For decades, Lego has captured the minds and imaginations of children and adults alike from around the world.
And as new research has shown, there may be some money to be made in one of the world's most popular toys.
Researchers from HSE University in Russia recently published a paper in the journal Research in International Business and Finance, which looked at the average returns on 2,322 retired, sealed Lego sets sold on the secondary market.
Although returns did vary significantly, the study found the value of those sets rose by as much as 11 per cent annually between 1987 and 2015, outperforming some stocks, stamps, wine and even gold.
"Many people do this business and they generate quite high returns in fact, and they make money for a living by this business, so it's possible," Victoria Dobrynskaya, a co-author of the study and an associate professor in the faculty of economic sciences at HSE University, told CTV National News.
Limited edition, sealed Lego sets proved to be the most valuable, but used Lego can be worth more on resale sites too, especially if the original packaging is there.
Mini figures and sets bought at a discount also could generate relatively high returns once resold.
Dobrynskaya said that the study's data ended in 2015, but she suspects the return on Lego sets sold on the secondary market have been even higher in recent years, with gold appreciating in value at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And while Lego may not necessarily be an investment people can rely on for their retirements, Dobrynskaya says it is much more accessible to smaller investors, but does require some research.
"You need to be a specialist in this market, in fact," she said. "You need to be a fan of Lego in order to understand which set would appreciate the most."
Among those who has seen this shift in the collectible market is Paul Hetherington, an award-winning artist based in Vancouver whose Lego creations have been featured widely in news stories, books, magazines and conventions.
Turning his childhood hobby into a business, Hetherington has collected for 30 years and been commissioned to make custom creations, both large and small.
"I have a piece called Unchain My Heart, which is a big steampunk robot coming out of a mechanical heart. That one is probably my most artistic piece," he told CTV National News.
"And then of course the Joker's Fun House, which I made probably six or seven years ago, is still a fan favourite basically."
Hetherington says he really started to notice a change around the time Star Wars sets came out in the late 1990s, which brought a "whole new brand of collector back in."
That was the first time, he says, he would go into a store and not find what he was looking for.
And that trend has only continued since.
"Now some sets get retired after six to eight months, some are in there for maybe a year, year-and-a-half, but it's not the three or four years that it used to be back when I was a kid," Hetherington said.
"If you snooze you lose sometimes. If you don't get it right away, you end up having to buy it on the after-market where prices shoot up to who knows. The sky's the limit."
A wave of buyer's remorse is taking shape in several heated real estate markets, after housing prices started dropping and the number of sales slowed over the last two months.
Saddle Lake Cree Nation in eastern Alberta is 'actively researching and investigating' the deaths of at least 200 residential school children who never came home, as remains are being found in unmarked grave sites.
There is a cost to war — to the countries that wage it, to the soldiers who fight it, to the civilians who endure it. For nations, territory is gained and lost, and sometimes regained and lost again. But some losses are permanent. Lives lost can never be regained. Nor can limbs. And so it is in Ukraine.
Etiquette expert Julie Blais Comeau answers your questions about how to address the royal couple, how to dress if you're meeting them, and whether or not you can ask for a selfie.
The Green Party of Canada is calling on the federal government to develop a targeted anti-transgender hate strategy, citing a 'rising tide of hate' both in Canada and abroad. Amita Kuttner, who is Canada's first transgender federal party leader, made the call during a press conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
A new report says digital technology has become so widespread at such a rapid pace that Canadians have little idea what information is being collected about them or how it is used.
Conservative Party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has a personal financial interest in cryptocurrencies that he has promoted during his campaign as a hedge against inflation.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the military alliance stands ready to seize a historic moment and move quickly on allowing Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries submitted their membership requests.
Russia said Wednesday that nearly 1,000 Ukrainian troops at a giant steelworks in Mariupol have surrendered, abandoning their dogged defence of a site that became a symbol of their country's resistance, as the battle in the strategic port city appeared all but over.
In 2002, the owners of the mill in Dryden, Ont. started a project to reduce emissions, but workers on the construction project complain that they were exposed to toxic chemicals that damaged their health. CTV's W5 spoke with some of the workers about what they went through.
W5 investigates sexual misconduct in the military, and interviews Canadian soldiers who claim they were sexually abused while serving their country.
A former dog sled owner opens up after watching the W5 documentary 'Dogs in Distress.' She left her large-scale dog sledding operation shortly after the program aired. XP Mi-Loup has since shut down in Quebec.
