new to e-reader. Help needed.

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coolcat21

285 posts

Ultimate Geek

#146779 28-May-2014 21:53

Hey guys, I'm just now gaining interest into these e-readers. I've only read paperbacks thus far.

I really like how the kindle paperwhite (2) looks.

My question is regarding the region restriction that they have. I'm wondering if the nz market only has access to a portion of the books that the US customers have ? So how often would I roughly encounter a situation where the book that I wanted is only available in the US and the AMAZON Kindle account that my kindle is attached to doesn't have access to it ?

And also if you guys can give me the step by steps on how to get around the restriction (if any) that'd be great :)

Last but not least, which is the best place to buy it from ? DSE (200) , or amazon.com via youshop ?
Thanks in advance !

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1556 posts

Uber Geek

#1055518 28-May-2014 22:08

struck it a few times but generally it is available after a couple of months.
just struck it again with G.Michael Hopf book Sanctuary. Available USA but not here. Mr Hopf is going to see if the publisher will release it here now.

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josephhinvest

1542 posts

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#1055552 28-May-2014 23:31

My wife and I both have first gen paperwhites, and I've recently bought my mum and dad second gen paperwhites, IMHO they are brilliant. I use mine every day on breaks at work. Highly recommended!
I recently paid $219 for the 2nd gen, so if you see one for $200 or less just grab it!
Cheers,
Joseph

Edit: sorry I didn't actually address your questions, most books I have bought have been released at same time in NZ I believe.

vexxxboy

4231 posts

Uber Geek

#1055556 28-May-2014 23:39

its $183 from amazon using the Amazon order page . (Top right of the page.) well worth it , found it's the first thing i would save if a fire broke out lol.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

coolcat21

285 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1055611 29-May-2014 07:34

josephhinvest: My wife and I both have first gen paperwhites, and I've recently bought my mum and dad second gen paperwhites, IMHO they are brilliant. I use mine every day on breaks at work. Highly recommended!
I recently paid $219 for the 2nd gen, so if you see one for $200 or less just grab it!
Cheers,
Joseph

Edit: sorry I didn't actually address your questions, most books I have bought have been released at same time in NZ I believe.

Thanks.

So the account attached to your kindle is a NZ account then? And you didn't have to do any kind of hacking or vpn-related stuff when buying the books ?

trig42

5796 posts

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#1055667 29-May-2014 09:29

coolcat21:
josephhinvest: My wife and I both have first gen paperwhites, and I've recently bought my mum and dad second gen paperwhites, IMHO they are brilliant. I use mine every day on breaks at work. Highly recommended!
I recently paid $219 for the 2nd gen, so if you see one for $200 or less just grab it!
Cheers,
Joseph

Edit: sorry I didn't actually address your questions, most books I have bought have been released at same time in NZ I believe.

Thanks. So the account attached to your kindle is a NZ account then? And you didn't have to do any kind of hacking or vpn-related stuff when buying the books ?

I think you will find the range available to you in NZ is pretty big.
I don't suppose it would be a hassle to setup an Amazon US account (using a US address, for example a Free YouShop address, and an acceptable credit card, like an Air New Zealand OneSmart Debit Card), but I have never needed to.

Check out Calibre, a free program that converts/manages ebooks. It is very useful ;)

coolcat21

285 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1058448 3-Jun-2014 11:56

Thanks for the replies guys.

So it looks like I will be setting up 2 accounts. 1 for getting the gift card. And 1 for the kindle account.

Question is : for the kindle account , should I enter the country as NZ or US (youshop address) and do I need a vpn to access it ?

I've heard that while you can successfully fool/bypass the region restrictions on some books , Amazon is smart enough to detect this down the line (months later) and block the account ?

I'm currently interested in the book "All The Light We Cannot See" and it's a NYT Best Seller and a recent book and it doesn't seem to be available (can see the page but not buy button) if your amazon account is NZ based ? I can see it on mine because I've set it to the youshop Portland address. Can you guys confirm ?

trig42

5796 posts

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#1058473 3-Jun-2014 12:46

I have a NZ account (with NZ email address, NZ credit card and NZ addresses for delivery) and the buy now button is there, with the option to deliver it to my Kindle.

