S@H Prices

[Legoist]

In Finland, the gap between prices in S&H and in shops is probably the largest.

From S&H, we pay the catalog prices which are the highest prices of the world for Lego sets (for instance the Emerald Night is 109e before shipping). Shipping isn't low either (we're close to Denmark but probably the Finnish postal system is more expensive itself). Usually only the very useless stuff is discounted on S&H (like non-bricks Lego toys, kitchenware etc.), and when sets are discounted they quickly turn unavailable in a matter of days.

From shops, you rarely have to pay as much as the catalog price in the first place; the retail price is very often lower since the start, and every few months you can find any set for at least 20% discount. Discounts of 30% or 33% are common too throughout the year, and occasionally you can even find a 50% discount on the largest sets.

I think that very few people from Finland buy from S&H. Unfortunately it's the only option for exclusives, since there are no Lego stores here. But for the rest, it would almost always be very stupid to do so... unless you're really lucky on grabbing the discounts. And even for exclusives, at the moment it might be even cheaper to buy them from resellers overseas, even considering the shipping costs and reseller's profit margin.

Edited September 29, 2009 by Legoist

[brickzone]

Legoist: I know the feeling - Irish S@H prices are at least similar to Finland, although not always quite as high. Seems as two "peripheral" countries we get screwed by Lego despite higher shipping costs too. Lego's excuse for Ireland in the past has been that the products are priced to the Irish market (prices are higher here in general, and until recently people had more disposable income and higher wages) - but it does not hold water when you consider the Lego *retail* prices in Ireland - which are similar to Germany or anywhere else - if not even slightly cheaper.

So there is the insanity of things like Battle for Endor at €110 on S@H, and €95 in Smyth's Toys. Mind you - due to the Euro/Pound exchange rate I bought that from UK for €87 (*including* €17 postage!!!) - so a saving of €23 compared to S@H.

The issue of the exclusives infuriates me - a whole €117 for Medieval Marketplace?! Or €175/180 now for the modular buildings? Sent Lego an email when they ratcheted up the prices of the modular buildings by €50 and they had the audacity to just send a reply pointing out the production costs of Lego (irrelevant to my complaint about prices vs. other countries). I'd have preferred the earlier fairy story about pricing to the Irish market - at least that had a shred of credibility.

Edited September 29, 2009 by brickzone

[brickzone]

This is a bit of silliness... but say I wanted to buy Town Plan. At €180 for Ireland (+€15 postage), vs. £88 for UK (£5.25 postage) - that's €195 vs. €102.50, a difference of €92.50... I could take the bus to my local airport (€7.60 return), fly from there to London Heathrow with Aer Lingus (not even Ryanair to the back of beyond) (€63.85 - another day might save €10 on that btw), catch the tube from Heathrow to Charing Cross (£8 return), take a train from Charing Cross to Greenhithe (£7.70 return) and walk to Lego Bluewater store, and make the return trip. Grand total of €88.70.

So although I would be out a day, and have to wake at 5am and not get back home till 10 pm, I could take a day trip to London for that set and still save €3.80.

Sorry if this is boring to anyone or rather ridiculous - it was just an amusing thought that came to me and I decided to work it out and see if my supposition was correct!

[Rick]

Sorry if this is boring to anyone or rather ridiculous - it was just an amusing thought that came to me and I decided to work it out and see if my supposition was correct!

It isn't. It illustrates your point rather nicely.

[Athos]

This is a bit of silliness... but say I wanted to buy Town Plan... I could take a day trip to London for that set and still save €3.80.

Sorry if this is boring to anyone or rather ridiculous - it was just an amusing thought that came to me and I decided to work it out and see if my supposition was correct!

No. I think it is an excellent example of my point. Though your situation is much more severe than mine...

Steve

[The Green Brick Giant]

Are all you complaining about is shipping?

I have to pay shipping, and a sales tax, this is nothing new and not at all LEGO's problem. I don't understand why you are complaining.

[brickzone]

Are all you complaining about is shipping?

I have to pay shipping, and a sales tax, this is nothing new and not at all LEGO's problem. I don't understand why you are complaining.

Please read the comments. No we are not all complaining about shipping (although I do not agree that it is not Lego's problem - I think if they can post to Northern Ireland for £5.25/€6, how come postage to the rest of Ireland is a whopping €15?).

