Why won't AMAZON ship to Australia?

[bloodhound31]

I just put a whole heap of things in my shopping cart as I have done plenty of times over the years.

Now, no matter which AMAZON site I go to, .co, .uk, whatever, I get as far as shipping address and it all comes up in red stating that the items will not ship to that address.

What gives?

Baz.

[Octane]

One or more of your items are restricted to purchasing from the UK, or wherever the TLD of the Amazon site you went to.

Happened to me before, too. Usually means that the supplier has cut a deal. Bit like not being able to buy Celestron telescopes from OPT to be delivered here.

H

[MrB]

No drama's according to this (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=596190).
I wonder if there's something in the checkout process you're missing?

Edit: NM, H is on the ball :D

[Red Nine]

I had the same thing the other week...

Went to order Seasons 3 - 5 of the Universe from the US store, but 3 wouldn't ship to Australia, yet the other two would.

Tried the UK site and was able to get 3 from there, and 4 and 5 from US (due to no supply in the UK store for these seasons...)

Might have to try something like that... But as Octane says it could be due to suppliers cutting deals.

Hope it works out for you.

[mozzie]

i bought some stuff for the misses on sunday baz and had no prob's at all..first time iv'e bought of them and they've e-mailed back with delivery times and the parcels are on there way..pretty efficient.. oh and not astromy stuff elise does cake decorating..:shrug::shrug:

[bloodhound31]

I just orders reflectors, diffuser and softbox from Amazon, but they won't ship. Tried both .com and .uk. No joy. I can't find the items anywhere else as cheap.

[mozzie]

sux's baz when there's a bargain and you can't get it...

[bloodhound31]

I gave up and signed up with ebay and bought the lot no probs. Now to see if the dodgy traders there deliver.....

I've always been suspicious of ebay and paypal..

[Merlin66]

If it helps any of the members I'm prepared to take delivery of items in Europe and trans-ship to Oz at cost.
Let me know if I can help.

[bloodhound31]

That's very generous mate. Will keep in mind!

Bless ya!

Baz.

[Jules76]

Amazon has changed a lot in since the time I last used it over 10 years ago. Back then Amazon.com WAS Amazon, that was who you were buying from and getting it shipped from their warehouse.

Now after 10 years of being out of the loop as to what they do, I went back a couple of months ago to find some vintage computer games I've been collecting. Now not only is there is a Amazon company, but also hundred's of other sellers, similar to like Ebay, but all "Buy It Now" instead of auctions.

It's confusing because as you and I also found out, some sell overseas, some don't. And it's never 100% clear who does until you get to the checkout and enter your address. It's REALLY frustrating particulary after I found a game I was after in what looked to be close to mint condition for a great price on the Amazon.co.uk website. But they wouldn't ship overseas!!! Grrrrr.....

In the end I just went back to Ebay. I've been a member since '99 (100+ positive feedback), used Paypal many times, in fact I prefer it for payments since it's instant so I don't have to wait around before shipping off what I've sold (then I spend it :)). Makes it all very handy. Never had a problem with either service. :thumbsup:

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Amazon would sell anything to anyone if they could.
It's not so much "cutting deals" as respecting other distributorships and copyright holders.
A friend of mine from way back is quite seniour in Amazon and I pesterred her about this the other day after getting knocked back on a US TV series.
Whithout the boring legaleaze, Amazon simply doesn't have the rights to ship every item anywhere (tho I think they'd like that).
Some of the private sellers on Amazon will bend the rules, but they risk loosing their listing privaledges if they're caught.

[DavidTrap]

Bit harsh to label the eBay trader as "dodgy" before you've even given them a chance.

I've bought and sold heaps of stuff on eBay without difficulty. Some things out of Asia do take a while to arrive, but more often than not the freight is "free".

My best eBay purchase was a bubble level that goes in the hot shoe - $3.99 including shipping from Hong Kong vs $30 at the local camera shop - would have cost me more in fuel to drive to the local camera shop.

DT

[Kal]

I'm actually quite the opposite - I feel more comfortable using paypal with ebay because they offer buyer protection (http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/buy/paypal-buyer-protection.html).

I'm always wary about supplying credit card details to web shops.

[snowyskiesau]

Not sure it it helps in any way but here's a plug-in for Firefox (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/does-amazon-ship-to/) that allows you to check is a particular item will ship to Australia without having to go through the checkout process to find out.

I was recently searching for some SD cards and using the plugin it was easy to find which of the dozens advertised could actually ship here (ended up getting them locally due to shipping times)

[bloodhound31]

Yes, you are right. However, I have been burnt before with ebay traders so I am a little shy in a case of once bitten.

I do have a little more faith in humanity lately, but it's still hard not to play it safe and avoid putting myself in risky trade on the Internet with strangers on the other side of the world who I have no idea who that are or what their history and intentions are.

I have now ordered my items from three separate traders so lets see how it all goes.:thumbsup:

Baz.

[koputai]

I have no issue with Ebay. I did get ripped off once when buying a lens ($900), but Paypal reimbursed me as I had paid through them and therefore had their 'buyer protection'. I was VERY happy with their service.

My biggest Ebay purchase was over $10k, from a US based seller, and this was before any of the buyer protection systems were in place. I was a bit nervous until the package arrived!

Cheers,
Jason.

[TrevorW]

Global Economy-yeah right, only if it suits them

[overlord]

the answer is that they are good businessmen... but not that good. could be something legalistic

[acropolite]

I received similar treatment when trying to buy an eBook version of Failure is not an option. It's available as an ebook for around $13 everywhere in the world except OZ. I could buy a paperback copy for $40 in Australia, but I won't, so in the end the publisher loses because I don't buy at all.

