LOTR & The Hobbit 2013 Set Discussion

[Str0ngbad]

Lego has really stupid price policy. For example 9526 costs 60 GBP in UK and over 80 GPB in Denmark and Poland. Not to mention US

Consider that Othanc costs 200 usd in US and 270 in UK and much more in Denmark

It isn't 'stupid' at all. There is a whole lot more to macro-economics than the exchange rate between one currency and another. Still, I'm glad it isn't more than $200 here. I'm going to have a hard enough time justifying that amount.

[Basteq]

It isn't 'stupid' at all. There is a whole lot more to macro-economics than the exchange rate between one currency and another. Still, I'm glad it isn't more than $200 here. I'm going to have a hard enough time justifying that amount.

Easy for you to say living in US.

I don't know what economics they consider while minimum wage in Poland is 200-300usd (and Lego is here most expensive like in Denmark) while in Denmark/Germany/US is around 1500usd

[Deathleech]

Canadian population = 34 million

U.K. population = 62 million

U.S. population = 311 million

The U.S. has almost ten times the Canadian population and five times that of the U.K. I have touched on this several times before in this very thread when people complain about price differences. It's pretty simple. The U.S. not only has WAY more people to buy product, they also, on average, spend more on materialistic goods. Add in the fact there is more toy competition and it's pretty easy to see why Lego has lower prices in the U.S. compared to other parts of the world. For anyone who has shopped at Costco it's similar to that.. they sell bulk product there and it's cheaper than if you buy smaller amounts at other stores. The sheer volume makes up for selling it for less (though there are other factors as well).

EDIT: Here is an explanation from Lego corporate:

Our selling costs in Europe and Asia are higher than in the US because of the size of US market and retailers (economies of scale). Furthermore, the US market is by far the most price competitive in the world. These factors combined mean that we have for years priced our products higher in eg Europe than the US. In recent years, the difference has been increased due to the weakening US dollar – but we have consciously decided not to let this (hopefully short term) weakening of the dollar hurt the US consumer. And in order to stay profitable as a company, we cannot decrease our European prices – especially seen in the light of increasing cost pressure on oil, labor etc. Finally, final pricing in the market place is obviously determined by retailers, which is something we cannot and will not influence.

Edited April 28, 2013 by Deathleech

[Drachmyre]

Easy for you to say living in US.

I don't know what economics they consider while minimum wage in Poland is 200-300usd (and Lego is here most expensive like in Denmark) while in Denmark/Germany/US is around 1500usd

It does suck for sure. However very few products are priced based on the wage of the country. I does however have to do with currency exchange, transportation costs, duties charged by the receiving country, etc PLUS the markup the end seller charges. If you shop at TRU in the US they charge 20-30 % extra. And then most places have sales tax on top of it.

On these larger sets... Can money be saved by having someone in the US buy it and ship it too you? I'm honestly curious because I don't know what you end up paying customs/VAT etc.

[Basteq]

It does suck for sure. However very few products are priced based on the wage of the country. I does however have to do with currency exchange, transportation costs, duties charged by the receiving country, etc PLUS the markup the end seller charges. If you shop at TRU in the US they charge 20-30 % extra. And then most places have sales tax on top of it.

On these larger sets... Can money be saved by having someone in the US buy it and ship it too you? I'm honestly curious because I don't know what you end up paying customs/VAT etc.

I have grandma and whole uncle's family there, but it doesn't make sense to send lego's from there. Even parcels sent by sea mail costs over 40 usd and it's not to DK but to Poland. Moreover they started to charge by volume not only by weigh what makes sending unopened lego boxes totaly worthless effort.

[The_Chosen_1]

Anyway......about Lego Lord of the Rings:

I had my hopes that we'd see a retailer exclusive set in this summer's wave, but with 10237 being released pretty much simultaneously I'm beginning to doubt that will happen. But who knows? Maybe we'll see something like the rumored Treebeard set.

[Deathleech]

Does Lego usually do that? I thought the S@H set kind of was the equivalent of a retailer exclusive?

[Str0ngbad]

Is there any time that we expect polybags to be announced/released or is it different each year? I wasn't a part of these forums last year and I pretty well missed the boat on the Mirkwood poly.

[deskp]

I imagine they will want people to stock up on money btween the lotr and hobbit waves, therefor keeping it free from middle earth set releases.

Ok so theres no Disney live action film next summer (similar to potc, pop, john carter or lone ranger). and there doesent seem to be any other big budget movie lego will want to lisence, hopefully this will help in LEGO wanting to keep LOTR running.

