Amazon - change of free delivery policy

[Dave2002]

I know that this has been discussed recently, but the recent change of Amazon's policy on free delivery has proved more problematic than I expected. This morning I tried to order some printer cartridges, and the total came to over £20, but because different suppliers were involved there would still have been a delivery charge. My order suggested buying something else for £1 or more in order to quality for free delivery, but it was hard to find anything I wanted which would make that work. In the end I read the small print in more detail, and it transpires that there are definitely two categories which do satisfy the requirements - 1. qualifying orders direct from amazon, and 2. orders from marketplace sellers - which are fulfilled by Amazon. I looked back through the bargains thread and found a box set of Bach fulfilled by the Music Shop - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-lis...&condition=new which seemed a moderately reasonable way to add to my order within the parameters and avoid what would otherwise have been a modest, but non zero delivery charge.

Nevertheless this took much more time than I anticipated, and was a bit of a pain. Now I know some of the rules I'll try to schedule buying so that things can be grouped together when orders are placed.

[Old Grumpy]

I've always assumed that "Marketplace" items do not count towards free delivery. I did not realise until recently however (I must have missed the relevant thread on here) that the policy on free delivery had changed, until I found (like you) that I had to spend at least £10. It always used to be like this in the distant past IIRC.

OG

[Beef Oven!]

I've always assumed that "Marketplace" items do not count towards free delivery. I did not realise until recently however (I must have missed the relevant thread on here) that the policy on free delivery had changed, until I found (like you) that I had to spend at least £10. It always used to be like this in the distant past IIRC.

OG

It was £15 a few years ago.

Market place are not covered by free delivery, unless they buy into the 'Fulfilled by Amazon' facility.

[Dave2002]

I have been trying to build up a list of small value items which could be added to orders to bring the value over the new £10 limit for free delivery. It's not so easy, as many small value items are not supplied by amazon or related suppliers, so don't count for the free delivery orders.

So far Naxos CDs seem about the best option, even though the amazon prices are sometimes more than elsewhere. For example, I recently wanted to buy some nyjer bird seed (RSPB) - so eventually the best option seemed to be to order the fairly recent Symphony 4 by Ross Harris (http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item...._code=8.573044). This seemed to be the best compromise.

I've also taken to putting items in my amazon basket, and then moving them to "Save for later", which means I'm ready to go with some small value items for adding to orders. One other use for putting items into the basket and then saving them for later is that accessing the basket shows whether prices are going up and down. I also recently put a lot of box sets into the basket, and noted that if I bought them all the total cost would exceed £1k, but I'm not intending to buy them in any very short period - even though I note that some people spend more on golf equipment and club membership in any one year.

I'd be interested to know of any other small value items which others find useful for the free postage option. Maybe also keeping up with some of the newer Naxos releases would be of interest too - partly for the same reason, but also because there are some interesting items in the Naxos catalogue - such as Patrick Gallois playing the flute concerto by Christos Hatzis - http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item...._code=8.573091

[Bryn]

Pre-charged/stay charged NiMH cells are worth considering as a small item. AA and AAA sizes are always handy to have around.

[gamba]

Looking for a copy of Arden series 2 Hamlet on Amazon. Normal price £14.99. They are supplying at between £40 -£80.

Returned in small hours & discovered two marketplace suppliers selling for £14.99. Very odd system. Just beware !

[gamba]

Waste of time - still ' no go '

Will opt for series 3

[ardcarp]

Having made the mistake of buying a new laptop on what I thought was Amazon last year, I no longer buy through the 'Amazon via another supplier' system. Amazon itself is fine, and to be fair they interceded on my behalf with the 'third party'. But the third party in this case was a most unethical business and had to have extreme pressure applied to replace faulty goods and to pay for the postage for its return.

[johnb]

Last week, with some trepidation, I selected delivery to an Amazon locker at a local Co-op store. It worked surprisingly well and cost just under £2 for next day delivery.