Hi everyone,
I wanted to share this article that I wrote about the fundamentals of investing in LEGO. I know that there is some overlap between Pokemon and LEGO collectors, we have a couple threads on E4 discussing LEGO. As the Pokemon market continues to be crazy, individuals may be interested in different alternative assets to put their money in. I think that LEGO has some solid fundamentals that allow the product to hold its value, and perhaps these fundamentals can be used to better analyze what we think we know about the financial aspects of Pokemon. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about the product, I’d love to a facilitate a further discussion!
A quick note on the term Reselling, which has become a dirty word in the community, LEGO rarely produces products that are so limited or only available for such a small period of time that it is impossible to get your hands on them. Products will always be available at MSRP, so true financial gains are not realized until the buyer assumes risk by purchasing the product and waiting for the price to increase. So don’t you worry, Little Timmy will always be able to buy the new Ninjago set from Target.
**Why LEGO?**LEGO is one of the most recognizable toys on the planet. Their interlocking plastic brick system has been around for roughly 60 years now, so pieces from the 1960s are still compatible with pieces manufactured today. This idea of infinite possibilities allows the individual LEGO bricks to maintain their value, as they will always have utility for play. LEGO is also in a unique position because of the public perception of the value of the toy. Parents buy LEGO for their children because they believe in the toy’s ability to facilitate three-dimensional thinking, fine motor skills and creativity amongst other positive aspects that will aid in the child’s development and growth.
In more recent years, LEGO has begun to produce sets to appeal towards an older demographic, adult collectors who are looking for more complex models for display purposes, not just playsets for children. This is exemplified by their Creator Expert line of sets which come in sleek black boxes instead of the traditional colorful boxes the company is known for. They are marketed as display pieces, but still may contain some elements of play. Also, in an attempt to attract a different audience, it is now common for sets to retail for several hundred dollars, where in years past MSRP often topped out at around $150.
This guide will begin with an explanation of the LEGO market and provide context into the product itself. Then it will dive into how to evaluate what to buy, how and where to source the product, and finally how and where to sell the product. Included are some case studies of retired and currently available sets. The guide has a focus on the United States but the same principles can be applied globally.
The LEGO MarketSet Releases & LifespansLEGO has 2 main periods where they release sets yearly; in January and in July. The New Sets and Products tab on their website highlights upcoming items, as well as the monthly store calendars which are normally scanned and posted on fan managed sites.These releases include annual themes like City, Creator, Star Wars, etc. in which they release additional sets and “retire” others, a concept crucial to the financial aspect of LEGO sets. Some sets, like in the City series, are replaced nearly annually by similar variations, making them a difficult series to invest in.
Sets “retiring” is the language used to say a set is no longer in production. It is not an exact science, but on average the shelf life of a set is 1-2 years. Sets can be retired due to poor sales, intellectual property contracts expiring, or simply just to make room for the new stuff. There is no formal announcement prior to the retirement of a set, most of the time the community relies on internal leaks to know what sets are retiring ahead of time. Once a set is retired and stock is exhausted from major retailers it tends to rise in value. There are many factors that play a role in this value increase and they will be discussed later. Other specialty sets are released periodically throughout the year and are normally officially announced the month prior to release.
Here is a list of some recently retired or retiring sets and their lifespans. As you can see, there is no common pattern between these sets:
10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van - Available for 9 years
21310 Old Fishing Store - Available for 1 year
10246 Detective’s Office Available for 2.75 years
10251 Brick Bank Available for 1.75 years (significant because the modular line has historically only retired 1 set a year and set number 10246 also retired the same year. )
In conclusion regarding set lifespans, retirement can no longer be considered a complete safety net for a set and its financial performance in the future. Recently, LEGO has made the decision to re-release nearly identical copies of older sets that were becoming very expensive on the secondary market. For example, the 2017 Taj Mahal 10256 was previously released in 2008 as 10189. Prior to the re-release, a sealed copy of the set was worth several thousand dollars. Similar to these re-releases, there have also been examples of promotional sets that were originally free with a qualifying purchase (more on these later) coming up for sale on LEGO’s website.
