Buying/Selling Strategies

This is the page for the people who are trying to make a profit off the sales of the retired Bionicle sets. Add some strategies or tips you use here!

Parts to Paradise Strategy
This strategy requires a lot of time, and a daring trust in the person you are buying from. Basically, you buy big lots of randomized parts for a lower price(big parts lots normally attract either higher or lower prices), and put the sets together, selling them for more than you bought the lot. This strategy can be very effective, but only if you have what it takes to complete it.

General knowledge of all Bionicle sets helps, because when you see the picture on eBay or Craigslist, all you will see is parts. Trying to find what sets are in the lot can be solved by several methods.

Often the seller will include close-up shots as well as the large front picture, which adds insight to the lot. From there, piece selecting is the best method. This is where you find masks(which are great, because they point out that a specific set in in the lot) and parts that single out a set or group of sets, for example, Bohrok shields, or Kraata and Krana. These pieces, scattered around in the pile, can be identified to indicate existing sets that may be built for profit.

But do you really know if the sets are complete? Just if you see a Visorak jaw, or a Vahki head, it doesn't mean the entire set is there. The Visorak might be missing the Rhokutka spinner and rip cord( a common loss for 2005 sets) and the Vahki might be missing its staffs, which are customized to the individual sets, irreplaceable without buying them specifically. Generally, if you see 15 potential sets in the lot, only 11 will be complete at the most. There are exceptions, where the seller has kept all the parts together. However, the #1 cause for the sets to be dismantled in the first place are children who rip them apart to create their own creations, then they get bored or outgrow them and the parts are put into large totes or boxes.

If you do happen to buy a large pile of parts, several steps can be followed to ensure a profit. You still have a lot to do. The buy is the easiest part!

Now you are tasked with putting the sets back together. Instructions may be included with the buy, and if not can be access online. Both methods involve you digging through the pile for pieces, a long and tedious work. It can be sped up by color-coding the pieces or organizing them by type. Doing both is the fastest way to build. Say your building Gali Nuva. You take your pieces from the light and regular blue piles, with the specialized Nuva parts coming from a pile of their own.

This method takes time, but if that's something you have, its worth a shot!