When ordering in the past from amazon.co.uk, using standard delivery I normally expected my books to arrive in about a week-10 days. On my last order the estimated delivery date is about 2.5 weeks after the order. Has something changed in the delivery of amazon products from the UK or are they just being overly cautious when estimating delivery? I tried getting an answer from their Customer service but as most Customer services these days (it seems), it was just repeated back what I already knew!

I think they are playing safe, normally much quicker

Do you remember the listed availability for the product when you ordered it? Sometimes it's 24 hours, sometimes 48. Maybe it was longer for this particular item.

Just a thought.

I've had this the past few times I've ordered. (Goods in stock). I complained to my mum and she said she's had the same and is in the UK. Basically their service seems to have gotten a lot worse...

They have warehouses all over Europe and it really depends on where your item dispatches from. I found the delivery times they give to be accurate in most cases. Many delays are also caused by Swiss customs (we're not part of the EU, remember?).

Having invested in a Kindle, I no longer have delivery problems and can carry any number of books around all over the world without additional weight.
I thought I'd miss the physical book but, in reality, I don't.
I read book reviews online and buy whatever I fancy immediately.
I gulped a bit at the initial expense, but have never regretted it, and the Kindle books are cheaper.

This is what I'm afraid of Did your goods arrive before the EDD? Had I known before I confirmed my order that it was going to take so long I wouldn't have ordered with them.

The books were dispatched the day after I ordered. Even accounting for Swiss customs my things generally arrived a week-10 days max after ordering. 2.5 weeks was unheard of!

Same here. When I lived in the EU I would buy books from Amazon and delivery was always super fast. But since I've moved to Switzerland I've noticed delivery takes longer - and all the parcels I've received so far had Swiss customs stickers on them, so I guess that's what is slowing down the process for me. Still, no big deal. The longest delay was about one week.

Not sure we can blame Swiss customs.

I order my English books from Amazon.de; often there is no delivery charge & they arrive in less than a week - sometimes days.

Of course you need to check prices between amazon.de & amazon.co.uk & also take account of delivery charges.

You might also want to try http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/

They offer free delivery to CH.

They were recently purchased by Amazon but they operate independently.

They typical delivery time is about 5 working days.

I use bookdepository all the time. It's great.

+1 for thebookdepository

I agree with you on all the points you make. I also thought I would miss "turning the pages", but the advantage of reading these books on my iPad (Kindle app) and being able to take 3 or 4 on a trip without weighing down my bags won me over (the price also...).

I find that I can only buy books from Amazon Germany though, does anyone know a way to get round that and buy from the US or the UK?

I buy all mine from Amazon UK although I live here in Lausanne.
Can't remember the process, but it must be possible.

Simplest solution is to buy from Book Depository in the UK.

I buy from amazon.de and amazon.co.uk - I think you just have to go to the country specific page and sign in and you should be able to shop no problem.

For the Kindle you need to change the registered country for your kindle in order to use different amazon sites... go to your registered amazon choose manage my kindle and follow instructions.