LEGO Brand ControlAnother unique aspect about LEGO compared to other brands is their control over the market. LEGO as a brand makes the decision to rarely hold sales, using price as a signal, with the only true sales occurring during the holiday season. Even major retailers rarely discount the product beyond 20%. This is an average across all sets, with many of the LEGO store exclusives never receiving any sort of discount. This is in contrast to sets that may appear at big box stores receiving markdowns from 20%-40%. Overall the public perception is and should be that LEGO is an expensive and a luxury good, and this helps the product maintain its value.
Outside of brand new LEGO sets there is a large market for used sets and bulk pieces and minifigures. Within the used LEGO space, the premier marketplace outside of eBay is BrickLink. Continuing this idea of LEGO controlling the market, the company actually purchased BrickLink in late 2019. Whether or not this was a positive for the resale market can still be debated and we are yet to witness any negative repercussions from the acquisition. Used sets are commonly sold as cheaper alternatives to their sealed counterparts. Bulk refers to unsorted, loose pieces that have not been assembled into a set. Minifigures are the little LEGO people that come in different sets or in different promotional products. All of these products can potentially be extremely profitable but the reselling experience will be much different with them. Used LEGO will be discussed in further detail later.
Sourcing ProductNew Set FactorsWith that high-level overview completed it’s time to address the specifics of buying LEGO products to sell. Let’s begin with buying brand new, sealed sets. I consider buying sealed sets similar to investing in stocks. Most purchases will be longer holds, normally around 1 year before you should expect to recognize your gains. I have provided some references to example sets with their set numbers. At the bottom of this document I will provide some case studies of sets using these factors as measurements. Here are the factors to consider when deciding if a set is a good value:
- Price Per Piece: The average price is $0.10 per piece. This provides a good baseline for value and can vary due to factors like licensing costs, unique molds required to produce parts, size of pieces, etc. For example, 10256 is $369.99 MSRP with 5923 pieces so it’s $0.0625 per piece.75292 is $129.99 MSRP with 1023 pieces so it’s $0.127 per piece
- Part Out Value: Websites like BrickLink and BrickOwl are marketplaces for LEGO, including the individual pieces. There are buyers who want to purchase specific pieces, normally for projects and creations that they are working on. What this means is each individual piece has a value assigned to it on this marketplace. BrickLink’s price guide allows a user to enter a set number and see the value of all of the parts in the set. These values are subjected to normal market conditions, supply (availability in sets or from the pick-a-brick wall, BrickLink shows you what sets a piece comes in), demand (you can see last 6 months sales as well as current inventory numbers and draw conclusions about what types of parts have a high sell through rate), etc. It is very common for a set’s part out value to greatly exceed the MSRP of the set even before it is retired (anything higher than 2x MSRP is strong). The part out value can also be a good indicator of the potential future value of a sealed copy of the set as a savvy buyer may attempt to piece it together by buying all of the individual parts needed to build the set to save money. 21318 MSRP $199.99, part out value of $395.61 as of December 2020
- Minifigures: Depending on the set, a good portion of the value can be derived simply from the minifigures. Sets that are licensed and that have unique minifigs that are only in that set or very few higher-priced sets are more desirable as they are the only way to obtain those figures. Many people collect just the minifigures from certain series. 75292 contains both a baby Yoda and Mandalorian minifigures, which currently are not in very many sets and are selling for $10 and $15 respectively on BrickLink. 31108 contains just some generic figures that will never fetch more than a couple of dollars a piece.
- Size: Sealed sets in their original boxes can be quite large and heavy, requiring lots of room for storage space and resulting in them being somewhat difficult to ship. A larger box can also give the illusion of more value to buyers. For example, 21318 and 10268 both retail for $199.99 but 21318 has a much larger box (22.8 x 18.7 x 4.7 in) vs. (14.8 x 18.7 x 4.2 in). In person, the perceived value is much higher for 21318.
