AMAZON dot IE lands next year .. Dedicated Irish Amazon Store

aidanodr

Amazon will finally open a dedicated Irish store, Amazon.ie, in 2025.

The move should mean more one-day delivery service around Ireland as well as a wider range of products free from customs charges or trade restrictions.

https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/amazonie-online-shopping-site-to-launch-next-year/a689379655.html

Questions are already being asked on de twitter etc:

• ( as per article ) - will you be able to move your PRIME a/c from UK to dot IE AND use the FREE delivery?
• Will the free delivery with prime be still posible?
• Will prices on the Irish Amazon site have an added "irish Premium" % price hike vs same product on co.uk or .de?
• If prime moved to .ie will the sub remain the same or increase?

Sorry for the cynicism but I feel somewhere along the line we will get screwed somewhere on this :D

eightieschewbaccy

Free delivery will apply with prime I imagine. I'd be pretty sure they won't be hiking prices, we have a pretty high usage of the platform so I'd say if anything it might be to combat somewhat of a slump in post brexit selling. Plus probably simplifies their processes a bit.

martco

I'll continue to buy books online with Kennys and support 'bricks & mortar' shops when I can anyway

Tenzor07

Great news and will allow many small Irish businesses to set up as vendors on Amazon and not UK based ones.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115211#Comment_122115211

Yep I'm similar. I buy a lot of vinyl so that comes from local shops. If I'm getting a physical book for myself or gifts, from a local shop. I do still read on the Kindle a lot but it's more the ease of not having too many physical books TBH.

prunudo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115225#Comment_122115225

i think that will be one of the biggest benefits.

Although i was always surprised ebay didn't take off here, to the same extent it did in the UK.

ToweringPerformance

Won't use them on principle alone. I will support smaller local business when possible. They treat their staff like sh1t also and iv'e no intention of supporting that.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115211#Comment_122115211

Between giving Bezos more money and the crap way they seem to treat their employees I try to give them as much of a miss as I can myself.

Tenzor07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115258#Comment_122115258

Too many scams I would say, look at the likes of Facebook marketplace, scamcentral…

aidanodr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115123#Comment_122115123

A general fyi - Free Delivery is a perk with a Prime Account only. It will only work with the amazon site you have your prime account with - most Irish peoples prime is with amazon.co.uk .. you cannot at the moment move your prime account to another amazon store. I did try to move it to the post brexit new EU amazon store at amazon.de but no go. We will see will we get an option to move it to amazon.ie

ELM327

I have a UK prime account, I don't want to lose that, and I would like access to IE prime included. I wonder if there will simply be a combined UK and ROI prime now.

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115300#Comment_122115300

Amazon.DE prime is only free delivery for Austria & Germany.

zerosquared

nice, hopefully free returns then too

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058350975/amazon-dot-ie-lands-next-year-dedicated-irish-amazon-store

Amazon doesn’t set up anywhere unless it can screw people over. Forewarned is forearmed.

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058350975/amazon-dot-ie-lands-next-year-dedicated-irish-amazon-store

100% this will screw us over. They will pigeon-hole us into using .ie site which will have a very limited selection just like prime video. And they will gladly refuse us accessing the .co.uk site

Sonic the Shaghog

I will say one thing. If they offered products without the usual Irish gouging tax all the retailers do here it would be no harm turn the market upside down on the likes of Musgrave's/Dunnes/Tesco and even the Germans at this stage.

Pity they won't be doing the grocery thing here.

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115739#Comment_122115739

I regularly order off .uk and .de with no issues.

Hooked

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115739#Comment_122115739

I hope not - as I buy EVERYTHING from Amazon (.co.uk) presently!

Put a thermostat into the brothers dryer last week for 22 europeans. Part locally was 110. F off

Building a camper at the min and all bits (handles, tap, lights, etc) all Amazon.

Got a 5 foot LED style fireplace with heater for 360 - when they are over a grand here.

Long live Amazon shopping!

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115739#Comment_122115739

Yep I don’t think you’re totally wrong - with current .co.uk prime membership I’ve no real complaints - let’s hope that will continue

z80CPU

Great promotion today on Newstalk 106 about Amzon and apparently how well they will supoort the small independent irish business using amazon sales pltform. It clicks now.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116513#Comment_122116513

oh geez.

