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What we Ship Out: Massive Lego Star Wars Clone Trooper Army!

8/12/2014

Its been a while since we last posted, but never fear! Snazz Industries is still here, and still selling all the Lego minifigure lots that you could ever want. Last week we shipped out this massive lot of 50 Episode 3 (Ep3) Lego star wars clone troopers. These guys are pretty rare at this point, as they were released in 2007 at the time of the last Star Wars movie. They came in just two sets: the clone turbo tank and the Clone battle pack. They are a personal favorite of mine because the battle pack they were released in was the first battle pack ever released by Lego, truly making it possible to amass large armies! That being said, these Clone troopers are in new condition, making them very rare to find in this quantity. Our buyer is definitely one of the lucky ones to have an army of this size of such a rare trooper.

Questions? Gonna ask us where we got all these guys? (Can't tell you that, trade secret :) Want some for yourself? Comment below or send us a message for a custom quote on any minifig lot or Lego need.

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Our Google Lego Mosaic Adventure

1/26/2014

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Our most recent project here at Snazz Industries was making a commissioned Lego mosaic for Google Incs. New York headquarters. Below, an image of the Lincoln center, and our mosaic interpretation!

Over the course of a couple months, the Facilities Team Creative Designer at Google and I worked on several renditions of the mosaic using mosaic rendering software. We settled on the above version for its brighter colors and structure that stayed most true to the original photo. The next item on the agenda was deciding size. The above is 1 x 2 baseplates, about 15 by 30 inches and 48 x 96 studs. The other option was for 2 x 3 baseplates, which would have been much more accurate with more pixels, but would have been more expensive. Once we had both a size and photo to work off of, it was time to order the Lego.

I decided not to go for standard 1 x 1 plates for the entire mosaic, in favor of a mix of plate sizes for better efficiency. The mosaic software instead spit out an XML, which I uploaded to my Bricklink wanted list. From there, I used a program called Brickficency to determine the minimum number of stores I would need to buy from. Receiving the pieces took several weeks, in part due to a massive snowstorm that shut down a lot of shipping, and also in part to slow border crossings. At last, it was time to put the pieces together.

While the pieces I ordered were not 1x1 studs, the image produced by the mosaic software still was. This resulted in some tricky calculations, as there was no way to determine what pieces went where. The general rule was to put the largest piece possible in any given place. Even with this rule, it was still necessary to make a second order of 1x1 tiles in tan, brown, white and light gray to fill in some tiny dots. The entire process took about 20 man hours.

With all the studs finally in place, it was time to make the mosaic ready to hang on a wall. I had a piece of 1/4 inch plexieglass specially cut to size for the back, and mounted both baseplates on with plastic bonding glue. Once the baseplates were firmly attached, it was time to attach the hooks. Unfortunately, the plexiglass was impermeable to nails, so the hangers were placed once again with plastic bonding glue. I then looped a wire through all four of the hangers, providing an easy way to distribute the load.

The mosaic was then complete! It was a labor intensive project, but it was entirely worth it when it was able to hang up on the wall. From far away the colors melded into each other, and from up close it was striking to see the bright colors of Lego studs. I hope Google enjoys displaying it in their headquarters, because I truly believe it is a work of art!

If you are interested in getting your own mosaic, send us an e-mail and we'll help you through it!

Mosaic Photo Gallery

Special Thanks to Daniel Kline and the rest of Breckenridge for providing help and support throughout the project.

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Quick: Amazon Holiday Sale on Lego

12/14/2013

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Legends of Chima is a new Lego theme, and it has not yet proven its investing power. However, Amazon is offering most of the Chima line for sale. Whether it is simply a holiday sale or an indication of a larger trend in the line, it is hard to tell at this point. Regardless, with lots of exclusive figs and high builder reviews, it seems like a good idea to pick some up at almost 40% off.

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A New How to Guide: Selling Bulk Lego Collections

9/13/2013

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So you have a Lego collection of bulk pieces in a massive bin in front of you, waiting to be sold. Great! Whether you are selling a thrift store haul, your own collection or helping someone else sell theirs, Lego has a lot of value and its not always obvious how to extract it. Over the past couple weeks, I received two Lego collections to sell, and I can help you avoid the pitfalls that I fell into along the way. Plus, I'll make sure that you maximize the profit from your Lego sales. There are much better ways than simply throwing the whole lot on Ebay, and I'll show you how. Check out our new investment guide here, under guides in the above menu. Happy hunting!

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Two Top Vintage Sets -- And what you can learn to invest today

7/10/2013

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As I've been searching for current sets to invest in, I thought to sort Amazon by most expensive to see what kind of sets currently fetch the highest prices. Of course, there were the obvious -- the Millennium Falcon, the Cafe Corner and Market Street -- but also several unexpected vintage sets from 10 or more years ago. Here, I discuss the sets and their exorbitant pricing that I found and what you can learn to shape your investing today.

