It's hard to generalize geo-restriction issues. Don't believe anything in this thread (including what I'm telling you) untill you have verified it for yourself. And even, then, it may change later
Every shop has their own rules, and they keep changing all the time. Until recently, it was possible to buy geo-restricted books at Books on Board using gift certificates, but now they have started checking the location you are browsing from, presumably based on your IP address. There is a way to circumvent that, but I haven't tried it.
But things are getting better lately. There are more and more stores that sell to the European market, and I usually end up finding the book I want, though it's more expensive than in U.S. stores. I don't know how things stand outside of the U.S. and Europe, but presumably availability will keep improving, although having to search for a bookstore that will sell you the book you want is a pain. Inkmesh is a nice site but it's not always useful, being mostly US-centered.
When I am looking for an English language e-book, I follow more or less this path:
- start with inkmesh.com and see if any of the stores listed there will have the book available to me
- if that doesn't work, I try booksonboard UK (has been around for a while but I only recently started using it) or Waterstone.
At least, that's what I have done these last few weeks, but as I said, things change fast, and not always for the better
You have to be willing to adapt, try new solutions, spend time searching, and yes, if you follow all the rules you will end up paying more for your books in many cases.
Sometimes all of this is almost enough to make me go back to paper books