Amazon Kindle discussion
International kindle users
Mod
And usually they cost more because the whispernet you use in India and other countries costs them more.
I do get that it is the publishers that determine the availability but my concerns were more about the platform and it's shortcomings as a whole rather than any reasons for them. But still I don't get why the publishers would do this. I can't get those books I want here In their physical form which is why I'm looking for the ebook version and in the end it Is money in their pockets.Also whispernet charges shouldn't apply as I am on my iPad using wifi.
More thoughts from international users would be really helpful. Cheers.
I understand what you means about the prices. I have an iPad as well but I also have an international kindle. The charge is ment to be the charge for the whisper net service and even though you are using the iPad these charged still apply due to the fact that Amazon carnet charge two different prices for the same book. That would be a logistical nightmare! I do sometimes find books that I want on the kindle that aren't available in the UK but have you tried the iBooks store? That is terrible. Every book I searched for - including my current read and also in the top five books on amazon, the girl who played with fire - is not in there. Nothing I have searched for is.
Mod
It's fine if authors sign different publishers for different regions but why don't the non-US publishers make ebook versions available as well? Anyway it would make more sense in this day and age to have a separate ebook publisher to prevent this sort of problem from cropping off. This is precisely the reason why publishing is going through such hell as an industry. They continue to behave as if nothing has changed with their head in the sand.It's frustrating! Especially for someone who is thinking very hard about getting into the whole ebook thing.
Vir, you mentioned in your first post that a new kindleis coming out in the fall.Do you have any other information on this? I was planning on buying a kindle
next month but I would rather wait if a newer model
is coming out.
@Alans, nor confirmed yet but a few credible reportshttp://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/am...
also just saw this... which should make you happy :)
http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon...
Thanks Vir for the information. I will definitly waitto buy my new Kindle now. And today they've just announced they've dropped the price by 100.00 dollars.
I live in Canada and all of the book prices are marked
up and like elsewhere there is far less selection for
our country then there is in the U.S. This certainly
puts a damper on my desire to buy a Kindle. But I will
probably still get one when they come out with the new
model.
I'm an author with a question: my book is on Kindle, but only USA (that is, com). I don't know how to get it on other country amazons! I'm trying to find out through Canada's amazon-ca, but so far, no luck. In many cases, I think the deal is, you need a bank account in the country(ies) you hope to reach - no doubt so they can withhold tax from you! I'm sure it's a gov't deal.But why does not amazon com make all Kindle books available anywhere in the world?
I'm pretty sure it's a publisher issue - rights and so on. BUT, last year some 700,000 books were put out by small press or self published. What about these? For those of us in the smaller press world, it would be easier to be able to distribute from one site.
Teeth - The Epic Novel with Bite
Next question to you Kindlers - what do you recommend the price be for (or put it another way - what would you like to pay for, and a range would work: "I think it's fair to pay from $x to $y"):1) new book by (to you) unknown author; and
2) new book by famous author?
Teeth - The Epic Novel with Bite
I'd be curious to see if this difficulty clears up over time...
I too am using a Kindle internationally, in central France. I have had no problems with it at all other than a desire to purchase books which are not currently available in the Kindle, or electronic, format that I can find.
I had an amazing experience with mine that you might really enjoy reading about. I wrote a blahg post on it at http://spitandbalingwire.blogspot.com. If you have occasion to read about it, holler at me. I was excited to be able to share the experience with other fans of the Kindle.
Amitiés,
I had an amazing experience with mine that you might really enjoy reading about. I wrote a blahg post on it at http://spitandbalingwire.blogspot.com. If you have occasion to read about it, holler at me. I was excited to be able to share the experience with other fans of the Kindle.
Amitiés,
I'm using Kindle in Denmark. Only issues I've had is the the lesser availability. I'm hoping that time will change this - but I doubt it will happen soon. It is still an issue with music etc so I don't think the book industry will solve it anytime soon unfortunately.
I don't really understand how people are moaning at the availability of books on the international kindle. I live in the UK and on the Amazon store there is 400,873 books. That is amazing! I will agree that that its not as much as the American store but compare it to Waterstones who last time i look had just over 12,000 and even Apple's iBook store doesn't have alot. I searched the other day for Stieg Larrson's Millennium series to compare prices to the Kindle and it wasn't on there. This is the number 1 selling series on Amazon right now and Apple don't even have it! I also looked for some other books which apart from book by Harlan Coben, I couldn't find a single one.So I wish people didn't criticize the Kindle store so much. Yes, it doesn't have everything thing that I want to read but 99% of it is there and if not, there is plenty of other things to choose from.
