Toys to Retirement Weekly Wrap-Up

Peak season baby!

Hey friends,

Hope everyone is having a splendid Q4. Sales are pumpin’, and we still haven’t reached the heights our toys are destined for. Keep raising those minimums, adjusting your repricer, and keeping an eye on competitors — the next two weeks are CRUCIAL for making as much profit per sale as you can.

I can’t express how powerful the Yo-Yo strategy for repricing is. The number of SKUs I’ve sold at their max price is astounding, and it seems to be increasing everyday. Check out last week’s Weekly Wrap-Up to see how I implement the Yo-Yo strategy into my repricing:

Toys to Retirement Weekly Wrap-Up

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More LEGO restrictions…

I’m sad to report that another wave of LEGO restrictions have gone out on Amazon. This time it does seem that slightly higher volume sellers may have been hit. It’s hard to pinpoint precisely how Amazon is determining who gets restricted, but one of the common themes I’m seeing is “low” volume spread throughout the year. Even those who have a lot in stock now, may be receiving restrictions because they didn’t sell year round. I have not received the restriction, so just for your reference, this is the amount of LEGO I sold so far this year (honestly didn’t invest much in LEGO last year, most of my capital was tied up in other toys):

January 2024: 230 units / $10,937 revenue

February 2024: 274 units / $21,362 revenue

March 2024: 443 units / $25,610 revenue

April 2024: 161 units / $10,627 revenue

May 2024: 245 units / $8,380 revenue

June 2024: 551 units / $24,468 revenue

July 2024: 692 units / $23,887 revenue

August 2024: 476 units / $17,936 revenue

September 2024: 343 units / $18,110 revenue

October 2024: 249 units / $11,106 revenue

November 2024: 755 units / $35,281 revenue

I don’t know if Amazon is looking at revenue, units, or both. All I know is that I consistently sold LEGO all year and that seems to be what they’re looking for. The people I know who are also not restricted, regardless of whether they sold more or less than me, also sold LEGO consistently throughout the year.

Many of the people I’ve spoken to who have got the restriction have not sold LEGO consistently throughout the year.

You definitely don’t need to sell the amount that I did to remain un-restricted, but at least it gives us an idea of what to expect next year.

I would be shocked if these restrictions carry on past January, but for those who are a bit timid of LEGO moving forward, I also uncovered some data that may hopefully instill some confidence in other toys for you.

So far in 2024, of my top 50 most profitable ASINs, only 5 were LEGO.

In terms of my highest ROI ASINs so far for the year, only 6 were LEGO.

If you aren’t comfortable with the uncertainty of LEGO, don’t worry — there are plenty of other toys out there.

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LEGO Double VIP Weekend & New GWP

Heads up, LEGO is having a double VIP point weekend with a holiday gift with purchase ($150 threshold). Double VIP equates to about 10% back in rewards points. Several sets from our Buy List are also on sale. I love the GWP, I love the double points, and I love what’s on sale. I’ll be trying to hit the LEGO stores multiple times a day during this promo. Tons of stuff is selling out, in-store may be the last chance to get them.

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One more LEGO thing…

I know, I know. Enough about bricks! But just so you know, I have updated my Final LEGO 2024 Overview. Scroll down to the “December 6, 2024 Update” to see my latest notes on LEGO for this holiday season.

Final LEGO 2024 Overview

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Some specific stuff I’ve purchased lately…

If you missed it, earlier this week I posted an article with a handful of toys that I purchased to either flip or hold. I did some analysis on them and included some tips. Hopefully you guys find this sort of specific ASIN analysis useful:

Toys I've Been Buying

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Tip of the Week #6

Are you a fan of retail arbitrage? Maybe you’re just simply looking to expand your toy product knowledge? Here is a tip that can help you zone in on some specific brands to be keeping an eye out for.

1. Go to eBay

2. Search “chase figure” / “limited edition figure 2024” / “discontinued figure" etc.

3. Check the box for ‘Sold Items’

There are a ton of different ways to search for this sort of stuff, those are just some examples. Then you can sort by category, highest price sold, whatever!

This will give you some ideas of what certain toy brands are capable of. There is definitely some filler fluff, and honestly even some weird stuff, but once you sift through that you can really learn a lot.

I spent two minutes searching, and quickly realized that I should maybe attend D23 Expo next year… based on that image above.

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Have you guys been paying attention to the box office / streaming platforms?

If you’ve been reading Toys to Retirement, you know by now how important box office and streaming platform trends are for toy investing and flipping. Just some things to note…

Moana 2 released just eight days ago and this doll is already going crazy with the Buy Box. Widely available for $10 throughout the year during Shop Disney sales, people are already snagging sales close to $30. In the coming weeks, they could go even higher.

This Descendants doll was on clearance several times last year for $13-$15. With Hasbro losing the license to Disney Princess, combined with the release of “The Rise of Red” in July, this doll soared to new heights, jumping past $100 this Q4. You will notice this trend with several discontinued Descendants dolls right now.

A more current Doll also related to Rise of Red. Girls obviously want dolls from this movie this year, as this $20 doll has hit as high as $70 this Q4. A movie doesn’t have to release during the holidays for the demand to be crazy for its merch.

This Kraven figure was clearanced by Walmart last year for $13.97 plus cash back. It hasn’t skyrocketed, but demand has remained steady and the price is starting to increase. The best part? The Kraven movie still doesn’t release for another week. If the movie flops, demand will likely remain the same or slightly decrease. If it’s a surprise hit? Expect this to jump up. Nothing to write home about, but a relatively safe, profitable investment.

Unfortunately this doll has been RESTRICTED by Amazon due to the misprint packaging debacle (you can Google it yourself), but the product recall combined with the insane popularity of the Wicked movie has completely annihilated Amazon’s stock. If you’re lucky enough to find this doll, misprint or not, there may be a quick flip opportunity on eBay.

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Have you been paying attention to NON-specific movie merch? This Super Sonic plush has been available for six years now for around $13. With the new Sonic movie releasing, even though this specific plush isn’t related to it, the price has jumped up to $39.99+!

Moral of the story? Whether it’s a year in advance or after the fact, there are always box office and streaming trends to be paying attention to. These plays can be riskier if the product isn’t already discontinued, but they’re still worth learning about to better understand the trends for specific franchises. Q4 isn’t over, and Christmas is still 20 days away. Maybe you can make some money on these?

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Alright guys, wrapping it up here. Back to the prep dungeon, we’re almost to the finish line. Keep repricing, sourcing, and let’s set ourselves up for a glorious January with tons of momentum.

Catch you next week!

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