Just wondering whether to order from the Japanese store, as delivery should be cheaper.
Has anyone tried ordering from Amazon in Japan or another location?
Good idea or not?
The selection in the various Amazon stores is very different. The Japanese one mainly carries Japanese products, so you are unlikely to find much overlap between the US Amazon and the Japanese one. Besides, Japanese stuff tends to be more expensive anyways. I’ve ordered from amazon.co.jp, amazon.com and amazon.co.uk in the past and have not had any problems. International shipping is on the expensive side for all of them, but sometimes you just can’t find certain things in Taiwan at any price.
Amazon’s great, although I agree with jlick that shipping can be costly. Haven’t tried their jp store.
If you haven’t been to Page One, the bookstore in Taipei 101, you should check that out first. It’s surprisingly good. . . for Taipei. In fact, it seems to have the largest English language selection in Taiwan, better than Eslite, Kingstone, etc.
You can also try www.yesasia.com and check out their English books section. They are based in HK and the shipping is very cheap. Prices for Amazon on most books is cheaper though due to deep discounting. Anyway, I just pay the price at PageOne nowadays. I am so grateful they are here. Speaking of which, time for me to go back there again.
Brits might be interested to know that Tesco now has an online book shop which is aggressively undercutting amazon UK prices and beating them on delivery cost as well (free delivery for books over 20 quid). BUT, and it’s a big but, no overseas delivery at the moment. Good for crimbo gifts for the folks back home.
tesco.com/books/frames.htm
I use amazon.co.uk frequently for books, cds, dvds etc.
I’m based mainly in HK, and it’s a lot cheaper ordering from amazon than buying from bookshops, HMV etc. Also, you get the VAT (17.5%) taken off the listed prices, which usually balances out the postage charge. Usually my orders arrive in less than a week.
They’re also very good at replacing lost orders. Sometime ago i placed an order and it hadn’t turned up after a month, so i rang them up and they said they would dispatch a new order straight away. The inevitable happened and both packages turned up the same day. I rang them again to tell them this, offering to return one set and they said not to bother.
Another time I ordered 4 cds. When they arrived, all the plastic cases were damaged. After an email to them, they immediately posted some new cases to me.
I just ordered [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/best-concert-ever-who-where-and-when/9252/57 from amazon.co.uk on Monday evening, paid for the ‘7-10 day’ airmail and already received it here in Taiwan today. Not bad!
Has anyone had trouble with Amazon.com recently?
I’ve placed many orders with Amazon and had many books and CDs delivered to me here in Taiwan. But just now I tried to order a few common items (books and CDs) and it said they can’t be shipped to the same address I’ve always used. I added a few more (total of 8 items) and it said none of them could be shipped to me.
I see the following possibilities:
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They changed their policy and stopped shipping internationally because it’s too expensive in these tough times.
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They changed their policy and stopped shipping to Taiwan due to changes in US law, regulations or agreements with distributors.
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There’s a temporary, random glitch in their system and it will be resolved shortly.
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A PRC citizen has sabotaged their system to block all shipments to Taiwan.
#1 seems possible but unlikely.
#2 seems possible but unlikely.
#3 and 4 seem equally likely to me.
Anyone else had problems with them recently?
No. I order frequently from them; they’re still shipping to Taiwan. Let me guess – you were not ordering the new items from Amazon using the Add to Shopping Cart button, but instead were trying to buy some of the ‘new or used’ items from other retailers using an Amazon link in a box further below that (see e.g., “147 used & new” at lower right in pic). Those generally won’t ship to Taiwan. It’s a bitch.
No. I order frequently from them; they’re still shipping to Taiwan. Let me guess – you were not ordering the new items from Amazon using the Add to Shopping Cart button, but instead were trying to buy some of the ‘new or used’ items from other retailers using an Amazon link in a box further below that (see e.g., “147 used & new” at lower right in pic). Those generally won’t ship to Taiwan. It’s a bitch.[/quote]
Nope. Good guess, but only one is not from Amazon and all are new.
Book/CD: American Accent Training (Book and Audio CD, 2nd Edition), for the wife 
Book: Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco (Hardcover), for me
DVD: The Muppet Show - The Complete Third Season, for the daughter 
CD: Blind Faith
CD: Disraeli Gears
Musical instrument from 3d party: 81 Pocket Pal Diatonic Harmonica, for the daughter
None of those will ship to me. :eh:
If any single item (new or used) is not from Amazon, the entire list may show as unshippable. Remove that item.
I’ve complained about this, but Amazon’s excellent customer service does not extend to suggestions for policy changes.
Yep, unfortunately, Taiwan is out of teh Amazon Marketplace list. 
Actually, I think not. It appears DB was correct.
Previously all of my items were rejected, so I removed the one item that was from a 3d party vendor and this time Amazon accepted my order, even though I’m using a Taiwan delivery address and a Visa with a Taiwan billing address.
At least. . . it appears to be good for now. THey thanked me for successfully placing the order. I’ll let you know if I receive word later that it was rejected after all.
Actually, I think not. It appears DB was correct.[/quote]
Icon is correct also. The one from a 3rd party vendor was blocking your order. The 3rd party vendors are part of a system called the Amazon Marketplace (A.M.). A.M. does not refer to the regular Amazon orders. If Taiwan were on the list of countries that the A.M. will ship to, this would not occur.
The Marketplace items also will “freeze” your order, like third party vendors. I thought your stuff was more likely to be from there, instead of outside the Amazon items.
Glad to hear that it was solved to your satisfaction.
EDIT: I have tried to but pet items and other things like spices and food from them, alas, I haven’t been successful…
Have you tried Barnes and Noble? They ship more kinds of items internationally and some say the shipping is cheaper than Amazon.
I ordered from both Barnes & Noble and Amazon and found that B&N generally has cheaper shipping and more options. I can order toys and such from B&N but rarely from Amazon. When you order from Amazon you need to scroll down on the product page and see if it has a disclaimer “US shipments only”
Yes, on numerous occasions. I have probably spent over NT$30,000 this year at Amazon as I order for myself as well as a friend. No issues so far.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Previously all of my items were rejected, so I removed the one item that was from a 3d party vendor and this time Amazon accepted my order, even though I’m using a Taiwan delivery address and a Visa with a Taiwan billing address. [/quote]I bet it was the harmonica. Books and DVDs aren’t a problem. Computer software is sometimes a problem, tends to be random. But hardware/toys/etc always seems to be a problem.