Kindle christmas shipping

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asmcar

331 posts

Ultimate Geek
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Topic # 94432 10-Dec-2011 21:31

I am looking at ordering a standard kindle for shipping to New Zealand (Through the Geekzone affiliate link of course!) I realise that international mail may be slower at this time of the year but these prices and Eta's seem strange to me.

I have 2 choices when it comes to the checkout of shipping:

1. Expedited international (Averages 1-2 Business days) With a delivery estimate of: Dec. 16, 2011 - Dec. 28, 2011 at a cost of $11.98 USD

or

2. Priority International Courier (averages 2-4 days) with a estimated delivery of : Dec. 14, 2011 - Dec. 16, 2011 at a cost of $20.98 USD

Is expedited slower because of Christmas? Why is priority not slower as well if that is the case? It seems as though amazon have discounted the shipping price because they can not guarantee it will arrive before Christmas, but it still seems strange that they're prepared to stand by priority courier but not the expedited one.

Also does anybody know which company do Amazon use for each service?

Just curious really

Thanks for any help!

Alex

asmcar

331 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 6

Reply # 556510 10-Dec-2011 23:00

Amazon live chat is like banging your head against a brick wall. After 1 and a half hours (1 hour of which was me being 'transferred' she told me the shipping delays and prices had nothing to do with Christmas, which I found hard to believe. Although she also told me the Kindle touch wifi would not work outside of the US (Shipped through a freight forwarder), so I wasn't inclined to believe much of what she said since the kindle touch does in face work outside USA.

In the end I found this link myself on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_left_cn?ie=UTF8&nodeId=4114681

Which says the Christmas deadline for expedited shipping to Australia , Asia and the Pacific islands is the 9th of December. Priority shipping deadline is the 15th of December, looks like I will be ordering via Priority as it seems as though it has a better chance of getting here in time!

Now to decide which model :D

dontpanic42

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Reply # 556519 10-Dec-2011 23:57

Priority International courier is usually via DHL International Priority, and it is usually pretty speedy as well. Anywhere between 2-4 days usually. With Christmas coming up it is inevitable that International freight will experience some backlog and slowdown, but you are pretty safe if you order with Priority freight.

From my experience, I have never even been able to select anything other than Priority courier when it comes to Amazon Kindle related products. Maybe they have eased up on that stipulation in recent times.

freitasm

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Reply # 556544 11-Dec-2011 09:04

I only had to contact Amazon Chat twice and the problem (wasn't a question, it was actual order changes) was solved in a matter of minutes (under ten in both cases).

As for "will not work outside the US" my guess is they are not talking about technical things (all Kindle devices work outside the US) but access to actual content. If you buy a Kindle that is available to US only, then you have to be aware that some content is locked to regions. This means some new books may not be available if you are using a NZ credit card, even if your Kindle works just fine here. This is essentially the same as other eReaders though, nothing new.

The way around this is using a US credit card (or some variation), and a VPN. If always log into your account from a non-US IP they will lock it, regardless of credit card used.

As for shipping times, last year's Kindle launch was so successful that Kindle devices ordered in December after the cutoff were only shipped six weeks later, in January. I've warned people of this here a few weeks ago.

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asmcar

331 posts

Ultimate Geek
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Reply # 556711 11-Dec-2011 20:59

freitasm: I only had to contact Amazon Chat twice and the problem (wasn't a question, it was actual order changes) was solved in a matter of minutes (under ten in both cases).

As for "will not work outside the US" my guess is they are not talking about technical things (all Kindle devices work outside the US) but access to actual content.

/snip

Thanks for your replies Mauricio and DontPanic, i've decided to go with a Kindle Touch shipped via Comgateway in the USA, hopefully I will receive it before Christmas but if not that's life!

Full explanation of my shipping arrangement is here: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=38&topicid=93841&page_no=2 , decided not to post the same story twice!

Tried live chat again today and the lady explained that yes the kindle touch would work in NZ, I think it depends which chat agent you get and what their understanding of a device 'working' is, I believe you explanation above is probably right Mauricio!

Thanks for your help, can't wait to receive it now!

Alex.