Amazon postage & Handling! - Page 3 - Blu-ray Forum

NickMate · 11-04-2011, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheManWithNoName

Looks like the Amazon UK Super Saver has been extended (yet again) to October 31st 2012!

They should get rid of this deal and just making it standard. We should get free shipping for multiple items anyway. Anyway, that's awesome!!

MacEachaidh · 11-19-2011, 05:50 AM

Has anyone else noticed ...

that Amazon UK has changed the dates on the Free Shipping to OZ/NZ again?

It now expires on January 15, 2012.

Yautja · 12-23-2011, 10:15 PM

I had only placed my second order with Amazon Canada & one of the Steelbooks (Pans Labyrinth) arrived badly damaged which was very upsetting of course, they werent packaged very well so I made a complaint to them & they sent me a replacement copy & when that arrived it was more damaged than the first copy they sent & this time it was packaged in a jiffy bag, I sent them another message but they never bothered to reply I even sent them pictures, I will be sending both copies back & hopefully I get a refund!
seriously thinking about not ordering steels anymore, too many issues due to poor packaging

Dynamik · 12-23-2011, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yautja

I had only placed my second order with Amazon Canada & one of the Steelbooks (Pans Labyrinth) arrived badly damaged which was very upsetting of course, they werent packaged very well so I made a complaint to them & they sent me a replacement copy & when that arrived it was more damaged than the first copy they sent & this time it was packaged in a jiffy bag, I sent them another message but they never bothered to reply I even sent them pictures, I will be sending both copies back & hopefully I get a refund!
seriously thinking about not ordering steels anymore, too many issues due to poor packaging

Almost the exact same thing happened to me. Ordered 11 steels and some had minor marks that looked like manufacturer faults as they were in the same place i.e. perfect horizontal scratch on spine or 5-8mm ding on the front left of the case. I can live with this.

Anyway Pan's Labyrinth was very badly dented. I contacted amazon.ca and they sent a replacement on the 21st of Nov and i'm yet to get it. After hearing your story I'm not getting my hopes up.

I have a suspicion they send out returned items as I received No Country for Old Men (sealed) which had damage and when I opened it I noticed the black security sticker that was inside the rest of the steelbook wave was removed. Sticky residue was still visible.

amazon.de .uk .fr

amazon.ca

MacEachaidh · 12-23-2011, 11:14 PM

Sorry to hear about the hassles, Yautja.

Yeah, it's perilous, but I've bought a few steelbooks from Amazon CA and not had any problems. They've usually arrived in perfect nick. Maybe I've just been incredibly lucky?

OK, the last one I got - Inglourious Basterds - I wasn't so lucky with, at first. I'm pretty sure what I was sent was second-hand, which is a bit bodgey, plus someone had glued the paper slip that normally sits against the back cover onto the steelbook itself with permanent glue. (What?!!

) But Amazon CA replaced it with no objection.

The one that's been most disappointing for me was Amazon DE. I bought a copy of the German steelbook of Dances with Wolves, but when it arrived it had been dented in one spot and crushed in one corner. I wrote to them and told them about the damage, and they wrote back and said "Does the disc still play?" I reluctantly said yes (reluctant because I could see where this was going) and they basically said "Well what are you complaining about?" and seemed to think that was all that mattered. I tried to tell them that I'd bought the more expensive steelbook edition because I wanted, you know, the steelbook, but they didn't (or wouldn't) understand that. I think in the end they offered me 1.5 Euros off my next order, but I'm sure that was just to get rid of me, and I haven't wanted to order anything else from them so I haven't been back.

But yeah, it's a bummer steels are so fragile, and so nonreplaceable. It's not like you can just put them into another case.

Sometimes Amazon goes to the opposite extreme. I bought the US steelbook of Scarface recently, and it came in two separate layers of bubble wrap, inside a cardboard box, which was then shrinkwrapped to a sheet of heavy board, that was then bubble-wrapped, which was then placed inside a larger carton with paper padding around it. Just amazing !!!

