Australian LEGO Pricing

[TeufelHund]

I value and enjoy the universal health care we have here in OZ ,sure there are some problems but better than the states :)

Too true - try to intoduce universal healthcare there any you get branded as a "communist". Also (despite what the media would have you believe lately) we have far-less firearms here (although house prices are a lot cheaper).

In any case, you can always take advantage of the high Aussie dollar to buy your Lego on-line, off E-Bay or Bricklink - you just can't walk into a retail shop and buy Lego at ccompatible prices.

[adventuresinlego]

Hi there, I'm concerned about TLG's level of respect towards their Australian consumers. I've not been on this message board long so I'm unsure if this issue has been touched upon, but I feel that there is one particular issue which has rather upset me because I feel that it's yet another case of a huge business taking advantage of the little people.

LEGO in Australia is an average of 200% the price as it is in America. A set which retails for $50 in the USA, is sold in Australia for $100, now, that would be fair IF the Aussie dollar was $2 to $1 US, BUT it's not, for the past few years the Aussie dollar has been stronger than the US$ and only just recently has gone back to where it was before the GFC at about $1.06 Aussie to US$1. So you would think, that items bought from Australia online from USA or international companies would be of around equal price? WRONG. On the LEGO.com shop@home site, when you're in the "Australia" viewing option, the prices are much more expensive owing for Shipping and Handling (as is our retail sold LEGO) WHICH, is fair enough BUT, once you buy an item for that extra $30-$50+, you then have to pay ANOTHER $30+ for MORE shipping and handling!!!

Can someone, especially someone from the LEGO group, please tell me how you can do this? Are there not ethical standards? If you have already jacked up the price to cover shipping and handling then why are you charging us twice?

We have a fantastic economy in Australia, but that doesn't mean we take advantage of our children and exploit their favourite toys.

Anyway, it's really upset me because there's been a few sets that we can no longer get in Australia, and ebay is ridiculous for some prices, that I would love to get for my kid but I'm a single dad and I'm not going to spend over $150 on a set that my American friends can buy for $70-$100. It's just not fair.

So that's my question; Why is this so? How come you're charging us twice for shipping and handling, that's a lot of money.

Disclaimer; I love lego, I will still buy it for my boy, but I will buy second hand or as cheaply as possible and refuse to pay full price.

Edited May 28, 2012 by adventuresinlego

[Ash]

There are several threads on the difference in pricing in different regions, and while Lego is obviously expensive in Australia for me I always think of it in terms of this question. How much does a can of coke cost in Australia and how much does it cost in the US? Do you know, or care and if you did and a can of coke cost twice as much in Australia would it bother you? Substitute something else is you don't drink Coke! We're only aware of this with regards to Lego because we choose to be. Yet it's likely that half the stuff you buy costs more than it does in the US. I don't know why you expect "equal price" when it comes to Lego. There's really no reason why they should be an exception.

There a loads of different factors that lead to differing prices between countries and you simply can't convert currencies and compare like for like. It's just not the way things work and it will drive you insane if you do.

Edited May 28, 2012 by Ash

[adventuresinlego]

There are several threads on the difference in pricing in different regions, and while Lego is obviously expensive in Australia for me I always think of it in terms of this question. How much does a can of coke cost in Australia and how much does it cost in the US? Do you know, or care and if you did and a can of coke cost twice as much in Australia would it bother you? Substitute something else is you don't drink Coke! We're only aware of this with regards to Lego because we choose to be. Yet it's likely that half the stuff you buy costs more than it does in the US. I don't know why you expect "equal price" when it comes to Lego. There's really no reason why they should be an exception.

There a loads of different factors that lead to differing prices between countries and you simply can't convert currencies and compare like for like. It's just not the way things work and it will drive you insane if you do.

But that doesn't really explain why we're being charged twice for shipping and handling.

A lot of things cost more in Australia, believe you me, but being charged double like that is rather insulting tbh. As I say, I'll still buy it, but I only buy on sale, I just want to know why buying directly thru Lego is so much more expensive.

Everything else I've bought online I've paid either a dollar or two more or less than the displayed price; depending on the exchange rate at the time of transaction. Lego is the first time I've come across separate prices for the items, and considering we're not talking about $5 or $10 price hike, it's upwards of $30+, and when you're a single parent, these things matter.

