# Ordering From Amazon.uk



## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I'd like to ask "ma fella Amurricans" (as LBJ put it) if they have ever ordered from Amazon's UK "branch." If so, how was the currency exchange handled? Approximately how long did it take for you to receive the material you ordered?
I'd really like to order a copy of El Guapo's biography (you knew he was going to figure in this somehow, didn't you?). But, naturally, Amazon's American site doesn't offer it -- it's written in German and they probably think there's no marlet for it here. But Amazon.uk does have it in stock . . . so I'm pondering the possibility of ordering from them.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I'm in NZ and frequently buy from Amazon UK as their postage is more reasonable and their service faster than their US counterpart. Usually I pay in NZ$, except when it's an advance order when it gets converted on my credit card. Delivery to NZ is under a week, as opposed to Amazon US which is more like 2 (ironic as they are closer and charge more than double).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I have ordered twice from Amazon.uk. They gave me a choice of converting the total to US dollars there and then at the moment of ordering, or paying in pounds the day of shipment. I took the second option because one of my credit cards doesn't charge me a fee for purchases in foreign currency, and the inter-bank exchange rate is often more favorable. One of the articles got here in two weeks. The other one got lost in the mail and after some 6 weeks they sent a replacement which also took a few weeks to arrive. It was a somewhat frustrating process since they kept saying that I had to wait for two weeks after the end of the delivery window until they could acknowledge that it was lost and send me the replacement. Then the original one got delivered as well, probably after a nice travel around the world (the poor package wanted to see the world, I suppose), and rather than having to put up with the hassle of getting a return label, taking it to the post office, and sending it back, I ended up paying for it as well and gave it as a gift to my sister. All three articles (the first one and the double second one) arrived in good shape.

So, mixed results, but I guess my experience was just the rare unlucky one because what I hear from other members is that their service is fine.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I had to order the accompanist score of Messiah from a UK supplier (it was not available from any US supplier at that time) and used a credit card, paid the transaction fee and whatever the going exchange rate (£ to USD) for that particular day was. It wasn't a horrible exchange rate (maybe $4 USD) and the shipping was free. Took about 3 weeks to arrive. 

I have ordered electronic versions of different items from the UK (and from Australia, for that matter) and saved the delay in time and having to pay the exchange rates. 

More recently, I did make a purchase through Amazon of a DVD from Liverpool Cathedral ... the process was much smoother than my previous order of Messiah, and there was no exchange rate as I used PayPal for payment instead of a credit card. 

Kh


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## Grosse Fugue (Mar 3, 2010)

Be careful ordering from the UK Amazon. I used to live in England. I watched DVDs on my US bought laptop. I ordered a DVD of Der Rosenkavalier with Kiri and they said it was compatible to all zones. They were right, all zones except Zone 1. Otherwise good experiences.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Grosse Fugue said:


> Be careful ordering from the UK Amazon. I used to live in England. I watched DVDs on my US bought laptop. I ordered a DVD of Der Rosenkavalier with Kiri and they said it was compatible to all zones. They were right, all zones except Zone 1. Otherwise good experiences.


Yes, I've read a few complaints about this lately. I think it's best to check the maker's site to verify the zone compatibility. But even better is to buy a cheap zone free DVD player to use as a plan B. I got mine for $60.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Thanks to all for your information. I decided to take the plunge and placed the order (for which Amazon's currency converter kindly gave me the dollar figure). The book is supposed to arrive sometime between 21-28 April, so I'll keep my fingers crossed and see what happens.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

Grosse Fugue said:


> Be careful ordering from the UK Amazon. I used to live in England. I watched DVDs on my US bought laptop. I ordered a DVD of Der Rosenkavalier with Kiri and they said it was compatible to all zones. They were right, all zones except Zone 1. Otherwise good experiences.


