How much is a LEGO set worth?
A LEGO set is the set number, the box condition, and whether it is sealed or a used pile of bricks. Opened sets are parts. Sealed boxes are cardboard.
LEGO sets are identified by a set number printed on the box and on the instructions. A sealed set is a box market: the cardboard, the seals, and the set number. An opened set is a used toy, worth the bricks and the minifigures if they are complete, and worth less if they are not. A pile of bricks with no instructions and no figures is a pile of bricks. People pay for specific sets and specific figures. They do not pay a sealed-set price for a built model with a missing helmet.
This page will not quote a set. Look up the number. Current sets have a retail price you can see, and a used complete set has to beat that or be discontinued and actually sought. The complete-in-box journal article is the standard for sealed toys. Read it before you buy a “collector’s” box that is crushed. A crushed box is a crushed box.
What to look for
- Set number
- Usually a four- or five-digit number on the box, the instructions, and the LEGO site. Photograph it. A theme name is not a set number. “Castle” is a theme. The number is the set.
- Sealed or open
- Factory seals, a punched hang tab, a price sticker, and a corner crush. Opened means opened. A set that was built and rebuilt is used. Say which. Do not call a retaped box sealed.
- Completeness, if open
- Instructions, the box, minifigures, and sticker sheets. A missing figure is the price. If you have not inventoried against the instruction inventory, say you have not. Do not claim complete from a glance at a tub.
- Figures
- Minifigures are often the valuable part of an opened set. Photograph each one, including prints on the head and torso, and any crack in the neck. A cracked neck is damage. A third-party figure mixed in is not LEGO. The logo on the stud is the check.
What moves the price
- Number and retirement
- A set still on a store shelf comps near retail, minus the hassle, unless you are cheaper. A retired set comps from sold listings of that number in the same state: sealed, complete used, or incomplete. Those are three columns. Stay in yours.
- Box condition
- For sealed sets, the box is the product. Creases, a cut seal, a name written on the lid, and sun fade matter. Show every face of the box. A hero shot of the art hides the crush on the side.
- Missing pieces
- An incomplete used set is a parts lot. Price it that way. Buyers who need one figure will not pay for a complete set and then forgive you. List the missing figure in the title.
- Counterfeit
- Fake sets exist, usually with soft bricks, bad printing, and a wrong logo. If the price is wild and the logo is wrong, walk. Do not resell a fake as LEGO once you know.
Where to sell
- eBay and brick marketplaces
- Set number in the title, sealed or complete-used or incomplete, photos of figures and of box damage. Read the fee. A small used set can be worth less than the mailer.
- Local
- Right for heavy tubs of mixed bricks and for opened sets you have not fully sorted. Say you have not sorted them. Someone will still want the tub. They should not pay a complete-set price.
- Build it
- A complete used set under retail, of a set you will build, is a good used buy. That is the buying-used test. The flip is optional and often worse than building it.
What a photo can settle
The set number, every side of the box if sealed, or the figures and instructions if open. Worth can read LEGO and a clear set number. It cannot inventory a tub from one overhead photo of mixed bricks.
Questions
- Is a sealed box always worth more than retail?
- No. Sets still in production are compared with the store. Retired sets sometimes sell above the old retail and sometimes do not. The set number and recent sold listings are the check. Age alone is not a premium.
- The box is open and the bags are sealed. What is it?
- It is an opened box. Say that. Some buyers like sealed bags inside an opened box. They are not buying a factory-sealed box. The crushed or cut flaps still count.
- How do I count a used set?
- Use the inventory in the instructions or a current set inventory, and sort. If you will not do that, sell it as unsorted and do not use the word complete. Complete is a claim you have to earn with a count.