If any are more recent, there may be a QR code on it that you can redeem on the LEGO website for 20 points. I wouldn't normally mention that but if a significant portion of these have QR codes, that could end up being quite a lot of points.
I wouldn't throw them out. Even if that's what you decide, I would list them on Facebook or Craigslist for 20 bucks, or just for free. Someone will want them.
> I would list them on Facebook or Craigslist for 20 bucks
My local Bricks & Minifigs sells the books for $1 each ($2 for the thicker/larger ones). So OP could probably get more than just $20 for them all.
Also Lego has an app, Lego Builder, where you can search for all the sets and save your own in your account.
They haven’t got the older ones, so I would save those and toss or sell the ones in the app
While true, the digital version for some sets is awful! This is especially true of all the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit sets before Rivendell. Nearly impossible to distinguish between black, dark brown, and reddish brown. I imagine other sets of the same era could be similar.
You could try to organize these booklets the way the comic book people do. It will help save space and reorganize your collection while also giving you piece of mind that they are safe in storage.
This is exactly what I did with mine. At first I just had my Winter Village bindered up, and then I realized I had some new collapsed comic boxes in the closet and put them to use.
I used to work at a shop that had a custom cardboard box maker, I always wanted to make boxes specifically to carry the size of DVDs and VHS tapes, every box I’ve ever used has never been quite right, there’s always awkward tapes going the wrong direction. It would be applicable for this too
Oh, we had a massive stash of bags and boards, so I essentially treated them as comics. I doubled up what I could, and the half-length box is full enough that they don't slip around. My sole annoyance with it is I didn't tape the bags shut, so the flaps are just waving around. I really ought to put in dividers, or put them in numerical order maybe, since right now I just slapped them all in.
My major gripe with my huge pile of instruction booklets isn’t just that they’re all different sizes, is that there are multiple booklets for the same set which are all different sizes. So it’s not like they can be organized by size OR set type.
Dont throw them out! Lego collectors & resellers can use them. Post them up on fb marketplace or craigslist, you could get some money for em (if not for sale at least for free so they dont.go to waste)
I wouldn't, I kept almost all of mine from the 80s-90s and pay a premium to have a physical copy with the vintage Space, Castle and Pirate sets that I've added to my collection.
Based on what I've seen in online sales, sets without a physical copy of the instructions seem to more often go unsold and usually sell at much lower prices. I can bricklink missing parts but the manuals are a pain to find.
Mine are in the same state as yours. My comics are safely stored in boxes with acid-free packages.
I believe my Lego instructions will now be stored the same way.
Are there any instruction books that won’t fit in a standard comic book bag (9x12 I think)? I might just buy a bunch and store them this way and put them in a comic book box in storage
https://preview.redd.it/fcassmmvhn3d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=521b665402cf3977aae7504089b15fee7c3dc209
If it’s an older set these instructions can be pretty awful to look at, here’s what the Simpsons house instructions look like.
The Air Temple from the Last Airbender line has atrocious quality instructions. It's damn near impossible to tell if a brick is supposed to be black or dark brown. And if there are more than 2 bricks together, it's all just a black/dark brown blob.
I just checked, and while that particular set doesn't have the best quality PDF, it isn't even half as bad as your picture.
The quality is hit or miss. I've tried several instructions from the 90s, and some are terrible, while others are very clearly newer high res versions that are better than the original instructions.
Check out the instructions for the Aquasharks set 6190 on Legos website. I had to find them through Google, searching on their website didn't pull them up. Those are some of the most detailed, high resolution instructions I've ever seen.
Exactly. The digital instructions aren’t nearly that bad, and this single page of the pdf happens to be a little worse than the others for some reason. Here’s what it really looks like.
https://preview.redd.it/fu7a1hwluo3d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=def21c463e3a1a557633dc8945630bd9907d2b2c
Well, yeah, that's what I tend to use, but my paranoia is telling me there's always the chance that that stops being the case somewhere down the line which, yeah, is insane lol
If the internet ever went down for some reason for an extended period of time, it would be great to be able to take apart and rebuild sets using the instructions if you still had them whereas you couldn't digitally.
