Amazon again

[Bayleaf]

Ah, apologies then. I don't get that nonsense anymore, but yes, that was irritating.

[Headers]

I have a guilty secret.I am an Amazon Prime user and I use it a lot.
There I’ve said it.
We live quite a way from any shopping centres. A round trip of 80k to Agen.
In my experience, it is quicker and more efficient for us to shop online with Amazon than to trek round the shops. When we do go to Agen it is armed with a list of items and frequently we do not manage to get them all.
When I have had problems and recently I have had two misselling incidents, Amazon have responded quickly and have either made a refund or offered to replace the items without any argument.
The other consideration for us is our health which is far from good and our wish to avoid catching Covid.
I am still using Amazon U.K. but on a much reduced basis. I recently bought a replacement part for a vacuum cleaner for 30 euros less than if I had bought it in France and I’m waiting for a James Bond DVD to arrive as the French version doesn’t come with English as an option and it isn’t available in France until mid-feb. So far I haven’t had to pay any extra duty.

[Sparkle]

@Headers Although I'm not a Prime subscriber I agree with everything you have said. For us a 40km round trip to Mayenne which is quite limited in the range of shops so it's Amazon.fr for us. Not actually bought from Amazon.UK for some years. Amazon customer service for us has been excellent cannot fault them with a couple of issues I've had in the past.

[exile]

I too can sympathise with your position although not a Prime user myself. My round trip to any supermarket is 22km and to big stores closer to 120km. We are fortunate enough that doing that big shop every 4 weeks or so is not too big an imposition.

[Hotrodder]

I have no doubt that the Prime membership can be of benefit to regular users but my beef with Amazon is the crap website and the trickery they use.
I would probably still use them even if I lived within easy reach of a large shopping area because the items I want are not often easy to find and the shops insist on closing at lunch and all day Sunday so any shopping has to be planned with military precision. The whole retail experience sucks in France, and that's without even thinking about customer service (aka customer exploitation).

[L Austin France]

Notwithstanding the arguments against it I use Amazon & Prime quite a lot as I can't stand the shopping thing where one goes out to buy a certain item & spend a lot of time driving around comparing items & indeed ensuring they are in stock & available. Bloke thing probably but shopping from the comfort of my armchair not only allows me to compare offers & check specifications but also saves on fuel & temper.
I don't always buy from Amazon but if their price is 'near enough' the comfort of knowing any complaints will be dealt with quickly usually sways me.
I consider 49€ per year for prime money well spent & is recovered easily on the carriage charges I would otherwise pay.

[niemeyjt]

Inspired by the above, I have decided to have a go at ordering from Amazon UK to here.

It seems that Amazon charge me import fees over CHF65. Even with the expensive postage and the import fees it is still only 50% of the cost of buying here:

Screenshot 2022-01-09 152517.png

Watch this space!

[Sparkle]

@niemeyjt wow - think I'll look at the UK site as well from now on.

@L Austin France No, not just a bloke thing. I'm now an armchair shopper too I was a frequent London visitor with a friend - she loved to shop which drove me potty going from store to store especially when some of the stores ie M&S were local to our area. So while she tried on what seemed like most of the first floor of M&S Oxford St, I loved to sit & have a double cappuccino in Fenwicks basement cafe

[niemeyjt]

The above order was for 5 x £7.99 including VAT for UK purchase. Thus £39.95 is the UK VAT inclusive price.

I am not sure of is what happens to the UK VAT. Does it go to Amazon's profits? Or does it get reimbursed?

Will ask!

[tagh]

I use Amazon UK, Fr. and De. depending on price and convenience. And Prime, again to suit my needs, especially, say, round Xmas. But always cancel asap. No problems, though it does have to be watched for each order and for the renewal date.
Mainly to avoid slogging round shops where people seem to descend in packs of covid spreaders, apparently unconcerned that shopping is the greatest spreader of all!
Thus far, no problems, touch wood.

As an aside, I recently got a jigsaw puzzle from Amazon de for my partner and I to do but there was a piece missing despite our mutual care. Rather that going through Amazon I contacted the company in Germany, Lais, who immediately sent a replacement. So now I have one puzzle as yet undone and one with a piece missing. But what service!