- Amazon “Best Sellers” Ranking: This goes for most items, even outside of LEGO, but it’s a good indicator of how well certain sets may be performing in relation to others. Just use command + f / control + f and type “Best Sellers Rank”. A high rank will mean there is a large quantity of sets out in the wild, most of which are opened, built and played with. Chances are, if the demand is extremely high for an item during the small period of time that it is available, that demand will remain when the supply dries up (assuming the set is not subjected to en exact remake). It’s worth noting this is less useful when a set is retired because there is no longer a constant supply to fuel an accurate metric.
- Uniqueness / Remake Likelihood: Remakes are one of the toughest things to gauge because there are no rules around it and we still have a minimal data sample as far as sets that have been remade. Some things are more certain though, themes like City will always have a new fire station or police station and every couple of years the Star Wars theme will have a new Millennium Falcon. This is in contrast to a theme like Ideas where the newest set is probably going to be much more unique.
- Intellectual Property Value: What is the theme of the set? Is it a proprietary LEGO theme like Ninjago or Friends or does it have intellectual property backing it up? There are collaborations all the time, often with major media franchises. However, something like Scooby Doo is going to perform much better than Prince of Persia. Look for crossover audiences, children or adults who might be interested in LEGO and have a love for the media that the set is based around.
- Exclusivity: Some sets are widely available at many different stores, others are only available at LEGO retail stores or have other unique methods of distribution. A more exclusive set will have less supply which can lead to higher prices in the secondary market. LEGO’s website has an exclusives section that lists some of their harder to find sets. However, this does not mean that the sets are only available through official LEGO stores. The only true test of availability is searching the set number in Google and seeing the platforms it is available for sale. Over time you will get a better sense of what category sets fall into in terms of what retailers will carry.
- Availability at Discount: Some sets, depending on their distribution may be widely available at significant discounts for long periods of time. This can lead to them being swallowed up by other resellers and can lead to difficulty moving product even after retirement. The inverse is also true, if sets are rarely or even never discounted, the supply is likely to be lower on the secondary market as there was less incentive to buy.
- Price Point: MSRP can be an indicator of what might be expected in terms of speed of growth in the secondary market. This doesn’t necessarily determine the value of a set but can be useful if you have a set margin that you are trying to hit and are trying to determine if the buy in price is worth it. Items tend to reach nice, round numbers and don’t tend to immediately explode in price due to selling off once a set reaches a target price. For example, a $150 MSRP set will likely hover around $200 for awhile before making the climb above that.
- Target Audience (Playset vs. Model): Is the set you are buying designed to be played with after it is built or does it only really exist as a model? The target audience can help determine your target buyer and thus the growth potential of a set. A $30 MSRP playset may struggle to push past $50 as consumers (adults buying a gift) simply aren’t as willing to pay a premium for an older set when they can buy a similar set of a similar size at $30 MSRP. The set would have to have some other factors going for it that I will discuss in the case studies. The opposite of a playset is a model, where the set is built and then displayed on a shelf or desk. The consumer once again is likely an adult, but in this case they may be purchasing the set for themselves, in which case they will be more likely to spend a premium or have deeper pockets in general. Sets in the model category also tend to be more unique and exclusive because they are targeted towards a more narrow audience.
- Lifespan: How long was the set available? Normally sets are retired at the end of the calendar year and the list of retiring sets is leaked before they retire. It’s important to evaluate what sets are good buys independent of this factor but it can also be relevant in making a decision, as shorter lifespans can indicate poor sales but also not enough supply to meet demand.
Used Bulk Factors
The second major category worth discussing is sourcing used LEGO. Used pieces and sets tend to follow a more traditional model of flipping where there is a well-defined market of values and you can expect a quicker return on your money. That is in contrast to buying new sealed sets, which is considered more of an investment as you will need to hold the items for a longer period of time to realize significant gains. Here are some factors to look for when purchasing used bulk LEGO:
- Volume/Weight: The simplest way to determine value for a bulk lot is understanding how much product is there. Bulk LEGO generally sells for around $5 to $10 per pound depending on the quality of the product (see Presence of Specialty Pieces). Depending on where you are sourcing the product it might not make sense to have rates based weight as opposed to volume. Many families will just dump their bulk LEGO into big plastic tubs that have the volume imprinted on them. Understand the ratio of volume to weight or have separate rates based on volume.
