Anu international DVD ordering horror stories? (1 Viewer)

[Carlo_M]

Hi All,
I'm going to take the plunge and start ordering Region 2 DVDs from Europe. I have a region-free HTPC. Through research in this forum I've narrowed my European stores to:
http://www.dvd.it Link Removed http://discshop.com
Is there anything bad I should know about any of these shops? Any horror stories of overcharges, undelivered goods, or poor service?
Thanks!
[Edited last by Carlo Medina on July 31, 2001 at 09:32 AM]

 

[Carlo_M]

Does silence mean consent? Or has no one used these vendors before?
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My dealer of choice (especially if you live in So-Cal, I highly recommend them): www.yawaonline.com

 

[Chauncey]

Carlo,
I've never used any of the stores you posted. I have used the following:
Blackstar.co.uk - very good service. I received a defective DVD, they promptly replaced it, and covered the return shipping, in this case was over $14. They are on the expensive side, however.
Amazon.co.uk - again very good service. I never received a DVD, and they sent out another one with no questions asked. VAT (17.5%) is backed out of American orders.
Link Removed - No problems to date. They use padded envelopes, and I've seen some complaints of DVDs arriving bouncing freely in their cases. This hasn't happened to me yet. Good prices. No VAT savings. Only 2 British pounds for shipping.
Link Removed - No problems to date. I've ordered several DVDs from them, and they all arrived in perfect shape. Good prices. No VAT savings, but shipping to the US is included in their pricing.
Amazon.fr - No problems to date. It takes awhile for the DVDs to arrive after they say they are shipped.
Good luck,
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Chauncey
Home Theater Equipment List
My DVD Collection
[Edited last by Chauncey on September 30, 2001 at 11:47 PM]

 

[Matt_Stevens]

I am in the middle of a pickle with Bensonworld and am hoping they will do right with me and my order.
They sent me two DVD's. Both had the DVD's loose in the containerand one had no shrink wrap! The DVD inside was scratched and had finger prints.
I sent them back and they say they mailed my replacements, but we'll see.
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www.deceptions.net/superman

 

[Takayuki Kihara]

I normally use amazon.fr for French DVDs. They ship very quick, and the package arrives in 2 days or so to California after the ship date (I use the Express shipping option because in this way you can avoid a few weeks of dreadful wait time while paying only a few bucks more).
I ordered a DVD ("Don't Look Now") from amazon.de in August, but it took 6 weeks(!) for it to arrive. I'll try to avoid this site unless I find something I really want there.
Blackstar is pretty good for British DVDs. Price is a bit higher than the other sites (they don't take VAT off), but their shipping charge is pretty cheap and they ship fast (it only takes a week or so to California by the regular airmail).
amazon.co.jp is the best source for Japanese DVDs (lots of European movies released in Japan), IMO. They don't add the consumption tax and the handling fee like the other Japanese sites do, and they do the express shipping that only takes a day to CA (I get the shipping confirmation in the evening, and the DVDs arrive in the next morning!). However, this site requires you to understand Japanese, so you'll need a friend who understands it.
hmv.co.jp is also good for Japanese DVDs. They don't add the tax, but does the handling fee. A drawback is that they normally spend 3-4 days to prepare the package for shipping, so it's slower than amazon.co.jp for this regard. But they have the English version of the site, so it's easy to order from them.

 

[Roland Wandinger]

www.ezydvd.com.au is very good for R4 titles.
Is used Link Removed a couple of times and had no problems.
www.dvdzone2.com is also good and cheap IF they have the title in stock!
[Edited last by Roland Wandinger on October 02, 2001 at 06:59 AM]

 

[ChristopherM]

Carlo - Of the three online stores that you list, I've only used dvd.it.
It was just the one order, but I had no problems and will probably use them next time I find a good Italian movie on their website with English subtitles (my Italian is shamefully rusty).

 

[Page]

Haven't used the ones you listed. I have used:
Blackstar--excellent service and a VERY user friendly web site--easy to order and easy to cancel an order if you change you mind later on down the line--plus they send out weekly status reports on orders that haven't shipped yet. Prices are not that great.
Amazon.de--Like everybody else I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for my order (It was shipped in mid-September so I guess I've got some more time to wait.) They were very quick to replenish items that were not in stock and were very quick in getting my order packaged and shipped out, but that's were the good news ends. (There's no option for Overnight Airmail, Express service, FEDEX, DHL, etc. so you're stuck waiting for the slowest mail service they could use.)
Amazon.jp--Very good service, but their prices are very high. I went for express airmail and although it was quick, it was expensive. Difficult to navigate the web site since it is in Japanese, but I was able to place an order using Babelfish and pasting and translating back and forth.
DVDShelf--Excellent prices and service. Shipping charges are very good when you order a lot of items. The web site has an English version and they DO respond to e-mails. (Takes about a day.)

 

[Howard_Horton]

Try:
www.play247.com
I've ordered many. many times and not had any problems. I live within europe, which may help of course but they seem like a real professional company and there prices are very low.
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H

 

[Vincent Matis]

http://www.dvdzone2.com) there.
Vincent
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AFI Top 100 Films Home Theater Forum Challenge
AFI Movies Left To Watch: 34 33 32 31 30: Sound Of Music (3.5 out of 4)

 

[Didier]

Among serious french suppliers, you might also try : Link Removed www.alapage.fr
(these sites are in french only).
Didier.

 

[Ted Todorov]

I had a similar experience with both fnac & alapage -- I ordered several DVDs, all supposedly available. They then shipped half my order, unilaterally canceled the other half and still charged me the full shipping amount.
For that reason I only order from cinestore.com where I have always received my full order, up to a dozen DVDs at a time (that way shipping per DVD is really cheap to the US). Cinestore really mean it when they say that something is in stock. The problem with Cinestore is they make your first order hard, wanting a faxed ID etc. I've also seen posted that their customer service sucks and that they don't speak English. I can't comment first hand on that.
If you want order stuff other than DVDs however, like books, FNAC & alapage are the only alternative to Amazon.
Ted

 

[Nicole P]

DeVoteD.com.au is pretty good for R4 titles. They ship overseas and will knock off the 10% GST.
I've had good service with pre-orders.
Cheers,
Nicole P
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"So where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within."

[Edited last by Nicole P on October 11, 2001 at 04:58 PM]

 

[Keith Smith]

My favorite French source is alapage.com. I've ordered from them four or five times with no problems, sometimes finding DVDs in stock with them that I don't find at cinestore or zone2dvd. Only once did alapage not seem to be able to get a DVD that I had ordered -Greed by Laurant Garnier- and so I ordered from cinestore.
I have ordered several times from Blackheart in Ireland, but have now pretty much switched to Bensonsworld.com in London for the free shipping. Ezydvd.au is where I order R4 discs, they seem to have the best selection.
I just ordered six DVDs from DVDitalia.com and received very impressive service including a tracking number for UPS. I ordered on a Thursday and had the package by the next Tuesday. Included in the package was a long sleeved "Technics" sportshirt.
Keith Smith