There is a lot of money to be made from selling Lego minifigures and sets. Michael Lokisano/Getty Images
Selling Lego sets started out as a father and son hobby for me, but has turned into a nice side hustle.
In just six months I was able to earn over 2000 euros selling figures and sets.
With the pandemic, current inflation and an uncertain future, I’m glad I was able to teach my son that there is always a way to increase your income and become financially independent.
My son and I had to move out at the end of 2021. He is 13 years old and has been a Lego fanatic for years. However, it is difficult to wear ready-made sets and find a place for them. As we started sorting out the Lego sets my son no longer wanted, I quickly realized we were hitting a gold mine.
I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life. Since financial independence has always been important to me, I wanted to teach this to my son as well. We donated some Legos to charity. Also, I wanted to show my son how to make money easily.
I’ve never sold anything on eBay before. I figured if we could get at least some of the money back that we spent on the old set, that would be a good deal. First I asked him to sort the sets and take apart the minifigures. Next we had to see how much they were worth. So we researched together whether there was a website that gave estimates for Lego sets and figures.
also read
I quit my job and now I live from Airbnbs that I rent out – that’s how I earn over 30,000 euros a month
One of the first minifigures we looked for was the Star Wars character Ahsoka Tano. It cost about 200 euros. I almost fell off my chair.
My son was shocked too and we spent the next few hours looking for every minifigure and set we could find. We also watched several YouTube videos to learn how minifigures and sets are top rated.
One way is to look on eBay to see how much of an item has recently sold. However, using eBay is only semi-reliable. A better site was Brickeconomy.com.
We were sitting on a gold mine
We managed to sell Ahsoka’s figure for around €200 in two days. It was easy money. I noticed that minifigure sets were under $110 when it came out in 2016. It was immediately clear to me that there must be people who are selling the set below the price today.
I ended up spending countless hours researching the most valuable minifigures and Lego sets. Lego has been around for 90 years, so you can get bogged down in a lot of research. I decided to focus on the Star Wars and Marvel sets.
My son and I used to go to toy stores on the weekends to find hidden treasures. A local used toy chain hosts meetups where people can sell their stuff. So we went there too. However, minifigures and sets were often sold here at or above their value. But we also got some attractive offers.
Closed sets are worth much more. Eventually, I met a woman who had several open sets that she had bought for her now-adult sons. She knew the price of her set, but she still made me good offers on the sets.
I had the best luck on ebay when I found cheap sets and minifigures. However, my goal was always: make at least 50 percent profit.
2000 euros in six months
Since February I have earned over 2000 euros with it. I made some big mistakes at the beginning that cost me a lot of money. However, I still have a few sets that are not being sold. But I learned from my mistakes and was able to make money much faster than I initially thought.
This discovery was a financial boon as I was unexpectedly laid off in September 2021. But thanks to the hustle and bustle of my Lego side, I was able to pay off any debt I accumulated between jobs. Also, it was a great experience with my son. With the pandemic, current inflation and an uncertain future, I’m glad I was able to teach my son that there is always a way to increase your income and become financially independent.
also read
Do you want to get off the hamster wheel? That’s the advice of the woman who quit her job 12 years ago and followed her passion
This article was translated from English by Clemens Handke. You can find the original here.
source
