Buying a Sony Reader outside of the USA - Page 2

geekraver · 09-26-2006, 06:39 PM

I'm willing to buy and ship readers to folks on this list who are outside the USA; I don't see how Sony can stop me (or other individuals) from doing this, on a small scale. Assuming Borders get them in, I can buy them there. I'll have to pay 9% sales tax, and obviously the overseas shipping costs. I would use this to finance the cost of my own reader, so I would want to make a small profit on each deal; say $30 (I'd have some packaging costs come out of that too). I'd also want to recover the 3% that PayPal will take. So that should make the cost about $420 plus shipping (or less if I can find a source cheaper than $350).

If you're interested send me a message.

diabloNL · 09-27-2006, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geekraver

I'm willing to buy and ship readers to folks on this list who are outside the USA; I don't see how Sony can stop me (or other individuals) from doing this, on a small scale. Assuming Borders get them in, I can buy them there. I'll have to pay 9% sales tax, and obviously the overseas shipping costs. I would use this to finance the cost of my own reader, so I would want to make a small profit on each deal; say $30 (I'd have some packaging costs come out of that too). I'd also want to recover the 3% that PayPal will take. So that should make the cost about $420 plus shipping (or less if I can find a source cheaper than $350).

If you're interested send me a message.

I think that is a very honest deal. First I will wait and see if my friends can help me and otherwise maybe I'm interested.

grimo1re · 09-27-2006, 05:40 AM

Damn damn damn. I have no friends in the US to help me out on this one. There are those US address shipping services for overseas people, but you have to pay for them....still might be worth it.

I was all excited when I got Sony's e-mail that it is finally here and then I found out they won't ship outside the US. Evil bastards.

/jumps up and down in frustration

doctorow · 09-27-2006, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grimo1re

/jumps up and down in frustration

Time to meditate.

CommanderROR · 09-27-2006, 06:28 AM

I don't get this whole "US only" stuff...seems a bit stupid to me, probably to do with differing copyright laws in the US and the EU, rest of the world.
However, books have been sold indifferently in botht he US and EU for many years now, so I guess the problems can't be too big on that front...

TaKir · 09-27-2006, 09:07 AM

I think, Reader will be available soon in South (Latin) America.

If you type PRS-500 in a "model" window at this page:
http://esupport.sony.com/CA/perl/sel...CS&PRODTYPE=74

you will see:

Model Find
The model you have entered is only available in the following regions:

Latin America
United States

And here you can choose a model from a list...
http://esupport.sony.com/LA/perl/sel...CS&PRODTYPE=74
...and get manuals for Latin America region:

http://esupport.sony.com/LA/perl/mod...00&region_id=2

Reader from Canada is not available... But it's ok from Latin America. Strange...

Marian · 09-27-2006, 09:10 AM

Even if we were able to get hold of one outside of USA, would we then be blocked from purchasing content from Connect?

diabloNL · 09-27-2006, 09:18 AM

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! My friend is going to order one today and if I understood him correctly he will be visiting Holland in a few weeks so he can bring it along. Just hope the reader will be delivered before then.

There is a god!

Tom Swift · 09-27-2006, 10:27 AM

I don't know what to do. Like Marian said, even if we use an American friend's credit card and address, will we be able to use our own credit card on the Sony Connect store site?

Should I wait for this to be more easily available? Should I just go for the Hanlin (I am in China)? Should I wait for Amazon? Aargh!

igorsk · 09-27-2006, 10:37 AM

1. You can read your own files.
2. You can probably use the $50 launch credit even if you're not in U.S. Just register under a bogus address.
3. I bet Amazon will also sell ebooks only to U.S. people (just like they do now).

Tom Swift · 09-27-2006, 10:50 AM

The problem is that the credit card has a foreign address attached. From what people have said, you can't even use a non-US credit card in the system.

I can't even get to the Sony Connect store since I get a message saying that it is not available in my area. I know how to beat this by proxys but the bank credit card is harder to fake. I have a few ideas but I get tired of having to out-think this kind of crap. I will never understand why companies limit their market.

