Blog And News Articles

Hello LEGO fans, collectors and resellers… Many of you may already know who I am, but for those of you that may have just learned about Brickpicker, my name is Ed Maciorowski and I would like to ask you for a few moments of your time. Over the past five years, my brother Jeff and I have operated the BrickPicker site at no cost to members and fans. All we ever asked from members was to click on affiliate links to help pay for the site expenses, which cost members little or no out of pocket money. Many of you have gained valuable information and insight from our data and forum community that enabled you to make money from LEGO collecting and reselling. Often, peopl…

Hello LEGO fans...Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. It's that time of year again. Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ. After a very...VERY...successful first BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE in which we raised over $62,000.00 for the school, a year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised last year literally kept the school open...which is a great thing. It's a special school that once again was voted BEST Private School in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times, along with numerous other awards, such as: CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR…

New calendar is up. Tonight starts the LEGO May the 4th Star Wars Event. To start with, you at least get 20% off most Star Wars items. On top of that you get your Double VIP points on all Lego Star Wars products which ends up being a decent discount. Based on discussions in the forum, it appears that many are starting to eye up the 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium. Free shipping on all orders with no minimum. Free 30602 First Order Stormtrooper (pictured above) with your order of $50 or more of LEGO Star Wars products. Double VIP points on all LEGO Star Wars products. Free LEGO-fied Star Wars The Force Awakens poster with all LEGO St…

Hello LEGO fans.. It’s been a little over a year since Jeff and I started working on our first book, The Ultimate Guide to Collectible LEGO Sets: Identification and Price Guide. Well, after a year and a half, the book is now available at retail and is selling briskly. We would like to thank everyone who has bought a copy and hope you have enjoyed the book. Krause Publishing did a very nice job with our book in my opinion and is seeing strong sales, strong enough to ask us to do a second book. The new book will concentrate on the classic LEGO minifigure (...and maxifigure) and their values and unique features that make them valuable on LEGO secondary marketpla…

This month (November 2016) marks my first complete year as a LEGO reseller and active BrickPicker, as well as the second anniversary of coming out of my Dark Ages. Okay, I was reading catalogs and buying a few cool sets for my kids every year before 2014, but nothing like the full-on assault of having to catch up with all that LEGO has offered in the past. To celebrate these milestones I thought it would be a nice idea to contribute some of my key lessons from the past year back to this community. First of all, a little background. What really got me out of my Dark Ages was LEGO Trains, actually, it was a Fleischmann N-scale model train set that I used to have when I…

Here is the list of current 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. These are from within the last 12 months. Polybags Currently Available Set # Theme Set Name Locations 30347 City Fire Car TRU 30349 City Sports Car …

Hello LEGO fans... It's that time of year again. Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ. After two very...VERY...successful LEGO Raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...in which we raised over $100,000.00 for the school, another year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised the last two years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing. It's a special school that once again was voted BEST Private School in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times, along with numerous other awards, such as: …

Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...Feels like yesterday I was putting the 2019 Brickpicker LEGO raffle together for my son Max's school, St. Paul School in Burlington, NJ. He is ten years old now and we started this way back when he was in kindergarten. The last four raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...have been extremely successful and I am hoping for more generosity and kind souls to take part in this year's version. Over the past four years, we raised over $177,000…

Update.... Lego's announcement has been made. "POW" about the price . Sure looks cool though. I removed the initial Facebook pics and added Lego's official ones. 6052 Batman™ Classic TV Series – Batcave Ages 14+. 2,526 pieces. US $269.99 – CA $329.99 – DE 249.99€ – UK £229.99 – DK 2499.00 DKK Drive the villains out from Batman’s Batcave! Help Batman™ and Robin™ to drive the villain intruders from the Batcave, featuring a Bat Lab with Batcomputer, plus the Batmobile with stud shooters, Batcopter with flick missiles and the Batcycle. This special model, based on the classic 1960s TV show, also has a Wayne Manor sect…

Hope you didn't spend all your money on the new LEGO Ghostbusters Headquarters. In November, we mentioned the possibility of new LEGO Ghostbusters sets coming, based on a press release from Sony Pictures, the rights holder to Ghostbusters franchise and the 2016 reboot film's distributor. Paul Feig, director of the new film confirmed today on Twitter that there indeed will be LEGO sets based on the movie. He states "Fun stuff coming from LEGO too. Just FYI. Sorry, bank account." Note this is ahead of any official word from The LEGO Group. The movie should no doubt drive buyers to all things Ghostbusters, including 21108 Ghostbusters Ect…

Thanks to forum member @ravenb99, we have a list of the possible discounts being offered on items at Lego Retail Shops and Online. I only say possible because this year, Lego chose not to send the list out to their affiliates. The list appears to be as one would expect. Take a look. I may have missed an item or two copying items over from the original list found here. Chances are, it's 20% off As we head into the Holiday Season LEGO is excited to be able to promote a few great offers! On November 25th LEGO will be offering Free Shipping on all orders through 11/28! Plus you can shop the Brick Friday Sale featuring select products while supplies last and qualifying…

Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world... Time flies...It’s a little later than usual, but it's that time of year again. Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ. After three very...VERY...successful LEGO Raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...in which we raised over $150,000.00 for the school, another year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some more dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised the last three years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing. It's a spe…

