Is there any way to buy an international kindle book?

[Darkitow]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Some people here at MR have said that they give you a warning notice, and occasionally block your account until you supply them with proof of residence or somesuch.

Frankly it's probably safer to set up a completely separate "US" account from the beginning, always use a VPN IP proxy when making purchases and downloads to your computer, and pay for any books you buy using gift cards if you hope to regularly tiptoe around geo-restrictions (really, they should be offering books worldwide and splitting up the rights among publishers according to language instead of territory).

Well, I was thinking about setting up a different Amazon account with US address, but how would it work? I know the DRM is linked to my own particular Kindle, so I suppose I would have to "fake" completely the address and other stuff with a proxy too, but the credit card would sell me. I've never ever bought gift cards, so I dunno, I gotta plan this well.

I'm not too sure about this but it seems less "sloppy" than changing the address in my main account. I got that warning mail once but I just changed my address back to the spanish one and everything got fine, and I don't want to risk it too much. I'm really pissed because it's not a matter of one book that I might get, but damn series that I've started and for some reason Amazon doesn't want me to read half the numbers.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Darkitow

Well, I was thinking about setting up a different Amazon account with US address, but how would it work?

Well, for what it's worth, I have two out-of-country based accounts in addition to my "official" one, and I've managed to acquire literally hundreds of those time-limited promo freebie books which weren't available in my actual location without problems (knock wood) over the past 5-11 months.

Admittedly, I haven't actually bought anything using my extra accounts yet (we have a very good local library system and I'm perfectly fine with reading and buying paper books), but someone in a recent thread mentioned trying to get the free Kaplan promo e-books which were geo-restricted to the US and being stopped and warned after only picking up 7 out of the 130.

I created my new accounts while using the proxy, just because I'm paranoid that maybe Amazon checks when people put in an address that doesn't fit with their IP location.

I use the K4Mac/PC apps to download (also while under proxy), and the DRM-removal tools to strip and load up onto my actual hardware Kindle, since books encoded for different devices are non-transferrable under the Amazon DRM scheme.

Except for Topaz books, for which I'll temporarily reregister and download a copy via the browser from the Manage Your Kindle page at Amazon (still while under proxy). I try to do this in a batch all at once every so often, so that there aren't too many de/re-registrations in a short period of time, in case they notice these things.

Hope this helps.

[Darkitow]

Well, I don't buy books too often because I don't have too much money for that now to buy in "batchs" so even if I didn't buy many, I wouldn't change too much the stuff.

But what I'm concerned is about the IP thing and the payment. I'm not too adept at using proxies, so I need to research a bit there, and I read somewhere (probably in this topic) that Amazon was smart concerning proxies. About the payment... Can I just buy a "gift card" from one account (my original one) tthen register it to the "fake" one, then register the Kindle to the american account, and when everything is done, re-register it to the european account?

I was thinking just to put the credit card for both books. I mean, "what if" I have a son that lives in the states, but he has his Amazon account linked to my credit card because I'm that generous of a parent (lol)?

But in any case, wouldn't they smell the bluff easily? If I worked at amazon and I noticed so many registration changes, gift cards and stuff like that I would certainly suspect that something is going on.

[Poppaea]

Have you ever checked Sony US. I buy with them very often, they don't check IP's and when you do the deDRMthingy and convert it...

[Darkitow]

I don't know. I don't like the idea of being playing with so many addresses or accounts, but I'm pissed enough with the country restriction to act against it.

the ideal thing would be to have two addresses in my main account, one my own and the other the american (and maybe an UK one for amazon UK), and just use the proxy to buy them. I can be a very travelling person, can't I?

But I'd need a good proxy, I guess. Never managed to work with those well.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Darkitow

About the payment... Can I just buy a "gift card" from one account (my original one) tthen register it to the "fake" one, then register the Kindle to the american account, and when everything is done, re-register it to the european account?

The gift card is just Amazon's fancy name for electronic gift certificate. All you have to do is designate a recipient email address when you buy it from your regular account, that address then gets a code which can be entered into any Amazon account, even if it's not the one which bought or received the "gift card".

You can certainly register/deregister your Kindle between accounts if you prefer it that way, but as you remarked, it might look suspicious to have too many switches.

This is why I have K4Mac/PC set up to acquire the books and only ever download the Mobi format ones via the proxy so I can strip them, and very rarely actually re-register the Kindle to download a properly-encoded file for the occasional Topaz book because the Topaz DRM-removal tools also decompile the book for conversion at the same time, when I really just want a portable reading copy (haven't done this for months; there's not much in Topaz format which is offered free which I actually care enough to read).

Originally Posted by Darkitow

I was thinking just to put the credit card for both books.

You can if you like, but it seems like a faster way to get caught, if Amazon ever decides to check the billing address on the credit card. If you're going to lie at all about anything, it's best to try and lie consistently from the beginning, I think.

One additional advantage of paying with gift cards (besides the plausible deniability) is that if you buy when the exchange rate for your currency is good, then you can avoid having a lot of little exchange fees on your credit card (if your CC company charges them, which mine does), as well as a lot of small individual purchase charges which sometimes trips the attempted fraud warning at the bank.

[Darkitow]

I wouldn't like to play with DRMs too much, that's why the switch thing. But wouldn't it be less suspicious just to have a couple addresses and say they're from my american aunt and my cousin, who studies in London, and I use them because they invite me there very often?

