I'd love to see a video on how you manage shipping some of these larger sets or what selling outlets you use if you don't ship. One of my issues has always been finding boxes that could fit some of the Lego I invest in, specifically the modular buildings.
I absolutely love love love this video! Very informative with a lot of energy and some humor. Also, this video definitely helps me realize to hold on to sets as long as I can. Thank you for this video, this was a great one!!
Jake, your videos are just delightfully entertaining. Thank you so much! I would love to see your top 10 of sets that you really love and had high hopes for, but did not perform well.
Got the Lego Minecraft mountain cave back in 2017 and I'm equally shocked that my used and complete set is worth 3x what I bought it for. I suppose it is one of the few minecraft sets that actually truly captures the franchise
Hey Jake, great video. some surprises in there for me too. I still have 3 sealed Chicago sets and a sealed fishing store which is my favourite set in the last 5 years for sure. I was so disappointed they didn’t extend that range because the designer of that set put through a few more ideas set which matched perfectly with the fishing store. I’ve been collecting for about 9 years and have also sold sets before they’ve rocketed.. there are an increasing number of Architecture set which have exploded in price, in particular set 21026 Venice £24.99, I bought 10 @£18 on sale and they now go for between £175-£250. With regards to the mickey & Minnie brickheadz I remember missing out on them because they never stayed in stock long enough on LSAH.. kept selling out instantly. I still have a room full of sealed sets I’ve collected over the years but trying to guess what will be the best investment is even harder now Lego release a greater amount of sets every year. We should remember that just because a set isn’t popular at the time it may just end up being the rarest.. I don’t believe many bought the cloud city remake or the Minecraft mine because they were over priced and now they’re hard to find. Like you’ve mentioned in your videos, short shelf life and rare parts in sets seem to do well. Just wondering when you may do a collection tour?
Jake, I believe you are right about Jedi Starfighter. I remember seeing it for $70 towards the end of it's life. I only have one built in my personal collection.
Regarding the Nexo Knights, big bad guy sets tend to do well. Bad guys tend to be under represented or under powered. For play, it works when the good guys are the underdogs. By the way, regarding the Chicago tile, I'm the guy on Bricklink selling one for $15 :)
Thank you for another great video. I love your channel! I got back into lego in 2017, so it was fun to see you cover this period. I am mostly into buying and selling used lego, but around 2019 I picked up a few sets of Benny’s Space Squad because I thought it was way too cheap and I believed they would rise in value ( i had no idea that lego reselling was a thing at that time). In 2021 I went deeper into investing in lego, but that is another story. I held on to those benny sets until now. And haven’t resold many sets yet. when the brown space man was released I thought it was a good time to selle those Benny sets. And it was! I am raising the price 10$ for every set. I wonder what the limit is😊 we never know I guess. But today I sold a used copy of that set at the same price I was asking for a new set two weeks ago!
About the obi wan starfighter ring: it is possible that many adults like myself who got back into lego within the last year or couple of years are driving up the demand for these retired star wars sets. I definitely want the obi wan ring but it was retired when I got back into lego last year. I will have to pay the price eventually given the low supply. Also on ninjago, I just started collecting these sets in 2023 only for the mechs and dragons, but I’ve grown to appreciate the theme as a whole. It has many similarities to bionicle, power miners, exo force, and other themes I built as a kid. Hope this helps.
I am an adult collector of the Ninjago theme. My appreciation for Ninjago began with the Ninjago City set and then I started to watch the Ninjago show and I was hooked. It is an original LEGO IP with deep lore, rich characters, and many sets with incredible builds (City of Stiix, Temple of Airjitzu, Destiny's Bounty, etc...). I purchased Dawn of Iron Doom sealed new in box in 2021 for a hefty price. Dawn of Iron Doom is based on the popular The Hands of Time season from the TV show--having the Time Twins minifigures is super special because they only came in that set.
I love ninjago as a 38 year old "collector". I have star Wars, DC, Marvel, Ninjago, Monkie Kid and Speed Champions collections along with other stuff that I pick up when interested. Don't own everything from each line and all have been open and built. The Star Wars, Marvel and DC are from my love of the franchises but I love Ninjago because of the mech's and vehicles. A lot of the Ninjago set designs are really cool and that's why I continuew to collect them. It helps its also a cooler version of Exo-Force which was an awesome line when I was a kid. But ninjago is awesome!
@@JakesBricks We are indeed. They have some of the best builds of any sets... plus mechs!!! What are your thoughts on the potential Star Wars Mechs coming in the summer? currently hated by a lot of the AFOL community but will that result in them being a good investment?
