Hello beautiful peoples!
Let me start by apologizing for the foul language I used in the post below. I very rarely swear in my blog posts but this is just FUCKING PISSING ME OFF. If you’re offended by such language please do not continue reading.
As You probably know – I am Polish by birth but I have spent the last 20 years in Republic of Ireland. Love it here. Will die and get buried in this beautiful country if everything goes according to plan.
Today I will try and explain why Amazon Ireland sucks golf balls through a garden hose.
First of all – there is NO Amazon Ireland. There is however Amazon UK in Ireland. IF You try to visit https://amazon.ie and You have IP address that is geolocated in Republic of Ireland – you will be redirected to https://amazon.co.uk. https://amazon.eu will redirect you to https://www.aboutamazon.eu/
If you try to install a mobile app for Amazon OR Prime Video on your phone You will only be offered a UK based versions of the app.
Ok fine… What’s the problem with that?
Well… I am not sure if you’re aware but Republic of Ireland IS NOT part of UK…
UK (all its member countries) “Brexited” European Union in 2020. Ireland (thank Cat) is still a member of the European Union.
UK leaving EU had many consequences. I will only mention few as they are relevant for the subject at hand.
- You can purchase products from another EU member country without paying an import tax.
- Some of products can be purchased from the EU member countries BUT not from OUTSIDE of the EU.
- Visas. You need a valid travel visa if You live in UK and want to travel to EU. You need to have a valid visa if you are a EU citizen and want to travel to UK.
- Many UK based companies left Ireland as a result of Brexit fallout.
Basically – by leaving EU, United Kingdom became an outsider. Visas, import taxes, the whole shebang…
Amazon is forcing Irish citizens to purchase goods from Amazon.co.uk which is ridiculous because the prices are NOT competitive. Competitive? Pshaw… The prices are not even comparable. They just don’t make sense whatsoever…
Example? I have been searching for a treadmill for heavy people.
I have found this listing:
Sounds great. Or does it?
If you’re living in UK, yes… You can get the treadmill for €475 with free delivery…
In Republic of Ireland… Not so much… Price of the treadmill is comparable but they want you to pay €507 delivery fee…
They want You to pay OVER HALF OF A THOUSAND OF EUROS!!! FOR A DELIVERY OF A PRODUCT THAT THEY WILL DELIVER FOR FREE TO YOUR NORTHERN NEIGHBOUR? FIVE HUNDRED EUROS?!?!?! That’s MORE than the price of a second treadmill.
Also… Imagine the bloody thing breaks. You will receive a refund for the product itself but I doubt they will refund a delivery charges…
Hmmm… One product you may think… Not a big deal right?
Well… You’re assuming that there is another treadmill that has such a big weight limit on Amazon.co.uk… There is not. So basically what Amazon is doing – is they are forcing Irish customers to pay ridiculous shipping prices.
Not just shipping prices are ridiculous…
I was looking for Noctua thermal paste. I found it…
“Noctua NT-H1 10g, Thermal Computer Paste (10g)”
Sounds great. Or does it?
If you’re living in UK, yes… You can get a tube of Noctua’s thermal grease for less than €18.
In Republic of Ireland… Not so much… The same tube of paste will cost you €36… and to add insult to injury? YOU WILL WAIT LONGER TOO…
So… Noctua? What the fuck? You can afford to sell the same product to UK people for roughly €18 but people in Republic of Ireland have to pay twice as much?
Fuck off… I bought Arctic MX-4 instead…
So… To the subject at hand… Amazon in Republic of Ireland.
One of the very first things you give to amazon IS your address… They want to know where to deliver your goods. So why the fuck would Amazon search show me shit that is NOT AVAILABLE IN MY FUCKING LOCATION? Fix Your search to NOT TO SHOW ME UNAVAILABLE PRODUCTS!
Oh how frustrating this shit is… but combine it with the fact that some products are JUST NOT AVAILABLE for Irish people and it will be like a steering wheel attached to a scrotum of a pirate. IT WILL DRIVE YEE FUCKING NUTS! Don’t believe me? Try buying a fucking power bank in Republic of Ireland…
There are many many many other products that you will simply NOT be able to purchase from Amazon. Because FUCK YOU that’s why… Because You’re living in Republic of Ireland. That’s why.
But at least You will be able to watch free movies on Prime Video. Yes. Yes You will. Just not the same ones as your counterpart in UK. And less… And Amazon will rub it in your face each time you are on their site…
The will recommend a movie to You:
Just so they can tell you “Neener neener! FUCK OFF ASSHOLE! YOU CANNOT FUCKING WATCH THIS SHIT!”
But we get “same day delivery” like people in UK. right? Fuck no…
So products are overpriced and / or the delivery charge makes the product stupidly expensive in comparison to UK price.
Delivery time. Stuff is more expensive AND YET you will get it much later than people in UK.
Product accessibility. Good luck finding certain products in IE.
Broken / moronic search results. Amazon will show You pages and pages of products… that YOU CANNOT BUY!
Less movies and shows accessible in ROI. And they will recommend you shows that You cannot watch.
That’s all that I could think about at the moment. I will come back and update this post in the future.
Oh and to let you know… I spoke to Amazon staff on few occasions during the last few years, raising all of the above mentioned issues. Guess what changed…
I am seriously considering cancelling Amazon Prime… because fuck you Amazon… Fuck you…
I am also considering switching to https://amazon.fr or https://amazon.de.
Catch you on the flip side,
AndrzejL
