«

[Japo]

My problem is this: I want to buy some games from an online store, but the one I want to buy from doesn't ship outside the UK. (There's a huge difference in price, so much that I wouldn't consider buying the same items I want at the prices I've seen elsewhere.)

So I need a middleman or woman: someone from the UK that would receive my stuff and then send it to me from UK to Spain via mail. Of course I'd put the money in advance and pay all shipping costs. Also if you're willing to help me on this, I'd like to show my appreciation buying you a little something from the same store, or anyhow you prefer.

I know this sounds rather crazy... But I've considered it and I'm an adult and have decided that it's worth the try if I enjoy some caution. I'd really lose more money if I had to resort to another store for the same stuff. (Yet don't panic, we're talking about a small amount of cheap items.) So I need:

+ Someone from the UK.

+ As a precaution he or she would have to be at least a long time habitué of the forums so I can make myself a (completely illusory) idea of his or her honesty...

+ If there was a British admin/mod from the UK willing to help me on this, that would be a big plus and I would be really thankful, since having forum status implies the previous premise, and besides working in a website for free strikes me as incompatible with someone ready to disgrace him or herself for a handful of pounds.

So if you fulfill at least the two first requisites and are willing to help please PM me. Remember that I'd pay you a little something for your kindness, well actually to make it for your time and bother, the way I see it. Still it wouldn't be enough to make this big business for you, you'd be doing this out of the kindness of your heart. :wub:

Unfortunately I can't just order the stuff myself to your adress, because of the store's rules:

Please note the above address must match the address where your credit/debit card statements are sent.[/b]

I'd really wish there was a way around this. :wallbash: But of course I'd be the only one putting money in advance so that there's simply no way you're toast if you help me. First, I'd send you the money for: the order, the shipping cost from there to Spain, and the gift/payment from me to you. Only then once you've got my money in your hands, you'd proceed to order the stuff in a matter of minutes, and when you receive it you'd take it to a post office and send it to me.

So, British Abandonians, what do you say? Will you help me? Please PM me if willing. :thanx:

[Playbahnosh]

I wonder what could be THAT important to go through all this trouble to get it

[Danny252]

It can't be such a good site if the delivery and credit card adresses have to be the same. Any decent online shop will give you the option to deliver to another adress...

[Luchsen]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Danny252 @ Sep 15 2007, 02:38 PM) [snapback]311067[/snapback]</div>

Any decent online shop will give you the option to deliver to another adress...
[/b]

That goes for big shops, but small shops often don't want to deal with the trouble when someone uses the credit card data of someone else, shipping the items to a "pick up address".

[Japo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Playbahnosh @ Sep 15 2007, 11:02 AM) [snapback]311038[/snapback]</div>

I wonder what could be THAT important to go through all this trouble to get it [/b]

Just games. The price of most of the games I chose is what Amstrad cassettes cost when I was a kid! :blink: If I had a friend in the UK I'd ask him or her this favour; but then I thought, well I've come to know some nice people over there at Ab, so why not.

You see, when I was a kid I couldn't build a PC games collection. Now that I have my own money I don't play much but I'd still like to have some few titles that are essential for my taste and be able to play them once in a while. I've spent hours playing some of these at my friends' and others I haven't ever tried them but I know they're good. So it's a one-time purchase to minimally stock my very sad self. To acquire further games in the future I'd resort to normally available stores. But from those buying this mini-collection now wouldn't be an option, too expenive. The games I want can be bought in this store for less than half of what I've donated to Abandonia! Only one of them would be more expensive in other stores I've seen including of course the shops over here, than the whole lot from this site.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Danny252 @ Sep 15 2007, 02:38 PM) [snapback]311067[/snapback]</div>

It can't be such a good site if the delivery and credit card adresses have to be the same. Any decent online shop will give you the option to deliver to another adress...[/b]

I of course googled for the site in case there was something wrong about it. I only found normal reviews and all of the reviewers had got the stuff they had paid for, and there had been support available when necessary. Most reviewers agreed in the pros and cons of the site. Pros: prices you can't beat; cons: slow to deliver in comparison to other on-line stores (I don't care about this and it's understandable considering their profit margin). Anyway this is the site:

http://www.powerplaydirect.com/

[Sebatianos]

If you'd say which games maybe somebody else could try and hunt them down for you...

