Anyone still bothering with Play.com

ShiverinEskimo

I've been away for a year and was always a big customer of Play.com until they insisted I pay the Euro price for everything instead of the much more favourable Sterling price.

I was looking today and the euro vs sterling prices are worse than ever with the recent strength of the euro.

Does anyone still bother with Play.com? Surely they must be losing a fortune at this stage?

Examples:
Forest Gump £3.99 xe.com conversion €5.28. Play euro price €6.49 Losing €1.21
Stardust £12.99 xe.com conversion €17.23. Play euro price 20.49 Losing €3.26

I know it costs slightly more to deliver to Ireland but for a site that advertises free delivery that shouldn't be a factor.

ixoy

It's ridiculous - there's between 15-20% markup on many of their conversion prices.

I tried to find an address to complain to on their site but, naturally, it was conspiciously absent. I've been mentioning the markup to anyone who shops there to warn them of the new rip-off. I wouldn't mind making a more concerted effort though if people here knew the best way to spread the word.

If they respond that it's higher pricing due to increased shipping, then surely their "free shipping" statement is false advertising and illegal?

jor el

I'd rather they let us pay in sterling and then charge an extra 50p for delivery at hte checkout, that would be much fairer. The excess in Play's exchange rate is in the order of 15-20%. Sendit.com have a similar mark up, but they still allow sterling payments, so I'd recommend them.

I bought BSG series 3 last week, the price was more expensive in sterling on sendit, but the equivalent euro price charged to my card was a lot less than the converted rate on Play, I saved about 10 euro with sendit.

At a push, you could consider cdwow.com as well, but I've stopped using them to due to general laziness and uselessness (on their part, not mine).

rubadub

I don't bother with them. But you cannot compare them to XE, NOBODY gets the XE rate.

BOI now have a function when you log into your account to see the going rate for bank transfers. If you did get to pay sterling via C/C then your bank will have a worse rate than XE, and then will have a 2.5% border fee (BOI anyway). If your bank has no cross border fee, do not count yourself so lucky, their conversion rate will usually be even worse to cover this.

"free delivery" and "free currency exchange" do not exist, the price is simply masked, do you really think postmen are delivering out of the goodness of their hearts, or that bureau de change/credit card people are volunteer workers?

Pizza places now have "free delivery" and "walk in discounts", it is marketing spin, the delivery charge is the same value as the discount.

Play are still ripping you off on currency, but not as much as it appears using XE. For fairer comparisons check your last C/C bill to see what stuff really cost. I despise paypal for many reasons but their exchange rate is actually OK when compared with banks.

ShiverinEskimo

I realise XE.com works by the current currency bank rates and not that of your credit card. But the conversion shown on xe.com would be a helluva lot closer than Play's conversion.

I also understand 'free delivery' doesn't imply that an post or royal mail are delivering or free!! Free delivery should indicate that play.com pay for delivery and therefore I dont. But with their ridiculous conversion rates for the euro and the fact their warehouse is based in Jersey it would suggest the euro customers are being targetted to increase margins to cover such costs of delivery not just to euro customers but probably to make some back on deliveries to Sterling customers also.

Sickens me.

rubadub

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

I realise XE.com works by the current currency bank rates and not that of your credit card. But the conversion shown on xe.com would be a helluva lot closer than Play's conversion.

I also understand 'free delivery' doesn't imply that an post or royal mail are delivering or free!! Free delivery should indicate that play.com pay for delivery and therefore I dont. But with their ridiculous conversion rates for the euro and the fact their warehouse is based in Jersey it would suggest the euro customers are being targetted to increase margins to cover such costs of delivery not just to euro customers but probably to make some back on deliveries to Sterling customers also.

Sickens me.

I agree on all counts. When I look at XE I add/subtract 5% to get closer to the real costs. Play have outrageous differences. cdwow have a great exchange rate, beats most banks IME you can buy on the £ site and pay € last minute.

I wonder if it does cost more to post from jersey to Ireland than to the UK. Everybody knows it is not free post, but if they say it then they should stick to it. I prefer up front postage costs. and getting options of slow post if it is cheaper and I am not in a rush to get it. www.dvdpacific.com have a excellent selection, and great post options, including discounts when buying a few dvds.

EDIT: Jersey business postal prices It does cost more, but not the amount those kunts slap on:mad:

jor el

Checked Jerseypost.com and a 100g packet costs 39p to send to mainland Britain and costs 1.12 to send to Ireland. Difference of 73p (about €1). For a 50g packet, the cost to Ireland is 76p, difference is only 33p. Doesn't account for differences of £2 or more on many items.

How much does a standard DVD+case weigh?

Padraig Mor

Don't forget that Play pass 17.5% VAT from the sterling price to UK revenue but pocket the whole, inflated, Euro price themselves! TBH, it looks to me like they're using Euro customers to subsidise sterling customers. I've bought loads from them over many years, but won't go near them now.

ShiverinEskimo

Aye the Jersey factor creates a few question marks over VAT payments. They aren't in the EU as such and so we shouldn't even be paying VAT to them in the first place. Normally if buying from an EU country you pay the VAT at the rate of that country.

Regardless their rate of conversion is ridiculous. Total rip off. And the worst of it is they knew what they were doing when they blocked sterling transactions to euro addresses even though Visa/Mastercard advertise being able to pay in whatever currency you prefer. I remember when they decided this first and there were an onslaught on complaints and euro prices were revised to come in line. Over the year i've been away they must have crept back up.