I can buy books from Amazon USA and they will ship them no problem. I can use my eBookwise account even though I do not live in the States. Why is Sony being so anal about this?

igorsk · 09-27-2006, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Swift

The problem is that the credit card has a foreign address attached. From what people have said, you can't even use a non-US credit card in the system.

I can't even get to the Sony Connect store since I get a message saying that it is not available in my area. I know how to beat this by proxys but the bank credit card is harder to fake. I have a few ideas but I get tired of having to out-think this kind of crap. I will never understand why companies limit their market.

From what I gather, you don't need to enter your credit card info just to register. And once you register, you'll have your 50$ credit to spend. Either way, I can tell you once I get mine

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Swift

I can buy books from Amazon USA and they will ship them no problem. I can use my eBookwise account even though I do not live in the States. Why is Sony being so anal about this?

Yes, you can buy dead-tree books from Amazon USA, but have you tried buying an e-book there? And the reason, I think, is simple: publishers give Amazon and Sony permission to sell books only in U.S., for other territories they need to make contracts with local publishers.

Tom Swift · 09-27-2006, 11:04 AM

I will give the registration thing a try. Fake address and all.

I wonder why publishers restrict their market? Again, I can buy books from eBookwise so why can't I buy from the big sellers?

geekraver · 09-27-2006, 11:24 AM

As I mentioned, I can purchase readers for non-USA people who are interested, so if you can't arrange any other way, message me if interested.

NatCh · 09-27-2006, 11:33 AM

Some info on this:

Unfortunately, the way it is set up, you won't be able to buy content from the Connect Store if you don't have a U.S. Addressed credit card.

As igorsk pointed out, you can use open content from other sources.

I'm a bit amused by all the interest in Sony's content, after all the ranting that went on about the proprietary format & DRM!

But that was other folks, of course.

Amazon just stopped selling e-books when they bought Mobi, so unless you can/want to crack the Mobi format, any e-books you buy from them won't be terribly useful to you.

As for limiting the market, I gathered that this was rather complicated. I'm guessing that there may be some pressure inside Sony not to sell the hardware outside the U.S. (like from Tokyo, which may not want an American reader to do better than the Japanese one did

).

That may also affect the content (if it's even the case), but I expect it is more likely on the publisher end on that part. Keep in mind that the pubs in the rest of the world have a stake in whether U.S. pubs can sell e-content to "their" customers. So it may not be the folks selling the content that are limiting the market, it might just be their competitors, which is a bit more understandable.

09-27-2006, 05:40 AM	#18
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	I have no friends in the US Damn damn damn. I have no friends in the US to help me out on this one. There are those US address shipping services for overseas people, but you have to pay for them....still might be worth it. I was all excited when I got Sony's e-mail that it is finally here and then I found out they won't ship outside the US. Evil bastards. /jumps up and down in frustration

09-27-2006, 09:07 AM	#21
TaKir Keine Ursache! )) Posts: 146 Karma: 63 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Almost everywhere Device: Lbook V8 & V3_Vizplex	I think, Reader will be available soon in South (Latin) America. If you type PRS-500 in a "model" window at this page: http://esupport.sony.com/CA/perl/sel...CS&PRODTYPE=74 you will see: Model Find The model you have entered is only available in the following regions: Latin America United States And here you can choose a model from a list... http://esupport.sony.com/LA/perl/sel...CS&PRODTYPE=74 ...and get manuals for Latin America region: http://esupport.sony.com/LA/perl/mod...00&region_id=2 Reader from Canada is not available... But it's ok from Latin America. Strange... Last edited by TaKir; 09-27-2006 at 10:53 AM.

09-27-2006, 11:24 AM	#29
geekraver Addict Posts: 364 Karma: 1035291 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Device: iPad Mini,Kindle Paperwhite	As I mentioned, I can purchase readers for non-USA people who are interested, so if you can't arrange any other way, message me if interested. Last edited by geekraver; 09-27-2006 at 05:55 PM.

