The Inconsistency Of Australian LEGO Prices – Part 2

LEGO pricing is an issue that every Australian LEGO fan has an opinion on, so it came as no surprise that we had a huge response to our original post on inconsistency. We reached out to LEGO Australia for a statement in response to our original article, and to their credit they did get back to us.

In this article we are going to look at the response that we received, and check out the various claims that were made.

The LEGO Group is a Danish company but each market, like Australia, operates independently and pricing is a part of that. As you highlighted, there are many market factors that influence price determination. Coming up with the right price is complex, even excluding these market factors, which is why you’ll see different prices for the same set all over the world.

As we pointed out in our original article, the issue that we are discussing is not pricing. Yes, it is true that we are talking about the prices of Australian sets, but the specific factor that we are looking is the mark-up that Australians are charged.

We believe that, within reasonable parameters, every set that costs $X in the US should cost approximately $Y in Australia. Unfortunately for Australian consumers inconsistency is the reality. Take a look at two unlicensed Creator Expert sets; 10243 Parisian Restaurant ($159.99 US, $249.99 AU) and 10244 Fairground Mixer ($149.99 US, $199.99 AU). There is a $10 difference between the US prices, but $50 between the Australian prices. The Parisian Restaurant is a heavier set, but we found no consistent link between weight and mark-up.

In the interesting of looking at this issue more globally, we also looked at the markup between Australian prices and UK prices (British Pounds). For this comparison we have reduced UK prices by 20% to remove the VAT component, and then added 10% back on to add the GST equivalent.

Set #Set NameTheme$AUD$USDMarkup $USD-$AUD$GBPMarkup $GBP-$AUD
70143Sir Fangar's Sabertooth WalkerChima$59.99$39.9926.89%£34.998.04%
70145Maula's Ice Mammoth StomperChima$129.99$89.9922.19%£69.9913.82%
70147Sir Fangar's Ice FortressChima$99.99$69.9920.84%£59.992.15%
70144Laval's Fire LionChima$69.99$49.9918.43%£39.997.26%
60052Cargo TrainCity$299.99$199.9926.88%£139.9931.33%
60036Arctic Base CampCity$129.99$89.9922.19%£69.9913.82%
60050Train StationCity$79.99$64.994.11%£49.99-1.94%
60035Arctic OutpostCity$59.99$49.991.51%£34.995.07%
10243Parisian RestaurantCreator$249.99$159.9932.17%£132.9915.20%
10242Mini CooperCreator$149.99$99.9926.88%£74.9922.58%
31024Roaring PowerCreator$39.99$29.9912.79%£19.9922.60%
10244Fairground MixerCreator$199.99$149.9912.78%£119.992.15%
31026Bike Shop & CaféCreator$99.99$89.99-6.01%£64.99-5.71%
21110Research InstituteIdeas$29.99$19.9926.90%£15.9914.94%
21109Exo SuitIdeas$49.99$34.9920.85%£29.992.16%
21108Ghostbusters Ecto-1Ideas$69.99$49.9918.43%£44.99-4.66%
76017Captain America vs HydraMarvel$39.99$19.9969.22%£19.9922.60%
76020Knowhere Escape MissionMarvel$79.99$39.9969.20%£44.998.96%
76021The Milano Spaceship RescueMarvel$129.99$74.9946.63%£69.9913.82%
76022X-Men vs The SentinelMarvel$79.99$49.9935.35%£44.998.96%
75049SnowspeederStar Wars$59.99$29.9969.20%£34.995.07%
75052Mos Eisley CantinaStar Wars$129.99$69.9957.10%£64.9922.58%
75045AV-7 Anti-Vehicle CannonStar Wars$69.99$39.9948.04%£44.99-4.66%
75048The PhantomStar Wars$39.99$24.9935.36%£19.9922.60%
75054AT-ATStar Wars$169.99$109.9930.73%£109.99-5.28%
42023Construction CrewTechnic$99.99$69.9920.84%£49.9922.58%
42024Container TruckTechnic$99.99$79.995.74%£59.992.15%
70810MetalBeard's Sea CowThe LEGO Movie$389.99$249.9931.96%£169.9940.60%
70814Emmet's Construct-o-MechThe LEGO Movie$89.99$59.9926.89%£49.9910.32%
70815Super Secret Police DropshipThe LEGO Movie$119.99$79.9926.89%£69.995.07%
70816Benny's SpaceshipThe LEGO Movie$149.99$99.9926.88%£79.9914.92%
70163Toxikita's Toxic MeltdownUltra Agents$59.99$39.9926.89%£34.995.07%
70165Ultra Agents Mission HQUltra Agents$139.99$99.9918.43%£79.997.26%
70164Hurricane HeistUltra Agents$89.99$69.998.76%£49.9910.32%

We were unable to find any logical pattern to the pricing differences.

