Amazon is awesome

[R13...]

So I damaged the screen on my kindle over the weekend.

So this morning I contact Amazon support via thier web chat session and got offered $30 toward the purchase of a new kindle . They offered me a discounted refurbed keyboard vesrion, but I wanted a new paper white so, they gave me the $30 discount instead. Awesome company.

 

[MaximusZA]

damn thats awesome!!! i just recently got the paperwhite! brilliant device!!!

 

[cholaquepita]

Amazon US or UK?
Do they ship to ZA?

 

[Space_Chief]

Amazon does these sort of things. But they can because they often skip paying tax.

 

[TJ99]

I ordered earphones from them in December. They broke in January and I sent them back for a full refund of the purchase and shipping ($130). Plus they paid me the courier cost back to the US which was about another R600.

Imagine that happening with a South African company's "client service" (lol) department. You'd be lucky to get 5% off in some kind of worthless e-voucher that can only be used for stuff you'll never need or want.

Unfortunately they stopped shipping the good stuff to SA again in Feb.

 

[R13...]

Amazon US or UK?
Do they ship to ZA?

Amazon US, yes they do ship the kindle to SA. If you're patient you do get some electronics they ship here too. For example, the Bose Bluetooth Soundlink will ship here.

 

[Jola]

Amazon does these sort of things. But they can because they often skip paying tax.

That is a bit unfair, they just do the same as Google, Apple, and all the other corporates.

ie legally arrange their tax affairs to their best advantage.

 

[Space_Chief]

That is a bit unfair, they just do the same as Google, Apple, and all the other corporates.

ie legally arrange their tax affairs to their best advantage.

I didn't say what they did was illegal. But many people think it should be illegal, and many think it's unethical.

They can afford to do this because they skim on taxes. Google and Apple operate differently and do other things with the cash they save.

I don't think all corporates do this.

 

[lived666]

So I damaged the screen on my kindle over the weekend.

So this morning I contact Amazon support via thier web chat session and got offered $30 toward the purchase of a new kindle . They offered me a discounted refurbed keyboard vesrion, but I wanted a new paper white so, they gave me the $30 discount instead. Awesome company.

Nah, you got shafted, only $30?.
Know someone who sat on their kindle and shattered their screen, Amazon replaced it with a brand new one.

 

[noxibox]

Amazon US or UK?
Do they ship to ZA?

Both ship far more things directly to South Africa these days.

 

[sanimoyo]

Both ship far more things directly to South Africa these days.

Is it as simple as buying from a local site, or you have to factor in duty and that?

 

[Space_Chief]

Is it as simple as buying from a local site, or you have to factor in duty and that?

It depends. Some items on Amazon are sold by Amazon.com LLC and some are sold by third party sellers - like on Ebay or BidOrBuy or Kalahari.net. Of the items Amazon.com carries they only ship CDs/DVDs/Books/BDs to SA. Clothing, electronics, etc. are not shipped, except for a small subset, which is enrolled in the Amazon Global Program. I think Kindles are enrolled there.

Of the items they ship, you can prepay duties with them or if they ship by post office, you may get lucky and not be charged VAT and duty. When it comes to third party sellers some of them do sell electronics to SA and these items go through mail or courier. You end up paying SAPO the duties or the courier company.

Amazon has recently started to suck. They now obey some licensing restrictions on CDs/DVDs/BDs where the American publisher only has license for American release. Some of these items which are not allowed sale outside of North America, will not get shipped to SA. Other shops are cheaper and ignore this rule. My Bluray collection includes items with "NOT FOR SALE OUTSIDE OF USA" or "LICENSED FOR USE IN US/CANADA ONLY". Amazon shipped these in the past, now for some of them, they don't, but other shops are usually cheaper and don't mind shipping these anyway.

Note you can use the same password/username on Amazon.De, Fr, Ca and UK, as .COM. Amazon.JP requires a separate account.

Amazon is one of the easiest sites to use. You can also buy stuff for third parties. If you have a relative in France, you can go to Amazon.com or Amazon.fr and send them a gift, using your billing info and CC details.

 

[R13...]

Nah, you got shafted, only $30?.
Know someone who sat on their kindle and shattered their screen, Amazon replaced it with a brand new one.

