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On a related note, I think the TH was the last set I purchased as an exclusive that was discounted. Sigh!
Okay, I'm back now from nostalgic land...
GE is also 'sold out' again
Only when Town Hall is gone gone from the site or listed as 'retired product' will I believe it is gone. My guess is it is due to stock shortages and not gone yet. Considering GE went from available to back order to sold out to back order to sold out to back order to sold out and now available again, only to also be sold out again with a smattering of 'call for product availability' , I need more than it went to sold out to say it is gone for good Could be this Winter. I cannot imagine it is wildly popular for that price point either. and has been out for about 2 year now if I am not mistaken
So maybe I'm behind the times, but are they releasing another modular this year? Seems like they are starting to thin out a bit.
"Backordered w/ ship date" - current inventory is sold out, but there is more product somewhere in the supply chain from "scheduled into a factory production slot" to "en route to warehouse"
"Sold Out" - current inventory is sold out, and there is currently nothing anywhere in the supply chain. the item may eventually be scheduled for another factory production slot, or it may not. additionally/alternatively, more may become available through returns/cancellation and or uncovering or previously lost/misplaced stock.
I have nothing to back this up, it's just a theory
I hope Town Hall isn't permanently sold out (however unlikely). I think Town Hall might be one of those sets that people look back and say, "wow, that's actually a pretty cool set. Bummer I missed it. Now I'll have to pay $400 on ebay!"
I want that set a lot, but at $160 I just can't pull the trigger.
Pet Shop, by comparison, was tons better... I still haven't built PC or PR because of TH, it was the last one I built...
I do have PC and PR sitting in the closet, I'll probably build them around Christmas time, once the busy shipping season is over.
Personally I think there will be at least a few more production runs over the next 2 years but if you must have them now here is your chance.
I called this morning thinking this was the usual ebay glitch but the Utah rep stated LEGO requested that new sets not be sold through the GSP on the USA site claiming it is a copyright violation to do so.
Now there are ways to get around it so you can get the listing to show with GSP as an option (listing in the wrong category etc) but you risk getting permanently banned by ebay so I would not attempt it unless you know how to get around the ebay/paypal bans.
Just be careful shipping on your own outside of GSP on ebay as now if your buyer claims SNAD you as the seller have to pay return shipping back to the USA along with any customs fees/import taxes. If you don't pay then ebay will refund the buyer and let them keep the item. They will then take that money out of your paypal or send you to collections if the funds are not available. Weigh the risks and adjust prices accordingly to absorb those losses.
= = = = = = =
Last week we sent an email reminder about your GSP-eligible listings. It still looks like you have a number of listings that would be a great fit for the Global Shipping Program but are not currently enabled for international sales. This means you're missing out on millions of potential buyers.
This is your final reminder that in October, we will automatically enable all of your GSP-eligible listings. This will help make it easier for buyers in up to 64 countries to purchase your items.
International sale, US shipping
With the Global Shipping Program, you simply ship to a US shipping center where international shipping and customs clearance are handled for you.
No action is needed to take advantage of this global selling opportunity; simply leave your settings as they are now. Eligible items are identified automatically, free of charge. However if you would like your GSP-eligible items to be excluded from the Program simply click here by October 3, 2014.
However that might explain why a frequent buyer of my store from Malaysia is telling me that he can't bid on my auctions anymore "Seller does not provide shipping to your country"...
I can understand why Lego is doing this, but why punish the casual seller on Ebay?
TLG would have killed for their current business 10 years ago, now that they have it, they don't think they need their die hard fans anymore...
This isn't new, many companies from long before TLG have been down this road. Humans suck at history. :)
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Side note, this has nothing to do with supporting big resellers, I actually do understand the business reasons why TLG doesn't want them messing with supply levels.
The problem is the law of unintended consequences. These types of things tend to step on the fans as well as the resellers (such as [email protected] bans and limits).
Frankly I think the way Amazon handles it is perfect. You can buy 2 of any set, once per week, and then the limit resets. That gives everyone a chance to buy when a sale or deal happens, but doesn't limit you lifetime.
There is the soft touch approach, then there is the hammer and stick approach... They each have their uses, but the hammer and stick tend to have a wide area of effect...
Pitfall it is for any item listed in the lego "sets" category on ebay. GSP ships via freight and LEGO is stating it is a violation of trade law for other countries to import them. This only started last week so it is going to take some brave sellers to see what lines are drawn by the bots.
It started a few days ago but now when creating a label, we are being asked if the package contains live poultry, will they ask if we ship LEGO next ? :)
From legos point of view it makes complete sense and if it's occurring alongside lego helping from their side (haven't recent AUS prices been a bit fairer, ignoring any recent currency fluctuations) then it seems fair enough. Presumably the GSP was more used by bigger resellers than the hobbiest?
I hate to believe it, but the comment above about TLG getting too big for their britches has credence. Yes...I understand that they can do what they want...whatever. But can anyone think of another retailer that does these sorts of things (aside from Apple, who is also too big for their britches)? I mean, we're talking toys here...
Lego cashback is alive and... well not quite 5% but still better than nothing.
Time will tell, but I think the no discount policies, etc. will hurt LEGO. I don't see it being permanent. That business tactic just doesn't go over well with retailers or customers.
It's really sad, but I only saw one customer in the Lego store during my last visit. Maybe the B&M stores are consider by Lego to be loss-leaders, but that sounds like an expensive approach to selling Lego sets.