How Legos went from humble toy to criminal black market item fueled by LA heists

Lego mini-figures have been transformed into full-fledged characters through their appearances in films and TV shows, putting them — not the bricks — at the center of the play ecosystem. Above, mini-figures are displayed at the Whittier location of Bricks & Minifigs. LOS ANGELES — The hooded man darted past shattered glass, his headlamp illuminating the rare collectibles housed in display cases that lined the walls of Bricks & Minifigs in Whittier.

The roughly 1.5-inch figurines — known as “minifigs” among hobbyists — can trade for upward of $1,000 and are especially enticing to thieves, said Katie Leuschner, owner of the Whittier Boulevard store. But the company course corrected by getting back to basics — and understanding it needed “to innovate around the brick,” he said. That largely came in the form of storytelling.

The turnaround is apparent in the company’s financials: Lego Group’s revenue in 2023 was $9.65 billion, up about 74% from five years earlier, according to Dow Jones data. But there are many mini-figures trading for much more than that. According to BrickEconomy.com, the most valuable mini-figure is a limited-edition Spider-Man version given out to attendees at Comic-Con in 2013 that’s now Robertson said that high prices have driven a “big secondary market for Legos,” with several online marketplaces for them, including Lego-owned BrickLink. The scarcity of some mini-figures has made them “a great investment,” he said.

Bricks & Minifigs, which has more than 100 locations nationwide, can carry valuable Lego sets and figurines no longer in production. “People will show up, and it is the usually the same story: ‘Oh , my boss closed their comic store and paid me with Legos,’” he said. “Or, ‘My kid got extras of these birthday.’”

The Poquezes are also wary of people trying to sell them stolen goods. So far, they’ve not had a transaction that “felt uncomfortable,” Rob Poquez said. “We get a lot of kids with families.” And, owing to a rule set by Lego, Bricks & Minifigs operators are not allowed to buy new, currently-in-production sets from consumers, Betty Poquez said, which “helps us avoid stolen goods.”

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