  • 75054 AT-AT has a 32% mark-up over the USD price, but a -5% mark-up over the GBP price.
  • 31024 Roaring Power has a 12.79% mark-up over the USD price, but a 22.60% mark-up over the GBP price.
  • USD-AUD mark-ups fluctuate from -6% to +69%
  • GBP-AUD mark-ups fluctuate from –5.3% to +40%

 Apart from the constant testing and improvements of our quality and premium products, there are additional factors that influence our prices; for example, how much it costs to sell LEGO sets in that particular part of the world, local tax rates and the general price level of other goods and toys. It’s true that LEGO sets in the US appear cheaper – but for our US builders, when they add sales tax and compare the price to that of other toys and to their cost of living, it doesn’t seem quite as cheap as it does to you, being used to Australian prices for goods and services.

Once again I feel that this misses the point that we are raising. We are not claiming that LEGO in the US is cheap, or that LEGO in Australia is expensive. What we are claiming is that some sets in Australia have a higher mark-up than others. We have demonstrated this with figures.

In your analysis, you highlight the inconsistency drilled down to a SKU level based on the weight of bricks. As previously mentioned, there are many other contributing factors being simply weight per set. For example, some sets may have some unique elements and each moulding machine is an enormous capital investment for The LEGO Group, let alone the quality controls we implement for the production of each SKU.  Our intention and motto is that “only the best is good enough” so we never want to jeopardise the quality consumer experience we provide our consumers globally.

The biggest problem with this statement is quite obvious – if a set has a large number of new and unique pieces then that set should be more expensive in all regions. For example it would be reasonable for a 200 piece set that has 20 new pieces cost more than a 200 piece set that only contains 1 new piece.

This comment raised an interesting possibility though – are Australian consumers paying a higher mark-up for sets with new parts? If so that would essentially mean that Australians are subsidising the production of new elements.

Set #Set NameTheme$AUD Price$USD-$AUD Markup# Unique Parts
70143Sir Fangar's Sabertooth WalkerChima$59.9926.89%0
70145Maula's Ice Mammoth StomperChima$129.9922.19%2
70147Sir Fangar's Ice FortressChima$99.9920.84%1
70144Laval's Fire LionChima$69.9918.43%1
60052Cargo TrainCity$299.9926.88%4
60036Arctic Base CampCity$129.9922.19%1
60050Train StationCity$79.994.11%0
60035Arctic OutpostCity$59.991.51%0
10243Parisian RestaurantCreator$249.9932.17%0
10242Mini CooperCreator$149.9926.88%0
31024Roaring PowerCreator$39.9912.79%0
10244Fairground MixerCreator$199.9912.78%4
31026Bike Shop & CaféCreator$99.99-6.01%0
21110Research InstituteIdeas$29.9926.90%1
21109Exo SuitIdeas$49.9920.85%0
21108Ghostbusters Ecto-1Ideas$69.9918.43%1
76017Captain America vs HydraMarvel$39.9969.22%0
76020Knowhere Escape MissionMarvel$79.9969.20%3
76021The Milano Spaceship RescueMarvel$129.9946.63%4
76022X-Men vs The SentinelMarvel$79.9935.35%3
75049SnowspeederStar Wars$59.9969.20%2
75052Mos Eisley CantinaStar Wars$129.9957.10%8
75045AV-7 Anti-Vehicle CannonStar Wars$69.9948.04%2
75048The PhantomStar Wars$39.9935.36%4
75054AT-ATStar Wars$169.9930.73%1
42023Construction CrewTechnic$99.9920.84%0
42024Container TruckTechnic$99.995.74%0
70810MetalBeard's Sea CowThe LEGO Movie$389.9931.96%1
70814Emmet's Construct-o-MechThe LEGO Movie$89.9926.89%1
70815Super Secret Police DropshipThe LEGO Movie$119.9926.89%1
70816Benny's SpaceshipThe LEGO Movie$149.9926.88%3
70163Toxikita's Toxic MeltdownUltra Agents$59.9926.89%1
70165Ultra Agents Mission HQUltra Agents$139.9918.43%1
70164Hurricane HeistUltra Agents$89.998.76%3

Once again, there is no clear pattern that matches the theory. Looking at the numbers there are a few spots where this lines up;

  • 60052 Cargo Train with 4 unique parts has a 26.88% mark-up.
  • 60036 Arctic Base Camp only has 1 unique part, and has a lower 22.19% mark-up.

Then there are the parts where the opposite is true

  • 75049 Snowspeeder has 2 unique parts with a 69.20% mark-up.
  • 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina has 8 unique parts with a smaller 57.10% mark-up.