This is my third damaged screen kindle, first one replaced for free, second got $80 off, so it's a pretty sweet deal. I think I will still claim from my home owners cover to offset some of my loss.

 

[Space_Chief]

Nah, you got shafted, only $30?.
Know someone who sat on their kindle and shattered their screen, Amazon replaced it with a brand new one.

I think it's in their interest to have you make purchases. The Kindle is a loss leader, and is sold to get you to buy books.

 

[MDKza]

Lol i dont know 1 person who has bought books for their kindle..

 

[noxibox]

Is it as simple as buying from a local site, or you have to factor in duty and that?

Anything on AmazonGlobal is very easy. Duties are calculated and included in the purchase price. Shipping is by budget courier, so it can take a week or two for the items to arrive, but they're delivered to your door.

It depends. Some items on Amazon are sold by Amazon.com LLC and some are sold by third party sellers - like on Ebay or BidOrBuy or Kalahari.net. Of the items Amazon.com carries they only ship CDs/DVDs/Books/BDs to SA. Clothing, electronics, etc. are not shipped, except for a small subset, which is enrolled in the Amazon Global Program. I think Kindles are enrolled there.

It mostly depends on what restrictions are placed on them by the manufacturer or distributor. In cases where the product is sold by a third party it depends on whether they want to participate in AmazonGlobal or are willing to use USPS/another courier. It's in Amazon's interests to ship everything in their catalogue anywhere in the world.

Sometimes what they will and won't ship seems a bit bizarre. Like a particular model of headphones or a particular colour (same make, all sold by Amazon).

 

[Space_Chief]

Anything on AmazonGlobal is very easy. Duties are calculated and included in the purchase price. Shipping is by budget courier, so it can take a week or two for the items to arrive, but they're delivered to your door.

It depends on which AmazonGlobal option you choose:

AmazonGlobal Expedited Shipping (averages 8-16 business days)
AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping (averages 2-7 days)

For DVD/CD/Books and Blurays, "Standard International Shipping" is also available with no customs prepayment. It's carried by Deutsche Post, USPS or some other consolidator. Locally it's carried by SAPO.

It mostly depends on what restrictions are placed on them by the manufacturer or distributor. In cases where the product is sold by a third party it depends on whether they want to participate in AmazonGlobal or are willing to use USPS/another courier. It's in Amazon's interests to ship everything in their catalogue anywhere in the world.

I'm not talking about that. Most Amazon sold Region 1 DVDs have a "For Sale in North America only" blurb on the cover. They ignored that and still do. However some items in the DVD/BD section cannot be shipped outside of USA. These are items fullfilled by Amazon/sold by Amazon LLC. It's as if they ignore some restrictions but enforce others. And it's not even on a per publisher basis.

Sometimes what they will and won't ship seems a bit bizarre. Like a particular model of headphones or a particular colour (same make, all sold by Amazon).

Yes, but Amazon never shipped electronics before. This is a new thing. In the past they shipped all VHS/DVD/BD/Books/CDs in their entire catalog without exception. Electronics and software/games were always a NO-NO. As if licensing restrictions on music/movies were not enforceable but on software were.

 

[Space_Chief]

Lol i dont know 1 person who has bought books for their kindle..

Most people in the world do however buy books for their Kindles. Maybe it's not so in South Africa because we've traditionally been a bit isolated and so far away, but in the 1st World people buy.

I don't even own a Kindle but use the reader on the iPad and have purchased several textbooks.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

This sort of thing is common in other countries. We're so used to kuck service that we're wowed when we receive good service.

 

[noxibox]

It depends on which AmazonGlobal option you choose:

The slower option is quite fast and to your door.

I'm not talking about that.

Clothing, electronics, etc. are not shipped, except for a small subset, which is enrolled in the Amazon Global Program.

Clothing companies, electronics manufacturers actually enforce their restrictions.

As if licensing restrictions on music/movies were not enforceable but on software were.

Obviously they were not being enforced. It's up to the company that makes the product to enforce restrictions. In the case of hardware for instance it's not unusual for manufacturers to simply refuse to honour the warranty on any product not sold through an authorised retailer, and retailers lose that status if they ignore the manufacturers' selling restrictions.