Kindle query for non-UK and non-US based people

[irish]

I bought a new toy at the weekend! A kindle touch and I am really liking it!!

My only slight issue is with Amazon, not the kindle. I'm in Ireland and have an amazon account on .co.uk rather than with .com When I registered my kindle (bought in a shop, not through Amazon) I put in my email address and that is fine. But when I go to the kindle store on the kindle it says that I haven't registered it and to register it with .com because I am not in the UK.

So... I go onto the website and change the address on my account to my friend's address in the UK so that I can get kindle books on .co.uk (the one's I wanted are half the price on .co.uk...). I get an e-mail from Amazon saying that I have to prove that I have moved to the UK by providing my passport, drivers licence or military ID to them (not that this would prove anything!!). I'm deciding to ignore it.

And my question to you outside UK/US is whether you are forced to use the .com site and therefore spend more on books than you "ought" to? Or is only Ireland that is this situation of if you aren't in the UK then you must buy from US (even though we have same copyright laws as UK)

[popcorn]

We use the .com site, but I think books end up being cheaper since we buy in dollars. Not sure if that helps at all...

[irish]

From either site I end up with a conversion to euro...

An example for you... the books in the Hunger Games series work out at €4.34 each on the .co.uk site and €5.93 on the .com site... a 36% difference in price.

Or, the book that I needed for bookclub (The Forgotten Waltz, Anne Enright) was €7.74 on .com and €4.99 on the .co.uk site... a 55% difference!

As you can see, it could add up quickly...

[travelingturtle]

Are you just trying to change your email address, or are you changing the country it's registered in?

[irish]

When I'm on the kindle and go to the Register section it is saying that it is registered (to the e-mail address that is on my .co.uk account). But when I go to the kindle store on the kindle the kindle store is not recognising that I have registered it - i think it is because I have purchased it outside the UK.

I changed my postal address on my .co.uk account to a UK postal address which seems to get around it at the moment, but I have to make purchases on the internet and not through my kindle, though they get delivered to my kindle (because it is registered to the .co.uk account). I'm thinking that amazon are going to block me from doing this at some stage...

[popcorn]

Stange -- ours doesn't do that (that I know of).

[travelingturtle]

Have you tried to register it via amazon and not via the kindle itself? There's a separate option for registering and then selecting the country. Under "Your Kindle Account" you should be able to see if it's registered and then under "Country Settings" you should be able to change the country settings. You should see what it says under there. I have my country set to the US and it shows that it's set under the US even when I access it via amazon.de. You shouldn't be getting charged in Euros if it's set to the US.

[travelingturtle]

Here's a link with someone with a similar problem. It seems that the billing address of your card might also be a factor. If everything seems right, though, you may need to just contact Amazon directly.

www.amazon.com/forum/kindle/ref=cm_cd_search_res_ti?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdMsgID=Mx3QJ9GNSKXQZNO&cdMsgNo=16&cdPage=1&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx34IVWNX8N2BVC#Mx3QJ9GNSKXQZNO

[crimsonandclover]

That's strange that they're asking you for proof. I registered my Kindle with my .de account, switched it to my .com account for some reason, then switched it back to .de and right now I'm back with it on .com because I'm in the States and felt like it. I've never had to offer any proof of residency when doing my switches. I've done them all online on the Manage My Kindle page of the .de and .com stores.

As turtle suggested, try doing it on the store site and not directly from your Kindle and see if that helps.

[irish]

May 30, 2012 9:50:23 GMT -5 travelingturtle said:

Have you tried to register it via amazon and not via the kindle itself? There's a separate option for registering and then selecting the country. Under "Your Kindle Account" you should be able to see if it's registered and then under "Country Settings" you should be able to change the country settings. You should see what it says under there. I have my country set to the US and it shows that it's set under the US even when I access it via amazon.de. You shouldn't be getting charged in Euros if it's set to the US.

It's not charging in Euros but I live in eurozone and doing price comparisons between the .co.uk and the .com...

I'll try what you suggested later this evening.

It would be so much simpler if there was just a .ie site (even though amazon have big offices here...)

[irish]

Damn you Amazon!!! Forcing me to the .com site!!! Not letting me buy on the .co.uk site now!!

I went and checked the country, which I'd had at uk but it kept telling me I wasn't in the uk...
So, I'm forced to use the .com site and be charged in dollars... even though im registered to Ireland now! Which is more expensive... Fuck it anyway!!!!

[travelingturtle]

This is all really strange. I think you should call them. Since you have a UK address on account, they shouldn't have any problems with it.

[irish]

Right, it appears that Amazon are quite happy to have their Development Centre in Ireland (which looks after the design and deployment of their websites) but they are not willing to recognise that Ireland are in fact a separate country in terms of customers!

We have to buy from the US site, end of. Or of course there are alternative, not so kosher, ways around it which one of my friends is going to teach me... and then there is calibre...

[travelingturtle]

I don't have a fire. Between my husband and myself we are on our EIGHTH kindle. The screen (e-ink) keeps freezing/breaking. I'm beyond annoyed with Amazon. Our first kindles broke after a year, so they weren't under warranty. We bought our second ones and each replacement afterwards has been covered within the year of that purchase. One time it broke after less than a week. What's annoying is that even though I got my kindle in the states and had it shipped here, if I have the replacement sent to me here, they send me the German kindle. Those don't have 3G. So, I have to send it to my parents and wait for either my H or my parents to come here to bring it to me (or pay customs/risk it breaking in the mail).

I have found alternatives for the books and am considering not getting a replacement once they're not under warranty. Which sucks, because when it works, I love it.