Wayfarer · 01-20-2012, 10:54 PM

Sad to see that Amazon UK have stopped their free shipping to Australia / NZ...I got so used to it, now I can't go back haha.

RodneyOz · 01-21-2012, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayfarer

Sad to see that Amazon UK have stopped their free shipping to Australia / NZ...I got so used to it, now I can't go back haha.

I had several items in my basket waiting to be made into an order... now I look at them and think "Each one of you is going to cost a couple of pounds more now... not sure if I want to make that order now..." I was buying a LOT more from Amazon UK than the US site because of the free shipping, so I suspect my ordering will shrink markedly in the next few months.

stevo4264 · 01-21-2012, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RodneyOz

I had several items in my basket waiting to be made into an order... now I look at them and think "Each one of you is going to cost a couple of pounds more now... not sure if I want to make that order now..." I was buying a LOT more from Amazon UK than the US site because of the free shipping, so I suspect my ordering will shrink markedly in the next few months.

I must admit my ordering habits have already changed even before this. With a lot of BD titles now being able to be picked up for a 10 dollar note with free postage from Australian retailers, I buy a lot more locally then I ever have

Wayfarer · 01-22-2012, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RodneyOz

I was buying a LOT more from Amazon UK than the US site because of the free shipping, so I suspect my ordering will shrink markedly in the next few months.

Same here, free shipping was a massive incentive. Combined with the lack of VAT, it easily made Amazon UK the best site to buy from.

I'm hoping that Amazon UK will see a big drop in orders and realise they need to bring free shipping back permanently.

BlueCougar · 01-22-2012, 08:22 PM

Here I was buying 15 blu-ray's per order. I just looked and saw what it would cost without free postage.

Cheaper to resort to Trade-Me for 2-3 BR purchase's, than buy bulk through any NZ retailer. I really do hope AMAZON (UK) bring the free shipping back.

Spoiled myself while it lasted.

azza29 · 01-22-2012, 10:47 PM

Ouch. Free postage is actually gone now (was still available on the weekend when I placed an order). Makes thehut, dvd.co.uk and HMV a little more attractive, or just waiting to make a giant order rather than one or two titles at a time. Still won't be buying locally while new releases are going for $35-40 though.

bob00 · 01-23-2012, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azza29

Ouch. Free postage is actually gone now (was still available on the weekend when I placed an order). Makes thehut, dvd.co.uk and HMV a little more attractive, or just waiting to make a giant order rather than one or two titles at a time. Still won't be buying locally while new releases are going for $35-40 though.

How much is the shipping from those sites?

azza29 · 01-23-2012, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bob00

How much is the shipping from those sites?

dvd.co.uk is GBP1.39 per item
thehut is 99 pence per item, but they don't remove VAT (I think HMV is the same)

gettodamoofies · 01-23-2012, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bob00

How much is the shipping from those sites?

Quote:

Originally Posted by azza29

dvd.co.uk is GBP1.39 per item
thehut is 99 pence per item, but they don't remove VAT (I think HMV is the same)

Correct, though dvd.co.uk/101cd.com/blahdvd.com do remove VAT on some items.

Our resource thread has info for local and o/s retailers:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/australia/...-info-etc.html

NzScreamindemon · 01-23-2012, 11:42 PM

Even with free postage now gone from amazon UK - it still works out way cheaper to bring them into New Zealand - especially when I really only look into 3D releases....even with postage included you can still just about pick up 2 titles for the price of 1 off the shelves here....

Chris

Yautja · 02-28-2012, 03:24 AM

I must say Amazon have really improved when it comes to the packaging, my last 4 parcels which had steelbooks in them have been packed individually & with a heap of bubble wrap, I must say I am very impressed so far & I hope they maintain this level of QC!!!

