Amazon speed!

We're slowly building up a collection of DVDs for family viewing, which I order either from the British Amazon, or Play.com. I have a lengthy list of films that interest one or more of us, and about once a month I check through the special offers. My limit is £6.50 for a movie, £10 for something like a TV series that's on two or three CDs. Mostly I pay less than £5 for a movie.

Anyway, last Friday I put in an order from each of the sites for three DVDs, and also ordered a cuople of books from Amazon and one from Play.com. It's well worth checking prices regularly as they vary so much with the various discounts and offers.

Play.com offers free postage anywhere in Europe, and I do hate paying postage charges! They also send items individually in jiffy bags, and are very quick. If something says it's available for 24-hour dispatch, I usually get the email telling me it's been sent within 12 hours of my order.

Amazon UK charges postage for Cyprus, and to my annoyance they don't count it as part of Europe - they specify Western Europe, and have Cyprus as part of the highest 'rest of the world' category. So for a while I only used them when we could get parcels sent to folk in the UK to bring out, since they do offer free UK delivery for orders over £19. But then a friend who works at the British Army Base (but lives locally) said we were welcome to send things to her BFPO box, which counts as part of the UK.

The disadvantage with the free delivery option is that it adds five working days days to the dispatch time. Not a problem at all since nothing is urgent. But to my surprise, they seem to waive the five-day wait when sending to the BFPO box. I've often had things arrive within a week. However this time must be some kind of record... this afternoon our friend rang the doorbell, and there was the package! It arrived first thing this morning... amazing.