Criteria for "Amazon cannot ship to your country"?

[irascian]

I'm used to buying stuff direct from Amazon.com where, for whatever bizarre reason a title (eg Ultimate Collector's Edition) isn't shown by any of the usual US suppliers on Amazon.co.uk.

However I've got caught out a couple of times recently where at checkout time Amazon has told me that they cannot ship the product to my country.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it.

eg "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Ultimate Collector's Edition" and "Singin' in the Rain Ultimate Collector's Edition" were fine

"Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz" was not and cannot be shipped.

Does anybody have any idea what the criteria are? Is it down to a specific studio or what?

In the past I've used Movietyme but just lately they've got hopeless and just don't have the titles I want. Had to go to Australia for the Ultimate edition of "The Town" because no US supplier listed it. But it never arrived and Australia just turned round and said "Here's a refund. We won't send a replacement" and keep bombarding me with adverts for "deals of the day" like sofa's and bed linen. Importing the best editions of titles is getting too much like hard work!

 

[Indiana Jones]

I'm used to buying stuff direct from Amazon.com where, for whatever bizarre reason a title (eg Ultimate Collector's Edition) isn't shown by any of the usual US suppliers on Amazon.co.uk.

However I've got caught out a couple of times recently where at checkout time Amazon has told me that they cannot ship the product to my country.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it.

eg "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Ultimate Collector's Edition" and "Singin' in the Rain Ultimate Collector's Edition" were fine

"Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz" was not and cannot be shipped.

Does anybody have any idea what the criteria are? Is it down to a specific studio or what?

In the past I've used Movietyme but just lately they've got hopeless and just don't have the titles I want. Had to go to Australia for the Ultimate edition of "The Town" because no US supplier listed it. But it never arrived and Australia just turned round and said "Here's a refund. We won't send a replacement" and keep bombarding me with adverts for "deals of the day" like sofa's and bed linen. Importing the best editions of titles is getting too much like hard work!

Have you tried Bluraysforeveryone, if a title you are looking for is not listed just send an email and they will probably be able to source it for you.

 

[AndyCob]

Two things were any of the intems being sold by someone other than amazon. It is common for US the companies selling through Amamzon.com even when the item is shown as fullfilled by Amamzon not to ship internationally and so won't ship to UK.

Other than that it si something Amamzon decide themselves on a case by case basis and usually seems to be based on a combination of size, weight and fragility. Large, heavy or bulky items often are not offered for international shipping.

 

[Geoff_D]

Andy's right, sometimes it's actually another company who are sellng thru amazon. Always check just underneath the title, it'll say 'sold by xxxxxx' and 'fulfilled by amazon'. If you click on the 'buy from these sellers' list you can sometimes find the actual amazon listing. It'll probably cost a few bucks more, but if you're really desperate for, er, Tom and Jerry and The Wizard of Oz then I'm sure you won't mind paying the extra.

 

[irascian]

Two things were any of the intems being sold by someone other than amazon. It is common for US the companies selling through Amamzon.com even when the item is shown as fullfilled by Amamzon not to ship internationally and so won't ship to UK.

Not that I'm aware of. Most of the time I just use Amazon.co.uk resellers (from the States), but just lately even they haven't had the products - hence the recent switch to Amazon.com. The fact that the items they HAVE been happy to supply to the UK have arrived in Amazon branded boxes make me think the items are from Amazon themselves.

 

[irascian]

Andy's right, sometimes it's actually another company who are sellng thru amazon. Always check just underneath the title, it'll say 'sold by xxxxxx' and 'fulfilled by amazon'. If you click on the 'buy from these sellers' list you can sometimes find the actual amazon listing. It'll probably cost a few bucks more, but if you're really desperate for, er, Tom and Jerry and The Wizard of Oz then I'm sure you won't mind paying the extra.

I already sourced that from one of the re-sellers (If you like the original movie it's actually really good - cartoon versions of all the same actors).

But it's the inconsistency with Amazon direct that makes no sense (to me) and makes me curious. I get stung badly on customs for all the other guys whereas with "pure Amazon" and selecting the right delivery option I don't get hit anywhere near as bad.

 

[hippo99]

Yes, if it's a 3rd party seller fulfilled by Amazon, then it still comes in an Amazon box as it's actually sent out by Amazon on behalf of the original seller.
eg
Seller:- hippo99 fulfillment by Amazon

As the others say, click on 'buy from these sellers' on the top right.
It will take you to a screen with all the sellers- from there you can see whether they ship internationally or not. Some do & some don't, hence why it seems random to you.

If it's Amazon.com selling directly (NOT fulfilled by Amazon), I've never EVER had them say cannot ship to your country.

