Play.com not taking non-UK orders anymore?

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 19 Sep 2006, 19:32

Just tried ordering a DVD from PLAY.com, but when I went to check out it said This item can only be delivered to a UK address.

WTF is that? I sure hope this doesnt mean I can never order from play.com anymore. It was just a normal, regular DVD btw... so nothing big or whatever.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 19 Sep 2006, 20:58

Have you tried e-mailing them? Agreed it is weird, they used to deliver further field than Europe. Yep I'd definitely e-mail them, Netherlands is listed in the covered list (basically most of Europe, except electronics and gadgets):

http://www.play.com/HOME/HOME/6-/AboutUs.html?page=del

Were you logged in? It could be that it's not sure where you are and is just giving you back a badly worded generic warning.

p.s - While you there remind them Scotland, Wales and England ARE part of the UK, just in case we'll mention them separately too

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 19 Sep 2006, 21:10

Yeah I was logged in. I asked ona Dutch forum about this and a guy mentioned there would be no problem with ordering if I changed the currency from pounds to euros.

BUT...

Play.com is cheaper when you order in pounds, as they use a weird exchange rate which ends up costing more when you pay in euros instead of in pounds...

meaning that if this is their new policy, I'll stop ordering at play.com as it will no longer be cheap enough for me...

So I really hope they'll change back to how they were a few weeks ago.

I'm in the process of emailing them right now btw, cause I sent them backa package that had arrived twice (aksed for a replacement as the 1st one didnt arrive, and then it suddenly did arrive, so I ended up with 2 of the same...), but they havent refunded me my postage-costs yet...

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 19 Sep 2006, 21:58

Play.com is cheaper when you order in pounds, as they use a weird exchange rate which ends up costing more when you pay in euros instead of in pounds...

True, it's the same for their R1 DVDs.

I'll stop ordering at play.com as it will no longer be cheap enough for me...

Are they're cheaper elsewhere when you have to pay Play in Euros? If they're still cheaper regardless of not being "as" cheap I'd still use them, and put it down to tough luck.

I'm in the process of emailing them right now btw, cause I sent them backa package that had arrived twice (aksed for a replacement as the 1st one didnt arrive, and then it suddenly did arrive, so I ended up with 2 of the same...), but they havent refunded me my postage-costs yet...

I've got a feeling you'll end up not getting that money back, despite doing them a favour.

I've found a strange rule of business seems to be it's much better in your interest to not send stuff back as you rarely get postage back, again despite doing them a favour. Dumb I know.

It's nice you're sending it back at all, very few people would. I do as well btw, IF the company has been good to me. If they've been wankers, screw them.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 20 Sep 2006, 00:31

bradavon wrote:
I'll stop ordering at play.com as it will no longer be cheap enough for me...
Are they're cheaper elsewhere when you have to pay Play in Euros? If they're still cheaper regardless of not being "as" cheap I'd still use them, and put it down to tough luck.

Well... obviously a few years ago they were really much cheaper then buying DVD's in Dutch stores. But lately Dutch DVd's arent that expensive anymore, there are often bargains going on, so play.com is now sometimes cheaper, sometimes more expensive... depending on the movie...

CD-Wow used to be cheap as well, but lately I havent really seen any good offers from them, and they just have a very limited selection of DVDs to choose from, so I kinda stopped using them. I still check for bargains occasionally ofcourse, but it's just been very few lately.

I'm sure play.com will still be cheap for certain titles, I guess... but it's still a difference of a couple of euro's now, so I might just decide to NOT buy certain movies while buying others for a good price at a local store.
Ofcourse, some movies I HAVE to go for the UK R2 (Like a Bittersweet Life, or the Ghibli movies), as there arent any good R2 alternatives... but still...

I'm in the process of emailing them right now btw, cause I sent them backa package that had arrived twice (aksed for a replacement as the 1st one didnt arrive, and then it suddenly did arrive, so I ended up with 2 of the same...), but they havent refunded me my postage-costs yet...
I've got a feeling you'll end up not getting that money back, despite doing them a favour.

I've found a strange rule of business seems to be it's much better in your interest to not send stuff back as you rarely get postage back, again despite doing them a favour. Dumb I know.

It's nice you're sending it back at all, very few people would. I do as well btw, IF the company has been good to me. If they've been wankers, screw them.

Yeah I'm the same as you. If it would have been a shite company who had screwed me over before, I wouldnt have sent it back.
But Play has been nothing short of amazing to me over the years, always helpfull when I had questions, and when something got lost in the mail they replaced it. I believe I already had a refund for something a while ago (few years back). Forgot what it was for.
But I just really respect them for what they've been doing over the years and how they have been doing it... so I dont just wanna rip them off by not sending something back when I get 2 of them...but at the same time I do want my postage money obviously, as money means food or a DVD or whatever.

