Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: In France, Sacre Bleu! The Prices!
First the interesting news, they have these on the shelves in France – presumably TRU will get these later in the year – while not the most exciting of boxes, they are nice for starter collectors …
This one in particular does contain CARS that are difficult to find on their own – especially since Movie Moments seem defunct …
This other one is the same as the US one except Mater is subbed for Sally … so we may not get this “update” …
But as for what’s on the shelf – looks good but may not be flying off the shelves if you look closely at the pricing …
€7.90 = $10.40 USD …
AND that’s with the 20% Euro drop to the USD in the past month!
So, you know, Mattel is gonna have to make up that 20% somehow …
Or @$31.25 for a hauler …
Or @$25.27 for a lenticular 3-pack …
Or only $8.83 per lenticular … collect them all!
And while Movie Moments might be dead at $6.99 here in the US, they probably are not doing so great at $16.15 converted from EU …
Well, I guess that $80 Bordeaux is not looking so bad …
Thanks David V., “Yann,” and “Kikicars,” for the photos.
5 March 2010
24 Comments
I cannot understand this from a potential market outlook France has a population of 80M while Ireland has a population of 4M. Singles cost €3.99, Movie Moments €8.99 and haulers €17.99. Toons cost more typically €4.59 for a single. Until this year we were a full year behind but I picked up Yakosa, Kabuto, Ito San and Chase LMQ Bling Bling with Piston Cup on Thursday last and have had Chase Ramone for ages.
Cost of living dictates pricing, France has higher salaries than the US and Ireland. I worked for a US company for years and we earned on average 30 to 50% more than our US equivalents but of course you have a lower cost of living overall so therefore lower prices for goods and services.
On the other hand I am delighted that Cars cost so much in France as hopefully this will teach them to stop cheating at soccer!
The cars are way more expensive in Denmark!!! The retail price of a hauler is $55!!! Need I say I only buy them when they are on sale? On sale they usually cost between $28 – $37!!! A single car is $15!!!
When I was on vacation in the US a couple of years ago it hurt really really bad to see how cheap the cars are over there ;-( And I couldn’t even just buy them because I had to concentrate on items not sold in Denmark!
Ding! We have a winner! or loser should I say. I feel for you brother.
That ain’t right!
Here in Austria (and we are just a couple of ours drive from France), are the prices a bit diferent.
Lenticulars in TRU: 6,99€ In other stores: 7,99€
Movie Moments: 17,99€ or 14,99 (it depends)
Haulers: 19,99€
5er Sets like the first pictures: 24,99€
3er sets (lenticulars or not): 19,99
Mega Sizes: 12,99€
Tractor Tipping playset: 24,99€
2009 and 2010 Collector Guide for 9,99€ (old one on sale for 6,99€)
Thats the reason we keep buying in USA with help some really nice people from Take5 otherways i could have quit collecting before i really started.
Dolly
That is wrong!!! France is a country just like the United States and I don’t see why there prices are so much higher than ours here in U.S.!! :angry:
It does seem boorish, but you guys understand trade tariffs and the likes, yes? Mattel can’t send these to Europe for what they can to North America. I don’t know what they are taxed to distribute overseas, but I’m sure it is a material amount. Is it the difference between a $13 hauler here and a $31 hauler there? Probably not, but it’s not like they are just gouging our brothers and sisters abroad and putting it all in their pockets. Eric = not defending Mattel, just making sure more of the facts are on the table. Think about what it costs us when we trade with friends overseas, you can easily add several dollars to the value of each car in shipping costs. That’s just shipping, not taxing. Some countries require you to pay a tax at the customs office on the value of the goods I (for example) just sent you (being a very open term). It is expensive however you look at it.
True dat, but Mattel is importing them to US from Canada, correct? Surely that is costing money and tax, (while skipping being available in Canada). They are imported again from China or Singapore or wherever the manufacturing plant is. I’m not sure what Mattel is thinking but the logistics of it seem wrong to me, including pricing even when considering shipping and tax costs. To me, this is a price gouge by stores trying to make profit.
Quite often, the containers from China go directly to Target, WM, TRU, etc… distribution centers as soon as the boat hits the port. This is why the West coast typically gets the new stock first.
The Mattel warehouse in Canada holds “extra” cases for distribution at a later time, assuming a large enough amount were made.
MET or anyone see this:
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/02/10/cars-2-stalls-at-the-starting-line-pushed-back-to-december-2011/
(MET: Incorrect headline – if you re-read the first paragraph which notes the error – they just did not change the headline – some people misheard Iger (pres of Disney) at analyst conf call in talking about slate of animated movies and though he said December but after going back to the recording, he said June … so as of now, march 5, 2010, the film is still coming in June 2011).
I heard this was incorrect, and Cars 2 is still slated for next summer. John Lasetter is now co-directing(taking over) to resolve a storyboard issue, and try to get it out by June…. but you never know , it could still get delayed…
it is very sweet to find something tasty on the shelves but not at sky high prices!
i think cars here in the uk are over priced too at £3.50 ($5.80ish).
french dudes are better off shopping on ebay!
ya, they are expensive over seas. I was in Taiwan and Indonesia last summer. a single car cost US$10 in TW and $12 in Indonesia. hahhaha, can’t pick anyone up for that price but they have a couple TJ left over on the shelve. I think they are still there for that price.
holy cow thats insanely expensive!
Digital price tags? France has entered the future before us? Merde.
I’ve been seeing digital price tags in the states for 3 years now. mostly at drug stores and AAFES … I think they are a bad idea personally…. I’m sure someone will come up with a way to reprogram them to lower prices ….
The price is all relative… I just hate the fact that so many different types are spread all over this world… KISS Keep It Simple Matty… Errr…. I means STOOPID!!!
It is the same bad deal here in Australia, if not worse. Only we don’t really have a lot of that new stuff to even get excited about.
are we sure these are not substitutes? You know the old switcheroo! Can anyone make out what the names are on the boxes?
the Cars are pictured on the top of the box.
I like the set with Lightning, Tow, Mia and Tia, and Ron Hover… The prices are really high – that’s one of the reasons the Gask-Its promo Car was so expensive…
Which also means it HAS to be a TRU promotion soon!
just sad ….. truely sad …. why is Mattel railroading our over seas buddys?? 🙁
So wrong!