I am really enjoying my kindle in Italy.I really like the fact that I'm able to purchase almost every single recent english book. It happens that some books may not be available for europe, but most of the time you just have to search for a different edition. I don't like the fact that the interational edition books cost more than paperback, but all the same it still cost less than ordering them from amazon UK.
Now that also the internet has been unblocked I really think it was worth making the purchase.
I'm in Poland and the only thing that really irritates me is the supposed "whispernet fee". I'm using the Kindle 3 WiFi only device, so I don't have 3G, yet I have to pay additional fees for each book that I buy. VAT I can understand, it's mandated by the law, but what do I pay the $2 or so for? :( Amazon's support wasn't helpful and no one has explained to international WiFi customers what the fee is for as of yet.
I'm a kindle user in Australia. Amazon doesn't have an actual Australian site so I do everything through the US site.I only have a couple of books that I have purchased for Kindle so far. I have several of the free ones available through Amazon itself.
I also have books that have been made free by their authors via their own websites, such as the first book in a series so that they can put their stories out there to attract new readers.
I also have a whole bunch of the free Gutenberg books but I didn't download them through Amazon. Before my Kindle I had taken to reading books via Stanza on my iPhone, so I transferred the Project Gutenberg books I already had and just converted them in Calibre so I could read them on the Kindle.
So far my experiences have been mostly positive. There have been a few instances where the book I have wanted hasn't been available to Australian users. In a couple of cases they have been from Australian authors which has been frustrating. But at least one of them has since been made available.
The Kindle itself is living up to my expectations, and I suspect that with time, the books will become available.
I too have an international Kindle and, in fact, after doing some research, I discovered it was the only e-reader I could buy because in order to buy ebooks from stores like Borders, Barnes and Noble etc. you need a US billing address, which, of course, I don't have. Nevertheless, I am very happy with my Kindle because I now have access to books that I never did before - I live in a non-English speaking country and had to settle for the less than satisfactory selection at the second hand bookstore 45 minutes from my house.
I have found all the books that I am interested in on Amazon's site. The prices seem to be the same here (Israel) as in the US. However, there is a $2 charge on free books, which is actually funny as they are supposed to be free.
Does the international Kindle means you can only buy through U.K store or through any store on the Amazon roster. I have two books on kindle and have friends all over the world. I've been telling them to get Kindle from Amazon.com. Should they get the International version? How is it better?
I received my Kindle just 2 days ago here in Australia. I love it. Whilst waiting, I have been collecting free books and have also managed to buy at least half a dozen. We don't have the extra $2 charge that some Europeans appear to have. The only thing I've found mildly frustrating is not being able to purchase Australian authors on Kindle but I think that will change a little in time as I notice that there are some avaiable.I've been drooling over Kindle for several years now. I was all set to buy a Sony (one day) but the price was prohibitive for me. When I saw the latest Kindle become International and at a very reasonable price I started to do some more homework just to make sure a Kindle would be best for me.
I live in rural Australia. I have to drive many miles to any book store or buy via mail order (online). Books in Australia are very expensive. Buying books from Amazon is more reasonable but we do pay around $10 for shipping per book. I found The Book Depository in the UK the cheapest place to buy DTBooks. Now with Kindle, I save a bundle even if I pay $9.99. I have about 60 books on my Kindle already most are either free or under $2.99. I've been using http://www.ereaderiq.com/ for messages on free (to Australia) ebooks and also registering for price drops in books I'm interesting in buying in the future. I don't bother even looking at what is free but not available to Australia. No point.
I searched various eBook stores online for books that I was interested in and found that a lot either didn't have the books I wanted avaialble at all or they were quite a few dollars dearer. I found Amazon had the most books available to me at the cheapest price I could find.
I do believe that for me, the Kindle is by far the best value reader. I'm not remotely concerned with being 'tied' to Amazon. As I said, they had the most books available to me for the cheapest price and it is constantly evolving to provide an even better service to it's customers. Ultimately, it's about reading books and lots of them and I felt the Kindle offered me that service the best. I am blown away by the availability of books to me now that I have a Kindle.
