113 replies to this topic

[Bonaparte]

Erdbeereis, on Sep 10 2009, 11:13 AM, said:

I really would like to know what TLG's reasoning behind this is... It just doesn't make any sense to do this 2 years in a row.
The Castle one was obviously well-received, so why would they not want to fix their mistake from last year? Any chance of finding out O' Great Ambassador?  

The best you can do (US members) is to start flooding the LEGO customer service with complaints about the non-availability of the Pirates advent calender in the US.

[Rick]

As I'm in Europe this is not directly relevant, but I sure am curious to find out what's behind the decision to not sell it in North-America. Was there a reason given last year?

[Bonaparte]

Rick, on Sep 10 2009, 03:27 PM, said:

As I'm in Europe this is not directly relevant, but I sure am curious to find out what's behind the decision to not sell it in North-America. Was there a reason given last year?

It seems the US D2C (Direct to Consumer) team  has learned their lesson from last years castle calender (which was also not available in the US), but they were just to late for the pirate calender of this year (they tried to get in on the pirate one for this year but the development frame had already been set and they therefore lost their opportunity).  They are on time for forecasts this time around so in 2010 this shouldn't be a problem. Development time is super long and with limited release products if you don't get in on the ground floor then you're out of luck.  Seems to be that they took good learnings from the castle calendar, but were already too late for the pirate one.  In 2010, they'll be able to apply their learnings.  The problem here isn't lack of desire to have it available in the US, its just timing.

[supertoad64]

i'm so disappointed this advent calendar won't be available in the US. will we be able to order it by phone like we could last year with the castle advent calendar? i was hoping to get at least one to acquire more of the rare mermaid minifig. i was also planning on getting this in lieu of buying the tic-tac-toe and chess sets since they contain inferior figs and this does not. that sucks if we had no option but pricey bricklink or ebay.

[Dr. Steve]

THAT SUCKS!!! My Wife was going to get that for me. Oh Well.

We need to set something up where members buy stuff that only comes out in certain countries and trade with members in other countries.

Anyone in Europe willing to do this with a calendar or 2?

[Bonaparte]

supertoad64, on Sep 10 2009, 09:52 PM, said:

will we be able to order it by phone like we could last year with the castle advent calendar?

At this moment the answer is no. If that changes I'll let you know.

PS: Don't forget to capitalize you sentences, we're not a chat room. Thanks!

[Commodore Hornbricker]

SUCKS!!!! Really seems to say it all.  Thanks for the information Bonaparte...you saved me an angry letter since they already seem to have corrected the error even if it isn't in time for this year.  It would be great though if there was a special number we called in the US for those of us who are especially dedicated to the pirate theme...Oh well

[Tom Bricks]

*** Bonaparte: Moved from the petition thread ***

What are the thoughts on submitting a review on Lego.com asking for a wider availability? I think this may be a more direct or at least another way to reach TLC.

**My signature has already been signed sorry for multiple posts in this thread**

[Bobskink]

*** Bonaparte: Moved from the petition thread ***

Sorry, but I won't sign this. I live in Europe and we mis out on lots of Lego exclusives and deals. I understand this sucks for the American collectors, but you should remember that you have lots more of privilages than the European collectors, so just be happy with that.
However, in order to avoid getting trached by everybody now    if somebody wants help getting a callendar and is serious about this, drop me a PM

mikey, on Sep 11 2009, 10:30 AM, said:

Bobskink -so you don't think it should be available to the US, but you are willing to help any of the US members get one?  

No, I don't think it shouldn't, but I just think that you should be happy with the other exclusives you have that Europeans don't have. If someone really wants this callendar, I'm sure there are plenty of possibilities to get one.
For example, I wasn't able to get the daily mirror sets, which you probably got. I wanted lost of them to expand my army, since they looked cheap. Now I don't have any, but if I really wanted one I would have bought one on eBay, but since I plan to use them as army builders, there are better alternatives...

And to answer you final question, yes, I'm willing to help other people get one, as long as it doesn't cost me any money, which is obvious I presume.

mikey, on Sep 11 2009, 10:56 AM, said:

So you do think it should be available then?

I just don't really have an opinion I guess. And I hope for you guys this petition will help, but I really doubt it will. Lego will probably have some strange reason not to sell these in the USA, which as usual we don't understand. And as usual, they will probably not change their minds. It's not that I don't want you guys to have this set, absolutely not...

Alldarker, on Sep 11 2009, 10:52 AM, said:

@Bobstink

Even if I lived in the USA, (which I don't), and even if you wouldn't be making a profit on making these available, I wouldn't want to get an advent calendar from YOU, just because of your negative attitude. ...

... I was just trying to make a point. I was not trying to be negativeThis disscusion happend so mush in the opposite direction and I doubt if we started  a petition to get something available  in Europe we would get equal response. Frankly, I think some European collectors are happy that they get something exclusive for once and I can understand them from a certain point of vieuw, now it's there time to scalp and not get frustrated once.
Lego is a toy which finds it's origins in Europe, the last years it didn't seem that way. Why not let the Europeans have there exclusives once in a while.

