Bypass geo-restriction with VPN?

[Catlady]

I want to purchase an audiobook from Kobo Canada (or any bookstore that has non-DRMed mp3 files) that is not available in the U.S. Can I do that if I set my VPN to Canada, without a physical address?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I want to purchase an audiobook from Kobo Canada (or any bookstore that has non-DRMed mp3 files) that is not available in the U.S. Can I do that if I set my VPN to Canada, without a physical address?

If it's the same as with buying ebooks from Kobo, you don't need to set your VPN to Canada, but you do need a Canadian address. Make one up. And use Alberta as your province, because it's got the lowest sales tax. If you're using your regular Kobo account, you'll have to delete the payment info before switching stores -- but I think it's easier to have a different account.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

If it's the same as with buying ebooks from Kobo, you don't need to set your VPN to Canada, but you do need a Canadian address. Make one up. And use Alberta as your province, because it's got the lowest sales tax. If you're using your regular Kobo account, you'll have to delete the payment info before switching stores -- but I think it's easier to have a different account.

So Kobo does ask for a physical address? I have not purchased from Kobo in eons, so I don't know what account info they might have for me, if any. Something about making up an address feels so wrong that I was hoping I didn't need to do that. Thanks for info. Damn geo-restrictions!

[Quoth]

Kobo wants a country on the payment method. If the country has regional tax variations then you'll need at least the area/zip. UK and Ireland only need the country.

Also your payment method needs to be compatible. Paypal used to work for me for USA, but last time it didn't, but my Irish Current Account (bank HQ in Lithuania) sort of worked. I had to manually unfreeze the automatically frozen account and approve payment in the App, but it worked. Paypal is working OK for UK & Ireland.

Kobo only geolocates via IP to suggest which store if you are not logged in. If you are logged in, then the country (only if entire country is same rate or even no tax) or address (if regional taxes in the chosen country) overides the IP address.

[Quoth]

So with Kobo it's about VAT or Sales tax (which can be zero for ebooks in some countries), not specifically about geo-restrictions in the way Amazon does for ebooks (though Amazon ignores geography when selling paper books).

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Kobo wants a country on the payment method. If the country has regional tax variations then you'll need at least the area/zip. UK and Ireland only need the country.

Also your payment method needs to be compatible. Paypal used to work for me for USA, but last time it didn't, but my Irish Current Account (bank HQ in Lithuania) sort of worked. I had to manually unfreeze the automatically frozen account and approve payment in the App, but it worked. Paypal is working OK for UK & Ireland.

Kobo only geolocates via IP to suggest which store if you are not logged in. If you are logged in, then the country (only if entire country is same rate or even no tax) or address (if regional taxes in the chosen country) overides the IP address.

Originally Posted by Quoth

So with Kobo it's about VAT or Sales tax (which can be zero for ebooks in some countries), not specifically about geo-restrictions in the way Amazon does for ebooks (though Amazon ignores geography when selling paper books).

Thanks so much for your input.

OK, so the audiobook I want is available in both Canada and the UK. Kobo is the best store for me, I think, because I already have Audible accounts in both those areas with my U.S. address and don't want to screw those up. I don't know if I have a working Kobo US account, but I did have one years ago. I was planning to use PayPal for payment.

Do you have an opinion on which would be best to try, Canada or UK, with the VPN set accordingly? As I mentioned earlier to issybird, I have a real aversion to making up a physical address.

I am beginning to think this might be more trouble than it's worth, and I should just give up!

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Thanks so much for your input.

OK, so the audiobook I want is available in both Canada and the UK. Kobo is the best store for me, I think, because I already have Audible accounts in both those areas with my U.S. address and don't want to screw those up. I don't know if I have a working Kobo US account, but I did have one years ago. I was planning to use PayPal for payment.

Do you have an opinion on which would be best to try, Canada or UK, with the VPN set accordingly? As I mentioned earlier to issybird, I have a real aversion to making up a physical address.

I am beginning to think this might be more trouble than it's worth, and I should just give up!

I haven't compared real prices, but if Kobo is trying to price match Amazon, you're likely to get a better price in the UK than in Canada. The Canadian Amazon store is almost always almost exactly equivalent or higher than the US store, whereas the UK store has a LOT more specials and discounts as they're still trying to capture market share there. Also, you won't need a physical address for the UK as the tax is the same everywhere, whereas the Canadian store needs to know your Province to get the tax basis right.

OTOH, buying from the Canadian store is definitely politically more interesting right now, given the whole #ElbowUp initiative that has gripped Canadians. So even though I have a UK Kobo account, I've been doing all my Kobo buying from the Canadian store. And refusing to buy from the US one. Or Amazon/Audible at all.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Do you have an opinion on which would be best to try, Canada or UK, with the VPN set accordingly? As I mentioned earlier to issybird, I have a real aversion to making up a physical address.

You don't need a VPN.

If you don't want an Address then use Kobo ie or Kobo gb by selecting Ireland or "United Kingdom/Great Britain" as country in the payment details. No further address details, Post Code or EirCode is needed as there are no regional tax variations. Actual ebooks are zero VAT, but I don't know about audio books.

You only need more address details for USA or Canada because tax varies by region.

You have to match the Country on the Payment Details page to the "Shop" Country used or you can't purchase. The IP address doesn't matter when you are logged in. The IP address is only used to suggest a "Shop Country" if you are not logged in.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I haven't compared real prices, but if Kobo is trying to price match Amazon, you're likely to get a better price in the UK than in Canada. The Canadian Amazon store is almost always almost exactly equivalent or higher than the US store, whereas the UK store has a LOT more specials and discounts as they're still trying to capture market share there. Also, you won't need a physical address for the UK as the tax is the same everywhere, whereas the Canadian store needs to know your Province to get the tax basis right.

OTOH, buying from the Canadian store is definitely politically more interesting right now, given the whole #ElbowUp initiative that has gripped Canadians. So even though I have a UK Kobo account, I've been doing all my Kobo buying from the Canadian store. And refusing to buy from the US one. Or Amazon/Audible at all.

The price is slightly cheaper in Kobo's Canada store (approx. $24.50 US) than in the UK store (approx. $27 US), not counting any tax. I am unhappy paying this much for an audiobook (Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden), but it seems to be my only option.

UK seems easier, so I will probably go with that, though supporting Canada is certainly appealing. Thanks for your help.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Quoth

You don't need a VPN.

If you don't want an Address then use Kobo ie or Kobo gb by selecting Ireland or "United Kingdom/Great Britain" as country in the payment details. No further address details, Post Code or EirCode is needed as there are no regional tax variations. Actual ebooks are zero VAT, but I don't know about audio books.

You only need more address details for USA or Canada because tax varies by region.

You have to match the Country on the Payment Details page to the "Shop" Country used or you can't purchase. The IP address doesn't matter when you are logged in. The IP address is only used to suggest a "Shop Country" if you are not logged in.

Thanks again. I don't think I've paid VAT on audiobooks from Audible Canada or Audible UK, but I'm not sure. In any case, I'm going to wait just a little bit until I'm actually ready to listen to the book.

[Catlady]

UPDATE: I didn't buy the digital audiobook; instead, I found an earlier version on CDs, with a different narrator, and ordered that. Price came out about the same, and this way I didn't have to worry about bypassing restrictions. Thanks to those who offered advice!