Although LEGO blocks were not available during the coronavirus pandemic, bricks are now increasingly being sold via second-hand sales sites. There are still LEGO fans to be found at the Catawiki auction site.
In the first nine months of 2023, Catawiki recorded a 40 percent increase in LEGO sales over the same period of the previous year. Sellers can offer their collections, boxes and loose stones there in an international auction. The highest bidder leaves with the stolen items.
Catawiki calls the stones “potential investment opportunities and highly desirable collectibles.” However, it is important to store the kit unopened and in a dry, dark place, the spokesperson recommends. Theme sets are particularly popular, for example from star Wars And Harry Potter.
But is LEGO really still “in high demand”? More and more LEGO ads appear on Marktplaats, while interest is decreasing.
The LEGO manufacturer is seeing a decline in profits
The number of Marktplaats ads with the word “LEGO” in their title rose by more than 18 percent between 2021 and 2023 in the months from January to October. Meanwhile, searches for “LEGO” fell by approximately 15 percent over the same period. The number of searches for “LEGO” combined with another term, such as “Harry Potter,” also fell by about a third.
Marktplaats does not have accurate sales figures, because not every sale is recorded on the site itself. BrickLink, another major marketplace for used LEGO products, did not share sales figures.
The Danish brick manufacturer sees less interest in toys. During the 2021 coronavirus lockdowns, LEGO achieved record sales due to bored families stuck at home. The company previously said that only in the first half of 2023 did profits return to “normal levels.”
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