FYI France EXTRA: "Amazon.fr" is open for business
The Amazing Online Store now -- as of only a very few days ago --
can sell you an enormous assortment of books and other things,
all at the click of your mouse, from France:
http://www.amazon.fr
The "other things" currently include "musique", "vide'o", and
"dvd" -- « la plus grande librairie en ligne de titres
francophones disponibles dans le monde, et la plus grande
librairie en langue anglaise de France », « l'offre en ligne de
disques franc,ais et e'trangers la plus comple`te en France », «
l'ensemble des re'fe'rences DVD et vide'o en ligne disponible en
France, et des nouveaute's en avant - premie`re » -- no sign of
"tools & hardware", "lawn & patio", "toys & games" or used cars,
yet, but I suppose they're working on these...
On my own initial order for books -- everything in print ever
written by Jacques Le Goff -- "Amazon.fr" is giving me 5% price
discounts on all items, and is charging me 23% freight to San
Francisco, with no VAT. Now it just remains to be seen whether
they ship it all on schedule and pack it neatly, as Amazon.com
and Amazon.co.uk do, for me to become a happy Amazon.fr customer.
That 5% book price discount I believe is the maximum allowed by
the "loi Lang", the French uniform pricing policy for books --
someone please correct me if I'm wrong -- protectionism /
cultural property protection, depending on your point of view.
Amazon.fr gets that "23% freight" figure on my particular book
order by charging Ff. 60 per order plus Ff. 9 per item, so this %
total will vary but still seems reasonable, particularly
considering the delivery time promised. To the US and Canada,
"standard" delivery is promised within 10-12 days for the above
price, and they offer "Express" 1-5 day delivery for Ff. 110 per
order plus the same Ff. 9 per item. Similar "livraison" tariffs
are offered for other destinations:
http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/subst/services/
help/shipping-policy.html/171-1254803-8025828
One very helpful feature of the new "Amazon.fr" is your ability
to carry over all of the detail from accounts which you already
maintain on other "Amazons", simply by pressing a button: no need
to go through any arduous "account setup" process -- just logging
in using your existing Amazon account identification and password
brings over all of your addresses, payment information -- even
selection preferences, I think (maybe not these).
"Amazon.fr" also offers all of the general Amazon conveniences:
the familiar screens, "One - Click" ordering, both trade and
reader reviews. I don't see an "Amazon Associates" button -- the
incentive program which pays you for referrals from Amazon links
installed on a website -- but I haven't looked thoroughly yet.
"Amazon.fr" has a "1er Achat Facile" button on the home page
guiding a new user through the ordering process, step by step.
I never thought they'd get it done. I remember bugging Amazon
about French books back when they still were trying to get all of
their Danielle Steele copies in English into stock in Seattle --
the unfailingly patient and polite and evasive replies were
maddening. The French press has been more forthcoming -- surprise
-- gloom and doom, dire predictions of the "globalization" demise
of all French book retailing, wild rumors -- a couple of guys
even did a piece on how they bulled their way into Amazon.fr
"Paris headquarters", past all the "Silicon Valley security"
which they said was so very "un - French"...
Well, anyway, Amazon.fr is with us, now, and with more than just
Danielle Steele -- Jacques Le Goff, too, in some very nice paper
editions. I see Broche', Poche, Relie', and a large assortment of
English language editions -- all this will expand, I imagine /
expect -- no official word from Amazon on this, yet, but
understandably they play things pretty close on future plans.
Already very convenient. So, move over, la FNAC.
--oOo--
FYI France (sm)(tm) e-journal ISSN 1071 - 5916
*
| FYI France (sm)(tm) is a monthly electronic
| journal published since 1992 as a small-scale,
| personal experiment, in the creation of large-
| scale "information overload", by Jack Kessler.
/ \ Any material written by me which appears in
----- FYI France may be copied and used by anyone for
// \\ any good purpose, so long as, a) they give me
--------- credit and show my email address, and, b) it
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Use of material written by others requires their permission.
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gratefully received at kessler@well.sf.ca.us .
Copyright 1992- , by Jack Kessler,
all rights reserved except as expressed above.
--hjlm--