Price difference between Europe and the US

[LeGod]

 

 

http://www.brickpicker.com/bpms/set.cfm?set=76013-1

 

When I looked at the Lego 76013 'The Joker Steam Roller set', I was astounded by the retail price difference between Europe and the US.

If I convert the Dutch Price of 64,99 euro's to dollars, (64,99 : 0,725) the outcome = 89,64 dollars!

It isn't far off to say that the price in The Netherlands is almost double of the US price.

I cannot think of a good explanation for this price difference.

I think it's unfair of LEGO to the European Customers.

 

Has anyone got an explanation for this?

[Ciglione]

This is nothing new. It has something to do with the high taxes we have in Europe. There is also a difference between Germany and the Netherlands. Maybe it also has something to do with the US being a bigger market with bigger retailers who buy more quantities. Germany is also bigger than the Netherlands. Besides that there are many more reasons I think. But I won't go in to deep.

[Dennan]

It's almost worth it to import from the USA.  But this difference is not just Lego.

 

Beside the standard MSRP price differences the sales prices are even worse.. I never see any LEGO sales with 50% off at Dutch retailers.

[inversion]

I also think that in Europe LEGO has a bigger monopolistic power than in the US. It was the Star Wars licence which allowed LEGO to really set foot there, but it has more big competitors. In Europe it is more dominant, which probably allows it to keep up this price.

[LeGod]

This is nothing new. It has something to do with the high taxes we have in Europe. There is also a difference between Germany and the Netherlands. Maybe it also has something to do with the US being a bigger market with bigger retailers who buy more quantities. Germany is also bigger than the Netherlands. Besides that there are many more reasons I think. But I won't go in to deep.

 

Spain has got the same price as The Netherlands.

France only 2 euro's cheaper.

[LeGod]

It's almost worth it to import from the USA.  But this difference is not just Lego.

 

Beside the standard MSRP price differences the sales prices are even worse.. I never see any LEGO sales with 50% off at Dutch retailers.

 

I had the same thoughts about importing.

I also never see a discount of 50%

It's rare to see a discount of 25%

Why is that?

[LeGod]

I also think that in Europe LEGO has a bigger monopolistic power than in the US. It was the Star Wars licence which allowed LEGO to really set foot there, but it has more big competitors. In Europe it is more dominant, which probably allows it to keep up this price.

 

I Agree, but when the price difference is as big as it is, the option of importing from the US will become a realistic possibility.

I wonder if some investors already took that route?

[biniou]

Taxes, etc. can explain 20% difference (in France the TVA for "taxe sur la valeur ajout

[LeGod]

Taxes, etc. can explain 20% difference (in France the TVA for "taxe sur la valeur ajout

[abri123]

This may not be correct, but don't the US prices shown exclude tax as it varies per state, while in Europe the prices displayed are including the tax?

[biniou]

I don't know how lego bricks are considered in the US. Like a cool and affordable construction game ?

In France, it's not.

Because of the high prices and the brand image, it's considered as a luxury item (I'm kinding... sort of...)

 

Lot of toys are considered as junk, not lego. Maybe because of the high prices. If it would be cheaper, maybe people would denigrate those.

 

When I go on attic sales, legos are always very expensive.

 

(me) "wow, it's expensive..."

(seller) "hey mister ! it's some real legos ! not kre-o or mega bloks !"

 

 

 

This may not be correct, but don't the US prices shown exclude tax as it varies per state, while in Europe the prices displayed are including the tax?

That's what I'm saying in my previous post.

[LeGod]

This may not be correct, but don't the US prices shown exclude tax as it varies per state, while in Europe the prices displayed are including the tax?

 

No.

If you look at lego.com (select US) then you will see that the price is $49.99

[abri123]

No.

If you look at lego.com (select US) then you will see that the price is $49.99

 

Yes, but if you add to cart and then select a US zipcode it adds on tax to the order making it more than $49.99.

 

As tax varies per state in US the prices displayed exclude tax, your order total increases once you enter your address as depending where you live it will change your total cost.

Try it and see...

[Ciglione]

First, it is a tax issue. The tax in the US is about 5%? In Europe average tax is 20%. Second, In Europe we do not have big retailers like Walmart, K-Mart, Target, etc. who compete with eachother. The US has 300 million inhabitants so is a much bigger market. So when Walmart buys from Lego they will buy much more and thus get a much bigger discount. They also sell many other things so they can afford to do nice sales on some items easily to attract people to their stores. In Europe we only have amazon. And amazon does not have any competition to my knowledge. If amazon would have physical stores we would see also bigger sales here in Europe. Regarding the secondary market, Biniou is very right. People in Europe I think are very well educated on the value and prices of lego. Many years ago when you would go to a flee market you could buy nice lego for cheap. Cause people did not know. Internet changed all this. So I believe with internet you can reach more people to buy from and sell to. But the profit margins became more narrow. I remember back in the day (before internet) my dad bought many nice things for cheap. Cause people did not know the value and they needed money. Now they look online and see the value of the items they have. So no more cheap buys or high sales.

