If you're outside the US and want a Kindle, now is a good time to start looking on Ebay. There are a number of sellers who will ship internationally with a Buy It Now price of $449. Unless Amazon decides to ship outside the US, I don't think the Kindle will get much cheaper.

Buyers outside the US need to take great care before buying, especially if commercial eBooks are of interest to them. It's very difficult to buy commercial content for the Kindle for people outside the US, without the use of conversion tools which many people may find off-putting (and which, depending on where they live, may indeed be illegal for them to use).

Another issue to bear in mind is that, if you purchase from outside the US you are, in effect, buying a device without a warranty - you won't be able to get a warranty repair.

I honestly could not recommend the Kindle for non-US purchasers.

If someone from outside the US buys a Kindle, can it be registered with Amazon to be able to purchase Kindle Editions?

Registered - yes. But you can't purchase Kindle ebooks without a US credit card.

Registered - yes. But you can't purchase Kindle ebooks without a US credit card.

Well one couldn't use the current wireless features but can't you purchase books and download them to a desktop to be installed? Or do you mean that Amazon will not sell you a Kindle book unless you have a US credit card?

Bob

Or do you mean that Amazon will not sell you a Kindle book unless you have a US credit card?

Bob

That is indeed the situation, Bob. Amazon aren't alone in adopting such a policy - Sony do exactly the same in their eBook store (although one can buy gift vouchers for that which provide a reasonably straightforward "workaround" for non-US owners).

Well one couldn't use the current wireless features but can't you purchase books and download them to a desktop to be installed?

That's true, but it's not what I was talking about.

Or do you mean that Amazon will not sell you a Kindle book unless you have a US credit card?

Correct.

That is indeed the situation, Bob. Amazon aren't alone in adopting such a policy - Sony do exactly the same in their eBook store (although one can buy gift vouchers for that which provide a reasonably straightforward "workaround" for non-US owners).

Wow. That seems pretty short sighted. I admit that I think the wireless features of the Kindle are a major feature but if someone outside the US were willing to pay the premium for the Kindle just to get access to the larger selection of books it seems like a poor business practice to deny them.

Thanks for the info Harry.

Bob

Wow. That seems pretty short sighted. I admit that I think the wireless features of the Kindle are a major feature but if someone outside the US were willing to pay the premium for the Kindle just to get access to the larger selection of books it seems like a poor business practice to deny them.

I can see how frustrating it must be for non-US residents, but it may be understandable for Amazon, as they still don't have enough in stock for immediate shipping. Just maybe, they'll change their policy when they catch up on the manufacturing backlog. OTOH, Sony has plenty of Readers, but has the same shortsighted policy.

I can see how frustrating it must be for non-US residents, but it may be understandable for Amazon, as they still don't have enough in stock for immediate shipping. Just maybe, they'll change their policy when they catch up on the manufacturing backlog. OTOH, Sony has plenty of Readers, but has the same shortsighted policy.

They will have hardware changes for whispernet and need CE testing for Europe and other testing for the countries they wish to support. It all takes time and costs money. You can't just decide to start shipping all over the world.

Dale

FYI

I think I may have found a way around the US credit card limitation. If it works, I'll post an explanation.

I'd still like to know even if it doesn't work.

I'd still like to know even if it doesn't work.

Even though you can pay for a Kindle ebook with a gift card, you still have to have a US credit card attached to the account. So if someone outside the US had a valid card number, he could pay for Kindle ebooks without actually putting a charge on the credit card.

I'm not going to share my credit card number, of course. But I am going use VisaBuxx to set up a limited value debit card. This card would have about $5 on it, which is okay because it is only there to satisfy Amazon. The Kindle ebooks will be paid for with gift cards.

I used this program about three years ago, and don't remember what the fees were. My bank is a member of this program, so they should be minimal.

P.S. If anyone wants to try it, the address is www.visabuxx.com. It might take me as much as a week to get the new card number.

I use PayPal's pseudo-Mastercard plug-in to pay for my Kindle purchases.

PayPal generates a valid MC number but takes the funds from whatever funding source you use with PayPal, say your bank account. This allows me to use PayPal with Amazon even though they don't accept PayPal directly. There is no additional fee for doing using this service.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/cps/general/NewPayPalPlugin-outside

One of the other features of this plug-in is that you can generate 1 time use credit cards specific to that business so that you don't have to worry about someone gaining access to that credit card number, etc. etc. You can optionally generate a multi-use business specific number as well, as I have with my Kindle account, so that you can charge multiple times without having to generate new numbers every time.

Does Paypal let you fake the billing address on the fake credit card, or is it the same as your original address?

Even though you can pay for a Kindle ebook with a gift card, you still have to have a US credit card attached to the account. So if someone outside the US had a valid card number, he could pay for Kindle ebooks without actually putting a charge on the credit card.

I'm not going to share my credit card number, of course. But I am going use VisaBuxx to set up a limited value debit card. This card would have about $5 on it, which is okay because it is only there to satisfy Amazon. The Kindle ebooks will be paid for with gift cards.

I used this program about three years ago, and don't remember what the fees were. My bank is a member of this program, so they should be minimal.

P.S. If anyone wants to try it, the address is www.visabuxx.com. It might take me as much as a week to get the new card number.

I started to get a card, and stopped just before the process was complete. The total charge fro setting it up was $17.50. That is more than I want to spend to fix a problem I don't have. but if someone wants to take the risk, I will assist.

I started to get a card, and stopped just before the process was complete. The total charge fro setting it up was $17.50. That is more than I want to spend to fix a problem I don't have. but if someone wants to take the risk, I will assist.


do it!
You'll get that fussy feeling you've always wanted.

Does Paypal let you fake the billing address on the fake credit card, or is it the same as your original address?

No, you have to use your legitimate billing address.