- Minifigures: As previously discussed, the little LEGO people can be worth a significant amount. Generally, figures that come from licensed sets have higher values than just generic City or Creator minifigures.
- Instruction Manuals: The manuals themselves generally do not have a significant value, but they do allow you to see what sets / era of sets comprise the bulk. This will allow you to look for the minifigures that were in those sets or see if there are special pieces that you should pull aside as they have greater value.
- Cleanliness: Hopefully the pieces aren’t sticky or dirty and there is minimal hair and carpet junk within the pieces. LEGO can be cleaned pretty effectively with just soap and water but it is something to consider as it will take time to clean.
- Presence of Bastard Brand Pieces: There are some other brands that have attempted to mimic LEGO’s interlocking brick system that are widely considered to be trash and worthless. These include Mega Bloks, Mega Construx, Nano Blocks etc. LEGO buyers do not want any of these pieces when they are making a purchase.
- Presence of Specialty Pieces: Lots of basic bricks are less desirable than specialty pieces like wheels, minifigure accessories etc. LEGO releases classic basic brick boxes like 10696. These basic bricks may be great for play but do not carry the same value that specialty pieces will have.
- Presence of Partially Completed Sets: If sets are partially completed it might be worth trying to put the rest of the set back together and sell that set as a used and complete as it will garner a premium over just selling the pieces at a bulk rate.
Used Set FactorsWhen you are buying used sets the first thing that you should do for each set is try and identify what the id number is for each set. This can be done by referencing existing manuals that have the number on them or by trying to google identifying factors and comparing pictures of the results against what you see with the set. Once you identify one set you can use Brickset and their search tools to determine the year of release and use that date and surrounding years to aid in your searches for other sets because they are likely from the same era. Once you have identified the set here are some things you should consider before purchasing:
- Completeness: This is a hard thing to determine with complete certainty. The best thing to do is just compare stock photos of the set against what you see built. Look for the minifigures and see if there are any distinguishable pictures that are missing. It is not feasible to disassemble every set and inventory the individual pieces because that will take far too long, and it is much easier to sell used sets when they are built, so you would have to build the set again before selling.
- Cleanliness/Playwear: Some dust is very common when sets are displayed and can be easily removed with a soft bristle brush or some compressed air. You want to avoid sets that have been glued together because that destroys the pieces. Any other sort of sticky residue or physical damage should also be avoided because those pieces would need to be replaced before selling.
Where to buy LEGONow that we have established what to look for when sourcing product, let’s discuss where to source product. Most of these companies have brick and mortar locations and I will call out any distinctions that should be made between physical retail stores and shopping online.
- Official LEGO Stores & Website: Official stores will have the largest selection and exclusives but rarely have sales. Sales primarily occur on Black Friday or around the holiday season. However, LEGO does have some perks that add incentive to purchase. First is their VIP program. It’s free to sign up, and any purchases made using the account will give you points back which can be redeemed for cash off a future purchase or redeemed for other rewards in their store. The base rate is 5% back in points, but there will be promotions throughout the year for double points, either based on a time period like a weekend or for specific sets to incentivize their purchase. LEGO also has periodic promotions where they offer gifts with purchase (known as GWPs). These are probably the most lucrative promotion that the company offers and it has historically been best practice to time purchases around GWPs. They are normally announced around 1 month in advance and have some requirements that need to be met to earn the item. Normally there is a simple purchase threshold, somewhere between $50 and $200. In other cases, you need to spend a threshold on a specific set or theme. Stacking a GWP with a discounted set is the way to get deals through LEGO themselves. Here are some positive examples of recent GWPs and the required conditions: For purchasing 76139 ($249.99 retail) on release weekend you got a copy of 40433 which is currently selling for around $120 (immediately after release it was selling for around $75). For spending $150+ around Black Friday 2020 you got a copy of 40410 which has sold between $25 and $40 this holiday season. In November 2018, spending $99+ got you a copy of 40289 which is currently selling for around $80
- Walmart: Walmart will put sets on sale or clearance them after the holidays and some time in the summer. These are normally the best times to buy. Periodically throughout the year they may have smaller sales. Their website will have more exclusive sets but will not see as heavy of discounts as the physical retail stores will have. Periodically they will have gift card promotions where if you purchase a set you will get a $10 giftcard. This can be heavily abused by placing orders in whatever quantity will grant you free shipping until you hit the quantity limit. Signing up for a Walmart Credit Card will give you cash back benefits from both their website and instore shopping.