[biniou]

First, it is a tax issue. The tax in the US is about 5%? In Europe average tax is 20%. Second, In Europe we do not have big retailers like Walmart, K-Mart, Target, etc. who compete with eachother. The US has 300 million inhabitants so is a much bigger market. So when Walmart buys from Lego they will buy much more and thus get a much bigger discount. They also sell many other things so they can afford to do nice sales on some items easily to attract people to their stores. In Europe we only have amazon. And amazon does not have any competition to my knowledge. If amazon would have physical stores we would see also bigger sales here in Europe. Regarding the secondary market, Biniou is very right. People in Europe I think are very well educated on the value and prices of lego. Many years ago when you would go to a flee market you could buy nice lego for cheap. Cause people did not know. Internet changed all this. So I believe with internet you can reach more people to buy from and sell to. But the profit margins became more narrow. I remember back in the day (before internet) my dad bought many nice things for cheap. Cause people did not know the value and they needed money. Now they look online and see the value of the items they have. So no more cheap buys or high sales.

Don't compare legos retailers.

 

Compare prices between lego stores.

Lego US doesn't compete with Lego EU.

That's a good way to compare prices.

[abri123]

Regarding the secondary market, Biniou is very right. People in Europe I think are very well educated on the value and prices of lego. Many years ago when you would go to a flee market you could buy nice lego for cheap. Cause people did not know. Internet changed all this. So I believe with internet you can reach more people to buy from and sell to. But the profit margins became more narrow. I remember back in the day (before internet) my dad bought many nice things for cheap. Cause people did not know the value and they needed money. Now they look online and see the value of the items they have. So no more cheap buys or high sales.

 

Generally correct, though there are the occassional bargains out there - especially on 2nd hand.

 

I just bought 2 tubs from someone (not from ebay) for

[LeGod]

Yes, but if you add to cart and then select a US zipcode it adds on tax to the order making it more than $49.99.

 

As tax varies per state in US the prices displayed exclude tax, your order total increases once you enter your address as depending where you live it will change your total cost.

Try it and see...

 

I would like to, but I think that Lego has done something with my IP adress.

Not to sound like a thin foil hat, but I could only search the price using a proxy server.

And even then, I could see a distorted page.

It's been since 5 days like this.

Maybe it's problem on the Lego site.

But I must admit that I went on the Lego site a least 10 times a day to see prices or changes in the product status.

[LeGod]

Generally correct, though there are the occassional bargains out there - especially on 2nd hand.

 

I just bought 2 tubs from someone (not from ebay) for

[waddamon]

Just because you are in the US does not mean you pay tax. Up until a few weeks ago i never paid tax on purchases from lego. Also we are still the reserve currency of the world. This creates tremendous buying buyer and price influence. You can thank our "wonderful" government and false central bank for printing our currency into oblivion

[LeGod]

Just because you are in the US does not mean you pay tax. Up until a few weeks ago i never paid tax on purchases from lego. Also we are still the reserve currency of the world. This creates tremendous buying buyer and price influence. You can thank our "wonderful" government and false central bank for printing our currency into oblivion

 

Thank the FED!

[Ciglione]

First, I know Europe has 500+ million inhabitants. But Europe is not yet as unified as the US. We do not have many big retailers crossing borders yet. Maybe in the future. Yes, you can still find nice deals on flee markets. But not as many as some years ago. People who sell for those cheap prices are maybe just to lazy to check their smart phones. Luckily such people still exist. About the dollar, yes, that is more than true. I did not touch that issue in my first reply cause that will make it maybe a more political discussion.

[waddamon]

Due to our reserve status as we print money other nations have to buy dollars to maintain their capital accounts. It is a bad cycle that will one day cause a currency crisis. We will then be in worse shape price wise and will either not have dollars or they will be greatly devalued, i would say 70% or so maybe far worse. The Euro is a group of many nations that screwed themselves going to the euro because now you all are getting stupid high debt bubbles as.well on diminishing revenues, gdp, and ever increasing unemployment. Strap in because it is going to be a bumbp ride, someday. I hope i will have transitioned the majority of my lego holdings into hard assets by then.

[LeGod]

Due to our reserve status as we print money other nations have to buy dollars to maintain their capital accounts. It is a bad cycle that will one day cause a currency crisis. We will then be in worse shape price wise and will either not have dollars or they will be greatly devalued, i would say 70% or so maybe far worse. The Euro is a group of many nations that screwed themselves going to the euro because now you all are getting stupid high debt bubbles as.well on diminishing revenues, gdp, and ever increasing unemployment. Strap in because it is going to be a bumbp ride, someday. I hope i will have transitioned the majority of my lego holdings into hard assets by then.

 

Maybe it becomes offtopic, but what is the mood in the US massmedia considering the Putin / Crimea?

Are they beating the war drums?

[waddamon]

Being that they are a pomo for the status quo, yes they were. Putin seems to have slapped oama around though and thus not so much anymore. A few idiot senators continue down that road. All the sanctions do is, absolutly nothing. Frankly it is none of our business and the people seem to get that. Politicians have to do something or else we would all see that they don't do much, thus a bunch of stupid sanctions. Putin is out of control but it is his neighbors who need to talk to him about his barking dog, so to speak.

[chinothegeeko]

Well said waddamon.  Just bought some more 'hard assets' today.