Is tax included in purchases from shop.LEGO.com?

flagsnz

I sometimes purchase LEGO on-line from shop.LEGO.com particularly the limited editions sets. Here in New Zealand, shipping is free from LEGO Denmark for purchases of NZD $400 or more. I have created an address for shipping from the UK using a service from NZ Post called YouShop and can therefore get free shipping from Denmark to the UK for a smaller valued order. I have to pay for onwards shipping from the UK but it is usually cheaper than the cost of shipping direct from LEGO.

What I have noticed though is that for orders to the UK, LEGO have provided an itemised account including VAT.

The prices on shop.LEGO.com to NZ match the local NZ retail prices. The problem is that while there is 15% GST (VAT) added to local purchases, the shop.LEGO.com invoice does not indicate any tax paid. Imports to NZ incur GST when the orders exceeds NZD $400 (the same level that enables free shipping)

Has anyone else looked at the prices at shop.LEGO.com and compared them with their regular local prices? Do the invoices from shop.LEGO.com to other countries specify whether tax has been paid?

I am hoping to gather some evidence from other on-line shoppers about inclusion or otherwise of tax so that I can ask shop.LEGO.com to have better itemised invoices for orders.

thehornedrat

Here in Australia, Lego also sets the prices so the prices are the same for the [email protected] and retail stores. When buying the physical product from say BigW, Kmart, MrToys, Myer, GST is included in the price (that is the Law). When you buy at [email protected], the goods are sent from Europe, I doubt Lego pays GST to the government, as purchases below $1000 don't incur a GST AND Customs tax. Yup, IOW that monneh goes straight into the Christiansen familys' next Superyacht. To reach Free Shipping needs a spend of $AUD200 and above, so I hope these import costs are absorbed into the price.

This means its better to buy LEGO product that is unavailable locally from [email protected], and then recoup losses by buying LEGO locally during sales.

KiwiLegoMeister

Agreed totally with @thehornedrat. Import duties (nor GST) on goods under $400 don't apply to New Zealand; but we pay full rrp (including 15% GST) to Lego.com.

flagsnz

I think I have found the cheapest method of buying LEGO and shipping to NZ. I am going to compare various costs of the LEGO Creator 10242 Mini Cooper for comparison.

Purchase from Toyco in NZ http://www.toyco.co.nz/ = NZD $161.99 which includes a 10% pre-sale discount. The issue is the delay. The set has not yet arrived in NZ.

Purchase from shop.LEGO.com = NZD $179.99 + $70.00 shipping = NZD $249.99

Purchase from shop.LEGO.com using NZ Post YouShop https://www.nzpost.co.nz/tools/youshop/app to the UK = £74.99 + free shipping to UK = NZD $144.84. YouShop shipping = NZD $45.75. Total cost NZD $190.59

Purchase from shop.LEGO.com using NZ Post YouShop to the USA = USD $99.99 + free shipping to Oregon = NZD $128.14. Oregon State does not have sales tax. YouShop shipping = NZD $45.75. Total cost NZD $173.89.

The YouShop shipping costs is based on "volumetric weight" determined by the box size. Often LEGO is shipped in generous boxes so the shipping costs may vary.

In summary, the cheapest method is to purchase locally at Toyco however there is usually several months before new releases are available in NZ. Toyco also have discounts for AuckLUG members http://www.aucklug.co.nz/.

After that, using YouShop and purchasing from [email protected] to USA is by far the best method for limited editions as the total cost is similar to what is available internationally but the shipping is offset.

I hope this helps.

Jern92

Wait, Toyco has discounts for AuckLUG members? How do you ask for it and how much of a discount is it?

With regard to Youshop, I thought Lego doesn't send their products to addresses that are meant as forwarding warehouses, or did that change?

You can also buy Lego from Amazon, I believe, although there are resellers there who jack up prices.

flagsnz

If you are a member of AuckLUG, Toyco should have your name and details, otherwise contact them and they will give you an ID number. Use this email address: [email protected]

Discounts vary and there are exclusions (Limited Editions and Expert Creator and a few others) but normally 20-25% off retail.

I have used YouShop for orders to the UK. Reg commented on using YouShop from USA:

Copied from http://brickset.com/article/13885/january-cock-up-at-shop-lego-com-lego-responds#comments

By Reg in New Zealand, 14 Jan 2015 00:16
@flagsnz - thanks for that.
It's the US Youshop freight option that I'm referring to but as @L67 said, "LEGO doesn't want their US inventory being shipped overseas. I think they made Amazon.com stop the practice recently", so that's probably why the order was cancelled.
I've looked at your price comparison thread and I guess I could try UK Youshop but it's probably better to be patient and wait for Toyco to get their shipment in.
Thanks again.

I will attempt to use YouShop for orders placed in USA.

KiwiLegoMeister

flagsnz said:

If you are a member of AuckLUG,  ... Discounts vary  ... normally 20-25% off retail.

Worth noting Toyco have 20-25% off most Lego every other week, available to everyone!
The more astute of us wait until ToyCo have a sale, and then play them off against the Warehouse to take advantage of TW's 'beat them by 10%' promise.

TigerMoth

If youre shipping stuff outside the EU, have you investigated whether TLG are in the VAT Refund Sceme? They may not be, and it may be too much hassle, especially if you're not personally exporting items, but the principle is that you only end up paying VAT if the item remains in the EU.

But having said that, John Lewis ARE in the VAT Refund Scheme. And they'll ship to a lot of places (including down under) for £10. Using the figures for the Mini earlier, that would've cost £74.99 + £10 - £12.50 (VAT) = £72.49. With the exchange rate from earlier, that's NZ $140.

Alright, so I've cheated slightly. You couldn't have got a Mini that way. A Mini costs £74.99; the minimum order is £75! Knowing John Lewis, they'd have overridden that or overcharged you by the necessary penny.

No, I haven't tried it - the list of countries to which theyll ship wasn't so good. They stock most stuff, including most of the exclusives, either at list price or quite a bit below. Their reputation is second to none amongst UK stores.