Discontinued Legos Premium

This past Xmas I got my daughter Lego set 21110, “Research Institute.” She was still playing with Duplos when this set came out in 2014, so I didn’t buy it then, and it got retired somewhere between then and now. I ended up paying $46 for it (new) on eBay — it originally retailed for $20 in 2014. So this article on Bloomberg, The Hot New Asset Class Is Lego Sets, caught my eye.

In the past I’ve joked with the kids that we should stockpile sets that we think are going to appreciate, but who has time for that? Kids do! It could be a good experiment for them — a lesson in market values and scarcity premium and asset appreciation (or obsolescence) and storage costs and time value of money. I’ll let you know if we do it.

Syma Helicopters A Joy

My boy recently turned 11 and I got him this little Syma helicopter as a gift.  It's such a joy to fly that we fight over it, and Dad has had to order one of his own now (well, a larger model, the S032). It's super stable, charges using a USB cable, has a flight time of around six to eight minutes, and is beautifully constructed. A steal at $20! 

New Sandbox Additions

Santa brought the kids some earth moving equipment and a sandbox. He placed the latter in the basement and filled it with 700 pounds of sand, which strained his old back. 

The sacred rule of only buying automobiles from the Axis powers also applies to toys. I love the Siku 1:50 stuff. Daddy has his own corner of the sandbox and is known to make rumbling sounds while improving the site.  

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