(To avoid any misunderstanding, I'm not a fan of scalping myself and I will not get this callender for myself)

But I presume we are getting to mush of topic and this is an endless discussion. I wonder if someone has a list of sets which were only availablke in a certain part of the wordl, I wonder how long the list is.

Dr. Green Coat, on Sep 10 2009, 10:02 PM, said:

THAT SUCKS!!! My Wife was going to get that for me. Oh Well.

We need to set something up where members buy stuff that only comes out in certain countries and trade with members in other countries.

Anyone in Europe willing to do this with a calendar or 2?

As I told in the petetion topic, I want to help out fellow collectors, since I've been helped out to before in a similar case. I just as long as it doesn't cost me any money.
Just keep in mind that there will be extra shipping to the USA, but probably no taxes, since Ithey never ask to fill in a custom paper, however, I don't know what customs do with big packages in the USA.

Drop me a PM if someone interested.

Edited by Bobskink, 11 September 2009 - 11:14 AM.

[Fluyt]

Bobskink, on Sep 11 2009, 09:51 AM, said:

... I was just trying to make a point. I was not trying to be negativeThis disscusion happend so mush in the opposite direction and I doubt if we started  a petition to get something available  in Europe we would get equal response. Frankly, I think some European collectors are happy that they get something exclusive for once and I can understand them from a certain point of vieuw, now it's there time to scalp and not get frustrated once.
Lego is a toy which finds it's origins in Europe, the last years it didn't seem that way. Why not let the Europeans have there exclusives once in a while.

I agree, the people in the U.S. (or all of North America most of the time) have absolutely nothing to complain about (cheaper lego, they get sets earlier, more exclusives/specials and more sets than any other country). It is the best country to live in LEGO-wise, and yet they demand more, even when the rest of the world is "left behind".
And now that one set isn't available, all of a sudden a petition must be made, if we did that for every set that is not available in the rest of the world, the forum would be filled with petitions. For once the North America is on the other side (the side the rest of us is on most of the time), and all of a sudden it is an "outrage" that this one set isn't available.
By the way, this isn't even exclusive to Europe, Bobskink, it is also available in, at least, Australia as far as I know, probably a fair amount more.

Sure I want pirate fans in the North America to have the joy of the advent calendar, but look at it from the other side, because now, most of the people in N.A. are acting like they allways get the short straw, while in reality, you allways get the long straw.

[Etzel]

I really don't understand this jealousy that some members express in this topic.
If some fellow Lego fan don't get the chance to pick up a certain set, why would you get happy about it? Why can't we try to cooperate together against TLG and convince them that sets only released in specific countries are a very bad idea and make sure they are available everywhere?

Sure, Americans have a lot of benefits when it comes too LEGO compared to the rest of the world, but you can't blame the Americans for that, can you? TLG makes the decision, not they.

PS: If any American is interested in getting the advent calender I can help, but Lego is quite expensive here in Sweden. The UK and the €-countries are much cheaper so you might want to consider that as a better option.  

[blueandwhite]

Fluyt, on Sep 11 2009, 06:46 AM, said:

Sure I want pirate fans in the North America to have the joy of the advent calendar, but look at it from the other side, because now, most of the people in N.A. are acting like they allways get the short straw, while in reality, you allways get the long straw.

Honestly, I don't think that most North American fans feel that they always get the short end of the stick.  Personally I'm rather indifferent about this set which unlike the Castle Advent calender has no exclusive figs (when the Castle Advent calender was first released, the jester and the female peasant were exclusive to the calender).  I think it's unfortunate that all LEGO products aren't readily available to consumers, however I appreciate that this will likely never be the case.

Complaining about product availablity/pricing certainly isn't a phenomenon unique to North American fans.  We all feel shortchanged from time to time.  The thing is, when the shoe is on the other foot nobody else really seems to care.  The fact that you don't draw any distinction between markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico is evidence of that.  While the US is certainly privy to the lion's share when it comes to pricing and market availability, I doubt very much that the same could be said for Mexico.  Canada gets the same product that the US does (most of the time), but the pricing for LEGO is generally closer to what you would pay in Europe.  

I wish LEGO was a bit more egalitarian with its product availabilty and pricing, but the reality is that there are a number of markets which are treated far worse than either Europe or North America in both pricing and availability.  I just can't see being bothered by a petition (even if it is for a rather dull calender).

Edited by blueandwhite, 11 September 2009 - 01:42 PM.

[The Cobra]

I don't think I'm jealous, I think I'm realistic. I second every single word that Fluyt wrote and kindly suggest people to read this topic I started about one year ago when I stupidely believe that having the Advent calendars on the Italian catalog would have meant having the Advent calendars in Italian shops.

[Zenox]

Seems to have good selection of animals, and brickbeard with gold pieces.
Sound like a good deal for about 20 euros...