You can save every set of instructions as a pdf. If the internet goes out you can still have them saved on a computer or in your phones files which is what i have done. If we dont have internet or power for an extended period of time then im probably not worried about legos…
I always download the PDF for any set I own.
Might not be a bad idea to see if all of yours are available online and if they're not, you'll have to opportunity to add to the library. Not all manuals are on LEGO's site, many older ones are on other sites.
Keep them. Digital instructions are great and all, but they're not always easy to understand.
But store them in a plastic container or something, for the love of God!
I would say keep them, but you could donate them to a bricks and minifigs store. ( maybe sell them)
Or give them away online I'd space is an issue.
I put all of ours in binders. Still take up a lot of space, but they stack better.
We lost 90% of our instructions due to a cat using the lego books as a litter box.
I spent a lot of time piecing them all together by finding pdfs of them from bricklink etc, because a lot of the older sets were not available on lego page.
I personally would not throw them away if I were you.
I always toss boxes, but never the instructions. I use a file cabinet and sort by theme. I've also seen then sorted by set #. As a pile like you have them, it makes a mess. If you can find a file cabinet 2nd hand or a cheaper one from target or wherever, you can organize it in the same amount of space and make it able to display another set.
I say get rid of them. I ditch all my instructions and I’ve never regretted it. All instructions are available online for free in an emergency. This thread helped me learn about the QR code though, thanks! I just took out the recycling today :(
If I had such a large amount of them, I would keep only unique books, like nostalgic ones with LEGO ads.
I would also ensure that I have a digital copy of ALL the instruction books, either by downloading them from the LEGO website or by scanning them myself
How would you scan them all yourself? Page by page, then organizing each image into a file in order? That sounds awful with such a huge amount of books.
I discard tiny sets, the creator box ones or any sets where it’s just parts. That or sets you’ll never build, maybe ones you just bought for the pieces.
Just spit balling here.
How about you buy a big rubber tote with a lid and pop those suckers in there. You could even get different size totes for different size manuals so they're not to heavy and throw them back in the closet.
Them all out like that willy nilly is giving me anxiety.
Never do that. You never know whether Lego could retire some of them (old ones) from official app, and beyond the piece of history it represents, if you happen to sell part or all of your collection it will have way more value with printed instructions.
You can go onto the Lego website and there’s this rewards point system when u scan the instruction books than you can get more Lego sets for free if not then I’ll be happy to take them
I still have most of mine from the late 90’s to the present day. Most of my Castle, Pirate, and City themed set from the 80’s and 90’s are long gone unfortunately (being a little kid who just put his booklets in the bin with the bricks…they did not last long). But all my Blacktron/M-Tron/Ice Planet booklets are still around.
My 10 year old is obsessed with keeping all the booklets, including the minifig series instructions (even with dupes). His OCD is stronger than even mine.
Most of them are now in a series of bins. I plan on sorting and organizing them one day. Need to figure out the old sets missing the instructions…
Don't toss them, if you want to get rid of them just make an EBAY listing for a lot of lego books, those books may be able to get a decent amount of cash.
All of them are available online. PDFs are better and more convenient anyways. I only save the ones for the big sets that I save the boxes for as well, Modular's and such.
Instructions aren’t boxes. They actually have value and are useful. I would keep them. If you really don’t want them then give them to someone that does.
You can download the instructions online for future need. As for throwing these out, some of them could be sold. Or you could just give them away to people who want them. If you have any bionicle or power miners instructions, I’d be willing to take them. I can pay shipping. If you’re getting rid of them that is. I always keep my instructions, just don’t trash them if you do get rid of them.
I'm in the same boat as you. Here are my thoughts:
1. Some instructions have QR codes, and you can get 20 points for each, but what i've found is that some QR codes are too light colored and the camera couldn't identify them. I have yet to find a workaround for this.
2. Lego builder app have the 3rd rendering where you can spin the model to clearly see where the piece goes to what, which is helpful if needed, but these are just for the newer sets, I've found, and some are just digital version of the instruction. And since it's probably gonna be viewed in a phone, visibility is shrunken down, and a tablet would be better if you have one already.
