Buying Amazon Kindle book at UK prices in Ireland

galwayguy85

Examining the Kindle store for the UK and the Kindle store for Europe seperately, which irish kindle users are always directed to, there seems to be an enormous disparity in term of price for identical titles, coming down in favour of UK customers. Sometimes the same ebook from the Kindle store can be double the price for European customers.

This should allow to you cease some power when buying Kindel titles, and get the best price possible.

I tried this out earlier and seem to have been successful.. a bit long-winded but well worth persisting with.


1. *Go Amazon.CO.UK as if you were going to buy anything but an english priced ebook (you won't be let anyway... it will force you to go to amazon.COM instead to buy ebooks).
2. *Sign in with your *normal* e-mail address. *(You will also need an alternative e-mail address and in turn a new, alternative amazon account for this cunning ploy to work).
3. *Buy a gift voucher for whatever value you desire. *See*https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/gc/order-email?ie=UTF8&ref_=gc_lp_eb2 and 'gift' that value to your OTHER e-mail address. Best do this for small values initially until comfortabe with the procedure.
4. *Shut down your browser, empty cache, cookies etc to avoid any possible confusion. The application Ccleaner for Windows is effective for this task.
5. *Go to amazon.co.uk and create a new user account, using the alternative e-mail address as the login.
6. *Next, login to your alternative email address account (gmail, hotmail, whatever). *You will see that you have received a gift voucher from yourself.
7. *Inside the e-mail, click on 'Apply to account'. *This will open amazon.co.uk in a new window. *Copy over the code contained in the e-mail to redeem the value of the voucher you sent to yourself.
8. *Next, sign out of the account. Again, trash cookies etc and restart the browser. *
9. *Now goto a proxy server website such as daveproxy.co.uk (This is so as to fool amazon.co.uk that you are shopping from a physical location in the UK). Sometimes daveproxy can return to the homepage when browsing through it, just start repeat this step again if that happens!
10. *From here goto amazon.co.uk
11. *Order yourself the ebook you want at the UK price and pay for it from the voucher. (As an aside this is thesafest way to do things... i'm not an expert on internet security but entering credit card details while using a proxy server sounds like a no-no.)
12. *You'll be asked to provide a UK invoice address. *As you won't be posting/delivering anything physical from this account, just fill it up with anything you want. The address won't be varefied against the fictional postcode. At this time, it might be prudent to deregister your Kindle For Mac/PC application (the one reg'd under your normal account), it also woudn't be a bad idea to rename your orig 'My Kindle Content' in 'My Documents' folder to something else, so that you have a backup, just in case.
13. Go through with that and elect to send the ebook to a particular PC or Mac Kindle device/application. Have the PC or Mac reader application reg'd to the newly created amazon account first though.
14. Open that PC or Mac application.
15. Goto 'Sync and Check for new items'
16. The book you just bought a few moments ago for the UK price should start to download.

Phew!! I know that was very long, and doubtless that somebody will tell me that some of the steps could have been omitted, but the next time you want to buy some books cheaply at UK prices all you have to do is 'gift' yourself a voucher from one amazon account (your original one) to the other (the one that uses the makey-uppy UK address) for the purpose of just buying ebooks

In future when you go to amazon and log in with your alternate account and buy ebooks and then sync. You no longer need to use proxy servers etc. I know it's not as handy as having just one central account, but it will save you money in the long term.

If you haven't already bought a Kindle, you can buy the Kindle from this alternate account and have it shipped to somewhere in Northern Ireland, such as a friend or relative who can then forward it onto you in the Republic. You could save a few euros using this method, plus you get the correct AC adapter for the Kindle. [You can still buy/ship the Kindle direct from the US using your normal, irish billing address amazon account. just specify that the kindle is a gift, that way it won't come reg'd to any amazon account, but this step is entirely optional.]

The above paragraph I HAVE NOT tried for myself. Please do so at your own risk!! { You can always unregister the Kindle from that account if things don't work out anyway, and move it to the original amazon account.}

If you HAVE already bought ebooks under your original amazon account and if you have a PC with the Kindle Reader app and purchased books loaded on it, you can follow the guide at http://nyquil.org/archives/1128-Converting-Kindle-Books-a-painful-process-that-works-for-reading-Kindle-books-without-a-Kindle.html to learn how to strip the books of DRM (copy-protection) and then manually bring them (MOBI fikes) back into the Kindle reader app reg'd to the new alternate account or drag and drop them manully onto the Kindle via USB.


I hope that wasn't too confusing!

galwayguy85

UPDATE!!

