Let me give you my take on it. Just speaking my opinion on this.
I was thinking of dipping my toes in with the LoTR Shelob Attacks set. It's only $20 bucks on Amazon and most of the LoTR sets are still available on Amazon. Is that a good place to start?
Yeah, I consider the $20 area to be a great place to start, in general. I don't are for LotR, so I can't help you with that.
Secondly I notice the price on these sets can go up fast because seemingly these sets go out of stock real quick. Is it wise to jump on a set quickly if you are thinking about it? Where do you purchase your sets? For instance most of the ToysRus around me have closed and Walmart doesn't seem to stock these sets i'm looking at. Amazon has a lot of third party marked up prices but i'm noticing the official Lego Store online doesn't have the sets i'm looking at in stock right now but are allowing you to order them and they will ship in about 30 days. They aren't marked up, but you do have to pay shipping, do you all buy from them alot?
I depends on the set and the popularity of it. Rule of thumb is that LEGO will produce the sets for at least a year, so you have some time to get them. If it is a Limited Edition, a good time frame might be 6 months. If you are looking at a Cuusoo-born set, then jump on it when you can.
Since I belong to the VIP club, I will save my bug purchases for that, as I don't feel so bad paying for shipping, and I get a tiny amount back. Otherwise, I go where the sales are, and Amazon is a good place to that. I also check the clearance areas at the local stores. TRU I stay away from, unless it is a great deal.
Lastly besides the LoTR sets i've really been looking at these Monster Fighters sets. I'm a fan of classic monsters and halloween and the thought of having these sets displayed for halloween is really awesome to me. Does anyone have opinions on these sets? These are the sets that are out of stock but you can still order and get them in 30 days. I really like that Vampire Castle and the Ghost Train and have saw some pictures of a Haunted House coming out in September and it just looks so awesome.
If anyone can talk me out of getting into yet another thing to collect spend money on i would also appreciate that, thanks in advance.
I started out with the Minifigs series. From there, went to Shuttle Expedition, and then the Modulars, and mini modulars. I want to get into the Creator houses, because the amount of detail is amazing, so that is next. I love the Monster Fighters, so those will be purchased by Halloween. I grew up on Star Wars, but really have no desire to collect the Lego sets, mainly due to the price increase, and limited space. Some sets are cool, but they need to mean something for me (B-Wing is awesome, and from the original trilogy, so I jumped on that). I love Marvel, but won't jump into those sets (might get Deadpool, though. Damn you Phonc!).
Also, Lego might say it will take 30 days for new stock, but I've seen them get stock quicker.
TL;DR:
want to save money? Go with Amazon or sales/discounts.
Is it a limited run? Jump on it ASAP.
Buying on sale usually negates the VIP bonus price-wise, unless they are exclusive sets thru Lego (modulars, etc).
I cannot comment on LotR, Marvel/DC, PotC, Dino, and most Star Wars, as I don't have interest in them.
Hope this helps. Welcome to the
group, and good luck!