Amazon.com vs. Amazon.co.uk

just4kix

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Amazon.co.uk was working out very nicely for Indian customers ordering BDs. But now that the free super savings shipping of Amazon.co.uk (for orders over 25) is over, it is time to evaluate whether Amazon.com is a better option or stick to the UK merchant.

I am evaluating the two strictly on BD and DVD merchandise.

Available titles: The US market always leads the way. There are far more titles released in USA rather than other places of the world. The difference is now narrowing down but for some offbeat/older movies, it is quite likely that you will find that something is likely to be available in USA merchant but not in the UK e-store. But sometimes the converse is also true. For example, Cleopatra (1963) is available in Amazon, UK but will be released shortly in Amazon, USA.

Advantage: Amazon, USA (slightly).

Package Content: I have often found that for the same title, the USA equivalent offers far more extra content, material and discs. The package often contains movie on DVD, a digital copy, extra bonus material, etc. On the other hand, the UK/Europe version of the package is one disc only. Once again this is true for older movies. For newer releases, the package contents are more or less similar in both stores.

Advantage: Amazon, USA (for older movies).

Package size: I don't know whether anyone cares about this. But US BD package is usually thinner. So in your shelf, you may be able to cram a couple of extra BDs, if ordered from the US market. For DVD, the package size is same.

Advantage: Amazon, USA (slightly).

Region Coding: Unless the BD player is region free, one should be careful about where you are sourcing from. If your player is Region A, ordering from USA is a no brainer and vice versa. Best to verify whether the movie is region free or not. Many region-free movies listed on Amazon.co.uk are already marked as such but sometimes even if the movie is region-free, the website does not indicate as such. It is prudent to verify from Blu-ray, Blu-ray Movies, Blu-ray Players, Blu-ray Reviews. Navigate to this site, click of the British flag to change the website region and check the movie title.

Advantage: Amazon, USA (slightly; because most of us have Region A player).

And now I will delve on the more important factors of pricing:

Price: There is no specific trend here. Prices keep fluctuating and there are sometimes sudden price drops and discounts. Sometimes, the US version work out cheaper or vice versa. A year ago, I used to find USA titles cheaper but of late, the price difference is either minimal or sometimes cheaper in UK. At the same time, one should also factor in the package content. So, if the US package is costly but contains extra discs, a DVD and digital copy, maybe it is worth the extra cost. It is really a personal call.

Another aspect is that when ordering from UK, you will get a 20% VAT deduction over the sticker price making the item even cheaper.

Advantage: Amazon, UK.

Shipping Charges: The shipping charges on Amazon.co.uk are much cheaper than that on Amazon.com. The shipping charges are as under:

USA: $3.99 per item plus $4.99 per delivery
UK: 1.49 per item plus 2.09 per delivery.

At current exchange rates (US$ 1 = INR 49, 1 = INR 78), the per item charge is Rs. 78 cheaper in UK and the per delivery charge is Rs. 81 cheaper with UK.

So in case one is ordering 4 titles, the extra cost for USA delivery works out to Rs. 393.

Advantage: Amazon, UK.

Conclusion:

So while USA package scores in terms of availability, package content and other factors, the UK package will work out cheaper. The 20% VAT refund in case of Amazon, UK, will most likely compensate for the delivery charges.

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Please add your own comments/factors. Thanks.
 
as per my experience amazon.co.uk.is better than amazon.com.i orrdered LOTR set in amazon.com on 28 dec and till now i didnt received yet in between i odered some 50 bds from amazon.co.uk all reached in time good package no customs etc.but its almost 2 months i ordered LOTR bds .i mailed several times . but didnt got the satisfactory reply.so strongly suggest amazon.co.uk is beter this is based on my experinece.

thanks
 
what is the relative shiiping time between the two sites when doing shipping to India? I think there should be one additional comparison with ebay.com (US version)
 
what is the relative shiiping time between the two sites when doing shipping to India? I think there should be one additional comparison with ebay.com (US version)

Having never ordered from Amazon, USA, i have no basis for comparison. But I would imagine it to be the same. UK site does not provide package tracking either, something that I cannot comment on US site.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk
 
I meant that someone who has ordered BDs from ebay.com can give some additional inputs over here in terms of price, shipping and delivery times. I know mandark has orderfed many BDs. I will ask him. However amazon.com shiiping time relative to the amazon.co.uk also should be compared here.
 
what is the relative shiiping time between the two sites when doing shipping to India? I think there should be one additional comparison with ebay.com (US version)

Thank you just4kix! Great comparison and I would have to agree with you on all points. I have used both but I have used only Priority Int'l Courier from Amazon US and Free Super Saver Shipping/local delivery to my bro in UK. The local UK delivery was awesome always only a couple of days. super saver was also as advertised but for the customs charge.

The priority courier in Amazon US is fully trackable and as you pay a Import Fee deposit, the customs is taken care of and they refund the balance at the end of 60 days. I prefer US as like you said the titles and spl editions are much better. But i think you get better multi disc/title combo packs in UK.

Cheers
 
what is the relative shiiping time between the two sites when doing shipping to India? I think there should be one additional comparison with ebay.com (US version)

i got all the items delivered within 15 days with free shipping and no custom on all orders from AMAZON.CO.UK
 
I meant that someone who has ordered BDs from ebay.com can give some additional inputs over here in terms of price, shipping and delivery times. I know mandark has orderfed many BDs. I will ask him. However amazon.com shiiping time relative to the amazon.co.uk also should be compared here.

The issues with eBay are two fold:

- first all titles may not be sourced from a single vendor
- shipping charges may not b uniform

Thank you just4kix! Great comparison and I would have to agree with you on all points. I have used both but I have used only Priority Int'l Courier from Amazon US and Free Super Saver Shipping/local delivery to my bro in UK. The local UK delivery was awesome always only a couple of days. super saver was also as advertised but for the customs charge.

The priority courier in Amazon US is fully trackable and as you pay a Import Fee deposit, the customs is taken care of and they refund the balance at the end of 60 days. I prefer US as like you said the titles and spl editions are much better. But i think you get better multi disc/title combo packs in UK.

Cheers

Thanks. Priority shipping becomes even more expensive.
 
Placed this order on 12-Feb-2012 and received the delivery today ...

Your order #202-xxxxxxx-xxx4720 (received February 12, 2012)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty Item Price Delivery Subtotal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.co.uk items (Sold by Amazon EU S.a.r.L.):

1 Unforgiven [Blu-ray] [1992... 7.08 1 7.08
1 Doctor Zhivago [Blu-ray] [... 8.33 1 8.33
1 Spartacus [Blu-ray] [1960] 6.23 1 6.23
1 Cleopatra [Blu-ray] [1963] 9.33 1 9.33

Dispatched via Royal Mail (estimated arrival date: Monday, February 27, 2012).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subtotal: 30.97
Delivery and handling: 8.05
Total: 39.02

So basically and more or less, what I gained via VAT reduction was subsumed by Delivery charges.
 
No. No customs duty charge. I had marked the package as gift. I think that when the package is marked as gift (the outside address sticker should clearly identify it as gift), then customs duty is usually exempt.
 
On 4th Feb I ordered Harry Potter 8 movie collection and xmen 4 movie collection (I already had First Class). Got them tomorrow. I found the boxes thicker than Matrix collection I got from Amazon US, but it look much better quality. Matrix looked more like pirated stuff.
Yet to watch.
 
In had ordered some on BDs from amazon.co.uk on 20th Feb showed expected delivery date as 1 March but still not received, should I wait for another 15 days?
 
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