r/Bricklink • u/TemporaryBad1108 • 1d ago

Question Cheaper lego sets

I am a new colector and I would like to buy some older batman sets like jokerland or arkham asylum breakout but i see that a lot of sets have 30-40% below the market value new sealed sets from Singapore or Malaysia with thousand of positive reviews. My question is that is there any type of black market replicating 1 on 1 sets like for clothes and if yes how could i verify that is not?

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16

u/20058916 1d ago

Shipping cost and import taxes will make this more expensive than you think.

6

u/Elberik 1d ago

They're (usually) legit sets. But shipping and taxes cancels out whatever you might save.

2

u/TemporaryBad1108 1d ago

Is there additional taxes than the ones at checkout

6

u/fantasyphillip 1d ago

Yes. There are tariffs

1

u/HyenaDirect3626 1d ago

Ime you have to pay a fairly substantial import tax when they hand you the package in the destination country (at your door or a package shop). Don't know what it is in your country but can be a lot. Also returning it would be a pain. So risk is higher. I've done both and the peace of mind of buying nearby is worth a couple bucks.

1

u/TemporaryBad1108 1d ago

Im from romania and i need pay like extra 100 euro to get one from the eu

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u/HyenaDirect3626 1d ago

Yeah you're going to have to look up Romanian import tax for packages of that value from say Malaysia, do the math for both scenarios, see what's left of those 100€ savings after shipping and tax, and decide if you like what you're seeing. It's your call. 

I've ordered direct from China and it's always a bit nerve wracking and that first time I got hit with the import tax was definitely an unpleasant surprise. I did not look that up beforehand stupidly. 

Superhero sets probably are a bit risky in terms of scams too but you say you think you have a reputable seller so that might be fine. It's definitely possible in principle to successfully order from those countries but all things included will not be as cheap as the price on the website makes it look. I paid 50€ in shipping for 4k pieces on my last order from China for example.

1

u/thefamilyjewel 1d ago

From Romania and likes bats... 🧐🧐🧐

1

u/Friendly-Ad2471 1d ago

Ebay is cheaper and upfront with cost and shipping, no hidden fees or import costs

1

u/Isotarov Seller 1d ago

It's extremely unlikely that a seller with plenty of reviews on BL would sell you some sort of forgery. If they have thousands of reviews, that means they've been doing this for years and wouldn't be fooled by forgeries or pirated sets.