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#1 |
Groupie
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Karma: 474196
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ottawa
Device: Kobo Aura H2O
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Buying ebooks out of region?
Hi, all.
First off, I'm not trying to find a way to steal/pirate ebooks outright. In January, Barnard Werber's english translation of <i>Empire of the Ants</i> was released on amazon.co.uk in ebook format (http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/edition...48167319#popup). However, it is only available to UK customers, and is unavailable from Canada. This novel was one of my favourites growing up, and I was really excited to get an ebook copy for myself, but it looks like that isn't possible unless I'm willing to uproot myself and move to the UK to purchase it (I'm not). Is there any way to get around this restriction, or "trick" amazon into thinking I live in the UK so that I can buy this book? I know this request seems pretty shady, but I'm not looking to pirate the book - I'm willing to pay for it, and while I get that having an ebook published worldwide presents legal problems and whatnot for publishers, its frustrating to get so close to being able to get a childhood favourite, only to get screwed by a regional restriction. Funny/Ironic aside: The last time it happened was when I wanted to buy "Larry's Party" by Canadian Author Carol Shields, but couldn't because I live in Canada! Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice. |
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#2 |
eBook Enthusiast
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Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
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Use a VPN which makes you appear to be in the UK.
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#3 |
Addict
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Karma: 1078442
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Netherlands
Device: Kindle Paperwhite
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#4 |
Is that a sandwich?
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Karma: 100500000
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
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A VPN alone didn't work for me. I couldn't find a way to do it. However, I am located in the US. Perhaps, it's easier for Canadians.
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#5 |
Wizard
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Karma: 264065402
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Taiwan
Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD
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For Amazon just using a VPN or changing the country setting doesn't work anymore. I wanted to buy some books from the UK site and they asked me to "transfer all my purchases to a UK account". So I didn't buy anything that time and I will keep using my US account.
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#6 |
Is that a sandwich?
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Karma: 100500000
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
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Looking around I see the title available at Kobo and Books On Board (where it is priced lower than Amazon).
http://www.booksonboard.com/index.ph...Bernard+Werber http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Empir...DcG7HoYwgw&r=2 For BoB just create a separate UK account with UK address and pay with Paypal no VPN needed. |
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#7 |
eBook Enthusiast
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Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
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It would be a lot easier to buy from a site like BooksOnBoard, where a VPN works just fine. Assuming it's a mainstream publisher, they sell the same books, and it's trivial to convert from ePub to KF8 with Calibre. I buy quite a few books from BoB - their sales often make their (non-Agency) books cheaper than Amazon.
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#8 |
Readaholic
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Karma: 90000000
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: South Georgia
Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"
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I have an Amazon UK account. I use a VPN, a different account with different email, my credit card and a UK Address.
If looking for a VPN check out Tunnelbear, it has a free version. http://www.tunnelbear.com/pricing/ Apache |
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#9 |
Guru
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Karma: 3822612
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Sweden
Device: Paperwhite 2, Kobo Aura H2O
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I found that Diesel ebook store http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/ sometimes lets me buy books that are region restricted on Booksonboard and Kobo.
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#10 |
Groupie
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Karma: 474196
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ottawa
Device: Kobo Aura H2O
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Wow, the VPN trick with TunnelBear did the trick. Thanks a lot, everyone, for the prompt and helpful answers!
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#11 | |
Wizard
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Karma: 264065402
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Taiwan
Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD
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#12 |
Member
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Karma: 10
Join Date: Feb 2013
Device: none
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#13 |
A garbling groftpot
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Karma: 9234667
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: France
Device: Oasis, Voyage, Kobo mini, Samsung tablet, phones, whatever.
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I live in France and use Amazon UK for ebooks, and the odd item not available from Amazon France. Amazon UK have my french address because that's where my cc is billed to, and a UK address which belongs to a friend. They seem to be quite happy with shipping to either, except for my kindle which I could have bought from them but not have shipped to France. It is however registered to Amazon UK. My husband's Kindle is registered to Amazon France and uses the same cc and shipping/billing address but a different email address. The Amazon mail account uses a USunlocked cc and a third email but I really only get freebies from that one. It seems complicated but it works. Amazon France doesn't have a good english language book selection but it saves paying the shipping cost from UK on physical items if they are available in both countries. I only use a VPN with main.
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#14 | ||
Readaholic
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Karma: 90000000
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: South Georgia
Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"
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#15 |
eBook Enthusiast
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Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
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Yes, that's exactly the reason I buy books from the US - in cases where the eBook is not available in the UK, generally due to there being a different US and UK publisher. I'm not particularly price sensitive when it comes to eBooks.
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