Mirkwood Elf Army - price difference

[NiL_FisK_Urd]

I just noticed that the MEA is sold for $29.99 in the US, and €39,99 in Europe - does anybody know why there is such a huge difference in pricing?

Note: $29,99 is about €22, and €39,99 is ~$54.

Edit: ok, the whole DOS line is cheaper in the US.

DGA: 20$ vs. 27€

DGB: 70$ vs. 80€

LTC: 50$ vs. 60€

MEA: 30$ vs. 40€

Why do US customers pay 170$, whereas Europeans pay 283$?

Edited December 23, 2013 by NiL_FisK_Urd

[large88]

These differences in price between continents have been known for a while. Especially the licensed sets differ greatly in price. It has something to do with economy of scale, pricing policy of the Lego Group, local taxes and economy etc...

Edited December 23, 2013 by large88

[MisterR]

I contact lego about this once, I I got a call from them telling me because it was about taxes and the fact they want to grow bigger and bigger in USA.. So not really fair the prices here, but we have no choice..

[Wardancer]

Bricklink mirrors these differences.

Thranduil costs 3.20 Eu in US and 7.30 Eu in Germany.

[-obelix-]

It is even worse for people who live in the countries who are in Europe but not yet in the EU (like us in Serbia for example).

Mirkwood Elf Army costs ~ 65$ at the least (some stores buff even those prices up!). With the explanation being all the different taxes they have to pay (a margin of 30 - 50% depending on the size of the sets goes unmentioned).

But, as misterR said, we have no choice...

[NoEinstein]

Not sure if this applies here (I hope so for the Dutch/European army builders) but when I ordered the DeLorean set on S@H the price was 50 euro's minus 1 cent. I received the set and a day later I got 10 euro's credited to my credit card. Checking S@H I saw the price was lowered 10 euro's and it still is up to this date.

But I agree LEGO might want to do something about their exchange rates. Then again, we will buy their stuff anyways so I guess it will not happen.

[hooky]

-obelix-, I think it's not that Serbia is not in the EU, i think that the problem comes from the fact that we're just in Eastern Europe. Although Bulgaria is a EU member since 2007, the price of almost everything is higher than in Western Europe - electronics, toys, clothes, etc.

For instance Mircwood Elf Army here is 70$. And having in mind that the average wage in Bulgaria is so low (about 550$ a month), the lego prices are completely unacceptable.

Edited December 23, 2013 by hooky

[AmperZand]

But I agree LEGO might want to do something about their exchange rates. Then again, we will buy their stuff anyways so I guess it will not happen.

Sure, quite a few people will buy their stuff at full price, but many won't. I bought MEA when I was at the Lego store in Paris last week but only because I had some spare euros. If I hadn't had those euros, I would have waited for it to be discounted on Amazon or Argos. I reckon it will eventually come down to £22/$36. If you consider that that includes tax at 20%, the discounted price here excluding tax will eventually be the same at the MSRP in the US. And most US states/cities have a sales tax. Of course, it may eventually be discounted in the US as well...

Edited December 23, 2013 by AmperZand

[-obelix-]

-obelix-, I think it's not that Serbia is not in the EU, i think that the problem comes from the fact that we're just in Eastern Europe. Although Bulgaria is a EU member since 2007, the price of almost everything is higher than in Western Europe - electronics, toys, clothes, etc.

For instance Mircwood Elf Army here is 70$. And having in mind that the average wage in Bulgaria is so low (about 550$ a month), the lego prices are completely unacceptable.

Yes, you are right hooky, its not just Serbia, its our whole region, I just didn't want to enlarge the picture as I was speaking from my own experience (I was never in Bulgaria, however I do believe you that situation is very similar - avg salary : prices...)

Still, I hope Lego group will rethink about their involvement in all the markets, not just the North American one...

However, I do not agree with NoEinstein's last statement; I, for one, do not buy every Lego product I like "anyway" - not considering the price. For example, I am a fan of LoTR and the Hobbit, but I have no sets aside from Frodo's polybag. The MEA is the first set I plan on getting and even then I am looking to find the least expensive deal possible.

[Deathleech]

There are tons of factors to consider with Lego's regional pricing structure. The main reason the US has lower prices is because of our large population compared to other countries, and the fact the US buys a TON of "stuff". For example America has 314 million people compared to the UK's 63m and Australia's 22m. If everyone bought ten Lego sets in Australia for the same price as in the US, Lego would still be making almost a third what they do if everyone in the US bought one set. Look at it as a bulk discount deal like some stores have. What cost more per unit, a pack of 10 paper towels or a single roll of paper towels? It's easier to ship and sells 20m units of Lego to one country than it is to ship and sell 20m to 20 countries all with their own taxes and, regulations, fees, etc. Of course this is an over simplified example, but you get the idea.

The US also has tons of toy competition.. Kre-o, Megabloks, etc. competing with Lego. All of these other brands are pretty big, offer decent quality (still not Lego standard though), and are much cheaper than even US Lego prices. I know this is a Lego forum so the price of Lego is often a hot debate, but people forget US citizens get gouged in other areas. We pay the most for health care by far, paying much more than any other developed country. Operations and drugs can cost anywhere from double to 10x what they do in other countries. Paying seven times for a five thousand dollar operation (35k vs 5k) doesn't seem quite as bad as paying an extra $20 for a Lego set in retrospect, does it?

[Cwetqo]

This has been discussed over and over several times and conclusion was always the same: thats the way the world turns.

We even raised this issue at LEGO ambassador forum and answers were similar: competition is much more stronger in USA and lower costs (benefit of one large market vs 30+in europe) allow for setting the prices lower. This is even more obvious with licensed sets, where getting on license for whole usa is much cheaper vs geeting multiple licenses for small (we must admit that) european countries.

This is not such problem for "rich" countries like Germany, UK or France, but it could look very unfair in countries with low income. The problem is thatTLG can not adjust this: countries are close and major reselling would occur.

[Mr. Cube]

Hahah, I would like to live in Europe and have US prices of LEGO and gas ))) Years ago, I was playing and collecting Magic: The Gathering trading card game, and there were the same differences in US and Europe (especially Czech) prices. But as Deathleech said, some things are much more expensive in US.