I'm talking items like the Parisian restaurant where the price hasn't moved but price wise sit at a lower cost for Canadians. (in usd conversion). Anyone else thinking it might be time to start buying a bit extra before prices escalate?

Edited July 15, 201510 yr by gregpj
edited title to make clear it is in Canada :)

I'm talking items like the Parisian restaurant where the price hasn't moved but price wise sit at a lower cost for Canadians. (in usd conversion). Anyone else thinking it might be time to start buying a bit extra before prices escalate?

There are a bunch of posts somewhere in the Canada sub forum about sets that benefit from the exchange rate... I'll have to try and find it.

I'm talking items like the Parisian restaurant where the price hasn't moved but price wise sit at a lower cost for Canadians. (in usd conversion). Anyone else thinking it might be time to start buying a bit extra before prices escalate?

From a Canadian - Canadian standpoint, it makes your purchases cheaper based on the currency standard.  This only impacts you if your sales are in US dollars though.

From a Canadian - American standpoint, your purchasing power has decreased.  The following example assumes no tax.  A United States DS cost $440 last year, $480 at Christmas and $516 now.  The price of a Canadian DS remained constant at $500.

However, the Camper Van that cost $132 last year, $144 at Christmas, and $153 now. The Canadian equivalent has remained at $130 and clearly a "BUY" candidate.

All new exclusives are priced at 13-20% (in Canadian dollars) above the US RRP and should remain that way for the short and medium term as prices are generally set 9-18 months in advance.  In my opinion, the Canadian dollar would have to substantially devalue, compared to the greenback, to see a response from Lego on current sets - but expect new sets to be 30-40% over US retail by 2016.

 

Edited July 15, 201510 yr by redghostx

is there precedent to have large exclusives change in price mid-life? I don't recall witnessing that happen, but I've only been investing a few minutes compared to most.

Dropping loonie simply put is excellent for re-sellers providing you sell in USD. I would hate to be an actual collector trying to buy retired HTF sets right now. As stated above the T1 Camper at CDN retail is an excellent purchase more than ever right now.

is there precedent to have large exclusives change in price mid-life? I don't recall witnessing that happen, but I've only been investing a few minutes compared to most.

I don't think so... but I have a DS 10188 Lego invoice with $449.99 as the retail price from 2010 (wasn't me that bought it). I've been trying to see if the price ever changed but so far I have come up empty.

In my time, which isn't much longer than yours, I've never seen it on an existing set.

is there precedent to have large exclusives change in price mid-life? I don't recall witnessing that happen, but I've only been investing a few minutes compared to most.

Detective's Office was $189.99 CAD originally. After a couple days to a week they upped it to $199.99.

Only example i can think of.

Detective's Office was $189.99 CAD originally. After a couple days to a week they upped it to $199.99.

Only example i can think of.

I only remember seeing it at 199.99 and being disappointed it was $10 more than PR. Either way, this is a good time to market to US buyers... Too bad the JW polybag are done. :)

Detective's Office was $189.99 CAD originally. After a couple days to a week they upped it to $199.99.

Only example i can think of.

I'm 99% sure only TRU had it at 189.99 and it was always $200 from Lego.

I'm 99% sure only TRU had it at 189.99 and it was always $200 from Lego.

I'm almost %100 sure it was $189.99 on LEGO Shop at Home for a very brief time, I debated getting it because it was $10 cheaper, but i'm not going to put money on that wager haha. 

TRU had is listed at $189.99 because that was likely the original MSRP LEGO gave to them. They never had stock at $189.99 (from what i recall), and once they did have stock it went to $199.

Anyways no point in discussing it further, i could be wrong, but i have a vivid image of it at $189 on LEGO Shop at Home.

I'm almost %100 sure it was $189.99 on LEGO Shop at Home for a very brief time, I debated getting it because it was $10 cheaper, but i'm not going to put money on that wager haha. 

TRU had is listed at $189.99 because that was likely the original MSRP LEGO gave to them. They never had stock at $189.99 (from what i recall), and once they did have stock it went to $199.