Brian wrote: "Does the international Kindle means you can only buy through U.K store or through any store on the Amazon roster. I have two books on kindle and have friends all over the world. I've been telling t..."The international version is required if you are buying the Kindle outside of the United States. It's not that it's any different or any better, it's just designed to be able to connect to the different 3G companies available worldwide. Whereas the US Whispernet version may not operate properly outside of the US.
For me in Australia, when I went to purchase the Kindle, it knew from my previous purchases that I was not in the US and it required me to pick my country from a list. I got to the parent site Amazon.com for all of my Kindle related purchases.
Lauren wrote: For me in Australia, when I went to purchase the Kindle, it knew from my previous purchases that I was not in the US and it required me to pick my country from a list
Thanks so much for the info Lauren. Really appreciate it.
Thanks so much for the info Lauren. Really appreciate it.
My sister lives in Hong Kong and wants a Kindle for her birthday. Does the international thing mean it would be better that I buy her the UK version to use, or that she orders it herself from Amazon.com? I didn't even know there were two versions!
Mod
All Kindle 3's are international now. The old Kindle 2's only have US 3G access, now they're all international.
Amazon For Authors & Publishers seem to be the best in the business guys. I just had some formatting issues with my source file for Kindle trying to match the content with the paperback and man their customer service guys from their “Digital Text Platform” was on it and will have it fixed for me. This is unbelievable compared to the others I’ve worked with in the past 6 months. (This would take one week to rectify) I am now a loyal Amazonian from today. I’m going to buy everything I own from Amazon from today! Do they sell houses on the beach? Or luxury Cars?
Weenie wrote: "My sister lives in Hong Kong and wants a Kindle for her birthday. Does the international thing mean it would be better that I buy her the UK version to use, or that she orders it herself from Amazo..."You can buy either way, but it is better if your sister will buy it from Amazon.com. Why? for warranty, it is easier to handle it, than having you (UK) to do the transaction if something happened to the device being used in Hongkong. Secondly, since your sister is living in HK, then it is easy for her to buy from Amazon.com. If you decided to buy it from UK, your sister can register it using her amazon.com account or she can open an account at amazon.co.uk (in case she is not permanently living in HK). Note that you can always re-register the device but with my experience, I still prefer to maintain where I bought it (from US, amazon.com). The problem is you can not buy ebooks from amazon.co.uk if the device is registered from amazon.com., even if your sister will go back to UK for good, unless she will finally decided to re-register it. Amazon.com gives more of free ebooks than UK Amazon. Buy the Kindle3G for easy internet free access and UK does not have the white version which is more stylish-looking than the black one.
Regardless of location, the Whispernet - the software that manages the downloading of ebooks to our Kindle is working efficiently, except for PC/laptop using the Amazon.co.uk purchase. It takes a while (sometimes, one day) to transfer the file to the computer. Even we dont have Kindle device, we can still buy and read ebooks from Amazon using its free software reading application software for computers and other mobile devices. This is for UK users
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.ht...
This is for US or Amazon.com users
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html...
Vir wrote: "Hey I was just wondering if there were any international kindle users here and if they would be willing to share their experiences. Ive just started using it in india and from what little I have s..."Maybe my blogsite could help find free books. I bought my white Kindle from the US and Im travelling UK at the moment. I did not change my registration for easy access, which means I can only purchase from Amazon.com. Please try to browse this link:
http://mgakuwentongbuhayatnobela.blog...
You can download free books for free directly from gutenberg.org and in many formats, including kindle's Mobi (any books I have looked at anyway). Then you just have to transfer them from your PC to your kindle. Calibre works very well for converting any other books to mobi, although I have not yet mastered removing headers & footers from pdf files - thought I knew how but did not work the last time I tried (the problem with pdf files is that the normal page size is too big, so the print is either tiny or you have to read in landscape and scroll each page - not the just like a book feel you want).I am in Canada, and there are 577,000 books available to us on amazon.com. A lot of books, even if some we want are not available. And sometimes books are not available on the US site either, even if you can work out how to access them, although they are for other ereaders. One option, if you have a good smartphone (I have a Captivate with a 4 inch screen & find reading on it quite comfortable) is to download the free aps available for most, if not all, competitors and buy the books from the competitor and read them on your phone, or ipad, or whatever.
