Newbie question about the Kindle and amazon accounts

[Stratogirl]

I used to have a Sony PRS-505 but it was stolen :-(
Now I am considering getting a Kindle.

I live in Romania and Amazon didn't accept my credit card. I've heard from many people that some sites say that they block credit cards from Romania because of the number of fraud cases coming from this country.

So a friend of mine in UK promised me to buy one from amazon.co.uk and send it to me.

As I understand, the Kindle device has to be registered to an amazon account. But my account is practically useless as I can't use my card to buy.

So my question is: Is it possible for my friend in UK to buy kindle books from her amazon account and send them to my account so that I can download them to my Kindle?

Thank you.

[orjanb]

Wouldn't it be a better idea if your friend bought Amazon gift cards instead? That way you can buy books at any time.

[abuzakour]

There won't be an issue.
I live in Saudi Arabia and I created an acccount and specified the country as USA and I could register the kindle.

Regarding the books, buy Gift cards. You can redeem them and use them to buy books easily.

[Mike L]

Stratogirl,

Yes, it is possible for your friend to buy books for you. You can also buy books yourself if your friend is willing to let you use his or her Amazon account.

You would have to register your Kindle to your friend's Amazon account. The account would need to have its "1-click" setting activated, and this would need to be associated with a credit card which presumably would have to be other than a Romanian card.

If your Kindle has wireless access, you can then buy the books yourself and have them sent straight to your Kindle, with the payment being charged to the above card. Or, you can buy the books and have them downloaded to your computer, and then transfer them via USB.

A third option would be for your friend to buy the books for you, and send them to you by email, adn then you transfer them via USB.

An alternative option would be to use Amazon gift vouchers to buy the books. But you would still need to have a credit card associated with your 1-click payment method, and if you can't use a Romanian card, you are no further forward.

One last point: You don't have to buy your books from Amazon. Although Amazon have the largest selection, there are other vendors, as well as a huge number of public domain books available for free download.

Hope this helps.

[Stratogirl]

Thank you for the answers.

So if I understand correctly, if I can't use my credit card I can't enable 1 click shopping so the gift card is not really a solution.

So I guess I'll have to consider registering my Kindle to her account. Or have her e-mail the books to me.
But if she e-mail the books, will I be able to put them in collections? As I understand I have to use amazon site to manage collections in my kindle.

MikeL: Are there other sites that sell e-books in kindle format? Or I have to buy them in ePub and convert?

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by Stratogirl

So if I understand correctly, if I can't use my credit card I can't enable 1 click shopping so the gift card is not really a solution.

That's correct. Unless they in fact allow you to use your Romanian card for 1-Click, even though you can't use it to buy a Kindle. You could test that easily now. Just try setting up 1-Click, and see if it accepts the card. If it doesn't, the gift certificate option won't help.

Or have her e-mail the books to me. But if she e-mail the books, will I be able to put them in collections?

If she emails books to you, you will only be able to read them on the Kindle if the Kindle was registered to the same account as the one used to buy the books. If it's not, adding them to a collection is irrelevant, as you won't be able to read the book.

But if the Kindle is registered to the same acount, you don't need her to email them. You can buy them yourself. It's just a question of whether your friend will feel comfortable to your using her 1-Click settings - and therefore her credit card - for this.

MikeL: Are there other sites that sell e-books in kindle format? Or I have to buy them in ePub and convert?

Yes, there are several sites that sell Kindle books (or Mobi books, which are also readable on the Kindle). However, some of them might have the same restrictions as Amazon. You won't be able to convert ePubs or other formats if they are protected by DRM; that includes most commercial books (as opposed to public domain).

Look here for some suggested sites where you can buy Kindle books.

Public domain books in Kindle or Mobi format can be freely downloaded from many sites, including the ebooks section here on Mobile Read. You won't have any problems downloading or reading these books.

[Mike L]

Stratogirl,

Another thought:

Regardless of whether or not you can register your Romanian credit card as the payment method for 1-Click, there might also be geographic restrictions that might prevent you buying particular books.

These are restrictions that are imposed by the publisher, not by Amazon. The point is that if a particular title is unavailable in a given country, you can't buy it in that country, regardless of how you buy it or who you buy it from.

If your Kindle is registered in the UK, and you use your friend's account to buy books, then you will be able to buy any book that is available in the UK, which includes all the books on Amazon's UK Kindle site. But I don't know how many books would be available to you if you were able to use your own card to make the purchases.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by Mike L

...there might also be geographic restrictions that might prevent you buying particular books.

I was just about to make this point, but you beat me to the punch.

[klaus g. muller]

Amazon Kindle Texte in andere Computer-Formate umwandeln

Moin, Moin,
Ich hatte gerade im Internet einen Hinweis gefunden, wie man bei Amazon gekaufte Kindle Texte in andere Computer-Formate umwandelt, wurde gestört, löschte versehentlich und finde die Stelle jetzt nicht mehr wieder. Kann mir bitte jemand helfen? Hat vielleicht sogar jemand Erfahrung damit, ob die Umwandlung etwas taugt?
Vielen Dank im Voraus,
Klaus

[Stratogirl]

Originally Posted by Mike L

Stratogirl,

Another thought:

Regardless of whether or not you can register your Romanian credit card as the payment method for 1-Click, there might also be geographic restrictions that might prevent you buying particular books.

These are restrictions that are imposed by the publisher, not by Amazon. The point is that if a particular title is unavailable in a given country, you can't buy it in that country, regardless of how you buy it or who you buy it from.

If your Kindle is registered in the UK, and you use your friend's account to buy books, then you will be able to buy any book that is available in the UK, which includes all the books on Amazon's UK Kindle site. But I don't know how many books would be available to you if you were able to use your own card to make the purchases.

Well, that would defeat one of the strongest reasons why I'm buying an e-book reader: To be able to read books that are not available in my country.
But the problem was solved as my friend said she is ok with me registering the Kindle to her account and using her account to buy books.
I'll probably be receiving my Kindle next week

So thanks to all who responded to my thread.

[orjanb]

Originally Posted by Stratogirl

To be able to read books that are not available in my country.

I've found that regional restrictions mostly concerns price, not availability. For example, books on sale to US customers might not be on sale for me (I'm looking at you, Consider Phlebas!), while others might not be available at all. There have been only a handful books so far that I've been unable to purchase.