Most European DVDs are PAL, while the systems in North America are NTSC. DVD regions are also a thing to consider. But a PAL DVD region 0 may be played on the computer in N America. Normal video-cards are able to read it. Ordinary DVD players don't as they are only NTSC. I also bought from UK Amazon, but only some jewelry. It arrived earlier than when coming from US, and it was cheaper.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sabrina said:


> Most European DVDs are PAL, while the systems in North America are NTSC. DVD regions are also a thing to consider. But a PAL DVD region 0 may be played on the computer in N America. Normal video-cards are able to read it. Ordinary DVD players don't as they are only NTSC. I also bought from UK Amazon, but only some jewelry. It arrived earlier than when coming from US, and it was cheaper.


But many DVD players sold in North America are PAL/NTSC. 
I bought a region-free PAL/NTSC secondary DVD player on top of my blu-ray player so now I can play everything. It was dirt cheap, like $60, refurbished.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Yup, I have an all region DVD player that works with PAL/NTSC. It works perfectly with everything except some (not all) Dynamic DVDs which simply won't load. I have to watch them on my computer using the vlc player (they won't load on Windows Media player either). My backing-up DVD ripper software can't copy them properly either so I reckon the configuration is faulty.

I think other people sometimes have problems with Dynamic because I read complaints on Amazon about lack of subtitles (when I have them on my copy) etc.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

If you are looking for German books, Amazon Germany would probably have better deals.


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## Delicious Manager (Jul 16, 2008)

Because I like to explore weird and obscure repertoire, I tend to order from Amazon in a variety of countries (UK, USA, Germany, mostly). The currency conversion is done when you go to pay - you are given the exchange there and then so you can see what your charges will be in your 'local' currency. I have always found it a smooth and trouble-free transaction (and a good exchange rate too).


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

My copy of Kaufmann's (a.k.a. El Guapo's) bio arrived from Europe within the time projected, so my initial experience ordering from Amazon.uk was a good one. I'll very likely order from them again in mid-June, when Decca's new audio recording of "_Fidelio_" (with el Guapo, of course) is supposed to be released in the UK. I only have the standard DVD player -- i.e., one that will only accommodate videos in NTSC format -- so I'll still need to order from Amazon.com if I want a video version of an opera.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I wanted this CD which I think is the original (not R-K) version










and found it on Market Place, condition 'used like new' for £6 ($10). I emailed the seller to see if there was a libretto & he has responded.



> Hello Ann
> I won't lie to you - I don't know what that means!
> My mother has retired abroad and I offered to sell books and CDs for her, the item is in a chunky box with all the discs and full booklet, I will send it out today and hopefully it will have the full libretto you are looking for included.
> 
> Happy listening


Isn't that lovely?! Needless to say I've ordered it!


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

MAuer said:


> My copy of Kaufmann's (a.k.a. El Guapo's) bio arrived from Europe within the time projected, so my initial experience ordering from Amazon.uk was a good one. I'll very likely order from them again in mid-June, when Decca's new audio recording of "_Fidelio_" (with el Guapo, of course) is supposed to be released in the UK. I only have the standard DVD player -- i.e., one that will only accommodate videos in NTSC format -- so I'll still need to order from Amazon.com if I want a video version of an opera.


Im glad the transaction went well - its those natty organised people in Belgium, I live in the UK and order using Amazon UK and most of the items come from mainland europe and much much quicker than inland UK - they are very good.


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

Heh. MAuer, I finished Kaufmann's biography this week and although I renewed it for another month (it's here on interlibrary loan) I enjoyed it so much that I think I will order it myself. I know in two years or so I probably won't care any more (witness the two UK Life on Mars and Doctor Who books currently languishing on my shelves) but I will have gotten great pleasure out of it until then.

