Kindle in bad books as Aussies hit with higher costs

[AprilHare]

From SMH.com.au - Digital Life: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/d...1012-gt52.html

Australian Kindle users will have to pay about 40 per cent more than Americans for books on the Amazon e-book readers and the local publishing industry has expressed serious reservations about supporting the gizmo.

International users already have to pay $US20 ($22) more for the device itself, which begins shipping on October 19 for $US279.

And despite promising on its website that there are "no additional charges" for delivering books to overseas users, an Amazon spokesman told The Guardian that the average e-book would cost $US13.99 for foreign customers, 40 per cent more than the American price of $US9.99.

[Wozzzaaa]

They must be dreaming... As an Aussie I was considering buying a Kindle to replace my Eslick but now iam not going to bother. While i would love to get high quality ebooks legally from a legitimate source, there is no way I would pay those prices.

Greedy & unreasonable pricing like this just encourages piracy.

[nomesque]

I was thinking it might have to do with needing to buy, separately, foreign rights for digital copies of some books.

Buuuuut... then I saw a rant from a fellow indie writer about Amazon boosting the price of her ebook for foreign buyers, without consultation.

GAH! Fine. Wasn't going to buy a Kindle anyway *sulk*

[The-eBook-Reader]

That article is full of misinformation. Kindle Australia has one of the best setups compared to other countries.

eBooks are not $13.99 USD; they are $11.99 in Australia. And unlike most other countries, Australia has no additional duty fees on top of the $279. There's a reasonable $21 shipping fee and that's all the extra.

Australia has access to 280,000 ebooks, not 200,000 like the article said, with 100,000 under 5.99 USD.

The one thing Australia lacks is good wireless coverage.

Those nimrods at SMH.com.au need to check their facts.

[RobbieClarken]

Originally Posted by The-eBook-Reader

That article is full of misinformation. Kindle Australia has one of the best setups compared to other countries.

eBooks are not $13.99 USD; they are $11.99 in Australia. And unlike most other countries, Australia has no additional duty fees on top of the $279. There's a reasonable $21 shipping fee and that's all the extra.

Australia has access to 280,000 ebooks, not 200,000 like the article said, with 100,000 under 5.99 USD.

The one thing Australia lacks is good wireless coverage.

Those nimrods at SMH.com.au need to check their facts.

True... and show me an ebook store that Australians can purchase from with prices that are competitive with Amazon (with the +$2.00 included).

the local publishing industry has expressed serious reservations about supporting the gizmo

I'm sure they do: they don't want to have to compete with Amazon's vastly cheaper prices.

I'm unhappy that the Australian Kindle selection is considerably less than the US's but I've no doubt that is a rights issue which can't be blamed on Amazon. As far as price goes, aussies have nothing to complain about.

[Solicitous]

I love the comment in the article

Earlier attempts to sell e-books in Australia by Dymocks have largely failed, but industry figures are looking to major international players such as Amazon and Apple to open up the market here.

Could the high price of the e-reader and the pathetic list and huge price for ebooks more the underlying issue of no real market happening?

[Wozzzaaa]

Hey guys, was there any mention of GST? Shouldnt be an issue since we are purchasing from Amazon USA right?

[AprilHare]

Originally Posted by Solicitous

I love the comment in the article

Could the high price of the e-reader and the pathetic list and huge price for ebooks more the underlying issue of no real market happening?

I think its no wonder Dymocks largely fail at selling e-book readers - and e-books - as a result of their decisions regarding retailing their wares.

They only sell liseuses and e-books (from kiosks in-store) in one store in New South Wales - that is in the Sydney CBD. If you know the first thing about NSW and Sydney, that would appear just plain ridiculous and an absolute failure in practice.

Yes, they sell their expensive e-books online too - but if no-one owns their expensive liseuse (or similar) how do they expect to sell the e-books?
They have isolated themselves out of the market this way. (Can't say if it's intentional.)

Not to mention the fact I can't buy their overpriced e-books for my PRS-500 due to lack of ADE/EPUB support from Sony; hopefully Sony will address this by the end of the year.

