I've seen this happen with a few things. As kids, we desire a lot of things that are out of our reach. Money, space to store and display, time to commit to the hobby…
Later on we might have all of these. Usually when we are finished education, in a secure job, before our own children arrive, and later on when we retire with no mortgage and the kids have left home.
Classic cars, stamps, old boardgames, Lego, lots of things.
Cashed-up collectors wanting to buy that thing they wanted decades ago. Preferably in the original box, mint, untouched.
Just the way you would have bought it thirty years ago when it was right there on the display rack and if you had the money, you could have walked in, bought that puppy and had it for yourself.
Lego is at one of those moments, I think. Over the years Lego made a lot of awesome sets in limited quantities for a defined period of time.
They made the thing, sold it, pulled it off the shelves when demand dropped and made something else, leaving behind just memories and an ever-declining number of unbuilt sets in original packaging.
But those children of yesteryear will move on. The money will be spent on cruises and retirement homes, the eyesight grows dim, and nobody will want this stuff after a while. These things are not absolutes. Not like gold. We're always going to have that monkey grin for shiny stuff, yeah?
And, perhaps more important, Lego no longer has the industry to itself. Anyone can make the bricks needed for a set and sell them openly and legally. They can't copy the box art, instructions, or certain elements that are covered by copyright or trademarks but the rest is open slather.
If I want a copy of that awesome "Emerald Night" locomotive set, I can have one and I don't have to pay a thousand dollarbucks for it. In fact I have one right now on my desk. It's actually not that great a train, even though it craps all over the current Lego offerings.
All the modular buildings are available. For the price of the plastic and shipping. The only difference on the display table is that the studs don't have "LEGO" stamped on them. Well, whoop-de-doo!
In theory, buying two copies of every set you want is a good strategy. The historical data backs you up. You can make any set you want, for free! At least in the long run.
In the meantime, your house fills up with unopened boxes and made-up sets while you wait for the right time to recoup your investment.
Lego is laughing all the way to the bank but your relatives will just take all that stuff to the dump or flog it off at auction once you are no longer around to exhibit any opinion in the matter.
