Amazon. Less US-Centric?

darryl · 04-15-2016, 08:38 AM

I have been a critic of Amazon's focus on the United States to the exclusion of other Countries. Of course I understand the reasons for this and it was good business sense. But I can only look at Prime in the US and the standard of customer service with envy. More recently, of course, Amazon has concentrated on the UK, where the services and service seem to be almost as good as in the US and slowly catching up. And once again this makes sound business sense given the size of the UK market.

However, Amazon remains a relatively minor player in Australia. But there are signs that things are changing. When I bought my Kindle Voyage earlier this year I bought it from a local retailer, as Amazon was not shipping to Australia. The alternative was to purchase in the US and use a re-shipping firm, which can add significant cost. Earlier this week I logged onto my amazon.com.au account and was surprised to find the banner advertisement at the top of the page featured the newly announced Oasis. A couple of clicks and I found that Amazon will actually ship the product to Australia. Shipping charges were I think about $A23 odd dollars for 5 day delivery or $A16 for slightly longer delivery. The quick option was described as something like "Amazon Worldwide". I also found that Amazon now has a network of pick-up locations, a couple perhaps 5 minutes drive from my home and many more within 15-20 minutes drive. Unfortunately, whilst I like the Oasis and am sure Amazon will do well with it I'm holding out for better display technology and sticking with the Voyage. But the network of pick-up locations and the fact that Amazon is now prepared to ship at least Kindles directly to Australia may at long last mean that Amazon is starting to place more value on its Australian customers. I can only hope that rumours of Amazon seeking warehouse space here are correct.

So what about the rest of the World? Is Amazon allowing all Customers worldwide to buy the Oasis directly? ARe there any local pick-up locations? Anyone able to tell us what their plans are for Australia? For other Countries? Even what I have posted above seems to indicate that Amazon's plans for world domination of at least online retailing are coming along nicely.

meeera · 04-15-2016, 09:07 AM

To Australians who ask me what they should buy, I almost never suggest a Kindle. They can generally buy the devices just fine at B&M shops, but the lack of library borrowing is a huge dealbreaker.

John Carroll · 04-15-2016, 09:29 AM

Amazon has invested a ton in infrastructure in the US to provide the level of service it does. It's working on that in the UK now too. I like to think that the websites in the rest of the world are placeholders until they get around to creating the necessary infrastructure in other countries to provide the same level of service.

fjtorres · 04-15-2016, 05:16 PM

The Voyage isn't a good example of Amazon's interest in non-US markets as there was a patent issue associated with the haptic page turn sensors that kept it out of some markets.

More commonly Amazon (like many asian electronics companies) releases their new hardware in the home market, where they are best prepared to deal with unexpected showstoppers and once they are satisfied they open up foreign sales. In effect, Amazon's american customers serve as gamma testers.

With Oasis, a niche premium product, they may simply be sure there are no issues to worry about. It's not as if the firmware is all that different from the battle-tested paperwhite firmware. And at that price it would be hard for them to dramatically underestimate demand.

(Which they did, and badly, for the Echo and FireTV as well as the original Kindle.)

murg · 04-15-2016, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darryl

I have been a critic of Amazon's focus on the United States to the exclusion of other Countries. Of course I understand the reasons for this and it was good business sense. But I can only look at Prime in the US and the standard of customer service with envy. More recently, of course, Amazon has concentrated on the UK, where the services and service seem to be almost as good as in the US and slowly catching up. And once again this makes sound business sense given the size of the UK market.

However, Amazon remains a relatively minor player in Australia. But there are signs that things are changing. When I bought my Kindle Voyage earlier this year I bought it from a local retailer, as Amazon was not shipping to Australia. The alternative was to purchase in the US and use a re-shipping firm, which can add significant cost. Earlier this week I logged onto my amazon.com.au account and was surprised to find the banner advertisement at the top of the page featured the newly announced Oasis. A couple of clicks and I found that Amazon will actually ship the product to Australia. Shipping charges were I think about $A23 odd dollars for 5 day delivery or $A16 for slightly longer delivery. The quick option was described as something like "Amazon Worldwide". I also found that Amazon now has a network of pick-up locations, a couple perhaps 5 minutes drive from my home and many more within 15-20 minutes drive. Unfortunately, whilst I like the Oasis and am sure Amazon will do well with it I'm holding out for better display technology and sticking with the Voyage. But the network of pick-up locations and the fact that Amazon is now prepared to ship at least Kindles directly to Australia may at long last mean that Amazon is starting to place more value on its Australian customers. I can only hope that rumours of Amazon seeking warehouse space here are correct.

So what about the rest of the World? Is Amazon allowing all Customers worldwide to buy the Oasis directly? ARe there any local pick-up locations? Anyone able to tell us what their plans are for Australia? For other Countries? Even what I have posted above seems to indicate that Amazon's plans for world domination of at least online retailing are coming along nicely.

For awhile now, Amazon has been bulk shipping packages to Australia by air freight, and then dumping them into AusPost. This is why shipping to Australia of Amazon fulfilled items is US$5 (or $7) per order + incremental weight charges (and the incremental charges are very, very reasonable).

There have been rumours of Amazon warehousing in Australia for years now.

My guess is that Amazon will concentrate on those countries that they do the most business with. Which will come down to three things: local availability of products vs Amazon US, the relative prices, and the ease of not getting charged by customs. I can definitely see where the UK qualifies. And we all know that we are all tired of paying the Australia tax...

My guess is that many countries, while good Amazon customers, don't have the overall business level to support special attention from Amazon, at this point.

