Dealing with Amazon leaves a bad taste in my mouth now, after years of refusing to deal with unions and stories of truly horrible work practices. So I tend to check the price on Amazon and then buy locally; sometimes, if the price difference is double, and if I'm particularly broke, these principles break down.
If you want to buy from abroad without problems, NewportBoy, you may find that there's some local service that gives you a "European" address and then delivers your stuff to you in the UK.