Then there are the sets where this isn’t an issue, and we still have inconsistency

  • 42023 Construction Crew, no unique parts with a 20.84% mark-up.
  • 42024 Container Truck, also no unique parts and only a 5.74% mark-up.

The above figures are based on the number of parts that were produced in 2014 that appear in a single set only. We have also removed any minifigure parts and parts that are only a unique print. This should give a good representation of the parts that are genuinely unique to a set.

It is possible that LEGO have a complicated formula in place for determining the Australian price of a LEGO set, but at this stage it is hard to think of anything that is actually fair. Perhaps sets that LEGO Australia thinks will sell well have a higher mark-up?As we have pointed out several times – this isn’t about pricing. That is a different argument to have. This is about consistency in pricing.

Part data was sourced via Rebrickable.com using their API.
Currency conversion done using exchange rates as of 8th September 2014
Figures take into consideration differences in tax rates

10 thoughts on “The Inconsistency Of Australian LEGO Prices – Part 2

  1. Aaron Reply

    Lego is just another bunch of multinational jerks who see no problem with screwing Australians over. Given that they seemed to have cracked down on purchasing from Amazon for enthusiasts who dared to find a cheaper alternative to the rip-off prices and shipping from the Lego online store, it’s quite obvious all they care about is extracting the maximum amount of cash as they can.

    They also seem to have an unhealthy obsession with prices that end in $x9.99, and are probably just rounding up as part of their f*ck-Australia tax.

    • Michael Post authorReply

      There are certainly some very high mark-ups, but we also have a few sets that are cheaper here than in the US (after tax and currency conversion).

  2. Steven Reply

    Yes the prices are inconsistent and expensive but it’s like anything….you need to shop around. Which brings me to my next point…..Which is Lego putting bans on Australians buying Lego from overseas sources. Now THAT irritates me!

  3. James Reply

    It’s great to read something intelligent and insightful on Lego pricing. It is unfortunate that those at Lego ignore your critical points and just give a standard copy and paste response that does not satisfactorily address any of the concerns you raised.

  4. J.J. Reply

    Thanks for putting his great article together, the TLG just doesn’t get the point.
    @Steven … It’s not just us Aussies that are effected by the ban buying Lego from OS, the Europeans are facing the same issue.

  5. Dan Reply

    As Aaron said, from a marketing point of view, they probably love rounding up to the nearest $09.99 so that all prices “appear” cheaper. They’d do this even if their conversion ended up with $0.01 on the end. “Just add an extra $9.98 to make the number look more appealing” is what they would be thinking.

  6. Brad Reply

    I always thought it comes back to the cost of living….. What is the annual income for someone who works in the US and someone who works in Australia. Like most things are cheaper in the US because they don’t earn as much?

  7. Jatz Reply

    I don’t understand the whole cost of living thing. I honestly don’t see why that’s a factor for Lego. If a set can be sold in the US for $29.99 it can be sold here for that (adjusted for GST and currency) It costs Lego group the same to make a set regardless of where it’s destined, so they should be selling sets to everyone at cost + whatever profit margin and not “adjusting” for each nation.

    I can understand a slight price hike for buying retail (shipping, wages etc), but off the Lego website? it comes directly from Denmark anyway – and you wear the transport cost directly!

    I think it’s a massive rip off to say “well your country has higher wages so you can afford to give me more for my product”.

    It’d be like selling identical tyres for a Ford and BMW but charging the BMW driver more because “they can afford it”

    Is that naive?

  8. Dean Reply

    I think you are totally missing the reality of running a business. It exists to make a profit – generally as much as possible. LEGO Australia sets its prices as high as it thinks the market will bear in order to maximise profits. That’s all there is to it. It sets the prices differently in other markets because those markets are different (or perceived to be so). The objective is the same – maximise profits in those markets too. Forget about any notions of consistency of fairness as they aren’t relevant. It is naive to think that LEGO (or any other company) should be pricing its products based on things such as fairness or consistency.
    If you employer asked you to start working for the same wages that are paid to people in India or China would you? After all, wages are also just a pricing issue, and I am sure the people in those other countries think it is unfair that we all get paid more.
    Like any market – the only way to make your point is to stop buying the product.

    • Michael Post authorReply

      We don’t have any issue with LEGO Australia making a profit. What we are pointing out in our article is that Australian consumers are faced with a situation where two sets even in the same theme have different markups. We just think that is a bit strange.

      Your wage analogy doesn’t seem to fit with what we are saying; it’s not about international pricing. It’s about varying markups. More like two people doing the same job for different wages.

      Imagine if the GST was applied to Australian prices randomly… One set had 10%, and the next had 15% added. I think as consumers we’d be annoyed by that, and that is in some ways what LEGO are doing.

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