Lego paradise

A brick goes around the world

Beate Wagner in front of her Lego brick treasure

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Beate Wagner is home to almost two million Lego pieces. Among them are many bargains, but also real gems. How much does the most expensive one cost and where do the pieces go? The "Krone" visited the master of the bricks that mean the world to many.

Flea markets were yesterday. In the meantime, Beate Wagner has made a name for herself and no longer has to go around looking for her "treasures". People make the pilgrimage to St. Florian with boxes to hand in their old Lego bricks or to buy new ones. For Wagner, her hobby has now become a business model.

Requests come from all over the world
"The idea was born in 2019, we opened a year later, then the coronavirus came along and there was nothing with retail, but online trading became all the more successful. We currently have around 900,000 stones and just as many unsorted in the garage. I pay a price per kilo, the stones are then washed and sent on," explains the German-born entrepreneur. However, the business idea came from her husband. "He used to build Lego as a child. But now it appeals to adults too," says Wagner, whose customers are primarily men aged 40+.

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Four euros for a brick
According to the expert, a single brick costs just ten cents, "but I've also spent four euros on them". After all, her customers also have special requests. Because the requests come from all over the world. "We specialize in the 80s and 90s. Space lego was a big thing back then, followed by pirates and knights. These bricks are still very popular." Wagner sells individual bricks via the BrickLink platform, which has around 60,000 dealers worldwide. One brick even went to Hawaii. "The Chinese also order a lot - knights first and foremost. The Americans are extreme Star Wars fans," she says about Lego preferences in other countries.

27 cents for a plate from 1958
There are always treasures to be found in old attics: "Worthless to the individual, a real gem for collectors," says Wagner. The older Star Wars figures in particular are expensive. "That adds up to quite a lot for us. But what would a burglar want with ten kilos of Lego? I think there's a more lucrative clientele than me," winks the 45-year-old, checking every single brick carefully before placing it in a labeled drawer. "Some are bitten. There are lots of families with dogs. The children also like to nibble on the Lego."

Special knowledge is in demand
Wagner has improved her knowledge over the past four years. "My family decided I needed to know a lot about Star Wars and showed me all the films. Just because of the Lego figures, of course," laughs the Floridian. And proudly presents her special pieces: Captain Rex for 180 euros, next to it are Batman, an old knight with his maiden, the oldest Lego man, the Space Manderl from the 70s, Leia Organa from the 90s, the Green Goblin and Ninjago Hands of Time. In addition, Wagner shows us two Solid Pilar: "The white part costs five to ten cents, in dark blue it appears in very few sets - you have to shell out eight euros for it. A plate from 1958 is only worth 27 cents."