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Old 12-03-2012, 04:22 PM   #1
PocketGoddess
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Question Dummies Guide to Purchasing UK Kindle Books from the US

Folks, I could use some help, and you guys have always been able to answer my questions in the past.

I'm in the US, and I want to purchase for my Kindle three books that are only available in the UK Kindle store. I am *not* planning to do this on a regular basis, so that might make a difference, I'm not sure.

I've been doing my research and it seems that I need to:

1) Find a UK proxy server, so it looks like I'm in the UK. (No idea how to do that.)

2) Find a UK address, like a hotel in London.

3) Add that address to my Amazon.com account, and make it the default address.

4) Purchase my three books. How do I pay for them? Can I buy an Amazon.com gift card and use that, or can I use my US credit card? Do I need to figure a certain percentage for taxes/fees/VAT? What about the currency conversion issue--will Amazon UK accept a gift card denominated in US dollars?

5) Download and transfer to my Kindle via USB, instead of using Whispernet.

6) Change my address back to my US address, and hope that Amazon doesn't get mad.

Is there anything that I've overlooked? The proxy server and the payment issue are the two biggies, and I would appreciate some dummy-proof instructions. The only time I buy things overseas, it's a simple import and I just pay with my credit card and everything else gets handled automatically, all I have to do is wait two or three weeks for the package.

Thank you!
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Old 12-04-2012, 01:12 AM   #2
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Interestingly, looking at "Manage Your Kindle" at the UK store reveals a big banner saying "Your digital account is currently registered at Amazon.com. Go to the Manage Your Kindle page at Amazon.com." Doing the same at the Japan store...just shows me my Japanese "Manage Your Kindle" page like normal. Are the US and UK stores tied together more closely than US and Japan are? Is the UK store stricter about these things?

That would mean any advice I might give might not be very useful, being based on my experiences using the US store while living in Japan. But given that...


Do you really need the proxy? I buy books from Amazon.com from Japan sometimes, and they don't seem to care all that much. Once you register some address in the country you can set that in the Country Settings page of Manage Your Kindle. My old address in the US was a family member that I used to regularly ship boxes to, but they've moved since then so as far as Amazon knows the current address is "untested." So probably any address will do. Perhaps avoid Buckingham Palace...

Gift cards from the US and Japan are totally independent, so I wouldn't expect to be able to use a US card in the UK.

Other people will no doubt have more experience with the UK store than me.
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Old 12-04-2012, 01:47 AM   #3
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I don't think proxy is necessary. Just make sure that you change the country to the UK in Country Settings under Manage Your Kindle. And your address should be a valid UK address.
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Old 12-04-2012, 02:24 AM   #4
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If you don't mind saying what books are you referring to? Someone may be prepared to lend them to you or even purchase them for you?
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Old 12-04-2012, 04:14 AM   #5
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E-book lending is only available in the US. Nowhere else.
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Old 12-04-2012, 07:11 AM   #6
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:)

I just got it shipped directly from Amazon
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Old 12-04-2012, 07:39 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snorkledorf View Post
Interestingly, looking at "Manage Your Kindle" at the UK store reveals a big banner saying "Your digital account is currently registered at Amazon.com. Go to the Manage Your Kindle page at Amazon.com." Doing the same at the Japan store...just shows me my Japanese "Manage Your Kindle" page like normal. Are the US and UK stores tied together more closely than US and Japan are? Is the UK store stricter about these things?
In general, the Amazon stores are all linked together, and one account can work on all of them (with geographical restrictions), except Amazon Japan, that is a totally separate company, requiring a separate Amazon account that does not link to the others.
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Old 12-04-2012, 09:39 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by murraypaul View Post
In general, the Amazon stores are all linked together, and one account can work on all of them (with geographical restrictions), except Amazon Japan, that is a totally separate company, requiring a separate Amazon account that does not link to the others.
That's what I'm hoping, I would like the three books to just be in my Amazon account for whenever I want them, just trying to figure out the logistics of how to purchase them as a "traveling American."

Seems the easiest route is just to go to the Manage your Kindle page, select the UK as my country, and put in my valid fake address (like a London hotel). Then I need to buy a gift card in the UK Kindle store, buy my three books, then go home a few days later.

Does that make sense? It seems like I was trying to over-complicate things earlier.
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Old 12-04-2012, 11:16 AM   #9
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I want to thank everyone for their help, I think I finally have things figured out. I've ordered my gift certificate from the UK site, but it still hasn't arrived. I don't typically buy gift cards, not really worrying about the little one-click charges since my bank doesn't, but I did this time to minimize the foreign transaction fees my bank charges.

About how long should it take to arrive? I thought that gift cards were delivered almost immediately, and it has been more than half an hour already.
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Old 12-04-2012, 11:42 AM   #10
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I receive an email almost as soon as I confirm the order.
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Old 12-04-2012, 11:44 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Gazella20 View Post
I receive an email almost as soon as I confirm the order.
I was afraid you were going to say that. There's some sort of holdup, I guess--the site says it is generally within 15 minutes, but can be as long as a day. Shouldn't have been so cheap, and just one clicked the three books I want and gotten it over with.

Hopefully it will be soon, and I won't want any more Kindle books that aren't available in the US store! It is surprising though, how much less expensive so many of them are than the equivalent US editions.
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Old 12-04-2012, 11:46 AM   #12
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If you used an American credit card to buy the British gift card, that could be the problem.
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Old 12-04-2012, 11:48 AM   #13
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If you used an American credit card to buy the British gift card, that could be the problem.
No, I used my UAE credit card to buy a US gift card and I got the email right after I placed the order, no delay whatsoever.
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Old 12-04-2012, 11:52 AM   #14
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If you used an American credit card to buy the British gift card, that could be the problem.
No other choice of course, I'm playing the "American abroad" and have added a new address, changed the country on the Manage your Kindle page, etc. Just waiting on the gift card now, though it it hasn't gone through by this afternoon I'll go ahead and buy the books I want and then try to figure out what to do with the gift card later, it's good for a year.

This whole process has certainly been educational, that's for sure!
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Old 12-04-2012, 04:29 PM   #15
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You can't use a US gift card on a British account.
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