Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

John Lewis vs Amazon?

41 replies

callmemaybee · 27/05/2021 21:33

Boring one, apologies!

The scenario: say you’re ordering a pricy tech item.

Amazon (sold by them directly) has it cheapest. John Lewis charges 15% more, but have an additional year of warranty of course. This could very well be useful - I’m actually ordering this item to replace my current one which is faulty.

Would you order from John Lewis for their extended guarantee; or would you go for the cheaper price at Amazon & rely on their generally good customer service?

OP posts:
Willow4987 · 27/05/2021 21:38

I’d probably go with John Lewis

GlamGiraffe · 27/05/2021 21:42

John lewis without a doubt.

Rubyrecka · 27/05/2021 21:42

Don't JL price match?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

General shopping General style & beauty
Freecuthbert · 27/05/2021 21:43

Probably John Lewis based on the scenario, though admittedly I've never bought anything from them and use Amazon plenty Shock

Original poster
callmemaybee · 27/05/2021 21:45

@Rubyrecka

Don't JL price match?
They do! Not Amazon though unfortunately. I think only Curry’s price match Amazon but I don’t want the hassle of dealing with themGrin

Looks like JL is the clear winner so far!

OP posts:
Fishandhips · 27/05/2021 21:45

I've always found amazon okay for customer service, even if you buy from a third party seller they will intervene if needed to reach a resolution. John Lewis I have had issues with. It depends how much it is as well, 15% of say £2k is obviously a lot extra to pay than 15% of £100. I would be tempted to go with JL to support the high Street if the extra money wasn't an issue though!

badasscafe1 · 27/05/2021 21:46

If you asked me a month ago I would have said John Lewis- but have had a pair of headphones break after less than 3 months ( so in warranty) but John Lewis won’t fix- they had to send them to Sony who said it was accidental damage (it wasn’t) - so I would say the John Lewis warranty is worthless if they didn’t manufacture the item.

Starryskiesinthesky · 27/05/2021 21:47

Definitely John Lewis. Extra years guarantee, British company, pay taxes and more ethical than amazon. No contest!

DuckonaBike · 27/05/2021 21:49

Surely JL is a far more ethical retailer than Amazon?

OllyBJolly · 27/05/2021 21:49

Definitely John Lewis for the reasons @Starryskiesinthesky says. Also, treat staff very well unlike Amazon.

Hiddenmnetter · 27/05/2021 21:52

For any tech always JL. JL actually honour their warranties. Pay for their extended warranty as well. Every laptop, headphones or whatever I always get from JL. I have never had them argue or quibble- it's broken and in warranty? We replace.

OhForGodsSakeWhatNow · 27/05/2021 22:07

JL for ethical reasons. I go so far to avoid Amazon.

groundcontroltomontydon · 27/05/2021 22:07

The manufacturer determines the content of the warranty (and tech warranties tend to be quite mean) so it could be that if the item breaks under warranty it will just be sent to the manufacturer (which might then determine it's accidental damage and then you're stuffed unless you paid for accidental damage cover when you bought the item). So I'd go Amazon and consider using the saving to take out insurance.

Shopaholic100 · 27/05/2021 22:15

Amazon customer service is outstanding in my experience. John Lewis used to be great but I’m increasing hearing negative things about their aftercare, customer service seems to have dropped.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 27/05/2021 23:08

My experience of JL customer service has not been positive.

Is it an item you could get at ao.com?

VenusClapTrap · 27/05/2021 23:53

I would rather my money went to John Lewis, who pay their tax, than Amazon.

Serpenta · 27/05/2021 23:57

Buy it from John Lewis using Topcashback or Quidco. I'm really trying to kill my Amazon habit.

Maraki · 28/05/2021 05:16

We bought a £2k tv from J Lewis in September. Within 6 weeks it went wrong. J Lewis did nothing, they told us to ring Sony to take it away, have it repaired and be without a tv for the 2 months the repair would take during lockdown!! Unbelievable and unacceptable!
We spent hours ringing Sony and J Lewis complaining, in the end Sony exchanged it for a brand new tv. But the amount of hassle we had to go through to get there...J Lewis were really unhelpful.
Had a few things gone wrong with amazon. They send me replacements straight away, no questions asked.

lughnasadh · 28/05/2021 05:40

I'm sure I read somewhere that JL has outsourced their customer service, and it's pretty awful now.

I'd go with Amazon.

They have genuinely brilliant customer service, employ huge numbers of people, and if I had their turnover, I'd be looking to minimise tax payments too.

whiteroseredrose · 28/05/2021 06:22

I would automatically go for JL too but I'm not sure if customer service is as good as it was either.

Fifteen years ago they replaced a 9 month old pushchair even though they only guaranteed for 6 months. Any returns within the year were problem free.

More recently however I have had difficulties. My Macbook had a problem and there were lots of arguments.

Amazon have always been great with exchanges when new but I've never tested their customer service a few months down the line.

Fishandhips · 28/05/2021 06:41

@VenusClapTrap

I would rather my money went to John Lewis, who pay their tax, than Amazon.
Amazon do pay all of the tax that they legally have to. The issue is that the law re: online retailers hasn't been updated as the sector has grown. Ì
Geamhradh · 28/05/2021 06:43

I use Amazon at least 4-5 times a week for everything from medicines to teabags.
A pricy tech item? John Lewis.
I got dd's tablet from Amazon, but anything over £150 I'd go with JL.

sarahc336 · 28/05/2021 06:47

Jl customer service is awful, we ordered a car child seat from then and it never arrived. Their customer service answer was "well we sent it out just keep waiting" what forever?????? We had to fight to get a refund, I witj the use then for a big object again xx

Neolara · 28/05/2021 06:51

I bought a phone from JL recently. It didn't work. Their tech support tried to help me to get it to work it didn't so they replaced it. The replacement had exactly the same issue. They gave me a refund without quibble. I was very impressed with JL.

beryltheperilrocks · 28/05/2021 06:55

Can you get it from anyone else is my first thought.

Swipe left for the next trending thread