It’s a long time since anyone gave me Lego for Christmas, but if they did, I’d probably not even open the box, let alone actually build a scale model of the Battleship Potemkin or the Real Madrid Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. As stock markets struggle to make progress, crypto follows a volatile random path to ruinous oblivion, and the housing market looks set to crash, people are turning to the plastic toy construction kits to protect their wealth. It’s not the BRICs economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China) we’re advised to invest in, or even bricks and mortar, but Lego bricks, in the form of sought-after sets – as long as the box is completely unopened and undamaged. You must not under any circumstances actually play with the stuff, because that will render it worthless. Yes, it’s a little mad.
It can be lucrative, though. A recent article in The Times noted that Lego has outperformed the FTSE 100 and gold for returns on investment over an extended period. There are websites and social media accounts run by Lego tycoons that track the value and the profits that can be made, and it all sounds highly tempting. Like Star Wars figures and rare classic cars, Lego memorabilia has shot up in value, and people are bragging about their capital gains: a Marvel Avengers Iron Man set bought for £6.60 last year recently sold for £22, and a Creator Propeller Plane bought for the same amount just sold for £19.69, noted The Times. Dizzying stuff. In such an atmosphere, avarice can overwhelm folk. Imagine how much you might make if you bought enough £649.99 Imperial Star Destroyers from the Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series. Why, you could buy a real house, not a Lego one.
