Amazon Import Deposit Policy

[jayboy]

Those of us who order items from Amazon are used to their import deposit policy whereby an estimate is made of Thailand import duty and added to the cost/shipping total.In theory a refund is made if there has been an over estimate of the duty payable.By and large I have no problem with any of this.

 

Where I do have a problem is when Amazon persists with this policy in the shipment of books.There is no duty on books imported for personal use into Thailand.Therefore there is no way that import duty in advance can be justified.I have tried to have this out with Amazon without any success -finally defeated by a series of bots, well meaning but hopeless guys in call centres, computer generated emails which don't even bother to focus on the matter at issue. Never mind.Amazon generally is a lifesaver and is helpful in many other ways.

 

IT has prompted me to look at Book Depository - anther Amazon company- which purports to deliver books locally without shipping charge or import deposit.I have no doubt that this is not quite what it seems but a quick check shows they are significantly cheaper than their Mother company.Anyone had much experience of them.

[Why Me]

2 hours ago, jayboy said:

There is no duty on books imported for personal use into Thailand.

Do you have a link for this? I know that schools and unis can import books for educational purposes duty free. But I couldn't find any such rule for personal imports.

 

In any case, if no duty was finally levied on your books and Amazon refunded the withholding, is there a problem other than being out a few bucks for a few days?

 

2 hours ago, jayboy said:

IT has prompted me to look at Book Depository - anther Amazon company- which purports to deliver books locally without shipping charge or import deposit.

Then they must be doing print-on-demand locally. For which they must have the license for that particular book. I would be curious what the selection is in that case. And if it's more than Kindle. Because I would assume if they have the POD license then they have the digital one too.

[ukrules]

Do they waive the duty on the shipping costs if it contains only books?

[ballpoint]

Although it indeed sounds too good to be true, I can confirm that Book Depository doesn't charge any postage for books sent to Thailand (or anywhere else in the world).  It was started by an Irish guy, who began the no shipping fee policy, and was apparently one of the things he insisted Amazon keep when they bought him out.  I get most of my fiction on Kindle, but for scientific and other non fiction, where nothing beats nice glossy photos, I use Book Depository, and have never been charged import duties.

 

From their site:

"Book Depository (bookdepository.com) is a leading international book retailer with a unique offer -- over 20 million books and free delivery worldwide (with no minimum spend).

We ship thousands of books every day from our fulfillment centres in Gloucester, United Kingdom, and Melbourne, Australia, to more than 130 countries across the world -- displaying prices in 37 different local currencies.

Our vision is to provide “All Books Available to All” by improving selection, access and affordability of books".

 

https://www.bookdepository.com/

 

 

 

[ukrules]

3 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

 

Our vision is to provide “All Books Available to All” by improving selection, access and affordability of books".

 

https://www.bookdepository.com/

Nice, I'll check that out. The postage is one of the reason I stopped buying hard copy books long ago.

 

[jackdd]

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

Do they waive the duty on the shipping costs if it contains only books?

The duty rate on the shipping cost is the same percentage as on the goods (no idea how it works if products with different duty rates are in the same parcel).

So if there is no duty on books, and nothing else is in the parcel, the total duty should be zero.

5 hours ago, Why Me said:

In any case, if no duty was finally levied on your books and Amazon refunded the withholding, is there a problem other than being out a few bucks for a few days?

That's what i thought as well, so it might be a nuisance, but not really a problem.

[Why Me]

1 hour ago, ballpoint said:

Although it indeed sounds too good to be true, I can confirm that Book Depository doesn't charge any postage for books sent to Thailand (or anywhere else in the world).

It does sound too good to be true so I picked a random thriller, Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler.

Book Depository: 337.31b (free shipping to Thailand)

Amazon Kindle: $0.99

Amazon Hardcover: $36.99 (currently shows can't ship to Thailand)

 

So the book is almost free on Kindle while Amazon lets BD undercut its own hardcopy. Which is because of the difference in production quality, I guess, seeing the respective cover pics and publication dates.

 

 

[Susco]

4 minutes ago, Why Me said:

It does sound too good to be true so I picked a random thriller, Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler.

Book Depository: 337.31b (free shipping to Thailand)

Amazon Kindle: $0.99

Amazon Hardcover: $36.99 (currently shows can't ship to Thailand)

 

So the book is almost free on Kindle while Amazon lets BD undercut its own hardcopy. Which is because of the difference in production quality, I guess, seeing the respective cover pics and publication dates.

 

 

 

So it is not too good to be true, according to your own example.

A digital copy can not be compared to a hardcover, which I'm sure you can agree with, and BD is about 25% of the price of the cheapest alternative

[Why Me]

1 minute ago, Susco said:

 

So it is not too good to be true, according to your own example.

A digital copy can not be compared to a hardcover, which I'm sure you can agree with, and BD is about 25% of the price of the cheapest alternative

I don't have the data but I'll stick my head out and say 99% of the purchases of this book are 99c. on Kindle and 1% hardcopy, which is why Amazon is allowing BD a special dispensation on specific titles.

 

And even for hardcopy if you look at the links I posted the one on Amazon looks like its from an actual commercial press run while BD seems a print on demand type which is usually lesser quality, basically a shop printer and cheap paper. In fact, hard to see how they can do a quality print and throw in free international shipping for $11.

 

I've actually seen similar deals for academic books, e.g., high quality hard cover glossy paper textbooks selling in the US for nearly $100, while Eastern Economy editions on cheap pulp and soft cover going for $10 equivalent in Asian countries, perfectly readable though.

[robblok]

9 hours ago, Susco said:

 

So it is not too good to be true, according to your own example.

