UK retailer prevents LEGO theft by… opening boxes

A UK retailer seems to believe that the best way of stopping LEGO set theft is by removing everything but the box from shelves.

UK retailer Tesco appears to have a new tactic to prevent theft of LEGO sets, as reported by BricksFanz. At least one Tesco store has opened LEGO boxes, removed the contents including bricks, instructions and stickers, and added a sticker instructing shoppers to take the box to the checkout and collect the contents before buying.

This is in addition to existing security tags wrapped around boxes and is all likely being enforced to stop the sets from being stolen. This particular system isn’t quite like anything we’ve seen before, but security tags on LEGO boxes aren’t uncommon, even on smaller models such as Collectible Minifigures and LEGO Super Mario character packs.

Still, it doesn’t come without risks as opening the boxes may reduce the value of the sets for those who are hoping to keep them in mint condition. Even discounting the small proportion of collectors who don’t intend to open the boxes, this process introduces the risk of losing elements, stickers or instructions before the build is bought.

At the time of writing, it seems that at least one Tesco store has opted for this change in security, but it may just be the single location that has introduced this process, and not for all sets.

For now, keep this in mind when looking for LEGO sets at Tesco, and we’d recommend checking that everything intended to be in the box is present before purchasing.

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