Although I will add that, just as commenters at amazon.de said, the book is falling apart after one reading. Not very nice! And I have huge issues with the editing job, but that's just me. Probably par for the course, for a "popular" book in Germany. No I don't mean grammatical errors, Lord knows my German is only good enough to read; rather the odd way it's not really clear who has written what and whose thoughts are being expressed (unless it is actually written down as a quote)--sometimes quotes appear in paragraphs and sometimes they are laid out as a dialog; and on and on. Plus, the first chapter? pages? paragraphs? it's not clear--are written by someone else. /rant of someone who works in publishing, albeit a far different area


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

I have not purchased DVD's from the UK because of compatibility problems but have purchased CDs from MDT and Crotchet with no exchange rate and have received my order within 7 days. I have even obtained the forbidden (to US) Historicals.

Rob


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

FragendeFrau said:


> Heh. MAuer, I finished Kaufmann's biography this week and although I renewed it for another month (it's here on interlibrary loan) I enjoyed it so much that I think I will order it myself. I know in two years or so I probably won't care any more (witness the two UK Life on Mars and Doctor Who books currently languishing on my shelves) but I will have gotten great pleasure out of it until then.
> 
> Although I will add that, just as commenters at amazon.de said, the book is falling apart after one reading. Not very nice! And I have huge issues with the editing job, but that's just me. Probably par for the course, for a "popular" book in Germany. No I don't mean grammatical errors, Lord knows my German is only good enough to read; rather the odd way it's not really clear who has written what and whose thoughts are being expressed (unless it is actually written down as a quote)--sometimes quotes appear in paragraphs and sometimes they are laid out as a dialog; and on and on. Plus, the first chapter? pages? paragraphs? it's not clear--are written by someone else. /rant of someone who works in publishing, albeit a far different area


I hope my copy holds up well enough for me to ask him to autograph it for me the next time I hear him sing. 

I ended up pre-ordering his "_Fidelio_" CD from Amazon's U.S. branch, since it will be released on these shores at the beginning of August. Had Decca followed their usual frustrating practice of waiting until he was actually in this country himself before launching his latest recording (which would have meant waiting until November), I would have gone ahead and ordered from Amazon.uk again.


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

MAuer said:


> I hope my copy holds up well enough for me to ask him to autograph it for me the next time I hear him sing.


I must admit this thought crossed my mind--although I can tell you there will be a big battle going on in the Frau's head about hanging around the "stage door" or not! I have only done it once, for my beloved actor John Simm, and it was a huge thrill in the end, but there were several of us there who were known to him as fans from an online board so that made it a little more comfortable (for me). And--it's not as if I take out the program he signed and look at it every day, either!  And I'm sure this is true in the world of opera--there were a couple of men there who CLEARLY had not been at the play and were just getting things signed to sell on eBay. John was not very happy about that, but patiently signed anyway.

I'm sure in the excitement of the moment, as long as I don't have to rush off for the last train of the night to NJ or CT or something, that I will do it.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

FragendeFrau said:


> ... And I'm sure this is true in the world of opera--there were a couple of men there who CLEARLY had not been at the play and were just getting things signed to sell on eBay. John was not very happy about that, but patiently signed anyway. ...


This always happens at the ROH Stage Door & it makes me cross. After _Simon Boccanegra_ there were hundreds of people trying to get to Domingo & I'm sure not all of them had seen the opera. If you've paid to see a performance you should be given priority.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

sospiro said:


> This always happens at the ROH Stage Door & it makes me cross. After _Simon Boccanegra_ there were hundreds of people trying to get to Domingo & I'm sure not all of them had seen the opera. If you've paid to see a performance you should be given priority.


The few singers I've actually seen after a performance have been very kind and accommodating to their fans, but I'll admit to feeling pretty irked myself by those individuals who seem to be indiscriminately hunting autographs. The very few (less than four) singers' autographs I have -- including Siegfried Jerusalem's on my program from the 1981 New Orleans Opera's "_Fidelio_" -- are treasured possessions that remind me of those artists and their performances.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I've got the perfect excuse for squandering my next-of-kin's inheritance.

Support your local industry.


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