So I have good hope that this will be resolved in a good manner, as has always been the case. If not, then hey... I dont know what then.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 20 Sep 2006, 08:50

Btw... I'm just checking blahDVD.com and they also seem to offer good prices and free shipping. Are they any good?

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 20 Sep 2006, 12:02

Cd-wow have screwed me over a few times in the past, if they accidentally sent me some stuff that I didn't pay for then be damned that I'd pay $8-10NZD out of my pocket to send it back.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 20 Sep 2006, 16:07

I've always found PLAY to be reasonable so I'm sure if you e-mail them they'll offer an explaination.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Sep 2006, 18:22

Yi-Long wrote:Btw... I'm just checking blahDVD.com and they also seem to offer good prices and free shipping. Are they any good?

Yeah decent. Play have the edge. I also use:

http://www.bensonsworld.co.uk/dvd-browse/dvd.asp
http://www.dvdpopcorn.co.uk/
http://www.dvd.co.uk/?PURL=dvddeals.at/ ... P36=386BFU
http://www.choicesuk.com/
http://www.sendit.com/

Ofcourse, some movies I HAVE to go for the UK R2 (Like a Bittersweet Life, or the Ghibli movies), as there arent any good R2 alternatives... but still...

A Bittersweet Life is limited on extras but otherwise is a very good disc, with a pristine Native-PAL transfer.

Markgway wrote:I've always found PLAY to be reasonable so I'm sure if you e-mail them they'll offer an explaination.

Please post what it is.

Aivansama · Post by **Aivansama** » 29 Sep 2006, 17:47

It seems play have fixed euro prices to a more reasonable amount. Still some rounding going on, though. For example, Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Complete 1st GIG Box Set (7 Discs) is listed at £29.99 = €44.99, while in reality it should be €44.2511.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 29 Sep 2006, 18:27

Brad: I got a response from PLAY.com last week and they've refuneed me my postage cost (4,50 euro). I also asked them about the new euro-thing, but they were a bit vague about it... I think they misunderstood my question, or pretended to misunderstand my question. Either way, I've ordered from Blahdvd.com now and if I'm happy with their service I'll continue using them ...

Thanks for posting that list of alternative websites btw... I'll try a few over the coming weeks/months.

Aivansama: 30 pounds = 45 euro seems fair to me. It used to be a couple of euro's more expensive (like 47-48 euros) so it's good of them to have listened to the criticisme (many Dutch people complained, from what I gathered from the dutch DVD.nl forum). SO now that they fixed that I'm more likely to order from them again, as now the difference is alot less noticable...

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 29 Sep 2006, 20:04

or pretended to misunderstand my question

That's more likely.

FYI I've had some minor issues with Benson's but not enough to stop me using them (they "usually" aren't that cheap though), if you know what I mean. The others I've had perfect service from. BlahDVD are good too.

It's good to hear it's been sorted out.

Complete 1st GIG Box Set (7 Discs) is listed at £29.99 = €44.99, while in reality it should be €44.2511

Seriously you can't complain about that rounding. Do you expect any e-tailor to sell something for A: the exact conversion (it's normally wildly out) or B: for €44.2511???

It's always x.96, x.99. I'd say $44.99 is definitely fair.

Aivansama · Post by **Aivansama** » 30 Sep 2006, 14:24

bradavon wrote:
Complete 1st GIG Box Set (7 Discs) is listed at £29.99 = €44.99, while in reality it should be €44.2511
Seriously you can't complain about that rounding. Do you expect any e-tailor to sell something for A: the exact conversion (it's normally wildly out) or B: for €44.2511???

It's always x.96, x.99. I'd say $44.99 is definitely fair.

Merely pointing it out.

Of course, the fair thing would be to allow paying in pounds.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 30 Sep 2006, 14:34

Yeah, but now that they've changed the euro prices to a 1,5 of the pound price, it's good, so I'll start using play.com again. It's nice to see them adress the problem so quickly and in this manner.

I've checked out those other e-tailers Brad mentioned, but they dont seem to offer free postage to Holland, so I probably wont use them.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 30 Sep 2006, 15:35

Yi-Long wrote:I've checked out those other e-tailers Brad mentioned, but they dont seem to offer free postage to Holland, so I probably wont use them.

What none of them? Agreed that is a shame. I didn't check sorry.

Aivansama wrote:Of course, the fair thing would be to allow paying in pounds.

