Advice for PC controller

[purplewakanda]

But that’s for UK residents, not EU?

My point being, while Ireland hasn't got it's own dedicated amazon.ie portal, they will be essentially importing any goods bought off Amazon.co.uk, and so are bound by any customs litigation connected to that?

Hence Amazon reducing shop bought warranty terms.

In the same way that I recently bought some tech off Amazon.it and was only given 30 day warranty returns period.

I'm sure Amazon will be quick to put up a dedicated Amazon.ie site considering their main UK business address is in Ireland I believe. I'm a bit surprised they haven't done it already.

I hope to see an Amazon IE soon too. Earlier, they had 2 years warranty for all electronic products sold and shipped by Amazon. This is valid even now for Amazon DE as I recently bought a phone. However, they no longer have products that showed 2 years of support on their UK site. You have to purchase an additional warranty.

I had been burned once with Amazon when I purchased a Microsoft accessory and there was no valid warranty available with Microsoft. But at that point, Amazon had a 2-year warranty policy on the products they sold.

 

[TonyCarter]

But that’s for UK residents, not EU?

My point being, while Ireland hasn't got it's own dedicated amazon.ie portal, they will be essentially importing any goods bought off Amazon.co.uk, and so are bound by any customs litigation connected to that?

Hence Amazon reducing shop bought warranty terms.

In the same way that I recently bought some tech off Amazon.it and was only given 30 day warranty returns period.

I'm sure Amazon will be quick to put up a dedicated Amazon.ie site considering their main UK business address is in Ireland I believe. I'm a bit surprised they haven't done it already.

Customs has nothing to do with your consumer rights, that's purely a taxation/trade issue played by point-scoring politicos in the UK/EU.

Warranty or returns period? They're not the same thing!

Ireland's internal consumer rights might be different if you purchased from an EU-based or UK (or RoW)-based seller, but the EU regulations say you should expect to apply the law based on the country of the seller if they don't have an EU-based store/presence.

A 14 day return period (from delivery) is the legal minimum in the UK/EU - after that it's up to the company - and Amazon tends to offer 30 days.

Warranty is against faults/issues based on what the manufacturer (or retailer in some cases) offers - but this is on top of your statutory rights. Within 6 months, and assuming no abuse/damage, the fault is held to have been there when the item was sold, and thus is the retailer's responsibility to replace/repair. After 6 months it may become more difficult (the cheaper the product, the harder it tends to become, as most people wouldn't expect a £10 copy of a £100 item to be of the same quality).

(of course, there are always exemptions to all of these regulations, but you'd have to spend a couple of days reading the regulations to digest it all yourself)

 

[TonyCarter]

I hope to see an Amazon IE soon too. Earlier, they had 2 years warranty for all electronic products sold and shipped by Amazon. This is valid even now for Amazon DE as I recently bought a phone. However, they no longer have products that showed 2 years of support on their UK site. You have to purchase an additional warranty.

I had been burned once with Amazon when I purchased a Microsoft accessory and there was no valid warranty available with Microsoft. But at that point, Amazon had a 2-year warranty policy on the products they sold.

It depends where/who you buy it from on Amazon.

Amazon will sometimes 'force' sellers who use the Fulfilled By Amazon service to offer a longer warranty/returns period - and some sellers don't realise this until a customer demands a refund/replacement after 18 months.

The warranty period (and likelihood of getting something replaced/repaired) will also depend on the value of the goods. You're more likely to have a 2-5 year manufacturer warranty on an expensive product than on a £1 USB cable. However, consumer rights (UK/EU) state that a product should just fail...and if it does you have a right to recompense (refund, replacement, repair)...but the time allowed for different products is different too. You'd have a fight to get a replacement/refund/repair on a 11 month old USB cable - but an easier fight on a 23 month old iPhone.

If anyone wants to read the legislation - feel free to do so...

General start page:

Questions on your rights in the EU? Or your obligations? - Your Europe

Your Europe guides you to the most relevant EU and national websites.

europa.eu

EU Directive on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees

Directive - 1999/44 - EN - Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive - EUR-Lex

eur-lex.europa.eu

EU Directive on consumer rights

Directive - 2011/83 - EN - consumer rights directive - EUR-Lex

eur-lex.europa.eu

 

[TonyCarter]

BTW, quite happy for any of my 'off thread' replies to be moved/deleted as necessary

 

[purplewakanda]

It depends where/who you buy it from on Amazon.

Amazon will sometimes 'force' sellers who use the Fulfilled By Amazon service to offer a longer warranty/returns period - and some sellers don't realise this until a customer demands a refund/replacement after 18 months.

