How to Import the LEGO Batman Movie Dimensions Packs to Get Them a Month Early
UPDATE (14/02/17) – This process is actually made a lot simpler by ordering from Amazon UK, as the Excalibur Batman Fun Pack isn’t a retailer exclusive over there. You can put the Story Pack and Fun Pack together in one order to cut down on shipping costs, and you’ll still get everything before March 30th. It says on the product page that they can’t ship to Australia, but I put through an order just fine, and it’s on its way right now ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Original Story:
The LEGO Batman Movie Story Pack is the third Story Pack announced for LEGO Dimensions. This pack will let you play through the events of The LEGO Batman Movie and includes Robin, Batgirl and the Batwing. It releases February 10th 2017… in America. But for us Aussies, Warner Bros. decided to delay the movie until March 30th and the LEGO Dimensions packs that tie in with it as well. So if you want to buy the LEGO Batman Movie Story Pack or the Excalibur Batman Fun Pack in Australia you’ll need to wait well after the American release until an unspecified date in March- most likely the 30th, to tie in with the film, which would mean that it’s almost a two month wait for Aussies! Given that you’re on this site you probably don’t want to wait that long, and why should you have to, really? Thankfully the packs aren’t region locked so you’re able to import them if you’re willing to pay a bit more to skip the long wait.
The Story Pack was previously a bit of a pain to import because Amazon decided to block international orders of Dimensions packs for some reason. They do this every now and then, but at the moment that block has gone away. You can add the LEGO Batman Movie Story Pack to your cart and pick between three different shipping options:
I went for the expedited shipping because it seemed like the best balance between time and cost – it’ll arrive before the end of the month, while only costing around about the same as it would at full price in Australia (USD$49.99 for the Story Pack, plus USD$12.67 for shipping, totalling at USD$62.66 which is around AUD$83. The Australian RRP for Story Packs is $79.99). I don’t get to make use of Target or Big W’s prices, but getting the pack about a month early is a fair compromise. And, a big boon of ordering from Amazon means that if they lower their price at any point after you’ve placed your order then you’ll get it for that cheaper price. There was a point earlier in the year where they massively reduced the prices of the Wave 6 packs, including the Ghostbusters Story Pack which went to well below the Australian RRP even when you factored in shipping costs. However, the jerks also decided that during that sale you couldn’t make any new international orders, meaning that Aussies couldn’t make use of the sale – unless they’d already ordered. So if you put in an order now and they change their minds about taking Australian orders again then it doesn’t matter because you’ll have locked it in, and you might end up saving money in addition to getting the pack around the normal release date.
Now, unfortunately, Amazon aren’t taking orders for the Excalibur Batman Fun Pack because it’s a Target exclusive in the US. This means that if you want to import that you’ll need to use AusPost’s Shopmate service that lets you send packages to their American facilities and get them forwarded over here. Most US sites (including Target’s) offer free shipping within the country, so all your shipping costs will come from ShopMate. The downside is that they charge a base rate of AUD$22.95, plus extra costs based on the product’s wait, so you could be paying around $50 just for a Fun Pack so it’s not really worth it. But the option’s there if you’re desperate to play as a new Batman and get into his Battle Arena. However, you could also use this service to buy the Story Pack from Amazon should they stop taking Australian orders (or any other American retailer, like Walmart or GameStop). The shipping costs would be a bit more than when shipping through Amazon, but at least you’d get the pack.
ShopMate has an easy to follow guide on how to use the service – basically, register for an account and it’ll give you a special shipping address. When the packs you want are available online (Whether that’s the Fun Pack on Target’s American site or the Story Pack on Amazon), go through the checkout process as you normally would, but use the ShopMate address you’re given instead of your own address. Then when the package arrives at the ShopMate facility, you’ll be prompted by Australia Post to declare your goods and pay the shipping costs they calculate based on the package’s weight.
So there you go, if you want to play these packs when most of the English-speaking world is, then it’s not too difficult to organise. It will most likely cost a bit more than you’d pay in a store, but for some people that’s a price worth paying to get an almost two month lead on the rest of the country. Hopefully we don’t get messed around with any other movie tie-in packs in the future! If you’re not importing then you’ll be able to grab these packs from any retailer here at some point in March, as they’re not store exclusives. The Knight Rider Fun Pack that is part of the same wave in the US will launch here February 8th, and is EB Games Exclusive.
