Amazon.fr - Town Hall - €135.92 ($154.10 CDN)

[scotts]

Amazon.fr has Town Hall listed for €135.92 but there is a shipping delay. For Canadians with shipping and including import fees it works out to €154.10 which is about $204. Not really sure if it's worth it as I'm not sure if there is any other fees attached and TRU puts these on sale for $208 before tax quite often lately. Has anyone ordered Lego since they started including import fees from some of the Amazon's? I wonder if UPS would still charge $10 and if there is any additional tax?

[bulwark]

Coming up as 164 Eur after shipping to GTA and import fees. So probably between $220-$230 CAD with conversion and CC fees.

currently $260 at TRU. Assuming a 20% sale, it'd be $235 after tax in Ontario

So probably not worthwhile unless there's a threat that this set is going to be discontinued in the immediate future. In terms of the import fees, based on my experience with amazon.com which also collects import fees, If they're collecting that at checkout there shouldn't be any surprises when it's delivered.

[littlemic]

last time I ordered from amazon fr, the box was dented, the sealed was broken and contents falls outside. I guess it's because the set is too heavy.

[Jasper Parnebrick]

I don't order from .fr or .it any more because of that rediculous new fee. In addition to not ordering because of that new fee, I ordered 2 x Medieval Market Village sets last last year and they showed up so completely detsroyed by water that Canada post just put all of the contents into plastic. Amazon ended up resending me two more sets, and refunding me the cost to ship it back. Imagine my surprise when the next two showed up with significant water damage. It wasn't nearly as bad, but there is definitely something going on with their delivery companies (surly workers who can't strike so they throw packages into puddles? All said and done I'm still happy with how they handled it as a company, but I don't trust any packages coming from France any more. I also had a Robie House back in October that came in with a water damaged box. Contents were always fine, but since I wanted a box in good condition as well, it was a let down... Just my 2 cents about the Euro Amazon sites. UK is still far and above the best place to buy from.

[legohunter]

I don't order from .fr or .it any more because of that rediculous new fee. In addition to not ordering because of that new fee, I ordered 2 x Medieval Market Village sets last last year and they showed up so completely detsroyed by water that Canada post just put all of the contents into plastic. Amazon ended up resending me two more sets, and refunding me the cost to ship it back. Imagine my surprise when the next two showed up with significant water damage. It wasn't nearly as bad, but there is definitely something going on with their delivery companies (surly workers who can't strike so they throw packages into puddles? All said and done I'm still happy with how they handled it as a company, but I don't trust any packages coming from France any more. I also had a Robie House back in October that came in with a water damaged box. Contents were always fine, but since I wanted a box in good condition as well, it was a let down... Just my 2 cents about the Euro Amazon sites. UK is still far and above the best place to buy from.

Thx for sharing your story. I will try to avoid shopping Euro Amazon.

On the other hands, I recently shopped from UK Amazon two times, and all items came with good condition. However, I was asked to pay for the tax + brokerage fee + brokerage tax.

[Jasper Parnebrick]

I don't order from .fr or .it any more because of that rediculous new fee. In addition to not ordering because of that new fee, I ordered 2 x Medieval Market Village sets last last year and they showed up so completely detsroyed by water that Canada post just put all of the contents into plastic. Amazon ended up resending me two more sets, and refunding me the cost to ship it back. Imagine my surprise when the next two showed up with significant water damage. It wasn't nearly as bad, but there is definitely something going on with their delivery companies (surly workers who can't strike so they throw packages into puddles? All said and done I'm still happy with how they handled it as a company, but I don't trust any packages coming from France any more. I also had a Robie House back in October that came in with a water damaged box. Contents were always fine, but since I wanted a box in good condition as well, it was a let down... Just my 2 cents about the Euro Amazon sites. UK is still far and above the best place to buy from.

Thx for sharing your story. I will try to avoid shopping Euro Amazon.

On the other hands, I recently shopped from UK Amazon two times, and all items came with good condition. However, I was asked to pay for the tax + brokerage fee + brokerage tax.

Yeah, the .uk site fulfills its orders via either Scotland or Germany. Scotland uses UPS, which are brutal for 'extra' fees. Germany on the other hand uses DHL, and I have yet to pay customs or broker fees via DHL.
So if you order from .uk you're usually saving a ton, but if they ship via DHL, then the deal is even sweeter!

[ricefields]

amazon.fr also uses germany to ship some sets and when that happens there are also no fees. The amazon box is of poor quality generally so they have to get better cardboard boxes and pack them better.

[Ice]

Amazon France used to be good, but it seems like most of their prices are really high these days and coupled with shipping and import fees, its not really a deal anymore.

One question though for those who actually purchased from Amazon.fr with the "import fees". Since Amazon.fr is collecting "import fees" in advance, do you still have to pay tax when the mailman delivers the item?

[Jasper Parnebrick]

Amazon France used to be good, but it seems like most of their prices are really high these days and coupled with shipping and import fees, its not really a deal anymore.

One question though for those who actually purchased from Amazon.fr with the "import fees". Since Amazon.fr is collecting "import fees" in advance, do you still have to pay tax when the mailman delivers the item?

I think that is the idea... but if you then get hit again upon delivery by the local delivery co. who do you complain to or get the refund from? I am wary of ordering from them for that reason, and I don't really feel like wasting time on the phone or email with customer service reps. Maybe they will notice their international shipments going down a lot and reconsider those import fees? Maybe not many people were ordering internationally to begin with. All I know is that I've spent thousands shopping at Amazon.uk. Sometimes those great deals aren't so great on the pocketbook.