adventuresinlego

It's an issue to me for a few reasons; 1. I would much prefer my money go directly to TLG so therefore if the prices at shop@home were cheaper then I would definitely be giving LEGO my money on a weekly basis. Instead of buying on ebay/bricklink 2. The Aussie prices are often 200% the price of US lego- which I understand is for various things, including shipping and handling, but then on the shop@home website they charge an extra $30+ for more shipping and handling! 3. Lego is a luxury item, yes, but it is also educational as well as therapeutic but also highly addictive. Some people will say you can't put a price on education, I say it should be accessible to all. 4. Licensed products make me feel ill- the prices are beyond crass. I aim to pay about 15c a pce for any set, if I get it for cheaper (Ninjago is about 12c) then awesome, I won. 5. I've boght lots of things online but not once have I ever seen prices be changed for different locations, it's always been charged at the exchange rate of the original price- Lego is the first and so far only online-shop that I've seen do this. 6. No matter how many AFOLs there are, Lego is still essentially and technically a kids toy, it is still in the kids section, in the Toys area, and on any given day whilst many adults will stop by and browse- may more kids do. So therefore by default these products are being placed out for children and I'm not comfortable with the idea of deliberately over-charging for a kids toy. 7. Many things in Australia ARE more expensive than our USA or even Asian friends, but we also have many discount outlets, of which Lego there is none- there's not even a Lego shop. I can't help but wonder if they built some Lego brand stores, would the prices be lowered. But I guess, why would they do that when they can charge us 35c per piece, right? I love Lego and will still buy it, but only through cheap places, second hand if I have to- but I would be more much happier feeling more comfortable to give Lego my money directly so they can make more awesome sets.

Eeek, I don't know what I said that makes you think i suggested anything else- I agreed with you that our cities are all coastal (or close enough too) and I didn't state anything as fact, I just questioned if we had more singular highways that connect the cities, I don't drive, I don't know these things about roads :) And ti's true, instead of having to zig zag across 50 cities across the country there's only a limited amount of cities and that's in somewhat of a large circle around the country... you'd think that would be cheaper than 50 cities back and forth, up and down, left/right. Sorry for the confusion :)

We don't really have spider webs of highways because don't we just have really long roads like the hume highway to connect us all? And with our cities being all along the coast, it means they don't have to zig zag back and forth across the country delivery, the trip is shorter and cheaper (on fuel). Look, at the end of the day, I just think us as consumers should be charged priced at what things are WORTH, of course owing for a profit margin for the retailers, BUT, what's the profit margin when a set that has 57 pieces is $25? and exactly how large is the profit margin for a 150pce set that retails for $49.95? Highway bloody robbery if you ask me, sets should be no more than 17c a pce no matter where you buy them in the world, and that is even maybe 2c too much. As I say, I would prefer my money going directly to Lego and I can assure you, if they lowered their prices, they would sell a lot more product down under as low income families (of which there are millions) will be able to give their children the treat of a 600pce lego set for a change. Heck, even the minifigs are $4.74 at big dubya and that's as much as I pay for my lunch lololol I can understand the retailers charging extra, but not shop@home - especially not to jack the prices up and THEN add an extra $30+... and let's face it; an item bought from shop@home doesn't need to be transported all over the country by trucks delivering them to shops, they simply need to be posted in the mail and are sent directly to the person.

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

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 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.

ya'll amaze me with the fantastic things you make, I can barely keep up with the instruction manuals!

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.

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

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.

thanks! love your mocs!

My niece is only 5 years old... She didn't make the Drag Queen, I did for the purpose of this challenge :)

Thanks for saying so! I need to edit it saying "make a new round of 16 figs" haha essentially a new series using old parts... My favourite is the Drag Queen. I call her Tina Titbag ... (will I get in trouble for swearing? haha)

Definitely am haha I did drop into a Target when I was near one but they were about $10 dearer than Big dubs, the prices are so high it's rather insulting. I'm not sure what the exchange rate is :s - I think the Lex Luther Armour is about $40 here - but occasionally things will get marked down to equal or below the US RRP haha

When I joined up it said "mature Lego fans" so I figure this isn't too saucy for this thread ;)

Lego as social commentary never hurt anyone I guess ...

I've always thought the mark of a brilliant Lego design is one which makes the viewer think "holy cheeseballs how'd they do that?" even though the pieces and method is often ultimately obvious, just as this is with the round studs and plates. Obvious technique but striking on the eyes...

Mine is more serious than funny I'm afraid

I bought the Toy Story Construct-A-Zurg for it's wicked purple pieces, and whilst my 5 yr old niece was playing with one of the purple joints (not the ball joint, the connecting piece) and using it as a minifig shopping bag (how clever! I thought) ...and then it broke... has anyone else had this same piece break? Mind you, I didn't see it break, only the aftermath- I wondered why she suddenly lost interest in building her castle haha :s It's this piece here: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=62712 There are only two pieces in the set and this is the only set to come with purple ones, I'm going to have to buy some from the site, which is a pain, but has anyone else had this particular piece break?

Somewhat bittersweet that I'm not alone in this, I'm going to presume Lego won't be replacing it any time soon, them's the breaks I guess :s Thanks for replying all the same :) A shame, it was rather expensive and it's my son's toy- yet he's not even old enough to play with it yet so my niece and I will have to be careful not to break it all before he gets it haha

This set is about $100-$140 here in Australia, it's ridiculous, my local Big W has it for about $117 but I'm hesitating in paying for it. I do really want to get this for my son as he sleeps with a Batman plush toy which he makes me kiss goodnight to every night haha Either way, very detailed review :)

I think your technique and look of the footpath/sidewalk is sublime if I'm being perfectly honest.

I'd really, really love a Buffy the Vampire Slayer series of LEGO. (Sorry if anyone's said the idea, it's too late at night to read every one haha)... Not only would it make some awesome sets and minifigures, but they could do a video game tie-in which would be brilliant- every time you stake a vampire they could burst into collectible studs. I did some on Cuusoo, but after their reaction to the Firefly/Serenity model (Source material being too mature) there's no hope in the hellmouth that they would do a Buffy series, oh well, better luck next time I guess haha.

Nope, I'm 5ft6 and full of doughnuts. ^_^ Hahah when I was a kid I was REALLY crappy at it, I vaguely remember some instructions but I was far too stupid to be able to read them, so I thought if I start collecting for my son early, I can practice and when he's old enough I can maybe surprise him with cool stuff. But 6 months into this Lego quest, and I'm even worse than I was as a child lolol

and some more greetings from Victoria!