What sold me on kindle, before I had even thought about book availability, is the hardware. I first looked at a Kobi in our local Chapters, but the kindle wins hands down. From online reviews and descriptions it sounds like Nook might be a good rival, but we can't get it in Canada.
One thing that does annoy me is that just before Christmas Amazon decided to start charging Canadian customers $10 for the power adapter that is included in the base price for US customers and is identical to that supplied to US customers, our electrical standards being identical. Must cost them more just to have separate packaging and warehousing for the units destined for Canada!
I am based in Hong Kong, but will be relocating to the UK next year. I am hoping to purchase a Kindle 3 (wifi + 3G) this week, but I'm unsure whether to place my order via Amazon.com (international), or Amazon.co.uk. Your much would be much appreciated.
I was told that you should only buy UK if you lived in UK currently as you wouldn't be able to buy books otherwise.
Helen wrote: "I was told that you should only buy UK if you lived in UK currently as you wouldn't be able to buy books otherwise."I believe that is correct. I live in the Netherlands and can only buy ebooks through Amazon US. I tried to but through Amazon UK and Amazon DE, but that doesn't work.
Overall, I am very happy with my Kindle. The extra charges (which I believe are partly for whispernet use - wehther you use it or not - and VAT) annoy me, but still it is often the cheapest way to get a book, especially if it's a new release.
paperdust wrote: "I am based in Hong Kong, but will be relocating to the UK next year. I am hoping to purchase a Kindle 3 (wifi + 3G) this week, but I'm unsure whether to place my order via Amazon.com (international..."Dave's right. If I were you I'd wait and buy your kindle from .co.uk, otherwise there are extra charges on top.
i bought mine at amazon.com, i think that is the best place to buy a kindle.
I am an International Kindle user in Zambia, Africa. After waiting for two years to be able to buy it (coz my country doesn't have a credit card system so i purchased it through a friend who is based in the US), am just happy that i finally have it and can enjoy the other benefits that having the device offers.I have never bought a book for my kindle before and may never do so in the near future but i have over 17GB worth of ebooks and have been able to convert some of them and transfer them to my Kindle. I am grateful that reading has been made so much easier for me with the Kindle and in spite of the other disadvantages am happy that those are outweighed by the advantages :))
Hello, I want to share about a problem we are going through with Kindle UK. I am not getting my Kindle check payment here in India. Reportedly thrice they have issued the same check and sent it through “regular mail”, as is “the rule”, they said. But the check never reached me. They were selling the books alright, but now they are unwilling to send the check in Airmail in excuse of "Rules".I guess, letters sent in regular mail in UK do not reach India. I am receiving checks from Kindle USA alright, but I have failed to receive any payment from Kindle UK (my royalty has reached about 160 GBP). They are absolutely heedless about my problem and I have no clue how to get my UK royalties. This is very frustrating, you know, to wait to see your royalties grow and not receiving it ultimately. I am considering to withdraw from UK sales channel. I warn the other Indian authors and publishers about using the Kindle UK Channel.
I am an Australian kindle user for several years now, more than happy with the level of service I have received in that time. I first encountered perhaps one or two books that were unavailable to me based on geography but I cannot remember the last time that happened. It isn't something I bother to think about anymore at all. Service has been good enough that I purchased a kindle for my fathers birthday recently. The only "international" issue that I have come across at all was more to do with my bank, I was being charged a transaction fee for every ebook purchase of an exorbitant amount because it counted as an international transaction in a foreign currency, this was easily overcome by purchasing amazon gift cards in large amounts instead, and then eventually to changing banks anyway.
I live in Portugal, and I got the kindle a couple of months ago, everything went very well with the delivery and the device works perfectly as described. I am super satisfied!Now, concerning the restrictions: I haven't come across anything that bothered me, because I would have to pay insane amounts of $ for shipping of English Written books before, so now it's much cheaper legally. Also, there's the whole Project Gutenberg thing, the books that are available for public domain, free of charge, which is great (available in different formats that you can use on your kindle, there are some really useful threads in this group about it).
It's not a tablet (mine), so I can't get all kinds of magazines, but take a look at the kindle store.
Ok, hope that was helpful!
Yea, I realized Im 3 years late, sorry, hope someone finds this helpful lol.
