David Norman
Senior HTF Member
Not really sure where to put this since we've never had a specific Zavvi thread.
Early this week I think, ZAVVI UK announced it was stopping all international shipping outside the UK (at least for Movies, but not necessarily general merch) throwing quite a few people for a loop. It's unclear what that means for people with preorders pending -- some have been told those orders would be honored, others have gotten cancellations (with refunds) before shipping or even afterward with Dispatch notices sent/tracking numbers but then the next day abruptly recalling/cancelling. There really wasn't an explanation about why -- Brexit legalities, shipping costs, international Postal Regs, some suggest Rights Holders of Region A titles of those titles sold by ZavviUk often under a different studio decided to crack down. This sounds like it
might be temporary, but nothing appears 100% clear
Zavvi has been somewhat equivalent to Deep Discount over the last 10 years or so. An alternative to AmazonUK who shipped worldwide,
often at a nice savings compared to Amazon, often with very nice sales especially on Specialty Studio items like Arrow, and more than once have frustrated the
heck out of folks with their hit or miss Customer Service.
Many people have used them for Exclusive Steelbooks -- often not just UK exclusives but worldwide one-offs. Over the last few years, they've started adding US sales
tax since the Owner THE HUT GROUP is multinational and has several businesses (non media) in the US and even a US based Customer Service center.
Shipping has gone from starting at Free for Steelbooks to 0.99 to 1.99 to 4.99 flatrate for international. A year or so back, THE HUT bought ARROW Films though
for now Zavvi and Arrow companies still seem to function independently and Arrow has continued to acquire/produce discs mostly like they have in the past as well
as running their own Retail Front. I'm not sure if Zavvi and Arrow are using the same warehouse/distribution sites though there is some indication that is happening
both with items ordered from ZavviUK/ArrowUK and a domestic US Warehouse for at least some of ZavviUS/ArrowUS orders.
Zavvi has numerous Local Country websites in AUS, various EU countries, and a US site. Zavvi US has Region A produced discs from studios like Arrow and Powerhouse, but virtually
none of the Region B/UK produced titles and Exclusive Steelbooks so the inventories of the stores are quite different. Some of the countries have reported ALL their media listings are now gone.
A big worry is how (if) this might impact ArrowUK website since a lot of folks here have also participated in the Arrow Films UK sales since their prices (even with recent increases) have often been 10-50% lower than the exact same ArrowUS titles as well as to buy those items not cross releases in US clothing. To date there appears to be no change in the ArrowUK taking and fulfilling orders outside the UK, but...
The number of UK Media sites that ship to the US has been narrowly considerably over the last several years. HMV quit several years ago, more recently BASE and Deff.com have suspended or stopped, AmazonUK is frustratingly sporadic is what items they will ship or not, and now ZavviUK. So far the direct sellers seem to still be shipping -- Powerhouse, Eureka, etc
Early this week I think, ZAVVI UK announced it was stopping all international shipping outside the UK (at least for Movies, but not necessarily general merch) throwing quite a few people for a loop. It's unclear what that means for people with preorders pending -- some have been told those orders would be honored, others have gotten cancellations (with refunds) before shipping or even afterward with Dispatch notices sent/tracking numbers but then the next day abruptly recalling/cancelling. There really wasn't an explanation about why -- Brexit legalities, shipping costs, international Postal Regs, some suggest Rights Holders of Region A titles of those titles sold by ZavviUk often under a different studio decided to crack down. This sounds like it
might be temporary, but nothing appears 100% clear
Zavvi has been somewhat equivalent to Deep Discount over the last 10 years or so. An alternative to AmazonUK who shipped worldwide,
often at a nice savings compared to Amazon, often with very nice sales especially on Specialty Studio items like Arrow, and more than once have frustrated the
heck out of folks with their hit or miss Customer Service.
Many people have used them for Exclusive Steelbooks -- often not just UK exclusives but worldwide one-offs. Over the last few years, they've started adding US sales
tax since the Owner THE HUT GROUP is multinational and has several businesses (non media) in the US and even a US based Customer Service center.
Shipping has gone from starting at Free for Steelbooks to 0.99 to 1.99 to 4.99 flatrate for international. A year or so back, THE HUT bought ARROW Films though
for now Zavvi and Arrow companies still seem to function independently and Arrow has continued to acquire/produce discs mostly like they have in the past as well
as running their own Retail Front. I'm not sure if Zavvi and Arrow are using the same warehouse/distribution sites though there is some indication that is happening
both with items ordered from ZavviUK/ArrowUK and a domestic US Warehouse for at least some of ZavviUS/ArrowUS orders.
Zavvi has numerous Local Country websites in AUS, various EU countries, and a US site. Zavvi US has Region A produced discs from studios like Arrow and Powerhouse, but virtually
none of the Region B/UK produced titles and Exclusive Steelbooks so the inventories of the stores are quite different. Some of the countries have reported ALL their media listings are now gone.
A big worry is how (if) this might impact ArrowUK website since a lot of folks here have also participated in the Arrow Films UK sales since their prices (even with recent increases) have often been 10-50% lower than the exact same ArrowUS titles as well as to buy those items not cross releases in US clothing. To date there appears to be no change in the ArrowUK taking and fulfilling orders outside the UK, but...
The number of UK Media sites that ship to the US has been narrowly considerably over the last several years. HMV quit several years ago, more recently BASE and Deff.com have suspended or stopped, AmazonUK is frustratingly sporadic is what items they will ship or not, and now ZavviUK. So far the direct sellers seem to still be shipping -- Powerhouse, Eureka, etc