Agreed, then you can choose. Although many banks own conversion rate is usually as extreme in my experience.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 30 Sep 2006, 15:42

* Sendit ship to Holland: http://www.sendit.com/help/help_postage
* So do Benson's World (it says EU countries): http://www.bensonsworld.co.uk/service/terms-v2.asp
* So do ChoicesUK: http://www.choicesuk.com/content.aspx/delivery
* So do DVD.co.uk: http://www.dvd.co.uk/faqs.asp#del3

How hard did you look? As only DVD Popcorn out of the 5 I listed don't ship to Holland.

EDIT: Oh wait you said FREE postage. You do realise FREE postage is a con? They just round up the postage costs, clearly no postage company isn't going to charge. You pay for it just differently.

FREE postage is just a marketing tool nothing more!

Haven't you ever used any Korean or American companies? They all charge postage. Just add it on and if it's still the cheapest than anywhere else big deal.

Don't write them off when even with postage they could definitely work out cheaper. I know Eva to New Zealand uses Sendit and has found them good value so if the rule applies to him it applies to you.

I can't see how much Benson's World and DVD.co.uk charge but Sendit.com it's £2.10 per DVD and ChoicesUK it's £3 no matter how much you order (that's worth something).

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 04 Oct 2006, 21:21

I know what you're saying about free postage, Brad, but I really cant be bothered checking each and every e-tailer for what they charge for posting it to Holland.
If I see a REAL bargain on one of those sites, I'll check what the postage cost is, but mostly I just go for the free shipping sites. Just easier. Scam or not, I wish every site would just include all their prices in the listed price on the site, so it appears as free shipping.

BTW, Nausicaa arrived from blahdvd.com yesterday, and it's a ratler. It's at my girlfriend's house so I havent been able to check if it's working or not, but my GF says it does have scratches on the disc. How is BLAHDVD when it comes to these things? I've been lucky to never really have had a ratler from play.com or CD-wow.com so far... so it kinda sucks that my first order from them is a ratler...

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 04 Oct 2006, 21:39

Yi-Long wrote:I know what you're saying about free postage, Brad, but I really cant be bothered checking each and every e-tailer for what they charge for posting it to Holland.

We're talking 3-4 e-tailors, it takes a few seconds (even to add it to the cart) and you only have to do it once???

Besides I've done half the work for you (easily found in the FAQ), 2 out of 4 that is. Just add that to the order.

DVD Pacific for example are easily one of the cheapest by far American suppliers but don't have free postage (it seems to very much a UK thing). I'd miss out on loads of real bargains if I ignored them.

Yi-Long wrote:How is BLAHDVD when it comes to these things? I've been lucky to never really have had a ratler from play.com or CD-wow.com so far... so it kinda sucks that my first order from them is a ratler...

Rattlers I'd have thought are unavoidable unless they open them put something inside, especially sending abroad.

I doubt it actually has scratches, marks more likely. Personally it only bothers me if they're bad but I know some send DVDs back. I have better things to do, especially when most DVDs get marks over time anyway.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 04 Oct 2006, 22:25

Thanks Brad, I might check out DVDpacific one of these days... although I usually dont really buy much R1 stuff...

About ratlers: I dont think I've ever had to return a DVD yet, but since my girl said it has 1 rather large scratch on it (among many more little ones), I might send it back if it doesnt work properly...
I'll check the disc this weekend.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 04 Oct 2006, 22:42

Yi-Long wrote:Thanks Brad, I might check out DVDpacific one of these days... although I usually dont really buy much R1 stuff...

I'd say they're THE best R1 only supplier. I've never heard a complaint from anyone. They're one of those popular e-tailors many people use.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 04 Oct 2006, 23:29

bradavon wrote:
Yi-Long wrote:Thanks Brad, I might check out DVDpacific one of these days... although I usually dont really buy much R1 stuff...
I'd say they're THE best R1 only supplier.

Nah, DDD have near identical discounted prices and much better shipping value (for me anyway).

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 05 Oct 2006, 12:17

Personally I've found DVD Pacific's price before postage to often be much better. I'll have to look at DDD more.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 05 Oct 2006, 19:09

Dvdpacific's shipping cost is greater for Australasia IIRC.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 05 Oct 2006, 19:25

Well you would insist in living near the South Pole and far from the rest of civilisation

p.s - I thought you preferred Oceania to Australasia?

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 05 Oct 2006, 20:57

bradavon wrote:
p.s - I thought you preferred Oceania to Australasia?

When did I say that? I don't give a shit either way. You can call it the Land of the Magnificent Penis Rangers for all I cared.