Selling CMF - sealed or open?

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

CMF = Collectable Minifigures so yes it is the same

 

Thanks for clarifying.

 

Then yes that is what I am asking about.

[TheDarkness]

I believe there are a few people here who flip minifigs.
I buy the boxes, make completes sets which I sell then hold onto the spares. Later on I might sell them individually.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I believe there are a few people here who flip minifigs.

I buy the boxes, make completes sets which I sell then hold onto the spares. Later on I might sell them individually.

 

What does one of them and a full set go for?

[comicblast]

What does one of them and a full set go for?

Depends on the series. Series 1 can go for a whole lot ($80+), but current series like Series 10 are fairly cheap at maybe $50. Individual minifigures prices depend on the "rarity" of the minifigure. There are not equal numbers of each minifigure per box, so it depends.

[TheOrcKing]

Individual minifigures prices depend on the "rarity" of the minifigure.

Also depends on "desirability". Even some which are typically rarer than others hold low values because of little desirability but the rarity can help somewhat.

[rcdb1984]

I bought an entire box of 60 series 10 MF in hopes of getting a mr gold.  Opened them all and didn't get one.  After all was done I had two complete MF sets sold each of them as a set, and then sold the remaining misc as a bundle of randoms.  All in all I ended up losing 10-15 bucks on the deal, but it was a price I was willing to take in order to gamble for a gold.

[comicblast]

Also depends on "desirability". Even some which are typically rarer than others hold low values because of little desirability but the rarity can help somewhat.

Yes. I forgot to add that (thanks, TOK). Many minifigures qualify to be "Army Builders" such as Zombies, Roman Soldiers, or Spartans. This is partially the reason why these minifigures appreciate much more than other minifigures: You can simply have a whole lot of them, and still need more for a MOC. Though I am sort of surprised that the Zombie appreciated so much, especially since the MF theme is around/was around, but the Roman Soldier and Spartan don't surprise me because there has never been a Roman/Greek mythology theme.

[Gondorian]

At first, I thought this thread was about buying bulk lots on eBay where you can see some minifigs on a mountain of other used lego in a blurry picture and then when the package arrives you look through it all and see what rare ones were lurking inside!

 

I bought a 6kg bulk lot the other day, which should arrive this week.  Wish me luck!

[LowestFormOfWit]

To answer more directly to the original post:

 

Yes I buy some for investment.

 

No, I can't think of an instance where opening a CMF bag is more valuable than keeping it sealed (using the "smoosh" or gentle caress, you can identify the minifig inside its bag without having to tear it open).

 

The success of flipping a CMF really depends on a few things. The ratio at which each is provided by LEGO (these vary greatly, from 5-6 per 60 to only 1-2 per 60), and the eventual popularity of the minifig (obviously).

 

Identifying the popular minifigs is sometimes the difficult part of making these worth anything as an investment. What becomes a popular fig may not necessarily be what you think is the coolest. Other popular figs are what become "army builders", or figs that would be needed in great quantities to make a scene.

 

A couple notable examples of all of these factors aligning are the Series 2 "Spartan" and the Series 6 "Roman Soldier". Both were fairly uncommon grabs, and made great army builders (for a great 300 MOC, or for a Roman Phalanx, etc). So they were cool, in short supply, and encouraged army building. Bingo. That is why each of these figs commands around $15.00 a pop nowadays. Not bad for a $3.00 or less investment depending on your entry point.

 

Out of series 10, I've found good success with Medusa. She is, in my opinion, the coolest fig out of this line. A great, simple design, and a dual-face for showing a plain look or an angry look. It also helps that she's only found at a 1-2 per 60 ratio.

Aside from all of these factors, Series 1 and 2 CMF bags tend to be of higher value, not only because they are the oldest, but they are the lines which saw the lowest production quantities. LEGO wasn't confident (neither were the retailers) in the success of the CMF line, so the first 2 series weren't printed in the kind of batches we see with Series 3 onwards after the line proved a huge success.

[JoshTX]

I bought cases of series 10 and will sell them that way once the series goes OOS, hopefully net a profit off people still hunting a Mr. Gold post-production. Individual minifigs I don't bother with, they just aren't worth my time. It's fun to buy them and give them to the kids or throw one up on display at my desk at work, but I don't see them as investment. 

[LowestFormOfWit]

I bought cases of series 10 and will sell them that way once the series goes OOS, hopefully net a profit off people still hunting a Mr. Gold post-production. Individual minifigs I don't bother with, they just aren't worth my time. It's fun to buy them and give them to the kids or throw one up on display at my desk at work, but I don't see them as investment. 