Dawn Carisse went missing from the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital more than 2 decades ago. She vanished without a trace. Now a private investigator turned podcaster is finding new clues for her family.
W5 digs into the disappearance in Truro, N.S. in May of 2020, raising critical questions about the police and search and rescue mission.
W5 investigates a theory that's not widely accepted in scientific circles, but is gaining ground: that North America's obesity problem is being fuelled by a physical addiction to highly processed foods.
CTV W5 investigates the growing demand for medically-assisted death, and reveals stories of those determined to die with dignity.
For CTV W5, TSN's Rick Westhead speaks with Owen Brady, a promising Ontario hockey prospect who has had to rebuild his career one skill at a time after being diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his left leg.
The leaders of Ontario's main political parties are spreading out in search of votes as the election campaign moves past the halfway mark.
Political analysts call Doug Ford's approach the “front-runner” strategy and say it started long before the writ was drawn.
A day after Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner was robbed of his Range Rover at gunpoint outside an Etobicoke movie theatre, Toronto police said they have already seen more carjackings so far this year than they did in all of 2021.
Etiquette expert Julie Blais Comeau answers your questions about how to address the royal couple, how to dress if you're meeting them, and whether or not you can ask for a selfie.
Buckingham Palace has released new details on Prince Charles and his wife Camilla’s three-day tour of Canada next month, which includes a stop in Ottawa.
Experts say supply chain issues and panic buying are leading to baby formula shortages.
The sexual assault trial of Barrie businessman Paul Sadlon entered day two with a boss and two colleagues of the complainant taking the stand.
Green Party candidate Krystal Brooks said someone vandalized the election signs on her front lawn with a racist message.
Barrie police say they arrested three suspects accused of kidnapping a man last month from a parking lot in the city's south end.
The search continued Tuesday for a man police say may have information about the death of an 8-year-old boy in Cambridge. Neighbours also shared their concerns about the police response.
Provincial police have launched an investigation after human remains were found in the water in Dunnville, just northwest of Port Maitland.
A contentious topic is back under review in Cambridge. City council is hearing from a number of delegates sharing their thoughts about a paintball company's land and whether it should be re-zoned.
The number of hate occurrences reported to London police has grown by more than 50 per cent for a second year in a row.
Cameron Doig of Seaforth, Ont. is facing more sexual offence charges. The 63-year-old golf pro has been charged with one count of indecent assault on a female and police say this charge is “historical” in nature.
One person is in custody for allegedly breaking and entering after a Sarnia business owner saw they were being robbed in real-time thanks to a video surveillance system.
Environment Canada says there’s a chance of showers on Wednesday and temperatures will be slightly below average.
Statistics Canada will give its latest reading of how much the cost of living has risen when it releases inflation figures for April this morning.
Numerous meetings have taken place since a youth allegedly fired an airsoft gun at a dance last Friday.
Peppered with questions on Bill 96, Legault said there's been "disinformation" spreading, in his opinion -- and that on one important question, health care, many critics of the bill are wrong. In fact, the bill is confusing on that point and the details still haven't been fully explained.
Montreal police is investigating the events leading up to a collision between a vehicle and a taxi early Wednesday morning.
There are four soon-to-be millionaires in the province that have yet to claim their prizes, according to Loto-Quebec.
A former RCMP officer told a Nova Scotia public inquiry on Tuesday that a tweet warning the public about the mass shooter driving a replica police vehicle should have been sent immediately after he ordered it, not two crucial hours later.
The police officer who fatally shot a 26-year-old Indigenous woman during a wellness check in Edmundston, N.B., two years ago says he doesn't know why things escalated so quickly.
A woman who was stabbed overnight in the Halifax area has died from her injuries.
Federal regulators are demanding answers and solutions from the bell MTS after several Manitobans have spoken out about their landline phone service which they call unacceptable.
A wave of buyer's remorse is taking shape in several heated real estate markets, after housing prices started dropping and the number of sales slowed over the last two months.
Two Winnipeg men are facing firearm-related charges after Winnipeg police officers seized 19 guns from a home in the city’s Southwood neighbourhood.
A Tuesday night fire in a southeast neighbourhood has left one man dead.
Alberta schools boards can choose to pilot three more subjects in the new K-6 draft curriculum this fall, which is drawing criticism from some parents and student advocates.
The last time the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers faced each other in the playoffs was way back in 1991.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is to learn today if he still has enough support from his party to stay on as leader.
