In the United States we are saddled with Schylling as a distributor for BRIO toys. I use the term “saddled” deliberately: we tend to get “new” releases anywhere from six months to a year after they have already been out in the European markets, assuming we even get them at all. Schylling picks and chooses which items it’s going to bring in from BRIO’s catalogs, and we are stuck with their choices and their timing. The good news is, there are options for you if you are interested in some relatively recent Wooden Railway products.
First, Schylling has released their catalog supplement for 2015 and it looks like the Fun Park theme will be available in the U.S. for the holidays. Also showing up will be the all new #33766 Railway World Deluxe Set, a huge starter set with a nice mix of some recent accessories. Based on Schylling’s dealer pricing, expect the latter to run about $400.
If you want some of the Fall 2015 products, a few 3rd party sellers from Europe are listing items on Amazon’s U.S. site, and selling at very reasonable prices with either free or very cheap shipping. This week, I noticed LeVida Toys listing most of the Horse Farm theme, including the large #33791 Horse Stable. A couple of other sellers have these items listed as well. Be sure to look around.
Why does BRIO choose not to have separately sold road tracks and accessories distributed to US markets?
It’s not BRIO, it’s Schylling. Schylling is the U.S. distributor for BRIO and they decide which products to bring to market. There was a year or two when the BRIO road tracks were available, but I am guessing they weren’t big sellers so they dropped them from the U.S. lineup. As for the other accessories? I really don’t know how Schyling makes the decisions they do. I share the same frustrations as you: so many great accessories never make it here. Fortunately, the Amazon market and eBay can help fill in the gaps.
Ah, I thought that although Schylling is the distributor, it’s BRIO that ultimately makes the decisions on what gets to be available in Amereica.
The only way to get road straight tracks, curve tracks, and the plastic crossings in the USA are in very few (moderately expensive) sets. I guess I could order online but the shipping and handling from the UK and Europe would cost far more than the toy itself!
I once emailed BRIO about the U.S. product lineup and they pointed me at Schylling. When I emailed Schylling, they confirmed that they choose what to bring in. It can be very frustrating being at their mercy. I suggest that you turn to eBay for some of the items you are looking for. Specifically watch for sellers in Germany as they can ship small packages to the U.S. for under $10. The U.K. can do the same, but for some reason a lot of U.K. sellers like to use the Global Shipping Program (which is outrageously expensive) so there are fewer U.K.-based sellers with reasonable international shipping charges.
Here’s an eBay listing for the 33744 BRIO Road Expansion Pack
sold by a U.K. seller, offering free shipping to the U.S. As of 10:45pm PST on 11/7, there was one of these remaining.