What currency is "cheaper"?

elazgar · April 2011

I´ve been searching and 7597 costs 99,95 € at the LEGO official website. When I change my location it shows the price in pounds which is £81,99 and finally, it´s $79,99.

I travel a lot and buy sets everywhere. This happened to me once, I bought 10196 at TRU in the USA and a year later I found it $30 cheaper in Spain.

Where do you prefer buying any set when you go abroad? Is there any advantage in buying LEGO in Europe?

atkinsar · April 2011

Generally speaking, I would say LEGO is much cheaper in the US right now than most other countries. The UK is towards the high end but is cheaper than some other European countries, I believe Denmark and Sweden have it pretty bad. LEGO also seems to be very expensive in Australia (although so are most things if my recent trip to Sydney is anything to go buy).

I don't buy LEGO abroad in person mainly due to it's bulk and there's never enough room in the suitcase. You're also at the whim of custom officers on your return if you buy than a certain amount (in terms of value) and you may end up paying VAT (Value Added Tax). I do buy occasionally from overseas (mostly the US and Germany) on ebay or Bricklink, but again, if you're buying from outside Europe and it's over a certain amount, you may be charged VAT and a handling fee if the custom's offices get their hands on it.

BTW, this is always a very hot topic on Brickset and people get very upset about it generally, but it is not as simple using current exchange rates to convert price x in $ to price y in £. Like any company TLG will use a number of market and production factors to determine the best selling price in each market they operate in.

What currency is "cheaper"?

Comments

Shopping at LEGO.com or Amazon?

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories