What is the difference between Amazon and Amazon?

aitkegs

Whether or not there was an element of ignorance in dealing with Amazon in this case is a matter of opinion - I accept that warnings are there - if you are looking for them.

Having put this to one side - as I said my outstanding issue is that one Amazon adviser took the step of removing the funds from my .com account to ensure it would then be a 'simple' task of getting a refund.  However all attempts by my relative to do this have been rebuffed.

George_Michael

aitkegs said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

aitkegs said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You're objecting about the wrong party.  This is your relatives' fault for not checking.  I don't see why Amazon.com should have any obligation to swap funds with Amazon.co.uk any more than if your relatives had sent you, for example, a region-locked technical item you couldn't use in the UK, despite it being badged by a global brand.

Also in reference to your comment on the logo - if I go into a MacDonalds - I don't expect to be greeted by a KFC menu!

That's a pretty silly analogy that suggests you still don't understand the reason behind your problem.

You may think so - but I don't think you understand the issue.  If you deal with an online trading name, I think most people wouldn't necessarily check to see if there were different versions.  Type Amazon into your browser and I guarantee .com and .co.uk links will be presented - a doubt if most would recognise the difference.  I'll give you another example - eBay trades globally but I don't have to check if there are different versions.

I disagree. When buying something for someone in a different country, why wouldn't a sensible shopper look into what they are buying? especially as I've already shown, there was a clearly worded section about buying gift cards for use on other Amazon sites.
Just because this wasn't read doesn't mean that the information wasn't there.

Again, your Ebay analogy is a flawed one because ebay are simply an advertising medium and they are not selling goods themselves.
Even if they were retailers, they are like Amazon in that there is eBay.com in the USA and eBay.co.uk here.

68ComebackSpecial

aitkegs said:

Whether or not there was an element of ignorance in dealing with Amazon in this case is a matter of opinion - I accept that warnings are there - if you are looking for them.

Having put this to one side - as I said my outstanding issue is that one Amazon adviser took the step of removing the funds from my .com account to ensure it would then be a 'simple' task of getting a refund.  However all attempts by my relative to do this have been rebuffed.

Hardly surprising as their terms state that they aren't refundable. As the advisor made a mistake affecting your balance it will likely be easier for them to reinstate it than for your relative to attempt a refund in opposition to their terms.

Aylesbury_Duck

aitkegs said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

aitkegs said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You're objecting about the wrong party.  This is your relatives' fault for not checking.  I don't see why Amazon.com should have any obligation to swap funds with Amazon.co.uk any more than if your relatives had sent you, for example, a region-locked technical item you couldn't use in the UK, despite it being badged by a global brand.

Also in reference to your comment on the logo - if I go into a MacDonalds - I don't expect to be greeted by a KFC menu!

That's a pretty silly analogy that suggests you still don't understand the reason behind your problem.

You may think so - but I don't think you understand the issue.  If you deal with an online trading name, I think most people wouldn't necessarily check to see if there were different versions.  Type Amazon into your browser and I guarantee .com and .co.uk links will be presented - a doubt if most would recognise the difference.  I'll give you another example - eBay trades globally but I don't have to check if there are different versions.

So how is that remotely analogous to your McDonalds/KFC example?

Are you saying that it should be mandatory for all international companies to have unified domains, sites and payment systems, just because some people aren't interested in doing some basic due diligence?

I think you're wrong on your point that "most people" won't check these things or recognise the difference.  If that were the case, forums like this would be full of stories of people making the same errors, as would be the mainstream media.  I accept that some people get tripped up because they don't check, but it simply wouldn't be in these businesses' interests to continue operating the way they do if they caused problems for most people.

sheramber

aitkegs said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

aitkegs said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You're objecting about the wrong party.  This is your relatives' fault for not checking.  I don't see why Amazon.com should have any obligation to swap funds with Amazon.co.uk any more than if your relatives had sent you, for example, a region-locked technical item you couldn't use in the UK, despite it being badged by a global brand.

Also in reference to your comment on the logo - if I go into a MacDonalds - I don't expect to be greeted by a KFC menu!

That's a pretty silly analogy that suggests you still don't understand the reason behind your problem.

You may think so - but I don't think you understand the issue.  If you deal with an online trading name, I think most people wouldn't necessarily check to see if there were different versions.  Type Amazon into your browser and I guarantee .com and .co.uk links will be presented - a doubt if most would recognise the difference.  I'll give you another example - eBay trades globally but I don't have to check if there are different versions.

I would notice the difference on currency.

aitkegs

OK - I seem to have lost the audience on the .com/.co.uk issue - though I still think that the man on the street wouldn't think to check.

So in an attempt to use my .com voucher I asked whether I could buy an annual Prime membership with it - again the answer is no - due to membership being auto renewable and couldn't do that from a voucher.

Seems they have you all ways!

Tokmon

aitkegs said:

OK - I seem to have lost the audience on the .com/.co.uk issue - though I still think that the man on the street wouldn't think to check.

So in an attempt to use my .com voucher I asked whether I could buy an annual Prime membership with it - again the answer is no - due to membership being auto renewable and couldn't do that from a voucher.

Seems they have you all ways!

Surely it's common sense that you wouldn't buy someone a voucher in dollars for a country which uses a different currency. 

If they went to a currency exchange and bought you dollars and sent them to you in the post would you then complain it was the currency exchange that was at fault for not telling them that they should be buying pound sterling?

davidmcn

aitkegs said:

OK - I seem to have lost the audience on the .com/.co.uk issue - though I still think that the man on the street wouldn't think to check.

I appreciate that the man on the street may well be a moron, but it's pretty clear on amazon.com that they're selling gift cards in US Dollars.