Everyone's (retailers) have always told me that they do it because they know people will pay it, I like to believe in the human race a little more than that haha

[L@go]

No offense, but this has been discussed so many times now that it's getting a bit tedious. Granted, the prices in Australia are ridiculously high, but almost equal to the prices in Norway (and, for that matter, in Denmark - the origin country itself).

Have a look at this topic - and at the Norwegian S@H prices I've compared your Australian prices to in this post. Danish prices are only slightly lower than the Norwegian ones.

Again: This is just to let you know that Australians are not alone in this world in paying much more for Lego products than Americans. And I'm also a bit tired of people talking about "European" prices. It's not like the prices are the same in all European countries.

[Tazmaniac]

Does anyone know what the typical retail markup here in Australia is? (i.e. the %difference between wholesale and RRP)

Yes and it's not much retailers pay a lot for LEGO and from my experience ( I work in a toy store) the mark-up is about 30%, which compared to most products is very low and that's 30% on top of cost that includes GST so there is not a great deal of money in LEGO for retailers.

Eg: cost price for 6862 Lex power suit( RRP $39.99) for retailers is about $29 AU then you add 10% GST so it's $32 so the store makes about $7 ...not much really.

Remember that the minimum wage in Australia is about $15.51 per hour while in the USA it's only about $7.25 per hour....it's all relative.

[Xyver]

I recently had the priviledge of talking to a Lego public relations officer and this topic was brought up. As he explained it, the prices for Lego are set by the retailers, not by Lego itself. Lego does not have any retail shops in Australia, they are only wholesalers, so they don't set the price. The price on Shop at Home has to be the same as retail or people wouldn't buy retail and the whole system would fall apart.

So if you want to complain about the price disparity (and I don't blame you, but keep in mind our minimum wage is twice that of America so everything should be double to have the same 'cost') then complain to the retailers not Lego. But while people are paying these prices, they will stay.

So if you want prices to come down, you have to get everybody to stop buying Lego at the current prices. But then the retailers will just stop stocking it as it doesn't sell and we miss out on even more sets then we already do.

Or just do what all other AFOLs do and only buy at 20% off or more.

I do agree that the Shop @ Home shipping charges are shockingly high though, especially for exclusive items that we can't buy locally anyway, so there is no competition. But then, some of those do eventually turn up in one chain store. Take a look at the Town Hall, on initial release, it was $250, a very good price by most peoples reckoning, but it has since gone up to $299. My guess would be the retailer that has the rights to distribute this has said 'That's too cheap, its worth this' so Lego has increased their price. It sucks, but that's how business works

Everything costs more out here, but we also earn more, its just been more noticeable due to the high dollar and the increase in online sales over the last couple of years.

[Pennas2000]

I value and enjoy the universal health care we have here in OZ ,sure there are some problems but better than the states :)

I agree with you there. But their President is way better than our prime minister.

[Hewman]

Besides the unexplained jump in the Town hall price*, I think there are some positive signs with some Lego pricing in Aus. I think Jabba's Palace and Helms Deep are both a RRP of $200 which means they won't be too hard to find for about $150 at various sales. When you add our GST in, that's only a few percent above the US RRP. Originally these were supposed to be $230 each according to Mr Toys website.

*I'm guessing this may be more to do with a deal with a retailer that wants the RRP to be $300 so they can make some more profit when they put it on sale for 20% off.

[MAH4546]

All consumer goods are cheaper in the United States. This might be a legitimate complaint if LEGO was an anomaly. It's not. Check out how cheap cars are in the U.S., it would blow your mind.

[ChrisW]

I recently had the priviledge of talking to a Lego public relations officer and this topic was brought up. As he explained it, the prices for Lego are set by the retailers, not by Lego itself. Lego does not have any retail shops in Australia, they are only wholesalers, so they don't set the price. The price on Shop at Home has to be the same as retail or people wouldn't buy retail and the whole system would fall apart.

I have to disagree here. While retail prices are indeed set by retail stores, the recommended retail pricing (RRP) is not (as far as I am aware).

I worked for about 6 years at an independent toy retailer here in Australia, which also rekindled my love for the brick and took me out of a long dark period. But that's beside the point. I can tell you that LEGO gives retailers a set of RRP price lists, which I assume are set by the company themselves. This must be based on the cost pricing of the sets; and there is a very slim margin between cost price and RRP for LEGO (for independent retailers anyway). Of course, the majors such as Big W, Toys R Us etc bulk buy across all their stores and are able to be offered a cheaper cost price for LEGO, and this is why they are able to have 20% sales quite frequently. There is not a huge profit margin for LEGO, and I know the retailer I worked for set selling prices at the RRP suggested by LEGO.

