Investing in LEGO 101 – The Investabrick Guide to LEGO Investment
Published: 1 year ago
Last Updated: 1 year ago
Welcome to the Investabrick guide to LEGO Investment where we look at the key factors that affect investing in LEGO and provide you with LEGO investment advice and strategies to optimise your LEGOS investment.
For decades now, there have been LEGO enthusiasts and LEGO collectors who have bought, built and displayed their LEGO sets, but as time has passed, and the LEGO collector market has led to ever increasing prices on retired sets that are then resold, and there has been an increase in LEGO investors; people buying LEGO sets mainly at retail sale to then resell at a later date at a higher price to make a profit.
Is LEGO a Good Investment?
Let us start at the beginning. No one knows exactly what will happen in the coming years, but the best guide to LEGO investment we have is historical performance.
According to a study by HSE University published in the Research in International Business and Finance journal in 2022:
“Average returns on LEGO sets are 10-11% annually (and even higher if the new set was purchased on the primary market with a discount), which is more than stocks, bonds, gold, and many collectible items, such as stamps or wine, yield”.
Whilst this data is a little out of date now, we can ascertain from our comprehensive LEGO Investment database that it is still representative of the current LEGO investment space with average returns of nearly 10% across the last 5 years.
How Do I Choose Which LEGO Sets to Invest in?
The simple answer is to let us here at Investabrick steer you in the right direction!
Whilst average annual returns are 10% across all LEGO sets, it is possible to make far higher LEGO Investment returns using skilled LEGO investment selection criteria.
Across our LEGO Investment site you will find lots of clear and concise LEGO investment advice on LEGO Investment strategy, how to build a LEGO Investment portfolio, which are good LEGO sets to invest in, which LEGO sets to avoid as investments and much, much more.
Some Simple Guidelines:
- Invest in LEGO sets that are most likely to appreciate in value above their RRP once retired
- Choose your LEGO investments from themes, and ideally sub-themes that have delivered strong historic LEGO investment returns
- Purchase from themes/genre’s you know and understand, or at least research before buying
- Look for LEGO sets which have high demand and/or low supply
- Look for sets that have strong LEGO minifigures that underpin the value of the set and have the capability to increase in value
- Buy close to LEGO retirement of the set, buying too soon before a set becomes retired LEGO is tying up your capital for little or no reward.
- Buy limited edition or promotional LEGO sets wherever possible
- Look to buy your LEGO investment sets at the best value price. This can either be by:
- Buy at the largest possible discount to RRP
- Buy where you get additional benefits; ie by buying at LEGO.com as a LEGO Insider you can get LEGO Insiders points or LEGO Gifts with Purchases (GWPs) which are small associated sets for free which will often have strong resale value.
Note: Read our full guide to becoming a LEGO Insider and getting the best value from it here.
Which LEGO Themes Should I Look to Invest In?
There are so many good LEGO themes, albeit some of them fare better as LEGO Investment themes than others and using detailed analysis of retired LEGO sets we are able to asses the average returns themes and sub themes have achieved and which we should be choosing our future LEGO investment sets from.
Some of our Current Favourites Are:
LEGO Star Wars - Based on the ever popular Star Wars film franchise and coming up to its 25th Anniversary in 2024 and with nearly 600 sets to date, LEGO Star Wars has delivered average returns of more than 12% across such a large sample size and recent performance from the theme outperforms this average. Within the overall theme there are some excellent sub themes which again outperform the total theme including LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series (UCS), LEGO Star Wars Helmet Collection, LEGO Star Wars The Clone Wars and LEGO Star Wars Episode VI.
LEGO BrickHeadz - These brick-built figures have become immensely popular since being launched in 2016 and to date there have been just over 150 sets launched. Small LEGO sets which are great to build, display collect and invest in the theme has delivered an annual average return of more than 20% and some of the best pound for pound LEGO investment sets can be found in this theme. It is a must go to LEGO investment theme especially if you have either limited funds, limited storage space or both!
LEGO Speed Champions - Small detailed LEGO cars, models of some of the world’s most iconic vehicles, LEGO Speed Champions were launched in 2015 and have become another staple of our LEGO investment portfolios, again ideal for those with limited funds or storage. Nearly 70 sets have now been produced, and the now retired LEGO within the theme have delivered average LEGO investment returns of over 20% a year.
LEGO Ideas - A theme generated from ideas for new LEGO sets submitted by the general public, the theme has a great variety of sets including many Licensed and NASA inspired LEGO sets. Many LEGO Ideas sets are great builds, highly collectable and result in also being great LEGO investments. There have now been over 50 sets produced in the LEGO Ideas theme since it was launched in 2016 and on average they produce annualised LEGO investment returns of close to 20%.
LEGO Icons - Another broad theme, with a wide range of interesting sets including LEGO Modular Buildings, Landmarks, Classic Vehicles, the Fairground Collection and the Winter Village Collection. Launched in 2010 there have now been 100 sets with the retired sets producing a LEGO investment return of more than 10% a year.
LEGO Technic - One of the earliest LEGO themes still going it was first launched in 1977 and there has now been close to 500 LEGO Technic sets produced of detailed model machines and mechanical toys with working beams, axles, connectors and gears and much more. Originally called LEGO Expert Builder this LEGO theme has some amazingly detailed and thus highly desired and collectible models which can also make them great LEGO investments. Across such a large sample size the LEGO Technic theme has delivered LEGO investment returns close to 10% a year, but with many sets vastly outperforming the theme average.
Storing Your LEGO Investment Collection
The condition of a LEGO Investment set is utterly paramount to its future value so storing the set in optimal conditions is important. The closer the condition is to when it was initially sold then the higher the resale value will be and thus the higher the LEGO investment returns will be.
- Ideally the LEGO set will be MISB (mint in sealed box) with all the pieces still in their original packaging unopened, the box still sealed and in perfect condition
- Store the sets properly so that there is no damage to them, no marks, no creases, no bowing, no stickers on the box. If possible store the sets within the additional box the LEGO set comes in from the LEGO shop.
- Stack boxes on flat not slatted shelving and not on top of each other Store on the long side of the box and rotate occasionally, ensure the box fits fully on the shelf and doesn’t overhand the edge
- Make sure the room is climate controlled; no direct sunlight, consistent temperature and humidity
Selling Your LEGO Investment
Knowing when to sell your LEGO investment is a crucial part of the process. Ideally you will have had an initial plan when you purchased your LEGO investment as to whether it was intended to be a short term LEGO investment, a medium term LEGO investment or a long term LEGO investment (read our guides to types of LEGO investing here!)
As well as your initial plan, you should be looking out for the following indicators to assess whether it is time to cash in your LEGO investment:
- The current price of the LEGO investment set has plateaued or even started to fall slightly
- Prices within the wider LEGO theme or LEGO sub-theme have plateaued or even started to fall slightly
- A new updated version of the set is being announced by LEGO
- The genre underlying the theme is becoming less popular
- You have identified a new LEGO set (s) that you think would be a better LEGO investment going forward
- Is there a seasonal advantage as to when to sell a LEGO investment set (i.e. Christmas, Easter etc)
Once you have decided to sell your LEGO investment there are several options available as to how/where to sell your LEGO investments.
- Online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay
- Local auction house
- Post on LEGO forums, Facebooks groups etc
- Contact friends, fellow LEGO investors and collectors to see if anyone is looking to purchase the LEGO sets you have for sale
- Be patient, you may have to wait a little while to achieve the maximum possible price
Now that you’ve sold your LEGO investment and made a great LEGO investment its time to go back to the start, choose your next LEGO investment and reinvest your profits to compound your LEGO investment gains!