Saddle Lake Cree Nation in eastern Alberta is 'actively researching and investigating' the deaths of at least 200 residential school children who never came home, as remains are being found in unmarked grave sites.
A hunter's wife has testified she texted her husband not to drink and drive or get in a fight the night he and his uncle were shot to death on a rural Alberta road.
The soaring cost of gas is hitting charities in Metro Vancouver hard and organizations are worried they will soon have to make tough decisions and cuts to services if they don’t get some relief.
Nearly three weeks after Moderna became the first pharmaceutical company to apply for Health Canada approval of its COVID-19 vaccine for young children, the regulatory agency is tight-lipped about progress.
Volunteers with the CFB Chilliwack Historical Society are reeling after thieves broke into a military museum and stole irreplaceable items donated by war veterans and their families.
Conservative Party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has a personal financial interest in cryptocurrencies that he has promoted during his campaign as a hedge against inflation.
Canada's transport minister is dismissing claims that the federal government asked airlines to reduce their schedules and cancel flights to ease recent travel delays.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly will travel to New York today for two days of meetings at the UN to help mobilize a global response to the food security crisis resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The return of the avian flu is also spawning fantastical claims similar to the ones that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring how conspiracy theories often emerge at times of uncertainty, and how the internet and a deepening distrust of science and institutions fuel their spread.
White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said he would not continue to serve in his role if Donald Trump was elected to a second term as president.
British health authorities say they have identified four 'rare and unusual' cases of the disease monkeypox among men who appear to have been infected in London and had no history of travel to the African countries where the smallpox-like disease is endemic.
Police say the Buffalo supermarket shooter mounted a camera to his helmet to stream his assault live on Twitch. The move was apparently intended to echo the massacre in New Zealand by inspiring copycats and spreading his racist beliefs.
A new report says digital technology has become so widespread at such a rapid pace that Canadians have little idea what information is being collected about them or how it is used.
Two senior U.S. defence intelligence officials said on Tuesday the Pentagon is committed to determining the origins of what it calls 'unidentified aerial phenomena' - commonly termed UFOs - but acknowledged many remain beyond the government's ability to explain.
Lawyers for Johnny Depp on Tuesday questioned the truthfulness of Amber Heard's accusation that Depp sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle.
The 75th Cannes Film Festival kicked off Tuesday with an eye turned to Russia's war in Ukraine and a live satellite video address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called on a new generation of filmmakers to confront dictators as Charlie Chaplin satirized Adolf Hitler.
'Pirates of the Caribbean' producer Jerry Bruckheimer reminded fans in a recent interview with The Sunday Times that the future of his Disney mega-franchise does not currently include Johnny Depp, but talks are ongoing with actress Margot Robbie.
A U.K-based recruiting company is scrapping its unlimited vacation policy for employees in favour of a fixed vacation limit of 32 days, a policy that its founder says will offer more ‘clarity’ on vacation standards.
Global stock markets were mixed and Wall Street futures were lower Wednesday after positive U.S. retail sales data helped to offset concern the Federal Reserve might consider more rate hikes to cool inflation.
Statistics Canada will give its latest reading of how much the cost of living has risen when it releases inflation figures for April this morning.
A Quebec teen has broken a national record for the fastest time to solve a Rubik's cube while wearing a blindfold.
A retiree in Ontario has just purchased what is being called the 'cheapest home in the GTA'—a caboose located on a commercially zoned parking lot near Milton.
When Rande Cook first spotted the potted plant, he 'hired' it on the spot. There was something about the snake plant that seemed to speak to him.
An accident with a prosecco cork while celebrating his historic stage victory at the Giro d'Italia forced Biniam Girmay to pull out of the race on Wednesday.
Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak has been given a one-year ban for displaying a symbol on his uniform supporting the invasion of Ukraine.
A day after Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner was robbed of his Range Rover at gunpoint outside an Etobicoke movie theatre, Toronto police said they have already seen more carjackings so far this year than they did in all of 2021.
Nearly 43,000 people were killed on U.S. roads last year, the highest number in 16 years as Americans returned to the highways after the pandemic forced many to stay at home.
Tuesday was another record-breaking day for gas prices in Nova Scotia after they jumped by 9.5 cents overnight -- just four days after they had reached $2 per litre in some parts of the province.
Renault will sell its majority stake in carmaker Avtovaz to a Russian science institute, the French carmaker said on Monday, adding that the deal included a six-year option to buy back the stake.
