Investing in LEGO:

While some people consider gold, jewelry, art, wine or antiques to be good investments in the long term, a new study challenges that idea and presents a unique and more lucrative alternative: Lego sets. Ideal for LEGO collectors!

Collecting LEGO pays off

Economists from the Higher School of Economics in Russia have found that market prices of retired Lego sets sold on the secondary market are rising by at least 11% annually, which is higher than the average return of gold, major stocks, bonds and alternative investments. For their study, the authors analyzed the prices of 2,322 unopened Lego sets from 1987 to 2015 and information on primary sales and online auction transactions.

The study will be published in the January issue of Research in International Business and Finance.

“We are used to thinking that people buy jewelry, antiques or works of art as an investment,” said Victoria Dobrynskaya, professor of economics and finance at HSE and co-author of the study, in a university news article. “However, there are also other options, such as toys for collectors. Tens of thousands of deals are made on the secondary LEGO market. Even taking into account the small prices of most sets, this is a huge market that is not well known by traditional investors.”

Scarcity makes prices rise

The researchers give some reasons to explain why people pay a lot of money for Lego. A major factor may be the small number of sets produced and the limited number of people willing to sell their Legos after purchasing them. Additionally, LEGO has been making Lego since the 1960s and has amassed a legion of nostalgic adult fans who appreciate older sets.