GeoffR · 04-16-2016, 03:34 AM

Buying ebooks from New Zealand, since Amazon opened its Australian website we have a choice between being treated as a part of Australia or as a part of the USA, a choice between paying in US or Australian dollars.

The amazon.co.nz link still redirects to amazon.co.uk though, despite the fact that we can't buy ebooks from that site and have to use amazon.com or amazon.com.au instead.

Amazon still has a long way to go to match Apple, Google or Kobo who all have localised New Zealand websites with prices in New Zealand dollars.

Perhaps the new tax laws due later this year that will require ebook retailers to collect New Zealand GST will force them to something.

Alpha o · 04-17-2016, 09:13 AM

Daughter lives in UK, so Amazon UK is great. I can get her a present with free shipping to her house.

I see a big difference in some areas. Electronics, like phones are far more varied. There are more e-readers, used or new available. The phones may or may not work in the US.
At one time most would work on EDGE or 2 which TMO is repurposing.

Even pet products had more of a brand selection.

Most don't ship to the US, but I could get her to transship.

04-15-2016, 08:38 AM	#1
darryl Wizard Posts: 3,108 Karma: 60231510 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Oasis, Huwei Ascend Mate 7	Amazon. Less US-Centric? I have been a critic of Amazon's focus on the United States to the exclusion of other Countries. Of course I understand the reasons for this and it was good business sense. But I can only look at Prime in the US and the standard of customer service with envy. More recently, of course, Amazon has concentrated on the UK, where the services and service seem to be almost as good as in the US and slowly catching up. And once again this makes sound business sense given the size of the UK market. However, Amazon remains a relatively minor player in Australia. But there are signs that things are changing. When I bought my Kindle Voyage earlier this year I bought it from a local retailer, as Amazon was not shipping to Australia. The alternative was to purchase in the US and use a re-shipping firm, which can add significant cost. Earlier this week I logged onto my amazon.com.au account and was surprised to find the banner advertisement at the top of the page featured the newly announced Oasis. A couple of clicks and I found that Amazon will actually ship the product to Australia. Shipping charges were I think about $A23 odd dollars for 5 day delivery or $A16 for slightly longer delivery. The quick option was described as something like "Amazon Worldwide". I also found that Amazon now has a network of pick-up locations, a couple perhaps 5 minutes drive from my home and many more within 15-20 minutes drive. Unfortunately, whilst I like the Oasis and am sure Amazon will do well with it I'm holding out for better display technology and sticking with the Voyage. But the network of pick-up locations and the fact that Amazon is now prepared to ship at least Kindles directly to Australia may at long last mean that Amazon is starting to place more value on its Australian customers. I can only hope that rumours of Amazon seeking warehouse space here are correct. So what about the rest of the World? Is Amazon allowing all Customers worldwide to buy the Oasis directly? ARe there any local pick-up locations? Anyone able to tell us what their plans are for Australia? For other Countries? Even what I have posted above seems to indicate that Amazon's plans for world domination of at least online retailing are coming along nicely. Last edited by darryl; 04-15-2016 at 08:40 AM.

04-15-2016, 05:16 PM	#4
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	The Voyage isn't a good example of Amazon's interest in non-US markets as there was a patent issue associated with the haptic page turn sensors that kept it out of some markets. More commonly Amazon (like many asian electronics companies) releases their new hardware in the home market, where they are best prepared to deal with unexpected showstoppers and once they are satisfied they open up foreign sales. In effect, Amazon's american customers serve as gamma testers. With Oasis, a niche premium product, they may simply be sure there are no issues to worry about. It's not as if the firmware is all that different from the battle-tested paperwhite firmware. And at that price it would be hard for them to dramatically underestimate demand. (Which they did, and badly, for the Echo and FireTV as well as the original Kindle.) Last edited by fjtorres; 04-15-2016 at 05:19 PM.

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04-15-2016, 09:07 AM	#2
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,818 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	To Australians who ask me what they should buy, I almost never suggest a Kindle. They can generally buy the devices just fine at B&M shops, but the lack of library borrowing is a huge dealbreaker.

04-15-2016, 09:29 AM	#3
John Carroll kookoo Posts: 1,461 Karma: 7772454 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Colorado Springs Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Nook, LG4	Amazon has invested a ton in infrastructure in the US to provide the level of service it does. It's working on that in the UK now too. I like to think that the websites in the rest of the world are placeholders until they get around to creating the necessary infrastructure in other countries to provide the same level of service.

04-16-2016, 03:34 AM	#6
GeoffR Wizard Posts: 3,821 Karma: 19162882 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Te Riu-a-Māui Device: Kobo Glo	Buying ebooks from New Zealand, since Amazon opened its Australian website we have a choice between being treated as a part of Australia or as a part of the USA, a choice between paying in US or Australian dollars. The amazon.co.nz link still redirects to amazon.co.uk though, despite the fact that we can't buy ebooks from that site and have to use amazon.com or amazon.com.au instead. Amazon still has a long way to go to match Apple, Google or Kobo who all have localised New Zealand websites with prices in New Zealand dollars. Perhaps the new tax laws due later this year that will require ebook retailers to collect New Zealand GST will force them to something.

04-17-2016, 09:13 AM	#7
Alpha o Addict Posts: 282 Karma: 2603524 Join Date: Jan 2015 Device: Onyx Boox Darwin, inkBOOK Obsidian	Daughter lives in UK, so Amazon UK is great. I can get her a present with free shipping to her house. I see a big difference in some areas. Electronics, like phones are far more varied. There are more e-readers, used or new available. The phones may or may not work in the US. At one time most would work on EDGE or 2 which TMO is repurposing. Even pet products had more of a brand selection. Most don't ship to the US, but I could get her to transship.

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