Ikes Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 My family live in the UK and send us Christmas gifts each year by post, which saddens me a lot as it has become very expensive. I mostly use Amazon in the UK to buy their gifts and therefore save a fortune on postage from here, as well as avoid the ridiculous Customs fees. I thought that Amazon were opening up in Australia and told my family to use them when buying gifts for us. I now see that they are only planning to operate from Australia in 2018. I was wondering if there are any other online sites in Australia that my family could use from the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 We use loads of UK sites that ship to Aus for free or a set fee whatever you are buying. John Lewis, Debenhams, Next, M&S, notonthehighstreet.com and others. TBH we tend not to do masses of gifts between the countries. The grandparents put some money into our UK account and we buy the kids presents this end and get something on the list that is wanted/needed. Far less hassle and expense. And grandparents are happy knowing their money is going toward something decent. If they really want to buy something their end and post it, they are of course welcome to do so but they trust us to get something from the wish list As for the rest of us, don't really bother or we do the same re money. Sometimes I'll find a gift or ship something from the UK via one of the usual sites I use but we don't really need or want for anything so gift wise I'd rather choose for myself. Aus sites, tbh you could try any of the main ones. Myer, DJ etc, they may be able to pay by CC or Paypal online and have it shipped to an Aus address. If not then no clue really. Given Aus shipping fees and all that its easier to ship from elsewhere IMHO, especially if buying from one place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I find Aus is not too great for internet shopping. There's David Jones and Myer. There are a few beauty type websites such as Adore, and also ASOS / The Iconic for clothing, shoes, accessories etc. I always send my parents something from a UK based website, and they are always very kind and deposit some cash into my UK bank account, by way of a gift. That way I get to spend some pounds when required, and my bank account stays active! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, Ikes said: I was wondering if there are any other online sites in Australia that my family could use from the UK. The Book Depository is brilliant for books. Free delivery worldwide. My orders have always arrived very promptly in Oz. https://www.bookdepository.com/ Edited October 26, 2017 by Skani 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikes Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 Wow, thanks all for very prompt responses, and great suggestions for Australian and UK online shopping site! I wasn't aware that so many UK ones actually shipped to Australia. That's also a brilliant idea about parents and grandparents putting money in your UK bank accounts for gifts, as well as enabling you to keep your accounts open, snifter and vickyplum. Oh yes, Skani, I'd forgotten about Book Depository, thanks for reminding me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 1 hour ago, Ikes said: Wow, thanks all for very prompt responses, and great suggestions for Australian and UK online shopping site! I wasn't aware that so many UK ones actually shipped to Australia. That's also a brilliant idea about parents and grandparents putting money in your UK bank accounts for gifts, as well as enabling you to keep your accounts open, snifter and vickyplum. Oh yes, Skani, I'd forgotten about Book Depository, thanks for reminding me. IIRC if ordering from Aus then NExt do free shipping, John Lewis charge a set fee whatever is ordered, $19 and others similar or sometimes free shipping. Also if people order in the UK to ship to Aus, shipping costs are decent. John Lewis is £10 I think. My parents have done that a few times. TBH though we just prefer the money into the UK account and go from there. Like above, we tend to leave it there and use it for things when we need them in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 16 hours ago, Skani said: The Book Depository is brilliant for books. Free delivery worldwide. My orders have always arrived very promptly in Oz. https://www.bookdepository.com/ On a side note I just did an order with them and noticed the price of their books is often more than other online stores. So I did an online shop via an Aus book site to compare and same books in my basket came in at a fair bit less than on the bookdepository site. I worked out shipping and it was a flat fee on the Aus site and was less in total than the bookdespository, even with its free shipping. So closed the tab on book despoitory and opted for the Aus company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 3 hours ago, snifter said: On a side note I just did an order with them and noticed the price of their books is often more than other online stores. The books I've ordered from them have been ones I've been unable to get anywhere else - so have never had to price compare with other sellers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikes Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 5 hours ago, snifter said: IIRC if ordering from Aus then NExt do free shipping, John Lewis charge a set fee whatever is ordered, $19 and others similar or sometimes free shipping. Also if people order in the UK to ship to Aus, shipping costs are decent. John Lewis is £10 I think. My parents have done that a few times. TBH though we just prefer the money into the UK account and go from there. Like above, we tend to leave it there and use it for things when we need them in the UK. That's great, thanks so much for the very useful information! I'll definitely be looking into all of your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieMum Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 22 hours ago, snifter said: On a side note I just did an order with them and noticed the price of their books is often more than other online stores. So I did an online shop via an Aus book site to compare and same books in my basket came in at a fair bit less than on the bookdepository site. I worked out shipping and it was a flat fee on the Aus site and was less in total than the bookdespository, even with its free shipping. So closed the tab on book despoitory and opted for the Aus company. Book Depository were great value before Amazon bought them. Now, not so much. I always use booko.com.au as it searches all the websites and gives you the price, shipping and total cost as well as availability without having to go to each site yourself which makes it really easy. You can also create a list of multiple items and it will compile the combined shipping (but if you are happy to mix and match to get the VERY best deal it won't do that, eg, buy books A, B and D from retailer X and books C and E from retailer Y). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 14 minutes ago, AussieMum said: I always use booko.com.au as it searches all the websites and gives you the price, shipping and total cost as well as availability without having to go to each site yourself which makes it really easy. Thank you very much for this information. I didn't know about this site and it sounds very useful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikes Posted October 28, 2017 Author Share Posted October 28, 2017 On 27/10/2017 at 11:35, snifter said: IIRC if ordering from Aus then NExt do free shipping, John Lewis charge a set fee whatever is ordered, $19 and others similar or sometimes free shipping. Also if people order in the UK to ship to Aus, shipping costs are decent. John Lewis is £10 I think. My parents have done that a few times. TBH though we just prefer the money into the UK account and go from there. Like above, we tend to leave it there and use it for things when we need them in the UK. Thanks so much for the great advice! It is much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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