[just2good]

Ok so theres no Disney live action film next summer (similar to potc, pop, john carter or lone ranger). and there doesent seem to be any other big budget movie lego will want to lisence, hopefully this will help in LEGO wanting to keep LOTR running.

Actually, like this year, we have two Super Hero films next year (April and August) and we have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (June) which I think LEGO will pounce on, along with The Hobbit: TABA in December and (maybe) Spongebob Squarepants The Movie 2 sets at around the same time, so I'm not sure LEGO will have licensed room to do more LOTR sets.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed, though.

[Faefrost]

Does Lego usually do that? I thought the S@H set kind of was the equivalent of a retailer exclusive?

Retailer exclusives are a little different than the direct Lego S@H/Lego store exclusives. The retailer exclusives tend to be smaller or more mid priced sets. They aren't necessarily per theme. Rather the retailers tend to prefer an exclusive in the more popular fast selling themes. Most often Star Wars, Ninjago or City that tend to sell really well. TRU tends to be more prone to get exclusives and they tend to also ask for or permit larger and more expensive ones. (ie Palpatines Arrest). Target and Walmart tend to get sets in the $30-50 USD range. There are exceptions to this (Target got the MF Zombies set, and did astonishingly well with it.)

I would be surprised to see any of the retailers wanting a LotR exclusive at this point, given that they aren't directly backed by a current movie. I would bet that any such sets will be Hobbit only, like the "Drunken Elf Fest" set.

[Nagyzee]

Is there any time that we expect polybags to be announced/released or is it different each year? I wasn't a part of these forums last year and I pretty well missed the boat on the Mirkwood poly.

Both the Mirkwood Elf and the Gandalf at Dol Guldur polybags tie in to the 2nd movie (after The Hobbit has been recut into a trilogy) so there's a fair chance they'll be available again this autumn.

[Faefrost]

I imagine they will want people to stock up on money btween the lotr and hobbit waves, therefor keeping it free from middle earth set releases.

Ok so theres no Disney live action film next summer (similar to potc, pop, john carter or lone ranger). and there doesent seem to be any other big budget movie lego will want to lisence, hopefully this will help in LEGO wanting to keep LOTR running.

I think the summer releases and Orthanc are all we will see for LotR this year. Everything else will be Hobbit related. We may luck out with the third Hobbit movie being pushed back, I am betting we will see a third straight up LotR wave next summer.

[Nagyzee]

EDIT: Here is an explanation from Lego corporate:

(...) In recent years, the difference has been increased due to the weakening US dollar – but we have consciously decided not to let this (hopefully short term) weakening of the dollar hurt the US consumer. And in order to stay profitable as a company, we cannot decrease our European prices (...)

This segment is quite telling. Thank you LEGO for allowing us to subsidize the hopefully temporarily even lower US prices.:p

Economies of scale, more concentrated retail partners, lower taxes, etc. all point in the direction that the US prices should be lower than European ones. The problem is not really with that in my opinion but with the huge variance in mark-up which is quite hard to explain. Even inside the same theme there are sets that are only 30-40% more expensive in Europe than in the US and ones that are 100-120% more expensive (Lone Ranger stagecoach, I'm looking at you ). That can't be explained with cost-side reasons.

[DragonKnights]

I'm very excited about the upcoming Orthanc, LOTR summer sets, and Hobbit sets in the fall. Any speculation on what we will see out the second wave of the Hobbit? I'm guessing Smaug either in a pile of gold, or more likely with a town scene that I hope will pair nicely with MMV and the Blacksmith Shop. Probably a big Dol Guldur set along the lines of Weathertop in style. Hopefully Beorn's house with a bear. Perhaps a re-release of the Mirkwood Spiders and the Barrel Escape.

Any thoughts on the coming sets in the fall? It's been awhile since I've read the book and i'm not sure what will be covered. I'd also like to see some new polybags for LOTR this summer and for Hobbit this fall. I can't wait to pick up the LOTR sets...time to get more shelves for the apartment!

[deskp]

Actually, like this year, we have two Super Hero films next year (April and August) and we have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (June) which I think LEGO will pounce on, along with The Hobbit: TABA in December and (maybe) Spongebob Squarepants The Movie 2 sets at around the same time, so I'm not sure LEGO will have licensed room to do more LOTR sets.

