We all know that Lego is expensive in Australia, right? Well, except Norfolk Island who officially have the cheapest Lego in the world.
I started a post two weeks ago about how much more expensive Lego is here than America, and how unfair it is. I tried to add some images to my post and show the retail price at FAO Schwarz (a big toy store in NYC) and Mr Toys (a big toy store chain in Australia). I think the results would shock many of you.
Anyway, last night I was wandering around Lego’s website and came across the Shuttle Expedition set (10231) – google it if you like. It’s been on the shelves in Australia for AUD $159.99 for ages, but at the recent toy sales of our major chain department stores, you could have picked it up for about $120.
Last night, it was advertised on lego.com for USD $99.99 plus shipping. Given our strong dollar right now, that converts to about AUD $93.00. But then I changed my “ship to” country to be Australia and guess what happened?
The price changed to AUD $159.99, plus AUD $35 postage. How the f**k does that happen? Being the petty man that I am, I e-mailled Lego last night and asked them to explain why the set – which has already been manufactured – costs so much in Australia. They can’t argue it’s freight, because they’re billing me extra for freight.
I’ve written posts before about how ripped off we are in Australia, and this is a classic example. There is no reason that I can imagine that would incur a price jump of around 80%. I can’t wait to hear Lego’s response, which I know will take a few days, because e-mails to compaines always do, don’t they?
It’s funny that I also did a satisfaction survey through lego.com, and the last question asks you to provide five comments about Lego. They include actual comments by previous survey-takers in case you want to echo their thoughts, and guess what? I would say that half of the examples they provide talk about how expensive Lego is. Considering then that about 40% of respondents are complaining about the price, shouldn’t they do something about it?
Stay tuned. When Lego get back to me, I’ll let you know what they say. Maybe then, everyone will understand why they’re ripping us off Down Under.
