Brickvesting
LEGO Investing Articles
108 blog articles in this category
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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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So, you have been buying LEGO sets non stop over the past few months, maybe even years, and you have noticed your Brickfolio has increased in value by 10,000% (exaggerating just a bit here). Or maybe you are a short term investor looking to make some "quick" money to fund your own collection or long term investing choices. It can be sort of difficult to decide how to start selling some of your inventory, as well as where to get the most cost effective materials so that you end up with more money
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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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The Proposal Looking at one and done themes, both in terms of one wave and an availability of one year (and change), can an investor learn anything? Short answer: maybe. Long answer: maaaaaaybe. I'd like to spend a little time talking about the Castle theme. Availability from brickset.com lists May 28th, 2013 to December 22nd, 2014. Yes, I know this might be stretching the aforementioned 'one and change' but actual production was likely much closer to one year with the later EOL da
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Over the last few weeks I've been looking into understanding how the time you decide to purchase a set for investment factors into your real investment returns. After one of my earlier blogs on how discount amounts affect your returns I began to examine how in some circumstances buying at a higher price but later in a sets retail shelf life may be beneficial. It’s all about the Time Value of Money and the Opportunity Cost of purchasing an item when your investment capital may be better utilised
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Ever since a Lego store opened in my area, I have been fascinated with the concept of Pick A Brick (PAB) cups. The clear cups, coming in two sizes, offer the customer with the ability to not only choose what they want from a wall of different elements, but also how much they want through packing methods that have been refined over time. As years went by, my ability to fill every nook and cranny grew. My collection of empty cups grew. And my interest in the cups as investment tools grew as well.
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Here is the list of current, former, and upcoming polybags in the LEGO world. If you've found a polybag that's not on this list, or have any update to give us, please note it in the comments below. This information is put together from a number of different sources on the Internet, including real world reports. Availability in your area may vary. This information is US-based. Polybags Currently Available
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Hi. I’m a new investor/collector/AFOL. One issue I have encountered with my new hobby was how to protect the fragile LEGO set boxes from shelf wear and the interior home elements, such as moisture from possible water leaks, dampness from high humidity areas like basements, dust and smoke. Several years ago, I discovered various brands of storage bags and thought these would be an excellent answer to these issues. These bags are large, very durable, and reusable. They would wear out with constant
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With so many total sets available and #chaos in full effect as predicted by J-Mack, I thought it would be useful for new(er) members to the site and to Lego investing on the whole to take a look at how a short or shorter than expected run can greatly impact the value of a set. Without further adieu... The Mine 4204 June 1st, 2012 – Nov. 29th 2014 CAGR: 0.05% I loved 4204 The Mine. It had a lot
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While I was writing a review for the 10174 AT-ST UCS set I came across a phenomenon that had me intrigued. It was quite evident that the set had experienced a recent surge in secondary market price growth. After finishing that review I have been researching other sets that seem to share this second wind renaissance. Firstly I’m going to repeat a bit of the information from the 10174 review to set the scene before moving onto a few other prominent examples of second wind growth. 10174 AT-ST Lo
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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 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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There have been several articles in the site about pretty much every single aspect of LEGO Investing: from how to store your sets to some of the "Hazzards", as Quacs explained in his blog article However, there are some other factors we all need to consider when we decide to enter this particular way of investment: the costs. I know it sounds pretty obvious, but I strongly believe that a lot of people even in this same forum, are not thoroughly consider all the costs they are incurring at the d
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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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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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Will box damage reduce the value of my sets when it is time to sell them? We have all asked ourselves this question at some point, and it is actually seen on the forums relatively often, so I think it is time to evaluate a little more in depth how much does box condition really matter for the LEGO investor once it is time to get rid of some of those sets we have stored in our closets (or whole rooms, if you are lucky). There are very different types of damage to consider, ranging from the typi
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There have been a lot of changes since LEGO almost went bankrupt in the early 2000s: licensed sets became the norm, better designs started coming into production andLEGO became the world’s largest toy manufacturer. All this changes and subsequent success created a new breed of investing: buying sets and holding after their retirement date. For years, this alternative market went unnoticed, propping up the prices of popular sets such as the 10179 Millenium Falcon. As expected, however, highe
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LEGO, officially known as The LEGO Group, is currently the #1 toy maker in the world. But did you know at one time, it was on its knees and at the edge of bankruptcy? This article speaks of the Danish toy maker and how they pulled just the right strings to make this remarkable and educational toy a success in a declining toy market. It's the story about the "Eye of the Lego Tiger" and how a company went from one extreme to the other and back again. Past Days of Glory Once upon a time bef
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A disclaimer before we start: I have thoroughly enjoyed the previews for The Lego Movie. I giggled at times and was generally pretty excited at the prospect of seeing it in theaters. I've also been checking out the sets from the movie and reading/watching reviews of the builds. Overall, I think they are kinda eccentric and zany, like my uncle Jim after a lot of 'eggnog' at Christmas, dancing to Santa Baby with my wife's scarf. Fun, fun, fun! Sadly, fun alone does not profits make; does fun and p
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As mentioned in other blogs and some of my forum posts, I have begun a Lego business online using an Ebay Store. A large part of my business is from parting out sets; The practice of of selling the minifigures and certain desirable parts of a set (like a vehicle or building) separately to make money on the set. This is a very common (but time consuming) practice for many different people ranging from businesses to people like me. On the outside, it seems like a fairly understandable, and even he
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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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There have been many recent articles, all over the web, in local papers and on the radio. They're saying that LEGO investing is better than gold. It's sensationalist. It excites the imagination. It sounds easy. These articles point up the sets that have increased in value many times above their initial costs. Dreamers sweep store shelves expecting instant returns and easy money. Conventional wisdom says that you'll never lose money on LEGO, it will always be worth at least what you bough
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Welcome to Week 3 of the Top 10 Best Selling LEGO sets as listed by LEGO S@H. How does this Blog work? While the LEGO Shop at Home best sellers list is updated weekly, we will be updating it every Wednesday. The list includes only sets. Minifigures, keychains, Pick a Brick and other products are excluded. If not enough sets are listed on the S@H Best Sellers page, the weekly entry could be shor
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Welcome to the second entry of the Top 10 Best Selling LEGO sets as listed by LEGO S@H. Given that this is only the second entry of the series, I wanted to take the time and remind our readers about what they can expect: While the LEGO Shop at Home best sellers list is updated weekly, we will be updating it every Wednesday. The list includes only sets. Minifigures, keychains, Pick a Brick and other products are excl
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We all love lists, right? Welcome to what I expect to be a new weekly blog entry for Brickpicker: Top 10 Best Sellers at LEGO Shop at Home. As most of you know, LEGO’s online site includes a feature showcasing the Top 25 selling sets, updated on a daily basis. While this list is definitely a small sample, I believe it can help us gauge what’s popular with end consumers at any given time, so that when retirement time approaches we have at least an idea of how well
