Brickvesting
LEGO Investing Articles
108 blog articles in this category
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An interesting article was released at the 2012 New York Toy Fair by The LEGO Systems, Inc. Basically, it describes LEGO's year-end highlights and illustrates LEGO's continued growth in the U.S. Toy Market. Let's take a look... The seven basic bullet points of the article also illustrated to me that the 'secondary' LEGO sales market, such as EBAY sales, will remain strong into the future in my opinion. The children builders of today will be the AFOLs of tomorrow and the AFOLs drive the secon
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As I was sitting on my couch one day watching Robert Zemeckis's, The Polar Express, with my two-and-a-half-year-old son, I got to thinking about trains. The Polar Express is my son's favorite movie and he knew how to say “choo-choo” before he could say “Daddy.” What is it about trains that cause children(and some adults...LOL) to run around the house and yell, “choo-choo, choo-choo” before they can say their own name? And does this same passion for trains cross over into other hobbies and wor
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There comes a time, in some LEGO collector's lives, that their hobby of collecting LEGO sets and bricks becomes something a little more than a hobby. The AFOL(Adult Fan of LEGOs), with the so-called 'hobby' of collecting little plastic bricks, has ended up spending years and thousands of dollars on these 'toys.' The last thing anybody wants to happen is to lose the entire collection to fire, flood or theft. LEGO sets and bricks, like coins, stamps, and rare art can be worth a pretty penny and sh
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[box type="shadow"]Editor's Note: This is the first article written by one of our members, Tim Mahoney(timinchicago). What a great contribution to the site. Hopefully this is the first of many great articles by Tim and hopefully more get submitted by the rest of our members. Tim received 500 BrickPoints for having this article published on the site. -Jeff[/box] “Dark Age”: the period of time between when a person loses interest in LEGO and when they rediscover it as an adult. It is not much of
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As a casual LEGO collector, I always keep an eye out for sets that are worth investing in. Obviously, the intention and goal of LEGO investing is ultimately to make a profit. Therefore, it is crucial for the casual investor to maximize their investment dollar which is usually achieved only after a set is retired, or in LEGO parlance, reached its end of life (EOL). It is no secret that the single biggest factor in LEGO investing and set appreciation is EOL. In simplest terms, no EOL, no profit. F
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The definition of Larceny is as follows: Anyone who steals, or with intent to defraud obtains by a false pretense, or whoever unlawfully, and with intent to steal or embezzle, converts, or secretes with intent to convert, the property of another … whether such property is or is not in his possession at the time of such conversion or secreting, shall be guilty of larceny. … (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 266, § 30(1)). As Bob Dylan once wrote, “The times are a changin'.” The term “larceny” and LEGO
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Definition of "Speculative Bubble": A spike in asset values within a particular industry, commodity, or asset class. A speculative bubble is usually caused by exaggerated expectations of future growth, price appreciation, or other events that could cause an increase in asset values. This drives trading volumes higher, and as more investors rally around the heightened expectation, buyers outnumber sellers, pushing prices beyond what an objective analysis of intrinsic value would suggest. The bub
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I recently wrote an article, LEGO Bubble...Fact or Fiction, in which I compared the recent Baseball Card collectible's market bubble and its subsequent bursting, to a potential LEGO investment bubble. The main point of the article was to show similarities between two comparable collectibles' markets and to question whether or not the LEGO collectible's market would crash and burn like the Baseball Card collectible's market did several years ago. While doing research for the article, I came acros
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You called in sick to work, hang out in the room closest to the front door, you turn down the volume on the TV. What are you waiting for? You are waiting for that package to arrive one of the three big carriers, USPS(United States Postal Service), UPS(United Parcel Service) or FEDEX(Federal Express). What is in that package? The LEGO set that you ordered a few days ago. You have tracked it online at least 50 times since you placed the order so you know where it came from, where it has been and m
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As a LEGO investor and collector, there are many places where you can buy new LEGO sets. In the United States, large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target and Toys R Us sell massive amounts of new LEGO sets. Great Britain has similar large retailers like Argos, Myer and Tesco. Of course EBAY is a worldwide option for new and used LEGO sets. That leads us to The LEGO Group and its Shop At Home(S@H) online site and brick and mortar stores. The LEGO retail sites make up the backbone of th
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Whether you are a wet-behind-the-ears AFOL(Adult Fan Of Lego) fresh out of the Dark Ages, or a seasoned brick veteran, there are two major classifications to consider when evaluating a good set for investment purposes: licensed franchises such as the STAR WARS and Lord Of The Rings(LOTR) themes or original LEGO series such as the City or Friends themes. There is strong evidence for either category to do well in its own right, so how do you choose? When looking at current values of the most succe
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There are over 9000 LEGO sets in existence. Of those 9000+ LEGO sets, the vast majority have been retired or in LEGO terms, gone EOL(End Of Line). The common topics among forum members usually relate to newer LEGO sets, while the LEGO sets that are five years old or older, get very little attention in terms of buying as an investment. New sets like the 10211 Grand Emporium, 10197 Fire Brigade, 10217 Diagon Alley and 21102 CUUSOO Minecraft get a lot of love from LEGO investors. There is constant
