 |
| Tender Mercies DVD |
I also bought the DVD due to curiosity. "Will they (Amazon) really ship to my home address here in Nigeria?" It sold for around $4 though I ended paying more for shipping. About 30 days later, lo and behold, the DVD was delivered to my doorstep. Since then I've never looked back. I now regularly buy stuffs on Amazon.
Before I go on, you can click here now to register free on Amazon if you're not already a registered user. The process is a breeze. Amazon will guide you through effortlessly. Keep in mind, you will need these:
Before I go on, you can click here now to register free on Amazon if you're not already a registered user. The process is a breeze. Amazon will guide you through effortlessly. Keep in mind, you will need these:
- An active email address (very important)
- A Credit/Debit Card (to make purchase on Amazon)
- Billing Address (the one used with your card)
- Shipping Address (The physical address Amazon will be shipping to. You can have more than one. I use one from Nigeria and one each from my friends in the US and the United Kingdom)
Why buying from Amazon
Availability of Products
Amazon is one of the biggest online store in the world, if not the biggest. You can even see that in one of their slogans: "Earth's Biggest Selection." As if it is not enough that they sell anything imaginable, they also have an army of third-party sellers that make up for those things you cannot find on Amazon.
Return/Refund Policy
If you buy anything on Amazon and it didn't arrive as it was described on their website, or it’s damaged, you can return the products and ask for another one or demand a refund. And if by any reason your order didn’t arrive on the estimated delivery date, they will let you know that you can ask for a refund instead of waiting for the order. I call this the Amazon Guarantee.
A friend told me that he once ordered for a book on Amazon. The book didn’t arrive on time so he asked for another one. By the time the new one arrived the first one had come in through the mail. He contacted Amazon to inform them of the situation and he was told to keep the new one as a complimentary copy. Things like these are what made Amazon one of the most reputable online store.
Crazy Prices
Amazon has some of the lowest prices on planet earth. It’s not unusual to see products on Amazon selling under $1. I read in the news sometimes ago that some online stores accused Amazon of running them out of business due to their crazy prices. I don't really know how Amazon does this but many times you will notice that a product price is lower on Amazon than on the product manufacturer’s website. This is a marketing strategy that has made Amazon famous with consumers all over the world.
Security
Amazon Shipping to Nigeria
Cost of Shipping:
As I said earlier, my first order on Amazon was a classic DVD "Tender Mercies" which I bought out of curiosity but ended paying 4 times more for shipping:
When you’re buying on Amazon, always look out for the shipping price. Buying a $5 book and paying $25 for shipping is not a great idea in my opinion. Unless it’s a very rare product, or something you really, really need and cannot find anywhere else, it is not advisable to ship directly from Amazon to Nigeria.
How I always get around the exorbitant shipping fee is to ship to a friend in the US, who then ships the stuffs to me in Nigeria. That is how I got this camera:
 |
| Kodak Digital Camera I bought on Amazon - Order Page |
Amazon Free Shipping:
You should be aware that Amazon has a consumer-friendly shipping policy. When you purchase anything above $35 and you’re shipping within the United States, you won’t pay any shipping charge.
If you look closely at the invoice in the last image you will notice I eventually didn’t pay anything for shipping. This was because the camera cost was above $35, and I shipped to an address in the US. I always get around the high shipping rate this way when shopping from Amazon US to Nigeria.
Alternatives to Amazon US International Shipping:
If no one was coming to Nigeria around that time I would have asked my US-based friend (I have quite a number of them) to send it through the Nigerian Postal Services. Believe me, their services have improved greatly. I just make sure the guy sending the goods register them so it can be traced in the event of loss. Their rate is superb, compare to other carriers like DHL, FedExpress, though the delivery time is slower. You can get things shipped to Nigeria for as low as N1,000 through the Post Office.
For those who don’t have people in the US, you can make use of third party shipping agencies, which are springing up everywhere in Nigeria nowadays. The ones that I regularly come across are:
The last 2 have offices in Ibadan where I’m based. What they basically do is to give you a US address after you have registered with them which you can use on the Amazon website as your shipping address. After Amazon ships your goods to that address, the shipping company then ships the stuffs to your address in Nigeria. They always have enticing discounts and promo during local festive period and foreign holidays. For example, I received this in the mail from Mall for Africa recently:
 |
| MallforAfrica promo |
Disclaimer: Before using any of these services please do your diligent research. Ask around. Make sure you understand their rates/charges so you won’t pay more than necessary. Contact their customer care if need be.
What are those things you can ship to Nigeria?
When I first started shopping on Amazon, they only ship CDs and books to Nigeria. Now I noticed they have added several other products to the list of things that can be shipped to Nigeria. A simple way to know if a product can be shipped to Nigeria is to search for the product on Amazon. On the product page you will see a shipping information, like this one:
 |
| Product Shipping detail on Amazon |
If whatever you’re buying cannot be shipped to Nigeria, then you will have to make use of friends and relative living in the US or one of those shipping agencies as described above.
Buying Refurbished and Used Products
Whenever I want to buy something on Amazon and I discover it’s too expensive I usually go to the marketplace to search for a used or refurbished version. A refurbished product is a used or damaged product that has been repaired and refurbished to work and look like-new, and are usually backed by a warranty.
Amazon marketplace, according to Wikipedia, “enables sellers to offer new and used items alongside Amazon's regular offerings. Customers can buy those items directly from third-party sellers.”
I’ve discovered that you can get top-quality used products in the marketplace. Many people will buy the latest gadget, use it for a couple of weeks and decided that they want another one and put that gadget up for sale in its new condition, albeit at a lower price.
What I do to get good products in the marketplace is to check the seller’s rating. Anything below 96% customers' review I don’t usually go for. That is just me. If a seller ship you an inferior product you can still return it (remember the Amazon Guarantee).
Amazon marketplace, according to Wikipedia, “enables sellers to offer new and used items alongside Amazon's regular offerings. Customers can buy those items directly from third-party sellers.”
I’ve discovered that you can get top-quality used products in the marketplace. Many people will buy the latest gadget, use it for a couple of weeks and decided that they want another one and put that gadget up for sale in its new condition, albeit at a lower price.
What I do to get good products in the marketplace is to check the seller’s rating. Anything below 96% customers' review I don’t usually go for. That is just me. If a seller ship you an inferior product you can still return it (remember the Amazon Guarantee).