Amazon and UK VISA cards - Feb '22 update

[Saracen999]

For anyone that hasn't received it, I've just had an Amazon email (genuine, as best I can tell) stating that they've reached a global agreement with VISA to accept credit cards, including UK cards and that the currently 'suspended' plan to stop accepting UK credit cards is now fully cancelled.

UK cardholders no longer need to add an alternative payment method. Which I wasn't going to do, anyway, Amazon.

I only have (or want) one credit card. Closed all the rest years ago. And wasn't taking out a new one just for you.

Looks like I can continue using Amazon.

I just now have to decide if I'm happy about that or not.

Ummmmmmmmmmmm ...... ?????????????????

[jimbouk]

Try and guess the percentages (not that I know!):

- people who saw the notices and signed up to an Amazon credit card
- people who saw the notices and thought Amazon is trying to sell people something else they don't want and ignored it
- people who mentally filtered out the notices as Amazon are constantly trying to sell people things they don't want
- people who saw the notices and thought it was a good scare tactic to try and negotiate better rates

[Ttaskmaster]

I've never been that much of an Amazon fan, as they always seemed to undercut the more dedicated shops with the decent customer service... but in the last few years it seems that, as well as being a breeding ground for sellers of cheap tat, Amazon has now become one of the most expensive places to buy the good stuff, too.

So I really don't care if they're having a tiff with Visa.

[Saracen999]

I'm assuming you mean it's 'tick-box' rather than 'radio switch', because I certainly thought several of those were likely.

I assumed it was :-

a) Amazon flying a kite to see how it went, and
b) a tactic to apply pressure on VISA to get better terms for Amazon.

However .... if the kite flew exceptionally well, and lots of people bought into an Amazon card in the interim, so much the better for them. Personally, no way was I doing that.

If, on the other hand, lots of people ignored it, then Amazon would know it wasn't a great idea but, Visa wouldn't know that Amazon knew that, so it's still a good idea by Amazon.

The only fly in that ointment is I'd bet that Visa were also doing a statistical analysis on customer card usage on Amazon, by UK cardholders, to see if their volumes dipped, and if so, when and by how much. And if buying patterns remained stable, it's ammunition for Visa to use against Amazon.

We, of course, are the grist to the Amazon and Visa respective grindstones.

Percentages? No idea. Couldn't do anything more than wild guesses. I hope a very large number of people totally ignored it, but do I have that much faith in people? Umm, no?

I'm a bit of a contrarian, so even if I was prepared to switch payment method, it wouldn't have been until either the very last minute, or even until after previous method had expired. But I wasn't.

Being an awkward gi ... um, contrarian, I actually removed the one non-Visa credit card option I did have on there, as soon as their original notice was published, just so it couldn't be used. That was an old debit card that was there from an old transaction .... not that it would have been much use to them as not only had the card expired but I closed that bank account when I retired. I forgot it was on Amazon. Thanks for forcing me to go look, and notice it, Amazon.

[Saracen999]

I've never been that much of an Amazon fan, .....

Me neither.

Though, they are useful, if only as a reference source. My recent laptop purchase wasn't from them, but the expensive coffee machine was. Why? Because they had a VERY good deal on, very briefly.

Normal price, about £1800. John Lewis (a minute ago) £1450, though that's the best I've seen it at on there, and it was £1700+ when I bought). Lakeland currently £1760.

Amazon, for a couple of days, £1300. And, there was a manufacturer 'bonus pack' with about £150 worth of (mostly) useful bits too, that has now ended.

So effective price on Amazon, when I bought, about £1150-£1200, which was about £550-£600 cheaper than anyone else.

Amazon often do have some very good deals, though they come and go pretty fast. That one lasted, at a guess, abut 48 hours. They also had some very good prices on WD Ultrastar hard drives, at about £100 off normal (inc the likes of Scan, etc) prices. I was populating a NAS, and nabbed four. It made quite a difference.

So while I'm certainly not a fan, as such, they have their uses, and saved me about a grand on those two items alone, on things I was going to buy anyway. It's not an amount to easily turn down.

[jimbouk]

but in the last few years it seems that, as well as being a breeding ground for sellers of cheap tat, Amazon has now become one of the most expensive places to buy the good stuff, too.

