Is It Safe to Sell a LEGO Collection? at BuyMyBricks

Is It Safe to Sell a LEGO Collection?

Home › Selling LEGO › Is it safe to sell
Selling guide Peter Pilling, BuyMyBricks · 26 September 2026 · 4 minute read
Short answer

Yes, if you check three things: that the buyer is a real registered business you can look up, that you are paid before the boxes leave your possession, and that the price you were given from your list is the price you are paid. Most of what goes wrong in this trade is not theft, it is a figure quietly moving after you have lost the ability to say no.

Key takeaways
  • Look the company up on Companies House. It takes a minute and it is free.
  • Be paid before the boxes leave, not after an inspection period.
  • A price that can be revised on arrival was never a price.
  • Never feel rushed. A real buyer is fine with you getting a second figure.
  • Bank transfer on the day is the cleanest arrangement for both sides.

A sealed collection can be worth as much as a car, and people are reasonably cautious about handing one to a stranger. These are the checks worth making, and they apply to us as much as to anybody else.

Check one: is the business real

  • Search the company name on Companies House. It is free and it shows incorporation date, registered address and who controls the company.
  • Check the company number on their website matches the one on the register.
  • Look for a VAT number if they are of any size.
  • Look at reviews, and look at the dates on them rather than only the score.

For us: Peter James Trading Ltd, company number 15028631, VAT GB 471701210, registered at Wellington House, Aviator Court, Clifton Moor, York YO30 4UZ. Those are all checkable and you should check them.

Check two: when do you get paid

This is the one that matters most, and the answers vary far more than people expect.

What you are told What it means for you
Bank transfer on the day, before the boxes leave You hold the stock until the money lands. This is the safe shape
Paid after we have checked it over You have given up possession and the price is now open again
Paid within X working days of receipt You are an unsecured creditor of a company you just met
Part now, part later The later part depends entirely on goodwill

Check three: does the price hold

Ask directly: is the figure you have given me from my list the figure I will be paid? A buyer who prices from your list before travelling has done real work and should stand behind it. A buyer who will only price once your collection is in their building has kept the option to reconsider, and at that point you have very little room to argue.

A reasonable buyer will also tell you what happens if one box is genuinely not as described. The good answer is that they discuss that set and you can keep it. The answer to be wary of is that the whole deal gets re-opened.

Warning signs

  • Pressure to decide today, or a figure that is only valid for a short window.
  • Reluctance to put anything in writing, even an email.
  • Wanting you to post everything before any price is agreed.
  • No company details anywhere, or details that do not match the register.
  • Discouraging you from getting a second opinion.
  • Payment by any method you cannot trace.

Sensible things to do regardless

  1. Keep your own list of what left, with quantities. A photo of the stack before it goes is enough.
  2. Get the agreed figure in writing, even just an email saying the number.
  3. Have somebody else in the house on collection day if that makes you more comfortable.
  4. Check the transfer has actually arrived in your account before the boxes go, not just that it has been sent.
  5. Do not feel obliged to accept. A valuation is not a commitment and no decent buyer will treat it as one.

On getting a second figure

Get one. Any buyer worth dealing with expects it and will not be offended. What is worth comparing is not only the number but what it comes attached to: who pays the transport, when you are paid, and whether the figure survives contact with the boxes. A slightly lower number that is actually paid on the day beats a higher one that moves.

What actually goes wrong in this trade

Outright theft is rare. The slower version is not, and it is worth naming so you can recognise it.

Pattern How it presents
The moving figure An attractive number, then a lower one once your boxes have been shipped and graded
The cherry pick They take the six best sets at a fair price and leave you the difficult rest
The slow pay The boxes go, the money is coming, and the calls get harder to return
The vague valuation A figure with no detail behind it, so there is nothing to hold anybody to later
The deadline A price that expires, which exists to stop you comparing it with anybody else

None of those require anybody to be a criminal. They only require you to have given up possession before the number was final.

Check us out, then send a list

Look the company up first, we would rather you did. Then send set numbers and rough quantities for one price on the whole lot. We collect at our cost and pay by bank transfer before the boxes leave.

Get a price for your collection

Written by Peter Pilling, BuyMyBricks, 26 September 2026. LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorise or endorse this site. General guidance on selling safely. It is not legal advice and it is not a comment on any specific company.

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