Hello fellow board members!
For several weeks now I’ve been trying to find a good way to evaluate or estmate the value of a Bionicle lot and what makes an lot a great deal. To specify the question I was looking to answer was: What should be considered a good deal in the context of a Bionicle lot?
So before we start I’m gonna have too specify what I mean with a Bionicle lot. The definition I’m going to be using in this analysis is that a Bionicle lot is a collection or gathering of parts and/or sets sold together in one listing.
Another thing to define is what makes a good or even a great deal. The definition I went with was: Obtaining a product or service by not paying more than the expected secondary market value for the product/service. The greater return you can make on the product/service the greater the deal is.
To recap from our preset definitions we can conclude that a great deal for a Bionicle lot is a gathering of sets and/or parts that you can make a greater return from than you invest in them.
Now that we have some form of idea of what we are looking for in a great deal for a Bionicle lot we can make a tool or analysis of how to find said great deal of a bionicle lot.
#Look for rarer pieces or masks in the lot
LEGO pieces are usually valued at 10 cent per piece which is true for most Bionicle pieces unless it’s a more rare piece or it’s a piece that generally breaks or disapper. However there is no guarantee that the price goes up due to factors like rarity. So determining the value of a lot through the parts alone is thusly not recommended.
If we instead turn our attention to the mask, krana and other collectibles since they are going to generate the most value from parts alone lots. In collection lots(lots that’s a mix of a sets and parts) mask and other collectibles are generally a good supplementary value to the value of each complete set(accoriding to Bricklink’s set inventory) in the lot.
Moving on the value of mask, krana and other collectibles found in sets are usually valued at most for 1$. More rare collectibles and masks has a higher value and should always be used as pointer to determine a lots value and if you’ve got a good deal on your hand. However here is a bit of a pitfall you can fall into which is your own expected value. Thusly more rare collectibles and masks should be double check with sources such as bzpowers rare collectibles topic or Bricklink’s price charts for the specific collectibles or masks value.
#Look for sets that can be completed or looks complete.
In any lot the thing that generates the most value in the lot is the sets that the lot comes with if the lots includes sets. Usually the sets to look for are sets that are 1. Sets that are really sought after or has a high demand, 2. Titan sets usually have a higher value due to it’s higher piece count.
Just like the mask and collectibles a sets value should always be confirmed via Bricklink. This is because Bricklink has the most realistic secondary market price charts.
#Bricklink is your best friend and don’t ever forget it.
As I’ve mentioned several times through out this topic Bricklink is the go to place to research set invetories and parts/sets values.
Because of this I believe Bricklink to be the best tool for determining if you have a good deal on your hands or help you make a good or even a great deal on indvidual sets, collectibles or even lots.
#Conclusion
To conclude through these 3 things I’ve been able to develop a tool to find deals when looking at Bionicle lots. However this method does not consider the appeal of a deal for more personal reason such as getting a lot for spare parts or to complete sets.
Even so I believe the objective nature of this method makes it so it can be used in conjuction with personal reasons to find a greater deal to maybe even making a return on the deal while still having enough parts for spares or completing sets.
Either way now I would like to hear your opinion on my method or feel free to share the way you evaluate the worth of Bionicle lots.
//Tarkur