Invite and entice smaller businesses to sell their products → charge them fees and undercut their profits → when an item gets successful enough, produce an Amazon Basics version → downrank the original product in search results and offer discounts on the Basics version → small businesses unable to compete on the platform → Amazon corners another market

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/amazon-copied-products-rigged-search-results-promote-its-own-brands-documents-2021-10-13/

https://youtu.be/vfwOkA6j8qY?si=GYb7B5bQOP1MbuHP

LambshankRedemption

Sorry for the cynicism but I feel somewhere along the line we will get screwed somewhere on this

Thats not cynicism thats pragmatism based on experience.

thomil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116617#Comment_122116617

Are there really that many small Irish manufacturers that produce the kind of products that would fit into Amazon Basics? Or indeed any consumer-facing manufacturer in Ireland that moves sizeable numbers of products? I doubt it. It'll just be the usual China resellers & dropshippers that already litter the platform, except now with a "physical address" in some used phone & vape shop…

Personally, I welcome the move. I don't use Amazon that much, prefer brick & mortar shops where possible, but for most of the products that I'm interested in, the selection in those stores is either poor, massively overpriced, or both!

Del2005

I hope that they start doing lockers. I don't like ordering expensive items as too many couriers just drop items at the door now, most try to hide them but Amazon leave them in full view of the road.

As for the Irish premium. I always use Keepa or CamelCamelCamel to see which site is cheapest to buy from as all their sites include Irish taxes.

pauly58

I wonder will they be using their own vans for delivery & An Post will lose the contract which must be worth millions, if that happens be prepared for a big hike in the cost of a stamp.

thomil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116984#Comment_122116984

My Amazon Prime delivery today (which I'll have to return, they sent out the wrong product 🤬🤬), was already delivered by an Amazon-branded van. They're still using An Post for handling returns though.

GSBellew

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116984#Comment_122116984

How many times do you use a stamp these days though?

Little enough to make any hike inconsequential I would say.

Sleeper12

We'll still have free delivery but prices will be more expensive. Look at Screwfix. There is a massive difference in prices between Irish & UK site. This isn't difference in taxes. It's just "they will pay more in Ireland"

I'm wondering if we can still use the UK site next year and will they deliver to Ireland from the UK site

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116984#Comment_122116984

count on them vertically integrating their own vans yes. If not right away, it’s within the plan.

Sleeper12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116984#Comment_122116984

I don't know what happens in the rest of the country but in Dublin An Post would only deliver around 5% of their goods. Amazon have their own delivery vans. Back before Amazon vans, An Post couldn't deliver on time around Black Friday and the Christmas period. It could take a week to get your "2 day delivery"

I've had delivery within 24 hours from the UK in some cases with their own drivers

aidanodr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122117020#Comment_122117020

It's just "they will pay more in Ireland"

Thats because Ireland is TREASURE ISLAND - an exec of large UK multiple said this re Ireland a while back

https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2023/05/15/return-to-treasure-island-irish-pricing-practices-questioned-by-veteran-industry-insider/

humberklog

I'm not getting the hate for Amazon.

I've 2 small retail shops in Dublin and so am fairly "in" with a lot of people who own their own businesses and they don't really see Amazon as a threat. It's been around a few decades now and we're used to it. And use it.

For example- I'm looking for a bar that comes out from a wall that will hold 1k kg…I could ring around and drive about. Or get sorted in a matter of minutes on Amazon.

My parents are in their 90's and when I pop over I could be sent on a wild goose chase looking for something they want…I pop on Amazon and it's dilvered to them in a couple of days. They love opening the package as it kinda gives them a feeling of agency, a feeling that's drifting away from them as they get confused in shops.

Since Argos and Maplins have gone it's great for getting simple electrical stuff that you might find in brick shops but often not.

As for their employment. I'm mates with a guy who started on agency work with them and now works full time. He's in their Fulfillment centre in Dublin and he says their one of the best he's worked for (he's 54 years old). They've an appalling record in other countries but they abide by Ireland's employment laws here so I'd like to see evidence of the terrible working conditions in Ireland posted here.

aidanodr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116984#Comment_122116984

As per article in OP:

Amazon says that the launch of Amazon.ie will allow for quicker delivery and returns, helped by a five-year agreement struck between An Post and Amazon last year aimed at more efficient deliveries and returns.

beachhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115739#Comment_122115739

With special Irish prices as a bargain,no doubt

humberklog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116617#Comment_122116617

My friend gets €18.25 working for Amazon an hour and he gets extra (not time and a half nor double time) for working Saturday and Sunday.

What's wrong with that?