To simply the process of buying ebooks from the alternative amazon account, it is possible to add your normal, irish credit card as a payment method instead of sending gift vouchers from one account to the other. (However it is stlll best to use the gift voucher method when pay for at the initial ebook purchase, as it gives you a chance to enter a madeup UK invoice address without ever entering credit card details, remember this is being done through a UK proxy server. For future visits to the ebook store under this account you won't need to use a proxy server, just go straight to amazon.co.uk and login, from where you can safely add your credit card details.)

I was somewhat apprehensive of doing this, thinking that perhaps amazon enforces a policy of locking a particular credit card number to a particular account, however this is NOT the case.

I think this is a crafty solution to the problem of irish users being forced to pay over the odds for ebooks, i.e have one amazon account with an irish billing and delivery address for real, physical things such as printed books and another amazon account with a madeup UK address for the online delivery of ebooks. Neither account ever has to acknowledge the existence of the other, nor will amazon ever have to know that you have seperate accounts.

I was successfully able to buy the entire works of Shakesphere (as a test) from the UK Amazon kindle for the princely sum of £0.75 or about 90 cents... result!!

Mr. Fancypants

Thinking of buying a Kindle so interested in this. Is it a case if you do this that you have to only use the made up account to be registered with the Kindle? Or is it possible to have more than one account registered? If not, wouldn't it be an issue if you wanted to purchase books using the 3g connection if you had one?

xavidub

mbroaders wrote: »

Thinking of buying a Kindle so interested in this. Is it a case if you do this that you have to only use the made up account to be registered with the Kindle? Or is it possible to have more than one account registered? If not, wouldn't it be an issue if you wanted to purchase books using the 3g connection if you had one?

The Kindle is a great device. However, It is ridiculously fragile. You should only buy one if you are satisfied that you will NEVER drop it from more than about 12" off the carpet. Mine slid off the sofa (about 20") onto carpet and the screen completely stopped working. A quick look on the net shows that this is very common so I think it's a design fault rather than just mine being weak.

I previously had a Sony Reader which was much tougher and survived a couple of drops.

The reality is that any portable device is going to be dropped from time to time. Think how many times you have dropped your phone, yet it usually still works.

The Kindle is basically unsuitable for the purpose for which it was designed which is to be a portable book reader.

galwayguy85

@mbroaders, my understanding is that it is easy to deregister the kindle from one account and register it to another, however you would lose all the Kindle store-bought content associated with the first account when doing so (amazon keeps an online 'bookshelf' for redownload of all Kindle titles bought under a particular account so you never have to worry about losing your purchases from either account). Each Kindle can only be associated with one account at a given time.

If have doubts about ordering the Kindle itself with a dubious UK invoice address, you can always order it from your standard irish amazon account and specify that it will be a 'gift', that way it won't be pre reg'd to any account. However you will pay slightly more for the device and you will likely need to buy an appropriate AC adapter, as the one included will be for the US market.

Concerning 3G and roaming charges, what amazon says on the matter doesn't seem to be very clear cut. My understanding is that books are free of extra charges/fees no matter where you are, but that you pay a small fee for the 3G delivery of newspaper, magazine and blog content to the device. My guess is that even with the wireless delivery fee included, even if it exists, it would still be cheaper than getting through the irish portal without fees, so extortionate are amazon's prices if you live outside the UK.

Perhaps anybody else could clarify roaming costs?

buttonsflyie

Hi There

I am looking to buy a UK Kindle for a present to use here in Ireland, I can have it sent to my cousin, so that's not a problem, however can I use it here on roaming? Will I be able to register it to an irish address or will I have to set up a UK account?

Thanks

Buttons

mathie

buttonsflyie wrote: »

Hi There

I am looking to buy a UK Kindle for a present to use here in Ireland, I can have it sent to my cousin, so that's not a problem, however can I use it here on roaming? Will I be able to register it to an irish address or will I have to set up a UK account?

Thanks

Buttons

According to Amazon it does.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055984893

Wonkagirl

I am trying to source a kindle- are they only available online? it's not possible to get them prior to xmas in ireland according to amazon.com, and you cant order directly from amazon.co.uk, it redirects you to the .com site.. woudl be ideal (regardless of price!) if i coudl get it in ireland prior to xmas..

in answer to the roaming q- there are no roaming charges on the new 3g version..

blastman

I ordered one through Amazon.co.uk, and it was dispatched today as they were getting stock in today. It's going to an address in Norn Iron, though, don't know if that's an option for you.

