I have heard about people investing in Legos, and I am combing through Lego sales multiple times a year for my four kids. Has anyone speculated on toys successfully? I don't mean lucked out on a few toys, but have you saved new toys as an investment? I wonder if I should put a thousand dollars into this type of investment.
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I guess I shouldn't give financial advice, but that's an easy one.
NO!
For every appreciated toy there are thousands worth little more than junk. Even the ones that gain value are typically behind stocks, and even lag inflation.
Take paintball as an example--if you have a mint condition SMG-68, what were they, $300 back in 1989? It might be worth $1000 now; let's be generous and say $1500. But that same $300 in an S&P 500 index fund would now be worth closer to $3600, and that's not including dividends. Plus, the profit you do make on a collectible is taxable as ordinary income, so Uncle Sam takes a bigger, wetter, sloppier bite. I know you guys all pay your taxes according to regulations, so that's a major concern hereDulce et decorum est pro comoedia mori -
This article talks about legos as investments.
https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news...s-report-says/
Just remember "a fool and his money are soon parted" .Comment
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No.
I work in the financial industry, and Axel is spot on. Buy the S&P.
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I think Axel's point is perfect. Not to mention the added costs of storage and the transaction costs associated with physical objects.
Having said that.... I am not a fan of stocks. I was in the Finance PhD program at U of Rochester before deciding to be a missionary and leaving with an MS. I have friends who are Finance professors at a variety of schools. All of my family's money is in real estate that we manage. I think there is an informational disadvantage with stocks, and the little guy may have better options if he looks around his local community. I think stocks are a good deal if you want something passive. I try to get young people to break out of typical perspective on investing and career planning.Comment
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I don’t really believe in “investments” in the traditional way, I hate money basically, don’t really believe in it, and to me stock trading, etc is just a glitch in the system. It’s Lotto for people who went to school but just as dumb; constantly on the verge of an amazing payday but daily really just treading water.
HOWEVER, even *I* know “investing” in Lego is not a good idea. People invest in large quantities of Lego mainly in order to launder money. Other than that it’s crazy and nobody reputable is going to say otherwise.
There are very very few new ideas in greed. Anything you’ll come up with someone greedier already came up with so long ago that he probably sold it out of a donkey driven cart. Look at the established known methods of protecting your wealth, buy into that, borrow as little as possible, diversify, and hopefully at least you won’t lose anything.Comment
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I've switched most of my portfolio over to 3 main investment...
Brass, Wood Brass and Phantoms. Though, I do need to empty the SpyRanha stock-pile still....🤔
Edit...Oh and no on the Legos!Comment
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I can't speak to any Lego themes other than Architecture. When I started getting my wife these sets 10 years ago I noticed that the first one that had been retired tripled in value a year after retirement.
I've since made $XX,XXX buying extra sets on their retirement years. I've never lost money on an Architecture set. I usually cash out my gains 2 yrs after retirement.
Again, I know nothing on other themes, and don't necessarily recommend this. You need some E-comm chops and to do your own homework.My Old Feedback (300+) https://web.archive.org/web/20180112...-feedback.htmlComment
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You rock! (apparently you can't post less than 10 characters so this is filler) -
I don't know if this is still the case b/c I haven't used the site recently, but at one time there was good info on prospecting Legos on the Brickpicker site. You could even add the sets you own to create a "brickfolio" which tracks your values based on a 90 day average of Ebay sales. PM me if you have any questions. Good luck!
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That’s nuts. The base price on those Architecture kits seems like it’s 9x any other Lego set to begin with. And people pay *more* after they are released? I guess that makes sense. Who doesn’t want to pay $200 for a 64 piece model of a museum that looks like crap because it’s Lego? Sign me up!Comment
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A little crazy, sure. Any collectible is a little crazy. They only produce a certain amount of each set then retire it. Supply and demand... and there's tons of worldwide demand for these things.Originally posted by SignOfZeta View Post
Again, I'm not suggesting you guys go out and buy Lego sets. I'm DEFINITELY not suggesting you buy them and expect them to be worth the same amount 10 or 20 years from now. With that said, the OP asked for opinions and I provided my case study.My Old Feedback (300+) https://web.archive.org/web/20180112...-feedback.htmlComment
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As others have said, toys aren’t a great investment and pricing is very fickle as there isn’t underlying value. There’s more money in flipping vs. actually holding - for certain rare toys or limited editions, there’s potential for arbitrage. I know someone who collects Tokidoki stuff and she picks it up in random cities when it’s released as its not released online. She can do this as she’s a flight attendant. Mostly she will buy 2 and sell one at pretty much 2x cost to pay for the one she keeps. But there’s a lot of work in keeping updated on upcoming releases.
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I have never speculated on toys, but speculation is pretty much the same across the board.Originally posted by Jellyghost View Post
Having a niche for speculation is good (i.e. Legos) so you can become a subject matter expert. You can learn the current market trends, historical data, etc... Of course, you have then tied your money into one sector of the toy business - which poses some additional risk should LEGOs fall out of favor (I think this is unlikely because LEGOs are freaking great haha). Also, I would not advise buying a non-essential commodity and holding it for a long-term position - but that is more my comfort level. I think mass produced non-essentials lend themselves to flipping much more profitably. Of course, if you find some uber rare 1 of xxx LEGO set it could be an exception.
Also, before you spend a penny - develop an exit strategy. Will you be listing on Ebay, LEGO websites, craigslist, etc??? Factor any listing fees percentage cuts then when you make a purchase if necessary. Will you be accumulating all year and making a push around christmas, or flipping as things come up. Will this be cash only? All electronic transactions are traceable - will you register as a business or report your potential earnings? Will you need shipping materials, factor those in to the costs.
I would say go for it. Limit your initial total investment. Make sure your acquisition prices leave meat on the bone because you might not get top dollar. Set a realistic % growth number for average growth. Remember the idea is to make money not hold inventory. Basically, as long as this isn't a get rich quick scheme and your just having fun while being smart with your money, than I think its a good idea. You'll probably meet some cool people along the way too - and see some cool LEGO collections.
Good luck, if you decide to move forward.Comment
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I can't say I've ever been interesting in the idea of investing in collectibles. I'm in the same boat as Axel and Mrykul on this one. S&P and other proven earners in the market are a better play in my opinion, plus I don't want any investment that requires an inventory or could be potentially damaged.Comment
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