Why is the Duplo Bridge 3774 is not available in the US?

[iamFLIP]

My 18-month old son have the Duplo Deluxe Train Set 5609 and the Duplo Thomas Starter Set 5544 and a large storage bin full of Duplo bricks. The box for 5609 got a picture of the Duplo Bridge 3774 that can be used to expand the train set. I'd love to get it for my son and the only way I can get it is to import it from outside the U.S. and already been quoted A LOT just for the shipping.

Why is it that the Duplo Bridge 3774 is not available in the US?

Why even include a picture of it in the box of other sets if it is not going to be available in the US? It is like teasing us for something we can't get.

Is it possible to log in the UK site of Lego.com and order it from there to be delivered in the US?

[Draykov]

Is it not available in the US, or is it just not available in the US today? The thing was released in 2005. You can get it on Bricklink new/sealed, but it would be at 100% mark-up or more + shipping from Europe. According to Lugnet it originally retailed for about $15.

I tried to find a Steve response in the context of your question, but came up with nothing. Bottom line, there are sometimes items that don't make it to one area of distribution or the other. Most of the time, we in North America are the lucky ones. Trains in general have a much bigger following in Europe, so if it's true that this thing never made it over to this side of the pond, that could be a factor. On the other hand, it could be that it was here in the States and it just went out of production before you even knew about it.

[Solo]

For reference, the bridge in question: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=3774

Why is it that the Duplo Bridge 3774 is not available in the US?

LEGO sometimes has region specific exclusives, and this is one of those times. For whatever reason they decided it wouldn't sell as well over here... so they didn't bother.

Why even include a picture of it in the box of other sets if it is not going to be available in the US? It is like teasing us for something we can't get.

I'm sure it wasn't intended to be so cruel. They probably hadn't determined the distribution of the bridge at the time the box art was designed for the set you purchased.

Is it possible to log in the UK site of Lego.com and order it from there to be delivered in the US?

I am fairly certain that the Shop at Home site isn't set up to handle international orders like that. It's not that they don't want you to get it, but being a regional exclusive means the packaging hasn't been approved for sale outside the intended countries.

Sadly, your only option seems to be buying it second hand

Edit: or what Draykov the ninja said. It might just be out of production with some left over in Europe.

[Alpha 40]

According to Brickset.com it was released in the U.S. on 24 Oct 07 to 02 Dec 07 So, It only was available for 3 months and that was 3 years ago.

http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=3774-1

As was mentioned before, you're best bet would be Bricklink. I tried ebay and it is almost twice as much so don't bother going there.

[iamFLIP]

Thanks, guys! I tried the BrickLink route and while the prices are reasonable, the shipping is very expensive, even more than the price of the item. I may get it off eBay even if I have to pay a little more but the shipping are just about $15.

Unless somebody here will sell or trade me one ;-)

[legodavee123]

I've seen that set in LEGO stores in the US-- dunno if it's still on shelves (probably not, I guess), but it definitely WAS available in the US. My vote goes to the fact that it's an old set and they're phasing it out, and the US supply has dried up, not to be replenished...

DaveE