 

[captainarchive]

As others have said it's marketplace sellers who sometimes won't ship to the UK. I tried to order The Rathbone Sherlock Holmes Set a few months ago but got a message at checkout it couldn't be shipped to my address. When I looked more closely it was being supplied by a marketplace seller. I've never had anything supplied directly by Amazon refused.

 

[irascian]

Thanks for the responses. Guess I need to check more carefully in future as to whether it's really Amazon or one of their resellers.

 

[HummerUK]

Indeed, I think they should add an option to turn off the display of all marketplace sellers (if you want).

HummerUK

 

[Todd Tomorrow]

Indeed, I think they should add an option to turn off the display of all marketplace sellers (if you want).

HummerUK

Why would I want to do that ? I probably buy more from Marketplace than from Amazon itself.

It's easy enough to figure out what is Amazon and what is Marketplace.

 

[The Bard cv37]

more than likely Amazon knowingly refuse to give the reseller a proper shipping credit, so the seller has to pay delivery from their profit margin-Amazon Uk take back most of the shipping credit in listing fees-The have one rate of £1=26 be it one DVD or a box set. It was £1=26 before the easter price rises to

 

[hippo99]

Nothing to do with it.
Here's an example of a market place sellers shipping rates
Amazon.com At a Glance: ackman2424
$12.29 for International Standard delivery.
$6 surcharge for heavier items.

Shipping is more expensive than bluraysforeveryone, who runs his own operation & charges you actual cost for postage. Amazon sellers are getting a bit more than actual cost of postage.

 

[The Bard cv37]

but you neglect the fact that amazon charge listing fees as well, so the delivery credit is sharply reduced-You'd want a signed for service to stop chancers and skammers

 

[hippo99]

but you neglect the fact that amazon charge listing fees as well, so the delivery credit is sharply reduced-You'd want a signed for service to stop chancers and skammers

Well Amazon isn't forcing them to sell on Amazon. If it's too expensive for you, then sell elsewhere. Same as ebay, which has even more fees.
These sellers sell on Amazon, as it works for them. They have a far better chance of selling their goods to someone like me by listing on Amazon than by striking out on their own, as Amazon gets so much traffic. Should they expect to ride on Amazon's coat tails for free?

Incidentally the "signed for service" is $32.98.
I doubt the OP or anyone else would really pay this much for a signed service to stop chancers & scammers. The best defence against chancers & scammers is using your common sense & going with the larger, more established sellers on Amazon, with LOTS of feedback.

 

[The Bard cv37]

hippo99 no one forces you to make half baked comment here or any where else.
Where I refereed to chancers, it was pointed at buyers who receive items that do not need signing for taking advantage of that situation-Amazon-uk do not give sellers enough credit to cover even the stamps for second class post, so sellers have to increase the asking price and pay more in fees---Ebay for better or worse at least have the option for real pictures of the item, and allow more room for the seller to write a proper description

 

[hippo99]

hippo99 no one forces you to make half baked comment here or any where else.
Where I refereed to chancers, it was pointed at buyers who receive items that do not need signing for taking advantage of that situation-Amazon-uk do not give sellers enough credit to cover even the stamps for second class post, so sellers have to increase the asking price and pay more in fees---Ebay for better or worse at least have the option for real pictures of the item, and allow more room for the seller to write a proper description

Yes, I guess my half baked posts aren't as well considered as your 11 posts in 3 years. You must spend an age composing your posts before commenting

Where I refereed to chancers, it was pointed at buyers who receive items that do not need signing for taking advantage of that situation

So now it's the buyers fault for buying from these sellers? So what do you want me to do? Pay $33 postage for a $10 disc? Ridiculous.
If Amazon are as bad as you say, my point holds that they can take their shop elsewhere. Amazon doesn't force them to sell on Amazon.

 

[Todd Tomorrow]

but you neglect the fact that amazon charge listing fees as well, so the delivery credit is sharply reduced-You'd want a signed for service to stop chancers and skammers

Unlike Ebay they don't charge a listing fee, but they take a percentage of your profit. I've been buying and selling on there for over five years and I've ever been scammed, unlike with Ebay.

 

[captainarchive]

hippo99 no one forces you to make half baked comment here or any where else.
Where I refereed to chancers, it was pointed at buyers who receive items that do not need signing for taking advantage of that situation-Amazon-uk do not give sellers enough credit to cover even the stamps for second class post, so sellers have to increase the asking price and pay more in fees---Ebay for better or worse at least have the option for real pictures of the item, and allow more room for the seller to write a proper description

I've managed to sell some of my DVD titles for £30+ whereas on Ebay they've gone for less than a third of that. Even with Amazons fees and charged that's not to be sniffed at. As a seller you can also add your own pics to the listing info on Amazon.