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Amazon discriminating Irish customers?

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  • 28-05-2020 9:30am
    #1
    donnyvegas
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭


    Ok.

    So I know COVID is affecting many business and disrupting many supply chains etc. Amazon even said they are prioritising essential products and others will be delayed. Fair enough. I am signed up to Prime and my 2 day delivery can wait.

    Last week I ordered some multivitamins. Expected delivery to Ireland - June 2nd. Not essential I guess and the 2 week delivery, I assumed Amazon warehouse are flat out. Fair enough.

    Out of sheer curiosity, I checked to see how long it would take to send to DPD parcel wizard in the north. 2 days - oh. Then I check AddressPal in the UK, next day delivery.

    I contacted Amazon to see what went wrong - they said the problem is on the delivery to Ireland. We are now 8 days following my order, and it has yet to even dispatch. If An Post don’t receive the product, how can they deliver?

    The problem is clearly Amazon prioritising their UK customers over Irish.

    Anyone have any insight on this? Or experienced this themselves? Who do you even report this to?


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Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Pkiernan
    Registered Users Posts: 4,315 ✭✭✭Pkiernan


    donnyvegas wrote: »
    Ok.

    Who do you even report this to?

    Gardai perhaps or the European Court of Human Rights.

    If you can prove discrimination you've got a great case.


  • Options
    #3
    Flickerfusion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 242 ✭✭Flickerfusion


    Amazon are going very slowly at the moment generally due to social distancing in warehouses and also just unprecedented volumes of orders. It’s nothing to do with discrimination.

    There’s been a massive uptick in online shopping and their capacity is finite and taking time to respond.

    They also wouldn’t want to invest more than they need to in capacity that may not be in demand in the medium term.

    If this all calms down in 6 months, they would be left with a lot of empty warehouse if they were to expand to scale of current demand. So I suspect things will just be slower than usual for a while.


  • Options
    #4
    Wuff Wuff
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,429 ✭✭✭Wuff Wuff


    Joe Duffy is your only man


  • Options
    #5
    sweetie
    Registered Users Posts: 9,791 ✭✭✭sweetie


    Flickerfusion wrote: »
    Amazon are going very slowly at the moment generally due to social distancing in warehouses and also just unprecedented volumes of orders. It’s nothing to do with discrimination.

    That's not it. If you order prime delivered to a Parcel forwarding service they obey the 1 or 2 day rule, but for Irish addresses not a chance.


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    #6
    Caranica
    Registered Users Posts: 10,001 ✭✭✭✭Caranica


    I've had to send two things to parcel motel this week as they were on the ever growing list of things that no seller is sending to Ireland these days.

    Part of a mixed order and the delay on the stuff going to NI is the same as to Ireland.


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    #7
    Flickerfusion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 242 ✭✭Flickerfusion


    Ordered a prime item to a parcel forwarder and it took 8 days.

    My cousin ordered kitchen paper from them to her address in Yorkshire and it took 4 weeks!

    They’re prioritising certain items and they’re having picking delays with others.


  • Options
    #8
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Buy as little as you can from Amazon. Give your business to other companies.


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    #9
    Flickerfusion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 242 ✭✭Flickerfusion


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    Buy as little as you can from Amazon. Give your business to other companies.

    Sadly, they unavoidable for certain items.

    It would be great if Irish bricks and mortar shops could get together on a platform for shopping.

    The big thing with amazon is probably the fact that people have one simple account.

    Also shops should all implement Apple Pay and Google Pay. It avoids a ton of form filling and gives people a sense of security.


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    #10
    GBX
    Registered Users Posts: 11,900 ✭✭✭✭GBX


    sweetie wrote: »
    That's not it. If you order prime delivered to a Parcel forwarding service they obey the 1 or 2 day rule, but for Irish addresses not a chance.

    Because it's not routed through An Post. Likely the agreement they have with An Post is not priority hence the delays. All down to costs. They probably pay less to An Post than the likes of DPD/Nightline. Nothing discriminatory about it.

    OP - have you priced around? Other retailers probably have them at a higher price + delivery cost. But some people won't pay higher prices to local shops and then complain when delays happen.


  • Options
    #11
    Seve OB
    Registered Users Posts: 15,824 ✭✭✭✭Seve OB


    Flickerfusion wrote: »
    Sadly, they unavoidable for certain items.

    such as?


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    #12
    antodeco
    Registered Users, Subscribers Posts: 13,425 ✭✭✭✭antodeco


    I bought 1 item to be shipped to an Irish address. Took 2 weeks to dispatch, and then 2 days to arrive.

    Bought another item to be shipped to a UK forwarding address. 1 day to dispatch. 1 day to arrive.

    I'm a prime member. Oh, and both items were the same thing from the same seller.


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    #13
    Flickerfusion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 242 ✭✭Flickerfusion


    Seve OB wrote: »
    such as?

    Quite a few odd technical items seem to be next to impossible to find anywhere else these days and we’ve lost a lot of bricks and mortier planes that used to sell them.


