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ProfCrash · 02-06-2012, 02:49 PM

If an e-book is available in the US and not available in the Netherlands that is because the US Publisher has chosen to make it available and the Netherlands Publisher has chosen not to. So yes, there is a problem because the publisher in the Netherlands has decided not to sell the e-book. That is not the problem with geo restrictions.

The reason you cannot buy the US or UK version of the e-book is because of a law in the US that treats electronic media different then physical media. This is the problem of geo restrictions. The EU and the US (I imagine other areas of the world as well) have laws on the books that prevent the sale of electronic media across borders.

You can buy the paper book through Amazon US without a problem, at least the folks in Australia, New Zealand, and most European countries can. I am assuming that this holds for the Netherlands but I have never seen someone post about buying paper books from the Netherlands so I cannot say for sure. But many people in many countries have bought paper books from Amazon US without any hassle. They don't need a US address or a gift card or a US credit card. They just buy the book and Amazon US mails it to them. They can buy the book because Amazon US (and other companies in the US) are allowed to treat their store in the US as the point of sale. So they are selling a book in the US and are good to go.

The problem is that you cannot buy the e-book for that paper book from Amazon US because of the way the law in the US is written and how it treats electronic media. The American law says that your computer in Netherlands is the point of sale so that a US store cannot sell you something that is not available in the Netherlands. In this case, the e-book. So there is a legitimate copy of the e-book that is available somewhere in the globe, in this case the US, and you are geo restricted from buying it because of the American Law. From what Harry and others have posted, this is true for the EU as well. This is why I cannot buy e-books from Amazon UK or the other international stores.

Now, the Publisher in Netherlands could get off their butt and make the book available. If it is not then you can look at other sites around the globe and find where it is available and try and circumvent the geo restrictions. (For Amazon it require a US address and a gift card with money on it. Some folks use a free VPN blocker but that does not seem to be necessary for Amazon.) This gets the Author some money and shows the Publisher that there is an interest in said Author increasing the likelihood that said Author gets another contract because you paid for the book.

Or you can pirate it and punish the Author for chosing a stupid Publisher in the Netherlands that is not making all of their work available as e-books.

02-06-2012, 02:49 PM	#289
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	If an e-book is available in the US and not available in the Netherlands that is because the US Publisher has chosen to make it available and the Netherlands Publisher has chosen not to. So yes, there is a problem because the publisher in the Netherlands has decided not to sell the e-book. That is not the problem with geo restrictions. The reason you cannot buy the US or UK version of the e-book is because of a law in the US that treats electronic media different then physical media. This is the problem of geo restrictions. The EU and the US (I imagine other areas of the world as well) have laws on the books that prevent the sale of electronic media across borders. You can buy the paper book through Amazon US without a problem, at least the folks in Australia, New Zealand, and most European countries can. I am assuming that this holds for the Netherlands but I have never seen someone post about buying paper books from the Netherlands so I cannot say for sure. But many people in many countries have bought paper books from Amazon US without any hassle. They don't need a US address or a gift card or a US credit card. They just buy the book and Amazon US mails it to them. They can buy the book because Amazon US (and other companies in the US) are allowed to treat their store in the US as the point of sale. So they are selling a book in the US and are good to go. The problem is that you cannot buy the e-book for that paper book from Amazon US because of the way the law in the US is written and how it treats electronic media. The American law says that your computer in Netherlands is the point of sale so that a US store cannot sell you something that is not available in the Netherlands. In this case, the e-book. So there is a legitimate copy of the e-book that is available somewhere in the globe, in this case the US, and you are geo restricted from buying it because of the American Law. From what Harry and others have posted, this is true for the EU as well. This is why I cannot buy e-books from Amazon UK or the other international stores. Now, the Publisher in Netherlands could get off their butt and make the book available. If it is not then you can look at other sites around the globe and find where it is available and try and circumvent the geo restrictions. (For Amazon it require a US address and a gift card with money on it. Some folks use a free VPN blocker but that does not seem to be necessary for Amazon.) This gets the Author some money and shows the Publisher that there is an interest in said Author increasing the likelihood that said Author gets another contract because you paid for the book. Or you can pirate it and punish the Author for chosing a stupid Publisher in the Netherlands that is not making all of their work available as e-books.