Hi all,

Just started using play.com recently, but their delivery times seem very long - maybe i've just been unlucky, but i've been waiting 10 days for one item and 8 for another.

When you order with Amazon (I know, it comes from DE) it takes 2-3 days tops.

Anyone else had similar experiences?

It looks to me that play.com operates from the UK, regardless of the different website localizations, therefore the delivery time for standard dispatch seems ok.
I usually get stuff from Amazon UK on the fifth or sixth business day after ordering (standard mail, no express).

Delivery from Germany is traditionally speedier because of shorter distance and (probably) expedited custom clearance procedures.

Yes, play.com can be upto 2 weeks, but the advantage is each item in a seperate box, so keeping under the tax threshold most times.
Playusa.com can be about 3 weeks.

Chris

I have ordered from Play many times. Generally its been about a week to ten days. I recently ordered several items. They all were sent on the 4th of Oct. One I received on the 9th, one the 14th and one the 18th. In this case the heaviest package arrived last and the lightest first. Dont know if that is typical or not...

Play is based in jersey I think, so don't know if they ship to the UK first then out to europe. But I have found that things from the uk seem to take longer to get here then it does to send things to the UK. Also as mentioned above Play dispatch each item seperately which is a boon for customs but can be a pain if you need both items at the same time.

I really prefer amazon.co.uk with their nice delivery times and safety boxes.

play.com's delivery times are sporadic at best.

I order alot of DVD's/Blue-Ray's/PS3 games from them.

Some arrive in 3/4 days, others 2 weeks.

I have even had pre-ordered PS3 games arrive a day before the official release!!!

Currently still waiting on Heavy Rain to arrive, if its not here tommorrow then i will click the 'delivery not received' option as the 21 day limit has been reached.

Even though this is my first hiccup with play.com, considering how much stuff i tend to order, its not a huge issue.

For price and offers i rate them the best and will continue to order from them!


cheers
SC

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I've used play for a good few years. Their prices are still some of the best but their service has really gone downhill.

I used to get stuff in 5 working days or less (UK - Finland). But now it seems to take whatever...I recently ordered a game and it took about 5 weeks. I had withdrawal symptoms..Not all the items come from the Play warehouses, some of the goods come from other shops that are just connected with Play.

I think Play.com is based in Jersey but they have warehouses all over the EU. This is why the prices went up a few years ago. I am not 100% and a man in the pub told me...their prices were crazy cheap back in the day cos of some Jersey taxation type deal but as they were distributing goods from mainland EU, they had to change their prices/tax on the goods...And the prices went up.

The Book Depository is a good alternative.

we use play for bluerays and games, never had a problem, to switzerland its always taken about 10 days for discs to get us.

Never had a customs bill, which is why we keep using them.

Play.com has gotten worse with delivery times over the years. They used to be pretty short, but the last few times I ordered they ranged anything from a week to 2.5 weeks for me. These days I try to order from Amazon.co.uk or base.com if I can help it, you can pay directly in £ (less credit card charges compared to EUR), they take off VAT, and delivery times are consistently 5 business days or less.

My other half was waiting for a few things from Play.com. They finally arrived last week, almost long enough to re-order. Normally he doesn't give 2 hoots about the post, but he started checking it every day

Newbie in switzerland and find the prices of some items here very very expensive compared to home (ie dvd's!!). If ordering from play/amazon should i expect a tax/vat bill or similar once delivered??

Only if you exceed a certain threshold on dvd's/cd's. (I can't remember it of the top of my head, I think it's around 65-85 sFr worth - someone will be along soon with the correct answer), but if it is only books then there is no charge.

On the Play.com delivery times - yes they are quite a bit slower, but they're also free.
Having said that, I very often find, aside from special offers, Play will be the same if not slightly more than Amazon - even including Amazon's postage costs. I always do a side by side comparison, & the past 5 or 6 orders I've made, Amazon have come out better value & they usually arrive within 2 - 4 days.

I find amazon.co.uk (and recently amazon.de) cheaper than the others because they take off the sales tax for deliveries to Switzerland.

The reduction usually outweighs the postage for orders from amazon.co.uk (but only for DVD and blu-ray purchases - video games seem to incur higher delivery charges), however since someone in the office pointed me to amazon.de, who also take off the sales tax but also offer free delivery, the savings look like they'll be even greater.

I usually keep below about 40 GBP which seems to come in just under the threshold for import duty etc.

Regarding the threshold, I think the way it works is that if the tax due is under 5 CHF they don't bother collecting it. Since sales tax here is about 8%, that translates into the 60-65 CHF purchase limit....

I believe there is a limit on book purchases as well, but it is about 200 CHF. Sales tax on books is about 2% so with the 5 CHF tax threshold (see my previous post above), this comes out to around about the 200 CHF limit...

Please correct me if I'm wrong though....

I used to use Play.com in the UK but even there, delivery times can be bad. I think amazon will be a safer bet from here!!