Australian Publishers are KIDDING !

[Erina]

Just got my iPad, no books in the aussie iBooks yet so I went searching fro my first ebook. Inkmesh had a nice list of desireable books so I selected one with cost shown as $7. And ran straight into the " not available to Australian buyers" problem.

OK, lets play nice , at least for now. Borders have opened their online site here so lets see. And the same book is listed at $29 !!!

That is nothing more than a blatant price gouge and totally unjustified.

I will now dig deeper into the MR forum and learn how to get my books at a fair price. What a joke!!

[sabredog]

Hopefully Borders will bring the ebook market in line with the US. But currently there is a massive "protection racket" amongst Australian publishers that two successive Federal governments have not done anything to sort out.

I will not buy locally at this stage preferring workarounds to get around the geographic restrictions imposed on the majority of the world by agency 5 publishers.

I will also add that I tried to buy a series by a Melbourne based SF author who uses Random House as a publisher but could not get ebooks of his series as I was an Australian resident. I did get the books via workarounds but the whole convoluted mess to do so was frustrating and most annoying.

[Chris Crouch]

It is a joke, but at least with the iPad you have a wide choice of apps and stores:

Install the Kindle app, and you can buy from Amazon.

Install the Borders app and you can buy from Borders (I'm guessing you've already done this).

Install the Kobo app and you can buy from Kobo.

Where I've found it hard is with Australian authors. If it's only available from an Australian publisher then it'll be expensive no matter what :-(

[Erina]

are you sure I can buy from Amazon if I install the kindle app? to my knowledge there are many books on amazonnot available to australians

[Clancy_s]

Originally Posted by Erina

are you sure I can buy from Amazon if I install the kindle app? to my knowledge there are many books on amazonnot available to australians

I can't speak to the Kindle app on the ipad, but Kindle for PC (running in Newcastle Australia) connected me to the US store: I see the full range of books available to US residents and I was charged in US $. I've only done it once, for a book I particularly wanted, but I suppose that state of affairs is the usual one.

Quite different to the situation with an actual Kindle, I'm pleased to say.

[Blue Tyson]

You would actually have to list your address as in the USA for that to work, though?

[Chris Crouch]

Originally Posted by Erina

are you sure I can buy from Amazon if I install the kindle app? to my knowledge there are many books on amazonnot available to australians

I have both an iPad and a Kindle, so I'm quite sure.

There are plenty of books that Amazon won't sell to Aussies, but there are many more that they will. Just quickly checking: 395,000 for Australia, 612,000 for US.

That matches my subjective experience - I can get more than half of the books I want from Amazon, but not all.

[nomesque]

Uh huh.

I find the situation both frustrating and reassuring... frustrating as a reader with favourite Aussie authors, reassuring as an Aussie writer who's winning more customers because of the whole fiasco...

OTOH, I did find some decently-priced ebooks on the Borders site. Not that it's easy to navigate, and I hate that 'sort by price' isn't available!

If you're willing to try lesser-known and unknown writers, check out Smashwords.com. No geographic restrictions.

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by Erina

are you sure I can buy from Amazon if I install the kindle app? to my knowledge there are many books on amazonnot available to australians

As said by Blue Tyson, you need to register a Amazon U.S account and then use gift card balance to buy books. This will however not work with pre-orders which requires a credit card attached to the account.

One other thing to note is that you would have to register your Kindle to this new account to be able to read the books unless you strip the DRM first.

If pre-orders are important you could use something like usunlocked that has a virtual debit card providing you with a U.S address.

[Blue Tyson]

Well, actually there'd be nothing stopping you paying with any credit card that will work with their processor (and standard Australian ones do), you just have to have your address set to the USA.

Other than the fact they might get upset if you do it a lot, I suppose.

[nomesque]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

Well, actually there'd be nothing stopping you paying with any credit card that will work with their processor (and standard Australian ones do), you just have to have your address set to the USA.

Other than the fact they might get upset if you do it a lot, I suppose.

They have been known to send 'Please prove you have a US address' emails, and kill people's accounts. Not overly common though, as far as I'm aware.

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

Well, actually there'd be nothing stopping you paying with any credit card that will work with their processor (and standard Australian ones do), you just have to have your address set to the USA.

Other than the fact they might get upset if you do it a lot, I suppose.

Ok, good to know. But like nomesque said I'm guessing they will red flag the account pretty quickly if you're constantly using an Australian credit card instead of buying a gift card and use that as payment.

One other thing that might quickly red-flag the account is if you download the book through the wireless whispernet. Probably better to turn wireless of and download to computer first and then move the book to the reader.

If you're extra paranoid you could use something like HotSpot Shield to cover your actual IP address which could pinpoint your location.

[neilmarr]

Good to have your new company, Erina. Your complaint is by no means rare. It irks me that people might be put off e-reading before they have even begun by restrictive stores and greedy publishers.

In time, you'll find alternatives and ways and means around the nonsensical stumbling blocks. Meantime -- a tiny gesture, I know -- pop into my own store (from the URL below), pick out a few titles and email me (ntmarrATbewrite.net [use the @ sign]) with a few titles that catch your eye and I'll be happy to send them along to you in the format of your choice with our compliments to help kick-start your library.

Best wishes. Neil

[sabredog]

Gift cards won't work at Diesel any more it seems. I have credit there and I cannot buy Geo restricted titles with them even using a US borderlynx address.

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Gift cards won't work at Diesel any more it seems.

Have you got a credit card attached to the Diesel account? Last time I checked (couple of weeks ago) it was possible to buy books with gift card as long as a credit card was attached to the account.