Hard to Find Sets..

[RobWB]

Hello Everyone, 

I'm new here and in a little bit of a pickle, I am tearing myself up not knowing if I should open Hard to Find and Retiring sets.. What is everyone's opinion on opening and building Hard to Find sets, I also found today a couple of Retired sets.. Should I keep them in perfect condition and not open and build them, or open and Build?

[deraven]

Hi RobWB - welcome to Eurobricks!

Here's the question to ask:  Do you want to build them?  If the answer is yes, then open them.    But really, if you enjoy building with Lego and not just collecting and those sets are ones you'd like to build, just go for it.  Open them carefully and save the box and instructions (of course), and that way you can still get plenty of value back out of them later if you want to sell them, just not quite as much as NISB/MISB.

If there are any that are still available at a reasonable cost now and you're really torn about it, buy another copy if you have the budget and build 1 and keep one.  The main reason I say that is being unsure if you should build it will only get worse as the price starts going up (unless it doesn't, then it's an easier decision!).  I'll admit that I have a few sets that I bought and fully intended to build but ended up stuck in my backlog, and now they're worth 4x+ their original retail which so far as kept them in their boxes.  

[howitzer]

Yeah, the only real reason to keep a set unopened is to sell it some day for profit. Unless that's your intention, open it, build it and enjoy it.

[ShaydDeGrai]

The question you really need to ask yourself is: Is Lego my investment strategy or my hobby?  Where does the "joy" lie for you?  As @howitzer said, if you bought the set speculating that it would go up in value and you'll feel good about selling it for a profit after it's sat in your closet for a few years, then lock it away.  If you bought it because you'd enjoy building it, sharing it with friends/kids, displaying it (or playing with it - no judgement ) then by all means crack it open and have a good tim.  If you're in it for the experience of collecting/owning/building it then the question of being "rare" or "retired" doesn't really matter (though, as a collector, I have to admit sometimes I get a little extra enjoyment out of cracking open a long retired kit, savoring the moment, knowing that I'll likely never have another chance to build that particular kit again straight from the box.)

[RobWB]

Thank you for the response

1 hour ago, ShaydDeGrai said:

The question you really need to ask yourself is: Is Lego my investment strategy or my hobby?  Where does the "joy" lie for you?  As @howitzer said, if you bought the set speculating that it would go up in value and you'll feel good about selling it for a profit after it's sat in your closet for a few years, then lock it away.  If you bought it because you'd enjoy building it, sharing it with friends/kids, displaying it (or playing with it - no judgement ) then by all means crack it open and have a good tim.  If you're in it for the experience of collecting/owning/building it then the question of being "rare" or "retired" doesn't really matter (though, as a collector, I have to admit sometimes I get a little extra enjoyment out of cracking open a long retired kit, savoring the moment, knowing that I'll likely never have another chance to build that particular kit again straight from the box.)

I had never thought of Lego as a long term investment, I have always loved Lego, but have only just recently seen that the sets come in and than retire this i had never known. I have wanted the Taj Mahal since it took the place as the largest set. Also finding out that I had the Roller Coaster brought from right underneath me from someone in another country he had apparently been ringing shop after shop world wide to find it the store i buy most of mine from sold it and shipped it to them.. 

[hagridshut]

13 hours ago, RobWB said:

Hello Everyone, 

I'm new here and in a little bit of a pickle, I am tearing myself up not knowing if I should open Hard to Find and Retiring sets.. What is everyone's opinion on opening and building Hard to Find sets, I also found today a couple of Retired sets.. Should I keep them in perfect condition and not open and build them, or open and Build?

I bought a new, sealed Creator 3 in 1 Corner Deli (Item No: 31050-1) on eBay last year.  It's a set that was retired in 2016, and now goes for $90-$100 new on eBay.  The original suggested retail price was $40 in the U.S., and it could probably have been found for $32-35 at a large store like Target or Walmart.  

I opened and built the Corner Deli, with no regrets.  It's a beautiful set, was fun to build, and I enjoyed modifying it for use in a LEGO scene I was creating.  

LEGO sets are meant to be opened and built.  In other threads, I've seen them compared to wines.  What's the use of having a bottles of wine in storage if they aren't eventually going to be opened and savored?  Unless you're planning to sell at a profit someday, I think the only reason to keep a set sealed is to save it for building on a special occasion.  One example might be opening and building an old Winter Village set with family on Christmas Eve.