Investing in Lego is better than investing in gold, art, or wine, a study found.
It found that the value of used LEGO goes up by 11% a year, which is faster and better than gold, stocks, bonds, stamps, and wine.
Researchers at Russia’s Higher School of Economics said that investing in “more unusual goods whose purchase might seem less serious,” like Lego sets, Barbie dolls, superhero mini figures, or model cars and trains, could be a good way to make money.
We usually think that people buy things like jewelry, antiques, or works of art as investments. There are, however, other choices, like collectible toys. On the second-hand LEGO market, tens of thousands of deals are made. Even though most sets are cheap, this is a huge market that traditional investors don’t know much about.
Why investing in LEGO?
LEGO is one of the most collectible things, even though it can be used as a decoration. Even though LEGO products may have started out as toys for kids, kids haven’t been the main market for many years.
They are definitely fun, and “real” collectors can get many health benefits from them. But they make good collectibles because investing in Lego can make collectors a lot of money.
The study, which looked at the prices of 2,322 LEGO sets from 1987 to 2015, found that limited production runs, collector special editions, and scarcity on the secondhand market have all led to big price increases over the years. We only looked at sales of new, unopened sets.
But, even though Lego sets are generally very profitable on the second-hand market, not all sets do as well. You have to be a real LEGO fan to understand the market and see how a certain set could be a good investment.
The value of old LEGO sets goes up between 20% and 200% each year
The fact that Lego sets are usually only made for a short time is the main reason why they make great collectibles. When a set is no longer made (its “End of Life,” or “EOL”), its price goes up because more people want it. The Millennium Falcon, the Death Star II, and the Imperial Star Destroyer from Star Wars, as well as the Taj Mahal, are some of the most expensive sets.
Most of the time, these sets can be bought for low prices when they are on the market. Investors who bought these popular Lego sets sell them to fans or collectors who want them because they are nostalgic or make them feel good. The value of these old LEGO sets goes up between 20% and 200% each year.
Even though they were made decades ago, LEGO bricks still fit together perfectly with ones made today. Fans are interested in old LEGO sets because they let them build the same things they did as kids 30 years ago.
What Legos should you buy as an investment?
If you want to buy LEGOs as an investment, you need to know which ones are more likely to give you a good return.
If you want to make money from LEGO, there are a few ways to do it. We will talk about four of these plans.
New sets of popular themes
The first way to make money with LEGO is to buy new sets with popular themes. You should do this as soon as they come out. The plan is to buy these new, undamaged sets, store them properly for a while, and then sell them.
This is also a good way to save money on LEGO, since you wouldn’t have to pay a lot for these sets. On the official Lego store, you can buy sets with different themes.
Some sets with a certain theme sell better than others. It’s not always true that the demand for a LEGO set based on a franchise depends on how many fans it has. Most of the time, the sets with the most passionate fans don’t make it to the list of best sellers.
Here are a few LEGO themes that have been in the top five of sales charts for the last six years:
• Star Wars • Ninjago • Friends • LEGO technic
These are some of the best themes to invest in because they sell well and are in high demand. In general, sets that are based on movies or cartoons do well. Lego collectors pay more for sets that have never been opened and are in perfect shape.
Discounted sets
After one or two years of being made, LEGO sets go on sale. Some of these sets have become popular, and their prices have gone up more than the retail prices. This strategy is a bit hit-or-miss, and you need to know a lot about LEGO to make sure you don’t buy the wrong sets.
For example, Lego first puts sets on sale in Europe before putting them on sale in the U.S. Let’s say you live in the US and you know that the sets are going to be on sale soon. You can get ready to buy when they are. Just make sure you get the right sets that will stay in demand.
Even though this is hard, it can save you money and make you a lot of money once you get the hang of it. If you want to invest in LEGO, the website BrickPicker is a great place to find out about prices and investments. On EuroBricks, Brickset, and Reddit’s Lego subreddit, you can find some other good LEGO communities.
Sets on sale
This is almost the same as getting sets at a discount. But you buy sets when they are on sale in stores and sell them online right away. You should keep an eye out for stores that have sales, like at Christmas, Black Friday, or other times. This choice is safer than getting sets at a discount. However, it doesn’t make much money.
Retired sets
Another way to invest in LEGO is to look for sets that have been retired and buy them on the second-hand market. Compared to other strategies, this one gives you a bigger payoff. Research shows that the prices of old Lego sets go up by at least 11% each year.
This can be up to 200% for sets that are very popular. Even though buying retired sets can be expensive, it cuts down on how long you have to keep a LEGO set before you can sell it for a profit. Brick Picker has a thread with the latest information about LEGO sets that have been retired, and BrickEconomy shows you LEGO sets that will be retired soon.
Just make sure to find these old sets in your own area. Don’t buy retired sets online unless you’re ready to keep them for a long time or you’re sure the price will go up soon. You could also look for sets that are about to go off the market and buy them at full price right before this happen.
Some sets that were taken off the market just last year are now worth 5 times what they sold for. You can find these sets at garage sales, Craigslist, and Facebook Market.
Find out how much your LEGO sets are worth
When you want to sell your LEGO collection, the most important question is how much it is worth. You need to learn about the market so that you know when to sell. Here are some tools you can use to find out how much your LEGO is worth now and how much it will be worth in the future if you keep it.
BrickLink
The BrickLink catalog shows how much LEGO sets have sold for in the past and how much people pay for new and used LEGO sets right now. Just type in the number and click “Price Guide.”
BrickSet
You should use this along with BrickLink to figure out how much your Lego sets are worth. BrickLink shows how much the set is selling for right now, but BrickSet has more information. It shows the MSRP, how much it costs in different parts of the world, where can you buy it, and even how rare the set is.
eBay
This is another way to find out how much a certain Lego set is selling for right now. Just look up Lego by name or part number and filter the results to only show “completed listings.”
