The cost of new LEGO sets

[Johnny1360]

Admittedly I have not bought any new sets, this year, so as I was looking into the latest offerings, I was floored by the prices and vowed not to buy any new sets.

Turns out I was viewing Australian site instead of North American, talk about sticker shock, wow.

I am acutely aware of the price of LEGO, it has always been an expensive hobby, not for everyone. In my case, I have certainly been buying less with each passing year. I have also noticed that nearly every thread about new sets makes mention of high prices, much moreso than previous years.

Soon I am afraid I will simply no longer be able to afford lego. Which makes me wonder do others have a limit as to how much is too much, or do you just accept it and keep buying?

Fortunately I have amassed enough lego to keep me busy for the rest of my life and would be okay just buying some loose parts here and there.

I understand this is a touchy subject for many and some even consider it bad form to complain.

When if ever will the average consumer say, enough is enough, screw you TLG?

[Toastie]

7 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

Soon I am afraid I will simply no longer be able to afford lego. Which makes me wonder do others have a limit as to how much is too much, or do you just accept it and keep buying?

If you cannot afford LEGO, don't buy LEGO. That is my take, but with twist: I am fortunate - I could go with the price insanity TLG is imposing on their customers. Whatever their reason: Grift, greediness, or just wanting the best for their employees, pay-wise. Or becoming nervous.

I stopped buying any new >10€ TLG sets for years. This excludes to some extent used sets, and even there, I am carefully gauging what else I can get for the same money: Workshop tools, old computers, decoration items, other (so many) hobby items, I like to explore.

Brick-wise, I turned to Pantasy and other companies. They will get greedy as well, it is a matter of time.

For me, TLG has totally lost its “family valued orientation” or "educational spearheading". They seem to be spinning in eternal loops, at least this is what I see. Back in the days, when Logo and the turtle were absolutely new and inspiring, it was so different. And then came the repetitions. And the licenses. Everything was aligning to available (and at that time even already outdated) technology, rather than inventing new stuff. 

And how can one invent new stuff, when essentially relying on 1960's patents and technology? Patents run out after 30 years (and that is very good so, otherwise, we would still be in the years, patents were granted). And then competition sets in. I personally like that: Let the consumers decide. This is everywhere the case.

In conclusion: Yes, I have a TLG limit: 10€/set. Everything else, brick-wise, is principally unlimited, but governed by a) funds and b) hopefully common sense.

All the best
Thorsten

[Yoggington]

I have an annual budget. That covers new sets, as well as Bricklink or PAB parts. 

So if I'm looking at a set, I am very aware of how much this will mean less other Lego. The €650 Pokemon set looks good and all, but is it three modulars good? Not a hope. This does not mean never buying an expensive set, I added Riverdell a year or two after it's release. But I only did that once I was sure and certain it was worth it (I did not buy Barad Dur, or The Shire, and I'll probably skip Minas Tirith too).

I'm a huge X-Men fan, but two years on, I still can't justify that price for that set.

[Vindicare]

I just get what I can along the way(griping about the prices as I go) & just hope I don’t miss out in anything I’d regret later. My biggest concern, where your dilemma comes from, is being priced out of the Modular buildings. 
 

Granted that may be awhile from now…as I own Barad Dur, a $460 dollar set. I am currently having an inner struggle with Minas Tirith. Even now I can’t fathom spending that kind of money on a toy, adult target or not, but man do I really want it. 

One thing I’ve done on recent years that I never envisioned myself doing…selling sets. But with the price hikes it twisted my arm & had a look at my collection to see what I would be willing to part with in order to buy stuff I wanted. 

[Mylenium]

18 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

Which makes me wonder do others have a limit as to how much is too much, or do you just accept it and keep buying?

Since I don't have that much money, anyway, it's one of those things that regulates itself. In fact I'm sometimes surprised how much I still manage to buy. That said, I live in the under 100 Euro zone and that is where you can always find something across multiple themes and with noteworthy discounts. It's also easy to compare piece count in relation to price and gauge the overall value based on the type of model and pieces included. A crude Disney palace is of course a different thing than getting a reasonably nice Friends house for instance. Combined with being patient to wait for a good deal and other factors I find that a workable model, but I would still agree any time that LEGO seems to be getting more expensive by the day.

18 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

When if ever will the average consumer say, enough is enough, screw you TLG?

Soon-ish, I think. It's not so much consumers turning their back,  but simply the bigger economic picture. There's too many crises in the world and people are tightening their budgets, which will inevitably mean that spending on optional stuff will be reduced. We're also basically already at a point where the majority of LEGO is sold with massive discounts and you can get it in every little corner shop. Eventually there will be a saturation point and the retailers cannibalizing each other will have adverse effects. Selling LEGO is not a healthy business model unless you can do it on a massive scale where those minuscule profit margins add up enough...

