August 8, 2013 / in General Information / by Jason Terry
Post written by Jason Terry, Entrepreneur | Social Coach | Web Developer | Scuba Instructor | Guitar Player | Cruise Traveler | Lego Collector
I thought it might be fun to write a series of blog posts in the coming weeks that give you a better idea of who I am and what I do when I’m not working ON or IN the business.
(NOTES: For this post, you can click on the pictures to zoom in and see the details! Also, if you were wondering if it’s LEGO vs. LEGOS, read this.)
“LEGO Collector” is one of the items in my professional summary on LinkedIn, and you would be surprised how many conversations I’ve had with peers, clients and prospects about LEGO. Usually, the stories are about their kids playing with LEGO, but occasionally I find another AFOL like myself. (Adult Fan of LEGO)
There are two kinds of LEGO collectors. Those that are collecting sets to open and build, and those that collect them as an investment. I am collecting as an investment. And before you start thinking I am crazy, be sure to read this article from USA Today called “LEGO investors make hot profits, brick by brick”
One of my favorite quotes from that article is this: Just as stock investors have portfolios of all different sorts of stocks, Lego investors hold massive collections of Lego sets and can make annual profits that beat stocks. I can tell you from personal experience that this is true. (For those of you wondering, I also invest in the stock market.)
My parents would tell you that their return on investment in LEGO is a son who went on to get an engineering degree. They fed my appetite for understanding how things work, and putting things together with LEGO sets as I was growing up.
My goal for ROI is to at least double the money I invest in any given set. It really isn’t that hard to do if you know which sets to buy and if you can be patient.
I could go on and on with these kinds of success stories.
Not all LEGO sets increase in value… so I have to be careful which sets to invest in. Typically, I invest in themed sets like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc. I also invest in the bigger, exclusive LEGO sets like the Tower Bridge, Haunted House and big Technic sets. (Technic sets are the most complicated sets to build, targeted at kids 12-16+ years old)
If you buy LEGO for your kids, you need to know about a website that I use all the time. It is called BrickPicker.com and is geared towards LEGO investors. One of the great features of the site is that they list sales on LEGO at major retailers including Amazon, Target and Walmart. I save a TON of money on LEGO by taking advantage of the discounts I find through BrickPicker.com.
I fell in love with LEGO when I was 7 years old. My parents bought me space LEGO sets and I was hooked! My first big set as a kid was the LEGO Galaxy Explorer. Oh man, I played with that thing for HOURS. I have always wanted to get to outer space before I die… and some of that passion started with space LEGO sets and pretending that I was an astronaut.
If you haven’t been yet, be sure to check out LEGOLAND Kansas City. It is a great experience for your kids. If you don’t have kids, be sure to “borrow” someone else’s. Adults are not allowed to LEGOLAND without children! There are special events where adults with no kids can go, but most of the time you must have a child with you.
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