How to recognise a genuine, sealed LEGO box
By MawaddehThe shop window — online toy shop
2 min read
In Algeria you find LEGO at resellers, on social media and in markets, alongside boxes of compatible bricks sold under other names. So “is it real LEGO?” is a fair question, and the best answer is not a promise: it is a check you make yourself, in one minute, before paying.
Why a closed box matters
An opened box may be complete, but nobody can be sure without recounting every bag. A box closed by the manufacturer arrives with its numbered bags and instructions as they were packed. That is why we do not open the boxes we bring back from Dubai: they reach you as we bought them.
The four checks
They are detailed below, in the order you naturally make them while holding the box. None needs a tool, and all are done with the parcel open, in front of the courier.
What we do on our side
We buy every box new from retailers in Dubai, carry it in our luggage and store it closed. Each product page names the set number when we have recorded it, and the photograph shows the box as the manufacturer presents it. A manufacturer sometimes renews the packaging of a set: the box may then differ slightly from the photo, for the same contents.
And once the box is opened at home?
Open the bags in the order of the instructions. If a piece is missing, check the bottom of the box and the bags already opened, then write to us with your order number: an incomplete set is a non-conforming item, and we find the solution with you.
Step by step
Look at the seals
Depending on the series, a LEGO box is closed with round clear seals on the flaps, or with perforated tabs. They should be intact: not peeled and re-stuck, not replaced by tape.
Find the set number
A set number is printed on the front and sides. Compare it with the one on the product page: it is the simplest way to check you are receiving exactly the model you ordered.
Read the packaging
The age, the manufacturer’s name and address and the warnings are printed cleanly, with no spelling mistakes and no smudged colours. Blurry printing or a distorted logo deserves a question before you pay.
Check in front of the courier
With us, you open the parcel and look at the box before paying. If a seal is damaged or the number does not match, refuse the parcel: you pay nothing.