MacEachaidh · 02-28-2012, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yautja

I must say Amazon have really improved when it comes to the packaging

Is this Amazon UK? I'm of two minds: on one side, there's the fact that they've improved. Good for them. But on the other, it shows we got cheap-seats treatment while the shipping was "free". Not such a great deal, then.

gettodamoofies · 02-28-2012, 03:45 AM

Well, from what I've witnessed this is independent of the free shipping. For many years SteelBook collectors have often had to deal with damaged items because plastic flexes but the SteelBooks don't. As soon as they arrived damaged Amazon would have to issue a replacement. Now when it comes to overseas purchasers often it meant not having to send the original back due to prohibitive shipping costs. With that in mind they were making a sale for one item, supplying two and paying shipping costs for both. It seems that around the end of last year many of the Amazons finally cottoned on and realised that putting it in a bigger box with some bubble-wrap and cardboard for each steel didn't cost all that much and will invariably result in absolutely no damaged steels (short of someone actually jumping on the box or a damaged one being packed by Amazon staff).

Regular titles still get the regular shipping boxes but finally people who purchase limited/collectible editions might finally be able to breath a sigh of relief that they will show up in good condition.

MacEachaidh · 02-28-2012, 03:55 AM

That's why I asked at the start of my post if it was Amazon UK. I bought a number of steelbooks from the UK during the free shipping period, and every one of them arrived unprotected in in those skimpy zip-to-unlock cardboard sheaths Amazon uses. At least half of them had to be replaced due to damage, so it would have been better for both Amazon and myself if they'd packaged them decently in the first place.

The couple of steelbooks I bought from Amazon US during the same period both arrived in quite deluxe packaging, by comparison shrink-wrapped to a cardboard panel, bubble-wrapped, put in a solid cardboard box that was then put inside a larger solid cardboard box filled with that plastic pillows padding. Noticeable difference, in my experience.

01-22-2012, 08:22 PM	#50
BlueCougar Active Member Member since:Nov 2011 Location:NZ 4K collection:150 Blu-ray collection:1002	Here I was buying 15 blu-ray's per order. I just looked and saw what it would cost without free postage. Cheaper to resort to Trade-Me for 2-3 BR purchase's, than buy bulk through any NZ retailer. I really do hope AMAZON (UK) bring the free shipping back. Spoiled myself while it lasted. Last edited by BlueCougar; 01-22-2012 at 11:32 PM.

11-19-2011, 05:50 AM	#42
MacEachaidh Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Aug 2011 Location:Edge of the Accretion Disc Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Trading Score:4	Has anyone else noticed ... that Amazon UK has changed the dates on the Free Shipping to OZ/NZ again? It now expires on January 15, 2012.

12-23-2011, 10:15 PM	#43
Yautja Power Member Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jan 2008 Location:AUSTRALIA Home Theater Gallery:29 Trading Score:6	I had only placed my second order with Amazon Canada & one of the Steelbooks (Pans Labyrinth) arrived badly damaged which was very upsetting of course, they werent packaged very well so I made a complaint to them & they sent me a replacement copy & when that arrived it was more damaged than the first copy they sent & this time it was packaged in a jiffy bag, I sent them another message but they never bothered to reply I even sent them pictures, I will be sending both copies back & hopefully I get a refund! seriously thinking about not ordering steels anymore, too many issues due to poor packaging

12-23-2011, 11:14 PM	#45
MacEachaidh Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Aug 2011 Location:Edge of the Accretion Disc Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Trading Score:4	Sorry to hear about the hassles, Yautja. Yeah, it's perilous, but I've bought a few steelbooks from Amazon CA and not had any problems. They've usually arrived in perfect nick. Maybe I've just been incredibly lucky? OK, the last one I got - Inglourious Basterds - I wasn't so lucky with, at first. I'm pretty sure what I was sent was second-hand, which is a bit bodgey, plus someone had glued the paper slip that normally sits against the back cover onto the steelbook itself with permanent glue. (What?!! ) But Amazon CA replaced it with no objection. The one that's been most disappointing for me was Amazon DE. I bought a copy of the German steelbook of Dances with Wolves, but when it arrived it had been dented in one spot and crushed in one corner. I wrote to them and told them about the damage, and they wrote back and said "Does the disc still play?" I reluctantly said yes (reluctant because I could see where this was going) and they basically said "Well what are you complaining about?" and seemed to think that was all that mattered. I tried to tell them that I'd bought the more expensive steelbook edition because I wanted, you know, the steelbook, but they didn't (or wouldn't) understand that. I think in the end they offered me 1.5 Euros off my next order, but I'm sure that was just to get rid of me, and I haven't wanted to order anything else from them so I haven't been back. But yeah, it's a bummer steels are so fragile, and so nonreplaceable. It's not like you can just put them into another case. Sometimes Amazon goes to the opposite extreme. I bought the US steelbook of Scarface recently, and it came in two separate layers of bubble wrap, inside a cardboard box, which was then shrinkwrapped to a sheet of heavy board, that was then bubble-wrapped, which was then placed inside a larger carton with paper padding around it. Just amazing !!!

