Amazon.com does ship to South Africa

May 11, 2009  |  Consumerism, Critical thinking, Media  |  Share  | 

Some months ago the media in South Africa widely reported on Amazon.com changing its shipping policies to no longer ship to South Africa. A couple of posts on this blog explored that. Turns out the media was wrong for the most part.

Today I placed an order to prove this. The attached image is of my order review on Amazon.com, clearly displaying that standard shipping will be used for my order with a South African shipping address.

The truth is that Amazon did not stop shipping to South Africa. While its US store temporarily stopped shipping to the region using standard delivery, you could still make use of expedited shipping. Amazon’s UK store always has shipped to South Africa using standard postal delivery.

The US store has now changed its policy again and will once again ship to South Africa using standard shipping, affirming what I said in the first place: there is nothing wrong with the South African postal system.

Funny how the media (especially internationally) were quick to jump on the story of Amazon stopping its shipping, but is yet to report on the fact that it has started again. And that, in fact, it never stopped. As a journalist I find it worrying that none of my counterparts seems to have applied due diligence on this one.
Amazon does ship to South Africa

 
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  • http://webtechlaw.com pauljacobson

    Glad Amazon has resumed standard shipping to SA. The expedited shipping is great but it is a lot more expensive. If I wanted to pay so much I'd order from some local retailer.

  • http://webtechlaw.com pauljacobson

    Glad Amazon has resumed standard shipping to SA. The expedited shipping is great but it is a lot more expensive. If I wanted to pay so much I'd order from some local retailer.

  • Sonja

    This is good news. Unfortunately there's some goods I could only get from the US store. And I agree the expedited shipping costs are very high. Personally I had some bad experiences with the post office losing my packages. Maybe with all the attention the post office got, they must have done something, because it has improved as of late. And the news articles I read where quite acurate on the shipping policies that Amazon had at the time.

  • Sonja

    This is good news. Unfortunately there's some goods I could only get from the US store. And I agree the expedited shipping costs are very high. Personally I had some bad experiences with the post office losing my packages. Maybe with all the attention the post office got, they must have done something, because it has improved as of late. And the news articles I read where quite acurate on the shipping policies that Amazon had at the time.

  • Carns

    Try orderign a laptop or computer equipment.

  • Carns

    Try orderign a laptop or computer equipment.

  • http://healthblogs.24.com/dinxspinal D1nx

    Nice article Simon. It's good to see some integrity left in [some] journalism. I've been fortunate to visit the USA for extended times every year, so manage to get most of my purchases from Amazon here – I'm in the USA right now for a while – however, those I've needed in SA, I've received in good order and in good time, but for the exorbitant shipping costs…

    Funnily enough (?), the only time I've had a parcel lost is when a book I brought from SA was posted to New York from San Francisco and it was lost – forever! Never thought to register or insure on this side as everyone thinks it can never happen in the USA.

  • http://healthblogs.24.com/dinxspinal D1nx

    Nice article Simon. It's good to see some integrity left in [some] journalism. I've been fortunate to visit the USA for extended times every year, so manage to get most of my purchases from Amazon here – I'm in the USA right now for a while – however, those I've needed in SA, I've received in good order and in good time, but for the exorbitant shipping costs…

    Funnily enough (?), the only time I've had a parcel lost is when a book I brought from SA was posted to New York from San Francisco and it was lost – forever! Never thought to register or insure on this side as everyone thinks it can never happen in the USA.

  • Dennis

    hi all, i am desperate to order some books from amazon.Com but just want to kwow from you who have already done it, is it reliable? obviously nothing is 100% but can you get the goods insured etc.. and mainly i want to buy books, is teh final cost just the goods themselves, and shipping, no customs duties once here in South Africa?

  • Michelle

    I'm not sure why anyone bothers with the .com site. the uk site is way cheaper, especially the shipping costs. Plus, you don't have to worry about the NTSC system for DVDs.