MrMusician18

I won't be bothering with it, not for ideological reasons but that amazon's gone to pure shite. It's overrun with Chinese knock off brands and fake reviews that make it really hard to find good products on it.

Usually can find stuff cheaper elsewhere too.

Polar101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122117043#Comment_122117043

Neither has been particularly good.. Amazon Logistics is "will be delivered by 9pm" but often a day early, so you need to prepare two days for someone to receive a parcel at some random time - and they like to play hide and seek with the parcels. "Package handled to resident" might mean anything from "we gave it to a random person" to "we tossed it in your garden".

And then there's An Post who will post a "Sorry we missed you" note the day after they "attempted" (lol) a delivery, and you might be able to pick it up at a local depot in a few days' time.

I hope they'd do the UK style Prime Delivery Day where you can choose that they should only deliver on a Friday, for example.

—-Now, Amazon have become absolutely terrible if you want to buy random electrical / computer accessories, everything is rubbish Chinese junk and you really have to dig deep to find something you'd dare to plug in.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122118624#Comment_122118624

what’s that got to do with what I wrote? Which had nothing to do with working conditions at fulfillment centers but the impact it has on 3rd party businesses.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122117057#Comment_122117057

so after five years, with data about their Ireland operations I’d expect you’ll start seeing a phase out of an post deliveries in favor of Amazon deliveries. Not that postal deliveries don’t still happen here too, and UPS, just the volume is overwhelmingly their own vans now. No apparent downside to any customer there however.

jos22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115739#Comment_122115739

they will continue to ship here, like amazon.com etc dose, but they will Def phase the free shipping over x value and lock Irish address for Prime to the .ie site.

whomitconcerns

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122118895#Comment_122118895

But they don't do that. I had a prime Japan account at one stage. Only signed up to send some gifts to a friend there. Irish address etc. It only affects where the free shipping goes.

Rock Steady Edy

I put in about 3 or 4 orders a year, and only ever when it's over the free delivery amount.

If they got rid of the free delivery, it's unlikely I'd order at all.

I'm already ordering less from them due to cost of returning anything due to Brexit, but maybe the .ie website offers an opportunity to fix that issue.

irishgeo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122118872#Comment_122118872

Noone does rural deliveries better than an post. All an post down the country.

kalych

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122118968#Comment_122118968

I think the point is that at the moment you get free shipping to Ireland. In not to distant future that may go away when ordering from the UK site. Sure if you still have an address in the UK it doesn't effect you. However, most of us don't.

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122116395#Comment_122116395

And .es and .it

Norrie Rugger Head

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122115287#Comment_122115287

Amazon is full of that too

It's a shell of the service it was 10 years back and I avoid it as much as possible.

NewbridgeIR

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058350975/amazon-dot-ie-lands-next-year-dedicated-irish-amazon-store

I'm wary that the range of items won't be the same as UK.

I see they mention "free from customs charges"

But there’s no additional customs charges when ordering from Amazon UK once the item is displayed as being “delivered by” Amazon. The UK VAT of 20% is deducted & the Irish VAT of 23% is added on. Nothing more. Every package gets through & nothing is returned by An Post. Unlike the complete lottery that applies if you order from other UK sellers.

I have Prime and order physical media on a weekly basis from Amazon UK - it works fine for me. And I order from Amazon US a few times a year - the express shipping via UPS is extremely fast (2 or 3 days at the moment).

Norrie Rugger Head

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122119061#Comment_122119061

Try to order something over €150 and you'll see charges quick enough

Hooked

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122117053#Comment_122117053

Nail on the head. Especially all the faffing/driving about.

I get all my (and the wife's) stuff delivered to work. It does cost me a coffee every other Friday, LOL… for the girl in reception who is sick and tired of bringing my stuff into me.

Come to think of it… between Amazon and Screwfix… and possibly Dunnes and Nike/SportsDirectM&M… I can't remember the last time I went into an actual SHOP. I guess the online model just really suits some people's lifestyles.

Norrie Rugger Head

The killer issue for .co.uk was having no way of filtering out items which wouldn't deliver to Ireland

Varik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122119135#Comment_122119135

Easiest way in the search was looking if under the name and price there was a delivery date. If no date then when you went in it'd confirm it'd not ship to Ireland.

Even when you'd the filter for next day deliver avaliable that wouldn't filter out UK only stuff.

Used to use it for company purchases a lot as I'd get 0vat and not need to claim it back but that stopped working after brexit, the ie site won't give that back but at least I can buy stuff for company off it again without having to buy it personally and expense it.