Germany has a VAT (sales tax) rate of 19% and Ireland has 21.5% (not much higher) yet there can be vast differences in price on Shop at Home between the two countries, despite retail prices being the same in both countries (in my experience - limited to Hannover and Munich in the case of Germany).

[The Green Brick Giant]

Please read the comments. No we are not all complaining about shipping (although I do not agree that it is not Lego's problem - I think if they can post to Northern Ireland for £5.25/€6, how come postage to the rest of Ireland is a whopping €15?).

Germany has a VAT (sales tax) rate of 19% and Ireland has 21.5% (not much higher) yet there can be vast differences in price on Shop at Home between the two countries, despite retail prices being the same in both countries (in my experience - limited to Hannover and Munich in the case of Germany).

Maybe you should read the OP. He/she is complaining about the costs of shipping and is from Nevada, USA, not Northern Ireland, Ireland, or Germany. All that EU crap has to do with taxes and free trade and such. Once again, not LEGO's fault. You don't like the taxes then vote, or revolt, both work.

[Dfenz]

Maybe you should read the OP. He/she is complaining about the costs of shipping and is from Nevada, USA, not Northern Ireland, Ireland, or Germany. All that EU crap has to do with taxes and free trade and such. Once again, not LEGO's fault. You don't like the taxes then vote, or revolt, both work.

This thread has evolved well beyond the original post as you are well aware and the posts have come from a wide range of countries. All that 'EU crap' has nothing to do with taxes as the differential cannot be explained by minor differences in Vat rates, locations from depots or factories etc. I think UK AFOLs must realise that UK prices are too cheap compared to other countries because sterling is artificially low (even if the UK VAT rate is temporarily reduced also). Its nothing to do with 'free trade' either. In a proper functioning market one would imagine that consumers voting with their feet or air tickets (to use Brickzone's example) would ensure that prices are brought down to market levels where they are excessively priced because Lego can't sell the stuff at those prices. The main complaints in this thread are about pricing differentials within the EU, especially on LS@H exclusives, which in a common market should be of a minor nature, especially within the eurozone where direct price comparisons can be made.

At the risk of prolonging the topic I'd point to the example of the UCS Millenium Falcon which is €659 (not including postage) to an address in Dundalk near the Border with Northern Ireland. The same set shipped to Newry a few miles away will cost you Stg£342 (approx €380) a saving of €280 excluding any additional postage saving. This is definitely a Lego pricing issue so I beg to differ with your statement that this is 'not Lego's fault'. It blatantly is when the only retailer of this set in Ireland is LS@H and Lego incur no overheads in Ireland. This would also be the case in other countries around Europe. The cost to Lego of supplying this set to an Irish or Finnish customer should be the same as the cost of shipping it to a UK customer except for (a) VAT differences which are insignificant in the context of the discussions (we're not talking about a 5% differential here!) and (b) postage to peripheral countries , but then the UK is a peripheral country especially where Northern Ireland is concerned.

[Legoist]

This is a bit of silliness... but say I wanted to buy Town Plan. At €180 for Ireland (+€15 postage), vs. £88 for UK (£5.25 postage) - that's €195 vs. €102.50, a difference of €92.50... I could take the bus to my local airport (€7.60 return), fly from there to London Heathrow with Aer Lingus (not even Ryanair to the back of beyond) (€63.85 - another day might save €10 on that btw), catch the tube from Heathrow to Charing Cross (£8 return), take a train from Charing Cross to Greenhithe (£7.70 return) and walk to Lego Bluewater store, and make the return trip. Grand total of €88.70.

So although I would be out a day, and have to wake at 5am and not get back home till 10 pm, I could take a day trip to London for that set and still save €3.80.

Sorry if this is boring to anyone or rather ridiculous - it was just an amusing thought that came to me and I decided to work it out and see if my supposition was correct!

That was actually pretty funny

I guess that Lego just treats each country separately when setting S@H prices, for whatever reason.

I don't question their motivations, however let's just say that it's very odd. Online sellers (of anything) don't usually do that. They price each product once and for all, it doesn't matter in which country the buyer lives. Then taxes and shipping may vary of course. You can buy something from Amazon anywhere in the world and the price is the same (if you buy it from the same Amazon website, I mean).

