Amazon US - SteelBook Retailer Thread

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Feel free to discuss shipping, customer service, availabity, etc about this retailer here.


Frequently Asked Questions:

Q) What is the link to Amazon USA?
A) Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more

Q) I haven't mastered English yet - how can I read the site?!
A) Install Google translate on your browser:

Google Chrome HERE
Firefox HERE

Q) How do I register?
A) Click HERE >> Fill in details>> click on 'create account'>> Done!

Q) Do they ship outside of USA?
A) Yes, worldwide delivery, various shipping options available, for example 1 steelbook to UK:

Standard International Shipping (averages 18-32 business days) £4
AmazonGlobal Expedited Shipping AmazonGlobal Expedited Shipping (averages 8-14 business days) £7
AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping (averages 2-4 days) £17

*Tip*
Standard shipping normally only takes a few days to arrive via Fedex


Q) What form of packing do they use?
A) Jiffy Bags for small orders, cardboard for large, with hardly - if any - bubble wrap, see below: (Thanks to Slinchafi for pics)

Just received four steels from amazon.com in the dumbest packaging possible.

First two arrived in this:

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As you can see, no extra protection inside the padded envelope.

The remaining two:

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And the box was already starting to come apart on the bottom:

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Miraculously, apart from two tiny paint chips on one steel all of them are mint.

Q) Is the retailer custom's friendly? (i.e will they mark as gift, or low value).
A) No, they list full item price. It's sometimes cheaper if ninjas have their items sent to a USA friend/ninja and then forwarded on to their address.

Q) Will the retailer charges upon order or upon shipment
A) You will be charged upon dispatch

Q) What payment do they accept?
A) Card / Store Card / Gift card / Checking Account (US only)

Q) Customer Services any good?
A) Amazon in general have the best customer service but some of the worst packaging in North America.

Cancellations: Your account >> > Sign In > My Orders - follow on screen instructions

Replacements: Your account >> > Sign In > My Orders - Return or replace Items >> follow on screen instructions.

Keep in mind that if the item is out of stock, discontinued, and is not available for exchange, your order will be cancelled and will be refunded.

Refunds: They are normally processed within a few days.
 
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I believe the sales tax is included in the price when you buy from amazon.com, i ordered the three steels also no problem with customs.
UK VAT is not included if you choose the cheapest shipping option. However, if you choose AmazonGlobal Expedited Shipping you are charged an additional 20% 'Import Fees Deposit' (i.e. VAT) on the item value and shipping cost, which Amazon will refund if slips through UK customs without charge.

If you are ordering several items under £15 in value it usually works out cheaper to place separate orders using the cheapest shipping option.
 
UK VAT is not included if you choose the cheapest shipping option. However, if you choose AmazonGlobal Expedited Shipping you are charged an additional 20% 'Import Fees Deposit' (i.e. VAT) on the item value and shipping cost, which Amazon will refund if slips through UK customs without charge.

If you are ordering several items under £15 in value it usually works out cheaper to place separate orders using the cheapest shipping option.

Yes you are correct global expedited shipping must be used. In the case of the three Lord of the Rings steelbooks you can order as one package. [while they are on offer $7.99 each]
Any applicable customs fees will be listed as "Estimated tax to be collected" during the last stage of the checkout, in this particular case,there are none.
Amazon take tax payments in advance this way, which ensures your parcel doesn't get stuck in customs so in turn no Royal Mail handling charge will be incurred.
 
Yes you are correct global expedited shipping must be used. In the case of the three Lord of the Rings steelbooks you can order as one package. [while they are on offer $7.99 each]
Any applicable customs fees will be listed as "Estimated tax to be collected" during the last stage of the checkout, in this particular case,there are none.
Amazon take tax payments in advance this way, which ensures your parcel doesn't get stuck in customs so in turn no Royal Mail handling charge will be incurred.
Unfortunately, if you choose AmazonGlobal Expedited Shipping, and it's delivered in December, your order will be over the customs limit and liable for charges, even if Amazon think the estimated tax to be collected is zero. It may still be over the customs limit if it's delivered in January, depending on the official HMRC exchange rate.
 
Anybody know if the Prime Day (July 15) will include some blu rays in the mix? They are hyping it up to destroy Black Friday so I'm curiously excited (may convince me to get Prime if I can recoup the cost).
 
