Re-labeled Non-US Sets Being Sold in the US

[Vorkosigan]

So I saw this today and thought it was interesting. In a Walmart in the United States I saw LEGO sets that had white stickers applied to convert a global box to a US specific box, with the piece count and choking warning. See below how it looked. I could see through the sticker enough to tell there was no part count underneath. There were sets like this in City, Friends, Marvel, and Harry Potter themes. It was not a huge percentage of the aisle, but maybe 10% of sets. Has this happened before? I assume this is the result of COVID's impact on the Mexican factory, that sets manufactured in other factories for other markets are being modified for US distribution.  

[MAB]

It has been happening for a few months now. And yes, they are global sets being stickered to meet US requirements while the Mexican factory is having trouble supplying demand.

[TeriXeri]

US/Canada regulations are to show the piece count and warning labels on the box.

Normally it's printed on there, but this certainly is a way to allow the (V29) sets to be sold in North America, especially if it were already produced beforehand.

Basicly there are 2 versions of many sets a V29 worldwide version, and a V39 US/Canada market version.

Edited August 7, 2020 by TeriXeri

[Blondie-Wan]

I ordered a few Star Wars sets earlier this year during the annual May the 4th promo, and set 75214 (Anakin’s Jedi Starfighter) was backordered and arrived much later than the other sets I’d ordered. When it arrived, it turned out to have one of these non-US boxes with the white stickers applied to add the additional info required here. I guessed it had to do with the usual supply chain here being disrupted by the pandemic, though I didn’t know specific details such as the info about the Mexican factory.

It’s not the first time I’ve had this happen, though it certainly doesn’t happen often. A bit more than a decade ago I placed a Shop at Home order that included 7235 Police Motorcycle, and it arrived the same way, in what I assumed was a European-style box with less info printed on it, but with the additional info added via a couple white stickers on the box. I kind of wish I’d kept that box as a minor curiosity; maybe I’ll keep the Jedi Starfighter box.

[jodawill]

Why don’t they put the same info on the European boxes?

[MAB]

7 hours ago, jodawill said:

Why don’t they put the same info on the European boxes?

Because it is not needed, or at least not needed in the same location. For example, we have the choking warning but it does not need to be on the front of the box.

Here are the two unstickered versions. I prefer the cleaner artwork of the worldwide version.