaper than lego equivalents, characters lego hasnt and probably wont make. They are the goats (they could lower their prices on named figs tho)

[@thecosmonaut4221]

That’s what I’m sayingggg

[@ninjamasterbuilder8675]

That 2013 Rex cama I think looks the same size as the 2023 captain Rex and yet the resellers and people who are obsessed with making a quick buck say the 2013 Rex is better than the 2023 one or have a problem with the same specifically

[@tallielintrasimpaccount]

good ass video, tired of these clowns being able to pretend like they arent a bunch of whiny scalpers

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Thanks for the feedback man

[@SO-ym3zs]

Reselling is just supply and demand at work in a free-market economy. Lego retires sets, people want them, and resellers fill that gap--and not coincidentally, they keep more of those sets in circulation by buying them in bulk to resell later, whereas new, sealed sets of retired products would otherwise mostly vanish from circulation once your local Walmart clearances them and people open them to build them. Greater scarcity would drive prices even higher. And anyone complaining about resellers not offering a fair price is selfish or ignorant of basic economics. No one owes any Lego fan anything at all: neither Lego (who will happily take $500+ off your hands for a box of plastic bits) nor resellers owe any fan or collector specific sets at prices they want to pay. Both Lego and resellers will understandably charge as much as the market will bear since they have one chief goal: to make money--billions per year by the Lego company, in fact. Remember: if you feel Lego prices at retail or on the aftermarket are ridiculous, talk with your wallet. Don't buy Lego and instead support all the other brick-building companies like Cobi, Bluebrixx, Cada, Mould King, Pantasy, Funwhole, et al. Many of them are doing more interesting things and offering them for far lower prices, anyway.

[@incrediblyaverage7177]

I definitely agree with you on the economics end of things as far as it goes. However, I do think people aren't wrong to express their views on whether they find a product to be priced in a way they regard to be reasonable. Yes, resellers are under no duty to comply with their wishes, but also I think people are within their right to say they don't personally find the prices acceptable--granted they don't assume the sellers are required to oblige them. I think it's an error to assume expression of discontent regarding things like pricing necessarily entails a sense of entitlement to the things you mentioned; sometimes that's just not the case. The expression of opinion of (potential, let's assume) customers is I think one possible signal to market actors such as resellers. After all, in principle at least, selling a product lower than at present could invite a greater quantity of people to purchase such that the profits from greater sales outweighs the drop in price.

[@StudioSmith]

Lego investing is for nerds who don't want a real job, let's be real

[@thecosmonaut4221]

True

[@blockomaniac]

So what your saying is, I should start investing into custom lego clones 😇 Jokes aside I had no idea about that MnRproductions Target drama. I knew he was always drawing the ire of the community because of his constant complaints, but that alone didn’t really bother me. His channel is what got me back into lego after I fell out of the hobby ☹️

[@thecosmonaut4221]

I’ve been following Ryan for since the force awaken days so I’ve seen this man slowly change into something I know his younger self would hate, I was their for everything first hand for him so I know when it’s bullshit or not lol BUTTTT and I mean a Hard but that’s just me man, if you love his channel then keep loving it man I don’t want to push you away from his or anyone’s content I don’t want to advocate that, you do you man and have fun with it!

[@Gravity_studioss]

These people make Lego itself look like a reasonable company

[@billshull9468]

Great video. You should cover the stupid situation with the Fell Beast and Barad Dur

[@thecosmonaut4221]

The what

[@billshull9468]

@@thecosmonaut4221 The new Lord of the Rings Baradur set , GWP purchase The Fell Beast sold out in 1-2 mins and now going for 150-200 on ebay for a gwp.

[@trantuankiet3080]

Controversial opinion: the 501st battlepack is to Lego star wars what the Snyder cut was to DC movies. It'a not fan service, essentially giving fans the impression that "if we bitch enough, they'll deliver" like toddlers. And that's why we see Ryan and the others complain so much, they think this toddler mentality will give them what they want when in actuality they don't even know wtf is perfect for them I remember back in the day, pre 501st battlepack era, I have always had one issue with MandrProduction, and it's that he is clearly biased and some claims didn't add up. For example, he would as for 501st troopers to be in battlepacks to be more available to "casual fans" but also heavily criticise the senate trooper battle pack for essentially doing just that. Same goes for the homing spider walkers. He would bitch and hate on the fact that we get 2 in 2 years everytime he talks about it, like that one fact ruins the set for him.

[@RayoMcQueen95990]

Exactly, and most of the time if his wishes don’t come true, he will rant No 501 battle pack? Complain and bring it on every video No Cody? Saying that the gunship and the grievous ship are bad because they don’t include them No Bob? Complain and rant about the gunship (even though Jedi Bob is just a random placeholder character they put and has nothing to do with the movies) Troopers have helmet holes? Complain and talk negatively about the sets No Rex? Complain Rex is avaliable in a much cheaper set for everyone to enjoy? Supposedly is “happy for those who can have it” yet in reality is butthurt that it’s not in a 600 dollar set anymore and always shoehorns this situation in any video (he brings it up in the Luke mech review and it pisses me off)

[@Thebrickfig]

Have a McRib (for those who know)

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Do I vacuum seal it or nah?

[@Thebrickfig]

Yeah, then put it in an airtight room with no sunlight so it doesn't yellow@@thecosmonaut4221

[@LeRossSawin-Porter-tt6hr]

If you dont care about the minifigures you could quite literally parts out any set you want

[@JMSB-ei1zx]

Unfortunatly brazil and other countries in south america dont get alot of LEGO sets so its very overpriced here

[@OnePlusOneEqualsZero]

11:18 guess who bought that 3.75 Jet fig 💀

[@thecosmonaut4221]

Ain’t no way lmao

[@OnePlusOneEqualsZero]

@@thecosmonaut4221 he's on my shelf to the right of me watching over my gaming experience. I sent a screenshot in GCC's server a while back just type in "Kinisuru" into the search bar 💀