- Target: Very similar to Walmart. Target has been traditionally more predictable every year and tends to announce their sales ahead of time barring some crazy pricing errors from years passed. Target also has deals with gift cards, but normally they are not tied to a specific set and appear something like “Spend $50 for a $10 gift card”. Ideally you would purchase sets that are already on sale to better capitalize on this deal. Also, if you are going to be making a lot of purchases from Target it is beneficial to have their credit card the Red Card. It will give you 5% cash back on all purchases and access to other exclusive offers and better deals.
- Amazon: Amazon will often price match Walmart and Target so if you have hit your order limits on those sites you can utilize Amazon. In recent years they have not had the best sales but they do have a great selection and some sets don’t need to be on sale to be worth purchasing.
- Barnes and Noble: Barnes and Noble will run sales and promotions and tend to have a great selection of high quality themes like Architecture and Ideas.
- Best Buy: Physical stores can be hit or miss on how much product they stock but a lot people don’t go to Best Buy for LEGO, so a lot of the product they do have often hits discounts.
- Kohl’s: In recent years Kohl’s has started carrying LEGO sets again. They have sales and clearances in addition to their famous Kohl’s Cash.
- Grocery Chains (Kroger, Meijer, etc.): Access to these stores will vary regionally but it’s worth checking the toy section for sales or clearance when you get your groceries.
- Costco: Costco tends to randomly get select sets in massive quantities and usually has them at least at a 20% discount. For the most part these are in-store only deals, but this could change over time.
- Entertainment Earth: Collectibles website that occasionally runs sales and tends to have a good selection of some more exclusive sets.
- IP specific websites (Disney, Harley Davidson, etc.): If LEGO is doing a licensed set with another large brand there is a chance the other brand is selling it too, so it may be subject to other sales and promotions from that brand.
The following marketplaces are better for buying used sets and pieces, so be a little wary about buying other brand new items that are still on store shelves as they may be stolen merchandise:
- eBay: It’s tough to find deals on eBay, but occasionally you may be able to snipe an auction or buy something that was just posted and was underpriced.
- Facebook Marketplace
- Offer Up/ Letgo
- Craigslist
Selling ProductNow that we’ve covered how to determine what to buy and where to buy it, let’s discuss where to sell your items. The following is a breakdown of the prevalent LEGO marketplaces including fee structure and any other information that may be important.
- eBay: eBay is still the premier online marketplace in visibility of product and ease of selling. The term “LEGO” hovers at around 750,000 search results worldwide. eBay is an appropriate platform for pretty much all of the categories discussed, from brand new sealed sets to used sets and bulk. Just make sure to consider the 10% fee and any shipping costs that you may have.
- Bricklink: Bricklink is the premier platform for hobbyists and people who are a little more in the know with LEGO. You can sell used sets, new sets, minifigures, individual parts, instruction manuals, even the original boxes for sets. The platform has a watchlist feature so that if you list an item that a buyer is looking for, they will be notified of your listing. Upon purchase, a seller invoices the buyer with calculated shipping based on weight and location.
- Brick Owl: Very similar to Bricklink, there is software that allows you to sync your inventory across both platforms, although if I were to choose just one I would select Bricklink because of their reach and legacy. Brick Owl offers many of the same features and at a slightly lower fee than Bricklink (2.5% across the board).
- Amazon: Selling LEGO on Amazon is ever-changing, it is one of the “gated” products. I am unfamiliar with what the current requirements are and am unsure if they are even taking new sellers in the category. If you are able to sell, you should only be selling brand new, sealed sets. You will have minimal competition for retired sets and should be able to claim a much higher premium than the other sites listed above. I would not completely rely on selling LEGO exclusively on Amazon as the company continues to change their restrictions about who is able to sell their product.
