Amazon Alterrnatives

[womanofdulwich]

I am loathe to order using Amazon- but the "Book People" have sold out of the book I want ( and it is twice the Amazon Price).

Does any one have any recoomendation for buying ( discounted) on line?

Thanks

[BeccaL]

Have you tried Waterstones.com - they have free postage - don't always match Amazon price but that's because they're paying proper corporation tax on their profits...

[LondonMix]

Actually, Amazon are cheaper because of their economies of scale and low-overhead structure being only an online retailer. Waterstone don't pay taxes either as they have been operating at a loss.

That's not to say I support Amazon's business practices (some of which under anti-competition laws are illegal) but let's not conflate things. If you think the extra money you will spend buying books at Waterstone is going to help fill HMRC's coffers, that won't necessarily be the case.

[cornelia]

Could try Foyles - they often have discounts.

[Otta]

Amazon is a business, and they want to make a profit. They are not breaking any laws, so fair play IMO.

I'm not saying that I don't think they should pay more tax here, but laws need to be changed rather than MPs whinging about morals.

Besides, I save loads of money using Amazon.

[the-e-dealer]

Amazon are cheaper because they don't pay their fair whack of tax. I'm actively trying to use non amazon products- Cancelled Love film in favour of Netflix. Buying from Ebay Shops etc.

[Help-Ma-Boab]

What a hero

the-e-dealer Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Amazon are cheaper because they don't pay their

> fair whack of tax. I'm actively trying to use non

> amazon products- Cancelled Love film in favour of

> Netflix. Buying from Ebay Shops etc.

[Otta]

the-e-dealer Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Amazon are cheaper because they don't pay their fair whack of tax.

They pay what they legally have to. Why would anyone offer to pay more? Change the laws and they'll pay more.

[KidKruger]

sheep mentality

[computedshorty]

Amazon do not charge for delivery unless you want it quicker, there is also a choice of obtaining it from the non Amazon dealers on each of the pages, but although cheaper the postage might be more than getting it from Amazon direct.

A problem with The Book People is you can only get ?25 worth of books free of postage, never mind the points that you accumulate they will vanish after a year.

Amazon is my choice for any book of reference.

[Jeremy]

I don't agree, Otta. Just because legal loopholes exist, doesn't mean it's morally OK to exploit them.

Saying that, I reckon almost all large companies do questionable things in the name of tax "efficiency", and I agree that the only way of stopping it is to tighten up the law. Pulic outrage is short lived.

[computedshorty]

There is also the Liraries sale of disgarded books.

http://www.icaew.com/en/library/guide-to-services/collection/books/discarded-books

[Otta]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I don't agree, Otta. Just because legal loopholes

> exist, doesn't mean it's morally OK to exploit

> them.

>

> Saying that, I reckon almost all large companies

> do questionable things in the name of tax

> "efficiency", and I agree that the only way of

> stopping it is to tighten up the law. Pulic

> outrage is short lived.

Don't get me wrong, I never said it was morally okay, I think it's morally wrong. What I am saying is that rather than acting all shocked that the MASSIVE business has chosen to act in morally questionable way, the powers that be in this country should close the loop holes.

[the-e-dealer]

Thanks HMB - Its good that some people actually do something rather than just moaning the more the better.

I hear NO-Bucks are also going to start

paying some tax. Progress. Power to the People.

Help-Ma-Boab Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What a hero

>

> the-e-dealer Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Amazon are cheaper because they don't pay their

> > fair whack of tax. I'm actively trying to use

> non

> > amazon products- Cancelled Love film in favour

> of

> > Netflix. Buying from Ebay Shops etc.

[maxxi]

Wind of hypocrisy blows through ED -

So some firms practice tax avoidance, is that really news to anyone?

I thought we'd come to terms with this when all the major pop stars etc. started to practice it back in the 80s, or when it was revealed that over 25% of FTSE 100 companies practice it.

Is there really anyone out there who didn't know what a tax haven was and/or how that principle worked?

Do you know the taxes paid by every company you use for any and everything? Are you also fully informed as to their ethical practices? Their use of cheap foreign labour and the dodgy regimes they may help to fund?

And at the next election when ALL politicians will be telling us how they will make sure you don't have to pay more tax in future, will you be telling them to get stuffed and to please increase tax to 30+% to pay for a higher level of services?

Yes I know there's a budget 'Chancellor's Statement' coming and pension tax relief will probably be walloped and it aint fair but look - there's a royal sprog on the way so it isn't all bad :)

[womanofdulwich]

Free delivery if you register for book people today and its your first order RESULT.

[Townleygreen]

try abebooks maybe?

[ianr]

And I see that their Advent Calendar today is offering a discount (up to 15%) codeword.

At least Amazon's website doesn't do the seasonal robins, snow, etc, schtick. ;(

[LondonMix]

Amazon has a lower cost structure even without taking tax into account. Now, their sheer size gives them the ability to negotiate better pricing due to volume than their competitors (in the same way the chain bookstores are able to against local indie bookshops). This combined with their huge book catalog that can be searched for by topic, the ability to read reviews and their fast shipping service has helped them dominate the market.

Now that they are in this dominant position, many in publishing accuse them of engaging in illegal anti-trust behavior regarding pricing to push competitors into bankruptcy. However, a group of publishers and Apple have recently been sued by the US government for an anti-trust price fixing scandal regarding e-books so let?s not pretend we have a perfect dichotomy of good and evil here.

Amazon can be praised and condemned for a lot but the tax issue is not really why they are cheaper. The UK government could end its tax treaty with tax havens but it does not want to for a host of reasons. Buy more expensive books if you want to but what you are largely funding is a less efficient business model rather than filling the government?s coffers.

[Otta]

Not Apple, they ARE evil! FACT!!! ;-)

[*Bob*]

True, but then the devil has all the best tunes.

[maxxi]

That'd be the iDevil then.

[LondonMix]

Evil but such elegant lines... :)

[Ojito]

Yes all of you think are right through the Idevils can find the best tunes

I know what you mean !

Is this the place to discuss about the people of cats and dogs

[Ojito]

Alternatives are now death annoni.... blood never was you business why has to be now F...ck off