Amazon and selling to Ireland

Yes that is abit annoying pushing Ireland to use co.uk when .com is better.
 
This makes me so mad. I was trying to buy a pedometer for my wife. I managed to get one on Ebay but the seller wrote to me and told me that they couldn't ship to Ireland and gave me a refund. I have been getting similar messages from Amazon, Play and all of the usual electronic suppliers. So much for the EU. We get all of the responsibilities and none of the benefits ! It is nonsensical when you think of it. A pedometer is much smaller than a CD, the pedometer can't be shipped yet the CD can.
I kinda agree with them not shipping large electronic items but, c'mon, this is ridiculous. Small electronic goods are no threat to the environment.
I suppose having a Green in the Ministry For Environment makes things worse too....
 
I suspect that these retailers don't want to bother with the WEEE obligation to accept returns of old equipment. If I buy a fridge in DID Electrical, for example, they have to take back the old one. I doubt if Amazon or Play will take back old electronic goods, so they simply won't sell into Ireland to avoid the hassle.
 
Perhaps the WEEE was nothing to do with the environment and more to do with protecting electronic retailers from overseas competition
 
xavier said:
Perhaps the WEEE was nothing to do with the environment and more to do with protecting electronic retailers from overseas competition
Click to expand...

This conspiracy theory might hold some credence if WEEE was an Irish initiative. It happens to be an EU directive. If the EU authorities want to stifle imports of electronic goods or other items into the EU imports from the US and Far East, they can already do so by imposing tariffs.

The problem with WEEE from Ireland's point of view is that Ireland seem to have implemented it earlier than the UK and other major EU countries. Why this has happened is probably a matter of opinion. It is possible that this is a result of pressure from a self-interested electronic goods industry, however when one considers WEEE in the context of other initiatives like the plastic bag levy and the proposed ban on conventional lightbulbs, I think it is much more likely to be just another of these issues where our government loses the run of itself on so-called "environmental" issues, and implements "right on" solutions without thinking them through.

For more on WEEE see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Electrical_and_Electronic_Equipment_Directive
 
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