Yeah, their customer service is very black and white - good if you tick their boxes and bad when you don't. In the returns window? An automated script will approve everything. Outside? Good luck! Consumer rights be damned.

And yeah, all the marketplace sellers is just a mess. You wonder how much money Amazon makes on direct sales vs being a marketplace (their cut plus all the advertising they sell on their own site). I'm back to ebay now for cheap things.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I got £20 free out of it and still have my credit card.

[Saracen999]

I got £20 free out of it and still have my credit card.

I thought about it but didn't want to give them any other card details. It's one more detail added to what they know about me, and not worth £20 to me. YMMV of course.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I thought about it but didn't want to give them any other card details. It's one more detail added to what they know about me, and not worth £20 to me. YMMV of course.

TBF,I might have started with the same card many years ago,and then went to a Credit Card due to the better consumer protections. But TBH,most of my big recent purchases have not been at Amazon anyway.

[[GSV]Trig]

Anyone really shocked by this then, I suggested it was a ploy to get better rates in the first place, however given they accept Amex that's probably not a real reason...

[AGTDenton]

I've never been that much of an Amazon fan, as they always seemed to undercut the more dedicated shops with the decent customer service... but in the last few years it seems that, as well as being a breeding ground for sellers of cheap tat, Amazon has now become one of the most expensive places to buy the good stuff, too.

Have to agree, I'm certainly starting to find that no longer are they always the cheapest, is their customer service the best or always have items you'd expect them to list.

They've almost become an extension to Ali Express/Alibaba in the last 5-6 years or so.
With clone after clone on there, it's very hard to see an established and trustworthy brand. However, I think a lot of well known brands have dropped to these levels of cheap tat because they can't compete on quality. We are doomed on waste.

I also dislike the way they present item details on a page. They appear to intentionally make the product details so confusing & cluttered to encourage people to no longer look at anything more than the picture & summary. I feel that they're trying to psychologically point people to the Buy Now button.


For all their faults though, I have to say, while I was very ill during my diagnosis phase, Amazon could not be beaten on delivering much needed groceries & fresh food.
At the time I was extremely lucky living in an Amazon Fresh area where I could get an order the same day if completed by 10am, no fighting for time slots then subsequently waiting days/weeks for the order or not knowing if some food was going to arrive substituted. I bypassed the potential pitfalls the Supermarkets were having during the height of lockdown. Being given only a moments notice before an appointment of some kind, I'd have likely consistently cancelled the Supermarket delivery for no longer being available to accept it.


And while not offered by Amazon directly, thank goodness for Keepa/CamelCamelCamel
We can put a buy order on something and get a good price if not desperate. But it would be nice if a service like these existed for multiple stores for fairness.

[AGTDenton]

I suggested it was a ploy to get better rates in the first place

I'd say there was some element of truth to that, being that their own card is with Mastercard

EDIT: Whoops I meant to edit previous post, not add 2nd reply

[jimbouk]

Amazon Warehouse deals have actually done me pretty well. I have once and only once ordered online from Screwfix and got something in a trashed box, not even an apology when I complained ("couldn't have been us" when the delivery driver said they were handed it like that). Similarly wood from Wickes, if you don't pick it out yourself you won't get a dry, straight piece as they'll give you the stuff left in the yard. But when you don't care about it being a return with a scruffed box then I'm happy with a discount (and honesty).

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Amazon Warehouse deals have actually done me pretty well. I have once and only once ordered online from Screwfix and got something in a trashed box, not even an apology when I complained ("couldn't have been us" when the delivery driver said they were handed it like that). Similarly wood from Wickes, if you don't pick it out yourself you won't get a dry, straight piece as they'll give you the stuff left in the yard. But when you don't care about it being a return with a scruffed box then I'm happy with a discount (and honesty).

I have done well using Warehouse deals too.

[[GSV]Trig]

I agree that Amazon has become a lot like eBay with its multitude of crappy Chinese products, I'd like that to stop tbh lol
Also, they search engine, you can search something, and get a load of stuff in the same ballpark, then when you hit a filter down the left you get random stuff that's sod all to do with what you wanted nor what was part of the search before you hit the filter...

[[GSV]Trig]

I have done well using Warehouse deals too.

Is there a link to specific Warehouse area, I've seen people talk about it before but the search in that is crap as well so I generally cant be bothered, I have found myself getting stuff from elsewhere before because the search sucks balls.