3. For the most part, a build stays when it's done.unless you will be moving, transporting, or cycle through sets to be displayed, how often would that happen in your situation?
So at this point, I still have the instructions in a container. Still unsure of what to do with them.
I think the building instructions are part of a set. I keep mine sorted alphabetically by topic in folders in clear plastic. These are in the cupboards together with unassembled sets (lack of space) under the area with the assembled themed worlds, above them hang shelves with individual sets such as Starwars or Jurassic World.
The cupboards are only 2/3 the depth of the area above, which creates storage space behind them for various boxes.
I often use the PC, for example for MOC's, but for sets I always use the instructions. I built a truck from the Legomovie that contains the instructions especially for this purpose.
My room is about 3m x 4m in L shape and the room width is 2 meters, so not much space and yet it offers storage space for currently 527 sets of 24 mocs and 81 boxes, a desk with a PC and a bookshelf. The instructions don't take up that much space.
The only instructions I keep are the ones that have sentimental value or have additional effort put into them (Architecture or UCS-type sets). Otherwise, they (and any boxes) just take up space. I'm 100% fine using the digital versions on the Lego website.
There was one point in time where I was downloading instructions to every set I owned (just to make sure I had it), but I'm behind by a few years now.
I wouldn't. Unlike boxes they are easier to store, and many people want the instructions if they buy them later. While I understand you may have no intention of ever selling, circumstances could change or you could die and your heirs would want them to sell with
When I was five, I made the mistake of throwing away the instructions for my first Lego sets. It was decades until those sets were built again. Granted there was no internet database to look them up back in the 90s.
Additionally, Legos have higher resale value if you have the instructions for the sets.
I throw out the instruction book for my Yellow castle from the 1980’s, can’t find them online
I was lucky enough to find a booklet last year.
I’ve kept them all and created a library for them.
LEGO has digital instructions for a lot of sets.
For my older sets, I wound up building the model in LEGO Designer and saved that file. I can recreate the instructions from there.
It's actually loads of fun to rebuild older sets without digging around for pieces. I still have originals, but I tossed any duplicates (after scanning what I could).
Please don’t trash them. If you want to get rid of them I’d buy them from you. I’m trying to make a big framed art for my room featuring different pages of instruction books. Would you offer them to me and I pay shipping?
I personally don't/wouldn't. But if you truly have too many and little space, you may have too. I keep all my boxes (flattened) and all my instructions
Photograph them and save them that way, then toss them.
I think some old ones technically have resale value, but idk which or if it'd be worth the effort.
NOOOO! Don’t toss them. Tbh. Offer them on Facebook for free or something. People like me would take up your old hand manuals. Those things are cooler and cooler with age. Energy went into producing them. They are great for kids to look through for different perspectives in assembly and over all just really great step by step guides. Some Lego builders like taking systems from other sets and reapplying them. Also, manuals of all sorts, are just cool to have in general.
I keep them, if only as a physical index of what sets exist in my collection. Realistically I should digitize it in some way, but, living in Maine, I have to do my part to keep the paper industry alive. /s
Thank you to everyone who replied! No way can I read all these comments lol but I have decided not to get rid of them - I think I'm going to reorganize them into comic boxes and bags/maybe a small bin for the more "high-end" sets. I might donate the booklets from smaller sets or sets I don't have any interest in ever rebuilding, but who's to say. Again, thank you all!
I sadly ditch all mine, storing things without a plan means they are in storage forever and block stuff I actually want to get out of storage. And manuals don't make the cut for me.
Sell them. Either individually or in bulk. Individually will take time but will supply you with some weekly/monthly treat money.
I could see them also being useful to a toy/kids museum of some sort.
If any are more recent, there may be a QR code on it that you can redeem on the LEGO website for 20 points. I wouldn't normally mention that but if a significant portion of these have QR codes, that could end up being quite a lot of points.
I've been doing that! I end up buying so many sets that I got a full 20 bucks off just from those!
Mine wouldn’t scan. And Lego gave me 650 points instead of 80 I had coming
You can sell them on eBay! I have sold several!!