TMNT being a Michale bay movie I dont think Lego will do it. If they do Lego already has the cartoon lisence, if any other wave of sets had to go to make room for tmnt movie it should be the tmnt cartoon sets.

Do people even care about spongebob anymore? The wildcard would be the potential Simpsons lisence.

[Deathleech]

Retailer exclusives are a little different than the direct Lego S@H/Lego store exclusives.

Oh, I know they have different aspects like their price points. I was just saying I don't think Lego usually does a retailer exclusive AND a S@H exclusive in the same wave, or so close to one another?

Economies of scale, more concentrated retail partners, lower taxes, etc. all point in the direction that the US prices should be lower than European ones. The problem is not really with that in my opinion but with the huge variance in mark-up which is quite hard to explain. Even inside the same theme there are sets that are only 30-40% more expensive in Europe than in the US and ones that are 100-120% more expensive (Lone Ranger stagecoach, I'm looking at you ). That can't be explained with cost-side reasons.

Ya, I dunno why they would do that. On larger sets it makes sense they would have more mark up ($5 more on a $13 dollar set vs 5 dollars more on a 100 dollar set is a big difference, that's only a 5% increase on the $100 but almost a 50% increase on the $13). I dunno why a mid price set like the Stage Coach would be way more expensive than any of the other Lone Ranger sets though.

[8BrickMario]

Do remember christopher lee is 90 years old. He might need a bit of help getting up and lego have clearly picked up on that lol.

Hi! I'm a bit late on this thread, but I've gotta say, ^That^ is one of the funniest non-single-pane-funny thing I've read on Eurobricks.

My thoughts on the summer sets (excluding Orthanc, you can see my thoughts on that in the press release discussion):

Council of Elrond- I think this is a minifig set, and as I do not own a Gimli, a good place to get him. Elrond and Arwen are terrific, and I suspect Elrond to have rubber hair, but I hope this is not true for Arwen. The set captures Rivendell nicely, and the gold pieces and white Gothic arches...amazing. I will certainly get this set. I wonder what play features it has?

Battle at the Black Gate-I like this set purely for looks and minifigs. It looks great and dark. While I know Orthanc and the gate have nothing to do with each other, I think they would look good together. I may buy two, I am currently undecided. The Mouth of Sauron and Gandalf the White are really cool, and I'd like to see the Mouth's head under the helmet. On sight, though, (which is my only problem with this set) it would appear to be 40-50 dollars. Wish it were cheaper, but it is still nice.

Pirate Ship Ambush-I don't know about this one. I need to see more pictures of the ship's play features, because right now it does not catch my eye. I really want the Army of the Dead minifigures. Exclusive sand green capes, helmets, and a crown! Also, I believe it is the first use of "pale spring green" on a minifig outside of the Friends theme, and of the the color itself outside of Friends.

The Wizard Battle- A good place to get Saruman for those who cannot afford/wait for Orthanc. Saruman has no robes in this set, however. I think it's a cool actor reference that the new Dooku and Saruman share the same head, as they're both Christopher Lee, and both ^^^need help out of their chair! The spinning palantir and Saruman launcher aren't great, but it's a cheap set. What do you expect? I really want that Eye of Sauron piece in the palantir. Is this the first time trans-yellow crystal balls have been seen? I will certainly get this set, if only for the trans-yellow globes and the Eye of Sauron.

Those are my thoughts. Feel free to reply.

Edited April 29, 2013 by 8BrickMario

[Faefrost]

This segment is quite telling. Thank you LEGO for allowing us to subsidize the hopefully temporarily even lower US prices.:p

Economies of scale, more concentrated retail partners, lower taxes, etc. all point in the direction that the US prices should be lower than European ones. The problem is not really with that in my opinion but with the huge variance in mark-up which is quite hard to explain. Even inside the same theme there are sets that are only 30-40% more expensive in Europe than in the US and ones that are 100-120% more expensive (Lone Ranger stagecoach, I'm looking at you ). That can't be explained with cost-side reasons.

Keep in mind we don't know how much of the markup is Lego and how much is at retailer insistence? There is one other cost differential between US and Europe that we rarely think on. The actual cost of retail shelf space. The real estate costs etc per meter. Outside of a few large cities the shelf costs in the US are almost negligible compared to Europe. There is a reason that Big Box stores started out in the US. Land is comparatively dirt cheap. Combine that with the simple fact that transportation and energy costs in the US are less than half those in Europe and you account for a big chunk of the price differences.

