If I Could Go Back and Visit a LEGO Store 15 Years Ago

[Jeff Mack 4,981]

The article I am sharing is not an in-depth article by any means, but I know there are a lot of you that like to take a peak behind the curtain and see how all your little bricks and figures get made.  Bloomberg Business visited the Kladno LEGO Factory in the Czech Republic and it looks like quite an operation. I could only imagine how it would feel to be let loose in one of these factories for a day.  I am sure it would be like visiting Willy Wonka, just not as strange, but then again, you never know

The article's opening paragraph reminds us that it wasn't that long ago that "LEGO was losing nearly a million dollars a day".  I wonder how often they would ban people or stop them from buying large quantity of multiples if we can warp back to that time period.  The article stated the timeframe of just over a decade ago, so I will pick the year 2000 when some of the Star Wars sets just came out and before LEGO had any idea what was going to happen and on their way to be the #1 toy maker in the world.  

You had the 3450 Statue of Liberty (Retail: $199.99 | Current: ~$2300.00), 7191 X-Wing Fighter (Retail: $149.99 | Current: ~$1100.00), 7181 Tie Interceptor (Retail: $99.99 | Current: ~$650.00) and some great castle sets.  If we can push it into 2001 because I really don't think LEGO felt that they were kings of the universe yet, we got more awesome Star Wars sets like the 10019 Rebel Blockade Runner (Retail: $199.99 | Current: ~$1450.00), 10018 Darth Maul (Retail: $149.99 | Current: ~$900.00) and the beginning of the Harry Potter line.

Unfortunately, I can't go back in time, but I would love to go back and walk in a store and say, "Ok, I will take 20 x 3450, 15 x 10019s, 10 of those, 20 of those and so on".  I wonder if they would have taken my VIP card 

 

 

 

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[jay4e 631]

1 hour ago, Jeff Mack said:

 

2000 was during the time I was selling parts and used sets on ebay and built my own "bricklink" site.  did that for a couple years in college then closed up shop around 2001, when i no longer had the time or space to manage it.  If i could go back, I would try and keep that business going rather than taking a 13 year break...

Edited November 24, 2015 by jay4e

[biking_tiger 2,106]

I'd simply slip back to 2004-5 when I had my first, brief stint with Lego "investing." If I had the time, space, and family support then that I do now... well, let's just say I might not have a day job anymore.

[boliramirez 690]

This picture was taken Sept 2010 in Rockefeller Center Lego Store...I I was still in my dark ages, I wish I had a clue and bought all the 10212 and the 10019.... I would have no issues leaving the DS for later..... 

Edited November 24, 2015 by boliramirez

[mauro23 348]

I remember year 2008. In Germany there was a long term discount of Town Plan, regular about 130 Euro I think and it was discounted to 70 Euro. I have bought about 15 and made good money selling them at 150 Euro.

Why not bought 50 and waited till today? ;-)

[Neosphinx 525]

3 hours ago, boliramirez said:

This picture was taken Sept 2010 in Rockefeller Center Lego Store...I I was still in my dark ages, I wish I had a clue and bought all the 10212 and the 10019.... I would have no issues leaving the DS for later..... 

Ah... the death star. The universal LEGO constant

[Brian Briggs 693]

If I were to go back in time I'd rather invest my money in Magic cards. With buying the right cards gains of 5000% wouldn't be difficult to achieve. Also, storage would be so much easier.

[gregpj 5,976]

49 minutes ago, boliramirez said:

This picture was taken Sept 2010 in Rockefeller Center Lego Store...I I was still in my dark ages, I wish I had a clue and bought all the 10212 and the 10019.... I would have no issues leaving the DS for later..... 

 

Or that lambo police car in the corner next to the shuttles... http://www.brickpicker.com/bpms/set.cfm?set=8214-1

[Mos_Eisley 3,442]

3 hours ago, boliramirez said:

This picture was taken Sept 2010 in Rockefeller Center Lego Store...I I was still in my dark ages, I wish I had a clue and bought all the 10212 and the 10019.... I would have no issues leaving the DS for later..... 

