The Telegraph UK Article on LEGO Investing

[Jeff Mack]

An article was published today in the UK paper The Telegraph.  Ed was interviewed in this article. If anyone in the UK can find a copy of this and send us a few that would be great. I will pay for all costs.

 

Lego a 'better investment than shares and gold'

[cladner]

Well written article  The timing of this article with respect to the beginning of the stock market correction and the comparison of LEGO gains to other asset classes can only fuel more interest in LEGO investing. 

one year to the date the NYT article (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/business/short-lived-science-line-from-lego-for-girls.html)  sent the Research Institute briefly into the QFLL stratosphere, starting to feel like....

 

Edited August 22, 2015 by cladner

[JosephMali]

Congrats to the brothers yet again!

This article makes it seem so easy. There is no talk about selling fees, storage, the process of selling, packing or themes that don't appreciate well, etc. According to the article there is no downside to Lego investing, except maybe that it is a fad, which I don't think is true based on the last fifty years. You don't have to store stocks in your attic or pack them in boxes when you want to sell them. I want to make it clear that I am NOT saying Ed is responsible in anyway for this one sided approach. There is money to be made, but it is not as easy as they make it sound.

[Locutus001]

Well the Lone Ranger Theme surely isn't as good as Gold... even though there is a silver mine...

Also good point JosephMali: Stocks don't need storage room. Depending on how you handle these things you've got to pay fees though.

(If you want to invest big stocks surely are the easier solution, you only can invest big in LEGO if you do have lots of space).

If you sell your stocks you won't get complaints about a minor bruise in the box which is why the buyer won't pay full price... (even though I'm sure some buyers put in the bruises themselves just to pay less... ).

[Ed Mack]

Congrats to the brothers yet again!

This article makes it seem so easy. There is no talk about selling fees, storage, the process of selling, packing or themes that don't appreciate well, etc. According to the article there is no downside to Lego investing, except maybe that it is a fad, which I don't think is true based on the last fifty years. You don't have to store stocks in your attic or pack them in boxes when you want to sell them. I want to make it clear that I am NOT saying Ed is responsible in anyway for this one sided approach. There is money to be made, but it is not as easy as they make it sound.

They quoted me wrong once again...I said and I quote..."LEGO sets are better than Gold...They are the best investment in the cosmos!"

[jbacunn]

No need to worry. Newbies will get into it and see that there is actually work involved, large amounts of capital required, storage space, selling expertise, and there is risk involved will certain themes and they will get out. If it were easy everyone would do it. 

[JosephMali]

They quoted me wrong once again...I said and I quote..."LEGO sets are better than Gold...They are the best investment in the cosmos!"

On second thought, I blame you completely for the lack of balance!

[Crustybeaver]

Looks like the article received 23,000 shares, and with Brickpicker getting plenty of mentions should be good news for the Macs. This I believe is the first UK article I've seen referencing Lego investing, and with the heavy bias towards the positives of making money without any mention of the negatives I expect this will bring an unwanted spike of new people into the market. 

Edited August 24, 2015 by Crustybeaver

[Jeff Mack]

Even if it does, most (like 99.99%) will stop soon afterwards.

[feed]

Most likely short termers who’ll want double retail after costs in a few months, but it could cause an issue with discounts and picking up eol life stock.  The bigger risk is from the general retail arbers who know what they’re doing, but haven’t specifically gone after Lego.  

 

[wceagles]

this was all over the OZ press as well today, well-timed with the stockmarket correction/crash taking place over the past few days

http://www.theage.com.au/money/investing/lego-sets-the-pace-for-smart-investors-20150823-gj613r.html

[Ed Mack]

Looks like the article received 23,000 shares, and with Brickpicker getting plenty of mentions should be good news for the Macs. This I believe is the first UK article I've seen referencing Lego investing, and with the heavy bias towards the positives of making money without any mention of the negatives I expect this will bring an unwanted spike of new people into the market. 

