Amazon, the last retailer standing?

[mint]

I am no longer sure that the UK is a nation of shopkeepers because Amazon is, of course, American.

Today, I have a good hour of frustrating time, trying to buy the oven I want, a Belling model that is not available in France.  I knew it was on Amazon but I thought I might get it cheaper elsewhere.

Lots of online electrical appliances retailers all over the internet.  Found the cheapest, filled in details, blah, blah, came to payout and there was a warning from Firefox about security.  So, got out of the site, tried Coop Electrics and a couple of other online retailers.  Some didn't have the oven in stock, some said they'd have to contact the manufacturer and delivery could take up to 28 days.

I thought, fine, I'm in no hurry as I am still researching kitchens so no oven required in the next few weeks.  The killer blow is when you get to check out.  I give the delivery address and contact of my transporter based in Eastbourne, I have my Nationwide credit card at the ready.  Then the Obstacle! I have no UK address which is the same as the registered address on my card!

It's not as though you get a chance to write a little note to say that you'd like to buy the item and you realised the warranty would not be applicable, that you'd like it anyway and that their website stated categorically that they'd deliver to any UK address and so would they like to take your dosh and send the oven to Eastbourne?  After all, they are selling an oven and, once delivered, have no further responsibility towards me, a buyer, client, customer?

No fear, no UK address the same as your credit card, you can't buy one of our ovens!

Eventually, had to resort to Amazon, paid up, only had to re-enter credit card details as the transporter's address isn't one that I have used before and Bob's your uncle!

As for buying the sink, can't find one on French websites that is equivalent, don't even ask me about that..............hrrrrmph!

Amazon will dominate the world and never need to pay their taxes anywhere and I am beginning to think, whyever not?[;-)]

[idun]

I often have this problem. We have french cards, but no french address and I cannot usually buy stuff in France and have it delivered to my son or friends.

Should be easy, but is not. Decathlon in France,  is the company that drives me mad, but not the only one.

Us 'international' [:D] shoppers do have problems![;-)]

[woolybanana]

The problems are only slated to get worse, I am afraid, with new laws introduced by Brussels concerning the payment of VAT and companies registering for foreign VAT payments.

Europe is no longer tha free trade area it was as national protectionism makes its return by the back door, pushed largely by the French.

However, I have found that one can usually get part the problem that Nimt faced by passing the order over the phone.

[HoneySuckleDreams]

Just a thought...as I've not tried this with those companies that deliver ovens, but could you arrange your own delivery? there are companies that will pick up and arrange deliver in France. I've used them for car parts and they normally give the same answer "we can't deliver to france" but they allow a pickup and it works reasonably well. As long as you're willing to hold your breath for a week whilst the tracking stops at the channel...but no fear...a small white van does finally turn up with your stuff

[Lehaut]

We r great Amazon.fr users, but I must admit I have stopped buying things from the UK as, if it goes wrong (and things do no mater what the make), the cost and hassle in fixing it far outway any savings.

We have just redone our kitchen and bought the hob and oven from Ikea (a shop I used to hate). The oven is amazing comes to temperature very quickly and cooks very well.

[mint]

I, too, normally only use French companies, lehaut.

However, id and others would know that I am determined to have an oven that I want and not one left by a previous owner and which I shall enjoy seeing the back of.

For things like ovens and sinks, and after all I shall hopefully be satisfied with my new kitchen and not be buying another one in the foreseeable future, I am willing to push out the boat.  Hell, cost more but some things in life are non negotiable?[:D]

GG, that is exactly what I have done; I wanted it sent to my transporter in Eastbourne.  The difficulty is not in getting it to me, it's in being able to buy the thing in the first place.

Wools, I agree that I could have rung up and I do ring up for stuff, but I have a high resistance level when faced with some fancy high premium phone numbers.  And, yes, I do know you could try and find alternative numbers from saynoto0870 but, increasingly, only premium numbers are listed (and that includes some government sites)!

But, the deed is done, one oven and one double stainless steel sink later and only the hob and hood to choose!  Thank you, lehaut, I shall see if OH would agree to transport me and dog to Ikea in Bordeaux and picnic in the car park, à la français, because ....sigh....it's going to be a long, tiring day going around Ikea.  I think I'd sooner go on the Compostelle a second time![:-))] 

[Théière]

[quote user="Lehaut"]

We have just redone our kitchen and bought the hob and oven from Ikea (a shop I used to hate). The oven is amazing comes to temperature very quickly and cooks very well.[/quote]

Just remember IKEA doesn't make over they just sell Philips whirlpool (or used to)

Paypal seems to sort out some of these issues as you setup the account it doesn't seem to be geographicaly specific unlike credit cards. It has helped several times with around the world purchases. So just need to encourage more places to accept paypal.

