The Rise and Fall of LEGO Sales: Is the Brick Trend Fading?

Nov 16, 2023 at 5:01 PM Update: 12 minutes ago

While LEGO blocks were not available during the corona pandemic, the bricks are now increasingly being sold via sales sites for second-hand items. There are still LEGO fans to be found on auction site Catawiki.

In the first nine months of 2023, Catawiki recorded 40 percent more LEGO sales than in the same period a year earlier. Sellers can offer their sets, boxes and loose stones there at an international auction. The highest bidder walks away with the loot.

Catawiki calls the stones “potential investment opportunities and highly sought-after collectibles”. However, it is important to store a set unopened and in a dry and dark place, a spokesperson recommends. The theme sets are particularly popular, for example from Star Wars a Harry Potter.

But is LEGO really still “highly sought after”? More and more LEGO advertisements are appearing on Marktplaats, while interest is decreasing.

LEGO manufacturer sees profits drop

The number of Marktplaats advertisements with ‘LEGO’ in the title increased by more than 18 percent between 2021 and 2023 in the months from January to October. Meanwhile, searches for “LEGO” declined by almost 15 percent over the same period. There were also almost a third fewer searches for ‘LEGO’ accompanied by another term, such as ‘Harry Potter’.

Marktplaats does not have precise sales figures, because not every sale is registered on the site itself. BrickLink, another major marketplace for used LEGO, did not share sales figures.

The Danish brick manufacturer sees that there is less interest in the toys. During the 2021 corona lockdowns, LEGO achieved record sales due to bored families stuck at home. Only in the first half of 2023 did profits return to “normal levels”, the company previously said.

Beeld: picture alliance

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LegoEconomy
2023-11-16 16:01:17
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