09-26-2009, 06:53 AM | #1 |
Oz Bookworm
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Regional restrictions now in the UK
The scourge of the US ebookstores, regional restrictions, has now reared its ugly head in the UK.
I just tried to buy some ebooks from WH Smiths ebook store and upon checkout I received an error message stating that one or more ebooks were not available for purchase in my region. I guess they have just lost a customer if they are going to do this. I was able to go to Waterstones and buy the offending ebook without any issue, so I wonder how long it will be before Waterstone's employ the same onerous restriction |
09-26-2009, 06:56 AM | #2 | |
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Let them and their businesses rot. Buy independent, share freely, embrace the future. |
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09-26-2009, 06:58 AM | #3 |
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Yeah, the geographical restrictions are such a pain. I'm in Scandinavia and buy most of my books (around 40 a month) from Fictionwise, and it feels as if they've started adding more and more "US/CA only" restrictions on their books I wonder if I can buy at WH Smiths or what their region is, I should hope it at least is European Union or somehting, but who knows
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09-26-2009, 08:30 AM | #4 |
I eat books
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The same goes for Booksonboard. Really annoying.
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09-26-2009, 10:38 AM | #5 | |
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Looks like I might be using gift vouchers and getting a new account that doesn't identify me as being from the US from now on. Last edited by wallflower75; 09-26-2009 at 10:40 AM. |
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09-26-2009, 10:56 AM | #6 | ||
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Last edited by EowynCarter; 09-26-2009 at 12:24 PM. |
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09-26-2009, 11:22 AM | #7 |
I eat books
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Very good idea. Also, at least they'd give us some real reason, instead of just shutting people off like that. (At least we could find a workaround, knowing the rules!)
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09-26-2009, 11:27 AM | #8 |
Chocolate Grasshopper ...
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this is getting ridiculous ...
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09-26-2009, 11:29 AM | #9 |
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The people that run the site for whsmith do seem to respond to feedback quite quickly too, so its definitely worth an email to let them know about this.
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09-26-2009, 11:38 AM | #10 |
I eat books
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Indeed. Like having different prices for books published in the Euro zone within the Euro zone (i.e. France to Germany, Italy to Spain and so on). Mind you, for some publisher in the North of Italy it's probably cheaper to send them, say, in Austria than in Sicily; and you don't have VAT problems either.
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09-26-2009, 11:39 AM | #11 |
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Regional restrictions wouldn't be so bad if ebooks would be available everywhere. And publishers still find it strange that people will go to the darknet to find a book, because they can't buy it anywhere, even though it is available in ebook format...
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09-26-2009, 11:44 AM | #12 | |
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What one particular book store chooses to do does not give you the right to rip off the author of the book. Find a store that will sell to you, or don't buy the book, but there is absolutely no excuse for being a thief. |
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09-26-2009, 11:46 AM | #13 | |
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It's not the fault of the store - but that of the publishers who dictate these conditions. |
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09-26-2009, 11:50 AM | #14 | |
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1. pbook: I can find it in a bookshop, pay a lot more than I should but I get it, eventually. 2. ebook: I can find it in a shop, but I have to hope there's no busillis for me to pay for it/lie about my state and hope they don't check. Frankly, this is all too irrational. |
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09-26-2009, 12:15 PM | #15 |
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Do you think that British publisher complained about USA publishers selling e-books to non American people, now it's in the other way?
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