Investing in perfect Lego sets?

atush

gary83 wrote: »

If you'd been asking this question twenty years ago you might have been asking that question about beanie babies, worth a fortune at the time and now practically worthless. unless you're an expert it's pretty hard to predict which toys will remain in fashion and be worth a lot more in the future, whilst it might make a good hobby or a bit of fun personally I wouldn't want to be investing large amounts in it. Besides it'd only take something like damp or mice in the attic & suddenly your mint condition boxes are ruined and they're just valued as second hand toys.

While I largely agree with this, lego has been around for like 60 years while beanie babies were a flash in the pan.

atush

I personally feel, unless you yourself have a passion for collecting something- you'd be better off putting the money into a global tracker.

I myself have collected useful items that 'might' hold or grow in value over time. But are useful day to day in life. Such as silver flatware, and wooden furniture. i didnt buy expensive, i bought used things (ie the furniture) that were cheaper than buying new and silver at melt price but could be used. if they grow in value before i sell them, then i am quids in if not, i saved money over buying new

boomsmitty

I have dabbled with Lego investing after reading an article years ago. In fact, i have just sold a load on eBay as I needed space (the primary issue with hoarding Lego).

Due to the nature of sets retiring you will NEVER lose money on a boxed, unopened and well maintained set which is held long. Whether you will make substantial returns depends on the set. For example, some of the newer, cheaper Star Wars sets hardly make anything due to their popularity. But the infamous Taj Mahal (set 10189 and cost just over £200 on release) was commanding over £3k a couple of years ago on eBay. Lego have re-released the Taj recently bringing the cost of the original down a bit.

I recommend buying the Lego Ideas sets. These are limited runs of fan voted for and produced sets. I bought Wall-E for £39.99 in 2016 and sold him last month for £82. Over 100% return in 3 years. Of course if I'd known that then I would have bought 100 of them. Also, the larger more expensive sets make the large gains. The aforementioned Taj Mahal was the largest set ever made when it was initially released.

I say go for it if you have the space. Just a few tips:

Try buy at a store so you can keep the set as pristine as possible and make sure it hasn't been kicked around the warehouse. If you're near a Lego store then go there (and become a VIP)
Wrap larger sets in bubble wrap and place away some where safe and far away from children
Don't stack sets on top of each other as it puts stress on the boxes - especially on the corners. Line them up like books on a shelf
And never, ever, ever open a set. You must resist the temptation. I have The Simpsons Kwik-E-Mart which I've always wanted to build

It's a fun little side hobby.

boomsmitty

Check out:

https://www.brickpicker.com/

Complete with rolling real time Lego set prices like you're watching Bloomberg.

Alexland

boomsmitty wrote: »

And never, ever, ever open a set. You must resist the temptation.

Thanks for the tips - yes this fits in with my idea of buying the interesting but non-collectable sets. I would expect them to be more liquid and there is value being the last person who has resisted the temptation to build. It's interesting to see on ebay how old boring sets don't sell but old exciting sets command a premium. My experiences and children's input could help me pick tomorrow's winners. Although most of my S&S investments are passive I could be a Terry Smith or Nick Train when selecting quality growth Lego :-)

Alex

firestone

Think Lego will be a safer investment then Playboy magazine - but i base that on my wife finding my collection in the shed!

JohnRo

I've thought about buying lego a few times but never bothered.

I read it's a lottery as to what will prove to be collectable in the long run. It's not inconceivable that even the star wars theme might lose some of it's allure eventually.

I purchased a few 1:18 autoart cars about 15 years ago on a bit of an investment whim, paid what I thought was quite a bit at the time, £40 for each.

They're boxed and never opened, stored out of sunlight.

One of the models is selling on ebay for ~£270

Whether I'd ever get anything like that I have no idea (fees etc) but I do know I wouldn't ever pay that to own one now.

I've also bought a bunch of sealed pokemon booster boxes many years ago on a whim, not sure they'll ever prove a good investmment in my lifetime though.

Fingerbobs

I remember shortly after ONdigital/ITVdigital went bust, the knitted monkeys were selling for well over £100 each on eBay. They're now virtually valueless since PG Tips bought the rights and continued making them.
I kept mine because I liked it, not because I was hoping it would be valuable.

msallen

I would only consider this if you would get pleasure from collecting them in the first place - that way any profit on sale is a bonus.

I used to collect pre-WW2 football memorabilia, and though I never did the sums I suspect I made a small profit when I sold up. However I would have got the enjoyment from the collection even if I had made a loss.

I now seem to be collecting (although I haven't admitted it to myself yet) antique books with a connection to the village/county I originate from. Again I will probably dispose of most of these some years hence, and I may or may not make a profit, but that doesn't really matter to me.

(One thing I am collecting with an eye on them possibly being worth something in future, without it costing me a penny, is credit cards. I still have every credit/debit etc card I've had for the last 20-30 years. If they become collectable its been worthwhile, and if not they've cost me half a small drawer's worth of storage space)

gary83

I think the problem with investing in Lego at the moment is that a larger number of people are thinking about doing it. Currently our generation are happy to spend a fair amount of money on nostalgia from their childhood, in addition to Lego I'm thinking about things like concerts from the likes of the spice girls, take that etc.

If people see investing in Lego as more of a a mainstream activity, based on the success that a relatively few people have had and more people hoard away unopened mint conditioned boxes in future years the rarity of these perfect unopened boxes will take a hit, if the market is flooded with them at any time in the future then the price drops, that's simple supply and demand at work. Along with toys or any collectibles being a fairly illiquid asset, much harder and more time consuming to trade out of any fund (although there's no fees in holding them like a traditional investment you'd incur eBay or similar fees at the exit point) and along with the risks of holding large amounts from something simple like the boxes getting water damaged, or a rodent infestation, I don't see it as a good long term investment for me - someone that hasn't played with Lego for over 20 years, still a fun hobby for some people but I'd be choosing to invest money elsewhere.