Lol, even sounding so suspectful how can that be proven wrong? I might just pick any american forum user and make a deal so I use his american address for my purchases while he uses my spanish one for european. Who's to tell me I can't be invited to this "friend"s home once in a while and from there I purchase the books? I don't think they have any right to deny me buying an american book in America, while "I'm there", even if it's for a week.

About the gift cards, I just though about it and you're right, it's a bit troublesome to have in the bank account like 14 little transactions for the books you bought. I guess I'll start going with the gift cards too.

[Pushka]

I have many addreses attached to my one kindle account. I have my home address in Australia, a work address which is about to change, an address in my husbands name for his stuff, an address in the UK which is my Uncles house and three addrresses in the USA. The USA addresses are all real in that two ofnthem are Hotels and where Amazon sent some physical goods last year when I was in the USA, and a third address which is my default address and where I have sent a lot of goods to and then they send them on to me. All of these addresses are attached to my single, original Account which has an Australian master card attached to it, as this master card does not charge for International transactions. I don't use a VPN and I have bought hundreds of amazon books. My store is a USA store and I don't even know anymore which books might be restricted from Australia. I just buy them.

[Darkitow]

And haven't you ever had any trouble with the multiple addresses? Don't you switch the addresses when purchasing?

I remember that the day I changed my address to the "fake" american one I had to switch the default address so I could buy the book for my Kindle with the "1-click ordering". After I purchased a couple american books I got a warning message telling that my shipping address had to be confirmed and I even got an e-mail for that matter. I couldn't purchase anything, not american nor european, after clicking the "1-click ordering" I'd always get to that warning message. In the mail they told me to change the address (what I did) or to send them proof of my american address, like a passport capture.

The thing, though, was solved just by putting my address back to the spanish one. But I had the american address still "there" inactive for a couple days till I deleted it and I remember clearly that I still had notes in some books telling me that the book was restricted, so having an american address there didn't stop Amazon to block them for me.

I suppose they "got me" because I wasn't using a proxy, so my address and my IP didn't match well, and I got the books directly in my Kindle instead of downloading them to my computer first. I gotta try doing this with a proxy, but I don't know how.

[Pushka]

Originally Posted by Darkitow

And haven't you ever had any trouble with the multiple addresses? Don't you switch the addresses when purchasing?

No, I am always in the US store.

Originally Posted by Darkitow

I suppose they "got me" because I wasn't using a proxy, so my address and my IP didn't match well, and I got the books directly in my Kindle instead of downloading them to my computer first. I gotta try doing this with a proxy, but I don't know how.

I dont use a proxy for Amazon and my husband downloads via whispernet.

Ignore the email and wait for a few days, you never know, the email might not actually eventuate into anything more.

[Darkitow]

By address I don't mean the web address, but the physical address asociated to your account. In my account from the American Amazon webpage I have my Spanish address, located in Madrid, which is where I really live, and then an US one that I just Google Map'd from Manhattan, lol.

In Amazon.com, when I have my Spanish direction as the "main" for the 1-click shopping, I can't purchase several books restricted to US, and most "free" books cost me like 2,40$ because of international whispernet fees. But when I go to my Kindle settings and I switch the address to the New York one, and only AFTER I do this, I can purchase those books and get the "free" ones really for free.

That's why I said I'm not too sure about how you do what you do. If you tell me that you don't switch your "real" address" in your account settings, perharps is because you have already one of your American address as the main one?

[Pushka]

Originally Posted by Darkitow

By address I don't mean the web address, but the physical address asociated to your account?

Yes, that was the address I was talking about, the other address is the IP address.

Originally Posted by Darkitow

That's why I said I'm not too sure about how you do what you do. If you tell me that you don't switch your "real" address" in your account settings, perharps is because you have already one of your American address as the main one?

I know, I dont know how I am able to do it either. I am on Australian IT forum and it confuses the heck out if them too. They set up their account exactly like mine and they get the email, and I dont. But I am not alone in being able to do this.

My default address is the USA shipping address and in the last five months I have had over 30 items sent there. So I can understand my success in those few months. But the thing is, I had already been doing this successfully for 12 months before that, and that is what I don't understand.

[honeyrose]

I have an amazon.com account which I use to send books to my son who lives in New York - I have it set up with his delivery address. I have a .uk account for myself as I live in London. My Kindle is registered to my UK account, and when I tried to use the .com account to download a book to it, I got a message that my Kindle was registered in the UK, so no can do..

[manou]

Originally Posted by chuck_glenn

No, I mean if you really want to stay legal, just temporarily register the device to someone who's really in the right territory, purchase and download the book, then switch the registration back.

Thank you for the tip
I am a huge PG Wodehouse fan and wanted to have his collected works for a very long time. They are not available on the Asia Pacific store....
I registered a US address for a short time and purchased the complete collection (96 works). I am a very happy bunny now

[DMB]

Originally Posted by honeyrose

I have an amazon.com account which I use to send books to my son who lives in New York - I have it set up with his delivery address. I have a .uk account for myself as I live in London. My Kindle is registered to my UK account, and when I tried to use the .com account to download a book to it, I got a message that my Kindle was registered in the UK, so no can do..

Would it be worth your while to buy another Kindle to be registered at his address? He could then send it to you. You should then be able to download the books on that Kindle in England, because you would look like a travelling American.