Maybe Australia is catching up ? :p

[DarkRoast]

Thanks Neil. I am still trying to understand a few things. What advantages does Calibre have over the sony reader library? Australian Kindle store still seems to have much better prices and range than what we have in Australian ebook stores. I really love the Sony reader but I am finding dismal range and ridiculous prices quite frustrating.

[neilmarr]

You can convert from one format to another using Calibre, Dark, as well as organise your library. Kindle's a problem because their store offers only books in Amazon's own Mobi format, whereas industry standard is ePub, so there's a much wider range of titles to be bought from other stores -- some more expensive than at the Kindle Store, others the same price or less so. You have to shop around.

One other problem with Kindle Store is that many of the books you want will be padlocked with Digital Rights Management software. They will convert only if you strip DRM. I feel that's morally justified, but it's illegal and -- although there are instructions all over the net -- we can't explain the ins and outs in these forums.

And remember that if you download a Public Domain book or a classic from Kindle Store, they will charge you for it, whereas those titles are free from a whole heap of other sources.

Good luck. Neil

[viviena]

This seems like the relevant thread to ask: does anybody know if the Agency model of pricing is in effect in Australia? I'm starting to see some local titles in the Kindle Store bearing the phrase 'this price was set by the publisher', but in the case of one particular book, the KoboBooks listing, $19.95 AUD, is discounted from the Kindle's, $32.99 AUD, by more than $10. Why would the publisher set a price for Amazon but not for KoboBooks? Will all other online bookstores selling Aussie titles eventually fall into line with the publishers' wishes? What am I missing here, because I feel it's probably obvious?

[sabredog]

From what I have read, Agency Pricing is now in Australia.

http://bookbee.net/australian-ebooks...y-model-creep/

[jehane]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Good post. You are echoing my concerns as well.

You go into a shop like Dymocks and the Science Fiction section's range is abysmal. There are a lot of SF books that they have not got for sale and have never heard of. These books are easily available online in paperback or ebook format.

This sort of restrictive practice is widespread. Just consider Kogan's online and locally based estore and the scathing vocal hatred of his business emanating from Gerry Harvey.

Thanks sabredog. I used to buy my SFF from the local specialist shops (wherever I was living or visiting at the time - I know where the SFF shops are in most capitals!) and other books at Dymocks. I used to check the SFF shelves at Dymocks just out of interest, but they hardly ever had anything I wanted. In their defence, they are a generalist store and it just wouldn't be feasible for them to carry that kind of range. However I always found them really good at ordering in something, as were the specialists. Nowadays, it's book depository for pbooks, or ebooks. And I haven't paid attention to Gerry Harvey for a very long time. :P

Dark Roast, Dymocks and A&R are still very overpriced, but you are not restricted to them. I have been buying from Kobo lately, who have good prices and regular coupons, and I have my eye on a few titles from Baen as well. I have downloaded freebies from Borders US and Smashwords, and Borders AU have reasonable prices listed. THere's any number of smaller publishers selling direct that will also sell to you. And with a Sony you can borrow library books if you happen to be able to join one - I'm a member of ACT library.

[Debra Anne S]

My husband bought me Sony PRS 950 in USA last week. How do I buy books here in Australia when the billing code is only registering US states?

[kennyc]

Debra. Welcome to MR. I personally can't answer that question, but if you ask over in the Sony forum you'll probably get more answers then you can shake an ereader at.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=100

[tech_au]

Originally Posted by Debra Anne S

My husband bought me Sony PRS 950 in USA last week. How do I buy books here in Australia when the billing code is only registering US states?

If you want to buy ebooks from the Sony ebookstore you need a made up valid US address(courtesy of Google maps ) and a US credit card or one of the nice US folks on here to buy you a Sony gift card and you pay them by Paypal.
However, if you don't want to use the Sony store just install Adobe DE and authorize it then buy from Kobo(recommended), BorderAU or Angus & Robertson ebook stores.
No real reason to buy from Sony store anymore except for freebies and $1.99 specials or if you want to buy the small range of newspapers/magazines.

[AlexBell]

Let me add my welcome also, from Tasmania. As tech_au has already indicated there are Australian based ebook vendors, and you are not restricted to the US Sony store.

Another one I've used from time to time is Read without Paper at http://www.readwithoutpaper.com/

And as well as Austrlian based vendors there a many overseas vendors like http://www.bewrite.net/, Baen, and Double Dragon which do not use DRM and do not have geographic restrictions.

And of course there are many free ebooks in ePub format on the MR library.

Regards, Alex

[neilmarr]

Good to have your company, Debra. I've used a Sony for two years and NEVER use the Sony store or library software. Download the free Calibre library programme and use that and buy, borrow or freely download wherever you like. Sony and Calibre makes a perfect partnership. Cheers. Neil