The thing with these interviews is that the author of the article will chose how they want to spin it. Words are taken out of context and negatives are ignored. But honestly, after today's bloodshed in the worldwide stock markets, the article is truer than ever and more people will be looking for someplace else to invest their money.

[Bobbynobricks]

When i first saw the article at a BBQ on Saturday, I was able to smugly show it to my girlfriend who'd previously been making snide remarks to the others about my Lego problem.

However, that smugness was then soon replaced by the fear of the influx of new movers in the market devaluing my beloved Lego pile with additional competition.

So confused.

[redcell]

When i first saw the article at a BBQ on Saturday, I was able to smugly show it to my girlfriend who'd previously been making snide remarks to the others about my Lego problem.

However, that smugness was then soon replaced by the fear of the influx of new movers in the market devaluing my beloved Lego pile with additional competition.

So confused.

These days you have to plan for a future market that is very different than the one that exists today.  The old stand-by strategies of buying modulars and selling them in 1-3 years for a 100%+ gain are losing their viability by the day because of the influx of competition and the increasing sophistication of the competition.  Easy money only stays easy for so long.    

[feed]

And the margins people are prepared to work for.

A year ago my business was about 80% used. That’s all but gone for me today, with the erosion of the value on used figs and risks with clone brands as well as it being near impossible to buy good used that hasn’t been cherry picked for a reasonable price.  Some of the recent lots I’ve tried to get hold of have moved at 20% over what they would have gone for a year ago, after costs there's nothing left on the bone and this may well boost prices further.  

 

[Sauromosis]

Nice job Ed!  Didn't think about Fantastic Beasts...there could be some nice upcoming sets in that line if they use the same designer.  The last wave of Potter knocked it out of the park.

[Jeff Mack]

Another UK article came out based on Telegraph UK article.  This author added a little extra point of view as well.

 

We knew it! Why buying Lego is better than gold, savings, houses and shares

And I REALLY want this vending machine!!!!

 

[feed]

The Mirror!
For the love on Benji, every halfwit with 10kg of Megabloks is going to think they have 10179. 
The Telegraph one was survivable, the readership are smart enough to read between the lines. But this.... 
 

 

[Ed Mack]

The Mirror!
For the love on Benji, every halfwit with 10kg of Megabloks is going to think they have 10179. 
The Telegraph one was survivable, the readership are smart enough to read between the lines. But this.... 
 

 

What are you talking about...The Mirror is "Website of the Year!"

[Val-E]

What are you talking about...The Mirror is "Website of the Year!"

You missed an H out in that sentence, I believe.....

Anyway, no strife, the Mirror tends to be read by people that that find The Hungry Caterpillar a difficult text to master - they won´t get past the headline.

[Jeff Mack]

The Mirror, CNN, FoxNews, MSN.  It's all the same

[Val-E]

Yeah, when the FT hires a Lego analyst and the BBC makes a 6 part reality about lego resellers then we will be in trouble.

[Yellowtot]

the horror, the horror...........

[feed]

The Mirror, CNN, FoxNews, MSN.  It's all the same

Not really. CNN, Fox, MSN don’t have the market in the UK that the mirror has.  The telegraph article in a Saturday edition has a tiny impact, but the Mirror has a demographic that’s entirely different.  This gives Lego a value to people that hadn’t considered it, and this will lead to an increase in:
 
The theft of Lego
The perceived value of used Lego 
The reduction in the availability of discounts

Whilst this may not increase the number of resellers in the UK significantly, it does make it much more difficult for those of us operating here.  The market in the UK is really rather small.  

I appreciate you guys are trying to build a business, but as far as I can see, classifieds doesn’t have much in the way of business in the UK.    

[exciter1]

I guess Ed will need a hired gun for the next article that covers the effort it takes to offload and resell LEGO to turn your investment into cash.  This makes the intrinsic value a little more subjective.