Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

This article first appeared in Personal Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 1, 2018 - January 7, 2018

I fondly remember my childhood in the 1980s as being filled with Lego. One day, my parents brought home a bright blue suitcase. There was a Lego logo etched one side and slide locks shaped like a base plate at the top. In the case, were bricks of various shapes and sizes.

Funnily enough, I fell in love with the suitcase first before anything else. It became most useful when I acted out a make-believe scenario of going to the office and taking out stacks of papers to write stuff on.

It was only later when I opened the catalogue that came with the suitcase that I discovered a whole new world of possibilities. The interlocking bricks of various shapes and sizes had so much potential. I could build animals, forts and buildings. Wow!

Many hours were spent sitting on our family home’s terrazzo floor with the Lego pieces spread around me. I had tons of fun. But after a year, I became bored and chucked the suitcase aside as I headed into my teens.

It was not until about four years ago my love for Lego was reignited. My other half had been browsing online and showed me a picture of the Volkswagen T1 Camper Van he liked. We had not seen the set being sold anywhere locally. In fact, there was no standalone Lego store in the Klang Valley at the time.

When we headed down to Singapore to visit a friend over the New Year, we saw it sitting proudly in a Lego store. We looked at each other, took the box and paid for it without hesitation. Since then, our collection has grown larger, with many items being gifts from generous friends. We noticed how sophisticated some of the more “adult” Lego sets had become and the incredible attention to detail. For instance, the Camper Van even has small engine parts with tubes and a rubber band “belt”.

For these reasons, I would like to venture beyond just collecting to investing in Lego sets in 2018. Although it is not as popular as a few years ago, I know Lego can be a lucrative investment in the long term. The secondary market for Lego sets has thrived in the past few years. In fact, it was reported in 2015 that the value of Lego sets had increased an average of 12% annually since 2000, making them a better asset to hold than many traditional asset classes. What better way to diversify than into something that is tangible and also easy on the eye?

From my research online and speaking to Lego shop owners over the years, I know that Lego sets are more valuable when they are unopened and in pristine condition (that is, the box must not be dented). Most in demand are sets that are seasonal or limited edition or have been discontinued.

There is easy access to information. Multiple websites and portals provide useful benchmark price points. For instance, brixinvest lists the Marketplace modular building as the set with the highest percentage increase — a whopping 3,593% — from its launch price. In terms of annualised returns, it is 49%. From an initial sale price of US$89 during its launch in 2007, the average asking price is now US$3,287. Other sets in the top 10 include the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Millennium Falcon, Green Grocer and AT-AT. The most popular type is Star Wars. It comes as no surprise that many of these sets have been discontinued.

Since I cannot afford to purchase discontinued or seasonal sets, I will monitor upcoming launches, including those of limited editions. I hope to purchase a nice Building set to get me started.

As it will be a long-term investment, I intend to hold the set for at least five years before putting it up for sale. Selling it would not be too difficult as many collectors and sellers transact on eBay.

With this in mind, I hope to boost my investing portfolio — a few bricks at a time.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share