Technic Pricing General Discussion

[Andman]

11 minutes ago, Bartybum said:

but I used to think that us Aussies had it worse than other countries but I'm not so sure anymore.

The price tag in Norway for the CAT is also pretty bad. It is sold for 5200NOK (BTW the Liebherr is sold at 4800NOK), which is roughly 510EU, 590USD, 827AUD and 766CAD. On TLG website the CAT is sold for 450EU, 450USD, 750AUD and 550CAD.

[brickless_kiwi]

10 hours ago, Bartybum said:

I can't speak to you Kiwis, or to themes beyond Technic, but I used to think that us Aussies had it worse than other countries but I'm not so sure anymore. When you factor in other currencies' GST counterparts, we end up having similar prices. Only Canada really gets crazy good deals for large sets. We also tend to have these sets listed for quite some amount below RRP in our department stores, especially the larger ones. When sales hit, you can get large sets for some serious savings off the listed RRP at S@H.

At the moment discount wise the best you might see from a major chain store in nz is 20%. The warehouse and farmers now and again run buy one get one half price.

The ford raptor set is a prime example of crazy prices. Retails for 99usd which is 141nzd factor is shipping from youshop of $60nzd and I'm still $80 in my pocket better off than lego nz rrp. 

[Bartybum]

26 minutes ago, brickless_kiwi said:

The ford raptor set is a prime example of crazy prices. Retails for 99usd which is 141nzd factor is shipping from youshop of $60nzd and I'm still $80 in my pocket better off than lego nz rrp. 

The Raptor's a special case. Its US and CA prices are really low, which I assume is something to do with Ford's prominence there. It's weird that the same wasn't applied here in Australia.

Edited September 22, 2021 by Bartybum

[Bricktrain]

8 hours ago, brickless_kiwi said:

At the moment discount wise the best you might see from a major chain store in nz is 20%. The warehouse and farmers now and again run buy one get one half price.

The ford raptor set is a prime example of crazy prices. Retails for 99usd which is 141nzd factor is shipping from youshop of $60nzd and I'm still $80 in my pocket better off than lego nz rrp. 

Lego has been battling for years with retailers offering discounts over 15% here, finally they seem to have won the battle, mostly because the retailers havent been able to receive enough stock from Lego to be able to discount it, hence why the stocks dont last long at all when they do have a sale as they have low quantities

[Bartybum]

30 minutes ago, Bricktrain said:

Lego has been battling for years with retailers offering discounts over 15% here, finally they seem to have won the battle, mostly because the retailers havent been able to receive enough stock from Lego to be able to discount it, hence why the stocks dont last long at all when they do have a sale as they have low quantities

What battles would they be? I was under the impression that the way retail works is that TLC sells bulk sets wholesale to retailers, who then sell as they see fit. Hence the prices on S@H are only recommended retailer prices

Edited September 22, 2021 by Bartybum

[Bricktrain]

1 hour ago, Bartybum said:

What battles would they be? I was under the impression that the way retail works is that TLC sells bulk sets wholesale to retailers, who then sell as they see fit. Hence the prices on S@H are only recommended retailer prices

But if they wont sell at the price you want them to sell at then you dont have to sell to them. The prices on S@H are Legos retail prices, what they sell at.

[Celeri]

On 9/19/2021 at 8:24 PM, Gray Gear said:

LEGO will crank up prices even furter in Europe starting january 2022. Not only technic, but these technic sets have been confirmed:

• LEGO Technic 42110 Land Rover Defender 179,99€ NEU: 199,99€
• LEGO Technic 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 379,99€ NEU 399,99€
• LEGO Technic 42128 Schwerlast-Abschleppwagen 149,99€ NEU: 169,99€
• LEGO Technic 42114 Knickgelenkter Volvo-Dumper (6×6) 249,99€ NEU: 259,99€

You can check the whole list HERE.

For those who believe that TLG will be evening the prices across european countries, this seems untrue: in France for example, the Sian is not 400€ but 380€, and the Defender is not 200€ but 180€. Same goes for the Pirate Ship and the Medieval Castle, both at 110€ and not 120€. So in the end it seems more like a global price raise and not a rebalancing of prices. TLG is just trying to hide this raise behind the uneven prices excuse.

Leverage the end of 2021 as much as you can, european AFOLs!

Edited September 22, 2021 by Celeri

[LvdH]

7 minutes ago, Celeri said:

Leverage the end of 2021 as much as you can, european AFOLs!

To be completely honest, you can buy almost any set for 30% (or more) off RRP in Europe. This most likely won’t change. I’ve bought my second Sian for €250 MISB, the Bugatti has been €210 or something at one point. The only reason you would buy something directly from Lego is they are either the only ones selling it (such as the Lamborghini, for the first two months) or you want the VIP points. Or in the case of Power Functions a few years ago, they were the cheapest.

Edited September 22, 2021 by LvdH

[Celeri]

4 minutes ago, LvdH said:

To be completely honest, you can buy almost any set for 30% (or more) off RRP in Europe. This most likely won’t change. I’ve bought my second Sian for €250 MISB, the Bugatti has been €210 or something at one point. The only reason you would buy something directly from Lego is they are either the only ones selling it (such as the Lamborghini, for the first two months) or you want the VIP points. Or in the case of Power Functions a few years ago, they were the cheapest.

I agree, as I also have used this situation, however I would not be surprised if those low prices were linked to prices differences across countries. Are we sure that it was only within the official LEGO store and not between TLG and the resellers also?

[brickless_kiwi]

3 hours ago, Bricktrain said:

Lego has been battling for years with retailers offering discounts over 15% here, finally they seem to have won the battle, mostly because the retailers havent been able to receive enough stock from Lego to be able to discount it, hence why the stocks dont last long at all when they do have a sale as they have low quantities

You just got to be savy and smart.

The warehouse price match and price beat certainly at times can bring the discount up to 25% - 30% and yes nz stores certainly don't have the buying power of the likes of symthes or argos...

Also the warehouse are very guilty of having sales online and limited the sales stock. Hell I have seen them remove stock from shelves prior to a sale...

2 hours ago, Bartybum said:

What battles would they be? I was under the impression that the way retail works is that TLC sells bulk sets wholesale to retailers, who then sell as they see fit. Hence the prices on S@H are only recommended retailer prices

Wholesalers tend to have  two or three level discount programs. I can't speak for Lego but I certainly do have intimate knowledge of another brand that either limited the stock you could purchase. But also if you tended to over discount there products you would move down the discount plan so you wouldn't make the same profit turn over margins. 

It's not price fixing which is illegal but it certainly can stop the retailers from barstardising a product. 

[howitzer]

Here in Finland most retailers actually sell at RRP and discounts are few and far between. But then there are couple of retailers which have much lower prices almost across the board and generally a very good selection too. So I have little or no reason to buy from any other retailer beside those, which makes the situation a bit strange. Most of the time I buy from here: https://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/catalog/11160c/LEGO-Technic but sometimes this retailer also has good prices: https://www.tokmanni.fi/lelut-ja-lastentarvikkeet/lelut/lego?item_brand_name=2227

Verkkokauppa.com also quite often has sets with damaged boxes on discount, I bought for example the Volvo hauler with such a discount for 145€.