Notorious Guf Posted December 19, 2011 Random thought… this change is delivery may only be for Christmas period… busy time of year, not really cost effective, different deal with postage partners - just a hope I guess but may ring true in a week or two. I doubt it since it is too late to guarantee delivery even with this postage option. I would say that they have realised that 8 Euros isn't nearly enough to cover the cost of posting a Tower Bridge using UPS, especially when they are probably charging only a fraction over their buy price. In a lot of cases they used the fastest shipping option, perhaps because of the size of the box, regardless of your choice of shipping method. You will find that they have also sold out of a lot of items & most of the others have increased in price by up to and over 100%. My guess is they have been losing money & have been slowly going through adjusting prices to make sure it doesn't continue to happen, shipping is the easiest way to fix this without it affecting their turnover locally. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garst Posted December 20, 2011 Hey guys, just got a quick question. I ordered 2 sets from amazon.fr on the 25th of november and neither have shown up yet. The sets were split up into 2 packages, and were both fairly average sized boxes (10199 winter village toy shop and 8069 technic excavator). Both are well past their due dates, and although i have emailed amazon, who have told me to wait till the 21st of december, i can't help feeling a little anxious that something may have happened. The carrier is DHL, and neither of the packages have tracking. I was wondering if this is a common occurrence even during a busy time of year like this? I also ordered the death star on the 5th of this month from amazon.fr, who shipped it with DHL and with tracking. since the 8th however, it has not moved from its last departure scan. I Was also wondering if this was normal. I order 3 other sets a week before through amazon.fr and they came within the week, although the carrier was UPS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belchher Posted December 20, 2011 Are you in Australia? If so then that's probably right for this time of year. I order a few things around that same time and for whatever reason a couple of the smaller sets where sent regular post instead of UPS, and those smaller ones only showed up a couple of days ago. That was always a risk with choosing the cheaper post option though, the big sets will ( or sounds more like used to ) be shipped using UPS, but if the smaller ones where delayed they came regular post with all its hiccups and delays and higher chance of being squished. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greenpaw Posted December 20, 2011 I doubt it since it is too late to guarantee delivery even with this postage option. I would say that they have realised that 8 Euros isn't nearly enough to cover the cost of posting a Tower Bridge using UPS, especially when they are probably charging only a fraction over their buy price. In a lot of cases they used the fastest shipping option, perhaps because of the size of the box, regardless of your choice of shipping method. You will find that they have also sold out of a lot of items & most of the others have increased in price by up to and over 100%. My guess is they have been losing money & have been slowly going through adjusting prices to make sure it doesn't continue to happen, shipping is the easiest way to fix this without it affecting their turnover locally. It could also be that they have lost faith in DHL as a shipper to overseas countries like Australia. I would expect a large online company like Amazon to stop using a shipper if they receive many complaints and requests for refunds when their packages arrive in terrible condition (as many of us here on the board have experienced with DHL). Just another way to spin the changes... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Notorious Guf Posted December 20, 2011 It could also be that they have lost faith in DHL as a shipper to overseas countries like Australia. I would expect a large online company like Amazon to stop using a shipper if they receive many complaints and requests for refunds when their packages arrive in terrible condition (as many of us here on the board have experienced with DHL). Just another way to spin the changes... Good point! They do like to receive feedback regarding the condition of the items when delivered & since they will happily send out another set or refund if this is a problem, or if it goes missing, it's certainly something they would want to be in control of. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garst Posted December 20, 2011 Are you in Australia? If so then that's probably right for this time of year. I order a few things around that same time and for whatever reason a couple of the smaller sets where sent regular post instead of UPS, and those smaller ones only showed up a couple of days ago. That was always a risk with choosing the cheaper post option though, the big sets will ( or sounds more like used to ) be shipped using UPS, but if the smaller ones where delayed they came regular post with all its hiccups and delays and higher chance of being squished. Yeah I'm in Perth. I assumed that the smaller ones will be pretty beaten up, which im willing to cop for the excavator, but seeing as winter toy shop is an exclusive (or at least carries a 10*** prefix) and i like the boxes of my valuable sets in a decent condition, I'd be pretty tempted to send it back and get them to send another one via UPS. Problem is, amazon.fr are now sold out of the toy shop. Hopefully something shows up soon or I'll have nothing to build come Christmas day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickadeer Posted December 21, 2011 Has anyone ever ordered by amazon.es (Spain)? If so, what were your experiences? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greenpaw Posted December 25, 2011 Merry Christmas Everybody! Hope you all had a Lego filled day My son bought me the Creator lighthouse while I bought him the Creator Hillside house. Throw in Diagon Alley for the family-present and I had a great day, thanks in part to Amazon France Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lorax Posted December 25, 2011 Merry Christmas Everybody! Hope you all had a Lego filled day My son bought me the Creator lighthouse while I bought him the Creator Hillside house. Throw in Diagon Alley for the family-present and I had a great day, thanks in part to Amazon France Cheers Merry Christmas Greenpaw (and all other people in this thread). Amazon France also made it a merry Christmas here with Santa giving my husband the Grand Emporium and the motorised excavator. I got whitecap bay (I also got three Lego storage cases early which we sourced locally). I also gave my nieces and nephews toys from Amazon France... Now if they only did groceries I wouldn't have to shop anywhere else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickmamba Posted December 25, 2011 Grats people, diagon alley and GE are great sets, its a sin to be