- Locally (Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist etc.): The final avenue is local sales. Depending on your area, local sales can be an excellent way to move inventory. Obviously the most important factor other than fees to consider is shipping. Shipping LEGO sets can be quite the pain, they are heavy and bulky and can damage easily. Utilize selling local when you can to save on the expense and hassle.
Case Studies** Prices and info written and gathered from January 2021 . Please keep in mind for retired sets that prices and other data might be inflated.*
These case studies are provided to show examples of retired and currently available sets evaluated with the factors I have described. It is unrealistic for me to provide an evaluation of every set in this way but the examples provided should give guidance for how to evaluate the factors that help determine value.
Price Per Piece:
Part Out Value:
Intellectual Property Value:
Minifigures:
Target Audience (Playset vs. Model):
Exclusivity:
Uniqueness / Remake Likelihood:
Lifespan:
Size:
Amazon “Best Sellers” Ranking:
Availability at Discount:
Price Point:
70620 - Ninjago City - $299.99 - 4867 pieces - Retired
Current Resale: $600
Price Per Piece: $0.062 - excellent
Part Out Value: $714.16 (2.38 times MSRP)
Intellectual Property Value: Low, Ninjago is LEGO’s proprietary IP, and has been mildly successful with the movie grossing $60 million. Not well known outside of younger kids.
Minifigures: 19 figures, many of which are exclusive to this set
Target Audience (Playset vs. Model): Both. Tons of detailed elements where it would look great on a shelf but also has individual shops and elements that can be played with.
Exclusivity: Very exclusive, direct to consumer set
Uniqueness / Remake Likelihood: Low, unlikely for a remake due to it being tied to the movie. Extremely unique set, combines with 70657 Ninjago City Docks and potentially some future sets. Reminiscent of the modular line but with a little more a fantasy and Asian twist.
Lifespan: 2 years, retired end of 2019
Size: Very Large, 19.29 x 23.03 x 7.48 inches
Amazon “Best Sellers” Ranking: Retired N/A
Availability at Discount: 30% off before retirement, sold out quickly at that discount.
Price Point: $300 MSRP, already quite expensive but could be bought for $209. However, it’s truly an incredible and intricate set and immediately climbed to $400 post retirement. Currently selling for around $600. I expect it to hover in that range as we have yet to see modern sets climb much further beyond that.
21310 - Old Fishing Store - $149.99 - 2048 pieces - Retired
Current Resale: $350
Price Per Piece: $0.073 - excellent
Part Out Value: $318.78 (2.12 times MSRP)
Intellectual Property Value: Low, no tie to any IP.
Minifigures: 4, not particularly unique or valuable
Target Audience (Playset vs. Model): Functions both as a playset and a model. Has good interior details but would also look good on a shelf.
Exclusivity: Limited retail, not available in big box stores
Uniqueness / Remake Likelihood: Low, no precedence for remakes in this theme. Very unique, no existing fishing theme or other sets similar to this.
Lifespan: 1 year, very short lifespan, retired end of 2018. This has contributed greatly to the secondary market value. This is not very common, especially because this was a well-received set.
Size: Medium-Large, 18.8 x 14.7 x 4.3 in
Amazon “Best Sellers” Ranking: Retired N/A
Availability at Discount: Fairly low, towards retirement was available from 20%-30% off from Amazon and Lego.com
Price Point: $150 has been a sweet spot MSRP for buildings like this for several years now in the modular series line, almost all of which have performed extremely well in retirement. It didn’t take long for this set to hit $200 and is currently sitting at $350. This is likely near the upper end that the set will reach due to the part out value being in the same range.
60204 - LEGO City Hospital - $99.99 - 861 pieces - Retired
Current Resale: $175
Price Per Piece: $0.116 - poor
Part Out Value: $153.33 (1.53 times MSRP)
Intellectual Property Value: Low, the City theme is proprietary.
Minifigures: 13, not very unique or desirable but good quantity
Target Audience (Playset vs. Model): Playset, designed to exist in a LEGO City with other sets and to be played with, hence the open back.