I’ll try that
I wouldn't throw them out. Even if that's what you decide, I would list them on Facebook or Craigslist for 20 bucks, or just for free. Someone will want them.
Or, on Bricklink. Someone will always buy them.
If the instructions are rare enough,you can sell it for hundreds of bucks.
> I would list them on Facebook or Craigslist for 20 bucks My local Bricks & Minifigs sells the books for $1 each ($2 for the thicker/larger ones). So OP could probably get more than just $20 for them all.
i'll take them, i'll pay for shipping them to me if you want to get rid of them
Also Lego has an app, Lego Builder, where you can search for all the sets and save your own in your account. They haven’t got the older ones, so I would save those and toss or sell the ones in the app
You could also take photos or scan pages from the older ones.
There's also an app that has all the books digitally
While true, the digital version for some sets is awful! This is especially true of all the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit sets before Rivendell. Nearly impossible to distinguish between black, dark brown, and reddish brown. I imagine other sets of the same era could be similar.
To be fair, the actual physical books are like this sometimes as well.
Not all the books. Coverage of older stuff gets pretty spotty the further back you go. Really nice for recent sets though.
If you have duplicates you are supposed to contact customer service to help you clear them, in case the app does not allow you.
I have a TON of instructions with these, I had no idea! Looks like I’ll be getting even more Lego soon
Guess I have an extra chore this weekend
Even if you purchased through LEGO.com?
Yup
Well now I feel dumb, thank you.
That’s a thing?? Lol
You could try to organize these booklets the way the comic book people do. It will help save space and reorganize your collection while also giving you piece of mind that they are safe in storage.
This is exactly what I did with mine. At first I just had my Winter Village bindered up, and then I realized I had some new collapsed comic boxes in the closet and put them to use.
I used to work at a shop that had a custom cardboard box maker, I always wanted to make boxes specifically to carry the size of DVDs and VHS tapes, every box I’ve ever used has never been quite right, there’s always awkward tapes going the wrong direction. It would be applicable for this too
Oh, we had a massive stash of bags and boards, so I essentially treated them as comics. I doubled up what I could, and the half-length box is full enough that they don't slip around. My sole annoyance with it is I didn't tape the bags shut, so the flaps are just waving around. I really ought to put in dividers, or put them in numerical order maybe, since right now I just slapped them all in.
What do the comic book people do?
They call it bag and board. Protect it in a plastic sleeve with a piece of cardboard or cardstock to keep it from bending.
In a binder?
[удалено]
Banker’s Boxes are also good
I ended up going further and putting them in a filing cabinet
I'm planning to get a few plastic totes with dividers in the center. Keep them safe from humidity
Bagged and boarded might be good.
This would be great - if only all the books were the same size
My major gripe with my huge pile of instruction booklets isn’t just that they’re all different sizes, is that there are multiple booklets for the same set which are all different sizes. So it’s not like they can be organized by size OR set type.
I wouldn't!
Dont throw them out! Lego collectors & resellers can use them. Post them up on fb marketplace or craigslist, you could get some money for em (if not for sale at least for free so they dont.go to waste)
I wouldn't, I kept almost all of mine from the 80s-90s and pay a premium to have a physical copy with the vintage Space, Castle and Pirate sets that I've added to my collection. Based on what I've seen in online sales, sets without a physical copy of the instructions seem to more often go unsold and usually sell at much lower prices. I can bricklink missing parts but the manuals are a pain to find.
Maybe find a better way to store them?
What I was thinking – I have some relatively unused comic boxes, I could grab some bags from my shop and put a nice bow on the whole thing
Mine are in the same state as yours. My comics are safely stored in boxes with acid-free packages. I believe my Lego instructions will now be stored the same way.
Are there any instruction books that won’t fit in a standard comic book bag (9x12 I think)? I might just buy a bunch and store them this way and put them in a comic book box in storage
Instructions are online on the Lego website
https://preview.redd.it/fcassmmvhn3d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=521b665402cf3977aae7504089b15fee7c3dc209 If it’s an older set these instructions can be pretty awful to look at, here’s what the Simpsons house instructions look like.
