The Lemon Fool

In the early internet days, there was a conversation in my office about the danger of using your credit cards online
there were a few who were adamant that it was dangerous
I said "do you ever go the theatre", and how do you book
"Over the phone" came the reply
So I said, you are quite happy to give a total stranger all your card details over the phone
but not to use a computer for the same purpose
Wonder if they stopped going to the theatre

pje16 wrote:In the early internet days, there was a conversation in my office about the danger of using your credit cards online
there were a few who were adamant that it was dangerous
I said "do you ever go the theatre", and how do you book
"Over the phone" came the reply
So I said, you are quite happy to give a total stranger all your card details over the phone
but not to use a computer for the same purpose
Wonder if they stopped going to the theatre

Same as those paranoid about giving out their bank account number but think nothing of writing a cheque - and yes of course before anyone mentions Clarkson, you can set up a DD with them but then you are protected by the DD guarantee.

I just tried to buy an HDMI cable from Amazon. They suckered me in with the prospect of another free click and collect, but added on a big delivery charge at the checkout. I have placed an order with eBay at a lower price.

I do not shop regularly with any online store. I like to go in to online stores as Guest and offer my credit card details on a one off basis. There is a possibility that I will buy something else before that credit card expires. In that case, I might have reduced my risk by setting up an account. Nonetheless, the credit card issuer (Barclays currently) should refund me if there is fraud. Delivery to an address other than my own is a clear warning sign. I expect that they would demand 2FA in that case.

'''but added on a big delivery charge at the checkout.''

you do realise that that is normal, but that underneath the charges detail there is the option to select FREE delivery???
am not sure how this affect click n collect though

its people who dont read what they sign, that they catch all the time

GeoffF100 wrote:I just tried to buy an HDMI cable from Amazon. They suckered me in with the prospect of another free click and collect, but added on a big delivery charge at the checkout. I have placed an order with eBay at a lower price.

I've just tried buying something on Amazon when not logged in - for me, the free delivery section goes on to say "FREE delivery Wednesday, July 27 on your first eligible order to UK or Ireland." Any chance you weren't logged in when you started out?

mutantpoodle wrote:'''but added on a big delivery charge at the checkout.''

you do realise that that is normal, but that underneath the charges detail there is the option to select FREE delivery???
am not sure how this affect click n collect though

For click and collect you have to change the delivery address to an Amazon pickup location, of which in my case the nearest are a couple of convenience stores and the local post office, depending on which direction I want to walk.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ulp/view

mc2fool wrote:

mutantpoodle wrote:'''but added on a big delivery charge at the checkout.''
you do realise that that is normal, but that underneath the charges detail there is the option to select FREE delivery???
am not sure how this affect click n collect though

For click and collect you have to change the delivery address to an Amazon pickup location, of which in my case the nearest are a couple of convenience stores and the local post office, depending on which direction I want to walk.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ulp/view

That was the clue I needed. I do not know how the first click and collect order went through without doing that. Nonetheless, once I had set up the collection point as a delivery address and selected it, I got the option to set free delivery to the collection point (rather than the pre-set fast delivery).

I use Amazon regularly and rate them quite well, although they seem to have been flooded with cheap knock offs and fake/paid for reviews.
My sister benefits from the free prime delivery as well. She's cottoned on to the fact that if she transfers me money and says "can you buy me this". I'll buy it and get it delivered to her address.

I also use eBay but have had far more problems over the years with them than Amazon.

It's a case of just being vigilant.
@GeoffF100 if you are weary of storing your credit cards online have you considered getting a separate credit card with a low limit just for online purchases? That way you can leave your card stored on Amazon/other reputable online retailer and in the very unlikely event the details are compromised there isn't a big limit for them to go party with.

JessUK98 wrote:....have you considered getting a separate credit card with a low limit just for online purchases? That way you can leave your card stored on Amazon/other reputable online retailer and in the very unlikely event the details are compromised there isn't a big limit for them to go party with.

I have a card I use online and in what might be dodgy situations... petrol stations with shifty-looking staff.... and another card I keep for 'best'.
The online card has a very vigilant security dept.

As a rule though I use Paypal for all online where possible.

Btw, I see the cost of Prime is increasing to £9/month.

V8

88V8 wrote:h I use Paypal for all online where possible.
Btw, I see the cost of Prime is increasing to £9/month.
V8

From £79 to £95 pa (20%)
as if they don't make enough already
Still not too bad if you use it enough for free delivery and Prime TV is much better than I thought it would be before I joined

Snorvey wrote:Ebay always seems like the wild west compared to Amazon (to me at least)

Great of you want a cheap knock off of something though.

I find Amazon dreadful these days. Lousy interface, adverts, irrelevant 'hits'......

eBay is now my first port of call - and has been for over a year now.

77ss wrote:I find Amazon dreadful these days. Lousy interface, adverts, irrelevant 'hits'......

eBay is now my first port of call - and has been for over a year now.