A digital copy can not be compared to a hardcover, which I'm sure you can agree with, and BD is about 25% of the price of the cheapest alternative

I love my kindle.. i never want to go back to regular books. Not sure why people still buy books as hardcopy as its bad for the environment and a hassle to drag around. But then to each his or her own. 

 

Kindle paperwhite you can even read in the sun. You always have loads of books with you. For me its a perfect tool for holidays.

[ballpoint]

10 hours ago, Why Me said:

So the book is almost free on Kindle while Amazon lets BD undercut its own hardcopy. Which is because of the difference in production quality, I guess, seeing the respective cover pics and publication dates.

While BD does have a number of print on demand books, these are usually from small publishing houses, or on speciality subjects.  They are printed by the actual publisher, to the same quality as a 'normal' copy, and not in some local back street print shop.  They are also clearly listed as such in their details page:

 

Compare that to a 'normal' book's details:

 

All books I have received from BD have been of the same quality as I would expect to find in a bookshop.  By all means, buy your fiction on a Kindle, or e-reader of choice, which is what I do, but, as I said, I tend to buy non fiction, particularly scientific, books with a lot of illustrations / diagrams / photos - try reading that on a Kindle, from BD and have never been disappointed with one.  All have been shipped from the UK.  The suggestion that the book would be printed locally, sent to the UK and then shipped back here is a ridiculous one.

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2020 by ballpoint

[Why Me]

1 hour ago, ballpoint said:

All books I have received from BD have been of the same quality as I would expect to find in a bookshop. 

No, they are not. The details you quote prove this and confirms what I thought. From your details of the BD edition:

Edition Statement: Print on Demand ed.

 

Print on demand is using a shop printer and low grade paper, certainly not equal to a print run on a commercial press as you would expect in a book store.

 

1 hour ago, ballpoint said:

The suggestion that the book would be printed locally, sent to the UK and then shipped back here is a ridiculous one.

That's stupid. I never said that. What I was suggesting is that the POD was done locally in Thailand. Which would have made it even cheaper. But evidently they are doing this in the UK and shipping here.

 

Bottom line, I am not knocking what BD is doing. I was just trying to understand their business model as I have written books myself. And it turns out that it's similar to something I am familiar with - e.g., academic textbooks selling in the West for around $100 and cheap editions in Asia for about $10, simply because of the difference in production quality.

 

E.g., for the 300 page Raymond Chandler book I mentioned in my earlier post, a POD run + cover might cost $4 per copy. And then shipping UK to Thailand say another $5. In which case, their price of $11 gives about 20% profit. Which is a decent margin though low compared to what regular hard copies typically make at Amazon prices.

 

The service BD is providing is a perfectly good one. Cheap readable paper copies. But here's a way to do it yourself if you prefer paper to digital:

1. Buy the ebook or Kindle copy.

2. Convert to pdf using a converter (plenty around if you look).

3. Print at home or a shop.

4. Return the ebook (Amazon allows 7 days for a full refund).

5. Compare your total costs now to the BD price, should be less.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Why Me

[ballpoint]

5 hours ago, Why Me said:

No, they are not. The details you quote prove this and confirms what I thought. From your details of the BD edition:

Edition Statement: Print on Demand ed.

 

Print on demand is using a shop printer and low grade paper, certainly not equal to a print run on a commercial press as you would expect in a book store.

 

That's stupid. I never said that. What I was suggesting is that the POD was done locally in Thailand. Which would have made it even cheaper. But evidently they are doing this in the UK and shipping here.

 

Bottom line, I am not knocking what BD is doing. I was just trying to understand their business model as I have written books myself. And it turns out that it's similar to something I am familiar with - e.g., academic textbooks selling in the West for around $100 and cheap editions in Asia for about $10, simply because of the difference in production quality.

 

E.g., for the 300 page Raymond Chandler book I mentioned in my earlier post, a POD run + cover might cost $4 per copy. And then shipping UK to Thailand say another $5. In which case, their price of $11 gives about 20% profit. Which is a decent margin though low compared to what regular hard copies typically make at Amazon prices.

 

The service BD is providing is a perfectly good one. Cheap readable paper copies. But here's a way to do it yourself if you prefer paper to digital:

1. Buy the ebook or Kindle copy.

2. Convert to pdf using a converter (plenty around if you look).

3. Print at home or a shop.

4. Return the ebook (Amazon allows 7 days for a full refund).

5. Compare your total costs now to the BD price, should be less.

Did you even read my post?  Some of their books are POD, and those ones are clearly labelled as such, but the majority come from the publishers - reference my second screenshot where the book comes from Penguin.  But go ahead and carry on making claims you know nothing about.  I've given the OP my actual experience, and now I'm done for this thread.

[ballpoint]

2 hours ago, ballpoint said:

and now I'm done for this thread.

I'll just add one more thing for those genuinely interested in buying from BD; Their print on demand explanation in the FAQ section of their website:

 

What is a Print on Demand (POD) title?

A POD book is a digital file stored by publishers. When a POD book is ordered by a customer, the publisher prints out a copy and sends it to us. A POD book is the same quality as a printed book and in no way differs in style, content or appearance. POD titles are genuine copies of these books and not of a lower quality. Many publishers, especially academic ones, are moving towards this new and efficient model.

 

Again only a fraction of their books are POD, and they are clearly labelled as such.

 

it's really no skin off my nose if someone does or doesn't buy from them, I was just addressing the OP's question based on my multiple experiences with them.  And, if anyone wants to accuse them of lying about the quality of their books on their website, (maybe due to comparing a cover photo of a UK Penguin edition on their site with a non UK, non Penguin edition on another site), then I suggest you engage a lawyer and have at it.

 

Ok, now I'm done.