Hey guys,

 

Love Lego, but I'm starting to wonder if people in the UAE love it. I am currently trying to sell 4 sets:

 

-Ewok Village

- Mines of Moria

- Unexpected Gathering

- Attack of Shelob

 

But for the life of me, I can't move them selling online. I am even selling them, on avg. $100 less than retailers here, yes Legos are very expensive here. But nothing, nada. I'm frustrated because I'm not sure what else can be done. I can see online sales are very healthy on Ebay, unfortunately I don't have the luxury to sell to my audience on Ebay.

 

Any advice would be great, because at this point, even if I move these products the profits won't be that amazing.

Hey guys,

 

Love Lego, but I'm starting to wonder if people in the UAE love it. I am currently trying to sell 4 sets:

 

-Ewok Village

- Mines of Moria

- Unexpected Gathering

- Attack of Shelob

 

But for the life of me, I can't move them selling online. I am even selling them, on avg. $100 less than retailers here, yes Legos are very expensive here. But nothing, nada. I'm frustrated because I'm not sure what else can be done. I can see online sales are very healthy on Ebay, unfortunately I don't have the luxury to sell to my audience on Ebay.

 

Any advice would be great, because at this point, even if I move these products the profits won't be that amazing.

 

What site are you trying to sell them through?

What site are you trying to sell them through?

 

Dubizzle.com

Sorry, I've never sold anything to the middle east/arabian peninsula area. Yes, Lego prices are absurd in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Sheesh. Complete sticker shock to me.

Hey guys,

 

Love Lego, but I'm starting to wonder if people in the UAE love it. I am currently trying to sell 4 sets:

 

-Ewok Village

- Mines of Moria

- Unexpected Gathering

- Attack of Shelob

 

But for the life of me, I can't move them selling online. I am even selling them, on avg. $100 less than retailers here, yes Legos are very expensive here. But nothing, nada. I'm frustrated because I'm not sure what else can be done. I can see online sales are very healthy on Ebay, unfortunately I don't have the luxury to sell to my audience on Ebay.

 

Any advice would be great, because at this point, even if I move these products the profits won't be that amazing.

 

Can people there buy from Amazon?

Tried putting a small ad up on the boards for customers in Spinneys or similar???

Have you tried listing on Bricklink?

Perhaps try putting ads on the bulletin board at your place of employment? If that doesn't work, you could try selling out of your trunk at the local large toy store parking lot.

I will also say that there are a few demographic issues in this market to deal overcome.

 

Small population of mainly migrant workers with no kids, very few chidren within the age band, not that many AFOLS as most expats will be living the dream and buying real extravagant things rather than building models of them.  A lot of people also expect service and will not care about saving 200 AED over store prices if they have to chase over town to pick something up, getting lost, the person not being home etc etc - been there and did that enough times myself.

Every country is different. I don't know UAE, but in South America selling online is not the best approach and it's also almost impossible to sell expensive exclusive sets, even if you sell them 50% cheaper than local retail if they have them, because even "official" LEGO store doesn't get them, or only for a very short period of time and other retail stores don't sell large exclusives. Best approach here is advertise at a local exchange site, sell in hand and cash and if you have the time, sell them on a sunday flee market. Quickest to move are sets around max 50 usd of city, friends, Star Wars, etc. and here you can easily sell them at 70 usd cash. The cheaper the set is in the US, the bigger your ROI and the faster you sell it. Forget ebay, amazon or any other site where the local consumer needs to have a credit card that can be used for international purchases. Nobody has that and if they have, they don't need you as an intermediary. If a set is retired or not, nobody gives a bleep here...

Can people there buy from Amazon?

 

They can, but they need to have an Aramex Shop and Ship account, which is basically what I have and what I use to order my Lego sets. But it is only a few that may be that savvy to utilize it, the UAE is behind when it comes to online activity.

Have you tried listing on Bricklink?

 

I wouldn't even dream of trying to compete with guys who sell in the US, since I pretty much import my sets from the US for my own enjoyment, while other sets I try to sell.

I will also say that there are a few demographic issues in this market to deal overcome.

 

Small population of mainly migrant workers with no kids, very few chidren within the age band, not that many AFOLS as most expats will be living the dream and buying real extravagant things rather than building models of them.  A lot of people also expect service and will not care about saving 200 AED over store prices if they have to chase over town to pick something up, getting lost, the person not being home etc etc - been there and did that enough times myself.

