Answers.Body: <p>This is probably due to an &quot;exclusive importation and sales agreement&quot;. An exclusive importation agreement means that the manufacturer (Lego, in this case), gives some importer exclusive rights to sell their products in some country. In Israel, Lego has such an agreement with &quot;Ilanit Toys Ltd.&quot;, and I guess they don't want to (or legally can't) infringe on the importer's sales.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-10-06T18:00:52.590Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-10-06T18:00:52.590Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Zvi Rosenfeld
Answers.Body: <p>The LEGO Online Store states that it can deliver to:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Your LEGO® order can be shipped direct to you or a friend/relative in select countries within Europe and even to North America and Asia/Pacific.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>The list of shipping locations includes:<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/vG0LF.png" alt="Shipping Destinations and Languages"></p>
  
  <p>I guess they have their reasons for not including Israel in that list - presumably it's either because of excessive handling/customs fees or shipping reliability - I'm guessing that's more the issue rather than other sites being told they can't send LEGO (specifically) to Israel.</p>
  
  <p>I found a guide for eBay sellers planning on <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/Shipping-to-Israel-Seller-and-buyer-info-/10000000006599000/g.html" rel="noreferrer">shipping to Israel written by a user here</a> which talks more about the customs issues.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-04-25T06:45:05.963Z
Answers.Text: That's actually a VERY short list. Doesn't even have Japan , or South Africa, or any country in Africa/ Middle East etc. I'm guessing this is more than just a customs issue.  Because as I said, Legos are sold here, and online stores will sell other goods to Israel.
Answers.UserDisplayName: avi
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-04-25T12:56:12.190Z
Answers.Text: It is a short list - and you're right, it's probably more than a customs issue, it's probably a logistics issue as well (although it does have South Korea on there which is interesting).
Answers.UserDisplayName: Zhaph - Ben Duguid
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-04-25T13:37:05.407Z
Answers.Text: I wonder if those are countries that Denmark has Free Trade laws for, and must ship to them directly, as apposed to being able to sell the rights to sell legos to a specific supplier.
  
  I also just noticed that the screenshot implies, that not all lego products will be shipped to all those countries.
Answers.UserDisplayName: avi
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-02-14T14:02:35.163Z
Answers.Text: Sorry for late reply, but I don't think much has changed, I think the list contains only countries where LEGO has official stores. For example, in Israel almost every toys store sells LEGO sets, but there are no official LEGO stores and so, Pick'A'Brick does not ship to Israel, sadly
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ron Nuni
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-04-24T16:56:29.653Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-04-24T16:56:29.653Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Zhaph - Ben Duguid
Body: <p>I live in Israel where LEGO are available but for insane prices. Generally 5X the price of a LEGO set online. I have called LEGO asking to have a LEGO set shipped to me, and they have told me that they will not ship directly. When purchasing from online sites, they tell me they can not ship to Israel.</p>
  
  <p>Is this common practice internationally?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-04T06:40:43.190Z
Comments.Text: It might be possible that they don't sell directly to customers in Israel to avoid backlash by the governments of countries antagonistic to Israel.
Comments.UserDisplayName: nick012000
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-05T16:35:10.850Z
Comments.Text: @nick012000 that doesn't explain the other 120~ countries
Comments.UserDisplayName: avi
Tags: <shopping>
Title: Does LEGO generally restrict the sale of LEGO sets in a country?
UserDisplayName: avi
ThreadText: # Does LEGO generally restrict the sale of LEGO sets in a country?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-04-24)
  
  I live in Israel where LEGO are available but for insane prices. Generally 5X the price of a LEGO set online. I have called LEGO asking to have a LEGO set shipped to me, and they have told me that they will not ship directly. When purchasing from online sites, they tell me they can not ship to Israel.
  
  Is this common practice internationally?
  
  **Tags:** shopping
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: It might be possible that they don't sell directly to customers in Israel to avoid backlash by the governments of countries antagonistic to Israel.  
  > **username_0**: @nick012000 that doesn't explain the other 120~ countries  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2020-10-06. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
  
  This is probably due to an "exclusive importation and sales agreement". An exclusive importation agreement means that the manufacturer (Lego, in this case), gives some importer exclusive rights to sell their products in some country. In Israel, Lego has such an agreement with "Ilanit Toys Ltd.", and I guess they don't want to (or legally can't) infringe on the importer's sales.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2014-04-24. Score: 5
  
  The LEGO Online Store states that it can deliver to:
  
  > Your LEGO® order can be shipped direct to you or a friend/relative in select countries within Europe and even to North America and Asia/Pacific.
  
  The list of shipping locations includes:![Shipping Destinations and Languages](https://i.sstatic.net/vG0LF.png)
  
  I guess they have their reasons for not including Israel in that list - presumably it's either because of excessive handling/customs fees or shipping reliability - I'm guessing that's more the issue rather than other sites being told they can't send LEGO (specifically) to Israel.
  
  I found a guide for eBay sellers planning on [shipping to Israel written by a user here](http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/Shipping-to-Israel-Seller-and-buyer-info-/10000000006599000/g.html) which talks more about the customs issues.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: That's actually a VERY short list. Doesn't even have Japan , or South Africa, or any country in Africa/ Middle East etc. I'm guessing this is more than just a customs issue.  Because as I said, Legos are sold here, and online stores will sell other goods to Israel.  
  > **username_3**: It is a short list - and you're right, it's probably more than a customs issue, it's probably a logistics issue as well (although it does have South Korea on there which is interesting).  
  > **username_0**: I wonder if those are countries that Denmark has Free Trade laws for, and must ship to them directly, as apposed to being able to sell the rights to sell legos to a specific supplier.  I also just noticed that the screenshot implies, that not all lego products will be shipped to all those countries.  
  > **username_4**: Sorry for late reply, but I don't think much has changed, I think the list contains only countries where LEGO has official stores. For example, in Israel almost every toys store sells LEGO sets, but there are no official LEGO stores and so, Pick'A'Brick does not ship to Israel, sadly  
  
  ---
  
  