Why does anyone collect LEGO boxes?
Published 21.01.2026 by Fabian Berget Lindblad
For a lot of people it may sound crazy to keep and treasure cardboard boxes. Why would someone do that, and what makes some boxes more collectable than the set itself? To start answering some of these questions we first need to go far back and look at some of the first boxes LEGO ever made.
How it started
Let us take it all the way back to the start, to when LEGO released the very first LEGO set, “Automatic Binding Bricks”. At the time the bricks and parts were extremely limited. All you had were 2x4 and 2x2 bricks, as well as some windows and doors, that was it. If you were presented with these bricks that did not stick very well together and had limited connection possibilities. Then I do not think you would be particularly impressed. So how come people bought them?
Advertising and box design
To sell these sets quite a bit of money was spent designing and making sturdy, presentable boxes. The artwork on the box showcases two children building a massive house with some smaller models on the sides. Now there is no way you could build this big house with the bricks included, but it definitely got the minds of children going. As well as the nice box art, the content of the sets were also presented beautifully. The bricks were laid in a checkerboard pattern with four different colours, and the windows and doors were laid out nicely in the middle of the box. All this helped impress both the parents and the children. When they got the set home the cardboard inserts in the box could be removed and the box could be used as storage for the bricks.
A fun fact is that in Norway in the early 1950’s, the boxes were quite expensive and difficult to produce. So they offered the customers a discount if they brought the boxes back to the store so that they could be reused for new sets!
The collectability for a 75 year old box/set like this may be a bit more understandable. The bricks were pretty basic and were the same in all the sets. So, if you wanted to say you have one of these sets today, the box would play quite an important part. On top of that very few of the boxes have survived after all these years, adding to the rarity and collectability.
The same goes for much of the 1950’s, 60’s and early 70’s. The original cardboard boxes are far between today, and almost all the parts in the sets are just basic bricks you can get your hands on for almost nothing.
For many collectors this is why they collect boxes today, for the rarity and presentability.
LEGO expands
As we move into the mid and late 1970’s we see the introduction of more speciality parts and even saw the LEGO minifigure coming out in 1978. Now the sets are starting to consist of a lot of different parts making each set more unique. Take a look at the 375 Yellow Castle for instance. Multiple different minifigures with equipment and stickers. These parts are very sought after today and difficult to find, especially in good condition.
With these new parts we start seeing a bigger split between collectors as the boxes for some become less important. A rough estimate would be that the boxes from this time period holds around a 30-50% value of the whole set. Compared to the 1950’s where we in most cases would look at 60-80% value for the box alone, even up to 95% in some cases. This again has to do with mostly basic parts included in relation to the very rare boxes.
Growing up in the 2000’s
Let us do a little jump again, this time into the 2000’s and some personal experiences and thoughts from myself. This is the time period where I grew up and I have vivid memories of the sets and boxes from that time.
In 2005-07 I would have been big into LEGO Star Wars. The boxes for the set had just had a big makeover, going from a blue and more basic design to a more dark and red design with a Darth Vader theme. I remember looking at the boxes and thinking they looked really cool and made me like the sets themselves even more. My two white whales at the time were the 6211 Imperial Star Destroyer and the 7662 MTT. I spent a lot of time in the toy stores studying those boxes, looking at every little detail and dreaming of owning them one day. The excitement was beyond the roof when I received the Star Destroyer for my Birthday in 2007. I had only dreamt of owning it and never dared to believe it.
Surely I am not the only one who stood in the toy store studying those LEGO boxes. Which can make the boxes themselves a big selling point.
So, the reason why a box from one of these sets would interest me today is simply nostalgia, and I still think the boxes look really great from this period, although I may be a bit biased…
Collecting today
Just in the last 10 years there has been a big influx of adult collectors, and LEGO has more and more been catering towards adults. Some come back to LEGO because they enjoy relaxing with building a set, some come back for the nostalgia, and others come back to collect sets they used to own or that LEGO has released recently.
Within the last two decades we have started spending more time shopping online than in physical stores, and with that the boxes themselves become less important. Online you can find detailed photos of sets, videos and even reviews, giving you way more information than what you would get in a toy store. LEGO has also been moving in this direction, and I feel like this reflects in their box designs, especially those for adults. Just very simple black boxes, with very little else to them. I feel like those boxes have lost some of their “magic”, and I see why someone who have started collecting recently does not see the interest for boxes if they keep looking like this.
One of the best examples I have of it is the Stranger Things set 75810 released in 2019 compared to the new set 11370 released in 2026, as can be seen on the picture above. Another example would be the Winnie the Pooh 21326 set released in 2021 which I was excited and nostalgic for, but when the box was released I was sadly a little disappointed. Do not get me wrong, the set is still great, but as an adult I still feel like the boxes are an important part of LEGO. Not because I necessarily want to keep them, but because they are a part of the experience of looking at and opening a LEGO set.
Summed up
From the beginning LEGO put a lot of effort, time and money into making the boxes both presentable and even usable. After several decades the boxes themselves are now what we consider collectables, and they can even be very nostalgic for many to collect and just look at. The boxes can be an extension of the set itself, making for a better buying and even building experience.
Sadly some of the modern boxes that LEGO make, especially for adults, may have lost some of the presentability and collectability the older boxes had. It is not easy to say if this may affect the collectability of boxes in the future, but it seems like new collectors are also showing less of an interest for them.
Do you collect any LEGO boxes, and do you also feel like modern boxes have lost some of their “magic”? Share the article and let us know your thoughts.
Signed by the designer
After writing the article I was reminded that I forgot to talk about one thing! Some collectors keep boxes that get signed by the set designers. Signing the set itself may not be the easiest thing to do, so collectors often bring boxes or instructions to have them signed by the designers, if they get the opportunity. There are many reasons to have a set signed. It could be because it is a designer you follow and enjoy, or it could be a favorite set of yours that you want to give a more personal touch. I have one signed set in my collection as can be seen on the picture. I probably would not have kept the box if I did not get it signed, so now it has a special place in my collection.
Thanks for reading!
Last edited 21.01.2026