So while retailers ultimately set the price at which you buy a set in a store, essentially it really is more of a case of LEGO setting pricing.

[kaykay]

All consumer goods are cheaper in the United States. This might be a legitimate complaint if LEGO was an anomaly. It's not. Check out how cheap cars are in the U.S., it would blow your mind.

Exactly - people complaining about the pricing may not have looked at the other 1000 things that are being sold with a massive markup. I.e. electronics/clothing. It's fair enough to complain if LEGO was the only thing sold at a higher price and if other factors were equal like minimum wage/cost of living.

Check out Asian countries where everything is cheaper compared to Australia but also note their lack of social security, pension, health benefits from the government, working standards and political freedom that that we take for granted.

There's always a price to pay for living in each country, I'm happy to keep living in OZ (became a citizen in 2011) and understand the pricing for the things we buy.

Edited May 29, 2012 by kaykay

[Xyver]

I have to disagree here. While retail prices are indeed set by retail stores, the recommended retail pricing (RRP) is not (as far as I am aware).

I worked for about 6 years at an independent toy retailer here in Australia, which also rekindled my love for the brick and took me out of a long dark period. But that's beside the point. I can tell you that LEGO gives retailers a set of RRP price lists, which I assume are set by the company themselves. This must be based on the cost pricing of the sets; and there is a very slim margin between cost price and RRP for LEGO (for independent retailers anyway). Of course, the majors such as Big W, Toys R Us etc bulk buy across all their stores and are able to be offered a cheaper cost price for LEGO, and this is why they are able to have 20% sales quite frequently. There is not a huge profit margin for LEGO, and I know the retailer I worked for set selling prices at the RRP suggested by LEGO.

So while retailers ultimately set the price at which you buy a set in a store, essentially it really is more of a case of LEGO setting pricing.

That might be true for independent retailers, but I wouldn't be surprised if its the big chains (BigW, Kmart, Target and Myer) that are the ones who set the RRP in conjuction with Lego. I don't know for sure, just repeating what I was told from someone who should be knowledgable in the area.

Since this has been going on for years, and across all product lines (the government is looking at computer software now) I don't see our whingeing having any affect on prices. I think its more a case of America having really cheap prices rather than us having expensive ones.

So unless everyone wants to take a paycut to cut overhead costs of shops (wages and rent being the major expenses of retailers), I don't see prices dropping any time soon.

[Hewman]

Exactly - people complaining about the pricing may not have looked at the other 1000 things that are being sold with a massive markup. I.e. electronics/clothing. It's fair enough to complain if LEGO was the only thing sold at a higher price and if other factors were equal like minimum wage/cost of living.

Check out Asian countries where everything is cheaper compared to Australia but also note their lack of social security, pension, health benefits from the government, working standards and political freedom that that we take for granted.

There's always a price to pay for living in each country, I'm happy to keep living in OZ (became a citizen in 2011) and understand the pricing for the things we buy.

While I agree with most of what you say, companies, not just TLG, need to realise we are now in a global market place and when it's cheaper for me as an individual to import something (such as Lego) far cheaper than I could buy in Australia, the price differential has skewed too far.

[I Scream Clone]

The other point in regards to US prices is the significantly larger market and need to break into a far more aggressive market place forcing LEGO to charge a far more competitive price to gain market share, not to mention a factory in Mexico.

I agree it sucks, but shop around and try your best to save dollars where you can with 20% off sales etc.

[doriansdad]

When looking at Aussie pricing you must consider the very high cost to market and distribute in Australia. Minimum wage in Australia is $15.51 per hour compared to $6.55 in the USA. Also the gas price in Australia per gallon is $6.55 vs $4.19 for the USA. The simple fact is EVERYTHING in Australia is very expensive compared to the USA, however wages are obviously much higher to compensate. In the end I would say the REAL cost is roughly even and completely fair.

[adventuresinlego]

Yeah, the RRP would be set by LEGO, and I've been told many times we pay more because of shipping costs, which makes me annoyed that when we buy directly through Lego, we end up paying for shipping costs twice.