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09-26-2006, 06:39 PM	#16
geekraver Addict Posts: 364 Karma: 1035291 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Device: iPad Mini,Kindle Paperwhite	I'm willing to buy and ship readers to folks on this list who are outside the USA; I don't see how Sony can stop me (or other individuals) from doing this, on a small scale. Assuming Borders get them in, I can buy them there. I'll have to pay 9% sales tax, and obviously the overseas shipping costs. I would use this to finance the cost of my own reader, so I would want to make a small profit on each deal; say $30 (I'd have some packaging costs come out of that too). I'd also want to recover the 3% that PayPal will take. So that should make the cost about $420 plus shipping (or less if I can find a source cheaper than $350). If you're interested send me a message.

09-27-2006, 06:28 AM	#20
CommanderROR eink fanatic Posts: 2,022 Karma: 4924 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Germany Device: STAReBOOK, iRex Iliad, Sony 505, Kindle 2	I don't get this whole "US only" stuff...seems a bit stupid to me, probably to do with differing copyright laws in the US and the EU, rest of the world. However, books have been sold indifferently in botht he US and EU for many years now, so I guess the problems can't be too big on that front...

09-27-2006, 09:10 AM	#22
Marian Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 73 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Wales Device: Cybook Gen 1 & 3, Dell Axim x51v, Iliad.	Even if we were able to get hold of one outside of USA, would we then be blocked from purchasing content from Connect?

09-27-2006, 09:18 AM	#23
diabloNL Gadget Force® Posts: 705 Karma: 2733 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: The Netherlands Device: Sony PRS-300 + Cybook with funny screen :P	YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! My friend is going to order one today and if I understood him correctly he will be visiting Holland in a few weeks so he can bring it along. Just hope the reader will be delivered before then. There is a god!

09-27-2006, 10:27 AM	#24
Tom Swift Addict Posts: 252 Karma: 1232346 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Macau Device: Kindle Oasis (plus lots of older devices)	I don't know what to do. Like Marian said, even if we use an American friend's credit card and address, will we be able to use our own credit card on the Sony Connect store site? Should I wait for this to be more easily available? Should I just go for the Hanlin (I am in China)? Should I wait for Amazon? Aargh!

09-27-2006, 10:37 AM	#25
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	1. You can read your own files. 2. You can probably use the $50 launch credit even if you're not in U.S. Just register under a bogus address. 3. I bet Amazon will also sell ebooks only to U.S. people (just like they do now).

09-27-2006, 10:50 AM	#26
Tom Swift Addict Posts: 252 Karma: 1232346 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Macau Device: Kindle Oasis (plus lots of older devices)	The problem is that the credit card has a foreign address attached. From what people have said, you can't even use a non-US credit card in the system. I can't even get to the Sony Connect store since I get a message saying that it is not available in my area. I know how to beat this by proxys but the bank credit card is harder to fake. I have a few ideas but I get tired of having to out-think this kind of crap. I will never understand why companies limit their market. I can buy books from Amazon USA and they will ship them no problem. I can use my eBookwise account even though I do not live in the States. Why is Sony being so anal about this?

09-27-2006, 11:04 AM	#28
Tom Swift Addict Posts: 252 Karma: 1232346 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Macau Device: Kindle Oasis (plus lots of older devices)	I will give the registration thing a try. Fake address and all. I wonder why publishers restrict their market? Again, I can buy books from eBookwise so why can't I buy from the big sellers?

09-27-2006, 11:33 AM	#30
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Some info on this: Unfortunately, the way it is set up, you won't be able to buy content from the Connect Store if you don't have a U.S. Addressed credit card. As igorsk pointed out, you can use open content from other sources. I'm a bit amused by all the interest in Sony's content, after all the ranting that went on about the proprietary format & DRM! But that was other folks, of course. Amazon just stopped selling e-books when they bought Mobi, so unless you can/want to crack the Mobi format, any e-books you buy from them won't be terribly useful to you. As for limiting the market, I gathered that this was rather complicated. I'm guessing that there may be some pressure inside Sony not to sell the hardware outside the U.S. (like from Tokyo, which may not want an American reader to do better than the Japanese one did ). That may also affect the content (if it's even the case), but I expect it is more likely on the publisher end on that part. Keep in mind that the pubs in the rest of the world have a stake in whether U.S. pubs can sell e-content to "their" customers. So it may not be the folks selling the content that are limiting the market, it might just be their competitors, which is a bit more understandable.