With the CMF's I apply polybag logic. They're stupid easy to store, and dirt cheap to ship. If you can pick the right ones, you're looking at $8.00 and up per fig. Considering the $3.00 price point of MSRP (which is what a regularly discounted typical Polybag goes for),  I don't find doubling my money a poor choice at all.

 

I have to agree though, that if you're buying a case, you're better selling it by itself sealed, at least with Series 10 because of Mr. Gold. My logic only works if you're picking and choosing. Obviously you're going to end up with a lot of garbage if you buy a whole case, speaking from a selling individually sold standpoint.

[JoshTX]

With the CMF's I apply polybag logic. They're stupid easy to store, and dirt cheap to ship. If you can pick the right ones, you're looking at $8.00 and up per fig. Considering the $3.00 price point of MSRP (which is what a regularly discounted typical Polybag goes for),  I don't find doubling my money a poor choice at all.

 

I have to agree though, that if you're buying a case, you're better selling it by itself sealed, at least with Series 10 because of Mr. Gold. My logic only works if you're picking and choosing. Obviously you're going to end up with a lot of garbage if you buy a whole case, speaking from a selling individually sold standpoint.

 

Yeah, I understand there's money to be made in doing volume with minifigs, and one day I'd like to push more volume, but as of now with my time constraints, I'm better off with the larger sets holding and selling once in a while. I did the same thing with action figures, I never had alot of time for the miniatures and smaller pvc figures and such. 

[LowestFormOfWit]

There's always the promotional minifigs to consider from movies/game pre-orders/books. For their weight I think they're the most valuable LEGO you can sell.

 

I got a supply of 10 or so from various promotional inserts. Average around $20.00 a pop.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

With the CMF's I apply polybag logic. They're stupid easy to store, and dirt cheap to ship. If you can pick the right ones, you're looking at $8.00 and up per fig. Considering the $3.00 price point of MSRP (which is what a regularly discounted typical Polybag goes for),  I don't find doubling my money a poor choice at all.

 

I have to agree though, that if you're buying a case, you're better selling it by itself sealed, at least with Series 10 because of Mr. Gold. My logic only works if you're picking and choosing. Obviously you're going to end up with a lot of garbage if you buy a whole case, speaking from a selling individually sold standpoint.

 

This is more why I was looking into them. I hate shipping fees and these really help with that.

[@rtisan]

Like others have said, doubling money isn`t an issue if you can buy the right ones. I stocked up on Romans (20 or so) recently, and see no reason why I can`t sell them in lots of 5-10 down the line. Fast army builder and the fact that a guy can never have too many makes this one an easy sell. Same with Forest Maiden (got 12 of those). There are definitely a few others (Medusa, etc) but those ones are some of the best in recent memory IMO. 

[IrishGuy66]

Yes. I forgot to add that (thanks, TOK). Many minifigures qualify to be "Army Builders" such as Zombies, Roman Soldiers, or Spartans. This is partially the reason why these minifigures appreciate much more than other minifigures: You can simply have a whole lot of them, and still need more for a MOC. Though I am sort of surprised that the Zombie appreciated so much, especially since the MF theme is around/was around, but the Roman Soldier and Spartan don't surprise me because there has never been a Roman/Greek mythology theme.

The reason the zombie appreciated so well is because, between Plants Vs. Zombies, The Walking Dead, and World War Z there are probably more zombie fans out there than StarWars'.

[MartinP]

I do not do that at all. I always keep the minifigures.

[mikeur86]

So I just bought 151 mini-figures from ebay for 1.12 a figure. My hopes are to just toss them up in a lot and try and make a quick flip.  They are mainly Lego City people but there are some licensed characters in there. 

 

Do any of you guys do this? Do you have luck in selling figures like this?

[Polar_Beast]

So I just bought 151 mini-figures from ebay for 1.12 a figure. My hopes are to just toss them up in a lot and try and make a quick flip.  They are mainly Lego City people but there are some licensed characters in there. 

 

Do any of you guys do this? Do you have luck in selling figures like this?

I've theoretically had great success with this. I say theoretically, because like others have said, it's quite time consuming to sell individual figures/polybags and I have only listed only a small portion of what I own have for sale. What I have listed I've quite well with.