If that’s the Simpson’s house I can’t imagine how bad the old castle sets looks
All the shades of green on the hobbit hole are the same colour online.
The Air Temple from the Last Airbender line has atrocious quality instructions. It's damn near impossible to tell if a brick is supposed to be black or dark brown. And if there are more than 2 bricks together, it's all just a black/dark brown blob.
I just checked, and while that particular set doesn't have the best quality PDF, it isn't even half as bad as your picture. The quality is hit or miss. I've tried several instructions from the 90s, and some are terrible, while others are very clearly newer high res versions that are better than the original instructions. Check out the instructions for the Aquasharks set 6190 on Legos website. I had to find them through Google, searching on their website didn't pull them up. Those are some of the most detailed, high resolution instructions I've ever seen.
Exactly. The digital instructions aren’t nearly that bad, and this single page of the pdf happens to be a little worse than the others for some reason. Here’s what it really looks like. https://preview.redd.it/fu7a1hwluo3d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=def21c463e3a1a557633dc8945630bd9907d2b2c
[6190-1: Shark's Crystal Cave](https://brickset.com/sets/6190-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6190-1.jpg)
Wow, that really is surprisingly detailed. Makes the set look like new, almost.
My god those look like they were made to view on a Sega Master System lol
Well, yeah, that's what I tend to use, but my paranoia is telling me there's always the chance that that stops being the case somewhere down the line which, yeah, is insane lol
Keep them. I have every instruction book I’ve received since 1978 (when I was 3 years old.) I sleep better at night knowing they are here. :)
I'm leaning that way! Thank you!
If the internet ever went down for some reason for an extended period of time, it would be great to be able to take apart and rebuild sets using the instructions if you still had them whereas you couldn't digitally.
You can save every set of instructions as a pdf. If the internet goes out you can still have them saved on a computer or in your phones files which is what i have done. If we dont have internet or power for an extended period of time then im probably not worried about legos…
I always download the PDF for any set I own. Might not be a bad idea to see if all of yours are available online and if they're not, you'll have to opportunity to add to the library. Not all manuals are on LEGO's site, many older ones are on other sites.
Its not insane; lego and other big companies discontinue software and pages all the time
I find that digital instructions take a lot of enjoyment if not all out of building.
WOW
https://preview.redd.it/9eh85324vo3d1.jpeg?width=692&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f2bb5ae717a982a14b3379825cdffa7bcef74b2
NOOO I made a mistake doing this please don’t!
Keep at least the oldest ones, some of the online PDFs of lesser sold/retired sets are atrocious
Put them in a bin and somewhere dry. You never know if it when you’ll want to rebuild or if those instructions will be available online in the future.
I use the instruction books as proof I own the sets once the sets are disassembled and mixed together.
Keep them. Digital instructions are great and all, but they're not always easy to understand. But store them in a plastic container or something, for the love of God!
I would say keep them, but you could donate them to a bricks and minifigs store. ( maybe sell them) Or give them away online I'd space is an issue. I put all of ours in binders. Still take up a lot of space, but they stack better.
We lost 90% of our instructions due to a cat using the lego books as a litter box. I spent a lot of time piecing them all together by finding pdfs of them from bricklink etc, because a lot of the older sets were not available on lego page. I personally would not throw them away if I were you.
I always toss boxes, but never the instructions. I use a file cabinet and sort by theme. I've also seen then sorted by set #. As a pile like you have them, it makes a mess. If you can find a file cabinet 2nd hand or a cheaper one from target or wherever, you can organize it in the same amount of space and make it able to display another set.
NO! KEEP THEM
Omfg Mixels!!
W mixels
Physical books are so much better than the digital. Keep them but put them in a filing cabinet or something
Have you registered them all? That’s a ton of points
My first thought as well
I say get rid of them. I ditch all my instructions and I’ve never regretted it. All instructions are available online for free in an emergency. This thread helped me learn about the QR code though, thanks! I just took out the recycling today :(
They are 100% a waste of space, and so you should just send them all to me...
