Saving Tons Of Legos From Curb Recycling For $960 Cash (325+ Minifigures)

in ecoTrain3 years ago (edited)

I often find large 15-25 pound hauls of loose LEGOs on the curbs. I have laser vision and sonar for this, often late at night in the dark. Most are perfectly clean and ready to sell, some require bulk washing. Either way, I win.

I usually sell these sets locally to parents for their younger kids, but that’s changed...

I’ve been lucky to attract a serious buyer who wants everything I find. He builds LEGO sets as investments and is working on over 400 sets. This is great for me since I give him plenty of parts and he gives me plenty of cash. He’s the perfect buyer with an insatiable LEGO appetite.

Here are a few recent sales to this collector. I’ve also included a “proof” picture trail showing my latest 18-20 pound LEGO find at 2:40 AM last Friday night.

===========

The Sales:

These 254 complete minis were fun to assemble. I accumulated them over time. There were lots of extra loose body parts, animals, helmets, hair, weapons and accessories that could’ve made plenty more complete minis, but they didn’t “match.” I kept those sorted for him in separate bags.

C0E6C5EC-571D-408C-A485-AAEEB3A6E936.jpeg

Another view from earlier in the assembly phase with a near complete Star Wars AT-AT Walker I found in a black bag.

3BD0AE69-66B1-4221-B4E0-177D709789F8.jpeg

These were sold along with 5 pounds of loose assorted bricks. I also included a partial vintage train set from the 1980’s and partial fire boat set from the late 1970’s, but I wasn’t done...

I also included over 27 POUNDS of loose assembly manuals I collected, most from one haul! This a perfect fit for the buyer who is creating dozens of sets at a time.

As a bonus, I also found 2 empty boxes on the curbs minutes before he came for pickup. I tossed these in for free, but he’s willing to buy any boxes I find.

1AA540AA-F2AC-44B3-A815-9B1E8035249D.jpeg

  • The grouping above was sold for $600 cash. I could’ve gotten a bit more if I sold the minifigures online, but I wanted to build the relationship.

Here were most of the manuals:

9213355D-EECF-49AD-8250-586ABD9AF309.jpeg

===========

I previously sold him 20 pounds of loose parts for $140 cash to begin. I told him where I source from and that I find a lot. He welcomed as much as I could find, so I was happy to deliver on the bigger set above only a few weeks later. I don’t have the picture of the first batch on my phone now, but imagine a large handled bag stuffed to the top.

I believe that this was a good portion of what I sold to him the first time:

6DDAA5BD-0E56-4E39-9051-69E4BA641291.jpeg

I also just sold him 21 pounds of loose parts and 70+ more minifigures for $220 cash last week. This contained the majority of valuable Creator Merry-Go-Round and Holiday Train sets. Again, I could’ve gotten more, but I want him to be excited to come back. I also threw in a rare Boba Fett helmet and jet pack.

Here’s the bulk of the $220 find after I spotted LEGOs in the corner of a bag that was mostly covered by others. It wasn’t an east spot at all.

BA4E3C8B-45BF-40C0-8D1D-89427BBF892B.jpeg

Hauling it in! Oh yea, that Miele vacuum worked and sold almost instantly for $130.

B9058087-F418-452D-8D45-DC7D951BB422.jpeg

The minis from the batch. I had to bulk wash half of this overall set of bricks because there was some coffee grains mixed in. I did this in a large bin with soap and water.

EF6DEC8F-B03C-48B3-AA0D-56801DBB0909.jpeg

===========

Here’s the discovery from this last Friday, roughly 18-20 pounds that are currently soaking in my bathtub with soap.

This was too easy, but hey, nobody else took them since I found them at 2:40 AM after a long night of outdoor sports and board games.

DAA88C21-5209-4736-8969-009FAF40318C.jpeg

More evidence on the trail.

CD032C3B-61AF-499B-B33D-4C4CE6E4C751.jpeg

Hauling it in. It has a decent amount of minifigures in it as well. While most hauls are Creator, City, Ninjago, Harry Potter, and Star Wars... this one looks to be mainly the Friends series. That’s a lot of one niche that isn’t usually that popular.

00F3A5F5-CE47-40D6-942B-7BFB493112A2.jpeg

===========

As you can see, I’m doing my part to help the environment, others, and keep myself free from the need to work for others. These are just recent sales, I’ve been hauling in LEGOs like this for 4+ years. Hundreds of pounds... let that click.

@galenkp
@brickmanbrad

I’ll be back with more. I’ve been selling a LOT of stuff and finding far more than I can handle. I need to scale up. It’s insane.

Stay tuned.

@steemmatt

Sort:  

😍 this is awesome! That’s an incredible haul!!
Fantastic you have a buyer who will take what you have. Massive win!

Thank you. Part of me wants to collect all of the minis for a huge online sale (or split them up into logical subsets) to net me way more than what I'm selling them for, but they help me add value to the other assorted bricks and pieces that are nice to turn over fast with this buyer. I have to constantly remind myself that I get them at no cost to keep perspective. These are first world problems.

Freaking amazing. Didn't know Legos were worth so much. Going to have to keep an eye out for them.

They're often worth more. I give a decent discount for volume here for cash and to earn a repeat customer. The minifigures are very valuable versus the bulk assorted pieces. Certain types of LEGO sets are in higher demand, like Star Wars or Creator. General bricks and pieces are much less valuable on the resale market.