Lego: building profits from plastic bricks
The popularity of Lego boomed as bored workers twiddled their thumbs at home. Chris Carter reports
When a video meeting got “a little boring” for Richard Weston, the 44-year-old from Birmingham did what many of us did during lockdown, says Shan Li in The Wall Street Journal. He watched a YouTube clip on his laptop, scanned Facebook and played with his Lego sets.
Thousands of Lego-builders went even further, BBC News reported in May, “taking advantage of lockdown… to create stop-motion movies and models of real-life constructions”. It’s little wonder, then, that sales of the colourful plastic bricks rose by 14% in the first six months of the year, and the addiction seems to be setting well and truly in. “We’ve seen momentum continue into the second half, even after people started going back to work and to school,” says Niels Christiansen, CEO of the Danish toymaker. (Note who appears first in that sentence – Lego’s not just for kids.)
Still others have had their eye on profits. Investment-related online searches for Lego jumped by 53% during lockdown in Britain, according to research commissioned by investment platform eToro. Over time, Lego sets can make serious money on the secondary market. “Dealers around the world trade the plastic bricks like any other asset,” says Adam Williams in The Daily Telegraph. “Some buy brand-new sets and keep them in pristine condition; others scour the planet for vintage models.” Over time, these sets can fetch significantly more than their original retail prices, with some going on to sell for thousands of pounds.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
It’s no surprise, then, that some “Afols” (adult fans of Lego, in the lingo) have turned their hobby into money-making opportunities. The original 2007 edition of the Star Wars Millennium Falcon, for example, was available on Amazon this summer for more than £7,000, 20 times its original value, according to self-storage firm Space Station.
But collectors should be careful, says Tim Auld in the Financial Times. When Lego released the Millennium Falcon, it was the biggest Lego set ever produced, consisting of 5,195 pieces and costing £342.49. After two years, it was discontinued. Five years later, an unopened set in a sealed case sold for $15,000, setting a record for Lego. “Admittedly, that’s Las Vegas prices,” Gerben van IJken, a toy expert at auction site Catawiki, tells Auld. But even elsewhere, that set would have fetched a lot of money. Then, in 2017, Lego reissued an updated version of the toy– good news for fans, “not so good for those who had squirrelled away their 2007 set unopened for a rainy day”, says Auld. It may not be worth as much, but it is at least still valuable. Last Thursday, a used set in the US was sold to a buyer in Britain for almost $2,000 (including postage) on Ebay.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.
Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.
You can follow Chris on Instagram.
-
8 of the best houses for sale with wine cellars
The best houses for sale with wine cellars – from a Huguenot townhouse in a conservation area in Spitalfields, London, to a Georgian manor house in Lincoln with a barrel-vaulted wine cellar
By Natasha Langan Published
-
Twenty 'finfluencers' questioned under caution by the UK regulator
The individuals were interviewed voluntarily using the Financial Conduct Authority’s criminal powers
By Chris Newlands Published
-
What will a broken-up Google look like?
The US courts have ruled that Google is a monopoly, leaving it facing the prospect of a break-up. WIll that be a good thing?
By Matthew Lynn Published
-
How will the UK gambling sector be hit by the Budget?
There are concerns for the UK gambling sector in the lead-up to the Autumn Budget. What could be on the cards?
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
HSBC returns to cost-cutting plan
HSBC is set to revamp its commercial banking division – but will it come at a cost?
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
Pfizer shares rise as US investor takes $1 billion stake
Pfizer shares are on the up since US activist investor Starboard Value built up a stake in the drug maker. But strategic options appear limited
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
Qualcomm could acquire rival Intel – but securing the deal won't be easy
A tie-up between Qualcomm and its semiconductor rival Intel would be a coup. But multiple regulatory and commercial hurdles lie ahead.
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
How to invest in the quiet market months
Here's how to invest in the quiet market months, since “sell in May” hasn’t paid off this year.
By Cris Sholto Heaton Published
-
Spire Healthcare: invest in the booming demand for private healthcare
Spire Healthcare is one of the few listed companies benefiting from the growing trend in private healthcare. Should you invest?
By Rupert Hargreaves Published
-
Are insurance companies a good investment?
Costs may be soaring but the insurance sector is currently going through one of its most profitable periods. The market has been slow to realise the opportunity here
By Rupert Hargreaves Published