  • shawnholten

    Hey Simon,

    Ive seen a product on Amazon and was also wondering if they shipped to SA, since last years media frenzy.
    Thanks to your blog post I know now they do :)
    After doing a bit of googling I came across wantitall.co.za who seem to selling online goods via amazon with a huge mark up.
    For instance the item I want sells for $187 excl shipping on amazon and the same product on wantitall.co.za converted to rands sells for R3 600. I mean I know we are used to getting ripped in SA but this is ridiculous. I spose one can hold wantitall liable if anything goes wrong and if you purchase direct through amazon you are running a slight risk but amazon being a reputable online co. I'm actually not too concerned. Interested to hear your thoughts…

    Cheers
    Shawn

    So obviously Im going to go straight through amazon…

  • http://en-gb.facebook.com/simondingle Simon Dingle

    Well, there are the obvious risks involved with posting anything. The reality is that parcels do go missing – just not always due to the Post Office.

    I recently chatted to a number of online retailers in South Africa, including WantItAll, for an article I did for Fin24.com. I also spoke to Arthur Goldstuck, who pointed out that blaming the post office was a convenient excuse for some people looking to shift the blame.

    So use Amazon by all means – they have great policies surrounding missing parcels. But be wary that there are risks, even if they aren't as major as some would have us believe.

  • shawnholten

    Thanks Simon, I see wantitall are literally across the road from me, so maybe Ill pop over there at lunch…. :-)

  • http://eyenstyn.deviantart.com/ Denver

    Hi! Thanx for clarifying this :) I was wondering what was the cost of standard shipping?

    It's going to be my first time buying from Amazon because I think their prices are cheaper than Kalahari.

  • Morkin

    You can go to Amazon Global Page “http://tinyurl.com/yjyzofa” They do internal shipment including South Africa as you will see on the country list on the left side on the page.The cost of shipping you have to go the bottom page and click on “Visit on our international Shipping help page” there will be detail on cost and time for shipping.

  • shailendra

    Thanks a lot for this info.. I stopped ordering from Amazon for quite a while, was surprised when I logged on today that there wasn't anything on the site about NOT shipping to SA.. I agree the media created this misconception and then failed to correct it..

  • Johan Louw

    Tried to order a camera and accesories from Amazon USA and that was not allowed? However, I was able to order two books on camera's which are on their way. Shipping costs are as much as the price of the books. In retrospect I probably could have got these cheaper locally.

  • Johan Louw

    Tried to order a camera and accesories from Amazon USA and that was not allowed? However, I was able to order two books on camera's which are on their way. Shipping costs are as much as the price of the books. In retrospect I probably could have got these cheaper locally.

  • Snarsoo

    Simon thanks for the post. I mostly order books from Amazon and I am glad that the service has not been discontinued. I think though that even with exorbitant shippings costs the prices are on average still cheaper for books that any of our SA retailers especially when you start buying rare or pricier books.

  • Stewart

    Well I still find the shipping costs from Amazon.com to be very high – and I guess this is to cover themselves. $35 for shipping 4 Blu-rays is not cheap.

    Amazon.co.uk however has always had affordable shipping charges.

  • Akhil

    I hope u're right. When I tried to buy a Jimi Hendrix Cry Baby Pedal, I clicked to buy and it stated that “Delivery within the U.S. only”. Therefore I didn't buy.
    Akhil (073 2050956)

  • Nico

    Hi there. To shop from the United States, I've been using a free package forwarding service from http://www.viaddress.com for a few months now, and I'm quite satisfied with them… I used them to shop on Amazon and Ebay.
    The registration is free on http://www.viaddress.com. They provide you with a personal US address that you can use to shop from any US merchant and have Viaddress forward your packages to your country.
    If the US merchant does not accept international credit cards, Viaddress can buy the products for you, with no commission fees, then forward the packages to you. You just pay for the shipping fees.

  • Hansieslim

    Kalahari not an option for me. Bought four books from them. Took ages to arrive and all the books were damaged. Kalahari's packaging cannot compare to that of Amazon.

  • Mwjdlouw

    I have also had deliveries to SA from Amazon, but they do not ship everything is my experience. E.g. Photography books were ok to posted, we received both of the books we ordered, but photograpic equipment was turned down from the outset. If their is a way around this I would love to know how.
    Regards,
    Johan

  • Mwjdlouw

    Wow! I need to take back my words. I managed to order filters for my lenses after reading how to go about it. You simply have to be selective from whom you order through Amazon. You have look at suppliers who do International shipping which include SA. I found that A&R Photo for instance charge 10$ per item to ship to SA, other were to pricy for small low cost items. Not sure whether I will have to pay import duties on top of this. Nothing was mentioned so I hope not.
    Regards,
    Johan

  • benniecpt

    wantitall = bloody expensive

  • David

    Where can I order cheap lightscribe cd's from? I tried Amazon, eBay & Walmart, but none of them deliver this item to S.A.