 

As others have said, the individual ROIs can be quite high for certain figures (200-500% range).. I have bought several minifig "mountains" of eBay when I recognize valuable figures mixed in.

 

One great example was 135 minifigs for $100. I saw from the Avatar theme 2 Momo's (around $20 each), an Aang ($15), Zuko ($25), and 5 firebenders (about $8 each maybe). Sold em all, so right there that basically covered my costs and I'm left with 125 figures that I can just resell what's left as a bulk mountain, or further scour and pull the 5$ figs out and group them into bundles of 5 for $20-25.

 

Another example was 50 figs for $35. I saw an original Jango Fett in there and jumped on it. The other 49 figs were mostly worthless (a few Troopers and Jedi), but I re-sold them as a bulk lot for $70! After fees I basically got paid $25 to keep Jango Fett!

 

I have about 5 other minifig mountains that I've bought that I need to sift through. Definitely not for someone who doesn't absolutely love LEGO, but if you do, and just plain enjoy looking at and "playing" with minifigs, then this can be a profitable and fun avenue. Also, it's great to have all the bulk figures if you make customs.

 

But, if you are in it strictly for the money, I wouldn't take this approach as the time investment will far outweigh the monetary one.

 

-PB

[Msudawgs56]

I'm about to venture into this too. I love minifgs and LEGO and I actually enjoy the quiet time of just sifting through parts.

[mikeur86]

So I just bought 151 mini-figures from ebay for 1.12 a figure. My hopes are to just toss them up in a lot and try and make a quick flip.  They are mainly Lego City people but there are some licensed characters in there. 

 

Do any of you guys do this? Do you have luck in selling figures like this?

 

So I thought I would follow up on my purchase. All of the figures arrived in the condition noted. I set each figure up and took a picture of them. Bulked together any that seemed to appear the same (like farmers etc) and then slapped them on ebay. All but 12 figures have sold and they all yielded 1.00-1.75 profit. I'll admit it took a LONG while to sort these out, take pictures, upload to ebay. I use a program called Garagesale so it was a little easier to put on ebay.

 

Anyways, I thought it was easy money. There were only four licensed characters in the lot. I just now purchased another 825 figures for around 85 cents a piece and there appears to be at least two dozen or so Star Wars figs and about a dozen Indy figs..Some spongebob and Harry Potter. I hope i'll find more buried in the abyss.

 

The best thing about this I should earn(assumming everyone leaves feedback and there wasn't any issues with the shipment) a good amount of feedback which will help me later on when I need to sell some long term investments.

[binici]

I love collecting these. With all the dupes I have been pulling, I am putting them aside and going to wait for their values to rise (if at all).

[beartrapper]

Whats the best method to ship a small number of figures?

 

 

I've been selling some polybags and I feel like I'm doing it wrong.

I purchased a dozen bubble mailers from WalMart, which ended up being close to $0.50 each, shipping ended up being around $2.12 on average using USPS priority (to get a tracking number).

 

So not including anything for time, its roughly $2.62 per item to ship.

 

I've got at least 100 polybags & minifigures I want to get rid of, and there has to be an easier way.

[MartinP]

Whats the best method to ship a small number of figures?

 

 

I've been selling some polybags and I feel like I'm doing it wrong.

I purchased a dozen bubble mailers from WalMart, which ended up being close to $0.50 each, shipping ended up being around $2.12 on average using USPS priority (to get a tracking number).

 

So not including anything for time, its roughly $2.62 per item to ship.

 

I've got at least 100 polybags & minifigures I want to get rid of, and there has to be an easier way.

You could always try to sell some of the ploybags and minifigures in lots so you do not have to pay more shipping. you could ship them altogether if one person buys them.

[comicblast]

Whats the best method to ship a small number of figures?

 

 

I've been selling some polybags and I feel like I'm doing it wrong.

I purchased a dozen bubble mailers from WalMart, which ended up being close to $0.50 each, shipping ended up being around $2.12 on average using USPS priority (to get a tracking number).

 

So not including anything for time, its roughly $2.62 per item to ship.

 

I've got at least 100 polybags & minifigures I want to get rid of, and there has to be an easier way.

Bubbled envelopes should do the trick. Staples has fairly low costing bubble envelopes depending on the size. I went with something like 5x8 ones for minifigures. Polybags should use larger ones though. After purchasing about 30 envelopes, I realized I couldn't use one envelope for both.

 

I think you method is the best way, unless you decide to sell in bulk, where you would either put 30 or so in a small box or large envelope to save on postage.