Silly how France believes it can put the brakes on the world

[marmite]

A couple of years ago whilst at our holiday place we decided to get a new fridge, went on t'internet and found a French online shop, ordered the thing and went to the payment page, entered our UK credit card details, it rejected it, then phoned up the firm and spoke to a human, explained the problem and they entered the credit card number under the order number we gave them, again the card was rejected. The lady from the firm explained that it seems their system rejected our card because it was a foreign one.

Talked to some French friends about this so they offered to pay for it from their account and we then gave them cash for the fridge after taking it from the bank. Sorted in the end but a bit of a hassle.

By the way we had plenty of credit on the card.

[Catalpa]

OH is going back to the UK next week and yesterday ordered something from a new supplier to be delivered to a friend's house for him to collect. Our UK issued credit cards are registered to our French address.

He placed the order online and 15 minutes later got an email saying that it would be delivered on 11 February - ie, yesterday. He phoned the supplier and said he thought there must be an error as he'd only just placed the order.

"No error, the item was in stock, the van was in the warehouse so we got it on the van and it should be delivered in a couple of hours. Hang on, here's the van driver..." who wanted to know exactly where the rural address could be found. It was duly delivered a couple of hours later. So placing of online order to delivery at the house was a 2-3 hours. Can you imagine that happening in France? Excuse me while I pml.

The company with the exceptional service levels is: TLC-Direct, an electrical goods supplier and the branch with the exceptional staff is Swindon. We recommend them. [:D]

[YCCMB]

Tee hee. Was having a cuppa with my neighbour yesterday in LA France Profonde, when our gossip session was interrupted by the arrival of their tractor supplier. We chatted together, and the conversation turned to online buying of goods. Mr Tractor was quite vocal in his belief that buying online is a sin, owing to the fact that it causes small businesses to close down, and if you buy locally you will pay more, but the retailer will give you wonderful after sales service in the event that anything goes wrong.

And I thought it was only Brits moving to France who got given a pair of Rose coloured specs......

I seriously can't remember the last time I didn't buy white goods or a majority of other stuff online. Mind you, I'm not as righ as Mr Tractor, clearly. And I obviously don't have his wonderful, altruistic values.

[Lehaut]

I know in our area, there is so much "inter breeding" that many families would never think of buying stuff in the next village never mind on line. One family have an optician and a shoe shop as direct relatives and feel some what obliged to buy there at horrendous prices. Very few of our adult French friends buy their kids stuff on line, and are very distrustful of the whole system. We have given up trying to convince them as they see it as undermining to some degree the society that Betty's Tractor man belives still exists.

[Patf]

Our neighbouring farming family seems to be addicted to buying online, and otherwise they're not at all sophisticated.

The son, late 20s, even said british prices were better than french for tractor parts. He has a small business in repairing agricultural vehicles.

His Mum buys clothes online from all over the world.

[Rabbie]

Seems a no-brainer to me. If you buy online instead of buying locally then your local outlet will struggle and possibly close. It is just a matter of use it or lose it. The choice is yours

[YCCMB]

It's what's brought us to where we are, but is it a bad thing?

In order to be a high street retailer these days, you have to have a fortune to be able to keep up with the overheads.. Council tax, busiiness rate and rents, blah, blah...and then you have to persuade people to visit. This, in the face of rubbish public transport links and extortionate parking costs.

So the retailers have to cover their overheads through their pricing structure, and the public want to save the money it will cost in petrol and parking and if they do make the effort they want a fair price in the shop. It's an equation that's hard to balance, and the Internet has made most of us into savvy researchers, plus we can buy from far afield and get a product that may be unavailable on our doorstep. In any case, the majority of real small businesses are long gone, and every town high street is almost identical.

Very recent experience has shown me that if you have unique products at fair prices, people will come and they will buy, but honestly even then, they won't come in the numbers or spend the sort of money that will make a business viable for the long haul. Which might be sad, but who, realistically, can afford to make decisions based on altruism nowadays?