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8 Jul, 2020
2020-7-8 9:51:47 PM UTC
insurrbution wrote:
Trotter wrote:
I completely agree with this, but some collectors on the site, are looking for the cheapest copies and they may be from those sites!

THAT I understand - just stating that I prefer to go elsewhere, when, and i,f possible . No offence meant to anyone who uses Amazon or BookDepository, not by any means. At the end of the day, what truly matters is that people are still BUYING books


I agree and prefer not to use BD when I can avoid it, purely because of the Amazon link (and because of their fraudulent marketing of free postage). Unfortunately for overseas buyers, sometimes there isn't any other option.
8 Jul, 2020
2020-7-8 9:56:29 PM UTC
Blackwell's does the exact same - "free postage" price quotes that are vastly different based on where in the world you are located based on IP address.

I think it is pretty industry standard at this point, except for those (like Amazon) that quote postage separately.

It is definitely more noticeable the past few months, with postage being such a huge factor due to COVID-19. UK shipping cost for a heavy book used to be £4-7 from Amazon, and is now £30-50. I think they are only able to use courier services (like DHL) thus the remarkable difference. Sellers like Book Depository and Blackwell's could absorb a pound or two here and there and make the price the same worldwide, but that doesn't work at this time.
8 Jul, 2020
2020-7-8 11:03:20 PM UTC
Urulókë wrote:
Blackwell's does the exact same - "free postage" price quotes that are vastly different based on where in the world you are located based on IP address.

I think it is pretty industry standard at this point, except for those (like Amazon) that quote postage separately.

It is definitely more noticeable the past few months, with postage being such a huge factor due to COVID-19. UK shipping cost for a heavy book used to be £4-7 from Amazon, and is now £30-50. I think they are only able to use courier services (like DHL) thus the remarkable difference. Sellers like Book Depository and Blackwell's could absorb a pound or two here and there and make the price the same worldwide, but that doesn't work at this time.

Book Depository negotiated very, very cheap Royal Mail shipping with the UK Govt in order to set up their business in a deprived area. As it has turned out, it has basically been yet more corporate welfare for Amazon. I'm guessing BD also avoids paying any tax, just like its parent. They really are corporate monsters.
9 Jul, 2020
2020-7-9 7:26:25 AM UTC
Can confirm that VPN provides UK pricing on BD and this works through to order completion. Once you enter the delivery address any local taxes that they need to collect (eg NZ GST) will be added. Nevertheless, it was much cheaper via proxy than using NZ IP Address.

Bt lying about the free-postage, they are basically stuck with accepting the order or the lie is exposed. I guess they just live with it as it is probably not a lot of customers that come in via VPN.
9 Jul, 2020
2020-7-9 7:39:41 AM UTC
That's great 33% off is much better the 5% you get when connecting via a New Zealand IP.
9 Jul, 2020
2020-7-9 9:08:20 AM UTC
Trotter wrote:
That's great 33% off is much better the 5% you get when connecting via a New Zealand IP.

Indeed. I hadn't really been planning on getting this, but given the universally positive reviews, I figured I would reward HC for producing something a little better than they have sometimes done.
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