Our pay is twice the amount as Americans, but not everyone has a healthy wage of course but I can see how it is fair enough that we pay more for things, but when we buy products directly from overseas retailers online, it's always, for me, been at the exchange rate of the originating country's price which has saved myself and many people lots of money for various things... I've never seen separate prices for different countries before and it just annoys me because this is a kids toy (granted, there are adult fans of which I am one, but it's still in the toy area) so to be paying twice for shipping ... Well, overall, I just think they would sell more product to Australians - even at some of the cheapest places sets sit there for months and months on end, not being touched by people until they get put on clearance and get snapped up by losers like me who go there at 8am just to get the good stuff first haha

Sorry to annoy people with this topic, and I guess you can replace any country with australia and we all have the same beef, which sucks.

But, as I say, still love Lego, I just hope one day we get a price lowering.

Oh, and for the americans- the way Toys R Us jack up your prices makes my blood boil haha

oh, and I won't mention Duplo prices which can often be $4 a piece, but TBH, that's what sparked my crusade to start collecting proper Lego sets for my son NOW as opposed to later when he's older-

I look forward to spending hours with him building awesome things and in order to do that we need unique and cool pieces which only come in sets obvi- So what I'm doing is, I'm buying things now, and putting it away (I lie, it sits in my room and I build things at night for my Cuusoo haha)

But I'm collecting all the cheap stuff (and as many Harry Potter as I'm obsessed) - anything I can get for an average of 13c a piece, as that is a decent price for aussie lego sales...

Doing it now, and collecting things over time means I can get the current sets I want (batman, X-men, LOTR, Ninjago) and if they're discontinued in 2 years time then I won't have to pay ebay prices which for rare sets can be expensive. Plus, buying a lot of sets all at once when he's 5 yo, will break the bank more than it already is haha.

I tell ya, this kid is only 2 and a half, he calls is Eggo- and when he's 5, he's going to be the luckiest brat on earth! So far in 6 months I've bought close to 20 sets, and over half the avail minifigs haha, managed to get all of season 3 recently so yay for ebay.

but that's just it- I'm a Lego fan, not a fan of random shops on ebay, therefore I would prefer my money be going directly to Lego so they can make more awesome sets.

[vmln8r]

We can debate economics until the end of time. However, if a set can be bought and shipped from an overseas retailer for less than the local price, I think we've got a problem.

[Minifig_Matt]

We can debate economics until the end of time. However, if a set can be bought and shipped from an overseas retailer for less than the local price, I think we've got a problem.

I agree that it's a bit odd.

the options for us consumers is to purchase LEGO from other overseas retailers and bypass Shop at Home and the local Aussie retailers altogether. Some sets when purchased on sale are reasonably comparable and I will continue buying local where possible. When major retailers start hurting due to lower LEGO sales they will either a)reduce prices b) not stock LEGO as it is not a profitable use of shelf space.

There is one other issue to consider, if we whinge when LEGO isn't priced at parity to US prices when the currencies are on par with each other, what will happen when the dollar eventually returns to it's long term strend of 60ish cents to the US dollar? Would LEGO justifiable be able to increase our prices when this occurs?

I do think that exclusives should be priced more competitively though as there is no local retail alternative and would not be detracting from distribution arrangements.

My major gripe isthe S&H charges for S@H purchases. They are exorbitant when compared to other online stores.

MM

[adventuresinlego]

We can debate economics until the end of time. However, if a set can be bought and shipped from an overseas retailer for less than the local price, I think we've got a problem.

I highlighted in bold the part I thoroughly agree with, even some of the bigger fans of LEGO I've come across are seeking out the cheapest prices possible, which is kind of sad when the fans aren't buying through the official source because of this issue.

I agree that it's a bit odd.

the options for us consumers is to purchase LEGO from other overseas retailers and bypass Shop at Home and the local Aussie retailers altogether. Some sets when purchased on sale are reasonably comparable and I will continue buying local where possible. When major retailers start hurting due to lower LEGO sales they will either a)reduce prices b) not stock LEGO as it is not a profitable use of shelf space.

There is one other issue to consider, if we whinge when LEGO isn't priced at parity to US prices when the currencies are on par with each other, what will happen when the dollar eventually returns to it's long term strend of 60ish cents to the US dollar? Would LEGO justifiable be able to increase our prices when this occurs?

I do think that exclusives should be priced more competitively though as there is no local retail alternative and would not be detracting from distribution arrangements.

My major gripe isthe S&H charges for S@H purchases. They are exorbitant when compared to other online stores.

MM

I also put in bold the parts I find important;

I wasn't really aware of the LEGO prices back in the 80s/90s when I was a kid so I can't compare, but if my folks who lived in a caravan for the first 10 years of marriage were able to afford a lot of sets in the 70s/80s then the price must have been low enough back then, skip to now, where our dollar is not only equal but sometimes stronger than the USA, and it's a totally different story.

