Amazon UK alternative for Irish customers?

[calmblueocean81]

What sites would people recommend for blu-ray customers in Ireland?

All my blu-ray shopping would normally go through Amazon UK, but lately a lot of titles are inexplicably coming up as "this item will not ship to Ireland", even for titles I've bought from them before

With range of titles, price and shipping costs all factors, are there any good alternatives to Amazon UK?


Mods feel free to move this thread of it's in the wrong section.

[The Beast Within]

Originally Posted by calmblueocean81

What sites would people recommend for blu-ray customers in Ireland?

All my blu-ray shopping would normally go through Amazon UK, but lately a lot of titles are inexplicably coming up as "this item will not ship to Ireland", even for titles I've bought from them before

With range of titles, price and shipping costs all factors, are there any good alternatives to Amazon UK?


Mods feel free to move this thread of it's in the wrong section.

I'm having the same issue - we have a Prime account, and still getting 'this will not ship to Ireland' on a huge selection of blu rays, even those in the 5 for 30 deal. I'd kick up a stink to their customer service if I thought I'd get an actual explanation for it other than being directed to their T&C's. Very frustrating, and another sign that Amazon just isn't for me going forward. I've only recently started using Zavvi for the odd pre-order, and was trying to get as much through HMV (I have family I see regularly in the UK that made this feasible) but sadly they are going down the toilet currently.

I think the only option is to shop around - I've seen people mention a few other sites like Base that I've not yet used, and Wow HD that I've had an ok (but sloooow) experience or two with.

Incidentally, out of the 15 titles I picked up online this month, 5 were from Amazon directly, the rest were from their marketplace (some great deals to be had second hand) or from Zavvi.

[malcy30]

Have you guys considered Zoom.co.uk the direct sales business of Universal UK.

In addition to Universal and Paramount (whom they distribute for in the UK) they also stock titles from amongst others Sony, BBC, Disney, Lionsgate, Studio Canal and Network.

The only Hollywood majors they don't sell are Warner and Fox.

You can also use the discount code SIGNUP10 to get 10% off all orders except some sale items and multi-buys. It's not just for the first order as their site states.

Outside UK but in EU the delivery charge is £1.99 for 1 or 2 item orders and £2.99 for orders with 3+ items.

[The Beast Within]

Not tried Zoom yet, but I've only recently started encountering the issues with amazon, and between that and other beefs I've had with them since last year I'm only now really exploring other options. I'll check them out, though. That 10% discount sounds very tempting!

I actually just spent 20 minutes arguing with a customer service rep from Amazon over the above issue - they can give no legit reason for this other than the vague 'operation restrictions' nonsense.

[WouldItBeGreat]

Guys I am in Northern Ireland and get the same messages on a lot of products on Amazon.co.uk even though N.I is in the UK! and I am a Prime member. However when I add them to my cart and checkout there is no problem and the order fulfills. Have you tried to checkout these items?

[The Beast Within]

Originally Posted by WouldItBeGreat

Guys I am in Northern Ireland and get the same messages on a lot of products on Amazon.co.uk even though N.I is in the UK! and I am a Prime member. However when I add them to my cart and checkout there is no problem and the order fulfills. Have you tried to checkout these items?

Yeah, I tried checking out on my last order as I thought their site was confused or something, but it just wouldn't let me process the order.

[Strangerbyday]

I know its a pain, but I'm a prime member & Parcel Motel is my best friend. 3.95 for deliveries & I get 99% of things within 2 days of ordering with "next day delivery". It goes to the depot up north & then down here. Never have an issue with stuff that doesn't ship to Ireland.

[calmblueocean81]

Originally Posted by The Beast Within

I actually just spent 20 minutes arguing with a customer service rep from Amazon over the above issue - they can give no legit reason for this other than the vague 'operation restrictions' nonsense.

I've emailed them, spoke to them over the phone and live chatted online. It's clearly an error, of some sort, as it only started happening around August last year. But the conversions with customer service just go round in circles with no satisfactory conclusion.
It's a real killer, as I love buying from their 5 for 30 deal and this issue practically rules that deal out for the most part.

Some of the third party seller prices on Amazon UK are pretty good, but then you've got shipping too (which I got Prime to avoid!). And a lot of third-party sellers won't ship here either.

But thank you both for the suggestions. I'll look into Zoom and Base and see how I fare with them.
I've actually used Wow before a few times and had no issues, but something about their site feels a bit dodgy. Can't quite put my finger on it.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated!

Has anyone here bought from any of the mainland Europe Amazon sites? (Germany, France and so on?). These would be a last resort, as I still prefer my Blu-Rays to have English covers. And I often fear unremoveable "hard subtitles" might be an issue with titles ordered from abroad!

[calmblueocean81]

Originally Posted by Strangerbyday

I know its a pain, but I'm a prime member & Parcel Motel is my best friend. 3.95 for deliveries & I get 99% of things within 2 days of ordering with "next day delivery". It goes to the depot up north & then down here. Never have an issue with stuff that doesn't ship to Ireland.

Just to clarify, had you ever experienced the same shipping issue or just not come across it because you've been using a northern address with Parcel Motel?

I'll admit, I've been tempted to use Parcel Motel to see if I could get around this issue, but then I feel a bit miffed at having to pay again for shipping when I already pay for Prime. I keep hoping Amazon will just rectify this issue, but it's looking doubtful at this stage (and likely to only get worse!).
Parcel Motel might be another "last resort" option.