[Omaroo]

This article is in reference to eBooks - but many publishing restrictions in place are just the same for the hardcopy. It's all in reference to author/publisher's contractually-derived international boundaries - it's not Amazon's fault.



Read on... (http://www.fancygoods.com.au/tim/2010/04/14/why-cant-australians-buy-the-ebooks-they-want/)

[Kal]

With trade practices like this it's no wonder why some people turn to piracy.

[lacad01]

Hi Baz, not that it's 100% reliable but look at the trader's feedback rating. I tend to steer clear of anyone that's below 98% but then look through the various feedback comments to get things in context. Thankfully I've never been ripped off doing business on the Bay.
cheers

[GeoffW1]

Hi,

Ditto that, and you can even operate a Paypal account with just the credit card attached (for reversibility) and not let them into your bank account.

Cheers

[acropolite]

Just a follow up on the eBook, in the end I managed to find a paperback from the book depository at a fraction more than the price of the eBook.

[Jules76]

Wow this is a nice thread bump from the past. :)

To update on what I said earlier, I've since gone big into sourcing my collectables from Amazon since I started using a freight forwarder. Costs you a bit extra in freight but I've been able to score some absolute bargains and get hold of items I could either never find on Ebay, or were ridiculously over priced. It makes it well worth it IMO.

I've also been in contact with quite a few sellers on Amazon and found out why a lot sellers don't offer shipping overseas. The main reason is because Amazon doesn't give sellers enough to cover the cost of shipping overseas and they take out a lot in fees. So for some sellers it just makes no ecomocial sense to sell overseas, and if they do, they could potentially price themselves out of a sale by having a higher price to cover the extra expense.

Makes sense as I've noticed a lot of the sellers who do sell overseas are quite often a lot more expensive then the one's that don't.

[Comfort]

Found this on one of those question and answer sites which seems to deal with the problems you have been having with buying from Amazon. It does not make items ship here that Amazon wont ship, but it will help you identify items that will ship here.

*********************************** ******
Amazon will ship to Australia but the experience can be a little confusing and the biggest problem is finding the items that Amazon will ship there. This often frustrates many and somepeople assume that Amazon wont ship at all or they wont ship a particular category.

Essentially you can ship dvd's, books, clothing, health, tools. watches, jewelry, shoes, electronics, handbags, toys and more to most countries outside the USA including Australia.

There is a way to make this process as easy as possible if you follow a few easy steps

*** Step 1
Visit the official Amazon Global page at http://amzn.to/Amazon-Global-Shipping - This is not the main Amazon homepage so make sure you record the address so you can come back to this page whenever you want.

This is still not perfect as not everything listed here will be able to be shipped to Australia but everything listed can be shipped out of the USA to somewhere so we still have to do steps 2 to 5. Buy following this stem We have however removed millions of items that Amazon will never be able to ship outside the USA.

*** Step 2
Login to an Amazon Account before you start shopping. If you dont yet have an account create one.

*** Step 3
Go into your account settings, click on Manage Addresses and setup your address in Singapore and then set it as the 1-Click default address. Your address has to be setup before you start shopping as it queries this address to see if the item can be shipped to you. Without this you will not find out if an item cannot be shipped to you until you checkout.

*** Step 4
Go Shopping - as you look at every item it will check to see if it can be shipped to your address. If it can't it will indicate so in red writing.

*** Step 5
International shipping rates by many merchants can be excessive so it is best to only buy from Amazon who have low shipping rates. In the left hand column click Amazon in the seller box to make sure you are only seeing items sold and shipped by Amazon

[sheree46]

Hi,
I need some shoes size 17 shipped to Australia from Amazon because I can't find them cheap enough here , so can you help me with this?.
Cheers,
Sheree:welcome:

[Merlin66]

Gee,
I'd love to have been able to help, but I've since returned to Oz.....sorry.

[issdaol]

I and a number (approximately 15) other people used Ebay to purchase some items from a "reputable" supplier all covered under the supposed protection that Ebay supplies.

We were all scammed by an individual based in Victoria who had done just enough low value trades to earn positive comments and 100% rating.

We found the resolution process to be a complete waste of time when the guilty party has no intention of helping. Due to the value of the goods involved the Australian Police CIB opened up a case to pursue and prosecute the perpetrator.

EBAY and Paypal both refused to cooperate, citing that Australian Police Authorities had no power/jurisdiction to request the required records. EBAY specifically claimed that they did not maintain any backups or archives for transactions.

The CIB were finally able to track down the perpetrator using other methods and information over a 8 month period. In court the perpetrator claimed financial hardship and was given a work order.

No One got their money back.

I refuse to support EBAY an now use Amazon who I have found extremely reliable

[Astro_Bot]

Similarly, I've found eBay and PayPal problem resolution to be frustrating and worthless. Nevetheless, I've bought many items problem-free through eBay at around half the price compared to Aus retail stores. Just be prepared for the odd one or two to go bad and roll with the punches.

[slowflow]

Have you considered myus address or one of the other forwarding companies.

[hammer75]

Hey guys just got items that Amazon wouldn't ship to me in Aus on www.postrope.com

They use PayPal for all transactions and it's based on people over there shipping it to you so 1 item at a time is perfect!

hope this can help with pesky non shipp items :)

[glend]

I have bought things from Amazon UK retailers and they shipped to me here in Aus without any issues. However, some suppliers have country agency agreements which give protected territory rights in country. For example, Skywatcher is notorious for this lockout.

[OICURMT]

for future reference and archival purposes... as this thread is relatively old.

https://shopmate.auspost.com.au/