[US] Buying from Amazon UK (... well Germany in fact)

ColoradoBricks

I have posted a few times how smooth were my Amazon UK purchases, while I don't buy much and mostly Technic set (8-10 sets overall). Usually I buy from Amazon UK, item is shipped very promptly via UPS and received usually 3 days in mint condition (shipping/packing from Amazon UK has always been faster and better than [email protected] for me).

That was until July 26 where I bought from Amazon UK the #42042 Crawler Crane...
1. It was shipped from Germany instead of GB
2. It was shipped via DHL Packet instead of UPS
3. It arrived on Aug 22nd, so 4 weeks instead of 4 days

Those would not be that bad it it was not for:
4. It was not shipped in a box.....

Bumblepants

yikes.

dougts

wow

I ordered Jokerland from Amazon UK a couple weeks ago.  It is still not projected to be delivered for another 10 or 11 days, at which point I will be nearing 4 weeks as well.  Much much slower than my previous Amazon UK purchases.  Here's hoping it doesn't end up arriving like your did...

graphite

Wow.  I've ordered from both quite a bit and never had anything not in a box.  I ordered 5 of the new Town center set with the orange people mover train from amazon UK and 4 shipped from there and one from germany, but it came in a box.  

pharmjod

I have noticed the sets that come from Germany or where ever other than the UK seem to fair poorer at least in my experience. This may also be a function of how DHL handles the package but I suspect it is more about poor packing from the German warehouses. I've never had anything not in a box, but I've had some crushed shipping boxes. I think if something is on sale at Amazon.co.UK and sells out, then comes back in the same day or the next, there is a good chance you will get the order from Germany. (At least from my experiences). So jump on the sales early if you see something.

Aleydita

In my experience they'll probably offer you a part-refund if you show them that image, or you can send it back for a full refund including return shipping.

theLEGOman

Quite alot of LEGO has been out of stock at Amazon.co.uk . I think they are waiting on a big order to arrive.

ColoradoBricks

^^ No partial refund (not sure I would have accepted it any as there is gaps in the box seams). Using the automated process return, they offered me £8.17 to pay for return shipping, I contacted them and they will refund me the £40 or so that it will cost me to return (as it will be boxed :smile: )

papluh

Was it directly from Amazon or an Amazon Marketplace seller ?
Never got anything from amazon.de (95% purchases are either directly Amazon or fulfilled by Amazon) that was not packed in cardboard box or cardboard sleeve.
Although,  I had last 2 shippments from amazon.co.uk damaged, the last one were DK LEGO books. They were in the small thin box and could travel horizontally inside, so all corners were pushed in. And one non-LEGO hardcover book had the glossy paper sleeve torn too. 
had to contact support twice to have the additional return costs reimbursed.

theLEGOman

They were sending quite alot of stuff out without external protection for a while at the start of the month for a few days.

People were getting the haunted mansion with the address just slapped on the LEGO box.

ColoradoBricks

@papluh It was from Amazon, not the marketplace, usually does seller do not ship to the US. There might the reason why that items and few others are not sold anymore by Amazon with
"While this item is available from other Marketplace Sellers on this page, it's not currently offered by Amazon.co.uk because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are dispatching it, or the way it's described here. (Thanks for the tip!)

We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. In the meantime, you may still find this product available from other sellers on this page."

TigerMoth

There are comments elsewhere on these boards about sets from Amazon UK being shipped as TLG made them with the addition of no more than an address sticker attached directly to the box.

But not consistently. I have speculated that German-sourced sets were still boxed and UK ones not, but perhaps it's the other way around.

For what it's worth, I think there is something about TLG / Amazon logistics that we don't know - like TLG deliver to a single location and Amazon look after the distribution. Or perhaps they never even get as far as Amazon.

tomahawker

Has anyone noticed that Amazon Price Comparator is no longer showing European pricing for US and Canadian viewers?  When did that happen?  I also noticed that many of the larger sets (Technic, Trains, etc.) are no longer available to ship from Amazon.co.uk.

Bummer, as that was one of the few sources of discounted Technic for people in North America.

I can guess why this happened, but wondering if anyone has any actual info from Amazon or Huw / Dr. Dave?

drdavewatford

tomahawker said:

Has anyone noticed that Amazon Price Comparator is no longer showing European pricing for US and Canadian viewers?  When did that happen?

We haven't to my knowledge changed anything recently, so I don't know why it should be behaving differently.

As a quick fix, maybe try clicking on the flag in the upper right corner of the screen and temporarily changing it to the UK flag; Brickset should then behave as if you're in the UK, and you should therefore be able to see the UK/EU prices in the comparator.

madforLEGO

theLEGOman said:

Quite alot of LEGO has been out of stock at Amazon.co.uk . I think they are waiting on a big order to arrive.

Too many Americas buying from the UK likely :-)

tomahawker

Thanks @drdavewatford.  I'm not sure why it has changed, but I used to be able to go to that page and see all the US pricing and European equivalents in USD.  It was a great way to find the lowest price.

I have noticed that the shipping policies to the US from Amazon S.A.R.L. have been getting stricter.  First, the "flat rate" pricing was eliminated, and now the outright banning of shipping to the US.  The only issue I have had is the rough handling of some shipments.  It was highly variable, with some sets arriving in less than a week and in perfect condition, and some taking weeks and looking like they were air dropped into the US.  I'm wondering if the number of complaints and returns has made this an unprofitable venture for Amazon?