few questions to help you decide:
1.Do you already have Joel? Yes/No
2.Do you need 2 pairs of Joel & Ellie? Yes/No
3.Do you need 2 Joel & 1 Ellie? Yes/No
a.1.Yes 2.Yes = Buy the 2 pack and another Ellie
b.1.Yes 2.No 3.Yes = Buy Ellie & Winter Pack
c.1.No 2.Yes = Buy x2 2 packs
d.1.No 2.No. 3.Yes = Buy a 2 pack and try to get a standalone Joel for retail price
e.1.Yes 2.No 3.No = Buy Ellie
your post makes no sense, whether you buy the 2 pack or not you still need a body. the custom fees is based on the total value, so if you purchase Ellie + winter you pay less duties.
and like i mentioned, if you look around, you can see that for example Onesixthkit may have the cheapest price on the double pack & winter pack, their ellie cost more and since shipping price is included you don't save anything buying all from them.
check your local shops they might sell the single or winter pack cheaper.
also shops like onesixthkit can lower the value to reduce your duties. find the phicen body elsewhere from sellers willing to lower the value.
I want the two pack because I'm sure 2nd release Joel will be somewhat better than the first but mostly because I don't have Joel anymore, Now I can either buy the ellie kit and body alone, skipping on 2nd release Joel and the winter pack but I don't wanna do that, So I either buy everything seperately or buy the 2 pack and body, only thing is buying all the stuff from different retailers will be much more of a hassle for me because of how costums and the post office operate in my country. Let's see, buying seperately:
Ellie kit - (with body) $213/free shipping on Giantoy/ have to pay $50 for added value tax plus around $20 of fees which results in something like $283
Winter pack - $66/free shipping on KGHobby/ have to $15 for added value tax plus around $20 of fees which results in something like $101
Ellie is currently unvailable on Giantoy though, which means I can either wait or buy the body and kit sperately somewhere else.
So for the ellie kit and the winter pack I'll have to pay around $384, which is almost the price of the two pack, but I don't get Joel. If I buy the 2 pack plus the body:
Ellie and Joel 2 pack - $395/free shipping on Giantoy/ have to pay $90 of added value tax plus around $20 of fees which results in something like $505
TBLeague body - $44/free shipping on KGHobby/ have to pay $10 of added value tax plus around $20 of fees which results in somethig like $74
So for the 2 pack and body I'll have to pay $579, which includes everything including the 2nd release Joel but the price is considerably higher.
It really comes down to, do I wanna spend $184 less or drop it on the 2 pack and get everything pratically at once? It's something I still have to think about since I really don't wanna spend a month worth of salary on toys… Also I never ask for retailers to put lower values just to reduce my fees, I can get in trouble if the price of the package soesn't match the price of the item on site and receipt.