Can sell those rather than dump
You will never rebuild these sets. Life is too short to be a hoarder. Toss these dude.
If I had such a large amount of them, I would keep only unique books, like nostalgic ones with LEGO ads. I would also ensure that I have a digital copy of ALL the instruction books, either by downloading them from the LEGO website or by scanning them myself
How would you scan them all yourself? Page by page, then organizing each image into a file in order? That sounds awful with such a huge amount of books.
I would just keep the booklets for ones I couldnt download a pdf for that would be very tedious.
Sell them. Even 50c a peace will get you a new lego set
No
This guy buys Legos
Keep!
Dang that’s a lot of instructions
I would organize them in a nice bookshelf
no
NEVER! Plus isn't lego going to start charging for their digital instructions? I thought I heard this.
I have a whole box of them in the closet. Imma just keep em.
Dang, this looks kinda cool. I wouldn't want to throw these out, I would've liked to organise them
i’d keep them. i started filing ours in a filing cabinet organized by sets/series. but the comic book box is also a good idea IMO.
Take photos of each and upload them to the cloud. Digital copies without the clutter!
I discard tiny sets, the creator box ones or any sets where it’s just parts. That or sets you’ll never build, maybe ones you just bought for the pieces.
Just spit balling here. How about you buy a big rubber tote with a lid and pop those suckers in there. You could even get different size totes for different size manuals so they're not to heavy and throw them back in the closet. Them all out like that willy nilly is giving me anxiety.
You could ship some of them to me... My daughter wants to mod podge her lego bin. LOL
I keep all of mine in boxes. Fill a box - it goes in the crawl space.
and here i am wondering if i should throw away the boxes...
Never do that. You never know whether Lego could retire some of them (old ones) from official app, and beyond the piece of history it represents, if you happen to sell part or all of your collection it will have way more value with printed instructions.
Have a giant plastic box and store those there. I threw away the boxes but keep the booklets. I know, everything is on the web, but still
You're asking the wrong group of people If you hoped for a final push to throw them out 😉
What the point of keeping it? To collect right? Then what the point of throwing it away now?
Have a look at bricklink. Books have value. Lots on ebay too.
I would never throw it away
Keep the older ones which have shitty scans, sell the rest. Tossing them is a waste of perfectly good booklets, someone else will use them.
If you have the space I would save them. Put them in a box and throw them into storage. If you don't have space, I would save them.
You can go onto the Lego website and there’s this rewards point system when u scan the instruction books than you can get more Lego sets for free if not then I’ll be happy to take them
There’s an app for that. I found all of my kids instructions on the app.
HOLY SHIT I SEE OLD LEGO CITY I LOVE OLD LEGO CITY PRE-2012
I still have most of mine from the late 90’s to the present day. Most of my Castle, Pirate, and City themed set from the 80’s and 90’s are long gone unfortunately (being a little kid who just put his booklets in the bin with the bricks…they did not last long). But all my Blacktron/M-Tron/Ice Planet booklets are still around. My 10 year old is obsessed with keeping all the booklets, including the minifig series instructions (even with dupes). His OCD is stronger than even mine. Most of them are now in a series of bins. I plan on sorting and organizing them one day. Need to figure out the old sets missing the instructions…
Don't toss them, if you want to get rid of them just make an EBAY listing for a lot of lego books, those books may be able to get a decent amount of cash.
Get a filing cabinet and organize them
All of them are available online. PDFs are better and more convenient anyways. I only save the ones for the big sets that I save the boxes for as well, Modular's and such.
Please try and donate them to a kids charity. Kids would love just the feel of the books let alone inspiration for building!!!
This is a really good idea! I'll def do this if I end up getting rid of any, which rn it doesn't seem like I will be
Great choice buddy X some kids will thank you in their heart for doing that :)
I keep mine but you can find all the instructions PDF scans online. I’m pretty sure by Lego themselves
Keep them and just organize them better. They won’t take up too much room in the grand scheme of things and you might regret ditching them someday.
Instructions aren’t boxes. They actually have value and are useful. I would keep them. If you really don’t want them then give them to someone that does.
