Addicted to Amazon UK

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Addicted to Amazon UK

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1Kasthu
sep 14, 2008, 9:59 pm

Hello, my name is Kasthu, and I'm a member of the Amazon UK Addicts Anonymous Group.

It began inoculously, with a purchase of The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton's follow-up to The House at Riverton.)

Then, some late night browsing led me to find East of the Sun, a beseller on the site.

Not long after, I found myself buying the Booker-longlisted Girl in a Blue Dress.

As a longtime fan of medieval historical fiction, an Amazon US reviewer suggested that since I like the works of Sharon Kay Penman, I should try the works of Elizabeth Chadwick as well. Since her books aren't widely distributed in the US, I went to Amazon UK again to buy her William Marshal books.

A few days ago, I still hadn't received Girl in a Blue Dress. Within a half an hour of e-mailing Amazon UK (at about 8 pm in New York City), I had an answer back from them, and now I have a new copy on its way. I'm blown away by their excellent customer service.

Help!!!

2TrishNYC
sep 15, 2008, 10:55 pm

Oh my goodness, Kasthu, I see that we have more in common with every passing moment. I can't say I am addicted to Amazon UK but I remember going through a phase where I was on there everyday. I am currently on there everyday as I am in a staring contest with the newest release of Midsomer Murders, the sixth collection. Hopefully they blink first and the price goes down but right now I keep trying to justify why I should be spending about $150ish on a season of a show no matter how much I love it.

But I am trying to control myself as concerns buying books from Amazon UK. I fear that if I begin, there will be no stopping the madness.

3avaland
sep 19, 2008, 8:28 pm

Sorry, my addict is with TheBookDepository.com (free shipping worldwide!)

4chrisharpe
sep 20, 2008, 8:33 am

A great store, but bear in mind that "worldwide" does not mean "anywhere in the world"...

5TrishNYC
sep 22, 2008, 4:57 pm

How do you mean Chrisharpe?

6chrisharpe
sep 22, 2008, 5:28 pm

Sorry - I see that was confusing! I am always looking for expedient ways to receive books through the mail. The Book Depository's free shipping policy sounds ideal, and does include a good chunk of the planet, but they don't ship worldwide: a list of the three dozen countries they do mail to is found at http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/WWW/WEBPAGES/viewarticle.php?type=offer&... .

7Sibylle.Night
sep 27, 2008, 4:09 pm

Very true, for example they don't ship to South America or Africa at all. That's two continents, it's huge ! Neither do they ship to most of Asia and they don't ship to Eastern Europe at all either. I had never taken the time to look at the list before, it's very disappointing and I can imagine very frustrating for people who would like to take advantage of the service offered.
I myself am in love with The Book Depository, I've never had any problem with them and the prices are amazing, so far they're the cheapest I've ever found. People who live in countries not in the list should send them an email, perhaps they'll extend their coverage to more countries if a significant number of customers is interested.

8avaland
sep 27, 2008, 10:33 pm

That's interesting, chrisharpe. I had not looked at the list either. Yes, I can see it could be very disappointing for some.

Does BetterWorldBooks have some special $2.99 shipping?

9monarchi
sep 28, 2008, 9:34 am

BWB ships for $3.97 worldwide, or free within the US, I believe.

10chrisharpe
sep 28, 2008, 4:08 pm

Much as I applaud the effort to sell books competitively, I do think it's a bit of a terminological inexactitude to say you ship "worldwide", when you actually deal with less than a fifth of the world's countries. Granted, these may be the countries that consume most English language books. I'm surprised Amazon have let them get away with this - particularly as the the former ship to more destinations. Perhaps it's just as well for my bank account that getting hold of books is such a challenge.

11avaland
sep 28, 2008, 9:19 pm

>9 monarchi: the price has gone up, I see!

>10 chrisharpe: agreed.

12TrishNYC
sep 29, 2008, 10:57 pm

Oh I get you Chrisharpe. Whoa, I guess you don't think about such things when you live in a country where every and anything is shipped to you. Huh...maybe the site needs to remove the word "worldwide" seeing as it is not really so.

13Anastasia169
mar 24, 2010, 11:35 pm

Kasthu - I think we might be secret soul sisters as I followed an identical book-path about a year ago from Kate Morton to East of the Sun. I made some additional stops though at Sarah Rayne for a good British gothic mystery and with Annabel Dilke and Elizabeth Edmondson, some of which you might want to check out. I would love to hear of any others that people have discovered in the same vein - either British gothics/mysteries or British Upper Class women/families between the wars - family secrets and skeletons in the closet strongly desired.

14Nickelini
apr 18, 2010, 6:52 pm

I ordered something from the Book Depository the other day and when I went to check the order status at their website, I got the message that the order will be delayed due to the volcanic eruption. Of course! I don't know when I'll get the book, but I won't plan on it for a while. I just checked their site and they aren't even taking North American orders.