[Japo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sebatianos @ Sep 15 2007, 06:21 PM) [snapback]311086[/snapback]</div>

If you'd say which games maybe somebody else could try and hunt them down for you...[/b]

The game I was looking for when I stumbled upon this store was The Sims 2. It's £12.99 = 18.82€ over there, around 60€ = £41.41 over here at any store, at Amazon (for example) $49.85 = 36.00€ new or $28.00 = 20.22€ used.

I'd pay the difference, and that's what I'll do if this doesn't work out (very likely I guess). But then I saw a promotion about three games for £9.00, that's £3.00 = 4.35€ each, took a look at the titles and that's when I thought about the mini-collection idea. The games in the promotion are all sold out from the copyright holding company I think and somewhat oldish within a range, but many of them are by no means outdated anyway. I set my eyes on six of them:

+ Operation Flashpoint
+ Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
+ Caesar III
+ Civilization II
+ Tomb Raider + Tomb Raider 2 double pack
+ Worms 2 + Worms Armageddon double pack

All these 8 games for £18.00 = 26.08€, I haven't found any on-line store that comes even close to this promotion. I've even browsed more items, if I lived in the UK I'd be tempted to order a truckload. LOL For example, £11.99 = 17.37€ for "Baldurs Gate Compilation" (Baldurs Gate + Tales Of Sword Coast + Baldurs Gate 2 + Throne Of Bhaal), and £9.99 = 14.47€ for the latest Bond movie Casino Royale.

Also, this store doesn't charge any shipping costs (to the UK of course). I guess the reason they don't ship outside the UK nor even accept credit cards from abroad is that dealing with foreign banks would mean having to pay additional tariffs because of these annoying things called frontiers. <_< I bet this store is operating with pretty tight profit margins, what's more I think they're currently more after growing so that in the future they're in a position to make more cash, than after making cash just in the short term; when I googled I read their boasting about being "the fastest growing" on-line store in the UK.

[Sebatianos]

I can help you out with these.
Check out the Mantis, but it's in Slovene. RABLJENO means used, NOVO means new. They're shipping only in Slovenia, but I can be your middleman.

Opeartion Flashpoint Gold - at Mantis.si (used, but in good condition) - €7.95
Caesar III - (same place, same deal) - €3.95
Tomb Raider 1 & 2 (double pack) - @Mantis.si (nev) - €11.95
Worms 2 (not with Worms Armagedon, sorry) - (used, good condition) €3.95

[Japo]

Thanks a lot for volunteering to help Seb. But considering the presumable mailing costs from Slovenia and that I'd like more games if possible, I took a closer look at Amazon and ordered from there. Not half as cheap as the other site I had set my eyes on, but still a reasonable spending for me to do.

It took me a while to get used to Amazon's system, it's a store on its own but also a marketplace for third-party merchants, and into the bargain amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, etc. operate independently, each as both first-party store and third-party marketplace. At amazon.com I found a fine merchant with some good old games and relatively cheap shipment rates (considering they're in the US), but the games are used and they didn't have The Sims 2 or Operation Flashpoint. It was a pain in the behind finding in amazon.com someone who would ship The Sims 2 to Spain, finally found one and also had Operation Flashpoint but it was not so cheap and also used I think.

But then it occurred to me checking at amazon.co.uk, and as I've said it's a completely different store. Over there I could find all the games I was looking for, all brand new, and for a price I'm willing to pay, if not close to the bargain at the site that doesn't ship outside the UK. So finally I ordered these:

+ The Sims 2
+ Operation Flashpoint: Game of the Year Edition (Cold War Crisis + Gold /Red Hammer + Resistance)
+ Baldur's Gate Compilation (Baldurs Gate + Tales Of Sword Coast + Baldurs Gate 2 + Throne Of Bhaal)
+ Commandos 3
+ Alpha Centauri (arguably the best game in the Civilization series)
+ Tomb Raider + Tomb Raider 2 Double Pack
+ Rome Total War
+ Worms 2 + Worms Armageddon Double pack
+ Europa Universalis

I also bought a movie and a book:

+ Casino Royale
+ Red Storm Rising

I'm getting all this for £99.58 = 144.01€ = $199.76. As I said not half as cheap as at the other site, but still I'm willing to pay it right now to stock my gaming self. With this and abandonware and the occasional freeware, provided how little I lately play in comparison to younger years, I've got entertainment for years to come.

Thanks again Seb for caring.

[Havell]

Cool to see you got all the games you wanted.

I would have offered to help with that initial site, but I'm moving to Uni this week, and I'll be running around packing, changing my bank account and my home address and such so it's not possible.

And yes, Alpha Centauri is the best <strike>Civilization</strike> game there is.