[The Beast Within]

Fully agreed that it's an error - even quoting their own policy at them regarding this just results in going round in circles, and they offered me five pounds just to go away. I escalated my complaint - I just got a response back where they asked me to get a friend or family in the UK to purchase the items, post them to me and send amazon the bill for postage - I shit you not! They advised they were reporting it to the relevant team but I'd have zero faith in anything being actioned.

Regarding parcel motel, I rarely use it for amazon - this specific issue is only recent, and only pertains to certain titles with no logic to those that it does affect. Also, you have no control on if Amazon split up a delivery, resulting in two separate payments to parcel motel. That could get costly...

I've ordered a few times from international Amazon, but usually only after extensive research on titles regarding subs, artwork etc..

[CV19]

Originally Posted by calmblueocean81

Has anyone here bought from any of the mainland Europe Amazon sites? (Germany, France and so on?). These would be a last resort, as I still prefer my Blu-Rays to have English covers. And I often fear unremoveable "hard subtitles" might be an issue with titles ordered from abroad!

I have bought discs from Amazon France, Germany and Spain and have never had any issues so far when it comes to deliveries. The last blu-ray I bought from Amazon France was a horror film called Necronomicon, which although is a French release, it does have the English audio and without forced subtitles.

To be honest though, titles from Arrow, Indicator, etc, I tend to buy directly from them now and have not heard of them having shipping problems to Ireland.

[tmjhur]

Can anybody, for the love of God, please tell me how to display the full selection of Amazon's 5 for 30 deal?

I keep finding titles elsewhere on the site that are in the deal but aren't on the page when you go to the section? Any ideas how to solve this or something I can turn on/off to display everything?

[gap]

Originally Posted by tmjhur

Can anybody, for the love of God, please tell me how to display the full selection of Amazon's 5 for 30 deal?

I keep finding titles elsewhere on the site that are in the deal but aren't on the page when you go to the section? Any ideas how to solve this or something I can turn on/off to display everything?

Try this:
Find an eligible title.
Click on the box that tells you what deals the title is in.
Click in the deal.
Click on "see all titles in this offer" (or some such).

That should bring you to a page with all eligible titles that you can filter/sort accordingly. Hope that helps.

[tmjhur]

Originally Posted by gap

Try this:
Find an eligible title.
Click on the box that tells you what deals the title is in.
Click in the deal.
Click on "see all titles in this offer" (or some such).

That should bring you to a page with all eligible titles that you can filter/sort accordingly. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the help but their website is a disaster.
E.g. if you go to Easy Rider https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...KL5A1OLE&psc=1

It's listed as being in the 5 for 30 deal.

But if you go to the 5 for 30 deal main page and search for Easy Rider it's non existent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[calmblueocean81]

Originally Posted by tmjhur

Can anybody, for the love of God, please tell me how to display the full selection of Amazon's 5 for 30 deal?

I keep finding titles elsewhere on the site that are in the deal but aren't on the page when you go to the section? Any ideas how to solve this or something I can turn on/off to display everything?

I'm really glad you've brought this up. This is another issue I've been having lately with Amazon. Their 5 for 30 deal only lists about 5 pages of titles. But I've randomly searched for other titles that have come up as part of the promotion.

Amazon used to show the entire listing of items under these deals, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore Its a weird choice (or glitch) on Amazons part. There could be loads of blus I'd consider buying if I knew they were part of the deal!

[FaceInTheLeaves]

Originally Posted by calmblueocean81

I've emailed them, spoke to them over the phone and live chatted online. It's clearly an error, of some sort, as it only started happening around August last year. But the conversions with customer service just go round in circles with no satisfactory conclusion.
It's a real killer, as I love buying from their 5 for 30 deal and this issue practically rules that deal out for the most part.

Some of the third party seller prices on Amazon UK are pretty good, but then you've got shipping too (which I got Prime to avoid!). And a lot of third-party sellers won't ship here either.

But thank you both for the suggestions. I'll look into Zoom and Base and see how I fare with them.
I've actually used Wow before a few times and had no issues, but something about their site feels a bit dodgy. Can't quite put my finger on it.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated!

Has anyone here bought from any of the mainland Europe Amazon sites? (Germany, France and so on?). These would be a last resort, as I still prefer my Blu-Rays to have English covers. And I often fear unremoveable "hard subtitles" might be an issue with titles ordered from abroad!

I’ve started using Zoom based on recommendations on this site and it’s brilliant. The Tree of Life blu-ray arrived in perfect condition and was £20 cheaper than Amazon (yes, 20, that’s not a typo).

[tmjhur]

Originally Posted by calmblueocean81

What sites would people recommend for blu-ray customers in Ireland?

All my blu-ray shopping would normally go through Amazon UK, but lately a lot of titles are inexplicably coming up as "this item will not ship to Ireland", even for titles I've bought from them before

With range of titles, price and shipping costs all factors, are there any good alternatives to Amazon UK?


Mods feel free to move this thread of it's in the wrong section.

Just a heads up, I was able to order The Evil Dead trilogy last night despite the fact it's listed "this item will not ship to Ireland".

[calmblueocean81]

Originally Posted by tmjhur

Just a heads up, I was able to order The Evil Dead trilogy last night despite the fact it's listed "this item will not ship to Ireland".

Thanks for that. I'll tease myself again later trying to add a few forbidden titles to my basket

Now if we could just get that 5 for 30 deal to show all titles