Australian ebooks

[mjmcleod]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

PS, MJ: Did you get your BB books through OK? Hope you enjoy my wee selection. N

Yes, thanks Neil. Much appreciated!

[neilmarr]

You're more than welcome, MJ. Any more for any more? Cheers. Neil

[ProfCrash]

There is not much we can do about geo restrictions but there are ways to get around it.

Go to Google and choose a valid address in the US.

Create a new account with said address and use gift cards on said account

Use a VPN blocker to hide your ISP

Shop in the US stores with a certain amount of caution. People have reported buying 3-4 books a week without a problem while others have posted that a one day binge of all the ebooks they had been looking for got their account locked.

It is not ideal but it gets you access to the books you want to read.

[NightBird]

If you are willing/able to convert Kindle books to epub you might try following this thread:

Discounted/Price Dropped Kindle ebooks

Poster "Becs" has been posting quite a few good Australian deals lately. Here are some examples:

Becs says:
Good morning everyone!
This morning in Australia the following books are on special
The Thief of Time by John Boyne is $1.55 reduced from $10.84
The Law of Nines by Terry Goodkinds is $1.74 REDUCED FROM $9.99
The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon is $1.92 reduced from $10.52
The Abduction by Mark Gimenez is $1.97 reduced from $7.99
Black Hills by Nora Roberts is $1.98 reduced from $10.52
A Fair Maiden by Carol Joyce Oates is $2.32 reduced from $12.49
Kindred in Death by JD Robb (Nora Roberts) is $2.34 reduced from $7.99

[neilmarr]

Your books arrive OK, Simon? You didn't specify, so I sent ePub editions. If you'd prefer Mobi or PDF, just holler and I'll send in whatever format you like to save you the bother of converting. Happy reading. Neil

PS: This offer's open as long as this thread is running, folks. Cheers. N

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

There is not much we can do about geo restrictions but there are ways to get around it.

Go to Google and choose a valid address in the US.

Create a new account with said address and use gift cards on said account

Use a VPN blocker to hide your ISP

Shop in the US stores with a certain amount of caution. People have reported buying 3-4 books a week without a problem while others have posted that a one day binge of all the ebooks they had been looking for got their account locked.

It is not ideal but it gets you access to the books you want to read.

Yes, but also easier, faster and cheaper to look for them on the darknet first, and no stupid account locking crapola to deal with.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

Yes, but also easier, faster and cheaper to look for them on the darknet first, and no stupid account locking crapola to deal with.

And that is the sum of it unfortunately...

[neilmarr]

When folks turn to the dark-net for reasons of genuine economic dire straits or sheer frustration with inept stores, I understand and sympathise. Sad that it should be necessary to resort to the practice, though. Crazy pricing and the other buying obstacles put in the way of otherwise honest folks, in effect, forces them into petty crime. Neil

[caleb72]

Actually, I think misrepresenting your address to get around geographical restrictions may also be legally shaky. Isn't this very close to fraud?

I think I could easily work myself into a position of justifying darknet hijinks by making an agreement with myself that I'd buy a paper copy for a local library while enjoying the e-copy I "found". I would still end up paying more than I would if I could just get a legit e-copy from Amazon and it would still be illegal, but it would ease my conscience somewhat:

1) I still pay money that goes to the author
2) I help support my local library

On my more cynical and nasty days I find myself wishing that all Australian publishers would go bankrupt, but that's another story.

[viviena]

From KoboBooks' TOS:

2. Registered Users.
The Service is open to the public but certain portions, components, content and features of the Service (including purchases or access to eBooks) are only available to individuals who register with Kobo and create a user account on the Service (each, a "Registered User"). If you are a Registered User then you agree to the following:

... (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by any registration form(s) on the Service, including your geographical location and billing address (the "Registration Data");

They have grounds to suspend your account if they suspect anything. I haven't looked at the TOS of other bookstores such as Amazon, but they probably have similar statements. Which really makes me hate having to resort to falsehoods to buy from these bookstores, but sometimes I just really want to read the bloody book and I've sworn off buying any more paper books.

[ProfCrash]

They have grounds to suspend your account but no real motive. Amazon has suspended a few accounts. They were folks who entered a bogus address and were using a foreign credit card, not gift certificates, and bought many books at one time.

Realistically, the companies would rather sell you stuff than not. So if you do a moderately decent job of masking your account, a real address (pick a business or home address from google), use gift certificates (not traceable to a foreign account), and use something to hide your ISP you are probably going to be fine.

That said, if I were over seas doing this, I would make darn sure to download any book I bought to my computer so I had a back up of it just in case my account was locked.

[geertm]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

They have grounds to suspend your account but no real motive. Amazon has suspended a few accounts. They were folks who entered a bogus address and were using a foreign credit card, not gift certificates, and bought many books at one time.

Realistically, the companies would rather sell you stuff than not. So if you do a moderately decent job of masking your account, a real address (pick a business or home address from google), use gift certificates (not traceable to a foreign account), and use something to hide your ISP you are probably going to be fine.

That said, if I were over seas doing this, I would make darn sure to download any book I bought to my computer so I had a back up of it just in case my account was locked.

Ebookstores have only implemented geo-restrictions because the publishers forced them to (because ebooks were becoming too popular). For the stores a sale a sale. They do not care at all if the buyer really lives in the US or not.
They just have to prove to the publishers they have geo-restrictions implemented. As long as the publishers are satisfied the ebookstores do not care who buys their books.

[ProfCrash]

Agreed. Which is why I think it is rare to hear of people having accounts locked. Amazon doesn't even seem to require the VPN blocker although BN does.

I am not sure that they even have to prove to the publishers that they have steps implemented but simply do enough to prevent litigation.

Which is why I suggest that people look up real address and not use 1600 Pennsylvania Ave or Amazon's HQ address or something silly like that.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by caleb72

On my more cynical and nasty days I find myself wishing that all Australian publishers would go bankrupt, but that's another story.

Well, I don't wish that on all of them - but those that are rump offshoots of large foreign companies have manoeuvred themselves into having a significantly greater than zero chance of that happening. I wouldn't think though, as you suggest, many people would be upset if the poms, frogs and yanks disappeared entirely in their local incarnations.

Dymocks can certainly now put the screws on those that pissed them off the most over parallel importing, anyway.

[CazMar]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

Well, I don't wish that on all of them - but those that are rump offshoots of large foreign companies have manoeuvred themselves into having a significantly greater than zero chance of that happening. I wouldn't think though, as you suggest, many people would be upset if the poms, frogs and yanks disappeared entirely in their local incarnations.

Dymocks can certainly now put the screws on those that pissed them off the most over parallel importing, anyway.

I am so fed up with the big Australian booksellers/publishers that I am not going to buy any more ebooks from them until they get their act together and all p-books are going to be purchased from Amazon. I bought a music book from them (Amazon) last week - $21 inc.postage, and the cheapest I could see it in Australia was $37 + postage. Get real guys! And if you think novels are overpriced, try buying music books!