In looking at those seemingly random markups between the sets, it would be interesting to look at the packaging and box sizes. Just to see if a patern emerges there.

[The_Chosen_1]

Oh, I know they have different aspects like their price points. I was just saying I don't think Lego usually does a retailer exclusive AND a S@H exclusive in the same wave, or so close to one another?

I don't think there's a set-in-stone policy that Lego has about that, but my thoughts are along the same line as yours. I don't think we'll get a retail exclusive due to a large S@H exclusive (Orthanc) being released around the same time as the summer wave. I could be wrong, since I can't immediately recall any examples (in the Star Wars theme, for example) of a large 10*** numbered set being released at the same time as a normal wave of sets.

[Str0ngbad]

Both the Mirkwood Elf and the Gandalf at Dol Guldur polybags tie in to the 2nd movie (after The Hobbit has been recut into a trilogy) so there's a fair chance they'll be available again this autumn.

Maybe, I rreally don't expect re-releases of the sets though the polybags don't seem quite as unlikely. I think we all assume that both scenes represented in the polybags were going to be in the first movie. While I agree that the Mirkwood scene will be in the next movie, I think that the scene that the Gandalf poly was based on was actually replaced with Radagast in the first movie. I am not sure Radagast would have been introduced at all if it had remained a two movie endeavor. As much as I want more Mirkwood Elves, they'll undoubtedly be in sets this December and I would much rather see new stuff from LEGO. I doubt they'll disappoint but I don't know when I should expect to see or hear about them. There is so much to look forward to this year!

[The Legonater]

Maybe, I rreally don't expect re-releases of the sets though the polybags don't seem quite as unlikely. I think we all assume that both scenes represented in the polybags were going to be in the first movie. While I agree that the Mirkwood scene will be in the next movie, I think that the scene that the Gandalf poly was based on was actually replaced with Radagast in the first movie. I am not sure Radagast would have been introduced at all if it had remained a two movie endeavor. As much as I want more Mirkwood Elves, they'll undoubtedly be in sets this December and I would much rather see new stuff from LEGO. I doubt they'll disappoint but I don't know when I should expect to see or hear about them. There is so much to look forward to this year!

Actually, the first Hobbit trailer - before the movie was made a trilogy - showed several scenes of Gandalf in Dol Guldor.

[Faefrost]

I don't think there's a set-in-stone policy that Lego has about that, but my thoughts are along the same line as yours. I don't think we'll get a retail exclusive due to a large S@H exclusive (Orthanc) being released around the same time as the summer wave. I could be wrong, since I can't immediately recall any examples (in the Star Wars theme, for example) of a large 10*** numbered set being released at the same time as a normal wave of sets.

How close together do you view "at the same time"? The 10240 Red 5 X Wing is releasing May 8th. The new Star Wars wave will start showing up in stores mid May to early June. It includes 2 retailer exclusive sets that we know of (well one we know for sure, the other one still a bit of a mystery) The 75024 Starhopper and the 75025 Jedi Defender. Last year how close were the release of Palpatines Arrest and Pre Vizla to the R2D2 UCS set?

I suspect that the 10xxx sets have their own release schedules and windows, that are entirely independent of the regular retail waves and their attached retailer exclusives. They may match up, they may not match up. They really don't have a lot to do with one another schedule wise beyond the factory production schedules.

Edited April 29, 2013 by Faefrost

[Artanis I]

I don't think we should ever compare other themes to SW for trends. There is just so much to it every year: 2 waves of small, medium & large construction sets (each with 2 or 3 limited release sets), 2 [insert correct label here] huge sets, multiple promotional & purchasable polybags (minifigs & minis) plus other one-offs now & then. There are also the magnets/keyrings/clocks/watches/books... This stuff is being released right throughout the year. (Of course some releases are going to overlap.)

Irrespective, I don't think that there will be any other LOTR construction sets this year (besides the 5 that we know), I think GRogall would've dug it up with the other hi-res pics. I could be wrong, but remember we knew about Orc Forge & Barrel Escape well before their releases.

[Alcarin]

Keep in mind we don't know how much of the markup is Lego and how much is at retailer insistence?

Emmm on their OWN shop at home site Stagecoack is 49.99 EUROS vs 29.99 $$$$$

I guess there is no mdidle retailer there only THEMSELVES..

this is just outrageous... and now I am starting to get my friend buy me 4-5 sets I want in USA and ship them as a gift and I save around 15-25% (depending)