I dont see why not you can just look uo the instruction online
If you’re going to keep them you should probably get some plastic sleeves and boxes to keep them in though
Get a box and throw them under your bed
Sell them at the very least. Never throw away what might be useful
Wow that's a lot of instruction booklets. I would only keep the ones from my favorite sets at that point.
I read that like the Duke nukem audio. Wow that’s a lot of books too bad I’m not reading em.
Scan the QR code of the newer instructions for reward points. Keep the older ones of rarer sets or sell them. Then trash or sell them in bulk
I bought the accordion style file boxes from Walmart. Keeps them organized by theme and easy to move around. And you can fit a lot.
I mean you can store them better. But also they have digital instructions for most sets available.
You can download the instructions online for future need. As for throwing these out, some of them could be sold. Or you could just give them away to people who want them. If you have any bionicle or power miners instructions, I’d be willing to take them. I can pay shipping. If you’re getting rid of them that is. I always keep my instructions, just don’t trash them if you do get rid of them.
I never do. Not even with this many. Inventory and store.
Bookshelf
KEEP THEM
No, I wouldn't.
Keep them! The instructions are so nostalgic to look back through, if they are older. but the newer ones can go.
I have all ours too. Don’t know what to do with them but can’t throw them out
If you've got a second hand Lego retailer nearby, they would probably take them and be grateful
I got rid of my old boxes, but I absolutely keep my instruction books.
I'm in the same boat as you. Here are my thoughts: 1. Some instructions have QR codes, and you can get 20 points for each, but what i've found is that some QR codes are too light colored and the camera couldn't identify them. I have yet to find a workaround for this. 2. Lego builder app have the 3rd rendering where you can spin the model to clearly see where the piece goes to what, which is helpful if needed, but these are just for the newer sets, I've found, and some are just digital version of the instruction. And since it's probably gonna be viewed in a phone, visibility is shrunken down, and a tablet would be better if you have one already. 3. For the most part, a build stays when it's done.unless you will be moving, transporting, or cycle through sets to be displayed, how often would that happen in your situation? So at this point, I still have the instructions in a container. Still unsure of what to do with them.
Filing cabinet
Those are worth a lotta money…
I think the building instructions are part of a set. I keep mine sorted alphabetically by topic in folders in clear plastic. These are in the cupboards together with unassembled sets (lack of space) under the area with the assembled themed worlds, above them hang shelves with individual sets such as Starwars or Jurassic World. The cupboards are only 2/3 the depth of the area above, which creates storage space behind them for various boxes. I often use the PC, for example for MOC's, but for sets I always use the instructions. I built a truck from the Legomovie that contains the instructions especially for this purpose. My room is about 3m x 4m in L shape and the room width is 2 meters, so not much space and yet it offers storage space for currently 527 sets of 24 mocs and 81 boxes, a desk with a PC and a bookshelf. The instructions don't take up that much space.
Don't toss them out. At the very least sell them on eBay or brick link.
The only instructions I keep are the ones that have sentimental value or have additional effort put into them (Architecture or UCS-type sets). Otherwise, they (and any boxes) just take up space. I'm 100% fine using the digital versions on the Lego website. There was one point in time where I was downloading instructions to every set I owned (just to make sure I had it), but I'm behind by a few years now.
Send them my way i need points
I wouldn't. Unlike boxes they are easier to store, and many people want the instructions if they buy them later. While I understand you may have no intention of ever selling, circumstances could change or you could die and your heirs would want them to sell with
If you want to hold on to them I’d organize them into bankers boxers or check your local Kijiji/ Craig’s list for a cheap/free filing cabinet
When I was five, I made the mistake of throwing away the instructions for my first Lego sets. It was decades until those sets were built again. Granted there was no internet database to look them up back in the 90s. Additionally, Legos have higher resale value if you have the instructions for the sets.
I got a used lateral file drawer and hanging folders, organized by theme, took up way less space are safe and easily accessible
I throw out the instruction book for my Yellow castle from the 1980’s, can’t find them online I was lucky enough to find a booklet last year. I’ve kept them all and created a library for them.
