How a Savvy Collector/Investor Maximizes Lego Holiday Deals
With the upcoming holiday season (yes it will be here sooner than you think) and the numerous retail sales that come along with it, I wanted to write a post with tips for anyone interested in obtaining Lego, either as a collector or investor, at some of the best prices we will see all year.
As we all know, the holiday buying season seems to start earlier and earlier each year (Sam’s Club had Christmas yard decorations and light-up statues for sale in August).
We also know that every retailer will be having their best sales of the year in an attempt to maximize their profits to close out the year. Fun fact: Black Friday got its name as that is when most retailers finally turn profitable for the year to go from red (negative) to black (positive).
Amazon Prime Deal Days are approaching in October, which means we can all expect to find some great sales on products we need and want. All the other retailers like Walmart and Target don't just sit back and let Amazon make all the money, they also run fantastic sales to compete with Amazon. Included in these sales are Lego sets at a deep discount. As Lego collectors, this is great news as we can usually find the sets on our wish list for much less than MSRP.
Lego Collectors
The best strategy for collectors, or those buying Lego to give as gifts, is to create a list of Lego sets you want to buy and then be patient yet vigilant.
Prepare your wish list (prior to Q4)
Determine what price you're willing to pay to obtain each set
Wait patiently for the sale then strike when it happens
As I mentioned above, holiday sales start early, be ready to start monitoring sales as early as September.
Lego Investors
However, if you are a Lego investor, you want to find Lego sets at a deep discount that can be sold for a profit in the shortest amount of time. There are two main strategies investors use to make profits from Lego.
Find sets on clearance that can be flipped quickly for a small profit.
Part out sets and sell the piece by piece on Bricklink. This is also a great way to profit from the popularity of minifigures.
Buy and hold Lego sets that will increase in value over time (>6 months) for a larger profit. Which means you will be only targeting sets that retire this year. (Not familiar with Lego retirement dates? Stay tuned as it will be a very important topic in the coming weeks.)
This is the premise of Lego investing in its most simplistic form. Many people like to joke and call it “dust money” referring to buying sets, throwing them in a closet, letting them collect dust for a year, then selling at a profit.
Over the next month or so I will be diving into Lego investing on a much more detailed basis talking about retirement dates, retail and online arbitrage tactics, determining if a set is worth investing in, exclusives, GWP’s, and the list goes on.
If you're only a Lego collector, you can use these investing strategies to help subsidize your own Lego collection. I know many AFOL’s that use a marriage of both collecting and investing as a way to fund their favorite hobby.
Check back next week as we start with the basics of Lego investing. Class is in session my Lego friends
Until next time AFOLs….