Reloc8

Am I ripping myself off here ?

I have a Kindle DX bought from the States (can't remember why - perhaps the graphite DX was not available through UK) and when I buy books I buy from the US amazon site...it never occurred to me that there might be different prices on UK/Europe sites.

My credit card, delivery address etc. is all irish based and legit but I'm paying dollars.

juke

If you want to buy books from the co.uk site you need to change your location - go to amazon.com - your account - manage your kindle - and about half way down the page it lists "your country"

If you change it to the UK and input a UK address (I use my brothers) it will prompt you to go to the .co.uk site where you can then log in and buy there.

I chop and change between the two sites without issue - you just need to remember to keep changing your country, depending on which site you want to buy on.

A Neurotic

juke wrote: »

If you want to buy books from the co.uk site you need to change your location - go to amazon.com - your account - manage your kindle - and about half way down the page it lists "your country"

If you change it to the UK and input a UK address (I use my brothers) it will prompt you to go to the .co.uk site where you can then log in and buy there.

I chop and change between the two sites without issue - you just need to remember to keep changing your country, depending on which site you want to buy on.

Simple solution, thank you!

dubmick

do you guys find it cheaper to buy from the .co.uk site?

Both my first two purchases were cheaper on the .com site

juke

Not necessarily, but some book that aren't available to Ireland on the .com site are on the .co.uk one.

pleasant Co.

juke wrote: »

If you want to buy books from the co.uk site you need to change your location - go to amazon.com - your account - manage your kindle - and about half way down the page it lists "your country"

If you change it to the UK and input a UK address (I use my brothers) it will prompt you to go to the .co.uk site where you can then log in and buy there.

I chop and change between the two sites without issue - you just need to remember to keep changing your country, depending on which site you want to buy on.

Thanks juke, I knew it was a simple option but forgot where in settings it was located!

You saved me minutes of reading/misreading/re-reading

Antar Bolaeisk

juke wrote: »

If you want to buy books from the co.uk site you need to change your location - go to amazon.com - your account - manage your kindle - and about half way down the page it lists "your country"

If you change it to the UK and input a UK address (I use my brothers) it will prompt you to go to the .co.uk site where you can then log in and buy there.

I chop and change between the two sites without issue - you just need to remember to keep changing your country, depending on which site you want to buy on.

An even easier method now is to have a second account set up on Amazon.com through which you can gift yourself the books, you can even use the same credit card (though I presume a different e-mail address is mandatory). This means you don't have to worry about mucking around with location settings. You also get a warm fuzzy feeling from giving a gift, and also getting one*

The only problem with it is that the Kindle location needs to be set as UK since gifting is only possible from Amazon.com at the moment.

*may not be true

JimmyOats

Thanks Antar, though I think using your solution you might still encounter problems with some content that is copyrighted only for use in the US.

Some titles are not available to European customers and when gifted to a European customer (even a UK one I think?) you'll be told it's unavailable and offered a refund.

I think you'd have to have a US address on your Amazon account to access this stuff no matter what you do.

I think the only way to fully access ALL content would be to have a US address set up on your Amazon.com account, a UK address on your UK account and keep swapping your location between them.

I'd be more than happy to be proved wrong on this!

belle_09

My Kindle was ordered on amazon.co.uk. It was a Christmas present & when I registered it to my account I made sure I had a UK address listed (a relation in the UK). I have been buying books without any problems until tonight when I got the message telling me to update country settings. It says I have tried to buy a book while in a different country than listed on my account. I do have an Irish address on my account but this has been there since I got the Kindle. The UK one is set as my default address for the 1 Click buying option. Any idea why I can't buy anymore?

JimmyOats

I presume they are looking at the address on the credit card?

They seem to be closing all the loopholes now.

juke

I haven't had problems downloading from .co.uk so far. Uk address, Irish credit card.

Wonder are they detecting your location from your wifi?

I leave mine turned off, buy the book, and once bought turn wifi on only to download and then turn it off again immediately (I find the battery lasts longer). Would that make a difference?

spcw

Got the kindle in co.uk shipped to a friend in the uk. he forwarded it on. it works perfectly on the WIFI and I have bought books on it no problem billed to my co.uk account.

tinkerbell

Ugh it's so annoying - there are books that I want to get but they are only available on the UK website, and not on the .com website, argh! I dunno why they are doing this - I mean surely it makes more sense for Ireland to be linked up with the uk website.

belle_09

Thanks for the replies. I tried turned off wireless doesn't make any difference. Think they must just be tightening up on it. I bought about 7 or 8 books without any hassle and made no changes to my account so looks like amazon.co.uk are getting strict! I'll have to go to .com now :mad:

galwayguy85

If amazon.co.uk starts getting prickly when you try to update or enter a UK address for kindle purchases while you are firmly based on Irish soil, you could also try going through a UK-based proxy server when making these changes.

