US Kindle Store outside the US - Page 3

Kumabjorn · 11-05-2012, 04:44 PM

Huh, granted I haven't done any comparison in a while, but two years ago? That seems awfully long, but I can't contradict your claim because I do know it was a while ago, I just don't think it is as much as two years. Anyway, I'm happy they changed that policy.

Pushka · 11-05-2012, 05:39 PM

I think it was discussed here and on the Amazon boards. Time flies you know!

Lookie here - we were both discussing this back in 2010 when they started removing it:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/arc...p/t-90773.html

Previously, there were no free books in the Australian store, they all cost $2 (when compared with the USA store for $0). Which was how we knew about the "free whispernet" not being free. But now, free books in the USA are free in Australian stores too.

pdurrant · 11-05-2012, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pushka

Previously, there were no free books in the Australian store, they all cost $2 (when compared with the USA store for $0). Which was how we knew about the "free whispernet" not being free. But now, free books in the USA are free in Australian stores too.

The surcharge removal depends on Amazon having a contract with a local carrier. Where they have to rely on AT&T roaming to supply the 3G data there is a $2 surcharge on the book price.

The surcharge has gone in the UK and in Australia, and in some other countries. But it's still applied in many countries.

Pushka · 11-05-2012, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The surcharge removal depends on Amazon having a contract with a local carrier. Where they have to rely on AT&T roaming to supply the 3G data there is a $2 surcharge on the book price.

The surcharge has gone in the UK and in Australia, and in some other countries. But it's still applied in many countries.

I have a USA kindle that uses At&t for the 3G and I do not get charged. I have downloaded books in Vietnam, India, France, and Spain.

Kumabjorn · 11-06-2012, 01:48 AM

The surcharge was the reason I switched from the 3G to the WiFi only. Hence, I can't check right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if users in Sweden and UAE are charged a Whispersync surcharge. Bu alas, I can't know for sure. At least Amazon is moving in the right direction.

Gazella · 11-06-2012, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

The surcharge was the reason I switched from the 3G to the WiFi only. Hence, I can't check right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if users in Sweden and UAE are charged a Whispersync surcharge. Bu alas, I can't know for sure. At least Amazon is moving in the right direction.

Is the surcharge you're talking about included in the price of the book itself? If so, then you're right, Amazon still implements that. I've compared The Racketeer by John Grisham, the ebook costs $12.99 in the US Kindle Store and $14.99 in the Middle East Store.

Pushka · 11-06-2012, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gazella20

Is the subcharge you're talking about included in the book itself? If so, then you're right, Amazon still implements that. I've compared The Racketeer by John Grisham, the ebook costs $12.99 in the US Kindle Store and $14.99 in the Middle East Store.

The best way of checking if there is a whispernet charge, is to see if there are Free books the same as in the USA - eg randomly, Fairies, Princes and Fairy Princes . I just checked for the Middle East and you can whispernet it for free. Which means there is no charge for using the 3G, so the price differential you are seeing is a publisher price difference, not a 3G Amazon charge.

Gazella · 11-06-2012, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pushka

The best way of checking if there is a whispernet charge, is to see if there are Free books the same as in the USA - eg randomly, Fairies, Princes and Fairy Princes . I just checked for the Middle East and you can whispernet it for free. Which means there is no charge for using the 3G, so the price differential you are seeing is a publisher price difference, not a 3G Amazon charge.

Oh ok. You probably know better than me as I'm new to this and don't know what these price differences mean.

camtosh · 11-06-2012, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murraypaul

It isn't as simple as that.
It isn't books bought outside the US, it is books bought in a country where Amazon doesn't have a network agreement in place.
There used to be a surcharge for buying books from the UK, before Amazon released the Kindle here, now there isn't.
It is probably close to being correct to say that if Amazon sell the 3G model in a particular country, then you wouldn't be charged for buying books from that country, but I don't know if it is 100% right.

This is now true in Japan, where Amazon just introduced Kindle last month. The Gutenberg books in English (Jane Austen, etc.) are now free.

Gazella · 11-06-2012, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camtosh

This is now true in Japan, where Amazon just introduced Kindle last month. The Gutenberg books in English (Jane Austen, etc.) are now free.

Yes and this is the same with the ME Store, all the classics like Pride and Prejudice and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are free.

