My latest experience with amazon.com

[blurai]

Keeping in mind that the dollar isnt as strong anymore but the way it was a week ago this was worth it....I also had a 25.00 gift certificate i had not used so i went for it.

I figure this might help some of you who perhaps were thinking to buy from amazon.com when the dollar is better (or perhaps now).

Basically i placed an order on Thursday of last week. Basically i was charged for the blu-rays, shipping, and duties up front. Duties are new as it used to be free.

For those who care i ordered:
Who wants to be a superhero (DVD) 24.95
Sarah connor season 2 blu-ray 42.49
Van helsing blu-ray 12.49
Black mask blu-ray 7.99
sub-total 87.82
s&h 16.95
import fees deposit 11.68
total about 116.00 US minus my gift certificate

A day later it shipped. According to the site using DHL (it used to use canada post). I figure this would be bad as it used to ship from Canada but now it looks like it shipped from the US.

As of this morning (Wednesday) i could not see much of an update on their tracking. I got home and the package was at my door so it looks like shipping is still pretty speedy (3 business days).

So...how much did i save?
here's a quick comparison...

I woulnt have been able to buy who wants to be a superhero season 2 as that is exclusive to amazon.com
sarah connor is 69.99 @ futureshop.ca
van helsing is 24.99 @ best buy

i'll stop here there...basically for an extra 15.00 and then the taxes i also got Black mask and who wants to be a superhero....

i saved about 30.00-40.00 on an 100.00 order so about 30%

Not as good as it used to be but if you have the right titles it can be worth it...

as for shipping time...keep in mind everything was in stock i ordered so it might be worst depending on what you get

so...would i do it again? probably but it will likely be a long time before i do again...as i said the 2 factors were 1) the dollar and 2) my gift certificate which was collecting dust.

Edit; one last thing...although the site said DHL it was shipped via Canada post....

[Astrakan]

Originally Posted by blurai

Edit; one last thing...although the site said DHL it was shipped via Canada post....

Can you see anywhere if duty was paid or not? When they first implemented their new policy they said they'd reimburse any duties charged upfront that didn't end up being actually charged. If that's still the case you should ask for a refund.

KM

[blurai]

thats a good point...i'll give them a few days to give me a refund before i bug them.

i did not see any duty slips at all so in theory they paid nothing. and if they did there is no proof of it

Edit:
Now that sucks...here's what the site says about refunds:

"The process may take 4 to 8 weeks."

[bajor27]

Originally Posted by Astrakan

Can you see anywhere if duty was paid or not? When they first implemented their new policy they said they'd reimburse any duties charged upfront that didn't end up being actually charged. If that's still the case you should ask for a refund.

KM

On that note - I've received a random refund from them for the import fee thing. Never asked for it. They just emailed me one day about a $5.00ish refund

[cojake]

I just ordered V for Vendetta, Unforgiven, and Starship Troopers. I spent about 32 dollars shipped. Great price, however when you use the free ship option, they take their sweet time in packaging them to ship.

[paddy963]

Originally Posted by blurai

Edit; one last thing...although the site said DHL it was shipped via Canada post....

They ship to Canada via DHL Global Mail who takes it to the border and clears it through customs. Then DHL hands it over to Canada Post for final delivery.

You can call DHL to find out how much they actually had to pay at the border. The number for DHL Global Mail is 800-805-9306, have your order# and tracking ID# ready.

[thecardman23]

if it were not for the silly import fees id consider using amazon. once they started slapping us all with more taxes/ fees i said forget it!


p.s - auful lot to spend with only a 25 gift cert. i guess thats how they get you... heres 20 bucks, now spend 5X that with us. lol

[Steve46]

I am considering ordering The Prisoner for $51 instead of the $91 it costs at Amazon Canada. I would probably save about $20.

No rush though.

[mintchris]

I ordered a few titles from Amazon over the last few months. I am always pleased with the service and shipping is usually quite quick. You gotta watch prices a bit but you can come out ahead.

[Jimbo976]

They always came from the US but were labelled before as just coming from Canada. I don't think anything at all has changed now other than that they provide a tracking number (which is pretty much useless since it never gets updated). I don't think the import deposit fee is really "duty" but rather GST+PST.

[blurai]

Originally Posted by thecardman23

if it were not for the silly import fees id consider using amazon. once they started slapping us all with more taxes/ fees i said forget it!


p.s - auful lot to spend with only a 25 gift cert. i guess thats how they get you... heres 20 bucks, now spend 5X that with us. lol

well all 4 titles were pretty high on my want list an i'm happy with the final price i paid...and the gift cert wasnt given to me. i had it and eventually had to spend it.