Mylenium

Edited March 9 by Mylenium
Typos

[SpacePolice89]

There is always the option to buy used sets, both old ones and more recent ones. Most old sets I buy are used ones in good condition but when it comes to new sets I prefer to buy new ones from the store. I buy very few new sets nowadays because most new sets are not to my liking. The latest large new set I bought was the Blacktron Renegade and it was reasonably priced.

[JesseNight]

I've always set limits to myself to any hobby budgets. It's good to set yourself some restrictions and rules to ensure never getting into financial trouble or losing sight of what's really important.
First priority is always surviving and paying the bills. I think that's kinda obvious.
Second priority to me is saving so I have some reserves if unexpected costs turn up. Trouble never comes alone and being prepared for it makes all the difference.
What's left after that can go to hobbies.

For me that's not really a problem because I've always been picky as hell about what sets to buy. I may buy 2-3 sets in a whole year. I may buy none in another year. If it doesn't appeal to me and fits in my top 3 favorite themes, I skip it.

As for buying second hand... That depends a lot with LEGO. If it's something wanted, you often end up paying significantly more second hand. Or if it's still sold new, the price difference second hand is hardly worth giving up warranty for. Unsorted brick collections are probably the best deals if you're willing to invest time in sorting and completing sets yourself.

Unrelated side note, I'm always surprised when people mention buying LEGO sets is expensive, while at the same time many are selling instructions on Rebrickable that may be a fair price for the work involved, but compared to official sets is a lot more expensive for just instructions without bricks. Not complaining btw, just finding it somewhat ironic.

[MAB]

On 3/8/2026 at 2:59 PM, Johnny1360 said:

When if ever will the average consumer say, enough is enough, screw you TLG?

I don't think it will matter, and it will be a long time coming. LEGO has nanaged to bring in huge numbers of customers in the past five years that each buy a few expensive sets they are interested in. Just look at the footfall at LEGO shows and the buying frenzy at reseller stalls.

[JesseNight]

It's actually a proven fact (have to try to find the article) that a few whales benefit a business more than a large stable customer base that spend a lot less each. That's why big and expensive sets usually get a lot more attention and promotion, every sale matters and many willing to spend a big amount on a set are likely to do it again for the next.
Of course aiming at the whales first is a "big risk big rewards" move. If one day the sets stop appealing, the losses are felt.

[MAB]

6 hours ago, JesseNight said:

Of course aiming at the whales first is a "big risk big rewards" move. If one day the sets stop appealing, the losses are felt.

And presumably that is why these whales are not isolated, but a large pod. If one of those large sets is no longer appealing, it is fine as there are plenty more on shelves and even more in development. 

[dr_spock]

You could gear your marketing to people's FOMO.

 

[JesseNight]

11 hours ago, dr_spock said:

You could gear your marketing to people's FOMO.

They already do. Just look at GWP and limited editions.
For example, do you have any idea how many people bought a $400 Enterprise (or more than one) last year on day 1 of its release just to get their hands on the limited shuttle GWP? Or just for the minifigs?
Sadly this is the business model almost everywhere nowadays. Because it works.

[Paul B Technic]

Every year for my birthday I have a budget for LEGO Technic, it is the same amount of the past 10 years. Looking back at some photos, I am getting "less each year". This year I was able to get 2 mid sized sets and 3 of the smaller sets, 5 years ago I was able to get 4 mid sized sets 

[MAB]

7 hours ago, Paul B Technic said:

Every year for my birthday I have a budget for LEGO Technic, it is the same amount of the past 10 years. Looking back at some photos, I am getting "less each year". This year I was able to get 2 mid sized sets and 3 of the smaller sets, 5 years ago I was able to get 4 mid sized sets 

That would be expected due to inflation. I don't know what inflation has been like in Australia but in UK, it has been about 40% in total over 10 years. So if your budget remains fixed, then of course it will buy less.

Interestingly, brickset has recently implemented inflation adjusted RRPs. 

[JesseNight]

17 hours ago, MAB said:

Interestingly, brickset has recently implemented inflation adjusted RRPs. 

Oh, that is interesting!
I am quite surprised with the results, some of the bigger sets I owned in the 1990s still have their price from back then making sense (or close, just add a few %). But those inflated prices, they end up high. Much higher than the cost per piece of new sets today. Let's not forget, that sets today have MUCH higher piece counts! Back then, the largest sets were still well under 1500 pieces.

If all that is calculated accurately, prices aren't so bad at all today! (ftr I've left licensed sets out of the equation)