Do you have a load of Lego stashed around various parts of your house and you’re not sure the best way to get rid of it? From loose Lego to full sets, take a look at the best places to sell Lego and how to maximise your profits.
Best places to sell Lego for cash
- eBay
- Facebook Marketplace
- Bricklink
- We Buy Games
- MusicMagpie
Where to sell your old Lego
I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I’m a big Lego fan. And having young children was a great excuse to spend hours building new sets, long after my children got bored of them.
But, as my kids have turned their attention to electronic devices, I’ve found that we have boxes of Lego just sitting around the house. And then, a few weeks ago, I received a call from my parents. They were clearing out their loft and had found a load of my Star Wars Lego that had been there for over 20 years. So, I went on a mission to make as much money as I can.
What type of Lego do you have?
How much you can make really depends on the type of Lego you have. There are 3 main types we’re looking at today
- Lego sets – either complete or incomplete
- Loose lego – for general building
- Minifigures – Lego men and women
How to get more money from selling your Lego
There are a few ways you can increase the amount of money you make when selling your Lego. If you’re selling a set or Minifigure, try to get an idea of its value before you do so. Brickset has over 17,000 items listed and will give you a good indicator of the value of your Lego.
If you build it, they will come
Hopefully, at least one person got that Field of Dreams reference. Kids love all kinds of Lego and are happy to build anything they can think of. But what they love more is full sets. It’s far more interesting to be able to build a big castle or spaceship rather than one they’ve just thought of – well, for most kids. And don’t forget, there are plenty of adults that like Lego and want to buy sets for their own collections.
That’s why you’ll get far more money if you have a complete set. Even if it’s missing a couple of pieces, buyers can see exactly what they’re getting, not just a big pile of rubble.
Include the box and instructions
For some people, this might be ten years too late… but try to keep hold of boxes and instructions. These make sets more desirable to buyers. Boxes aren’t a deal-breaker, but instructions can make a big difference. Have you ever tried to guess how to build a Lego set?
If you have thrown away the instructions, don’t despair. Lego has 1000’s of instructions online. When it comes to selling, providing a link to these will be just as good as paper instructions for most.
Take clear photos
Provide as many photos as you can from different angles. This shows buyers how much of the set is missing (if any). Plus, Lego has a habit of fading in colour over time, so it gives a good indicator of the condition.
Best places to sell used Lego sets
There are several options to choose from when selling your Lego. And generally, the easier it is to do, the less money you’ll receive.
eBay
The big plus to using eBay is the fact that it has so many users, both in the UK and the rest of the world. If you have a full set of Lego (especially if it’s rare), you should get a very good price. Loose bricks don’t sell so well but usually go for anything between £5 and £10 per kg. Remember. eBay does charge a fee of 12% of the selling price.
Facebook Marketplace
This is my favourite place to sell. Yes, there probably aren’t as many customers as compared to eBay, but there are also no fees. So you can reduce your asking price by 10% and still make more. If you want to attract more interest, then offering postage will help. The only real downside to Facebook is the number of timewasters. People love to arrange to come and collect an item and then never show up.
It’s also worth taking a look at various Lego Facebook groups. Many of them allow you to buy and sell, so you may be able to find potential customers.
BrickLink
The BrickLink website is owned by Lego and is a marketplace for all things Lego. You can buy and sell almost anything from full sets down to individual Minifigures. It’s an international site, so there are plenty of potential buyers. You will need to create an account and there is a 3% fee on anything you sell. This is really more suited to sellers looking to get rid of their sets rather than loose bricks.
But… selling with BrickLink isn’t the easiest of processes. To list items, you will need to:
- Buy at least one item (so you know how the process works)
- Then create your marketplace store
- Add all the details of your item
- Take a photo of the Lego with today’s newspaper, plus a copy of your passport.
Not great if you’re trying to sell in a hurry.
Best place to sell loose Lego or Lego by weight
By all means, try Facebook and eBay to offload your loose bricks, but I find it can be a little hit-and-miss if they actually sell. There are a couple of sites that will buy bricks by the kg.
We Buy Games
In case you can’t guess, We Buy Games buys (and sells)… games. But they do buy loose Lego bricks too. Just weigh out your lego, send it in using their free postage label and once confirmed, you’ll receive payment. At the moment, We Buy Games will pay £5 per kg of Lego.
MusicMagpie
I’m sure you’ve heard of MusicMagpie, although they are more famous for buying old DVDs and CDs (remember those?) and they offer a similar service to We Buy Games. The difference is, MusicMagpie will only give you £3 per kg.
Best place to sell Lego Minifigures
Surprisingly, Minifigures (or Lego men and women) are highly collectable and can attract big prices. If you have some Minifigures that don’t belong to a particular set, it may be worth trying to sell them on their own.
Some of the rarest figures sell for $1,000s, but they are not the type you would find in your average Lego set. But many single figures will sell for £5-£10. The one below sold for £40, including postage.
eBay or BrickLink is your best bet for selling Minifigures. Users are more likely to know the true value of the Lego figures. The majority of Facebook users will see them as just another piece of Lego.
Can you make money from buying and selling Lego?
If you’ve visited this blog before, you may have seen my post about ways to make money on the side. Because the majority of people don’t know the true value of Lego, it’s certainly possible to make money from buying and selling. But you will need to know what you’re looking for and spend some time looking through listings.
What is the rarest or most valuable Lego set to look out for?
When selling your Lego, why not keep an eye out for these two sets? It could make you a small fortune.
- #10179 LEGO Ultimate Collector’s Series Millennium Falcon. This first edition set sold for an eye-watering $15,000. But they don’t usually sell for this much, usually costing around $4,500. Bargain.
- H.C. Andersen’s Clumsy Hans (2015 Edition). Only 80 of these were ever made. And because of this, they go for $7,375.
