Please Help Me: Differences in Ebooks Between Kindle National Stores?

[FatGuy]

This is really important to me so I'd APPRECIATE any help. So far I've ONLY bought Amazon Kindle Ebooks from the American Kindle website. For example, I recently bought this: http://www.amazon.com/Anabolics-E-Bo...M?tag=mr060-20

However, I'm an Australian and now this text is displayed at the top of the page: "Great news! You can now buy Kindle eBooks directly from Amazon.com.au. Learn more about updating your default Kindle Store to Amazon.com.au"

My concern is: How can I check if the ebooks on the different Amazon Kindle Stores are identical, like between the USA Kindle website and Australian Kindle website? Identical in the amount of pages, content and so on?

[HarryT]

If the ASIN (the "Bxxxxxxxx" number) is the same, it's the same book.

[pdurrant]

If they're by the same publisher, they'll probably be the same. If they're by a different publisher, there will almost certainly be differences in the formatting, and quite often local publishers will adjust spelling and vocabulary to match local standards.

More importantly, from Amazon's point of view, there may be books in the US store that they're not legally allowed to sell to Australians who live in Australia, usually because the publisher of the US edition doesn't have publication rights in Australia. That's why you're being encouraged to switch to the Australian Kindle store.

[Edit: Harry's right - except he meant to say ASIN (?Amazon Stock Identification Number), not PID]

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

[Edit: Harry's right - except he meant to say ASIN (?Amazon Stock Identification Number), not PID]

Sorry - so many different names for these things, it's easy to get mixed up .

I've edited my previous post accordingly.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

{...}

More importantly, from Amazon's point of view, there may be books in the US store that they're not legally allowed to sell to Australians who live in Australia, usually because the publisher of the US edition doesn't have publication rights in Australia. That's why you're being encouraged to switch to the Australian Kindle store.

[Edit: Harry's right - except he meant to say ASIN (?Amazon Stock Identification Number)]

No, since Amazon knows you are in Australia you will be offered exactly the same selection of ebooks from Amazon.com as from Amazon.com.au

The only difference is pricing and charging in US dollars as against Australian dollars and being allowed to lend and gift books.

[FatGuy]

Thanks so much for the replies!

I'm thinking of staying with the American Amazon Kindle Store and just keep buying my Kindle books from the American website and NOT switch. How will this decision affect me?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by FatGuy

Thanks so much for the replies!

I'm thinking of staying with the American Amazon Kindle Store and just keep buying my Kindle books from the American website and NOT switch. How will this decision affect me?

You'll keep on paying in US$ instead of AUS$. And Amazon will probably nag you from time to time to move to amazon.au.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

More importantly, from Amazon's point of view, there may be books in the US store that they're not legally allowed to sell to Australians who live in Australia, usually because the publisher of the US edition doesn't have publication rights in Australia. That's why you're being encouraged to switch to the Australian Kindle store.

While this is correct, the reverse also holds true: there are books on Amazon.com that one can get there, but not in the local shop.

As a Dutchman, I can choose to shop at Amazon.com or Amazon.nl, but the .coms-site gives me the biggest selection of English books. If I would want to buy books in Dutch, moving to the Dutch shop would probably be best.

I do not know if it is possible (and allowed) to shop at Amazon.com if you're living in the UK, Germany or France; these countries already have very big Amazon stores. (The Dutch one only opened last year, IIRC; before it rerouted to Amazon.co.uk, and depending on the product you wanted to buy, could even be re-re-routed to Amazon.de...)

If you can find most of the things you want at Amazon.com, I'd just stay put, and get the rest elsewhere.

[FatGuy]

This might sound like a weird question, but I didn't want to waste space by creating a new thread: Are all the copies of Amazon Kindle Ebooks identical word for word? Is it possible for me to buy a particular Kindle Ebook and have it be different to a Kindle Ebook with the same title, but was bought by another person and has different information even though they're the same title?

[Cinisajoy]

Quit worrying about nothing and just buy the book from where you want to.
If the book has the same title and the same author, odds are very good that it is the same book.

Now some authors do make translations available but usually the title is slightly different.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by FatGuy

This might sound like a weird question, but I didn't want to waste space by creating a new thread: Are all the copies of Amazon Kindle Ebooks identical word for word? Is it possible for me to buy a particular Kindle Ebook and have it be different to a Kindle Ebook with the same title, but was bought by another person and has different information even though they're the same title?

The only time this happens is when an author updates his book. Sometimes Amazon sends out the updates and sometimes they don't.
This is not a real concern because it is usually fiction and the author is very new.

[FatGuy]

I was just curious if it were possible for some people to receive a Kindle Ebook title with a slightly different amount of pages or slightly different text.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by FatGuy

I was just curious if it were possible for some people to receive a Kindle Ebook title with a slightly different amount of pages or slightly different text.

Quick answer: NO.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Quick answer: NO.

Wrong

If I order "A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens", I can get one of several (hundred) versions that are listed on Amazon. They will all be different; some may be proofed better, some may have illustrations, some may have a good layout, others might not, and so on.

However, if I order a *specific* book, then anyone else ordering exactly that same book, will get an exact copy of course. So, you go to a page, order a book, send the link to me, and then I order the book from the same page, they'll be exactly the same. It would be very weird and confusing if this wasn't the case

So go by page, Amazon ASIN, or ISBN, and not by title alone.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by FatGuy

This might sound like a weird question, but I didn't want to waste space by creating a new thread

No, it's the same damned question that you've asked in a dozen different ways, and been answered a dozen times, and we're all getting seriously pissed off by.

If you ask this idiotic question again your post will be deleted without comment or notice. Enough is enough.

Do not ask this question again, PM anyone asking this question, send semaphore signals asking this question, issue telepathic impulses asking the question, or use any means of communication whatsoever to ask this question.

This subject is closed. Permanently.