LEGO Friends: Girrrrrl Power...and Profits!

It seems like a lifetime ago I wrote a little piece about investing in Friends.  At the time, none were quite EOL and there was a lot of speculation about the value of this line for investment purposes.  So, where are my girls at?  How has that first wave of Friends sets done on the secondary market?

For those that have been around long enough, based on the early success of Friends, production for sets of the first wave were increased.  Even with this increase of production, plenty of the initial sets were sold out or hard to find this holiday season, and I suspect several will move from sold out at S&H to retired (which is now one of the most beautiful words in the English language, I think) in early 2014.  Obviously, even with increased production, Friends remains a huge seller.  Gandalf and Bilbo, Vader and Harry Potter are all looking up at the current number four CAGR% theme.  Number four, people!  I was thinking top ten when I wrote the initial article on Friends investing, but I didn't think it would be topping Superheroes and Batman - even from someone who loved this line, I still underestimated their appeal a little.  As of Dec. 31st, 2013, this theme sports a massive 52.61% CAGR!

*Note: The chart continues on to a second page for three more reviews!

The world of LEGO investing is one that is constantly evolving and changing.  Right now, with a lot of the first wave of Friends sets being OOS, Sold Out or Retired on S&H, there are almost more changes than one can keep track of.  Hopefully this chart offers enough information on current trends for these sets.  Looking at these trends, there are several options that look set to double, triple or quadruple (plus) their retail in the coming twelve months.  Some can still be found at retail, some even on sale, but I'm pretty certain most of the sets listed above won't be available for long (see exceptions in the chart).

In anecdotal evidence, I had a fair amount of success selling Butterfly Beauty Shops and Heartlake Dog Shows, two of the sets I targeted way back when.  So, with the first wave in the process of EOLing (yes, it can be used as a verb, English lit-LEGO investors) what does the future hold?  For the first time since the launch of Friends, a second girl-oriented line will be sold alongside it - Disney Princesses!  Also, with two Christmas seasons in a row with (seemingly) limited stock, will TLG double production again?  Even if they do, there should still be opportunities on 2012 Friends sets that are highlighted above.  Plenty of questions, and only speculation at this point, but I think Friends will keep near the top of the CAGR percent heap and offer savvy investors plenty of opportunities to make greenbacks from those pink and purple bricks.