The warranty period (and likelihood of getting something replaced/repaired) will also depend on the value of the goods. You're more likely to have a 2-5 year manufacturer warranty on an expensive product than on a £1 USB cable. However, consumer rights (UK/EU) state that a product should just fail...and if it does you have a right to recompense (refund, replacement, repair)...but the time allowed for different products is different too. You'd have a fight to get a replacement/refund/repair on a 11 month old USB cable - but an easier fight on a 23 month old iPhone.

If anyone wants to read the legislation - feel free to do so...

General start page:

Questions on your rights in the EU? Or your obligations? - Your Europe

Your Europe guides you to the most relevant EU and national websites.

europa.eu

EU Directive on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees

Directive - 1999/44 - EN - Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive - EUR-Lex

eur-lex.europa.eu

EU Directive on consumer rights

Directive - 2011/83 - EN - consumer rights directive - EUR-Lex

eur-lex.europa.eu

What I meant was not 3rd party sellers but 'sold and shipped by Amazon' itself. That has changed now. Fighting for a warranty is more difficult, it's easier said than done.

 

[ubuysa]

FWIW We now buy only from Amazon.de.

 

[SpyderTracks]

FWIW We now buy only from Amazon.de.

Why is that out of interest? Is it just their returns policy is so good? Must say, I buy a lot of stuff even with the complications after brexit from Germany. For vinyl, they tend to be more honest with grading on second hand records. For computer music stuff, the German warehouse sites are simply the most efficient and their after sales service is quite frankly just another league of professionalism, and for hifi audio, pretty much the same.

 

[ubuysa]

Why is that out of interest? Is it just their returns policy is so good? Must say, I buy a lot of stuff even with the complications after brexit from Germany. For vinyl, they tend to be more honest with grading on second hand records. For computer music stuff, the German warehouse sites are simply the most efficient and their after sales service is quite frankly just another league of professionalism, and for hifi audio, pretty much the same.

Don't forget I'm still in the EU, buying from the UK now brings extra courier and customs/storage charges here. I wold suggest those in the EU would be better buying from an EU Amazon site rather than Amazon UK.

 

[AleTax]

Don't forget I'm still in the EU, buying from the UK now brings extra courier and customs/storage charges here. I wold suggest those in the EU would be better buying from an EU Amazon site rather than Amazon UK.

From what I know, customs / VAT charges won't be applied for UK purchases under 135£ total

 

[purplewakanda]

From what I know, customs / VAT charges won't be applied for UK purchases under 135£ total

It doesn't seem worth it for electronic goods.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Don't forget I'm still in the EU, buying from the UK now brings extra courier and customs/storage charges here. I wold suggest those in the EU would be better buying from an EU Amazon site rather than Amazon UK.

Yeah, completely agree, just wondered why the german amazon specifically over another EU one? Is it because they're the closest to you? My geography sucks

 

[ojmck22]

Yeah, completely agree, just wondered why the german amazon specifically over another EU one? Is it because they're the closest to you? My geography sucks

I'm Irish and also use Amazon Germany, I don't know the reason why we use it but I suppose its just the next biggest one if you know what i mean? I would guess it has more products so more availability but I don't really know to be honest.

 

[ubuysa]

Yeah, completely agree, just wondered why the german amazon specifically over another EU one? Is it because they're the closest to you? My geography sucks

It seemed to be a chocie between Germany and Italy. That was a no-brainer really!

 

[purplewakanda]

Yeah, completely agree, just wondered why the german amazon specifically over another EU one? Is it because they're the closest to you? My geography sucks

1. I've found the chat support competent than Amazon UK. The delivery driver ran away without ringing the doorbell but one ring on my phone adding resident not available. I chased up and chat support made sure I got the delivery the same day. UK chat support won't be bothered even when you're on Prime. You can converse in English.
2. The whole site can be translated into sensible English using Amazon's own language selection missing other EU sites. Even the search makes sense while using English keywords.
3. They still offer 2-year product support for items sold and shipped by Amazon.
4. Almost all products would ship to Ireland, unlike their other EU sites.

 

[ubuysa]

This site might be useful for anyone in the EU....

https://dispatcheseurope.com/amazon/

 

[SpyderTracks]

1. I've found the chat support competent than Amazon UK. The delivery driver ran away without ringing the doorbell but one ring on my phone adding resident not available. I chased up and chat support made sure I got the delivery the same day. UK chat support won't be bothered even when you're on Prime. You can converse in English.
2. The whole site can be translated into sensible English using Amazon's own language selection missing other EU sites. Even the search makes sense while using English keywords.
3. They still offer 2-year product support for items sold and shipped by Amazon.
4. Almost all products would ship to Ireland, unlike their other EU sites.

That’s really interesting, thank you, I wasn’t aware it was this convoluted, will help with advice in the future.