Amazon

I get a lot from them using Subscribe and Save. Can't use that on any of the other EU sites. Luckily I've been stocking up on stuff for the past 6 months. Might still be worth it for a few items, but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

There will be a lot of waiting and seeing but over Christmas I'm going to give my massive wish list a good shake down and if an agreement looks unlikely I'll be treating myself.

ixoy wrote: »

It's unclear as to how this might affect digital sales, specifically Kindle books. Can't get them from the other EU stores, at least not in English. I don't think Customs would apply as the cost would be below any threshold.

I would imagine they would be digital goods, so different rules (again) would apply.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/vat/vat-on-services/vat-and-electronically-supplied-services/index.aspx

Joziburg wrote: »

Why can’t there be an Amazon.ie website? What are the reasons for there not being any?

Yeah I can’t understand this either

ED E wrote: »

It'll be identical to the US global shipping system. They'll take the import deposit which is usually accurate but will likely include a handling charge. This will ruin UK orders. I'll likely cancel my Prime come January.

This sounds very very bad.

Import fees for buying from the UK?
Jesus wept.

What about Amazon's warehouses in Ireland?
There should at the very least be an Amazon.ie website.

Ireland are a gadget and consumer mad country.

Asus X540L wrote: »

This sounds very very bad.

Import fees for buying from the UK?
Jesus wept.

What about Amazon's warehouses in Ireland?
There should at the very least be an Amazon.ie website.

Ireland are a gadget and consumer mad country.

Amazon.ie is forwarded to the UK site at the moment.

It’s not just Brexit, stuff coming from outside the EU like China will no longer have the €20 exemption, there will be customs charges on everything. A lot will be paid for when you are purchasing but some will need to be paid for on arrival

whiterebel wrote: »

The lower exemption limit is going on July 1st 2021.
Why would An Post lower their fee for Handling customs clearance shipments?

At the moment it's €10 for a very small number of shipments (comparative to the total at least).

Customs processes will be simplified and the volume of them will dictate much better working practices reducing the labour cost. In most logistics operations including mine where EU makes up the overwhelming majority customs is a rare exception to the rule. We've been mass training all staff for months so instead of one person getting a rake of awkward calls when something lands from Turkey or Switzerland, every staff member will clear their own shipments. Scale makes this no longer a specialty service, and so the price overall per clearance can go down.

An Post are no different. They have already lost a huge Amazon contract because Amazon can do it better themselves. They'll want to be competitive.

Amazon no doubt in time will have all this done in house and in a slightly longer period will simply fulfill all Irish orders (or at least, the vast majority of popular items) from and Irish or other EU FC. Enter Prime Air stage right. 2 jets already leased for Europe and many more to follow no doubt.

Nobotty wrote: »

I've been purchasing from amazon.co.uk excluding vat for a few years now
I just gave them an Irish vat number,they verified it and added it to my profile
The vat isn't added at payment so you end up paying about 20% less than the list price

Not sure what happens to this process after dec 31st
Will probably have to use the German or French site

Right, but you become liable for Irish VAT unless exempt when the goods arrive here. And more importantly you have a VAT number; or are you using your PPS number as a VAT number? (sole trader)
it's not something Amazon currently offer consumers, is my point.

I get stuff from Amazon.de from time to time but don't have half the range of stuff (that i want ) thats on the UK site.

Joziburg wrote: »

Anyone with experience know which of the European websites is the best. Hate having to hop from one to the other, if I can stick on one?

you should be comparing eu amazon sites as you can often get a better deal from one over the other..

always check .fr, .es, .de or use amazon comparison sites so they check for you

ixoy wrote: »

Why would Amazon have bothered setting up their own Irish delivery service knowing that a no-deal Brexit had a high chance of passing? What was in it for them to keep Irish customers happy if they planned on shafting them entirely?

I've been thinking the same thing for a while. I've said on here before if Amazon were set to effectively abandon Ireland, why would they start their own deliveries in Dublin?

If a no-deal Brexit happens then Amazon.co.uk orders will fall massively and a lot of people will cancel their Prime membership. I can't see all these people switching to other European Amazon sites. The €7.50 minimum delivery charge and no free Prime delivery is hardly appealing.

I just can't see Amazon being fine with a likely 80%+ sales drop here. Their new delivery drivers would just be sitting around doing nothing in Rathcoole.

Got this email recently;

Hello,

As you have placed an order on Amazon.co.uk and selected an EU delivery address in the past, we wanted to let you know that from 1 January 2021, when the Brexit transition period ends, you’ll see some changes when you shop on Amazon.co.uk and select an EU delivery address. These changes could include:

- VAT (or the regional equivalent, if applicable, https://www.amazon.co.uk/vatrates) being due in the country of delivery, or your package may be subject to customs duties, taxes and fees (“Import Fees”)
- the collection of VAT, or an estimation of Import Fees (“Import Fee Deposit” https://www.amazon.co.uk/ifd), which may result in a price change at checkout.

We will continue to accept eligible returns. If the reason for return is the result of an error (e.g. if the item is defective / damaged / incorrect), any costs incurred for the return will be paid by Amazon. Otherwise, any costs incurred for the return (including transport costs, as well as any associated import fees or customs where applicable) will be payable by the person returning the goods https://www.amazon.co.uk/returnshelp.

We hope this helps and we see you again soon.

Regards,

Customer Service Department
Amazon.co.uk

The bit I bolded was one reason I loved Amazon; if the product I got wasn't what was described, I could return it. Heck, I'm returning a reverse camera as it's not suitable for cars, only for trucks. From January, I'll be billed if I try to do this, it would seem. So I will not "take a chance" on a lot of their non-brand name goods, as I will no longer have the option of returning it with ease (this would be the 2nd itme I've returned out of maybe 100 purchases).

the_syco wrote: »

Got this email recently;

The bit I bolded was one reason I loved Amazon; if the product I got wasn't what was described, I could return it. Heck, I'm returning a reverse camera as it's not suitable for cars, only for trucks. From January, I'll be billed if I try to do this, it would seem. So I will not "take a chance" on a lot of their non-brand name goods, as I will no longer have the option of returning it with ease (this would be the 2nd itme I've returned out of maybe 100 purchases).

You'll still be able to return it free for that reason though. Defective or incorrect.

The only change is if you change your mind entirely. That would affect me literally zero out of the 5/6 returns I've done (unless you count when I returned a phone, I also returned the case & charger, which I'm sure live chat would have authorised).