North American Set Availability
Bobby writes:
Is there any easy/ inexpensive way to purchase non north american issued sets? Currenly TLG has released a line of amazing looking board game sets, and there will be an upcoming Christmas house set.
Last year I was aware of a movement to convince TLG to sell fans the castle advent calendar, and I got in on that. I am wondering is there is any way to convince them to do the same for the die hard fans on these kind of sets. What would the reason be for not doing that?
Dear Bobby,
I recommend making a friend in the United Kingdom. You can send them sets that are only available in North America and they can send you sets found in Europe. Shipping small packages from the UK to USA is very swift and affordable.
The game sets are an entirely new concept. TLG wants to try this out in one major market so that they do not lose money selling it worldwide. Hopefully the games will be available everywhere. I am enjoying my copies of these sets and think they are one of the best toys from LEGO in a long time.
Marketing teams in the Direct to Consumer (D2C) branch of TLG make decisions on which sets will be sold in each market. Unfortunately they often drop the ball by not having popular sets in certain large markets. The North American D2C department made this mistake last year with 7979 Castle Advent Calendar and this year with the 6299 Pirates Advent Calendar. The Lego Ambassadors who represent several Pirate and Castle theme sites request that these sets be sold in North America but the final decision is up to TLG.
Sincerely,
LFan
Ask a LEGO Fan 
But, any news on whether or not the Christmas House (10199) will see a North American release?
John,
We do not yet know if the 10199 set will be released in North America. Once more details are known, I will post them here.
Sincerely,
LFan
Thanks!
It’s possible to buy lego sets not usually available in N America by going to lego shop website and changing region. For example, to get Pirates Advent Calendar 6299, change region to United Kingdom, where it is available, and should be able to make direct purchase from that site. I’ve done the same when shopping from Amazon.com, changing to French website to find things not normally available here. Good luck!
Jennifer,
You are correct in stating that fans can order from a foreign Shop at Home. However they must ship the sets to a friend the SAH “country x”. A friend in “country x” can then ship the sets to the person who placed the order.
Sincerely,
LFan