Playmobil Canada's crazy price increases

[BlueWizard]

Has anybody else had experiences with Playmobil prices going up and up every few months this year? I've been waiting for the Ayuma sets to go on sale on playmobil.ca (to make them more reasonably priced!) but instead of being on sale for Canada Day (July 1) they went up 10 to 15%!!!  Not only that, but for instance, set 70803 (2 fairies with snake and peacock) started out at C$25 but then in March went up to $29, then $30 then down to $28 and now yesterday up to $33. It all seems a bit crazy. This seems to be the case for some other themes as well, like Dino Rise and Novelmore. I think I will have to hold off on buying anything for a while to see what happens. On top of that the availability appears to be hit and miss. Some sets (like the January release Playmo-Friends) are finally showing up in stock; so even if I was buying, many sets are just not in stock. The local shops have reduced their Playmobil sections and haven't ordered some themes. Very frustrating! Maybe if I pull out a few storage boxes of older Playmobil sets, I can pretend they are new sets! Some I haven't seen for a few years! 

Of course this is in addition to so many other things going up 10% or more.

David in Victoria, BC.

[StJohn]

It is the same here in Germany. Playmobil.de has in recent days increased its web shop prices virtually across the board by 10% or more. They are now selling their stuff at higher prices than advertised in their print catalogue! I am not sure what this means: real higher prices due to increased costs, which will eventually also reach retailers and consumers, or some crazy pre-sale price hike to make some future sale more palatable to the company...

[Pynedor]

Some of the prices have definitely been increased on the different sites. I think many of us have a sort of "per figure" cost that we calculate (at least for the smaller sets), and that might need to be increased soon too to be realistic.

On top of that the availability appears to be hit and miss. Some sets (like the January release Playmo-Friends) are finally showing up in stock; so even if I was buying, many sets are just not in stock. The local shops have reduced their Playmobil sections and haven't ordered some themes. Very frustrating!

I've noticed the same things.

Maybe if I pull out a few storage boxes of older Playmobil sets, I can pretend they are new sets! Some I haven't seen for a few years! 

That's a good idea!

[BlueWizard]

I think many of us have a sort of "per figure" cost that we calculate (at least for the smaller sets), and that might need to be increased soon too to be realistic.

Yes, the per figure cost has really gone up... one figure can be a Fi?ure or a Playmo-Friend or a Special Plus or a small regular set or a starter set. So anywhere from $5 to over $20 in Canada. Ouch!

[Eplay]

Some of the sets on playmobil.nl have also increased in price.

[doug]

Blue,  I have not noticed the US site's prices fluctuating,  but the branded themes you cited already had ridiculously high prices here.  Maybe branding is giving the retailer an excuse to pump up prices.  I DO understand that, say,  Mr Spock and Scooby Doo cost more because of licensing fees.  I do NOT understand how that applies to Novelmore and Ayuma, which AFAIK are internal brands.


US site's  Ayauma 70802 has been (I think consistently) $16.  ...for a klicky and a bird.  Compare that to 70878, for which $6 gets you a klicky and a panther.  Maybe those  spindly teen bodies are harder to produce.... Maybe the Ayuma paint aps are more detailed...  but from my point of view, we are up-charged, quite a bit, for the Ayuma name.

 Or take the BEAUTIFUL 9893 3-viking set, which is $8 here, and use Pynedor's price-per-klicky to compare to the 70672 Novelmore 3-pack of soldiers, which is $12.   I do not know what the extra 50% is for, except for a blister pack and eye strain.

Have you noticed the un-branded items fluctuating on the Canadian site too?  If it is just the branded items, I am sorry to hear that your Ayuma tax has gone up.  :/

[Rasputin]

US prices are increasing but on seemingly random items . It’s not across the board but here and there

Prices will continue to go up 

That’s what you get when you voluntarily raise oil prices 

Absolutely predictable 

[Redmao]

I noticed that both the James Bond and A Team sets have gone up $15.

[BlueWizard]

Have you noticed the un-branded items fluctuating on the Canadian site too?  If it is just the branded items, I am sorry to hear that your Ayuma tax has gone up.  :/

Yes there definitely is an Ayuma tax here (plus the Canada tax - for not being a major market, I presume!). Even the Novelmore prices weren't too bad until very recently. While the Ayuma sets were going up every few months, the Novelmore sets remained stable. But now (for example) set 70749 (the flying wizard) which was C$17 since it was released (last year?) has risen to C$20 this month (about 18% increase). I haven't really been checking on the branded sets' prices as I haven't been too interested in any yet - or they are way beyond what I will spend on Playmobil... Star Trek Enterprise is C$700.  I don't know if the Asterix sets are premium priced but at least they look to be available in Canada soon!

David

[playmovictorian]

I am sorry to see that everything is getting more expensive across the board, including Playmobil