Town Shuttle Launch Command (#6339)

When I first saw this set topping the list of expensive Lego sets on Amazon, I was dubious. Released in 1995, this set is reaching nearly 18 years old. It originally sold for $66 and only contained 4 minifigs, only one of whom is unique and even he sells for less than two dollars currently. But still, the price currently on Amazon is almost $2,000 for a sealed set. This insane price increase has to do with two major factors. One, the market environment on Amazon is considerably more skewed than any other when it comes to selling Lego. Due to the high fees that Amazon leverages on sellers, prices often inflate to have some cushion for the fees. But secondly, and more inline with the set itself, is the age of the set. 18 years is a long time to leave a set and never open it. With sealed lego sets after retirement, the supply only goes down as sets inevitably get opened. Even if the demand remains constant across the years, due to diminishing supply the prices will have to rise.
Bottom Line: Even if sets don't preform well in the first couple years, patience is key as supply will only diminish the longer you hold sets.

Statue of Liberty (#3450)

This could possibly be the most expensive Lego set I have ever seen on offer. It is already 13 years old, debuting in 2000 with 2,882 pieces and absolutely no figures. However, its high price, almost $9,000 at this point, is not without explanation. The Statue is comprised solely of sand green pieces -- a rare color. In fact, if you were to buy the pieces to make the statue on Bricklink, it would cost nearly the price of the sealed set. Sand green was found exclusively in the statue for many years (until the recent release of 10228 Haunted Mansion). These rare pieces did two things. First, they encouraged builders to open sets, reducing the number of after retirement sealed sets. Second, they made sure that the set continued gaining value. While exclusive figures can come and go out of popularity (like Star Wars figures from the 90's with today's kids), certain color pieces will always be needed by builders for MOCs and other creations.
Bottom Line: Be aware of sets that include rare pieces and uncommon colors. These can spur demand after the set retires.

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Coming Back!

7/1/2013

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After a long hiatus, Snazz Industries is returning to post more, sell more, and prospect more! Keep checking back for investment advice, sets to buy and other Lego related news

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Top 3 Best Selling Lego Set Investments Ever

7/19/2012

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Certain Lego figures and sets sell better than others. But which ones are the most popular? Due to popular request, here is a list of the best investments of the past few years. Anything with an asterisk Snazz industries picked up on and has sold, or has in inventory!

3) 10182 Cafe Corner*
Released in 2007, this set is about 2 years out of retirement. It was the first of the modular building style line, meaning that it holds sentimental value for those who are new to the modular line (they want it to complete their collection) or veterans of the line (they want it out of nostalgia). Either way, sweet profits!
Original Price: $149.99
Currently Selling for: $1,499.99
Return on Investment (RoI): 1000%
Check out the crazy prices

2) 10179 Millenium Falcon
Also released in 2007, this set is about 2 years out of retirement. It had a small run of sets, increasing demand. It also was the culmination of a long star wars set tradition, key for collectors. The high upfront price meant this set appealed only to hardcore collectors, but it was enough to create a good investment opportunity.
Original Price: $500
Currently Selling for: $2775.00
Return on Investment (RoI): 555%
Check out the crazy prices

1) 10190 Market Street*
It seems to be no coincidence that the most valuable set on the list was also released in 2007. I often consider it the smartest investment that Snazz Industries has ever made. I snapped up two of the sets, one mid 2007 and then end of 2008 when it was on sale before being retired. At the current prices each piece of this set (1,248 in total) would be worth $1.60!
Original Price: $90
Currently Selling for: $1,988.00
Return on Investment (RoI): 2209%
Check out the crazy prices

All numbers for prices taken from Amazon on 7/19/2012.

2 Comments

Still the best time of year to stock up on Inventory

5/14/2012

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Lego is unique in the fact that is has two very juxtaposed markets: one, with parents and other uninformed people selling Lego at a cheap price, and another with collectors avidly buying Lego. This market dichotomy benefits us who sell Lego. That's why in spring, look around your local tag sales and yard sales. You'll be amazed what you can pull up. Recently I found an entirely intact 4855 Spiderman's Train rescue set--for $10. These finds can bring in profits of 300-400%. There aren't many other easily avaliable products that can boast the same turnover.

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Another Day

4/13/2012

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Its been a while since the blog was updated, and things are moving along at Snazz Industries. We recently shipped out our prized cloud city minifig collection (see the front page). It has been busy recently in real life so business and business ventures have been a little slow recently. Still, keep sending messages through the contact link and I will try to get back to you in a timely manner!

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Sending Out 100 ARF Troopers!

1/9/2012

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Just posted a time lapse video assembling all the parts of 100 ARF troopers that we recently shipped out! Took quite a while - probably about half an hour in total condensed down into a minute and a half. I buy the pieces separately for large orders so it is cheaper, but that does have the downside of extra long shipping for the buyer and then I have to do all the assembling. But it is worth it in the end for the profit. ARF clone troopers are pretty cheap right now, if you can I'd recommend buying some as they probably will increase in price just as Stormtroopers did last year. I personally think I'll hold onto around 100 and sell them off slowly as the price increases.

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Snazz Industries

What we Ship Out: Massive Lego Star Wars Clone Trooper Army!

Our Google Lego Mosaic Adventure

If you are interested in getting your own mosaic, send us an e-mail and we'll help you through it!

Mosaic Photo Gallery

Quick: Amazon Holiday Sale on Lego

A New How to Guide: Selling Bulk Lego Collections

Two Top Vintage Sets -- And what you can learn to invest today

Town Shuttle Launch Command (#6339)

Statue of Liberty (#3450)

Coming Back!

Top 3 Best Selling Lego Set Investments Ever

Still the best time of year to stock up on Inventory

Another Day

Sending Out 100 ARF Troopers!

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