Amazon.co.uk Deals & Stories

[percyhanna]

I thought I would start a generic thread of deals from Amazon.co.uk and specific success stories from people who have managed to order from them in the past who live in Canada (and therefore this is specifically a Canadian Hot Deals Thread).

I recently placed two orders from them, with very favourable results. They can have some really killer deals, and is often more than worth shipping and (possible) duty charges.

I will save my personal success story for a separate post, but I will keep this section at the top for current great deals.

Special Notice:

The obvious warning is that Blu-Rays have region coding. However, surprisingly many titles on Amazon.co.uk are region-free, meaning they will play fine in the US. There are many websites that allow you to search and see if the titles are region-free. Caution should still be used, however.

Sites to check:

http://bluray.liesinc.net/index.php?region=b
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/
http://regionfreemovies.com/

Also check these forums obviously, and Amazon.co.uk will often even specify if it is region-free.

Current Hot Deals: (and supposedly region free)

Band of Brothers: £16.98
Matrix Trilogy: £16.48
Godfather Trilogy: £17.98
Bourne Trilogy: £17.88 (unconfirmed region coding?)
Pirates of the Caribbean: £24.98 (Should be region free)
Mission Impossible Trilogy: £14.98
Harry Potter 1-6: £37.98
Underworld Trilogy: £16.68 (possibly region locked)
Dirty Harry Collection: £27.97
M. Night Collection: £17.88 (Signs/Sixth Sense/Unbreakable)
Batman Anthology: £23.98

NTSC/PAL:

Something else to note is NTSC/PAL formats. HD is not affected by these formats, as these formats are SDTV (standard definition). However, special features are often in non-HD format, and therefore would likely be in PAL, and might not play on our non-PAL TVs. More information can be found in these forums as well as many others on the internet.

[percyhanna]

Order #1

November 3rd, 2009:

Serenity (£10.98)
Hot Fuzz (£9.55)

Shipping: £4.07
Promotional Discount: -£3.53
Total: £21.07

This order arrived about 2 weeks after it shipped, I think. I did not get charged any duty at all. The total charge to my CC after exchange was $38.01.

Order #2

December 22, 2009

Matrix Trilogy (£14.77)
Band Of Brothers (£14.77)
The Godfather Trilogy (£15.63)
Snatch (£7.37)

Shipping: £6.05
Total: £58.59

This order shipped in two separate boxes for some reason. I got BoB first, with no duty, and then the rest in one box but was charged duty for the bigger box. The total duty for the second box was only $12.21. Total on my CC for this order was $101, so $113 total after all is said and done.

The savings were incredible obvious on my second order. I could have ordered more box sets, but I already owned many of them. Bourne Trilogy, Ocean's Trilogy, Mission Impossible Trilogy, Batman, etc. Comparing some of the lowest prices in Canada:

BoB: $75 (although Amazon.ca had it for $48.49 at one point I think)
Godfather: ~$90
Matrix: $98 @ Amazon (they had it for $55.99 I think, or from CH @ $87.96)

Anyway, best prices, and assuming free shipping, I'm looking at at least $194.47, but with current prices it would be $263. So I saved at least $81 with "best" prices, or up to $150 with current prices.

[Moneyshot]

I can vouch for the Band of Brothers Blu-ray playing just fine. I found the post about that deal here and I couldn't believe it, but after some research, I ended up buying TWO sets, one going to a friend. Just to triple-check once I received it 2 weeks later, I only opened up one and I played one of the episodes and the extra features doc with no problem (on the PS3).

Total including shipping and a $15 duty, only came to $39CAN each set! That's a STEAL considering the cheapest price was around that much in US dollars on Amazon.com BEFORE shipping and BEFORE duty!

I will definitely look out for more AMAZON UK deals!

[Johnny Vinyl]

I've been buying from Amazon UK more and more since Amazon US instituted that automatic duty/brokerage charge.

The best deals so far for me have been:

VINYL: Pink Floyd - Echoes (4LP boxset) - 11.00BP compared to $71CDN

BD: The Ultimate Bourne Collection - 15.88BP + 3.08BP = 18.96BP, which equalled $31.25CDN

I've ordered other items as well and have alwasy been pleased by their packaging, delivery and pricing.

John

[youngd]

I have been pretty successful ordering from amazon uk so far my... last was pink panther.

[canative454]

Amazon U.K. has been good to me...ordered Matrix and Bourne no problems. Also ordered "The Island" blu, since it isn't offered here in the U.S. just watched it last night....no problems.