Maybe a better strategy is you buy multiples is to sell a third early, a third when you think it might have hit a ceiling, and then the last third for long term.
23:47 I'm collecting Ninjago! The reason that set is doings so well is because it was one of that wave's flagship sets and it's the only set to come with the main villains for that wave (Krux and Acronix). That's comparable to them releasing like 10 sets for the Phantom Menace when that movie first comes out but only 1 set had Darth Maul. And then they never released another Darth Maul again, that is why this set with these 2 villains is so sought after. And it's not the 10 year olds collecting old Ninjago sets. Ninjago came out in 2011 and has a continuous narrative. That narrative is so continuous and engaging that many of the original fans never stopped being fans and have stuck around until 2023, 12 years entire years later. Ninjago did something remarkable, it _retained_ a huge portion of its fans and grew up with them. If you were 10 when you first started watching you'd be 22 now and suddenly posess the two greatest assets of any Lego collector: Nostalgia and a disposable income! So now many modern Ninjago fans are young adult age range and have the cash to back up their desire for old sets. I'm not one of the people willing to shell out 400 dollars for an old Ninjago set but I do know other fans who are trying hard to collect every single old set (or at least their favorites) and there's more of these fellows out there than you realize. 10 year olds obviously aren't getting the old sets (they weren't even born when Ninjago started!) but rather it's hardcore older collectors that are trying to get them. By this point, Ninjago has secured a passionate adult fanbase similar (albeit a bit younger) to other franchises like Star Wars. And like with Lego Star Wars, the bulk of Ninjago's customers are still kids. But there's now a significant number of adult customers who are willing to buy the most expensive sets (Ex: UCS sets for Star Wars and City Gardens for Ninjago) and pay aftermarket prices for retired sets that are nostalgic to them. They are the proverbial "whales" of Lego's customers and trust me, Ninjago has its whales.
Aw man. My biggest regrets, I had a Town Hall, UCS Super Star Destroyer, a Death Star 20188, and a UCS Imperial Shuttle. I doubled my money as I sold each one at least. But yeah, look at the prices now ... 🤦😂
Thx for this perfect video. I am collecting LEGO over 20 years and I was never interested in Ninjago - then you become a father of a boy & he loves it & so I also got in contact with this franchise. & I have to admit Ninjago is absolutely underrated. There’s the card game, the series, the Film & Lego of course - I collected nearly every Mech & Dragon over the years and the Lego Ninjago movie sets are also really good but now expensive.
Hey just discovered this video. this is awesome thanks for the hard work! Qq: how do you think avatar lego will sell in the future? I will definitely start my lego investment soon!
Hey Jake, I am new to your channel. I would like to see you give the Lego sets more screen time, instead of just giving us a quick peak and then having to look at your mug. lol Thanks.
I know it might be shocking, but 14 year olds that grew up on Minecraft are 26 now :P Perfect age to go for a full collection of something you care about.
I’d prefer more still shots of the sets while you discuss them. I still have the #7 fishing shack NIB. First set I ever bought. I also have #2 but it’s been put together. I also remember when the Chiron was out and readily available but held off trying to buy it until it was gone. I’m surprised the Ninjago set wasn’t the Temple of Airjitzu 70751.
Hey Kaos thanks for the feedback! I will certainly keep that in mind for future videos. I saw the TOA had appreciated a ton but "only" about 200-300%. Still an amazing investment though
I have the Phantom 2 build, and have one sealed in box. The past few years I tried to sell my sealed set multiple times for what it was worth at the time, but haven't succeeded yet. And in the meantime it has appreciated more and more.
Hi Jake, thanks for the great video! I always like a specific “true vibe” in your videos and keeping the things straight and subjective! Keep it up 👍 Hey, would be good to see you thoughts on sets retired 2-3 years ago and your predictions on which ones might be a big winners in next 2-3 years. (I think Stranger Things might be a big winner in a future) My personal opinion is that Lego is really taking a steps to change the game for lego investors and resellers since about 2020. What I mean by this is following: 1. Lego increases number of sets released every year; 2. Lego releasing significantly more sets with number of pieces 2000+ aimed for adults 3. Lego is keeping most of interesting sets for much longer now, for 2-4 years compared to 1-2 years in the past. This is not always the case but I assume trend is there. 4. Lego is re releasing relatively small Star Wars sets with minifigs unique in the past for bigger sets All this together with increased number of new investors who came after 2020, in my personal opinion, might change the Lego investing landscape… In the past there were not so much interesting big sets for adults available in retail, so people were buying these 3-4 which were available and stated to look in aftermarket, but now there are plenty of large adult sets available in retail, so why “normal” people should be bothered to look into aftermarket…? Saying all this, I do believe Lego investing will remain as niche market, but it will change to more niche than now or will change somehow differently. Will be great to hear your thoughts on this! All the best!
