Quote:
Originally Posted by andreabc
I don't have all of the details completely clear, but I always thought that the 2$ surcharge was dropped in those countries were Amazon was directly doing business (UK, France, Spain, Italy...) and that's where they probably have most of the expenses that you're mentioning (now, the VAT thing is another thing, not really related to the $2 surcharge).
However, they are still charging the 2$ in Africa, Latin America and some other countries, where they don't charge taxes, don't do currency conversion and don't deal with customs fees themselves).
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Since they actually do have to send the money to publishers in those countries (each region and sometimes country can have a different publisher that gets a cut for each book - the accounting for it would be a nightmare if they did it individually, but I assume they do some sort of grouping by country), then they are dealing with each of those countries individually (and sending them money, filling out forms, reports, etc). They still have higher cellular charges, even if there are alternatives for individual customers.
I have no doubt that if Amazon's costs in a country dropped enough, they would cut the surcharges. They've done so in most places (and it doesn't seem to be directly related to their sister companies opening there; as separate corporations, I doubt that was the reason, although the increased sales in those areas may have led to opening new "local" sites sooner). I suspect it has more to do with getting better rates from local cellular networks over time (instead of paying out of country roaming charges, as they were, no doubt, doing at first via AT&T).