Anyways no point in discussing it further, i could be wrong, but i have a vivid image of it at $189 on LEGO Shop at Home.

I believe you. :) That almost looks like it might have been a pricing mistake though. I can't find it or remember any sets having their price adjusted mid stream. I recently changed all my listings to Canadian pricing because exchange was blowing up the price and views and sales were drying up. I still need to dig out that thread... It had some good stuff in there with respect to which sets benefitted from the exchange as redghostx pointed out. AT AT, ISD, T1, Volvo are the ones I remember...

I remember reading that thread a while back too. You'd done some good research on it. Bump it if you find it. Or pm me the link to it if you don't bump it.

One major impact is the buying and selling of sets for cross border BPers.

I can currently sell a SSD and purchase 5.6 10221 VW T1 sets in US funds, or I can also use the same funds and buy approximately 6.5 of the same set in Canadian funds. That brings up a really interesting question, would I rather have 1 SSD or 6 T1s and 1 Ecto-1 (the new BrickPicker standard measure for filler).

Other scenarios work but that's the most extreme example.

**Tax is assumed to be zero in this example**

as for Detective Office, I went on LEGO Shop at Home and looked at my order placed Jan 2 2015 and the price was 199.99.  I'm pretty sure it came available jan 1, so if it was ever listed at 189, then it was for maybe one day.

One major impact is the buying and selling of sets for cross border BPers.

I can currently sell a SSD and purchase 5.6 10221 VW T1 sets in US funds, or I can also use the same funds and buy approximately 6.5 of the same set in Canadian funds. That brings up a really interesting question, would I rather have 1 SSD or 6 T1s and 1 Ecto-1 (the new BrickPicker standard measure for filler).

Other scenarios work but that's the most extreme example.

**Tax is assumed to be zero in this example**

1 SSD takes less space that 6xT1 + 1xE1. I also wouldn't trade it for T1s just yet... give it two or three months and maybe though as I think it will be 8xT1.

Space has been a factor me lately... I just don't have the space and have been "forced" to unload some sets I've been holding.

There's also a home advantage to selling retired sets. Since so many Canadians are used to shopping online in the US, the currency difference means we can raise prices on out of stock sets somewhat and still be attractive to these buyers if they don't want to pay the higher US prices.

With the weak CAD, it makes your VIP points that much more valuable.  You get the same value when redeeming them at a LEGO store in the US.

If you have a lot of VIP points, it is wise to trade them in during a US visit....of course you have to deal with the inconvenience of lugging it back and paying tax (unless you stayed over 24 hours).

Edited July 16, 201510 yr by Vader888

as for Detective Office, I went on LEGO Shop at Home and looked at my order placed Jan 2 2015 and the price was 199.99.  I'm pretty sure it came available jan 1, so if it was ever listed at 189, then it was for maybe one day.

Quite possible as it wasn't at that price (if at all) long from what i recall.

I tried to search for this thread many are talking about, but no luck. Definitely remember reading it though.

I only remember seeing it at 199.99 and being disappointed it was $10 more than PR. Either way, this is a good time to market to US buyers... Too bad the JW polybag are done.

Don't wait too long to grab the PR, they could up the price soon. At 189CAD, it's a good deal plus VIP points.
Look what is going on with the technic sets now. The MKII crane at TRU was listed as "sale" at 249.99CAD. It wasn't too long ago, the real sale was 199CAD at TRU and 189CAD at costco.

Here's a list of deals in Canada based on exchange rate (NOW):
PR
DO
Maersk
PS
PC
Jokerland
Kwik e mart <- I flipped 3 so far on ebay for 269USD +75USD shipping to Asia, dump off at Blaine, WA, paid 229CAD plus taxes.
Simpsons house < flipped 6 so far on ebay for 239USD + 75USD shipping to asia.
Tie Fighter
Slave

If you include sets from earlier this year, the DO and the MKII crane (when on sale) were the big steals.

Ewok village in USA MSRP = 249USD plus state tax is more than what you can get in Canada at 299CAD. If the cineplex code works on this from TRU, you get another $10 savings.