01-20-2012, 10:54 PM	#46
Wayfarer Active Member Member since:Nov 2008 Blu-ray collection:161 Blu-ray reviews:1	Sad to see that Amazon UK have stopped their free shipping to Australia / NZ...I got so used to it, now I can't go back haha.

01-22-2012, 10:47 PM	#51
azza29 Member Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Melbourne, Australia Blu-ray collection:281	Ouch. Free postage is actually gone now (was still available on the weekend when I placed an order). Makes thehut, dvd.co.uk and HMV a little more attractive, or just waiting to make a giant order rather than one or two titles at a time. Still won't be buying locally while new releases are going for $35-40 though.

01-23-2012, 11:42 PM	#55
NzScreamindemon Active Member Top contributor Member since:Aug 2011 Location:Christchurch, New Zealand 4K collection:2 Blu-ray collection:430 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:1	Even with free postage now gone from amazon UK - it still works out way cheaper to bring them into New Zealand - especially when I really only look into 3D releases....even with postage included you can still just about pick up 2 titles for the price of 1 off the shelves here.... Chris

02-28-2012, 03:24 AM	#56
Yautja Power Member Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jan 2008 Location:AUSTRALIA Home Theater Gallery:29 Trading Score:6	I must say Amazon have really improved when it comes to the packaging, my last 4 parcels which had steelbooks in them have been packed individually & with a heap of bubble wrap, I must say I am very impressed so far & I hope they maintain this level of QC!!!

02-28-2012, 03:45 AM	#58
gettodamoofies Moderator Top contributor Member since:Sep 2009 Location:NSW, Australia 4K collection:609 Blu-ray collection:3162 DVD collection:125 Blu-ray reviews: 26 Trading Score:91	Well, from what I've witnessed this is independent of the free shipping. For many years SteelBook collectors have often had to deal with damaged items because plastic flexes but the SteelBooks don't. As soon as they arrived damaged Amazon would have to issue a replacement. Now when it comes to overseas purchasers often it meant not having to send the original back due to prohibitive shipping costs. With that in mind they were making a sale for one item, supplying two and paying shipping costs for both. It seems that around the end of last year many of the Amazons finally cottoned on and realised that putting it in a bigger box with some bubble-wrap and cardboard for each steel didn't cost all that much and will invariably result in absolutely no damaged steels (short of someone actually jumping on the box or a damaged one being packed by Amazon staff). Regular titles still get the regular shipping boxes but finally people who purchase limited/collectible editions might finally be able to breath a sigh of relief that they will show up in good condition.

02-28-2012, 03:55 AM	#59
MacEachaidh Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Aug 2011 Location:Edge of the Accretion Disc Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Trading Score:4	That's why I asked at the start of my post if it was Amazon UK. I bought a number of steelbooks from the UK during the free shipping period, and every one of them arrived unprotected in in those skimpy zip-to-unlock cardboard sheaths Amazon uses. At least half of them had to be replaced due to damage, so it would have been better for both Amazon and myself if they'd packaged them decently in the first place. The couple of steelbooks I bought from Amazon US during the same period both arrived in quite deluxe packaging, by comparison shrink-wrapped to a cardboard panel, bubble-wrapped, put in a solid cardboard box that was then put inside a larger solid cardboard box filled with that plastic pillows padding. Noticeable difference, in my experience.

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