How to Get Your Kindle Faster...

Remember a couple days ago I wrote a post about how my husband got his Kindle in 2 days and I was still waiting?
Well, yes, I am STILL waiting - but I have results!

It turns out, on April 4th, when it checked into Helsinki and completed most of their customs - they called me.  I didn't answer because I didn't hear my phone and I was dead asleep...they called after 9am but hubby was watching the kids so I opted for a nap.
When I woke up, I noticed that some weird number called but I disregarded it as a telemarketer.  I figured if it was UPS - they'd call back - RIGHT?!
Nope.  They never once called back...great customer service guys.  I really appreciate it.

I finally decided to check out who called that day - and it turns out it was not listed and pre-paid.  Was it UPS or not?!
I then decided it's been long enough - time to send an email!  I emailed UPS who guaranteed a response within 1 business day and yes, they did email me back.  The rep was vague and just said we'll see what's going on.
I emailed him back advising him my husband got his Kindle in 2 days and I'm still waiting.
I then get a phone call this morning from a similar phone number and decided to answer...yep.  It was UPS.
"Oh we found out you contacted us and the reason why your package from Amazon.com is being held here is because we need your Social Security number."
I gave it to her and she told me I'll get it on Monday.  Great!

Still it doesn't explain the poor customer service from last Wednesday - not calling a customer back...why the heck not?!  If not later in the day, the next day - until you get the customer to pick up!
And they couldn't take it out of Helsinki until they had my Social Security number - so they didn't bother trying to deliver it in person.

I just looked at the 2 numbers from today and last week and they are NOT the same...so perhaps UPS has several numbers?
Oh and I did use 16400 to find the 2nd number and yes, it's also un-listed and pre-paid too.


This is the not the first time I've had issues with UPS and missing packages...so be warned - if you go the International Shipping route for anything going through UPS - this is what you may go through!

Amazon Versus Finland

I am of course referring to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de - heck, even Amazon.it!

For those of you that are familiar with Amazon and it's products, you have probably heard of the "Kindle", the "Kindle Touch" and the "Kindle Fire".
Kindle is a particular brand only sold by Amazon and it's a type of E-Reader.

Why blog about an E-Reader?


Well, it's another one of those "experience things" while living in Finland and perhaps you are trying to purchase one as well!

When ordering books or DVDs - we usually go through The Book Depository (free shipping world-wide!) and Play.com (free shipping to EU and UK but not on everything to the EU).
While the Book Depository sells E-Readers - they are all sold out.
And Play.com does not ship them to Finland.

So - we looked downtown to see what we could find for my academic husband (who is always reading and requires tonnes of books!) and he decided that the Kindle would be perfect for him because you can make notes, highlight sections of the book etc.  As well, the extremely long battery life, E-Ink feature and light-weight was also a plus!
Okay perfect!
But Amazon UK does not ship their Kindles to Finland - nor do the other EU Amazon sites!
Great.......

So the husband orders his from the USA but you have to pay a little extra for the "International Shipping" version....AND you also get charged for import fees etc - about 30� extra.  So he paid about 125� for a Kindle to be sent here.
You will notice that the Kindle fees for within the US differs from the international shipping by quite a bit!

Now with any kind of electronical device - when you live with children/pets, travel a lot or perhaps you are accident-prone, you should get a case or protective sleeve for it - right?
Amazon US (.com) does not ship their cases....
Now I understand if Amazon.com does not ship their Region 1 DVDs because they're meant for North American DVD players and you're not supposed to know how to change the Region on your DVD player...(Nothing a little Google search can't help you with by the way!)
But a protective case is not Region-based nor does it require a specific plug outlet.

However! Amazon UK ships the Kindle accessories to Finland!
So he ordered from there and got it quite quickly!
His Kindle arrived 2 (business) days after ordering!  WOW!  UPS emailed him and called him and delivered it to the door!

So after some thought, I decided I will get one too.
Why?  Although I am not a scholar, and I do love to flip pages and read normal books - the library downtown does not always have the ones I would like to read!  And the waiting list can be quite long!  (I am still waiting on a book I placed a reserve on in December 2011.)
As well, I had left behind many books in our storage unit in Canada that I could re-read all the time!  Especially series of books that can be quite heavy and would add to my luggage's weight!
And let's face it - English books in the shops here are quite expensive!  (And the selection not as large of course.)
Oh and of course there is the green aspect of saving paper and trees by not purchasing as many paper-made books....
I also love the idea of being able to carry my whole "library" in one compact and light-weight product!  Great for the bus, the plane, the train, walking, etc.!

Well, I ordered my Kindle and it was shipped April 2nd and should have arrived to me via UPS by April 5th.
Today is the 10th - granted, there were several holidays and  weekend- but at least I know via Amazon's website that it was in Helsinki as of April 4th at 9:15am local time.
I'm still waiting for it and hope to get it soon.....because I have my case from Amazon UK - just not my Kindle.
And I haven't gotten an email or a phone call from UPS!

Oh and you cannot order from Amazon.com unless it says "International Shipping" is available...so the cool Kindle Fire (a tablet computer for a really affordable price - under 200�!) I would love to have in the future?  Nope - not available for shipping.  (The links for the Kindle and Kindle Touch above are for international shipping - so I saved you some trouble there.)

Funny how my husband got his Kindle from the US before he got his Kindle case from the UK!


**Please note: I do not work for, represent or am related to anyone employed by any of the above mentioned companies!  I'm just a customer like you.**

Hoot!

My friend's daughter is an artist.  Her name is Lua Tuomi and she's a Helsinki-based artist and she makes owls.
Here's her Facebook page.
These owls are all 100% handmade without any molds and she also ships internationally!
Hand-painted and each comes with a little story or character profile!!

So I decided to ask her to make my friend one - who LOVES owls.
She also LOVES the color purple....and to knit and do other crafty things!

This was the amazing result:

Her name is Pearla and she loves to knit!

If you like what you see - you should order one too!!!

I would love it if my husband asked Lua to make me one...these are too precious for words!

HUGE thanks Lua for your amazing work! Pearla is perfect and my friend just adores her!