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I have played with LEGO bricks since I was young(I am now 34), but never collected them in any way until recently. A couple of years ago, my wife got back into LEGO and started buying sets to build with our nieces and nephews. Before long she was asking for LEGO sets from me for her birthday and Christmas. Well, of course a few of the sets were hard to find so I had to turn to eBay. I was shocked by how much some of the sets were going for and that’s what turned me into a true LEGO investor. Eve
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In today's world, there are many swindlers and shysters trying to separate you from your money. This theft and deception even finds its way into the world of LEGO bricks. As a LEGO collector and investor, there are many places to buy LEGO sets. One of the best is eBay. But there is an ever increasing illegal practice that is occurring on the eBay site and similar auction sites and the LEGO fan needs to be aware of it. It's called “drop shipping.” Just to be clear...drop shipping, by itself, is n
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Anybody who buys LEGO sets and bricks daydreams about a future in which one does not need to go to the store to obtain them. There will be no need to waste a half an hour or more in time and several dollars in gas from the drive going to their destination, not to mention wear and tear on the vehicle. Not only that, but the time wasted being in the store and having to wait in long lines will be saved. In addition, there is a possibility that after all the wasted time, gas and effort, the retailer
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We here at BrickPicker have often been accused of being too pro-LEGO investor. There are some Bearish LEGO collectors out there and they have let me know on several occasions that we never post about the negatives of LEGO investing. While many of you know that we are not shills for LEGO, there is still a silent minority of LEGO collectors and investors that think we promote the little ABS plastic bricks too much. Well, today, that changes. I am here to talk about the WORST PERFORMING LEGO SE
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A new category in our Brickvesting Blog, BRICK BRATS: The Teenage LEGO Investor's Blog, will share some of the thoughts and words of some of our younger BrickPicker members. It will be a feature that we will share from time to time with the entire community. LEGO investing is a growing phenomenon that crosses all walks of life and different generations as well. The younger crowd might be able to teach some of us old dogs, some new tricks... Our inaugural set of articles are combined into one big
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Building your eBay Profile There are a lot of sketchy sellers on eBay, and one of the best ways to avoid being lumped in with these types is to have a solid eBay profile. For all you new users/investors visiting the site every day, don’t forget that buying the Lego is the fun part, but selling is where you actually make the money. I too love the rush of getting a great deal or discount on a set, but until I’ve taken photos, made the listing, found a buyer, packed it up and shipped it, it is just
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As a child, comics were a part of my daily life. I loved everything about them. I often escaped into the shadows with The Bat, learned with the other Mutants at the school for the gifted. I even tried to digest how a pair of glasses disguised an extraordinary man of steel into an everyday Joe. Comic Books will always have a special place in my heart. Now, fast forward I’m a grown man, a father, a husband, a LEGO fan. Do I read comics? No. That time has long since passed. Though comic books are n
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"You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." These are the words of Morpheus, a prophet in the sci-fi thriller The Matrix, and I think they accurately describe the choice many Brickpicker members face early in their investing career. Should I try to learn and understand the Lego secondary market, or take it for granted that it will exist as
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Remakes, clones, variants, redo’s, copies, call them what you will but they play a big part in the savvy investors thinking. Especially in the most beloved Star Wars theme. There is almost always a remake or two, or more, in every new wave of Star Wars themed Lego sets that are released these days. In fact it has become one of the common criticisms of the theme across many Internet fan sites and discussion forums. So what impact do remakes really have on secondary market prices, both on the old
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For three years, I worked downtown and on my way home from work I would occasionally pass by a hot dog vendor named Ray who would stake out a corner near the entrance to the train station. Because I'm a sucker for a good Chicago-style dog (tomato, pickle, onions, neon green relish, mustard, celery salt, sport peppers, and NO KETCHUP), I would occasionally stop by Ray's cart for a dog, and he and I would chat for a couple minutes while I finished it. One day, we got around to talking about his bu
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There is something I have been wanting to apply to LEGO for a long time but that for some reason I could not find enough time to do: a regression analysis. For those of you that have never heard of have already forgotten what a linear regression is, I will try to quickly summarize the most important aspects. Basically, by running a regression analysis we can determine the relationship between several different independent variables and how they affect one particular dependent variable, therefor
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Throughout the Golden Age of Baseball, when Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays patrolled the game's outfields, baseball writers and fans used three primary statistics to explain a player's offensive prowess: runs, home runs and RBI. This had been the case for a hundred years, but in 1977 a little known statistician named Bill James produced a magazine called Bill James Baseball Abstract. In it he presented a number of new statistics that more accurately represented how baseball players created or sav
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When I was a kid, I remember my younger brother wanted to be involved in everything I was. When I got a bike for my birthday, he wanted one. If I went to summer camp, he wanted to go, too. If I was hanging out with my buddies, he was tagging along behind us. As I’ve grown older and seen my kids behave similarly, I have come to understand that’s the nature of siblings. The younger ones look up to and emulate their elder siblings. In the wonderful world of Lego, the older brother is growing up: N
