This is the moment LEGO Star Wars minifigure values got out of hand

Popular LEGO Star Wars minifigures can nowadays sell for more than the set they came in – but when did prices for minifigures start to spiral so high?

After 25 years of LEGO Star Wars, there are now over 1,300 minifigures – but not all of them are valued equally. Some minifigure prices have spiralled eye-wateringly high, especially those on the secondhand market for sets that have now retired. However, it hasn’t always been that way. Those who have been collecting LEGO sets, or more specifically minifigures, for a long time will remember when paying even in triple digits for a minifigure was unheard of, let alone the thousands that some particularly popular minifigures go for today.

Minifigure price increases are something that can sneak up on you slowly, so we thought we’d dig into the history of LEGO Star Wars specifically to pinpoint the exact moment in the last 25 years of the theme where minifigure values spiralled out of control.

Trading LEGO Star Wars minifigures is nothing new

While LEGO Star Wars minifigures today have whole online stores dedicated to them, the practice has been around for years. BrickLink store Set You Up has been around since 2016 but its owner has been selling LEGO as early as 2006, making the most of a family holiday to LEGOLAND California to snag copies of the very first LEGO Star Wars battle packs, 7654 Droids Battle Pack and 7655 Clone Troopers Battle Pack.

“Back in those days, LEGOLAND had a tendency to get new releases early, before they were available in stores,” they told Brick Fanatics. “I decided to pop a few on eBay, and they were gone by the time I woke up, so I went back for more the very next day. It was chaotic, but I helped a lot of families get their battle packs in time for Christmas, when they otherwise wouldn’t release until the next year!”

That started a long history of selling LEGO sets, culminating in the BrickLink store that today is home to over 13,000 items, 472 of which are minifigures – and 97 of those are just from Star Wars.

Star Wars reigns supreme

That high proportion of space given to LEGO Star Wars minifigures is no surprise, given that the resounding answer from secondhand sellers is that LEGO Star Wars is by far the most popular theme.

“There are just so many unique figures that are special to the fans (like the original Thrawn minifigure, or the 2002 Jedi Bob for example),” continues Set You Up. “Star Wars also has the benefit of army building, which causes plain white Clone Troopers to sometimes be worth more than their brightly coloured officers!”

“No other theme even comes close in terms of sales volume,” agrees another shop owner, Ben Smyth of QWERTYBricks, who has run his BrickLink store for three years and been buying and selling LEGO for more than a decade.

It all changed when…

Both shop owners agree that they began to see a real rise in popularity – and therefore value – of LEGO Star Wars minifigures in 2020. They both associate the rise with the pandemic, where the world was forced indoors and returned to their hobbies with a vengeance.

“LEGO Star Wars has had an absolute surge in popularity across the board since lockdowns reconnected fans with their hobbies,” says Set You Up. “The area I see this the most is with the figures released between 2011 and 2016. Without any movies going on to base the theme around, sets in this range really had a lot of diversity. From WolfPack clones to Queen Amidala, the set designers could really get creative.”

“There’s been quite a significant increase in Star Wars figure prices, especially since COVID when a lot of new collectors started,” echoes Ben. “I first saw a Cloud City Boba Fett sell for more than £1,000 in 2020. I also sold my Darth Malgus minifigure, that I bought with a whole set for £50 in 2013, for £120 by itself in 2021.”

The shop owners’ experiences are echoed by data, with LEGO price analysis site Brick Economy tracking similar trends through its database of LEGO market values and trends. According to the site’s data, prices for popular LEGO Star Wars minifigures like Cloud City’s Boba Fett, Clone Trooper Commander Fox, and Princess Leia in her Hoth Outfit rose by as much as 90% in a short space of time in July 2020.

Another price jump occurred in September 2020, where prices of those minifigures double again, followed by yet another jump in October of as much as 75%. Those value increases continued throughout the following, with another massive leap of around 50% in January 2023. There haven’t been any significant decreases since, highlighting the enduring value of those minifigures.

What affects the price of LEGO Star Wars minifigures?

Naturally, not all minifigures can sell for the high prices of those mentioned. The rarer the minifigure, the more expensive it will tend to be. However, there are some trends you can track – if you know what to look for.

“Prices also tend to trend with relevance, like when The Mandalorian TV show is new and streaming for example, demand and prices for those figures increase,” explains Set You Up. “Characters from the animated Star Wars shows will also surprise you, like Cad Bane, Hondo Ohnaka, or Rex. Aside from specific characters, unique clones are always popular. A single Wolfpack clone trooper will net you $50 or more!”

However, that logic of value only seems to apply to popular titles like The Mandalorian and the animated series, with Set You Up also noting that sequel minifigures don’t enjoy the same value increases.

We’re now four years on from 2020, which personal experience and data agrees was when LEGO Star Wars minifigures prices began to spiral out of control. That means less than a fifth of the entire lifetime of LEGO Star Wars has seen such high prices of minifigures – but it’s likely not set to change anytime soon. Some people’s entire collections are dedicated to minifigures – and where there’s demand, prices will always remain high.

2020 might have been the beginning but we’re sure to see some other major milestones for minifigure values between now and the next time LEGO Star Wars celebrates another anniversary.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by buying your LEGO sets using our affiliate links. Thank you!