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    #14
    donnyvegas
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭donnyvegas


    Flickerfusion wrote: »
    Ordered a prime item to a parcel forwarder and it took 8 days.

    My cousin ordered kitchen paper from them to her address in Yorkshire and it took 4 weeks!

    They’re prioritising certain items and they’re having picking delays with others.

    Different story. I’m talking about same item sold by Amazon, hugely different dispatching times to Ireland and UK. I can get it next day to AddressPal but 2 weeks to Ireland.


  • Options
    #15
    donnyvegas
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭donnyvegas


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    Buy as little as you can from Amazon. Give your business to other companies.

    I will shop local if possible and safe to do so. Places like Boots (not technically local but employing people locally) charge to get delivery to store (!!!!) and only allow 4 people in at a time.


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    #16
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,671 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Amazon is quite welcome to discriminate against Irish customers. And will do more off it as Brexit solidifies.


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    #17
    Xterminator
    Registered Users Posts: 4,717 ✭✭✭Xterminator


    What court do you think has jurisdiction to force amazon.co.uk to deliver overseas the same speeds as UK delivery?

    Should we complain if amazon.de delivers faster to Germany than Ireland?

    Think about the logistics. With royal post, there is one provider end to end, and guarantees are possible. Add a 3rd party in like an post, there is no guarantee. Its a practical thing, its geography, and it is amazon's policy decisions. Bear in mind that postal services are not running at full capacity right now.

    i usually get my amazon items before the due date, as they are building in a safety margin there because if you set poor expectations and exceed them its better than having 1 in 3 deliveries late, due to issues outside your control.

    So its not discrimination. Its geography and company policy. if you dont like the company policy dont shop there.


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    #18
    Tockman
    Registered Users Posts: 166 ✭✭Tockman


    They put all Irish orders at back of list, possibly two weeks to dispatch an item before its posted, where as if i order same product to parcel motel in northern Ireland its dispatched within 2 days.

    Once its dispatched it takes only 2 days shipping to Ireland so I don't think its an issue with an post.


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    #19
    donnyvegas
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭donnyvegas


    Xterminator wrote: »
    What court do you think has jurisdiction to force amazon.co.uk to deliver overseas the same speeds as UK delivery?

    Should we complain if amazon.de delivers faster to Germany than Ireland?

    Think about the logistics. With royal post, there is one provider end to end, and guarantees are possible. Add a 3rd party in like an post, there is no guarantee. Its a practical thing, its geography, and it is amazon's policy decisions. Bear in mind that postal services are not running at full capacity right now.

    i usually get my amazon items before the due date, as they are building in a safety margin there because if you set poor expectations and exceed them its better than having 1 in 3 deliveries late, due to issues outside your control.

    So its not discrimination. Its geography and company policy. if you dont like the company policy dont shop there.

    You are completely missing the point.

    The fact is is that Irish Prime customers pay the same amount for Prime (which you seemingly don’t have) as UK customers and we pay for 2 day delivery. Amazon can still dispatch a product to the UK within in hours but to Ireland it takes 2 weeks. I know when it is dispatched that it is up to the delivery companies. My gripe is that Amazon are not shipping products equally to Ireland and UK.


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    #20
    timetogo1
    Registered Users Posts: 847 ✭✭✭timetogo1


    Xterminator wrote: »
    What court do you think has jurisdiction to force amazon.co.uk to deliver overseas the same speeds as UK delivery?

    The problem in the OPs case is with the dispatch isn't it. Once it's out the door the speed of the delivery is down to the delivery company. I've found once it's dispatched its with me in a couple of days, unless you've chosen a seller that is shipping from China. It's the week (or two) where it was just in processing that is the issue.

    The problem the OP said was that getting it out the door is the bit that is delayed if it's an Irish customer.

    I've experienced it myself. I've cancelled an order that was just sitting there and ordered it to Parcel Motel and had it ship the next day. Could be coincidence but many users seem to be having the same issue.

    I've noticed it with Prime too. Prime makes no difference to shipping times to Ireland, they'll just sit there for a week or so. I've noticed this before Covid. I remember the good old days when you could order anything from Amazon and it'd be with you in two days.

    But at the end of the day it's a commercial decision. If Amazon don't care about the Irish customer hopefully somebody pops in to fill the gap. I've found them getting more and more expensive in the last few months so that local options are cheaper anyway.


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    #21
    Peintre Celebre
    Registered Users Posts: 2,484 ✭✭✭Peintre Celebre


    **** me people are easily annoyed. If you don't like their service don't use them. That's the beauty of an open market- you can choose not to buy from them.

    They are under absolutely no obligation to conform to your expected delivery times. Who do you report them to? FFS


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    #22
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    antodeco wrote: »
    I bought 1 item to be shipped to Irish address. Took 2 weeks to dispatch, and then 2 days to arrive.

    Bought another item to be shipped to a UK forwarding address. 1 day to despatch. 1 day to arrive.

    I'm a prime member. Oh, and both items were the same thing from the same seller.