It must be that Lego can make a little more money in this way (although I guess they also have to pay someone to calculate the optimum price differences), but it still sounds odd and conveys a feeling of unfairness that perhaps Lego should sometimes think about.

[k_peek_2000]

Yes, shipping is expensive :) I always go to the Lego Store, it's cheaper, on top of that I get 10% off because im special :)

[Ogre]

It is worth mentioning that S@H customers (at least in the US) are further penalized if they have a LEGO store in their state, as the customer then has to pay S@H's MSRP, plus shipping, PLUS sales tax, thereby neutering the one advantage (cost) of large Shop At Home orders.

Here in Ontario, Canada, we get dinged with "price + shipping + tax" on ALL S@H orders and we don't even have a LEGO store in province and until this past summer, didn't even have one in the COUNTRY!

The reason it's more expensive is because... it's more expensive. Honestly, large retailers can move goods in mass making it far less expensive for them to distribute to their stores/warehouses than it is for LEGO to ship it directly to each individual consumer. Sending 100,000 sets to Wal-Mart's distribution centers is alot more cost-effective than shipping 100,000 sets to individual consumers. Large retailers can also distribute costs across other merchandise to produce 'loss leaders' meaning more deals on alot of sets.

When you shop at S@H, it's about convenience; not price. Honestly, set hunting can be tedious and depending on how far you're willing to drive, a bit pricy too. With S@H you know what you're going to get, and when you're going to get it. No mess no fuss.

And don't forget the "sell-out" factor!

Some sets get bought-up so fast, you don't even get a CHANCE to find them, if you aren't out there on the very first day (such as the quick-to-disappear Hoth Rebel Base).

S@H at least gives you a CHANCE to get some of these sets.

And I'd rather pay a bit more for the shipping, than to pay three times as much from a re-seller.

Edited October 28, 2010 by Ogre

[Big Cam]

Unfortunetaly that's one of the downsides of Shop @ Home.

They often have free shipping on $100+ orders, which I know isn't an excuse but it helps.

I usually buy everything from targets and wal marts unless it's a Toys R Us exclusive, then I occasionally buy it at Tpys R Us, unless I can get a deal fro Shop @ Home.

Smart Shopping is all you can do. Everyone wants their cut.

[CMP]

Well, it's gonna arrive on your doorstep. Doesn't get any better than that. If it bugs you, just go to the store and buy it.

[Ogre]

I wish that the Lego store in New York would close though. It is 136 miles away and is therefore almost useless. But since it is there, I have to pay 8.25% sales tax on top of shipping costs when I buy from S@H.

I'd LOVE to only pay 8.25%!

Aside from the INSANE price disparity of 30%-50% on every set we in Canada pay vs. the American price, we also get hit with 13% sales tax in my province, too!

Seriously limits the amount of brick you can buy.

[I Scream Clone]

I'd LOVE to only pay 8.25%!

Aside from the INSANE price disparity of 30%-50% on every set we in Canada pay vs. the American price, we also get hit with 13% sales tax in my province, too!

Seriously limits the amount of brick you can buy.

The pricing is different for all countries and Lego is an expensive hobby. Choose your purchases wisely and shop around for the best price. Comparing country prices isn't really a fair thing as places like the US manufacture Lego and if I am correct Canada doesn't, this means there will always be a higher price to move it from one country to another. American prices are lower as they have a larger market and need to compete harder to make an impact on the market. Just take Australia for example, our Aussie dollar is worth 98c US yet we still pay double the US price for Star wars sets over here. If there is something you really want, there will be a way to sniff out the best bargain somewhere.

Cheers.

[fred67]

Sorry... I'm not in the world's greatest mood, and so probably should refrain from writing this, but I'm a bit annoyed at people blaming TLG when they have to pay taxes on their order.

There's three possibilities:

1. You think taxes are too high... blame your politicians.

2. You think taxes are fair but want to be exempt because it's an internet order... blame your politicians.

3. You think taxes are fair and we ought to be happy paying them... stop complaining.

It's not TLG's fault that the various governments for the locations they ship to demand taxes.

Those in the U.S.... you've got an election next week, do yourselves a favor and ask what's really important to you and pick the best candidates. Don't vote for or against someone for their party. And if you don't vote, don't complain about taxes.