Buying toys and LEGO from America

Toys are sold in boxes designed to look impressive on a shelf, and that packaging is most of what you pay to bring them in. Space is charged as though it were weight, so a big light box is an expensive thing — the full explanation.

From our calculator on 7 September 2026:

The counterintuitive part

The bigger, more expensive set prices better than the small one.

That surprises people, and it is the same rule as everywhere: the fixed costs of an order do not care what is inside, so the more value you put against them, the better the ratio. A $160 set is a bigger box, but it carries nearly three times the value, and value wins.

So if you are choosing between a small set and a large one, and you were going to buy the large one eventually anyway, the large one is the better import.

What is worth it

Usually yes

Large or collector LEGO sets, especially retired ones and anything never released here

Specific sets a child has asked for by name and number

Collectible figures and models — small, valuable, exact

Hobby kits and model-making supplies

Anything genuinely not sold in Egypt

Usually no

Small sets and pocket-money toys on their own — the multiple is worst exactly where the value is lowest

Large plastic outdoor toys, ride-ons, playhouses. Enormous and cheap is the worst combination there is.

Soft toys, which are almost entirely air

Anything with the same set on an Egyptian shelf at a comparable price

Practical things

Set numbers. LEGO and most collectible lines identify sets by number. Send the number rather than the name — several sets share a name across years, and the boxes look alike.

Check the Egyptian price first. LEGO in particular is distributed here, and for current mainstream sets the gap can be small enough that buying locally is plainly better. It is the retired and the never-released sets where importing wins.

Batteries. Toys with lithium batteries have their own treatment and are not always straightforward. Tell us if a toy contains one and we will tell you where it stands before you commit.

Age labelling and safety marks differ between markets. If you care about a specific standard, check the listing.

Buy the thing that was asked for. A near-equivalent set is not the set. If a child named it, get the number right.

If it is for an occasion

Two to three weeks from purchase, so a month before a birthday is comfortable and a fortnight is a gamble — see how long it takes. If the date is close, buy something here. We would rather say that than have you counting days.

If you are ordering from outside Egypt for a child here, sending something to family in Egypt covers how to do it so nobody at the other end is asked for money.

How it works here

Send the link or the set number and we come back with one fixed price in Egyptian pounds — everything inside, usually within hours. You pay 20% to start, the balance before delivery, and nothing at your door.