I guess, letters sent in regular mail in UK do not reach India. I am receiving checks from Kindle USA alright, but I have failed to receive any payment from Kindle UK (my royalty has reached about 160 GBP). They are absolutely heedless about my problem and I have no clue how to get my UK royalties. This is very frustrating, you know, to wait to see your royalties grow and not receiving it ultimately. I am considering to withdraw from UK sales channel. I warn the other Indian authors and publishers about using the Kindle UK Channel. I'm guessing you've used all kinds of possible amicable approaches so yeah, given that the money is rightfully yours, do not give it up, seriously, looks like a pretty shady set-up there lol.
Ps. Correct me if I'm wrong, I might not be seeing the whole thing as it is for real.
Hey guy i am an author from INDIA and my debut novel is a national bestseller in my country selling over 10000 copies. I just put up the book on Amazon Kindle but i have no clue how to go about making the book more visible. if someone could give me some tips that would be awesomehttp://www.amazon.com/Then-Rained-alw...
hi guys,I am international Kindle user from Switzerland. I have no problems with my Kindle and I like reading my Kindle ebooks on my Kindle Touch and my iphone and iPad..it's very handy that you can start a book on one device and continue it on another. The only thing I don't like is that Amazon doesn't sell the Kindle ebooks to me, but only licence it. I believe that if you pay for a book or ebook you should be the owner and in case you are not then they should have to reduce their price alt least to 50% of the current price standard..then it would be fair.
I also find it very troubling that I buy Kindle ebooks only at my local Amazon page and that some books aren't available here. The customer should always be king and not have to limit shopping or pay a higher price so that certain publishers can make more money...
Timothy wrote: "I'm an author with a question: my book is on Kindle, but only USA (that is, com). I don't know how to get it on other country amazons! I'm trying to find out through Canada's amazon-ca, but so far,..."I published my books with Amazon Kindle and they are supposed to be available in any country, so that would mean that Amazon has books published with them available in all countries.
Michael wrote: "hi guys,I am international Kindle user from Switzerland. I have no problems with my Kindle and I like reading my Kindle ebooks on my Kindle Touch and my iphone and iPad..it's very handy that you ..."
right you are. Make that your mission to change the way things are.
i currently got a kindle, and i am in nigeria, i would have gotten a kindle earlier but i find it difficult to read e-books and the likes, changed my mind because most books i want to read hardly have their hard copies available in nigeria, and i can not buy books off amazon to my kindle, help please?
Hi,I am an international kindle user from Greece. The only drawback is that apparently I cannot loan a book. I mean of course, lendable ones.
Hi, Is it possible to download books onto the Kindle in languages other than English? I live in Belgium and am thinking of buying a Kindle (basic bog standard, not singing and dancing type) for my daughter. She is bi-lingual English/Dutch so it would be good if she could download books in either language.
Debbie wrote: "Hi, Is it possible to download books onto the Kindle in languages other than English? I live in Belgium and am thinking of buying a Kindle (basic bog standard, not singing and dancing type) for my ..."I have an iPad and a Kindle, that was brought to me by an American friend. I live in the Netherlands, but I have to buy my e-books through .com. As to the additional fees, if I check my own book on Amazon.com, it's sold to the Netherlands: "Kindle Price: $7.25 includes VAT* & free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet". As that book retails for 3.99$, that's 3.26 on top of the price. And for VAT that's some steep rate...
If you plan to buy English and Dutch Books, I'd suggest you use Kobo, which doesn't charge extra. If you don't have a local Amazon (.fr, .de, .co.uk), you're better off with a Kobo, or you will have to buy all your books through .com with the hefty surcharge and no choice in Dutch books.
Kobo is from Rakuten (Japanese company) and also delivers to local booksellers, for example WH Smith in England distributes Kobo e-books.
I like the Kindle's screen and contrast (even on my 'old' Kindle Keyboard), but my main reason is to read English books and to check the mobi versions of my own books on the Kindle. If I'd buy an e-reader for Europe only, I'd think about Kobo readers.
Can I register my Kindle in Canada and download books in Poland using my canadian address?
Amazon Kindle
Books mentioned in this topic
Teeth (other topics)Not Easily Washed Away: Memoirs Of A Muslim's Daughter (other topics)
I'm using kindle on the iPad and was thinking of buying the actual device when the new one comes out In august, but now I'm rethinking the idea.