British DVD dealers (1 Viewer)

[Mark Philp]

I've gotten tired of reading about all my favorite British films that aren't available in the U.S. so I'm thinking of getting a multi-region player with PAL/NTSC converter. Any suggestions on good sources for DVDs in Britain? I know of Amazon's U.K. sight, but that's about all.

 

[John Hodson]

www.sendit.com
www.hmv.co.uk
www.loaded247.co.uk
www.cd-wow.co.uk
Link Removed

Decent multi-region price checker:

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(and for the player, if you're going down the DVI/HDMI route, look no further than www.oppodigital.com )

 

[AndyMcKinney]

The other sites are good, but don't underestimate amazon UK. They are now perhaps the ONLY online seller who still subtracts the 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) at the shopping cart. It's hard for them NOT to be the cheapest option these days, and with the dollar falling farther and farther down against the pound, even saving a couple of quid is nothing to sneeze at!

 

[Irina]

Congratulations on your decision to go region-free! It's a truly liberation feeling. I agree with other reviewers that amazon.co.uk, for the most part, has the best prices but it makes sense to order several items at once. The shipping cost is 3BP for the first item and 1BP for the rest. They also deduct 15% VAT charges. Sometimes, they have problems with keeping sufficient inventory and the wait time becomes incredibly long (4-6 weeks). I also like bensonsworld.co.uk. They charge 1BP per DVD. Sendit.com is a good site, too. I have also ordered from the British Film Institute (bfi.org.uk). They charge 1BP per DVD. The best site for the all region DVD information including reviews, comparisons, upcoming releases, and lots of other useful information, I highly recommend http://dvdbeaver.com.

 

[eric tengren]

www.sexgoremutants.co.uk Go to this site, it has a list of international dvd websites that I have used again and again. heres a tip. if you like British films and tv shows check out the Australian sites, they carry a lot of Brit dvds with less taxes and cheaper flicks, good luck. Eric.

 

[Irina]

Excellent suggestion about Australian sites, Eric. One can find some pretty rare stuff there depending on one's tastes.

I use:

http://hmv.com.au/
http://atlanticdvd.com.au/

 

[Mark_TS]

yes-take care-some sites WILL NOT deduct VAT-no matter where in the world you live...

 

[Irina]

Amazon.co.uk is the only UK site I am aware of which deducts VAT. Both Australian sites I mentioned earlier deduct VAT.

 

[EricSchulz]

I used to order from HMV.co.uk quite a bit (mostly CDs) and they subtracted the VAT at the time...not sure if that's still in place.

 

[Irina]

I just tried placing an order with hmv.co.uk and they do not subtract VAT on DVD orders to the US.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

[qoute]I used to order from HMV.co.uk quite a bit (mostly CDs) and they subtracted the VAT at the time...not sure if that's still in place. [/quote]

They suspended that practice last year. Now, I no longer have a reason to use them for purchases.

Anyone know of any UK sites that not only ship to the USA but also accept PayPal as a form of payment? I don't know of any.

 

[John Hodson]

www.101cd.com

 

[Malcolm Cleugh]

[/quote]

HMV moved their online operation to Guernsey (part of the Channel Islands), late in 2005. This means that all their prices are VAT (sales tax) free, but on items over £17.99 on which UK residents would have to pay VAT and import tax they pay this on your behalf. Therefore the price quoted on the site does theoretically include VAT, if its £18 or above, but if you are non UK resident they do NOT give you a discount on these items.

Most etailers dont discount the VAT for non European Union residents as they use the argument they use the VAT saving to subsidise the postage costs. Hence why places like Bensons have a token postage charge for non EU residents.

Where to go depends upon what you are buying.
If they are expensive items / boxsets then Amazon UK is cheapest as the VAT saving offsets their higher postage costs. On cheaper items somewhere like Bensons may be cheaper.

Another good UK price comparison website is
www.find-dvd.co.uk

 

[Irina]

Bensonsworld.co.uk DOES NOT package their stuff well. I had a couple of damaged plastic covers before. After several e-mails back and forth, they promised to put a comment in my account to package my purchases better. They also charge shipping costs (1BP) per DVD. For example, for a 6-DVD set, they will charge 6PB for shipping cost. In cases like this, amazon.co.uk is great since they charge a flat fee per ordered item regardless of how many DVDs it may contain.

 

[DavidofLondon]

Minor point but posts in this thread have been stating sites are deducting the 15% VAT. As a UK resident those sites wouldn't deduct VAT for me anyway. But VAT in the UK is 17.5%. So if they're only deducting 15% you're not getting all the VAT back.

You may wish to try www . play . com they're based in Jersey and do not have to charge VAT

 

[Malcolm Cleugh]

David sorry to be pedantic but as an actuary I can't resist correcting you. The 15% deduction is correct.

eg if the item costs £100 before VAT
then adding 17.5% VAT means a UK resident pays
100 x 1.175 = 117.50

Now a non EU resident does not have to pay the VAT but all they see is the VAT inclusive price of £117.50
To convert this back to the VAT free price of 100

You need to deduct 1 - ( 100 / 117.50 ) = 14.89% or 15% rounded.

Hope this makes sense.

Therefore US resident must deduct 15% to get the VAT free price.

Also in terms of using www.play.com they dont ship to North America hence why people here are suggesting Amazon.co.uk, Bensons World or Sendit.com