I am an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO). And I absolutely love LEGOs, but at the same time, I had to take a sabbatical because my collector mentality was getting to the point that I was becoming no different from a Hot Wheels collector, graded comic book Collector or sports card collector.
In other words, I was keeping boxed LEGOs in bins versus opening them like I always do.
At first, it was due to backlog. I had so much LEGO that I took my time. And left many in boxes. You know how bad things were?
I just discovered these two pricey LEGO modulars that I forgot in my closet for over a decade and while cleaning my closet out, I discovered these and remembered when I said to myself a decade ago, I would build this set. How did I forget?
But as I had so many back logged to give me enjoyment for years, I didn’t open them. It’s because, this is what kept me from opening them…
It’s important to note, I have not sold any of my LEGO’s, but I am an investor and during the pandemic, videos like the ones above made me think. Should I even be opening my LEGOs anymore?
Needless to say, is this where collecting LEGOs have gone? Are we going to get the same type of social media/YouTube posts like Hot Wheels collectors, comic book collectors and sports card collectors of people who don’t care so much about the enjoyment side and are in it for the investing side of things?
It was too much for me to think. I needed a break. And in March 2020, before the pandemic hit in the US, I took that break and uploaded this photo of my last LEGO sets.
This was it for me… I was donezo for the time being. I wanted to consider what kind of LEGO collector I wanted to be. Should I continue and enjoy my LEGOs like I always have? Or should I go into brick investing like the LEGO investors on YouTube?
But in 2022, things changed…in July 2022, LEGO announced price increases due to raw materials, labor and transportation costs. In fact, some sets jumped up by 25%. So, sets that were $200 would go up to $250. Remember those dollar stores or event Target or Wal-Mart that sold small sets for about $5. Well, those are now $10.
So, for AFOL who have children, this means there will be cutting back and trying to make your hard earned dollars work. Maybe not buy as many things throughout the year and pick and choose what you want to get.
The problem is, LEGO makes too many awesome things and you can’t help but want to get more.
And here we are… in 2024 and a few more months until 2025. LEGO is expensive, people are still banking on LEGO but the price increase is not surprising. In fact, I felt it was delayed.
Back in the 2000s, we would be able to purchase a “Star Wars” or “GI Joe” action figure for $3-$4. We would be able to get a bigger action figure for about $7-$8. A decade later, that price went up by triple. And in 2024, that price has since gone up exponentially. That is insane!
As for LEGOs, there are sets that I wanted but never looked at the price. For example, the “Hogwarts Express – Collector’s Edition”. I figured maybe $200 or so. It’s nearly $500.
But I looked back at a post I made a decade ago online and saw that I wrote about how I would pay about .10 per brick. So, if you would multiple 5129 pieces by .10, that’s $512.90. So, $500 is not that bad.
And I was thinking, well, what if I purchased it from Amazon Japan as the yen is weak. Well, Amazon Japan sells it for Y66,718 (about $450 US)… BUT the shipping for the “Hogwarts Express – Collector’s Edition” from Japan to the US is Y20,870 ($141 US). So, you are not saving anything by going that route.
So, if I kept to the same mentality of .10 per brick, nothing has really changed in that aspect. It was just that LEGO (or even Amazon selling LEGO) was selling it for a solid discount.
But as I was looking at favorite lines such as LEGO 3-in-1 Open House, typically something you could find for $65-$75 at the department store, they are now $100. I really love the look of this new building, but at $100, it’s more than what I want to pay. Considering its 939 pieces and in my mental state of 2013, I would say it should be $93. But in 2024, I realized I have been spoiled by LEGO by paying less. We all were paying less.
Perhaps we got used to it. In fact, I think LEGO is pretty much still selling their sets under .10 per brick but instead of that substantial cushion, people are now getting closer to paying .10 a brick in 2024, while in 2013, around .06 per brick with the more lenient pricing.
There is a good article on LEGO pricing, written back in 2013 and one can see the history of pricing for decades of LEGO.
But what it comes down to is whether or not you think it’s worth it.
But also, LEGO knows its fanbase. They know with all the different sets they release and different price points of what AFOL are willing to pay.
I think for me, it’s hard because I got used to a certain amount of pricing that hadn’t shifted so much. I think the only company that manages to sell their products at such a lower cost is Mattel with it’s regular Hot Wheels pricing. While it may not be .99 cents, it’s only $1.25 which is amazing considering other companies that make die-cast metal cars in other countries are selling their’s for about $2.50-$3 for regular non-premium die-cast metal vehicles.
It’s one of those few toys that kids grew up with and those kids now adults can still find as affordable with not much of price-jump.
LEGO prior to 2022, was like that. I do miss that pricing. But I do understand business is business and people will need to make more of an effort to pick and choose what they want. But also keeping an eye on upcoming discounts or sales on LEGO, Amazon, Target/Wal-Mart and other stores.
As for me for my 2024 LEGO search, I was looking for Octan-related vehicles but it appears that LEGO hasn’t released anything Octan related for years. Could the “LEGO the Movie” be the one to blame? or LEGO promoting a more eco-friendly approach?
Needless to say, I may still get back to purchasing and collecting LEGO. But unlike many years ago, maybe not so many.
We’ll see.