I would like to mention what I think was some of the most overlooked LEGO sets of 2017 was Elves. I bought no less than 10 of every set at 70% off from Target when they went on clearance. Originally thinking I would part them out for my personal collection…well I’m glad I didn’t get around to opening them because many these have really jumped in price on the secondary market over the last couple of years and I’ve had amazing returns recently on this theme.
Yes Elves sets have, overall, been great for investing. In this video I only mentioned sets released after the year 2017 and later. Some of the big winners from that them were released in 2015 and 2016 but an incredible LEGO theme that most people didn't expect to have such great returns.
Awesome video! I’ve only just gotten into Lego. Currently obsessed with the architecture skylines, and I’ve found as I’ve tried to get them all that a couple are selling for even more than Chicago. Berlin and Venice are both going for well over $300. Sidney is getting up there too at around $200, and Shanghai is trailing a bit at around $130. I have all but those five lol but working on acquiring the rest soon. Just as my personal builds, but I suppose if even the used value goes up a bunch I might consider selling down the road.
I remember your video, "when should you sale your lego sets" and there was one set that you said you hung on for to long. After this video I want to hold out forever now. Sold a Lebron James and Tom Brady rc's for pennies on the dollar years ago. Can't think about the past just learn for the future
You can never really know what is going to be valuable or not long term... I always tell people to sell when you happy with your ROI and to try and not be frustrated if it appreciates later. Obviously that is really hard to do. The challenge with holding on to LEGO sets forever is space. Not so with Sports cards though. Although on average I am not sure the ROI is as strong as LEGO.
Amazing list! I am surprised Harry Potter and lotr were not on the list. But the numbers don't lie. I bet in 5 years it'll be a different story. P.S. that Minecraft set looks incredible and I would love to get it someday.
What are some tips and strategies for someone like me who wants to get into the Lego investing business but maybe doesn’t have that much money right away
Hi Jake, What do you think about mine approach to investing in Lego. Instead of picking up winners before their retirement let the market pick up winners. I often buy old Lego sets which have reliable history of good annual growth and just wait. I did that with betrayal at cloud city , republic frigate or Jabba's Palace from 2012. So far I can't really complain :D Sure there is no guarantee that any given set will further appreciate in value but I find this strategy working pretty well for me
Not a bad strategy at all my only fear is when LEGO re-releases sets or minifigures that can drastically hurt the value. You also tend to miss out on the initial post retirement price jump. I can't say it's something I have ever explored as 95% of my investing happens pre-retirement. But I would love to hear how it goes for you. I would say done well it could be a brilliant strategy.
Any advice for someone who collects but would love to start investing to start funding the hobby within itself is there certain sets I should look out for? Certain blogs with information? What are a few steps I can take to start ensuring myself with better decisions when it comes to investing
omg... I'd never imagine a LEGO idea set can be worth so much... I finally chose to piece my only one fisherman's house 2 years ago due to it being aesthetically pleasing among the LEGO sets that I had bought over the year. LOL I have pieced the ONLY set among my "investment" that could have brought me the highest return 😪🙄🙄. How do you decide what to keep and what to piece?
I bought the master builder cloud city set (sealed) right before the book of boba fett for $750 AUD as I assumed it may go up in value because of the show. I am very very happy I made that purchase!
I have the Speed Champions Bugatti. Unfortunately, it's built. But still crazy value for used considering I only paid $15. I'm a big fan of the 6-wide. I stopped collecting them once they went to 8-wide because I was a big fan of the smaller scale. I saw the 75191 at store and I passed on that one. It still saddens me, but I had a newborn so I was dropping money on diapers instead of LEGO, lol. What about that new midi-scale executor super star destroyer? Whoa! When do you think will be the best time to buy that one? That thing looks so nice.
@@JakesBricks yeah :( as a huge Ghostbusters fan, I own all the movie prop replicas etc I keep checking ebay for the set and it just gets further away from my budget haha
Don’t worry dude, I wanted that betrayel at cloud city but it was temporarily out of stock when I went to get it. So instead I got the Star Destroyer, and I still beat myself up about it to this day.
With the Ninjago being so rare, the reason is exactly because they’re being only collected by 10y/o, meaning they’re being bought to be played with, no to be preserved. So the supply will always be diminishing. Few of them are being re-sold for the same exact reason.
