International Kindle Shopping

[Nikosandros]

I'm considering the purchase of a Kindle Paperwhite, but, since I live in Italy, I'm wondering about the possibility of buying ebooks "abroad".

Does anyone have any experience with that? If the Kindle is registered on the Italian version of Amazon, am I prevented from purchasing books from other Amazon sites?

 

[Jhaelen]

I'm considering the purchase of a Kindle Paperwhite, but, since I live in Italy, I'm wondering about the possibility of buying ebooks "abroad".

Ditto, except I'm from Germany

Does anyone have any experience with that? If the Kindle is registered on the Italian version of Amazon, am I prevented from purchasing books from other Amazon sites?

As far as I understood it, it's just like ordering any other product from a different Amazon site, i.e. you can do so but will not benefit from any special discounts since those only apply nationally. Shipping is - of course - not an issue for the Kindle.

I don't know about you, but I read almost all books in English but almost always order them via the German Amazon website. I checked all books on my watch list and all of them are available in Kindle format and all of them cost about 2 Euros less than the printed version.

 

[Nikosandros]

Ditto, except I'm from Germany

The Paperwhite is rather enticing, isn't it?

As far as I understood it, it's just like ordering any other product from a different Amazon site, i.e. you can do so but will not benefit from any special discounts since those only apply nationally. Shipping is - of course - not an issue for the Kindle.

Are you sure about that? I can't buy from Amazon.com MP3 store, nor can I buy from the iTunes store in other countries. I'm afraid that, due to agreements with the publishers and the distributors, there might be similar restrictions for ebooks.

I don't know about you, but I read almost all books in English but almost always order them via the German Amazon website. I checked all books on my watch list and all of them are available in Kindle format and all of them cost about 2 Euros less than the printed version.

I also read plenty of books in English, but not all of them are available from the Italian site.

 

[Nikosandros]

According to Amazon.it customer service I can purchase from Amazon.it and Amazon.com, but not all content from the latter (I imagine especially magazines).

 

[MarkB]

My parents, who live in France, are having similar issues - they can't use Amazon UK to order books if they register their device in France.

They're buying theirs from Amazon UK and having it shipped and registered to my home address, in the hope that this will allow them to purchase books from Amazon UK. We should know in a week or so whether it works.

 

[Jhaelen]

According to Amazon.it customer service I can purchase from Amazon.it and Amazon.com, but not all content from the latter (I imagine especially magazines).

True, there are exceptions, e.g. newspapers. Also, borrowing books only works with the registered Amazon.

I just checked the terms of use regarding the mp3's:

As required by our Music Content providers, Music Content is available only to customers located in the United Kingdom.

Interestingly, there doesn't seem anything to prevent me from buying it anyway ^^

Trying to buy a kindle edition for a book doesn't work, though. It's telling me:

This title is available to UK customers only.

Trying the same on Amazon.com, I get a message telling me:

Kindle titles are available for DE customers on Amazon.de.

However, I'm offered to change my address in case I've moved to the US which apparently would allow me to purchase them...

Weird stuff.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

You can change your location in the account settings for your Kindle - use a false address in the USA. That sometimes opens up previously locked content. After you have downloaded the new books, just change it back.

 

[MarkB]

It seems that the address change is all that's needed. My parents have now received the Kindle and are having no trouble purchasing items from Amazon UK.