Delivery from Amazon

[nsmom]

Hi


Has any of you ordered stuff from Amazon? I want to order some books and games for kids… Is delivery reliable and payment mode safe? Also, are shipment charges reasonable?

nsmom

[ChiefKiasu]

nsmom:

Hi


Has any of you ordered stuff from Amazon? I want to order some books and games for kids.. Is delivery reliable and payment mode safe? Also, are shipment charges reasonable?

nsmom

From what I know, Amazon does not deliver to Singapore addresses. You have to order through VPOST. For ultimate security, sign up for PayPal, and pay only through PayPal. Your credit card number will not be released to the seller.

[clarabella]

Amazon does deliver to international locations, but not for all items. For these items, you’d usually see this description under product details:

Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. etc

Hope this helps.

[nsmom]

Checked the VPOSt site. there is no info on board games for children which is what i am looking for…pl. help

[clarabella]

msmom, if you want to order items that cannot be delivered outside of the U.S., Borderlinx is an option if you have a Citibank credit card. You can obtain a U.S. delivery address for Amazon to ship to, and Borderlinx will use DHL to ship the goods to Singapore. But… must pay quite a bit for the fast delivery lah.

[sashimi]

Amazon is first and foremost very professional and reliable - trusted. You can be assured of that. In the unlikely event items get lost in the mail, you will be sent another one. You can also return stuff and get refunds easily.


BUT post-9/11, the cost for postage has climbed steadily. Late last year or so I think they raised prices again. It's not funny at times when you order a book that costs the same as the postage involved.

In such a case you may be better off ordering from Borders Sg.

If you really want to buy stuff from amazon, monitor item prices. One important thing about Amazon's prices that many people do not realize is that the discounts fluctuate. If you time things correctly, you can buy what you want at massive (60%+) discounts off their retail recommeneded prices.

I usually put what I want in my wish list and watch the prices every other day. (BTW I buy almost all my DVDs from Amazon, usually at 30%+ discounts, even with postage still cheaper than Singapore shop prices).

Amazon's delivery services are usually very reliable. STandard shipping typically takes 10-14 days (for DVDs anyway), towards the lower end of their estaimtes to Singapore. However, the time will fluctuate quite wildly during busy seasons. Try not to order around Xmas time, your order could take up to 2 months to arrive even via standard shipping.

In the recent past Amazon would only ship books, dvds, cds to singapore. No electronics, toys,etc. But lately I noticed they've expanded the range of items shippable.
Ah here's the list:
[quote]The following items can be shipped to almost all destinations outside the U.S.:

* books*
* DVDs
* music
* VHS videos

Additionally, some consumer electronics, health and personal care, home and garden, jewelry, pet supplies, shoes, software, sporting goods, tools, video games, and watches can be shipped to [ Singapore,...][/quote]<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fhelp%2Fcustomer%2Fdisplay.html%3Fie%3DUTF8%26nodeId%3D596184%26ref%255F%3Dhp%255Fnavbox%255Flnship%255Fint&tag=kiaspare-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957%22%3Ehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_navbox_lnship_int?nodeId=596184%3C/a>

[schellen]

Our experiences with Amazon USA are generally positive. sashimi and I have been using their services for many years. Of course, due to the very expensive postage charges, don't get suckered in by their clearance sales immediately. You have to check that it is really worthwhile, e.g., even more expensive if bought locally (like certain dvd boxsets) or not available locally at all.


Also, please avoid buying during peak seasons like Christmas. Yes, your order will arrive...eventually. We weren't even buying for Christmas but we forgot that the postal services are very busy during that time so things may get lost or delayed.

If you need to e-mail them to complain or feedback or ask why your stuff isn't here yet, generally, they respond pretty quickly and settle the problem professionally and quickly too.

Oh, those \"buy now and enjoy free delivery\" campaigns are only for USA addresses, naturally.

P.S. Darn, sashimi beat me to it.

[caroline3sg]

sashimi

I would like to know US DVD format can be used in SG meh? NTSC vs PAL.

Recently I bought close to S$300 worth of DVD from HMV. I am interested in National Geographic (not shipping to SG) and Discovery.

I don’t subscribe to Starhub Cable. I know now Octo & Channel U have the programmes but the DVDs are worth buying for watching (at our own time) and keeping.

Thank you

[schellen]

caroline3sg:

sashimi

I would like to know US DVD format can be used in SG meh? NTSC vs PAL.

Sorry I jump in here....

DVD got NTSC and PAL meh? I thought that's for videotapes only. I thought DVD format is Region 1, 2, 3 and 4. Generally, in SG, you buy Region 3 discs which we don't like cos we don't really need the Chinese/Malay/Indian subtitles and sometimes, the English standard also not good. Plus, Region 3 discs sometimes cut out parts of the show that the US market sees and Region 3 usually leaves out the fun extras that US people get.

So we get Region 1 from US. (Region 2 is Japan, Region 3, SEA and Region4 is Oz/NZ.) Actually, the DVD players that you get here are for Region 3 discs only but if the shops here only sell such players, then they will not sell much. So the shops will \"tweak\" the setting for the players to accept discs from all Regions.

[caroline3sg]

schellen

Thank you. So no concerns on US DVD.