Testing links to Kindle ebooks redirecting to country sites

[pdurrant]

I've come across a weird thing where some links to ebooks using amazon.com are (for me) redirecting to my country-specific amazon site, amazon.co.uk.

But only when they also include the MobileRead origin tag!

I have disabled the links here, so please copy/paste the links below into a browser and report your results. The books are a UK-only book, a USA-only book, and a book available in both UK and USA. The first three are with the MobileRead tag, the next three are the same books without it.

1. https://www.amazon.com/s?tag=mr060-20&k=9780062332820&i=digital-text
2. https://www.amazon.com/s?tag=mr060-20&k=9781405975629&i=digital-text
3. https://www.amazon.com/s?tag=mr060-20&k=9781625795595&i=digital-text
4. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9780062332820&i=digital-text
5. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781405975629&i=digital-text
6. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781625795595&i=digital-text

My results are:

1. Redirects to amazon.co.uk, book not found
2. Redirects to amazon.co.uk, book found
3. Redirects to amazon.co.uk, book found
4. No redirect, book found at amazon.com
5. No redirect, book not found at amazon.com
6. No redirect, book found at amazon.com

I'm interested to find results for people in UK, USA and other countries with and without their own country-specific kindle store.

[Quoth]

I've seen that for ages. I assumed it was something clever MR was doing.

I'm in Ireland, but have to use Amazon UK for Kindle. I'd save money on transactions of they allowed a basket/trolly. I'd have thought Amazon would queue them and do them in bulk, but it seems not.

Long ago I had one Kindle on the USA store, but they changed how it worked and only offered the UK available titles at US$ conversion of UK£ price. I can still occasionally buy paper books from USA, but sometimes they block that.

We do now have an Amazon Ireland, which seems mostly populated with Amazon Germany content, but has the "free" shipping on some items at €25 rather than the £35 now of UK to here. However often the same item was cheaper on German Amazon (which does English), even with the postage to Ireland, than UK price with "free" shipping, so before the Irish Amazon launched this year I often bought from Germany.

There is no Irish Kindle and due to stupidity of Publishers I hope it stays on UK. The Kobo Irish store sometimes is cheaper than Kobo UK, but mostly dearer (due to currency hedging of UK publishers and rounding up to 1c less than next highest euro). Also The Irish kobo store has missing titles compared to UK.

[Quoth]

1. Redirects to amazon.co.uk, book not found
2. Redirects to amazon.co.uk, book found
3. Redirects to amazon.co.uk, book found
4. No redirect, book found at amazon.com (The Complete Miss Marple Collection isn't available at all, even on similar title on Kobo or Amazon other than USA. I've seen that too often, even for one book in the middle of a series).
5. No redirect, book not found, but shows "More Results".
6. No redirect, book found at amazon.com

So in Ireland with an IP that geolocates* to a nearby Irish City, same as pdurrant.


[* IMO Geolocation / ISP tables of IPs should be illegal]

Maybe for completeness I should do it on a different browser that's got no logged in Amazon cookies? Curiously a friend in the City sometimes sees different prices to me for the same ebook (like 99p instead of 84p)

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I've seen that for ages. I assumed it was something clever MR was doing.

The tag is clever URL-re-writing by MobileRead, put in place when affiliate links to Kindle ebooks could be a source of revenue.

But why having such a link should cause a redirect from Amazon.com only Amazon could say, and might change at any time. But it's interesting to find out what happens at the moment.

[PeterT]

1. Redirects to amazon.ca, book found
2. Redirects to amazon.ca, book not found
3. Redirects to amazon.ca, book found
4. No redirect, book found at amazon.co, prompt to select my amazon site
5. No redirect, book not found at amazon.com
6. No redirect, book found at amazon.com

[DNSB]

1. Redirects to Amazon.ca, book found The Complete Miss Marple Collection
2. Redirects to Amazon.ca, book not found manually locating ebook shows it has an ASIN but not an ISBN (B0FW5TN9QX)
3. Redirects to Amazon.ca, book found The Black Wolves of Boston
4. No redirect, book found, not available for purchase
5. No redirect, book not found
6. No redirect, book found, not available for purchase

[pdurrant]

Thanks. So it also causes a redirect to amazon.ca. Anyone in other countries with a report?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Thanks. So it also causes a redirect to amazon.ca. Anyone in other countries with a report?

My results are exactly the same as yours.

[Fbone]

1. Book found
2. Book not found
3. Book found
4. Book found
5. Book not found
6. Book found

No redirects as expected.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Fbone

1. Book found
2. Book not found
3. Book found
4. Book found
5. Book not found
6. Book found

No redirects as expected.

Are you in USA?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

My results are exactly the same as yours.

Redirect to which country site?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Redirect to which country site?

UK. Where I can't actually buy any ebooks, US Amazon is the only site I can buy them.

[SomeSteve]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I've come across a weird thing where some links to ebooks using amazon.com are (for me) redirecting to my country-specific amazon site, amazon.co.uk.

But only when they also include the MobileRead origin tag!

I have disabled the links here, so please copy/paste the links below into a browser and report your results. The books are a UK-only book, a USA-only book, and a book available in both UK and USA. The first three are with the MobileRead tag, the next three are the same books without it.

1. https://www.amazon.com/s?tag=mr060-2...i=digital-text
2. https://www.amazon.com/s?tag=mr060-2...i=digital-text
3. https://www.amazon.com/s?tag=mr060-2...i=digital-text
4. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9780062332820&i=digital-text
5. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781405975629&i=digital-text
6. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781625795595&i=digital-text

1. Redirects to Amazon.de. No results found.

2. Redirects to Amazon.de. Shows a list of four books, with Osman at the top. The three below it are "sponsored," but they have nothing to do with the Osman, except that they are mysteries (by different authors).

3. Redirects to Amazon.de. Shows "The Black Wolves of Boston" as if at the top of a list, though there are no other books listed. To see it I'd have to click on it.

4. Goes to Amazon.com. Shows a list of two books, topped by "The Complete Miss Marple." The book below it is sponsored.

5. Goes to Amazon.com. Again a list with six entries, topped by "Purrfect Bully" by Nic Saint. All six are "sponsored." Four of the others are books or a box of books by Nic Saint. The sixth book (fourth on the list) is by another author. No Osman.

6. Goes to Amazon.com. "The Black Wolves of Boston" in a "list" of one.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Are you in USA?

yes sir

[Terisa de morgan]

At Spain (and my browser knows it):

1. Redirect to amazon.es, book not found
2. Redirect to amazon.es, book found: The Impossible Fortune
3. Redirect to amazon.es, book found: The Black Wolves of Boston
4. No redirect, book found at amazon.com: The Complete Miss Marple Collection
5. No redirect, book not found at amazon.com
6. No redirect, book found at amazon.com: The Black Wolves of Boston