[tech_au]

I don't think I would ever get a Kindle as I don't like Amazon's practices but still the e-book stores are pretty slim on the ground here in Oz at present.
We have the rip-off Dymocks(no surprise they have failed !), rather miniscule macmillan digital, harper collins australia which has a decent range of sci-fi and thriller(some at good prices) and the hopefully shining light of the new eco-reader ebook (if it every starts operating )

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by tech_au

I don't think I would ever get a Kindle as I don't like Amazon's practices but still the e-book stores are pretty slim on the ground here in Oz at present.
We have the rip-off Dymocks(no surprise they have failed !), rather miniscule macmillan digital, harper collins australia which has a decent range of sci-fi and thriller(some at good prices) and the hopefully shining light of the new eco-reader ebook (if it every starts operating )

What is with Macmillan's pricing? Damn near no difference to the paperback price. Prices are certainly better from Harper Collins (with the exception of big named books such as Raymond E. Feist)

[Kali Yuga]

I concur that the article is somewhat misleading, although it is correct in that the Aussie customers will have to pay more.

One thing I'm not clear on is that at least with US Kindles, you can download books to your PC and avoid the Whispernet process. I'm not sure this can be done with the International version. It wouldn't be a great solution anyway (it's a bit clunky) but might be feasible if you're buying a large volume of books.

I find it rather entertaining though that head of the Australian Booksellers Association calls Amazon a "threat" and then wonders why it hasn't set up shop locally.

[The-eBook-Reader]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

One thing I'm not clear on is that at least with US Kindles, you can download books to your PC and avoid the Whispernet process. I'm not sure this can be done with the International version. It wouldn't be a great solution anyway (it's a bit clunky) but might be feasible if you're buying a large volume of books.

All Kindle owners can use their computer for downloads over the internet.

[carlobee]

Originally Posted by The-eBook-Reader

That article is full of misinformation. Kindle Australia has one of the best setups compared to other countries.

eBooks are not $13.99 USD; they are $11.99 in Australia. And unlike most other countries, Australia has no additional duty fees on top of the $279. There's a reasonable $21 shipping fee and that's all the extra.

Australia has access to 280,000 ebooks, not 200,000 like the article said, with 100,000 under 5.99 USD.

The one thing Australia lacks is good wireless coverage.

Those nimrods at SMH.com.au need to check their facts.

well, i'm glad to know that this is the case!

[ondabeach]

Ebooks are available to aussies at the same prices as the rest of the world. That is if you're smart enough to avoid the parasitic monopolistic companies like amazon that want to lock you into a specific format and carrier. If you have access to the internet and a computer then get yourself a pocket pc, smartphone, iphone or, if absolutely have have an e-ink display get a dedicated e-reader that can read DRM free ePub format books. There is enough DRM stripping and conversion software out there to put your book into whatever format you like.

I am not condoning piracy, but if you pay for an ebook in one format and need to convert it to another so you can read it on your preferred platform or device then I say go for it. The only people who would even try to kick up stink are the companies like amazon and the publishing houses that are trying to protect their fat middle man profits. Those creeps make a lot more money out of books than the authors do and sucks! It's absolute f**king B*llsh*t!

If any aussies out there want help in getting an ebook of their choice onto the device of their choice then email me at stevedales@gmail.com and I'll help sort you out. The rest of the world is pretty ignorant of Oz in general and would be blown away by how many things they take for granted in their every day life were invented in Australia, like the ute (the pick up truck to the Americans out there), the motorised lawn mower, the back yard clothes hoist and the worlds first bionic ear to name but a few.

Let's get together and lead the way by not being bloody sheep and making the same mistakes the rest of the world seems bent on making..... like buying a kindle for example yuuuuuuck!!!!!!!

Buying a kindle is DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!!! No matter where you live.

[RobbieClarken]

ondabeach, where do you propose buying these ebooks which are as cheap as Amazon? From my experience, sites like Fictionwise and BooksOnBoard are considerably more expensive. They are also starting to introduce the same sorts of geographic restrictions as Amazon.