Not that there weren't plenty of other amazing sets available during that time, but that is a 10198 in the picture, not 10019. 

[citymorgue 533]

As that old saying goes, if I knew then what I know now!!!  Man, seriously I think about the 10 years of dark ages for me, and if I had just stuck it out, what my collection would look like and everything it would entail.  There were so many fantastic sets back then.

[Ciglione 3,135]

I would also not leave those Battle of Endor sets behind. I love that set.

7 minutes ago, citymorgue said:

As that old saying goes, if I knew then what I know now!!!  Man, seriously I think about the 10 years of dark ages for me, and if I had just stuck it out, what my collection would look like and everything it would entail.  There were so many fantastic sets back then.

I agree. I had the disposable income 10 years ago. No kids. No wife. If you catch my drift.

[citymorgue 533]

1 hour ago, Ciglione said:

I agree. I had the disposable income 10 years ago. No kids. No wife. If you catch my drift.

Same boat as you.  I was single in the military with basically no financial obligations other than basic rent and stuff.

[TheOrcKing 14,867]

3 hours ago, boliramirez said:

This picture was taken Sept 2010 in Rockefeller Center Lego Store...I I was still in my dark ages, I wish I had a clue and bought all the 10212 and the 10019....

I wish I could have bought that dragon.

[Mos_Eisley 3,442]

26 minutes ago, TheOrcKing said:

I wish I could have bought that dragon.

This is the best they'd sell you, in 2001. 

[eastonlionel 9]

I would head back to 2002 and pick up as many Santa Fe Super Chief train sets as I could afford.  I have the complete set, but should have bought two of everything and kept one complete set in the boxes.  However, even used these sets have done very well in value.

[MarleyMoose 1,305]

On ‎11‎/‎24‎/‎2015‎ ‎9‎:‎54‎:‎01‎, boliramirez said:

This picture was taken Sept 2010 in Rockefeller Center Lego Store...I I was still in my dark ages, I wish I had a clue and bought all the 10212 and the 10019.... I would have no issues leaving the DS for later..... 

Common mistake to get the 10019 and the 10198 mixed up.

[jaisonline 6,364]

On ‎11‎/‎24‎/‎2015‎ ‎9‎:‎54‎:‎01‎, boliramirez said:

This picture was taken Sept 2010 in Rockefeller Center Lego Store...I I was still in my dark ages, I wish I had a clue and bought all the 10212 and the 10019.... I would have no issues leaving the DS for later..... 

Honestly, the 1st thing I saw in the picture was the 10188 box. Not the dragon, the other sets or the people. Just the 10188.

[Crustybeaver 1,174]

If I had the ability to go back in time I'd walk straight past the Lego shop with it's large cumbersome sets and into chains of betting shops armed with my sporting knowledge. No need to worry about storage, postage and fees. The only waiting one would have to concern themselves with is the time it takes to count your winnings before placing the next bet.

[citymorgue 533]

For me, I would invest as much money into Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.  I wouldn't even worry about investing in Lego.  Lego would be for chumps if I knew then what I know now.  But then again, what can you do?

Although, just for pure nostalgia sake, it would be nice to walk into a Lego store 15 years ago to really appreciate how far Lego has grown since then.

[makr 97]

On 24.11.2015, 13:07:45, Jeff Mack said:

The article's opening paragraph reminds us that it wasn't that long ago that "LEGO was losing nearly a million dollars a day".  I wonder how often they would ban people or stop them from buying large quantity of multiples if we can warp back to that time period.

That sure would have seemed odd. But then again, it's quite common for companies with a strong brand to prioritize brand integrity over profits/revenue. Obviously with the aim of increasing the latter through the stronger brand in the long run.