Online Shopping? Amazon in particular.

[Tardis]

SEUR who are on the Island are owned by DPD.  As Tamara says, they are useless.  I told Amazon and they have not used them since.

Recently we've had a couple of deliveries from Amazon Spain via DHL.  Both arrived within 48 hours.

[Ducks]

Thanks to all for the informative replies!

Have ended up cobbling together something myself for this instance, but it's good to know for the future. I tried multiple suppliers via Amazon UK, all refused to post out here. On Amazon ES, I couldn't trust the translation to make sure the item would be 100% compatible/useful, so in the end I gave up and worked with what I could get! 

(For the record, have dealt with Woodside before and would absolutely recommend them, but the service can naturally be very slow due to shipment timings, so it isn't always a viable option.) 

Thanks again, folks. Really appreciate this forum and its helpful tone and discussions. 

[McAdam]

As a Tech Guy (consulting) I really didnt want to have to deal with hundreds of lost/delayed amazon orders so I went looking for an alternative (in the electronics world).

https://www.pccomponentes.com/ Was the best thing I had found by far.

They are a spanish company based in the mainland who send their own truck to the islands once per week (it leaves their warehouse thursday afternoons)
They will already cover all Canary Taxes in the delivery price, and the truck will be in fuerte the following tuesday or wednesday. The driver will call and tell you delivery times.

Their selection is not the biggest, but they have 85% of the stuff I have wanted (or at least offered a similar brand).

Be sure to Filter by "Vendido y enviado por PcComponentess" as they allow other sellers to advertise on there, and they can only ship their own items to Canarias.

Good Luck

[Ducks]

As a Tech Guy (consulting) I really didnt want to have to deal with hundreds of lost/delayed amazon orders so I went looking for an alternative (in the electronics world).

https://www.pccomponentes.com/ Was the best thing I had found by far.

They are a spanish company based in the mainland who send their own truck to the islands once per week (it leaves their warehouse thursday afternoons)
They will already cover all Canary Taxes in the delivery price, and the truck will be in fuerte the following tuesday or wednesday. The driver will call and tell you delivery times.

Their selection is not the biggest, but they have 85% of the stuff I have wanted (or at least offered a similar brand).

Be sure to Filter by "Vendido y enviado por PcComponentess" as they allow other sellers to advertise on there, and they can only ship their own items to Canarias.

Good Luck

Great link, thanks! Have bookmarked, and really appreciate the heads up.

[Rome77]

Very interesting and useful thread - I've ordered a couple of things from https://www.pccomponentes.com/ and all being well I should get delivery in a few days.

What's the recent experience with Amazon? I've got a few items that I can get at similar price from either amazon.co.uk or amazon.es. Would amazon.es be more reliable in terms of actually receiving the delivery? I notice that amazon.es has a delivery option called "Amazon Global" but that's pretty pricey and I'd like to avoid that if possible.

Thanks in advance for any insights people may have with regards to recent Amazon experiences!

[Johnrgby]

As you have already ordered from Amazon, Email them and tell them you live outside the EU and a such not liable to VAT then anything you purchase which is supplied via their distribution centres will be delivered VAT free.

[carolinet]

Hi Ducks - I have ordered many items from Amazon UK over the past 5 yrs and generally everything arrives eventually (be prepared to wait a few weeks...)  Some companies do not ship to Canary Isles or Melilla, so check when you place the order. I have had to shop around the various sellers to find who will/won't ship over here. Interestingly, items from China always seem to arrive.

Occasionally I have received an Aviso de Lllegada in my postbox requiring you to go to Correos to collect your parcel (make sure you have your NIE with you when you collect).

Unfortunately since COVID 19 I have ordered a couple of items that never arrived but the sellers were quick to refund. 

I am currently expecting an Amazon UK delivery tomorrow via UPS. They just phoned me to say that they cannot deliver directly to the door at present or enter communal entrances but are happy to handover your parcel outside your house or main communidad entrance.

Hope this helps

[Ducks]

Hi Ducks - I have ordered many items from Amazon UK over the past 5 yrs and generally everything arrives eventually (be prepared to wait a few weeks...)  Some companies do not ship to Canary Isles or Melilla, so check when you place the order. I have had to shop around the various sellers to find who will/won't ship over here. Interestingly, items from China always seem to arrive.

Occasionally I have received an Aviso de Lllegada in my postbox requiring you to go to Correos to collect your parcel (make sure you have your NIE with you when you collect).

Unfortunately since Covid 19 I have ordered a couple of items that never arrived but the sellers were quick to refund. 

I am currently expecting an Amazon UK delivery tomorrow via UPS. They just phoned me to say that they cannot deliver directly to the door at present or enter communal entrances but are happy to handover your parcel outside your house or main communidad entrance.

Hope this helps

That's very informative, thank you! It heartens me to know there are some success stories.

[Will]

 I notice that amazon.es has a delivery option called "Amazon Global" but that's pretty pricey and I'd like to avoid that if possible.

The way I understand it Global sources stuff globally. That would be useful if you needed an US spec item that is only sold in the US. It's not much use for common stuff. It's expensive because you're paying shipping from abroad (US for example) plus all the related fees on top.

[Ducks]

Yes, Amazon Global usually involves the USA or Japan and is insanely expensive because it covers import fees and shipping. Best to stick with the Euro sites!