 

You made it sound like being an AFOL are guys that build without actually achieving something in life. I don't know, maybe Arabs just don't dig Lego and I may be the only one who does. Indians and Philippinos are usually broke. The brits are the only market I can think of, but very hard to target them.

Every country is different. I don't know UAE, but in South America selling online is not the best approach and it's also almost impossible to sell expensive exclusive sets, even if you sell them 50% cheaper than local retail if they have them, because even "official" LEGO store doesn't get them, or only for a very short period of time and other retail stores don't sell large exclusives. Best approach here is advertise at a local exchange site, sell in hand and cash and if you have the time, sell them on a sunday flee market. Quickest to move are sets around max 50 usd of city, friends, Star Wars, etc. and here you can easily sell them at 70 usd cash. The cheaper the set is in the US, the bigger your ROI and the faster you sell it. Forget ebay, amazon or any other site where the local consumer needs to have a credit card that can be used for international purchases. Nobody has that and if they have, they don't need you as an intermediary. If a set is retired or not, nobody gives a bleep here...

 

Believe me man, I have looked and thought of all the options. There is Dubizzle which is like craigslist, you meet up with the buyer and the exchange happens. There is souq.com where the product gets delivered for you, but of course they will charge on delivery and this may kill the incentive for the buyer to buy. The local flea market will not allow new products, only used item and pretty much only attracts cheap people. I would love to be able to selt of a truck like someone suggested, but I would probably be picked up by the police. Unfortunately, the UAE isn't like the UK or US where if you want to sell something you put your table outside and start selling, there is huge emphasis on protecting consumers here.

My inference was that when the world is your oyster and you have the more money than you know what to do with, building LEGO comes a distant second to sky diving, car racing, hanging out at the pool, being a member of an exclusive social club etc. From my subjective memories of living there, UAE culture is all about the bling and showing off where is building LEGO is something you generally do at home, alone or with like minded friends.

 

Expats work long hours too, so the little spare time they have is not going to be used building a UCS MF - well maybe in the summer when it gets really hot!

 

The dearth of children is also a huge problem and this probably explains why prices are so high as they sell less units and have to cover the shelf costs.

 

I think you are right that the Brits and perhaps French will be the best target markets so you have to find places they hang out where you can advertise (cultural institutes, clubs etc). Dubizzle is more for buying a used fridge or looking for a house, I guess.

 

A series that could do well there is Architect (you already have the Burj Khalifa) as there should be strong profesional demand from architects and property developers for those White bricks to make their models.

Edited October 31, 201411 yr by valenciaeric

I just want to state that it's ILLEGAL to sell a new item on a table either outside our house or at a car boot sale in the UK.  You need a trading licence to shift new products but, not for those that are used.  I used to sell new garden watering equipment at my local car boot sale until I was arrested by police 15 years ago accompanied by trading standards officers.  I managed to settle out of court with a

-Ewok Village

- Mines of Moria

- Unexpected Gathering

- Attack of Shelob

 

Isn't it far too early to resell these sets ?

 

If you aim to people who can afford to buy legos in your country (in which they are very expensive), these people will order from a "professionnal" website, not bothering with some hand by hand deals on a craiglist.

 

Maybe you should wait to see these sets hard to find, so people will have no choice but to buy from resellers.

(although about the moria mines, this set seems to be a poor seller, so I'm not surprised that nobody wants it)

I just want to state that it's ILLEGAL to sell a new item on a table either outside our house or at a car boot sale in the UK.  You need a trading licence to shift new products but, not for those that are used.  I used to sell new garden watering equipment at my local car boot sale until I was arrested by police 15 years ago accompanied by trading standards officers.  I managed to settle out of court with a

I just want to state that it's ILLEGAL to sell a new item on a table either outside our house or at a car boot sale in the UK. You need a trading licence to shift new products but, not for those that are used. I used to sell new garden watering equipment at my local car boot sale until I was arrested by police 15 years ago accompanied by trading standards officers. I managed to settle out of court with a

I wouldn't even dream of trying to compete with guys who sell in the US, since I pretty much import my sets from the US for my own enjoyment, while other sets I try to sell.

You shouldn't be trying to sell any Lego's as an investor, just buy what you want personally. AE has to be one of the worst markets and you'll never be able to compete with market prices.