    It does sound like someone made the decision the Paddies can wait. Just one more reason to hate that company imo.


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    #23
    timetogo1
    Registered Users Posts: 847 ✭✭✭timetogo1


    Peintre Celebre wrote: »
    **** me people are easily annoyed.
    ....
    Peintre Celebre wrote: »
    Who do you report them to? FFS

    Yep, people are easily annoyed.


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    #24
    Doodah7
    Registered Users Posts: 3,721 ✭✭✭Doodah7


    donnyvegas wrote: »
    Ok.



    Last week I ordered some multivitamins.


    And maybe save your money and spend it on something useful?

    https://www.nhs.uk/news/medical-practice/most-multivitamins-and-supplements-are-waste-money/

    https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/is-there-really-any-benefit-to-multivitamins

    https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/do-multivitamins-make-you-healthier


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    #25
    witnessmenow
    Registered Users Posts: 7,006 ✭✭✭witnessmenow


    I have bought a lot of stuff from Amazon in the last couple of months due to moving house.

    Nearly everything I bought I got delivered to Ireland, only thing I didn't was a power bank (sent to address pal). Pretty much everything I ordered took over a week to dispatch, other than the power bank which dispatched later that day. I had prime.

    I cancelled my prime and mentioned in the the cancellation form thingy that this is why I was cancelling it. I pay monthly for it whenever I think I'll need it so I was able to quit.

    For the op, there is no one you can report this to. You can chose to use them or not. They are not discriminating against our nationality, maybe there is a problem with their delivery chain. When they use anpost, do they ship everything to Ireland first and dispatch it from there? I'm not sure how their logistics work. One thing I do have to say, is their delivery estimates for orders have generally been spot on. So while yes they are not living up to their 2 day shipping you should get with Prime, they are keeping to their delivery estimates at time of ordering


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    #26
    MrMusician18
    Registered Users Posts: 7,198 ✭✭✭MrMusician18


    Xterminator wrote: »
    What court do you think has jurisdiction to force amazon.co.uk to deliver overseas the same speeds as UK delivery?

    Should we complain if amazon.de delivers faster to Germany than Ireland?

    Think about the logistics. With royal post, there is one provider end to end, and guarantees are possible. Add a 3rd party in like an post, there is no guarantee. Its a practical thing, its geography, and it is amazon's policy decisions. Bear in mind that postal services are not running at full capacity right now.

    i usually get my amazon items before the due date, as they are building in a safety margin there because if you set poor expectations and exceed them its better than having 1 in 3 deliveries late, due to issues outside your control.

    So its not discrimination. Its geography and company policy. if you dont like the company policy dont shop there.

    Discriminatory pricing is illegal in the EU, discriminatory delivery could be seen as an extension of that.

    I think the issue with Amazon UK orders to Ireland is that they never enter UK post. To my knowledge and I could be wrong but I understand they go directly into a container and taken to Portlaoise MC. So Irish items only get picked when there is a container due to depart.


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    #27
    donnyvegas
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭donnyvegas


    Doodah7 wrote: »
    And maybe save your money and spend it on something useful?

    https://www.nhs.uk/news/medical-practice/most-multivitamins-and-supplements-are-waste-money/

    https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/is-there-really-any-benefit-to-multivitamins

    https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/do-multivitamins-make-you-healthier

    What is the point of this post? Did you even read the discussion or you’re just trolling?


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    #28
    ronivek
    Registered Users Posts: 1,916 ✭✭✭ronivek


    I'm not sure precisely what you think a company like Amazon has to gain by "discriminating" against Irish customers; it's much more likely it simply takes longer to ship for cost and logistics reasons.

    In addition as others have said you're under no obligation to pay for Prime; if you don't like the benefits then don't pay for it.


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    #29
    pleasant Co.
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 7,376 Mod ✭✭✭✭pleasant Co.


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    Amazon is quite welcome to discriminate against Irish customers. And will do more off it as Brexit solidifies.

    They might even discriminate further by opening a warehouse in Dublin whilst continuing to deliver from mainland EU.


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    #30
    FVP3
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,187 ✭✭✭FVP3


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    Amazon is quite welcome to discriminate against Irish customers. And will do more off it as Brexit solidifies.

    I dont think welcome is the correct term here, is it? It may be legal but is it welcome?

    OP, I too have noticed this. I can use parcel motel to speed things up when I need to, its clearly not An Post or delivery, it is the time to dispatch.


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    #31
    FVP3
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,187 ✭✭✭FVP3


    ronivek wrote: »
    I'm not sure precisely what you think a company like Amazon has to gain by "discriminating" against Irish customers; it's much more likely it simply takes longer to ship for cost and logistics reasons.

    In addition as others have said you're under no obligation to pay for Prime; if you don't like the benefits then don't pay for it.

    I mean the OP clearly has said numerous times that is is the time to dispatch, not the time to deliver, that is the problem. This is new. So, it looks like in their prioritization in the covid era that they have reduced the priority of certain goods and countries.


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