  • michael

    Hi guys i ordered SAT books from amazon and they said that shipping would take 2 weeks and could expect the books sometime around the 20th of October, i still haven't received anything..Please if any1 can give me a contact number so i can track my books..

    thanks

  • John

    Hi, sorry for pulling this thread from the past, but recently (about the same time the stuff hit the fan in Egypt) Amazon won't ship to my address, the same address I had a present for a friend of mine shipped to (on the 27th Jan 2011). I've contacted them and I'm waiting for a satisfactory response. It also seems that the package
    I ordered on the 27th is stuck in the pre-Shipment info phase at USPS.

  • Burn_zie

    Thats what I want to do. Order all my computer parts from amazon. I'm just going to do this because the prices is just incomparable to those of south africa and want to most for my buck.

  • Vecna

    Is viaddress safe to use?

  • John

    I don't know. My package that I ordered before the whole Egyptian debacle arrived last week. Like I said the same thing didn't want to ship after that. And Wacom tablets are a complete no no. (To date, haven't checked in a while)

  • Chookie222

    Please where can i buy a charger for the latest Kindle, that is compatible in South Africa

  • Sbaird

    I am considering buying a kindle from Amazon. I live in RSA, have you had any compatibility problems, would I still need a nightlight or does it have its own lighting?

  • Gregory Horak

    I have just tried to order from amazon and deliver to south africa and it states that the items cannot be shipped to the address given. Anny suggestions why?

  • http://www.simon.co.za/ Simon

    You are probably trying to order something – like a book or dvd – that is not licensed for distribution in SA. Amazon will ship to South Africa, but some publishers and manufacturers do not allow their good to be distributed here.

  • Wendy tembe

    where do i request a quotation for a book to purchase

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R4EJUX5QED4QNDI32MLQPARVAE Robert James

    Hello,
    Thanks for the information. So many people had this dilemma in mind and finally it is clear that Amazon ships to South Africa as well.
    :)
    __________
    shipping boxes

  • John

    Hey Simon

    I tried to buy a Wacom tablet during the start of the riots in Egypt. Where Amazon (US) previously allowed delivery, all of a sudden it just wouldn’t. I tried to do this again (at least see if I can get to a point where they don’t say they Cannot currently ship to my address.), this was last week and yet again I got the message. Today I tried for a Kindle, same issue. I did contact them before, but the Help desk was anything but Helpful. I’ll try the UK store and see, but they have seriously adjusted their policies, either that or there is something wrong with my address, which is in central Stellebosch.

  • McUrfe

    Kindle uses a micro-usb, like blackberry and some nokia phones, just plug it in.

  • Coraleelong

    I bought my kindle straight from Amazon and they shipped straight to me in Cape Town no problem.  And yes, you need a nightlight. :)

  • John

    Well, I tried the Kindle and no luck, I keep getting “Amazon does not ship to that address” message. I don’t know what is going on, I work in Stellenbosch and I have received a package from Amazon before (at this address). In fact, the “Amazon does not ship to that address” message appeared (for me) around the time the first Egyptian riots were going on. I have contacted them, again and again. I’ve tried the UK store (which is more expensive than USA as far as I can tell), and no luck there as well. At this point the only things I am buying from Amazon would be their kindle books for my iPhone app.

    All that remains to be done is for me to create a new account and see where that gets me.

  • Jannie Louw

    Hi John, You can order a Kindle from Amazon. What you need to do is go back to the link and look for the the option which offers delivery to SA. It is +- 189.00 dollars for the Kindle 2 with 3G and WiFi. 50 Dollars more expensive than if you lived in the States, but still cheaper than here. I got a good deal on Bid or Buy for R1615.00 which came from Pmb excellent service as well. If you like I can give more details who I purchased mine from.
    Regards,
    Jannie Louw

  • Sarawanvjs

    I GOT STUNG BY AMAZON US  - THEIR PRICE DID NOT REFLECT THE SHIPPING COST + CUSTOMS UNTIL AFTER I PAID FOR IT *& RECEIVED EMAIL INVOICE  - FROM AROUND R780 TO R1299 - REALLY SHOCKED . DOES NOT GIVE YOU COSTS UP FRONT