Newbie here - I want to learn how to invest in legos

[marneus74]

Hello everyone,

I'm French, close to my 30 y/o and I played with legos all my childhood. I spent hours on it, making the most powerful robots in the universe.

I discovered that we could invest in legos quite recently, and so I bought two boxes that I keep closed and protected. The Ford Mustang, and James Bond's Aston Martin.

I do not yet know the mistakes that can be made, which legos should be invested in and which should not, etc. I hope to learn all this by reading you here. If you have tips or topics to read recommended, feel free to list them here. I started with the topics : "Listing Dos and Don’ts for the New LEGO Investor" and "New to Selling Lego? Here is a Basic Materials Guide to Help Get You Started"

I think I'm going to buy Batman's car when it will be released. What do you think about this invest ?

See you soon on the forum!

 

[kouks]

Welcome aboard marneus74!!   My view (at this current point in time) isn't there is much "investing" left to be done with Lego.  More like buy at a discount and hope it gets back to retail price.  That being said buy-in price is key if you do try the investing angle.  There are also many members on here who have different investing methods and money can be made, but it's not easy.  Read up and you'll see.

Good luck:)

I like the new Batmobile too, but just for personal build no investment.

[Goblin]

Bienvenue!

You've picked a good time to start. Start by running the numbers on the Black Friday deals this week, and read recent posts on here. Watch out for the sets that rarely get mentioned! 

[Belac]

Have a sell plan. Buying is easy.

[NIevo]

8 minutes ago, Belac said:

Have a sell plan. Buying is easy.

 

This is actually good advice that a lot of people overlook.  How are you planning on selling these in the future?  Just cause you pick up items at a great price and they triple in value down the road, how are you going to sell them to actually take advantage of that?  Being in a different country I'm not sure of your options but make sure you research that quite a bit and calculate out how much money off the top is going to go to fee's, shipping and taxes.

 

[pete411]

Unless you can sell on amazon fba, don’t do it. eBay is for lowballers.

[NIevo]

3 minutes ago, pete411 said:

Unless you can sell on amazon fba, don’t do it. eBay is for lowballers.

 

Not true, there are many other venues a person can sell on.  Especially since he is in another country we're not sure of his options.  Amazon would be the best, but eBay and Bricklink/Brickowl can't be ruled out.

 

[Sozial]

Do your research, see in which cycles sets are produced, depending on the number of sets you wish to acquire, wait until its sure that it is going to be EOL.

[marcandre]

Investing is dead. Quick flipping arbitrage is the way these days. 

[beatpoppa]

I was once advised to lay out everything I planned to pack for a 3-month vacation abroad on my bed, then to set all the money I planned to bring on the bed too.

The advice was this:  Put half the stuff away and double the money you're bringing.

It seems appropriate counsel here as well.  Good luck to you!

[NIevo]

1 hour ago, marcandre said:

Investing is dead. Quick flipping arbitrage is the way these days. 

 

Not sure if your serious or not, I would hope not since the guy asked for honest advice?

Investing got harder, definitely not dead.

[marneus74]

Thank you for your answers, even if they are not very reassuring ?

My goal is to make a more long-term value, I don't care if I have to wait 10 years. And in the worst case, even if the set has no value, I could still do the construction, because I remain a lego fan after all. I'm sure my kids wouldn't mind building a nice mustang or a batmobile.  ?

[KShine]

Maybe make some money? Sure

Still see LEGO as a viable "investment"?

[ZULU]

5 hours ago, marneus74 said:

Thank you for your answers, even if they are not very reassuring ?

My goal is to make a more long-term value, I don't care if I have to wait 10 years. And in the worst case, even if the set has no value, I could still do the construction, because I remain a lego fan after all. I'm sure my kids wouldn't mind building a nice mustang or a batmobile.  ?

You aren't investing if that's the mind set. 

Also, lego = Branded plastic bricks, not shares.
 

You're not buying the S&P here... 10years means more risk if you're serious in lego investing...

Anyhow - I started reading all the pages of the forum. Then I decided... 

 

[Brystheguy]

6 hours ago, KShine said:

Maybe make some money? Sure

Still see LEGO as a viable "investment"?

This. I don't see what I do as "investing." To me it's a side hustle so I can buy things like a car lift for my garage. It's a fun way to make a little money and keeps me energized looking for a deal and finishing the sale. 

[LegoMan1212]

1 hour ago, Brystheguy said:

This. I don't see what I do as "investing." To me it's a side hustle so I can buy things like a car lift for my garage. It's a fun way to make a little money and keeps me energized looking for a deal and finishing the sale. 

Keeps me ALIVE.

Also, Buy Lego, Sell Lego.  Know how to do both well. Learn from mistakes.

[exracer327]

I enjoy LEGO as a hobby but I have started selling stuff when I have the opportunity.  I would not use LEGO for "investment" purposes though.  That is where I buy stock through a broker.  Stocks give a better return on your money than selling LEGO after subtracting buy-in - seller fees - shipping costs AND - storage cost, (if any) is hard to make lots of money unless you're doing so on a huge scale. 

In the USA if you had bought stock in the spring of 2009 and sold it today you would generally see a 300% value increase.  (Amazon in 2009 was around $87 / share.  Now everyone kicks themselves because it is around $1800 / share.) 

Now if LEGO ever sold stock...