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International Kindle users: change your country to avoid additional fees
Okay, so my earlier story about how Amazon is messing with International Kindle users made a bit of a splash. Quite a few things came up in my investigations before and after the story, but the basic fact remains: Amazon will add a fixed $2.00 surcharge to most items (which may or may not be a "roaming charge") if you're an international customer, even if you're using a WiFi-only device.
But I've now discovered something interesting enough to warrant a follow-up: It turns out that if you go to Amazon's Manage My Kindle page, you can simply set your country.
I think you must specify a valid address in your destination country (I supplied a valid one in Canada), but Amazon then simply takes your word for it.
As soon as I switched my country from Israel to Canada, the extra $2.00 per book simply disappeared. I could also suddenly subscribe to the NYT. I didn't actually try to do it, but it appears to be possible. Another side-effect was that Michael Pollan's Food Rules was suddenly unavailable, whereas before I was actually able to buy the title for $7.20 (when my location was listed as "Israel").
What's interesting is that in talking to four different Amazon reps, not a single one has mentioned this option. Also, Amazon can easily verify your actual location in two different ways – IP address or billing address. Yet, for some interesting reason, they choose to let you specify the address manually, and then take your word for it.
To me, this feels like a legal work-around they've had to take due to content restrictions and distributors insisting on various deals. Could it be that this shifts the legal responsibility to the customer rather than leave it with Amazon? Maybe I'm completely off-base here, but I think such weird complications are often lawyer-induced.
Note that I still don't have the device itself, so I can't fully guarantee that this works, and for all I know, they might plug this hole tomorrow. What I can tell you is that right now it does change the pricing and availability of many Kindle items.
Comments
12
Subscribe to comments@davey_ladSep 2nd 2010 4:32PM
Interesting to know. I've just pre-ordered the 3G/Wifi version in the UK but i'm using the service on my HTC Desire & Laptop until it arrives. I haven't actually bought any books yet... just ordered a few of the free ones to see how it all works. Which is pretty well... although, as good as the HTC Desire is, it's not optimised for book reading
AcaciaSep 2nd 2010 5:14PM
It's nothing new and works the same with iTunes. You can't lock people out with GeoIP because how would people get books while traveling? :)
ZubonSep 2nd 2010 8:23PM
Its possible things have changed but I went through this as well, changing the location to the US to get the best global pricing. However, they do check your location. Some weeks after the change I started receiving mails saying that I needed to login/access the account IN THE US or to send them some physical proof. Instead I signed up for a VPN (I use Strong VPN) at around $5/month and logged in to the US kindle store. That was some time back and I have yet to see any more mails from them. I dont use an actual Kindle, just the iPhone/iPad app (in Japan and while travelling). Both those devices allow u to login in via a VPN which has since also proved handy now that I subscribe to Netflix (and the occasional UK BBC show).
Interestingly, Spotify doesn't bother with region checking so long as you pay the monthly 10 GBP for Premium membership.
'The world is Flat' as they say and being a virtual US Citizen is by far the cheapest option out there. Ideally, I would like to see a Clicker.com App equivalent for Electronic Books that shows me US Kindle, Nook, Apple, Google, etc pricing. Though I'd prefer to not have to deal with a tonne of different formats, in my heart of hearts I know that I wont be reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo more than once, so short of going the piracy route, I want to take the most competitive price out there...
FredSep 2nd 2010 10:45PM
For what it's worth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is cheapest in the UK.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Dragon-Tattoo/dp/B002RI9ZQ8/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM&qid=1283481743&sr=8-1
Alan MendelevichSep 3rd 2010 2:52AM
You are cheating their rules, no matter how lame or unfair they are. With this logic you might just as well download a pirated copy.
Lonnie McClureSep 3rd 2010 4:25PM
This = royalty payment to the author
Pirated = no payment to anyone
Looks like a difference to me.
mallthusSep 11th 2010 4:11PM
Not to mention the fact that if you're using this capability to purchase something that might not be available (at any price) in your "home" country, then you're actually creating income for the author(s) they would not otherwise have had access to.
I see your thought process though. If I were to, say, use a UK based VPN to fool the BBC iPlayer into thinking I was in the UK so that I could watch BBC content, I would be using this function illicitly, as I would be unlikely to be paying the Television License fee in the UK.
Similarly, if I were to buy content in the US that was also available in my home country but which was handled by a different publisher in each country, I would be denying the publisher in my home country their share of the pie. Given that this discrepancy is a byproduct of archaic distribution agreements and that the author still gets paid either way, I'm not going to get too worked up about it.
MarcusSep 4th 2010 9:22AM
Erez, not the world's smartest idea posting this on your blog. What you are effectively doing is admitting to fraud. I think you owe it to the people who read your blog to warn them that you are encouraging them to commit a criminal act. Hopefully Amazon won't use their DRM capabilities to block you from using any of the content you have purchased in this manner. They have already demonstrated the ability to remove content from their customer's Kindle devices and I am sure they have added the same capability into their reader clients for other platforms.
spikehkSep 7th 2010 4:23AM
This is nothing new. I've had my kindle for almost a year and I live in Hong Kong. I do have a credit card with a US billing address. A year ago when the US Kindle cost less than the int'l one, I bought a US one, had it shipped to a US address and then shipped to me. I registered it online with a US address and credit card and never had a problem. A year ago when I checked there were roughly 20-25% more titles available for US Kindle owners than international ones, as well as the $2 price difference which is complete nonsense if one only transfers books via wifi.
devnullSep 23rd 2010 8:33AM
Dear ,
I see that you attempted to purchase "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [Kindle Edition]" while in a different country than the United States listed on your Amazon account. Certain Kindle titles are not available everywhere. We are reaching out to you to ensure the best possible service for your account.
If you have moved to a different country, you can easily update your country for your Amazon account at www.Amazon.com/manageyourkindle
If this is not the case, and you would like to share information that you live in the United States, we can be reached by fax at 001-206-266-1838 from outside the US, or 206-266-1838 from within the US. Helpful information includes:
– Passport
– Military ID
– Permanent Resident Card
– Driver’s License
– Other state photo identity card
We want to assure you that we handle this information in a secure manner: these are dedicated fax lines, staffed in an area with limited employee access. The fax is never printed, just converted to an electronic image that is used to check the country, then the image is deleted.
Best regards,
Account Specialist
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
julienOct 1st 2010 4:10AM
I live in France and am a registered as a US customer, and I received the same message today
do you think amazon will eventually do something about it? (remove books purchased under this account, or "relocate" me to France?)
I know these restrictions are due to copyright issues but that's really making the kindle less attractive to intl customers (disproportionate extra cost on items, almost no books in non english languages etc)
JulieNov 10th 2010 7:14PM
I live in Canada and am disappointed that so many books I would like to read are not available to purchase.
Would I be able to use a friend's address in the US and change the profile?