how safe would it be to buy a set of lego secondhand?

ilovesleep

I'm looking at some lego sets and some of them are just so expensive like 200 euro+ for a box.
It would take me ages to save for a box of lego that I would would love to get.

How safe would it be to buy second hand of ebay or amazon? I'd be worried about getting it in the post without instructions or has loads of missing pieces.

Necronomicon

Generally it's pretty safe, as long as you're careful. The vast majority of sellers are honest, and any problems I've ever encountered have been through mistakes on their part which they were quick to rectify (missing pieces, mostly).

I've never bought sets from third-party sellers on Amazon, not because it isn't safe (in fact, Amazon invariably side with the buyer in the event of ANY problem transactions) more because discontinued sets inflated well over their true value. If you want a good idea of a set's true value, have a look on www.bricklink.com which is the best second-hand market for Lego. eBay can be hit and miss; the Buy it Now auctions are typically rip-offs, so the best thing to do is look for proper bidding auctions, sometimes you can snag a bargain.

As for safety, particularly on eBay, I'd consider the following:

1) Keep an eye on a seller's feedback. However, 100% feedback doesn't always mean that they're good sellers. Scammers often go to lengths to build up high feedback through selling items of a miniscule value so buyers will feel confident in purchasing a high-value item.

2) Pay close attention to the pictures. Be wary of auctions that use stock product images rather than actual photos they've taken themselves.

3) Always, always read the description very carefully. Never assume anything. Sometimes the titles of listings can be somewhat vague or misleading, and it is only in the description that it is clarified. Most sellers welcome communication before you purchase too, send a message if you're still unclear.

4) If you're buying Lego, particularly big sets which have been used, then it is possible that it will indeed have missing pieces. Not all the time, but it happens. Give the seller a chance to rectify this if it happens. If they can't rectify it, then you have recourse through eBay and PayPal - as the buyer you're very well protected. You can also buy individual pieces on Bricklink, which I linked to above.

5) The #1 buying rule: if the price seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

K.O.Kiki

LEGO just is an expensive luxury, sorry OP.

Even shops have a hard time discounting it.

Have a look in the bargains thread, or keep touring small toy shops (especially outside Dublin) until you get lucky with old stock -- I bought a trio of 6208 B-wing for ~€20 each on holiday in Kilkenny when the RRP had been double that.