Quote:
Originally Posted by HansTWN
Switching back and forth between countries just to buy a few books --- that seems like trying to poke a sleeping lion to me. Who knows when things will go wrong and you will be blacklisted. With a second account that should be safe enough, but a hassle.
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A second account and a second credit card probably would be 100% safe.
But I don't want to go through the hassle of having a US virtual credit card.
And using the very same German credit card and same billing address in 2 accounts most likely wouldn't help much. Amazon could check this with the simplest of search algorithms. And this then really would seem like trying to cheat.
I don't think, there's a real risk of being blacklisted.
Amazon clearly allows for more than 1 address/country in a single account. They even explain the process of switching countries in the settings of your Kindle.
The only thing suspicious in my case would be, switching accounts back and forth within minutes: "You've bought the first book from Germany and the second one 10 minutes later from the US? Did you travel with Jean-Luc Picard?".
I didn't actually care for the time between transactions in the past. But I guess, as I "only" buy about 200 books per year from Amazon, most purchases probably will be a few hours apart.
But even if, let's say, 10 purchases per year would be suspiciously close to one another: "Hey, I've traveled from Germany to the US and forgot to switch to the US account for the first purchase. Then I remembered and switched for the second buy"...
The real interesting question to me: What defines your country? Do you have to be physically in this country?
If a US citizen travels: Should he stick to the US account? Or is he, when physically in Germany with a valid billing address, allowed to switch to the German location? The latter would make sense. Would he order physical goods, for example paper books, they would be shipped to this German address.
But I don't think, Amazon anywhere ever has explained or limited that. The US citizen might switch accounts. But of course he would be allowed to stick to his original US account as well, hence the explanations about "International Delivery Fees" (you receive this email on your Kindle when you're in a different country setting while purchasing).
Let's assume, someone is in the lucky (but not totally unrealistic) situation of having 2 places of living. My former boss for example is German citizen, but bought himself a log cabin in Canada.
He actually has 2 valid addresses of residency. And he actually spends months in Canada. When actually living in Canada, of course he's allowed (obligated?) to use the Canadian account. But then a few questions arise:
a.) When in Canada: Does he have to use the Canadian account? Or could he still use the German one? I'm pretty sure, he's allowed to use both accounts. Why shouldn't he be allowed to still use the German account? After all, it's still his main residency. But why shouldn't he be allowed to use the Canadian address? He, right then, actually is living there.
b.) When back in Germany: Does he have to suspend the Canadian account while not in Canada? If so: Where's the limit? What about a tourist from Canada, who only spends a week in Germany?
Meaning: I think, my examples describe, how complicated the process actually is. The only "obvious" issue for Amazon would be, if someone switches accounts within minutes and then obviously couldn't have been in both locations physically. But then I'm coming back to my questions from above: Does a tourist from the US in Germany have to switch to a German account? I guess not, of course he will be allowed to still use his American address. But wouldn't he be allowed, in addition, to use the (in this very moment valid) German address?
As long as Amazon officially allows for more than 1 address in the very same account and accepts the very same credit card with a single billing address, I don't think there's any reason for shutting down an account.