I bought a kindle in Riyadh / Saudi Arabia

abuzakour · 04-29-2011, 10:05 AM

Hi Guys,

Finally Finally Finally I was able to buy a Kindle 3 Wifi here in Riyadh... I had previously a Sony 505 and a Kindle 2 (I sold both of them) but since i moved to Riyadh / Saudi Arabia last year i couldn't find a way to buy the new kindle..

For the record, i don't like using credit cards and amazon doesn't ship the kindle to the Middle East.

There is a twisted way to get the kindle which is by shipping it to a local US address and then ship to the Middle east and pay the customs and shippign charges but this is a little bit costly and take time...

any way, I was browsing the net yesterday and i met a young guy called Abdullah.. he has his own e-store and selling kindles as a hobby

After some negotiations I met him and bought one from him today for 184$ dollars (690 Saudi Riyals) ...

Expensive I know .. but i despretly wanted a kindle 3 Wifi

..

Anyway, I just wanted to let you that it is possible to buy one here

NB. I am not affiated in any way with this guy.. I just met him and had a good experience and wanted to report it to my felow members...

His email address is abdulla.88@live.com

Have a nice day...

jbcohen · 04-29-2011, 10:32 AM

To what extent do the authorities in Suadi Arabia control electronic book readers and the electronic books? I would immagine that they would control the electronic books rather than the readers as the readers do not contain any information they simply interpret and display the information. What types of electronic books can you get in Saudi Arabia? I would imagine that the authorities vet the individual books at the individual book stores. I would imagine that books that talk about terrorism would have difficulty getting approved for distribution and books that talk about Islam. Do other international electronic book sellers ship to Saudi Arabia? I would imagine that Barns and Nobels would ship as, I would immage that they don't have as much troubble from authorities (they are simply not as high profile as amazon is). Do some of the smaller electronic book stores sell to Saudi Arabia, such as ebooks.com or kobo books? I would immagine that Kobo would be able to "fly under the radar" since they are simply not as well known as Amazon is.

abuzakour · 04-29-2011, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

To what extent do the authorities in Suadi Arabia control electronic book readers and the electronic books? I would immagine that they would control the electronic books rather than the readers as the readers do not contain any information they simply interpret and display the information. What types of electronic books can you get in Saudi Arabia? I would imagine that the authorities vet the individual books at the individual book stores. I would imagine that books that talk about terrorism would have difficulty getting approved for distribution and books that talk about Islam. Do other international electronic book sellers ship to Saudi Arabia? I would imagine that Barns and Nobels would ship as, I would immage that they don't have as much troubble from authorities (they are simply not as high profile as amazon is). Do some of the smaller electronic book stores sell to Saudi Arabia, such as ebooks.com or kobo books? I would immagine that Kobo would be able to "fly under the radar" since they are simply not as well known as Amazon is.

for e-books that we buy from the net, there isn't any kind of "control" imposed by the authorities here... but Yes, if you go to a bookstore and try to buy a physical paperback book talking about " islam and terrorism" then you won't find it ..but you can buy it from amazon to transfer it to your kindle.

by the way, the only problem we find here and by here I mean the Middle East including Dubai is that amazon doesn't ship the kindle to this region. we have to pay 50% on top of the original price to get one...

Hope I answered your question...

RainingLemur · 04-29-2011, 11:26 AM

Congrats on getting your new reader! And, I'm sorry that you had to jump through hoops to get one.

HarryT · 04-29-2011, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abuzakour

by the way, the only problem we find here and by here I mean the Middle East including Dubai is that amazon doesn't ship the kindle to this region. we have to pay 50% on top of the original price to get one...

I would think that's simply because the Mobipocket file format, which the Kindle uses, doesn't support right-to-left languages, hence can't display Arabic.

abuzakour · 04-29-2011, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I would think that's simply because the Mobipocket file format, which the Kindle uses, doesn't support right-to-left languages, hence can't display Arabic.

I think it is more because of copyright issues .. same reason why we don't have the apple itunes music store in this region

abuzakour · 04-29-2011, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

Congrats on getting your new reader! And, I'm sorry that you had to jump through hoops to get one.

Thanks ...

mjsiniard · 04-29-2011, 01:48 PM

I lived in KSA for 8 years and I wish that ebook readers existed then. Finding books, in English was very difficult. Really enjoyed the years there.

abuzakour · 04-29-2011, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjsiniard

I lived in KSA for 8 years and I wish that ebook readers existed then. Finding books, in English was very difficult. Really enjoyed the years there.

yes.. well .. you can't find "Borders" here in Saudi .. There is basically one major bookstore chain called "Jarir" .. you can only find there the essential english books.

pinklotus · 04-29-2011, 09:51 PM

That's great you were able to get one!

abuzakour · 04-30-2011, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinklotus

That's great you were able to get one!