Here is the list of current 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. These are from within the last 12 months. Polybags Currently Available Set # Theme Set Name Locations 30350 City Drilling Machine Walmart 30347 City Fire Car…

Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...What a crazy year! Covid and record high LEGO sales and prices made for an interesting year to say the least. Feels like yesterday I was putting the 2020 Brickpicker LEGO raffle together for my son Max's school, St. Paul School in Burlington, NJ. He is eleven years old now and we started this way back when he was in kindergarten. The last five raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...have been extremely successful and I a…

Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...Another crazy year! Covid, wars, inflation and more record high LEGO sales and prices made for an interesting year to say the least. Feels like yesterday Jeff and I were putting the 2016 Brickpicker LEGO raffle together for my son Max's school, St. Paul School in Burlington, NJ. He is twelve years old now, and we started this way back when he was in kindergarten. The last six raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2021…

The holiday season is officially on! This year, we have one of the best seasonal GWPs we have ever offered, free shipping on all orders, and plenty of discounts on some fantastic sets! (Please note that some of the product sales start Friday and others begin on Monday). Gingerbread House GWP on orders of $99 or more. Valid: 11.27.15 – 11.30.15 while supplies last No Code Required Free Shipping on all Orders Valid: 11.27.15 – 11.30.15 No Code Required Brick Friday Sale Items! Valid 11.27.15 - 11.30.15 while supplies last table.tableizer-table { border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; …

Issue 16 of Blocks Magazine is now with subscribers, and will be in shops on Thursday 21st January. Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, and what better way to declare your love than with LEGO? From Valentine’s hearts to brick bouquets, this month’s issue is packed with outside-the-box ideas to make this year’s celebrations a little more special. Elsewhere, we dive into our ‘Build It’ section to show you how to construct your own transforming Optimus Prime model, with step-by-step instructions and a guide to sourcing all the parts you’ll need, and find out how you can recreate long-retired sets without breaking the bank. There’s much more besides, as Danie…

After the recent Telegraph article going viral all over the world stating that LEGO bricks and sets were better investments than Gold over the past few years, one has to wonder what other investment vehicles do LEGO bricks outperform. With the recent roller coaster on Wall Street and foreign markets, a question presents itself...Are the LEGO secondary markets and LEGO collecting and investment in general, more stable and profitable over the long haul than other more high profile investments? Let’s analyze some data… With 2015 coming to a close, the final financial year-end data on stock markets, crude oil and gold prices is available. Take a look at the major sto…

So the past few days have been exciting since LEGO finally slapped a "Retiring Soon" label on the list for the 10188 Death Star. Everyone should jump for joy and start yelling for the money to come rolling in right? Maybe, but it might be short lived or will it. According to the new database entry at Brickset, there is a new Death Star coming and it is listing as an Ultimate Collector Series model. So is this a totally new model, or another version of the old? Is it really "The Death Star" or "The Starkiller"? The new Starkiller base as it is referred to in Episode VII is described by the official Star Wars site as "An ice planet converted into a stro…

One of Lego's 2016 Holiday promotions is now available now, the much anticipated 40223 Snowglobe set. This available is considered "Early Access" for VIP members in the U.S. and Canada. It also appears the general public (non-US and CA Lego residents) will be able to get the Snowglobe set from Nov 25th to the 28th. The Snowglobe is only available from November 19, 2016 through November 20, 2016 or while supplies last. 1 set will be included with each online and in-store orders costing more than $99. Note: Offers not valid at LEGOLAND® Parks or LEGOLAND Discovery Centers The Snowglobe promotion should quickly disappear if prior seasonal promotions are an ind…

No quiet "moo moo" noises being heard regarding the 70810 MetalBeard's Sea Cow set. It's quite impressive when any set increases over 40% from MSRP ($249.99) within only 2 months of "availability" *. Currently, MISB prices are $350 on average (bricklink, amazon, ebay, brickpicker) * note: availability varied by region and retailer. While most Lego collectors and investments were buying sets such as The Tumbler, Death Star, Pet Shop and UCS X-wing in the closing months of 2015, 70810 was quietly going in and out of stock before disappearing. Not everyone was ignoring this set or quite by surprise of it's recent performance. Check-…

Yesterday I was contacted by the website Tech Insider to help them list the Top 25 most valuable sets of All Time. It was good timing too since I did run the price guide numbers recently. With no real big surprise, Star Wars led the pack with getting 10 sets into the list. I think the one surprise is getting a set from 2015 in there with the Bat-Pod. No one is really sure how long that will remain in the list and if aftermarket builders will do a good enough job on the "fakes" to kill that market. Good old Mr Gold is still going strong after a few years and holding onto a value greater than $1,500. If you are lucky enough to have every set on this list, you …

Vinicius & Tom

"The sky is falling!!" USPS to raise shipping rates as much as 25% Unless you are completely new to the selling side of Lego investing, you have probably heard that the United States Postal Service is increasing shipping rates. There are plenty of articles and news stories documenting why they are doing this, and that is not what this blog entry is for. There are even plenty of news articles that will help the eBay sellers navigate the new fee structure for shipping, a decent summary can be found HERE I had been meaning to make a post about this topic earlier in time for the Christmas rush, but I figured that with this news, it would fit in nicely with our new Bl…

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 bought it for. What if it's not? I'd like to take a journey through the dusty backrooms of stores and the dark corners of investor's storage areas to look at some themes that proved to…