@@JakesBricks an interesting video would be the sets which failed to deliver on their expectations, like either loosing values and never recovering or just being over hoarded by people and the offer being too big for the demand. I’ve learned more from bad deals than from good deals
The Minecraft set is so valued simply because it's Minecraft. That game is the best selling title of all time, and has always been compared to LEGO. That set is what people think when they imagine Minecraft as a LEGO set. I'm surprised it got as high as it did within 5 years, but I'm not surprised the value is so high. Never underestimate the money gamers will spend to show their love for a franchise. 238 million units of Minecraft sold speaks for itself.
The pandemic is the cause of most of these going up in price. Soooo many people got into lego at that time and the lego collecting landscape changes dramatically
Still have my 2 betrayal on cloud city and I feel you buddy my regret is not buying more but I see the cantina doing that kind of return I see gold on that set I keep buying them up I have 8 right now
Great prices in US. In Germany these sets are not as expensive as in US, but hopefully they will. I have sold 4 x 21137 for 450 - 650€. I have the last one and hope that the price will rise more. Currently you can get it in Germany for 1k. Buyers: Parents of children, who wish to get the biggest Minecraft set ever. I still have 4 x 21310 and one 75222. Hoping we will get these prices in Germany. Currently you can buy 21310 for around 350€ and 75222 for around 500€
@@JakesBricksyea this is mostly the case. If I get 50 euro/bucks for a set that sells for 120+ dollars profit in America than you're doing great. To get more than 50 euro profit on a set is really difficult in Europe.
After episode 8, I quit collecting. Befor that I got ever Lego SW set. Now, I only get Mandalorian sets. The Mandalorian fighter was $60, now about $90
My mindset with investing is that with compound interest, if you sell an item for a good ROI it doesn't matter what could have been or where the price eventually goes when you are able to reinvest that money into other sets that give decent roi in a quicker time frame than what a whale set will do over several years. I believe sitting on big sets for years on years letting it slowly tick up in value loses you possible great financial gains. Obviously there is no perfect time to sell but as long as you keep that compound machine going on you can always rebuy the whale set you sold years ago for your collection.
Not a huge investor but did buy the Mountain Cave set for myself. Felt guilty as an adult for buying and never opened it. Bought it on sale before it was discontinued for ,$200. Did the same sold for $450😭
Minecraft are going to preform very well as future investment. Its the nostalgic effect. just wait until you see people who played minecraft as kids start making enough money to pay to collect
I remember those phantom sets were everywhere on shelves in Europe and seemed slow to sell. I recall thinking nobody will want this, looks like a 4plus set with a silly blue alien man.😤😱😓
I think you are getting old and don't fully realize it. What people are willing to pay the most money for are the sets that they feel the most nostalgia for. The sets people feel the most nostalgia for are the sets from the themes they played with as a kid (and perhaps couldn't afford back then). Minecraft has been around since 2011. Someone who was ~8 in 2011, will be ~20 years old now. At around 20 years old, people will often be earning a real paycheck. Often twenty-year-olds don't yet have to deal with a lot of expenses like housing or taking care of a family, so a lot of their income is freely disposable. For Ninjago, the exact same thing applies. Ninjago also launched in 2011. And btw, I am not sure how it is where you live. But where I live, 14 is about the age that people start to get jobs like paperboy; at a supermarket; or pizza delivery when they are a little older. Personally, I am much older, but I still feel by far the most nostalgia for the sets that I played with when I was around eight years old. I had a full-time job by the time I was 17.
If a 20 year old living in my basement and came home with a $1000 LEGO Minecraft set they would be kicked out the next day! Not sure what 20 year olds you know but they must be rolling in the dough ha!
Ahhh here is all the scammers hoarding the Lego sets and raising the price ten times. I really would love to know who buys these sets? They can get the piece inventory and buy them all at Pick a Brick. Same exact set for the OG price. If u really want the mini fig then get them separate. Or do people buy these at crazy prices because they think they gonna sell them for more crazy prices?? Glad there are so many other quality building block brands. Hopefully people wake up and use their money for fair prices. Just got the Mould King Star Destroyer for $344. Absolute steal at almost 12K pieces!
A few thoughts here! --Why would someone want a sealed N64? At this point it is a collectors item event though you can't even play it. Some goes for collectible sealed LEGO sets I think. A lot of LEGO fans don't like the quality of off brand products although there certainly are some great options. Thanks for your comment love getting to hear other perspectives