Thanks

lestatar · 06-08-2011, 04:40 AM

Not relevant to me, but just wanted to comment and say threads like this are probably very illuminating - especially to those who live in areas of the world where access to devices like Kindles are not so easy to come by.

Glad there are enterprising and persistent people willing to go the extra mile. But still, IMO, a profit of course should be made by the sellers/importers/folks taking the risks - though its a fine line between reasonable profits and outright profiteering.

mdovell · 06-08-2011, 06:18 PM

Amazon doesn't sell it in Dubai? That's pretty surprising to me.
I don't think arabic would be that hard given everything. Now to have TTS I think that would be pretty hard..maybe a duokan version could popup in the middle east.

Saladin1 · 06-09-2011, 04:55 AM

Congrats. I had a similar story to get Kindle 3 here in Cairo/Egypt , at last I've chosen to wait 2 months until my relatives come back from The United States as I didn't want to buy more.

04-29-2011, 10:05 AM	#1
abuzakour Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Kindle 3 Wifi	I bought a kindle in Riyadh / Saudi Arabia Hi Guys, Finally Finally Finally I was able to buy a Kindle 3 Wifi here in Riyadh... I had previously a Sony 505 and a Kindle 2 (I sold both of them) but since i moved to Riyadh / Saudi Arabia last year i couldn't find a way to buy the new kindle.. For the record, i don't like using credit cards and amazon doesn't ship the kindle to the Middle East. There is a twisted way to get the kindle which is by shipping it to a local US address and then ship to the Middle east and pay the customs and shippign charges but this is a little bit costly and take time... any way, I was browsing the net yesterday and i met a young guy called Abdullah.. he has his own e-store and selling kindles as a hobby After some negotiations I met him and bought one from him today for 184$ dollars (690 Saudi Riyals) ... Expensive I know .. but i despretly wanted a kindle 3 Wifi .. Anyway, I just wanted to let you that it is possible to buy one here NB. I am not affiated in any way with this guy.. I just met him and had a good experience and wanted to report it to my felow members... His email address is abdulla.88@live.com Have a nice day... Last edited by abuzakour; 07-20-2011 at 05:49 AM. Reason: Phone number removed at the request of the seller

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04-29-2011, 10:32 AM	#2
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	To what extent do the authorities in Suadi Arabia control electronic book readers and the electronic books? I would immagine that they would control the electronic books rather than the readers as the readers do not contain any information they simply interpret and display the information. What types of electronic books can you get in Saudi Arabia? I would imagine that the authorities vet the individual books at the individual book stores. I would imagine that books that talk about terrorism would have difficulty getting approved for distribution and books that talk about Islam. Do other international electronic book sellers ship to Saudi Arabia? I would imagine that Barns and Nobels would ship as, I would immage that they don't have as much troubble from authorities (they are simply not as high profile as amazon is). Do some of the smaller electronic book stores sell to Saudi Arabia, such as ebooks.com or kobo books? I would immagine that Kobo would be able to "fly under the radar" since they are simply not as well known as Amazon is.

04-29-2011, 11:26 AM	#4
RainingLemur Spork Connoisseur Posts: 2,355 Karma: 16780603 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Nook Color	Congrats on getting your new reader! And, I'm sorry that you had to jump through hoops to get one.

04-29-2011, 01:48 PM	#8
mjsiniard Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Atlanta Device: Kindle	I lived in KSA for 8 years and I wish that ebook readers existed then. Finding books, in English was very difficult. Really enjoyed the years there.

04-29-2011, 09:51 PM	#10
pinklotus Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 5000 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: USA Device: Kindle	That's great you were able to get one!

06-08-2011, 04:40 AM	#12
lestatar LB's lolz Mutt Minion Posts: 2,902 Karma: 5700001 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Hong Kong now but NYC forever Device: Kindle3, GalaxyTab, BB Bold9700, BB 8300, Sony Clie, Palm Vx, Palm III	Not relevant to me, but just wanted to comment and say threads like this are probably very illuminating - especially to those who live in areas of the world where access to devices like Kindles are not so easy to come by. Glad there are enterprising and persistent people willing to go the extra mile. But still, IMO, a profit of course should be made by the sellers/importers/folks taking the risks - though its a fine line between reasonable profits and outright profiteering.

06-08-2011, 06:18 PM	#13
mdovell Zealot Posts: 144 Karma: 3168 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Kindle DX	Amazon doesn't sell it in Dubai? That's pretty surprising to me. I don't think arabic would be that hard given everything. Now to have TTS I think that would be pretty hard..maybe a duokan version could popup in the middle east.

06-09-2011, 04:55 AM	#14
Saladin1 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: KSO	Congrats. I had a similar story to get Kindle 3 here in Cairo/Egypt , at last I've chosen to wait 2 months until my relatives come back from The United States as I didn't want to buy more.

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