Kumabjorn · 11-06-2012, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pushka

The best way of checking if there is a whispernet charge, is to see if there are Free books the same as in the USA - eg randomly, Fairies, Princes and Fairy Princes . I just checked for the Middle East and you can whispernet it for free. Which means there is no charge for using the 3G, so the price differential you are seeing is a publisher price difference, not a 3G Amazon charge.

But if that $2 surcharge isn't there for WiFi only models, surely it must be related to Whispersync?

Pushka · 11-06-2012, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

But if that $2 surcharge isn't there for WiFi only models, surely it must be related to Whispersync?

On the Amazon store the price is zero. So you can buy it and download for free. What $2 surcharge are you seeing and where?

Yapyap · 11-06-2012, 02:47 AM

The surcharge is there for many countries. It has nothing to do with where you are physically located and it has nothing to do with whether you have a WiFi-only Kindle or no Kindle device at all; it has all to do with what your country setting is.

If your country setting is set outside a country/set of countries with their own Kindle store or outside the major English-language markets (Australia, Canada for countries without their own Kindle store), you'll get the surcharge added, more likely than not.

Amazon DID remove it for free books about a year or year and a half ago - until then, all free books were $2.30 for me ($2 surcharge + 15% EU VAT). But it's still there for almost all non-free books, with the very occasional exception, in which case there is never VAT added either (I assume these are either glitches or deliberate decisions from Amazon), i.e. there is the very rare occasion that a $0.99 book will show as $0.99 for me, too.

It's difficult to tell this accurately from trad-pubbed books as the pricing there can depend on other things, e.g. it can just be higher because the publisher has set it higher for my country, but as a rule, a book that is $9.99 for Americans will be $13.79 for me in Estonia (which comes to exactly $9.99 + $2 surcharge + 15% VAT - yes, they're still charging 15% VAT from me in most cases, in spite of the Luxembourg change, and 15% isn't my country's VAT rate).

It's the most evident and easiest to tell with Kindle KDP published books, i.e. self-published via Amazon - a book that is priced $0.99 by the author will be $3.44 for me ($0.99 + $2 + 15% VAT), a book that is priced $2.99 by the author will be $5.74 for me and so on. And this is Amazon's doing, not the author's, as most self-pubbed authors have been completely surprised by being told how much their "very cheap" books cost for people outside the major markets (a $4.99 self-pubbed book will be over $8 for me, for example).

And yes, this is still going on - I see it every day. And from what I've heard from non-EU European customers, they get the $2 surcharge as well (no EU VAT added for them though, obviously), so for them, a $0.99 self-pubbed book will cost $2.99 and so on.

I'm an Estonian, with a WiFi only Kindle, and was charged the surcharge already when I had no Kindle at all and just used Kindle for PC.

When I change my country to either the US or a EU country that has their own Kindle store, e.g. France (while still staying in the Amazon.com store and shopping from there), the $2 disappears (although for the EU countries, the books do have VAT added, which is again the most clearly evident with Kindle KDP books, e.g. a book priced $0.99 will be around $1.14 etc).

It's got nothing to do with the customer using 3G or not; it has everything to do with the customer's country setting.

Pushka · 11-06-2012, 03:06 AM

So it isn't a whispernet charge at all but Amazon taking payment in some countries. So a different issue.

Yapyap · 11-06-2012, 03:13 AM

It's a different issue but from what I've gathered, a lot of people believe that the reason for the surcharge from customers in less important markets is to cover the "free 3G" costs for everyone (because whatever Amazon's arrangements with the local providers, someone is paying for the 3G, after all).

It's of course pure speculation as Amazon has to my knowledge always completely refused to explain the actual reason for the surcharge. (When I once e-mailed customer service about it - this was before I even had a Kindle and still used Kindle for PC - I got back a canned response with "Unfortunately Amazon does not offer any surcharges to international customers" tacked on to it, which made me scratch my head a bit and give up.)

11-05-2012, 05:39 PM	#32
Pushka Wizard Posts: 1,119 Karma: 1019140 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Device: kindle, Ipad, Iphone, Nexus and PPW	I think it was discussed here and on the Amazon boards. Time flies you know! Lookie here - we were both discussing this back in 2010 when they started removing it: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/arc...p/t-90773.html Previously, there were no free books in the Australian store, they all cost $2 (when compared with the USA store for $0). Which was how we knew about the "free whispernet" not being free. But now, free books in the USA are free in Australian stores too. Last edited by Pushka; 11-05-2012 at 05:48 PM.

