A few sets I picked up recently at Walmart have a round golden sticker, on the front of the box near the set number. The sticker says "Oppenheim toy portfolio best toy award gold seal". I don't know if this sticker was put on by Lego or someone else. It looks okay, it doesn't cover anything important, but I am not sure it belongs there. Are these stickers undesirable from a collector or investor standpoint? Should I try to remove them if I can do so without damaging the boxes?

A few sets I picked up recently at Walmart have a round golden sticker, on the front of the box near the set number. The sticker says "Oppenheim toy portfolio best toy award gold seal". I don't know if this sticker was put on by Lego or someone else. It looks okay, it doesn't cover anything important, but I am not sure it belongs there.

Are these stickers undesirable from a collector or investor standpoint? Should I try to remove them if I can do so without damaging the boxes?

I don't know if it's good or bad to be honest. Check out their site.

http://www.toyportfolio.com/

If you do choose to remove the decals, a hairdryer does wonders loosening the glue.

As a former web designer, I will say that the site has hideous design elements and looks cheap. But it also looks harmless enough. I can't imagine having the sticker on would necessarily be a bad thing. I will also add that I personally feel that the box and print quality on LEGO sets is very high, and in my experience most stickers, price tags, etc. peel off pretty easily without doing any damage.

This is more marketing than anything else. It markets the toy towards parents so they know what to supposedly buy. This company simply reviews a bunch of toys and gives awards to what they think are fun/educational. Those stickers actually does wonders during Christmas. You'll notice most toys with those stickers tends to sell better and sell out. In terms of the stickers on the Legos, it may devalue it a little. Lego collectors may simply just want a perfect box with no extra random stickers on it.