Is it just or me, or is Amazon's packaging getting worse and worse? I've had two fairly big orders come in recently, and everything was just thrown into a big box with a couple of the airbag things. I've also been getting a lot of items which have obviously been returned or just aren't in good condition to begin with. Service is still great, but I don't really want replacements if I'm going to get a crappy copy or have it sent to me insufficiently packaged each time.
 
Amazon USA have changed Standard International Shipping
It's now AmazonGlobal Standard Shipping

If your location is outside the USA as in EU Country you will have a imports fees deposit taken for VAT payment relevant to your country VAT rate
This will be applied based on the threshold your country has when VAT applies
Ireland is €22.00
UK is £15.00
Example Ireland
So if the item you order is more than €22.00 Amazon will calculate the VAT at 23%

This makes a huge difference compared to before when we got away with most parcels avoiding VAT

Amazon USA must have been forced to apply the VAT import fees with standard shipping by EU
 
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Amazon is one of the worst places to order from if you even dream of getting you product in mint condition. I received YET AGAIN a heavily damaged product from them.
 
Amazon DE shipped my Hercules steel in a box that was meant to hold the steelbook in place inside of a box. Received in mint condition!

I wish the other Amazon countries would adopt this form of packaging. Not just Amazon but every retailer chain.
 
Note if you have a previous order on pre order with amazon usa
If the price drops they will apply automatically the new Global Standard Shipping and apply the Import Fees Deposit if the value of goods including shipping is over your countries Vat import free limit

This can in some cases your order costing more than it did before a price drop

I have had a few pre order that dropped in price and they are now more expensive than previous higher price :rofl:
 
Amazon.com: Yes as currently for a short period of time,we have stopped the shipping to international only essential items are shipping globally as currently many cities in World are suffering from essential item scarcity. So Amazon is focusing on those items that are currently in need to survive or fight against covid.

Me:I have a quiet few preorders in place for April, May, June so I wonder what will happen with them?
Amazon.com:-If any order that placed in your account, those will be shipped at no problem only for those items are going to be placed as new.
 
Amazon USA are back taking pre orders for those based outside USA

At checkout you will only see option of the more expensive Priority Global Shipping

You can though after you place an order change shipping option to standard global shipping but this might cause extra delay in shipping of your order


Amazon USA though have been providing at no extra charge a upgrade to Priority Global Shipping on my recent pre orders these had standard global shipping when I ordered
Note these was pre orders I had done before they stopped taking new pre orders

I been getting delivery in 2 days from USA to Ireland with my April/May release date pre orders they used UPS :rofl:

Amazon USA though might not provide the free Priority shipping update if you decide to change a pre order shipping option on new pre orders done from now
 
Why is Amazon.com shipping sky high now since they started shipping back to EU? It used to be max $9 per movie and now is like $35. I know they have introduced Global shipping on NON movie items before making everything super expensive e.g. Action figure worth 14.99 where shipping is $39.99 etc. Any knows is it going to go back to normal or this is a new normal?
 
Why is Amazon.com shipping sky high now since they started shipping back to EU? It used to be max $9 per movie and now is like $35. I know they have introduced Global shipping on NON movie items before making everything super expensive e.g. Action figure worth 14.99 where shipping is $39.99 etc. Any knows is it going to go back to normal or this is a new normal?
Amazon back to shipping outside USA
They are using courier like UPS that have their own fleet of aircraft
This is one of the couriers used for piriorty global shipping

You can change shipping option to standard global shipping after you place an order but it might have long delay in having your order shipped and longer than usual delivery time

The likes of USPS and some other postal couriers use normal flights that public use and these are lot less in use at the moment due to covid-19

Some standard postal mail companies from usa due to covid-19 is using mix of local air then using sea and road transport this causes longer than usual delivery times an extra 2-4 weeks or longer

UPS is very good
Example 2-3 days delivery time from USA to Rep of Ireland

You can change your order to standard global shipping but you might be waiting a lot longer than usual for delivery
 
I know it is Covid 19 now... hoping this will return to classic prices.. Btw @paulboland what is the price of Standard global shipping for you?
$7.98 standard global

$12.98 priority global

You can change your order to standard global after you completed checkout with priority shipping

Beware by changing to standard your order might have long delay before been shipped