Thats my gripe too, that they're charging us twice for shipping.

I bought the HP The Burrow set from shop@home, it was on sale at $70, marked down from $100, the USA RRP was $59.99, I am all good about paying $10 more than Americans at a time where our dollar was stronger than theirs, but when you consider that's $40 extra on the USA RRP- then add ANOTHER $30 for shipping, which is the price for items costing $0-$100, overall that's $70 to have it shipped if I was to pay the USA price, which is what I consider when buying "ok so the USA RRP is $50, and this is $65, that's $15 S&H, good price!". I have to reason with myself like a n00b in the shop and search on my phone comparing piece number to price haha Just find it ridiculous, that through the official source it's so...extreme is the only word I can think of.

[AndyC]

Thats my gripe too, that they're charging us twice for shipping.

They aren't though. There are massive differences between the US and Australia in terms of things like taxation, import duties, economies of scale and typical wages etc. Australia pays the price the market can sustain for luxury toys like Lego. It's just not a simple as "paying twice for shipping", no matter how much people want it to be.

Edited May 29, 2012 by AndyC

[L@go]

However, if a set can be bought and shipped from an overseas retailer for less than the local price, I think we've got a problem.

I certainly agree. If I may just draw the comparison to Norway vs. the UK here: If I want to buy 10224 Town Hall on S@H in Norway, the price is NOK 1,799 (exactly US$ 300). If I buy it in the Lego store in the Westfield shopping centre in London, the price is GB£ 149.99 (US$ 235.55). So, the difference is US$ 65.45. The cheapest return airline fare from here to London is US$ 154. Which means that I would be stupid not to travel to London at least once a year and pick up a few sets - especially when I can get these sets back into the country without paying taxes as long as a) I stay abroad more than 24 hours and b) the combined value of what I take home with me is less than US$ 1,000...

[Aanchir]

Another thing to consider concerning LEGO prices in Australia, including shipping & handling, is that TLG might not have the same shipping infrastructure in Australia that they have in America. For instance, they might have fewer distribution centers, or the highway network in Australia might simply prove less convenient (just looking at Australia and the United States on Google Maps at the same zoom level shows that Australia seems to have fewer major highways, while the United States has an absurd spiderweb of highways east of the Mississippi River and a substantial network further west). This means that even once the sets are in the country, it might be less efficient (and thus, more expensive) to ship them to the various parts of the country. Rather than charging substantially higher shipping costs for LEGO buyers in low-population or remote areas, the higher costs of shipping to these areas are spread across all LEGO customers in the country.

This isn't necessarily a case of favoritism on TLG's part, it could just be a matter of TLG having seen more growth in the United States than in Australia. If so, then as TLG's presence in Australia grows prices might begin to fall. But other factors like the many AndyC mentioned could very well continue to pose a problem unless radical shifts in all of those factors take place.

[adventuresinlego]

They aren't though. There are massive differences between the US and Australia in terms of things like taxation, import duties, economies of scale and typical wages etc. Australia pays the price the market can sustain for luxury toys like Lego. It's just not a simple as "paying twice for shipping", no matter how much people want it to be.

All those things sound to me like the 'Handling' of the Shipping and Handling :S

[lightningtiger]

Time for the tiger to step into this debate, for a quick lesson in Australian geography. The reason why we don't have a huge spider-web of highways.....most of towns and cities are more coastal or 200 to 250km's from the coast line. Of course there are exceptions where mining and farming are the corner stones of those regions....add tourism as well to the mix. You can not compare Australia to the USA, population, number of retail outlets, etc., is totally different.

I have been told prices for Oz are set by the major players in the game both Lego and giants - Kmart, Target, etc.,.

The independents using get the raw end of the deal, only yesterday I found out that Toyworld stores must pay Toyworld a margin for supplying them Lego. Then on top of that Kmart will sell a set for 99 bucks, why the independents sell it for 139 just so Kmart gets a foot in the door with customers to make them think everything in their store is cheaper than anyone else. This is a standard retail ploy used worldwide.

We in Oz have been complaining for years about the price of Lego, but thanks to the power of the Westfarmers and Woolworths together to run the country in a way....sadly it may never change. I guess wait for the sales, wait for it go on clearance, buy it online overseas

....they are only way to beat those beefed up prices.