A Canadian Traveler’s Guide to Buying LEGO – Part IV

The third set in my international price comparison series is the Mobile Lab from the LEGO City Jungle Exploration subtheme. If you have missed the earlier installments, or want a refresher, you can use the following links:

• Part I: The overall average cost of a LEGO Jungle Exploration set
• Part II: The cost of the Jungle Air Drop Helicopter around the world
• Part III: The cost of the Jungle Exploration Site around the world

In Canada, this set retails for $74.99, and comes with 426 pieces. That works out to $0.18 per brick when rounded to two decimal places. On the international scene, the average cost of this set is $76.36 CDN. When rounded to two decimal places, this is also $0.18 CDN per brick. The price of this set is much more consistent around the world than the Air Drop Helicopter and the Jungle Exploration Site. I calculated the standard deviation for these sets, which is to say how far the cost of the set in a country is from the overall average cost of the same set around the world. The standard deviations were:

• Air Drop Helicopter: 13.22
• Jungle Exploration Site: 11.39
• Mobile Lab: 7.64

The smaller the number, the less variation there is in the price of the set from country to country. While all of these show quite a bit of variation, you can still see that there is less when it comes to the Mobile Lab.

This set comes with four Minifigures and a crocodile. This equates to a brick-to-Minifigure ratio of 107:1. If you include the crocodile, it goes down to 85:1. Like with the Jungle Exploration Site, both of these are really good.

So, if you are traveling this summer, where should you go to get the best deal on this set? The best value for Canadian shoppers is currently in Australia, where the set will cost you $58.79 CDN. This is a full $16.20 CDN less than what you would pay in Canada, which translates to a savings of about 22%. The worst place to buy this set is, once again, Denmark. I still amazes me that people visiting LEGOLAND can’t even get a decent price on souvenirs…

In order of best value to worst, here are the countries where you can buy this set:

1. Australia ($59 CDN)
2. New Zealand ($66 CDN)
3. UK ($67 CDN)
4. Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Italy ($74 CDN)
5. Canada ($75 CDN)
6. USA ($77 CDN)
7. Czech Republic ($78 CDN)
8. Switzerland ($80 CDN)
9. Hungary ($81 CDN)
10. Sweden, South Korea ($82 CDN)
11. Finland, Norway ($88 CDN)
12. Denmark ($89 CDN)

For the first time in this series, the UK has been dethroned as having the best value for this set. It does still maintain the best cost for Europe though. I found the fact that Australia and New Zealand top this list to be interesting since they were at the bottom of the list for the Air Drop Helicopter, and a little above the average cost for the Jungle Exploration Site. It kind of makes you wonder how the price of a set is actually determined from country to country. You would think it would be a little more consistent from set to set.

That concludes my look at the Jungle Mobile Lab on the international scene. Be sure to check back tomorrow for my analysis of the Jungle Halftrack Mission. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next time,

-T.N.B.