Make money buying and selling lego

Lucy Ives


29th Sep 2023

Reading Time: 5 minutes

While you may think Lego is only a kids’ toy, it can be much more than that.

A growing number of people buy Lego with the hope that its value increases over time. In other words, these people see buying Lego an investment, similar to buying stocks & shares.

In this article, we’re going to explain how it’s possible to make money from Lego. Keep on reading for all the details, or click on a link to jump straight to a specific section…

eBay or Amazon. So, if you choose to invest in Lego, this is your chance to command high prices for those unique sets that can no longer be bought directly from Lego.

Brickpicker offers plenty of analysis on price trends. This could help you make more informed Lego purchases.

Bear in mind, though, that because Lego is under no obligation to discontinue their sets, there’s never any guarantee that what you buy will be a good investment.

Brick for brick, the sets linked to films or cartoons tend to be more expensive. Make sure you calculate the price per brick of the sets on offer, then wait to buy it when it’s on sale or a special offer. For instance, the resale value of the Star Wars sets has done well in the past, but previous success is not necessarily an indicator that these’ll be good buys for the future.

MusicMagpie and Zapper, for instance, will buy the bricks off you. Alternatively, you could try your luck on eBay. Some serious collectors often need a spare piece for their set which might just be hiding in your pile of Lego.

Josh Mangleson, a Lego collector from Brisbane, Australia.

Mangleson says he first started buying Lego as a child, before noticing how the value of his sets had skyrocketed over time.

“In high school before I had my first job I’d try and find ways of making money to buy new LEGO sets. I’d look at buying them online, and I started to see the values on some of my older sets and could hardly believe my eyes. So I started to see my own LEGO collection as a bit of an investment”

Mangleson explained how he sold a total of 250 sets, netting him a $20,000 (£10,600) profit, which he has since used to put down a deposit on a house.

Meanwhile, US-based collector, Lucas Lettrick, says he makes a typical 150-250% return when buying a selling Lego sets. Lettrick says he’s spent a cool $65,000 (£53,000) buying Lego in a recent video interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Yet despite his steep investment, Lettrick recently explained on his YouTube channel, that you don’t need to lots of capital to start out.

“The better strategy I would say, especially if you’re starting out and is the way I started out, is putting smaller amount of money into purchases and then building your way up.

“Start small with a small amount of cash, buy really good purchases that are on really great discounts that you can really maximise what you’re selling them at and how much money your’e getting back out of them and then slowly, as you build up that pot of Lego money, you can start buying bigger sets.”

How to Make Money on eBay article.

Learn as much as you can about the market. Use Brickpicker to gather information and study the price research.

When you decide to buy, look out for deals and check out various retailers. If you buy your set at a low price, there’s more potential for profit later on when (or if) the set has been retired by Lego.

There’s also a market for mini figures. It’s definitely worth the investment as they may become collectible later on.

If you do decide to invest in Lego, then make sure you do so as part of a diversified portfolio. And if you can, you may wish to buy more than one type of set.  For example, stick solely to Star Wars sets and you could be in trouble if the public’s interest in the franchise fades in future.

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