I was forced to this a few days ago, after a long time of chopping and changing between fictitious UK and US addresses for the purpose of getting cheaper eBooks, without any issue.

I would suggest 'daveproxy.co.uk' for this purpose. May take two or three attempts but well worth it. Screw amazon trying to extort people who live outside their primary markets of the UK and the US!!!

Dozen Wicked Words

Is there any way of getting the free Kindle games in Ireland? Would an american address do the job for them, if downloaded to PC and usb'd across. I know they are probably decidedly average, but if the US get them for nothing, I feel I should too!!

Sugar Babe

Hi Folks,
On verge of buying Kindle from UK and ship to UK address - bit concerned about billing address to the UK - will Amazon.co.uk send correspondence to that address regarding invoices etc for ebooks?

Any help /advice would be appreciated!

juke

E-book order confirmations/invoices are all sent by e-mail, so nothing to worry about.

Sugar Babe

juke wrote: »

E-book order confirmations/invoices are all sent by e-mail, so nothing to worry about.

Cheers! thanks for that Juke - will go ahead and order now

Padraig Mor

Picked up a WiFi Kindle in Stansted airport last week (£105 = €122 so nice price!). Sorted out my Kindle account online yesterday using my amazon.co.uk account I've had for years. Invoice address set as my house in Ireland, delivery address set as relative in the UK. Seems to be working fine for UK price purchasing and is showing me UK pricing which it wouldn't previously. I've only signed up to a few free newspaper trials so far, but it did need a credit card registered for this.

Dozen Wicked Words

Theres an ad-supported Kindle released in US next month, only saves $25 dollars so cant see that being great value, unless its removable by a hack I suppose.

Apparently where the ads will be: "advertisements on the bottom of the device's home page and on its screen savers."

Ginny

Right silly question I connected up to my .com account by mistke with my kindle, coppe onto that today, signed up with my .co.uk account and am ordering through a proxy.
The books I downloaded through the .com site have vanished, but I can still see them when I hook the Kindle up to my laptop, is there anyway I can get them back?

Ginny

Scratch that, they just appeared again!

super_furry

This may be a daft question but can you web-browse through the 3G or is it just used for downloading books? Also is the 3G international? If I set up a Kindle in Ireland with the 3G network here, would it work on the 3G network in the UK?

juke

You can web browse, and you can use it abroad. I've limited exposure to using it, but when I have, I have found it a bit hit and miss. In the same place abroad, one day the signal would be fine, the next, couldn't access any sites.

emfitz

Got my kindle in post last week!!! I'm in Oz and got it from America.. I've been buying books from American website but tonight it tells me I can no longer do so. The Aus selection is kinda crap. I've a fake american address on the account.
Any way i can keep buyin off the american site or even the .co.uk site with a UK address....

lorna N

I would suggest 'daveproxy.co.uk' for this purpose. May take two or three attempts but well worth it. Screw amazon trying to extort people who live outside their primary markets of the UK and the US!!![/QUOTE]

thanks so much for that proxy address, I also couldn't get ebooks from amazon.co.uk because it said I was in the wrong country tried a few proxy sites but they didnt work. I also found a good website for free ebooks http://www.freebookspot.cc/

ArthurG

Was also sick of not being able to buy the books I wanted. A few weeks ago I used a friends address in London, and luckily enough my work laptop routes all its traffic through the UK, so Amazon thinks I'm based there. Got a message to move my account over, done that, no problem since.

angel01

I have bought two books today from Amazon UK but Amazon have now emailed me saying I am in a different country :mad:

If I use daveproxy, will I encounter any issues? has anyone who has used daveproxy and gone to amazon uk and bought books, encountered any further emails from Amazon?

juke

angel01 wrote: »

I have bought two books today from Amazon UK but Amazon have now emailed me saying I am in a different country :mad:

Have you reset your address to a uk address? I do this all the time and buy from both sites without complications

angel01

juke wrote: »

Have you reset your address to a uk address? I do this all the time and buy from both sites without complications

I have entered a UK address, do I remove the Irish address?

My credit card is issued to my current address (obviously not to the UK address)

juke

In "Manage you Kindle" on the .com website, you set your country as uk, and select the uk address - you don't have to delete the Irish one. The address on your visa card should make no difference.

