Some rare Lego sets are now selling for literally thousands of pounds online, as enthusiasts snap up the popular toys. But it's not just rare pieces that are selling well, with standard sets now frequently worth more than when they were new and even old bags of unsorted bricks in demand. “With the soar in popularity of Lego with both adults and children, the effect on the values of both rare, hard to find sets and new releases has been incredible," said Bev Channell, event director for Lego event BRICK 2015, running at Birmingham's NEC this week. “It’s well worth searching through your old sets to see what treasures are hiding there.” The bigger, rarer sets tend to be worth the most - but with Lego frequently refreshing its range that means any old set that's large enough could be worth upwards of £1,000. Currently, these are the most valuable sets: Sadly, to get the best prices for your Lego, it needs to be “mint in box” - which means not opened since it was bought and still factory sealed.
The good news for people who want to play with their toys is that you can still get good returns for assembled models – as long as there are no pieces missing. The easiest Lego sets to sell are Star Wars themed, with Millennium Falcons, Death Stars and X-Wings all selling well – and some prices in the thousands. But there's much more than just Star Wars selling. A look at the best-selling kits on BrickPicker shows trains, play houses, dinosaurs, Harry Potter sets, Back to the Future Deloreans and Pirate sets all featuring. Most of the sales take place on eBay, with BrickPicker providing lists of the top selling and biggest rising prices – as well as a tool letting you compare the price of sets. You can also search on eBay for sold prices of similar sets. If you've got a box of Lego, rather than a specific set, you can bulk-sell as well – although prices for these are a lot lower. That said, if you have the time and can split the box out by category (be it Star Wars, pirates, Medieval, Technic or whatever) these smaller – more specific - bundles will frequently sell for more than a job-lot of unsorted bricks.
To get the most value, you need to be selling pristine-condition Lego toys. “As with any sort of collectible, the safe storage of the collectible is very important,” Ed Mack explains in a piece on How to make money from Lego . “Although the actual Lego brick is pretty much indestructible under normal conditions, the Lego boxes and instructions need special care.” That means quite a lot of space to store them all if you're trying to make money from them, and possibly adding the cost to your insurance. Then there are the seller fees on eBay. And the shipping costs – remember, Lego is bulky and could cost quite a bit to ship. And if you're selling to a collector, they'll expect it to arrive in good condition, so packing costs go up again. Oh, and don't count your profits before you sell – the price of a set can drop fast if Lego re-introduces it while prices can rise as well as fall in line with demand too. Is Lego better than gold? 500+ VOTES SO FAR The market for old toys on eBay is much bigger than just Lego.
If you've got some old childhood clutter just gathering dust, here are 8 ways to tell if your old toys could be worth more then just memories while our guide to getting the most cash when selling old toys on eBay can be found here.Beauty is found withinBeauty and the Beast collectibles only available onlineStar Wars: The Force Awakens launches on December 17 and is set to break box office records worldwide. Set 30 years after the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, the Empire have become the First Order and the Rebel Alliance has evolved into the Resistance. The film, directed by J. J. Abrams and starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver and newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, sees new heroes rise in the wake of Darth Vader's demise. We thought it would be a great time to round up some gifts that are sure to make any Star Wars superfan's Christmas. There's quite a variety here – from a mobile-phone-operated droid to an array of Lego kits that will keep them occupied for hours on end, to William Shakespeare’s take on the saga, we tried and tested an array of different gifts so you don’t have to.
1. Chewbacca Onesie: £39.95, Prezzybox We’ve had lots of fun snuggled up in this surprisingly soft onesie pretending to be Chewbacca, noises and all. Not only is it super warm, it’s also machine washable so you don’t have to worry about spilling cranberry sauce down it on the big day. 2. Darth Vader Lamp: £12.95 (small), £30.95 (large), Genie Gadgets This mood lamp comes in two different sizes and is ideal for the younger fans of the series. It’s also battery-powered, so it can be carried around the house no matter where the young Sith Lord ends up asleep. 3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon RC Quad: £99.99, Argos Light up any fan’s Christmas with this Quadcopter so they too can fly the “piece of junk” point-five past lightspeed with this incredibly fun kit. Fly it using the remote, which has dual joysticks and six trim buttons to do tricks. 4. Captain Phasma Voice Changing Mask: £20.95, Disney Store Slip on this mask and sound like Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma, aka the Chrome Trooper.
It has an adjustable strap so should fit most people’s heads and even spews out Captain Phasma phrases. 5. Star Wars The Black Series 6-Inch Kylo Ren: £21.06, Amazon This articulated figure of Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ antagonist, Kylo Ren, is six inches tall and includes his crossguard lightsaber. We love the Black Series collection, which features especially good quality sculptures for the price point. 6. Lego Star Wars Jango Fett: £14.97, John Lewis You can build everyone’s favourite Mandalorian bounty hunter with this Lego kit. Suitable for ages seven to 12, it’s a surprisingly tough build, and one that will look good on anyone’s shelf. They also have other characters from Darth Vader and General Grievous to Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan. 7. Star Wars Battlefront, PS4: £49.99, Game An action game based on the Star Wars films, Battlefront is one for the hardcore fans featuring shoot-em-up style multiplayer maps to battle it out online.
It’s not a completely solid experience, and lacks a campaign mode, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had as you battle across Hoth and Endor. 8. Sphero BB-8 Droid: £129.99, Firebox Set to be the R2-D2 of the new films, this toy version is an app-enabled gyroscopic ball from the makers of Sphero. You control it with your phone or your tablet and you can make holographic recordings to amuse your mates. Using some magnetic wizardry its separate 'head' manages to defy gravity and stay upright at all times. 9. William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher: £11.99, Firebox This is Star Wars, but not as you know it. Told through the words of Shakespeare (AKA writer Ian Doescher) you can now experience the trilogy in a whole new way. ‘Verily, a New Hope’, indeed. 10. Star Wars X-Wing Knife Block: £79.99, Very This X-Wing-modelled knife block comes with five quality knives – a cook’s knife, bread knife, carving knife, utility knife and paring knife.
Just be aware the X-Wing itself is made of plastic and isn't so sturdy. 11. Disney Infinity 3.0 Star Wars Starter Pack, PS4: £42.99, Game This is another game in the lucrative toys-to-life genre, in which physical toys can be transported into the gaming realm by interacting with the console. This one features the base game as well as the Star Wars Twilight of the Republic Play Set piece, which sees players fight as Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker during the latter years of the Clone Wars. 12. Star Wars Kylo Ren Suitcase: £149.00, American Tourister This huge 87.4-litre spinner suitcase is made from 100 per cent polycarbonate with four multidirectional wheels for quick and easy manoeuvring. The insides feature a star pattern and it comes with a TSA combination lock. Perfect for taking all those presents home after Christmas. 13. Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar: £14.99, Argos It’s not too late to get the kids (or yourself) an advent calendar for December - all it needs is a bit of catch-up.