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It looks like something out of a children’s movie – after French police arrested three Polish thieves who attempted to steal toys in June 2020, especially Lego sets. Now authorities are trying to tackle the growing trend of Lego thefts by warning business owners and parents, The Guardian reports.
According to a report in The Parisian, the thieves were part of a gang that stayed in hotels near Paris, drove in an Audi and “raided” toy stores to find valuable Lego sets to resell in Poland. The thieves were caught robbing a PicWicToys toy store, after being spotted in 2019 and 2020 at two separate European toy stores, La Grande Récré and Maxi Toys. The French police are said to be “setting up a case” against the gang in response, The Guardian written.
The idea that plastic Lego bricks are worth enough to attract an international circle of thieves to steal them may seem odd – the most expensive Lego set to ever retail for just $ 800 – but some sets may be worth more over time. time. On top of that, Gerben van IJken, a Lego specialist who advises online collection auction sites, recounts The Guardian this interest in Lego resale has grown significantly over the past year:
Investing in these coins is nothing new, but this niche market has reached new heights with the pandemic. People have more time at home due to health restrictions and the gambling market has exploded.
Van IJken cites a Lego set that sold for € 150 (around $ 212) in 2007 and resold € 2,500 (around $ 2,943) in 2020. This growth in value could be due to Lego’s practice of decommissioning cycling sets after around two years, says van Ijken. Keeping older sets “in the vault” (reminiscent of Disney’s strategy with home video) makes those still on the market or in the hands of the owner much rarer and more valuable.
The Lego theft is not limited to France either. A man is said to have stolen around two million dollars worth of Lego sets in Florida in 2012. Considering the risk, if you’ve got a collectible Lego space shuttle on the way, maybe it’s time to think about safety.
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