Once you save the settings you should get a prompt telling you that you can purchase books on the .co.uk site, with a link to that site.

I always make sure that wi-fi is turned off on the kindle. I buy my books (all books I've wanted to buy since April have been cheaper on the .co.uk site), and once bought, I log off from Amazon on my pc, connect the kindle to download, and immediatly turn wi-fi off again after.

I use the same e-mail, log-in details and visa card on both, without problems.

angel01

juke wrote: »

In "Manage you Kindle" on the .com website, you set your country as uk, and select the uk address - you don't have to delete the Irish one. The address on your visa card should make no difference.

Once you save the settings you should get a prompt telling you that you can purchase books on the .co.uk site, with a link to that site.

I always make sure that wi-fi is turned off on the kindle. I buy my books (all books I've wanted to buy since April have been cheaper on the .co.uk site), and once bought, I log off from Amazon on my pc, connect the kindle to download, and immediatly turn wi-fi off again after.

I use the same e-mail, log-in details and visa card on both, without problems.

Okay I will try via that method, this is the email they sent me:

Dear ____________

I see that you attempted to purchase " Mommy, May I? [Kindle Edition] " while in a different country than the United Kingdom listed on your Amazon account. Certain Kindle titles are not available everywhere. We are reaching out to you to ensure the best possible service for your account.

If you have moved to a different country, you can easily update your country for your Amazon account at www.amazon.co.uk/manageyourkindle

If this is not the case, and you would like to share information that you live in the United Kingdom, we can be reached by fax at [URL="tel:%2B44%20%280%29%2020%208636%209326"]+44 (0) 20 8636 9326[/URL] from outside the UK, or [URL="tel:020%208636%209326"]020 8636 9326[/URL] from within the UK. Helpful information includes:

– Passport
– Military ID
– Driving Licence

We want to assure you that we handle this information in a secure manner: these are dedicated fax lines, staffed in an area with limited employee access. The fax is never printed, just converted to an electronic image that is used to check the country, then the image is deleted.

Best regards,
Account Specialist
Amazon.co.uk
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/your-account

juke

I've never gotten that e-mail from them.

Good luck

angel01

juke wrote: »

I've never gotten that e-mail from them.

Good luck

I sent it wirelessly to my kindle yesterday and got that email later yesterday..:(

europhile

If I bought a Kindle in Northern Ireland and then bought books from .co.uk (using a proxy if needs be) would this cause any problems given that I live in the Republic?

Padraig Mor

europhile wrote: »

If I bought a Kindle in Northern Ireland and then bought books from .co.uk (using a proxy if needs be) would this cause any problems given that I live in the Republic?

Bought mine in Stansted airport and have no problems buying from .co.uk site!

europhile

Via 3G or WiFi?

Padraig Mor

europhile wrote: »

Via 3G or WiFi?

WiFi.

waterford journalist

Hi guys,

I'm working on a story about how Irish customers can only buy their Kindles from the US site and not the Amazon.co.uk site, this means that their account is then pre-set to the American store and means that you can only buy books from the Amazon.com site. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Are there ways around it? Would you be willing to be quoted in a newspaper? Thanks for your help!!

angel01

waterford journalist wrote: »

Hi guys,

I'm working on a story about how Irish customers can only buy their Kindles from the US site and not the Amazon.co.uk site, this means that their account is then pre-set to the American store and means that you can only buy books from the Amazon.com site. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Are there ways around it? Would you be willing to be quoted in a newspaper? Thanks for your help!!

Yes there are ways around it, I bought it from Amazon.com, I then changed my registered address to a relative's address that lives in the UK. I then logged in to Amazon.co.uk and I then bought books using my Irish credit card. Afterwards, I got an email from Amazon claiming that I didn't live in the UK :eek:

I found the way around it was to download the books to my computer and transfer them via USB and I have never received another email from Amazon and works perfectly now

ixoy

waterford journalist wrote: »

I'm working on a story about how Irish customers can only buy their Kindles from the US site and not the Amazon.co.uk site, this means that their account is then pre-set to the American store and means that you can only buy books from the Amazon.com site. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Are there ways around it?

I started a thread here about this very issue as it annoyed me a lot. You can find a good bit of detail on the issue. Basically, you not only have to buy from Amazon.com, you're only allowed to get a subset of the books there anyway.

I've tried to get some feedback from a few authors on the issue as well, generally with not a whole lot of luck. Be interesting if I could get some clear answers as to the why of this.