I think you are over complicating it a bit. Just use your normal NZ amazon account (if you have one) and it should be fine. Remember to use the link up the top of this page so that Geekzone gets the referral.

Gilco2

1556 posts

Uber Geek

#1058477 3-Jun-2014 12:50

coolcat21: Thanks for the replies guys.

So it looks like I will be setting up 2 accounts. 1 for getting the gift card. And 1 for the kindle account.

Question is : for the kindle account , should I enter the country as NZ or US (youshop address) and do I need a vpn to access it ?

I've heard that while you can successfully fool/bypass the region restrictions on some books , Amazon is smart enough to detect this down the line (months later) and block the account ?

I'm currently interested in the book "All The Light We Cannot See" and it's a NYT Best Seller and a recent book and it doesn't seem to be available (can see the page but not buy button) if your amazon account is NZ based ? I can see it on mine because I've set it to the youshop Portland address. Can you guys confirm ?

I only have NZ account and just looked and that book is available to buy here.

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coolcat21

285 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1058514 3-Jun-2014 13:13

Hmm that's strange. So i've just switched my account's address to NZ (from going to the top right menu > Content & Devices > Settings)

And I get this (note I didn't even go to .com.au but it's giving me that notice):

As you can see, no buttons and not available for purchase. At first I thought it's because I don't have a kindle yet , but .. if i go to settings and changed my country back to the US again, it's available.

trig42

5796 posts

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#1058516 3-Jun-2014 13:17

Maybe I'm looking at a different book:

That is the first result in the kindle store for that title.

Edit, and that is on a NZ account.

coolcat21

285 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1058519 3-Jun-2014 13:21

trig42: Maybe I'm looking at a different book:

That is the first result in the kindle store for that title.

Edit, and that is on a NZ account.

Ok I'm able to get to that by clicking on the 'kindle edition' hyperlink.
But try going to the top left menu > Shop By Department > Kindle Books > NYT Best Seller > you'll see that book there , click on it...you'll see the no-link ...but if you click the kindle edition it's there. ...wtf

Gilco2

1556 posts

Uber Geek

#1058520 3-Jun-2014 13:21

trig42: Maybe I'm looking at a different book:

That is the first result in the kindle store for that title.

Edit, and that is on a NZ account.

this is the one I see as well

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coolcat21

285 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1058553 3-Jun-2014 13:57

Gilco2:
trig42: Maybe I'm looking at a different book:

That is the first result in the kindle store for that title.

Edit, and that is on a NZ account.
this is the one I see as well

See if you can get the blue cover one to display , that one should be unavailable t purchase. Both that one and the one you're seeing are both kindle editions.

afe66

3181 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#1058583 3-Jun-2014 14:43

I have a UK Amazon account which I setup 8+ yrs ago and is paid by a bog standard nz credit card.
ANZ originally now kiwibank never had problems with region locked books..

I have had 2 kindle 3g keyboards and broke these over last 6 month having bought the first one in 2010.

So bought kindle paperwhite 3g and sorry to say prefer the keyboard one with buttons on the side.
Fits better in the hand and can more easily move forward/back with either hand. Touching the screen seems so wrong.
Might contact Amazon to find out if they do repairs...

Given the choice I would prefer to go back to earlier version...

Gilco2

1556 posts

Uber Geek

#1058622 3-Jun-2014 15:23

coolcat21:

See if you can get the blue cover one to display , that one should be unavailable t purchase. Both that one and the one you're seeing are both kindle editions.

yeah I can see that but cant buy it. Thats why I always check in Kindle books for the title as you will find the same book with different covers. One will be available and the other wont. Whether its something with copyright of the cover or something else I dont know.

HTPC Intel Pentium G3258 cpu, Gigabyte H97n-wifi motherboard, , 8GB DDR3 ram, onboard graphics. Hauppuage HVR 5500 tuner, Silverstone LC16M case, Windows 10 pro 64 bit using Nextpvr and Kodi

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