Maybe I've been lucky, but I'm not sure where all the negativity is coming from? Yes, there are issues around Amazon tracking your purchasing patterns, which could conceivably be a route to their abusing your confidence, but I am constantly gobsmacked at how good Amazon's logistics are. Never seen anything that good before.

Whereas I've had stuff failing to turn up on three occasions with Ebay. All right, it was mostly trivially cheap packets of screws and suchlike, which presumably got lost on the flight from China? But never ever from Amazon, who have been good on the two occasions when I've had to return goods because I bought the wrong ones.

I like it that I can order stuff from Amazon and get it delivered to my daughters. I like it that I can get even very small items delivered the next day. (Last week it was a couple of USB leads @ £4.99 for two.) Okay, I grieve a little bit for the van driver, who had to hunt me out in the middle of nowhere to hand me this not-so-very-urgent parcel, but I suppose them's the breaks those are the rules of the game?

I'm not even very bothered about the "subscription trap", whereby you can find yourself accidentally signing up for Prime and needing to reverse your way out of the registration. My wife did that accidentally last Christmas, and it took us all of 90 seconds to cancel the arrangement. And even then, they told her that although her Prime membership had been terminated, she could still use it until her month's trial was up. Fair play, I thought.

So Prime is going up by £1 to £8.99? They say it's their first increase since 2014, which is fair enough if it's true. I don't think 20p a week is likely to change my mind.

BJ

JessUK98 wrote:My sister benefits from the free prime delivery as well. She's cottoned on to the fact that if she transfers me money and says "can you buy me this". I'll buy it and get it delivered to her address.

Yeah that's been a big part of how we used Amazon prime over the COVID period, the old "I'll get that delivered to you" for various less online family members

bungeejumper wrote:

A great post BJ
I find Amazon excellent
I live in London so next day/same day delivery is a nice bonus
I plan ahead as for years I didn't have Prime, I did 30 day trial just before Christmas a couple of years ago
kept it because of the football but now find it well worth the money for next day delivery and the excellent TV shows
On the very rare occasion of a return, there has never been a quibble

servodude wrote:

JessUK98 wrote:My sister benefits from the free prime delivery as well. She's cottoned on to the fact that if she transfers me money and says "can you buy me this". I'll buy it and get it delivered to her address.

Yeah that's been a big part of how we used Amazon prime over the COVID period, the old "I'll get that delivered to you" for various less online family members

My brother benefits from mine, but he's old enough to do it for himself

bungeejumper wrote:I'm not even very bothered about the "subscription trap", whereby you can find yourself accidentally signing up for Prime and needing to reverse your way out of the registration. My wife did that accidentally last Christmas, and it took us all of 90 seconds to cancel the arrangement. And even then, they told her that although her Prime membership had been terminated, she could still use it until her month's trial was up. Fair play, I thought.

That's the way to do it ... although best not accidentally!

Once a year or two I plump for Prime when ordering something, get the free delivery and straight away cancel the subscription but binge watch whatever is on Prime TV of interest for the trial month. Usually I run out of things of interest well before the month is up.

Top of the list for next time I do so, Star Trek: Picard season 2!

mc2fool wrote:Top of the list for next time I do so, Star Trek: Picard season 2!

I'm not enamoured of Picard. Strange New Worlds however is possibly the best Star Trek I have ever watched, so wait until it is all out on Paramount+ and then hit the 7 day free trial.

Snorvey wrote:Ebay always seems like the wild west compared to Amazon (to me at least)

Great of you want a cheap knock off of something though.

Ebay did some testing a few years ago of a sleek modern redesign - their sales numbers went down!

In reality the exact same 3rd parties are selling on both platforms, they both have the same problems with faked products and fake reviews.

xeny wrote:

mc2fool wrote:Top of the list for next time I do so, Star Trek: Picard season 2!

I'm not enamoured of Picard. Strange New Worlds however is possibly the best Star Trek I have ever watched, so wait until it is all out on Paramount+ and then hit the 7 day free trial.

I really enjoyed Picard season 1 and rate it next to TNG and Voyager, which I rate equal top. That's in a good part 'cos of the continuity of the TNG/Voy universe and characters in Picard. Worst of all, IMO, was DIscovery: I don't know why writers feel they need to reinvent/reboot everything: drives, species, timelines, etc (JJ Abrams too). Bah! Non-canon! IIUC SNW is a Discovery spinoff, but I'll give it a chance anyway...

Getting quite OT now though ....

88V8 wrote:I use Amazon as little as possible... eBay is my default.

Recently Amazon sent me a fragile instrument from the US, which I couldn't find over here, in nothing more than the maker's display packaging and a not very padded bag. Then they used Hermes, the UK's crappiest courier, to deliver it here where the guy left the £200 parcel by our postbox in the lane because he couldn't be bothered to walk 30ft up the drive to our safe shed.

And lo and behold, the instrument didn't work.

However, hats off to Amazon for the returns process which was pretty painless and quick, and less than a week after dropping it off a few miles away I have today received notice of my refund.

V8