Quote:
Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks
So these costs play SOME part of the equation in all countries. To say that it's free delivery to the reader...well. I'm guessing that is likely why they won't define all the various surcharges.
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I've followed the bit about the Touch, yes (and just saw that the Touch Wi-Fi is available internationally now, while the 3G version isn't yet) - I assume that the Touch browser, while still clunky, is more comfortable to use than the Keyboard browser, so it would probably tempt people to use it a lot more than the K3 browser.
I do still wonder about the surcharge having anything to do with a specific country's 3G costs, because when I bought my Wi-Fi only K3 (by which point I'd already bought Kindle books for K4PC, all with surcharge), the Amazon 3G coverage map was quite clear about Estonia
not having 3G Whispernet access at all. Not for browsing, not for buying books. It was part of the reason why I got the Wi-Fi only model. (This has changed since, I gather.)
So to me, well... I can't help but feel that by now it's "let's charge this $2 extra from the customers in the less important countries, to cover the costs for customers in more important countries". (I may be wrong. I hope I am. But since the surcharge was there
before there was 3G coverage...)
Anyway, this is all getting somewhat off-topic! But I suppose that one could point at the Amazon surcharge, which makes books considerably more expensive (including for readers in countries with considerably lower income levels), it's - not an excuse - but one extra factor that drives readers to pirate the occasional book instead of buying everything they'd like to read.
Regarding geo-restrictions: currently, US Amazon's restrictions seem to be relatively simple to get around (I've just changed my location under country settings to a US address and made sure I always have enough funds on the gift card balance - I don't have a US credit card or any simple way to get one). This might change at any point, though, and I gather other shops, which do IP checking, can be more difficult to get around.
Messing around with a VPN, trying to obtain a foreign credit card etc... it's easy for some people, but not to others. One doesn't have to be technically inclined to be able to pirate a book while not have the technical know-how to bypass the geo-restrictions in his/her bookshop of choice. I tried the VPN route once but failed and gave up. I might make a second effort if I had to, but if I keep failing, well...
Honestly, by this point in time, I have enough books lined up in my to-read list (the overwhelming majority of them bought more or less legally, depending on how legal one considers bypassing geo-restrictions) that I'd probably not bother with either that
or pirating - I'd just read something else. But I can easily see how bypassing geo-restrictions isn't something that everyone could manage, especially compared to the ease of pirating (and there is more risk of getting caught for breaking geo-restrictions, plus the risk of losing access to your account and your bought books).