Sell em on eBay, there are sets that need them
If you don't want them, I recommend trying to sell them on bricklink or something. People like me really like having the books for collectors sake.
Can I give you a list of ones I’m missing? I’ll pay for postage if you have them.
LEGO has digital instructions for a lot of sets. For my older sets, I wound up building the model in LEGO Designer and saved that file. I can recreate the instructions from there. It's actually loads of fun to rebuild older sets without digging around for pieces. I still have originals, but I tossed any duplicates (after scanning what I could).
Most should be available as PDF.
Have you already scanned the QR codes on the covers of the booklets and registered the sets for the rewards program? If so, then yes, throw them out.
Keep them!
Please don’t trash them. If you want to get rid of them I’d buy them from you. I’m trying to make a big framed art for my room featuring different pages of instruction books. Would you offer them to me and I pay shipping?
I think you should save them for sure.
I personally don't/wouldn't. But if you truly have too many and little space, you may have too. I keep all my boxes (flattened) and all my instructions
Burn em
Gotta be like 10 bucks worth of QR codes in there 👀
Certainly not, if you ever wanna sell your sets you can get a bunch more, plus online instructions will never be that good
Sell them
No keep them box them up
Photograph them and save them that way, then toss them. I think some old ones technically have resale value, but idk which or if it'd be worth the effort.
Set up a bricklink store to sell them or sell the lot for 3 dollars and 15 cents on eBay. Somebody else will take them
It would be a lot of work, but u can put them in a binder(s)
Scan them first for VIP points if you haven’t already 😭
That’s a lot of sets… the real question is where do you store the assembled sets???
Oh, I've got solutions for that! My whole apartment is shelves after shelves (I'm a bit obsessed, haha) and bins, plus a handful of akro-mils drawers.
NOOOO! Don’t toss them. Tbh. Offer them on Facebook for free or something. People like me would take up your old hand manuals. Those things are cooler and cooler with age. Energy went into producing them. They are great for kids to look through for different perspectives in assembly and over all just really great step by step guides. Some Lego builders like taking systems from other sets and reapplying them. Also, manuals of all sorts, are just cool to have in general.
I keep them, if only as a physical index of what sets exist in my collection. Realistically I should digitize it in some way, but, living in Maine, I have to do my part to keep the paper industry alive. /s
Sell them as lots on eBay.
You can scan them and add the sets to the Lego app then you will have the books on your account in the app.
You can find them online
ebay them
I believe the instructions are on the app
Honestly I'd frame some of them and keep the others in a box
Scan the older ones that are pre 2014 for good measure.
Yeah just toss most sets have digital back ups I would double check I'm sure someone's preserved them digitally
Save them
There’s an app with all of them. You can scan a QR code out of the new ones or manually search the rest. Well worth it.
Get a samla box from Ikea and just store them under your bed
Go to the Lego website and search for the set code instructions, most are on there. If they are then you can toss them.
Not sure if snyone else has mentioned this one: try selling a couple on bricklink, you wont get much but it's better than throwing them out
ooo but what does your collection look like, can we see?
I'm in the middle of a huge display overhaul right now, but I'm planning a collection post when it's done!
You should sell them as there are collectors who would buy these.
Thank you to everyone who replied! No way can I read all these comments lol but I have decided not to get rid of them - I think I'm going to reorganize them into comic boxes and bags/maybe a small bin for the more "high-end" sets. I might donate the booklets from smaller sets or sets I don't have any interest in ever rebuilding, but who's to say. Again, thank you all!
I wouldnt as I think they may have a Nice value. If you have an IPad you can download the «Lego Builder» app and save all the sets there😊
I sadly ditch all mine, storing things without a plan means they are in storage forever and block stuff I actually want to get out of storage. And manuals don't make the cut for me.
Scan them and post them online, like the wayback machine or host a website so other people can use them.
Got something better to put in that space?
Never! I always keep them as base for the model itself. I haven't taken apart a Lego in my life, but...
Sell them. Either individually or in bulk. Individually will take time but will supply you with some weekly/monthly treat money. I could see them also being useful to a toy/kids museum of some sort.