a AFOL as i already have these sets without waiting for Xmas, enjoy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDarkness Posted December 29, 2011 I just tried a few options of new sets at Amazon.it and it said they cannot ship to my destination. I didn't check any older ones, but it definitely seems like they are tightening their belts across the board :( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hewman Posted December 29, 2011 I just tried a few options of new sets at Amazon.it and it said they cannot ship to my destination. I didn't check any older ones, but it definitely seems like they are tightening their belts across the board :( Were these 2012 sets they had listed that wouldn't ship? I think it does depend on availability and how recent sets are. On Amazon.com, you could get the emerald night shipped to Australia for ages, then all of a sudden it became available. For 2012 sets, I'm prepared to show some patience before pay Aus RRP (less 20% on sale). I'll say one thing about amazon.it, my sets arrived in perfect condition, and quickly too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDarkness Posted December 29, 2011 Were these 2012 sets they had listed that wouldn't ship? I think it does depend on availability and how recent sets are. On Amazon.com, you could get the emerald night shipped to Australia for ages, then all of a sudden it became available. For 2012 sets, I'm prepared to show some patience before pay Aus RRP (less 20% on sale). I'll say one thing about amazon.it, my sets arrived in perfect condition, and quickly too. Yeah, the Kombi, Winter Post Office and Geonosian Cannon I'm annoyed about the Emerald Night, I have been trying to get it for a little while now, I have had it in my Amazon.com for a bit but it was never available. Now I have fully taken up collecting Trains, its even more frustrating. I'll just have to stop being a scrooge and pay full RRP I guess :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lorax Posted December 31, 2011 Amazon France has Lego Friends for sending out from 7 January. Prices are ok, but with no cheap shipping you won't be saving a huge amount (based on prices listed on the mrtoys site). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Esurient Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) Amazon France has Lego Friends for sending out from 7 January. Prices are ok, but with no cheap shipping you won't be saving a huge amount (based on prices listed on the mrtoys site). Not just the expensive shipping, I found out that Amazon.fr introduced import taxes to my pre-orders. I am hesitating now. Edited January 1, 2012 by Esurient Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDarkness Posted January 1, 2012 Damn, Amazon.fr is totally off the radar now. If they removed VAT, they threw something on that was even more. Such a shame, back to looking elsewhere Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lorax Posted January 2, 2012 Not just the expensive shipping, I found out that Amazon.fr introduced import taxes to my pre-orders. I am hesitating now. I am waiting until they are no longer a pre-order before I look at ordering some Friends sets for myself. So I will try again on the 7th and see how it goes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDarkness Posted January 2, 2012 I am waiting until they are no longer a pre-order before I look at ordering some Friends sets for myself. So I will try again on the 7th and see how it goes. The items I put in the cart were not preorders. Looks like a new policy in place permanantly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Esurient Posted January 2, 2012 The items I put in the cart were not preorders. Looks like a new policy in place permanantly Looks like the import tax is set to replace the VAT discount for overseas buyers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
giggitygoo Posted January 2, 2012 Okay so I'm in Australia - What's the best site for buying sets that are cheaper than the Aussie retail prices??? Especially with all the new Star Wars and Lord of the Rings sets in 2012 I think if I want them I'd rather get them online for cheaper as the Aussie RRP's make me want to cry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickmamba Posted January 2, 2012 Okay so I'm in Australia - What's the best site for buying sets that are cheaper than the Aussie retail prices??? Especially with all the new Star Wars and Lord of the Rings sets in 2012 I think if I want them I'd rather get them online for cheaper as the Aussie RRP's make me want to cry i suggest you look back in this thread and see which online shops have been successful purchases for members, good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrWeevil Posted January 2, 2012 Looks like the import tax is set to replace the VAT discount for overseas buyers. So it's really an "International Buyer Surcharge", not an import duty - they can't charge an import duty. Hmm... perhaps they were triggered by large numbers of the same few sets going to the same addresses - i.e. resellers taking advantage of their specials and cheap shipping. It wouldn't surprise me if the change in policy came from The Lego Group, unless of course this is only if the charge applies to Lego. Out of curiosity, what does it work out to be? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Esurient Posted January 2, 2012 So it's really an "International Buyer Surcharge", not an import duty - they can't charge an import duty. Hmm... perhaps they were triggered by large numbers of the same few sets going to the same addresses - i.e. resellers taking advantage of their specials and cheap shipping. It wouldn't surprise me if the change in policy came from The Lego Group, unless of course this is only if the charge applies to Lego. Out of curiosity, what does it work out to be? https://www.amazon.fr/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200549890&pop-up=1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belchher Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Hmm...so they're taking some unspecified amount of our money, and holding on to it "just in case" aus customs slap import duties on it, then giving us a refund of that unspecified amount 60 days later if customs don't charge import duties....thats really super annoying. Edited January 2, 2012 by Belchher Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legoman Posted January 2, 2012 Perhaps Austrailia has recently changed its personal importing tax laws? Even back in the height of it all with Amazon.FR, They were wanting to charge this duty/tax if my order was over $400 NZ (Our Legal import max before we have to pay GST and Customs charges), but only if I got it posted with 'Flash'. Now 'Flash' is the only option (I'm guessing because sets were getting beaten up in the cheap postage), and so this Import tax collection is now always included also. Yes, it is a bit more expencive now, But I'm not sure what they've done is a huge deal.. When they have sets cheap, It'll still be a good saving. I've just got to keep my orders under $400NZ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