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11-05-2012, 04:44 PM	#31
Kumabjorn Basculocolpic Posts: 4,356 Karma: 20181319 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1	Huh, granted I haven't done any comparison in a while, but two years ago? That seems awfully long, but I can't contradict your claim because I do know it was a while ago, I just don't think it is as much as two years. Anyway, I'm happy they changed that policy.

11-06-2012, 01:48 AM	#35
Kumabjorn Basculocolpic Posts: 4,356 Karma: 20181319 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1	The surcharge was the reason I switched from the 3G to the WiFi only. Hence, I can't check right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if users in Sweden and UAE are charged a Whispersync surcharge. Bu alas, I can't know for sure. At least Amazon is moving in the right direction.

11-06-2012, 02:47 AM	#43
Yapyap Guru Posts: 861 Karma: 3543721 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Estonia Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	The surcharge is there for many countries. It has nothing to do with where you are physically located and it has nothing to do with whether you have a WiFi-only Kindle or no Kindle device at all; it has all to do with what your country setting is. If your country setting is set outside a country/set of countries with their own Kindle store or outside the major English-language markets (Australia, Canada for countries without their own Kindle store), you'll get the surcharge added, more likely than not. Amazon DID remove it for free books about a year or year and a half ago - until then, all free books were $2.30 for me ($2 surcharge + 15% EU VAT). But it's still there for almost all non-free books, with the very occasional exception, in which case there is never VAT added either (I assume these are either glitches or deliberate decisions from Amazon), i.e. there is the very rare occasion that a $0.99 book will show as $0.99 for me, too. It's difficult to tell this accurately from trad-pubbed books as the pricing there can depend on other things, e.g. it can just be higher because the publisher has set it higher for my country, but as a rule, a book that is $9.99 for Americans will be $13.79 for me in Estonia (which comes to exactly $9.99 + $2 surcharge + 15% VAT - yes, they're still charging 15% VAT from me in most cases, in spite of the Luxembourg change, and 15% isn't my country's VAT rate). It's the most evident and easiest to tell with Kindle KDP published books, i.e. self-published via Amazon - a book that is priced $0.99 by the author will be $3.44 for me ($0.99 + $2 + 15% VAT), a book that is priced $2.99 by the author will be $5.74 for me and so on. And this is Amazon's doing, not the author's, as most self-pubbed authors have been completely surprised by being told how much their "very cheap" books cost for people outside the major markets (a $4.99 self-pubbed book will be over $8 for me, for example). And yes, this is still going on - I see it every day. And from what I've heard from non-EU European customers, they get the $2 surcharge as well (no EU VAT added for them though, obviously), so for them, a $0.99 self-pubbed book will cost $2.99 and so on. I'm an Estonian, with a WiFi only Kindle, and was charged the surcharge already when I had no Kindle at all and just used Kindle for PC. When I change my country to either the US or a EU country that has their own Kindle store, e.g. France (while still staying in the Amazon.com store and shopping from there), the $2 disappears (although for the EU countries, the books do have VAT added, which is again the most clearly evident with Kindle KDP books, e.g. a book priced $0.99 will be around $1.14 etc). It's got nothing to do with the customer using 3G or not; it has everything to do with the customer's country setting.

11-06-2012, 03:06 AM	#44
Pushka Wizard Posts: 1,119 Karma: 1019140 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Device: kindle, Ipad, Iphone, Nexus and PPW	So it isn't a whispernet charge at all but Amazon taking payment in some countries. So a different issue.

11-06-2012, 03:13 AM	#45
Yapyap Guru Posts: 861 Karma: 3543721 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Estonia Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	It's a different issue but from what I've gathered, a lot of people believe that the reason for the surcharge from customers in less important markets is to cover the "free 3G" costs for everyone (because whatever Amazon's arrangements with the local providers, someone is paying for the 3G, after all). It's of course pure speculation as Amazon has to my knowledge always completely refused to explain the actual reason for the surcharge. (When I once e-mailed customer service about it - this was before I even had a Kindle and still used Kindle for PC - I got back a canned response with "Unfortunately Amazon does not offer any surcharges to international customers" tacked on to it, which made me scratch my head a bit and give up.)

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