Breaking News: Kindle Store Live at Amazon.ca!

[xendula]

Numerous blogs are reporting that a Kindle store is now live at Amazon.ca.*Before we all get too excited, I should clarify that this looks to be e-books only. While apps for various platforms are listed, there are no hardware Kindles on offer, and when I went looking for them on the main Amazon.ca page, I was redirected to the American mothership.

But there are some welcome content offerings this new store brings to Canada: We can access the Kindle Singles now, and there is a reasonably large and well-organized selection of French e-books, which some of us have long been coveting. And, like the Canadian Kobo store, they are highlighting local authors. I’m not sure a legend like Alice Munro needs the front-page push necessarily, but it’s a start. And a ‘Canadian Bestsellers’ feature spotlights authors such as Rawi Hage and Tanis Rideout who are well worth a read.

I have some questions on how this is all going to work, exactly. If you need a .com account to buy a hardware Kindle, are you going to want to register separately for a .ca account too? And will features such as Wish List and Recommendations, which depend on your purchase history, carry over? My suspicion is they will not.

So, as someone who is already using the main Amazon.com store and who has an established library there, I am not seeing the incentive for me to switch over to the new Canadian version. I just hope they don’t make me do it—or that if they do, they have a protocol in place to transfer my stuff.

Via Teleread

[HarryT]

With the exception of Japan, all the other Amazon "national" stores share the same account, so you almost certainly won't need a separate account to buy from amazon.ca - just use the same login you use for amazon.com.

[HYPE]

Originally Posted by HarryT

With the exception of Japan, all the other Amazon "national" stores share the same account, so you almost certainly won't need a separate account to buy from amazon.ca - just use the same login you use for amazon.com.

Yes, but for example my wish list that I made on amazon.com doesn't appear on amazon.ca. Let's hope they don't do that for books as well. I don't want fragmentation in my purchases and have to guess which one I bought where.

[Victoria]

I'll wait and see how it pans out over time. When i checked today a four book bundle i read about in another thread wasn't available at the Canadian site - and the single volumns of the same series were each more expensive than the us counterparts.

Also, Amazon.com offered to transfer my library to .ca, and close my .com account. It didn't offer to let me keep both, so i passed.

Unless i receive a discount from kobo - i find that the us kindle books have the lowest prices.

[dandelioncottage]

Do you need to have a Canadian shipping address and credit card billing address to buy Kindle books, or can I buy from the U.S. as well?

Originally Posted by HarryT

With the exception of Japan, all the other Amazon "national" stores share the same account, so you almost certainly won't need a separate account to buy from amazon.ca - just use the same login you use for amazon.com.

[llcj]

I've just checked prices across Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Kobo. For the books that I checked, Amazon.com is a few dollars more than Amazon.ca. Amazon.ca seems to be matching Kobo prices.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by llcj

I've just checked prices across Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Kobo. For the books that I checked, Amazon.com is a few dollars more than Amazon.ca. Amazon.ca seems to be matching Kobo prices.

That would be great if true - were taxes factored in to the comparison? I regularly buy from both sites. Kobo sometimes looks cheaper, but it isn't when you add the taxes on. Amazon's listed price is the full price.

[llcj]

Originally Posted by Victoria

That would be great if true - were taxes factored in to the comparison? I regularly buy from both sites. Kobo sometimes looks cheaper, but it isn't when you add the taxes on. Amazon's listed price is the full price.

For the books I buy, it is generally true. The price difference remains. I really think it depends on what genre you are interested in.

To be fair though, the tax does narrow the price difference.

I've just checked Louise Erdrich's titles. At Kobo, with tax, the titles are between $0.09 and $0.50 cheaper than at Amazon.com. Amazon.ca's prices are in line with Kobo's prices.

[Croptop]

I think in my case I'm going to stick with my Amazon.com account until I see how things shake out. No doubt one you make the switch there will be no going back so I'm going to wait to see more pricing examples first.

[xendula]

^ For price comparison, keep an eye on luzme.com. They will probably add Amazon.ca to their list shortly.

[Ti-Ron]

Originally Posted by xendula

^ For price comparison, keep an eye on luzme.com. They will probably add Amazon.ca to their list shortly.

Thanks for the link, I didn't know that site! Seems like a good way to find ebook!

[treadlightly]

Another great place to check for prices is Books on Board when logged in with a Canadian account. I find many of the agency books priced lower there for Canadians because the BOB discounts are applicable (Penguin US books, for example).

[xendula]

Ti-Ron, if you have an amazon wishlist, you can couple it to your luzme account and they will send an email whenever any of the books on your list go up and down in price at any of the stores you want to have listed (you select them). I don't even check my wishlist any more, since I rely so heavily on luzme.
Ereaderiq.com is also good, but for some reason I hardly ever get their notifications, and I think that one may be US only.

[ficbot]

I want to know what happens with the Kindle deal of the day. I sometimes buy those. Will they be available for.ca customers? I am not switching over until I know more.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I like that I'm no longer paying an extra three to seven dollars for buying from .com, but the prices in Canada are still ludicrous for ebooks in comparison to the US. Does Canada tax literacy that much?