Exclusivity: Widely available
Uniqueness / Remake Likelihood: Almost certain, however hospitals and airports are unique in the city theme and are only remade every 2 or 3 years so they are actually somewhat safe if they are good iterations of the set.
Lifespan: 1.5 years, retired end of 2019.
Size: Medium-Large, 18.7 x 14.7 x 3.5 in
Amazon “Best Sellers” Ranking: Retired N/A
Availability at Discount: Widely available at a discount, 20% off plus. Physically retail saw discounts of 40% plus.
Price Point: It’s common for the big playsets in the theme to be at this price point, and the buyer could be fairly certain the set would sell for MSRP. It grew above MSRP because of a lack of direct playset replacement and the quality of the set as a hospital in the medical theme.
71374 - Nintendo Entertainment System - $229.99 - 2646 Pieces
Current Resale: N/A - Currently still available
Price Per Piece: $.0869 - good
Part Out Value: $631.75 (2.75 times MSRP)
Intellectual Property Value: Very strong, classic console from a classic brand whose fans will certainly have the capital to spend on an expensive set like this
Minifigures: 1, Just the pixelated Mario seen on the TV. The value of the set certainly isn’t in the minifigures
Target Audience (Playset vs. Model): Model, incredible display piece with some fun scrolling on the TV and inserting the cartridge into the console.
Exclusivity: Very exclusive, direct to consumer set
Uniqueness / Remake Likelihood: Low
Lifespan: Still available, LEGO is currently producing some other licensed sets with Nintendo so they may continue to produce and sell this set for awhile.
Size: Large, 22.75 x 18.7 x 4.72 in
Amazon “Best Sellers” Ranking: #264 in Building Toys
Availability at Discount: None so far
Price Point: Expensive, but the vast discrepancy between MSRP and part out value leaves a lot of room for growth with this set. The target market is parents who grew up with the console and will have money to spend on this impressive model.
75292 - The Razor Crest - $129.99 - 1023 Pieces
Current Resale: N/A - Currently still available
Price Per Piece: $.127 - poor
Part Out Value: $252.03
Intellectual Property Value: Star Wars has extreme relevance in pop culture and LEGO has been making sets for the series since 1999.
Minifigures: 5, All of which are still fairly exclusive to these Mandalorian related sets. This is a factor to watch in the future and see if more sets include these same minifigures.
Target Audience (Playset vs. Model): Playset primarily, although some fans will display the different Star Wars ships that come out and this one does not have a UCS version.
Exclusivity: Widely available
Uniqueness / Remake Likelihood: Currently the only iteration of this specific ship from this series. No spoilers, but based on the plot from the show it is likely this will be the only iteration of the ship
Lifespan: Still available
Size: Medium 19 x 14.5 x 2.75 in
Amazon “Best Sellers” Ranking: #8 in Toy Building Sets (It’s actually selling for $70 above retail at the time of writing this due to lack of holiday supply)
Availability at Discount: None yet
Price Point: Priced Higher than the $.10 per piece average due to the IP and larger pieces. This holiday season has shown that the demand extends to over $200 a set, so this will be a great buy at a discount.
75957 - The Knight Bus - $39.99 - 403 Pieces
Current Resale: N/A - Currently still available
Price Per Piece: $.099 average
Part Out Value: $69.50 (1.74 times MSRP)
Intellectual Property Value: Very High, extremely popular franchise and the 25th anniversary is coming up in a couple of years.
Minifigures: 3, only one of which is a main character and exists in several other sets. Not a significant contribution to value
Target Audience (Playset vs. Model): Playset, but very minimal features or interactive parts.
Exclusivity: Widely available
Uniqueness / Remake Likelihood: This is a remake, there have been several other iterations of the Knight Bus over the years.
Lifespan: Still Available
Size: Small-Medium, 11 x 10 x 3in
Amazon “Best Sellers” Ranking: #86 in Toy Building Sets
Availability at Discount: Available around 40% off
Price Point: Price point makes it conducive to being a gift, however it is one of the weaker sets in the theme and does not have much room for growth.
)