Just couple of weeks ago, Kindle users outside US like us found that we could not buy books for our Kindle 2 anymore. Even though we found that the solution is to hide your IP address when surfing Amazon web site, it is still very troublesome. Then in mid October, Amazon released the Kindle 2 International version and since then, we need to pay higher price for the same book.
I recently bought a new laptop with Windows 7 and I am not that keen to install a “hide-your-IP” software in the new machine (as this approach always slow down the browsing experience). But today I have a new book to buy (What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell) … so, what shall I do ?
Believe it or not, somehow I bought a US Kindle book just now without hiding my IP address (I’m staying in Hong Kong). First of all, I have set up my Amazon account with an US mail address, and also the 1-click payment method with an AMEX card with an US billing address. And then, I follow the steps below:
- Sign out from your Amazon account, if you have already logged in;
- Search for the book as usual, Amazon shall search for US books by default;
- You will be able to find the book, in US selling price (in my case, US$ 9.99, instead of US$ 11.99 for Asia and Pacific version);
- As long as you don’t log in (seems it trigger Amazon’s IP / Region check logic), and don’t change the Your country or region on the left-hand side menu, you can keep searching the right books;
- Then just go ahead to click 1-Click to buy the book, and only at this point log into your Amazon account;
- Confirm to buy the book for your Kindle 2 International version;
- That’s it, I bought an US Kindle books for my International version – without utility like Hotspot and Ultrasurf to hide my IP !!
- Then go to the “Manage your Kindle” page, and download the book to your computer, and subsequently transfer to your Kindle;
- One point to note is : still in the right hand side menu of the “Manage your Kindle” page, there is a pending item (the new book) to deliver to my Kindle. In other words, Amazon may eventually send me the book via wireless network and charge me extra US$ 2. But to me, install one less program in my computer is great !!
Hope it help.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I find you blog very useful.
Please keep on the good work.
It is you that make the internet interesting.
Thanks
I am looking ways for buying US books becasue the ebooks titles launched in US region are more than that in Asia and Pacific region. I will try using “gift coupons” + “1-click”. Thanks for your suggestions.
Hi MJ,
Glad you find the information useful. Enjoy your Kindle !!
Hey Michael,
Just got an international Kindle and am figuring out how to get US Kindle Books. Reading your article it appears that your kindle is registered to the account with the US address and AMEX card? Is that correct?
Did you get charged the extra $2 when they delivered it wirelessly to you?
Thanks
Usman
Hi Usman,
Glad that you got your Kindle … So far I bought US books with lower price and no extra $2 for the wireless delivery. Indeed I have my account tied to an US address and use AMEX all along. And the approach detailed in this post let me select the US books I want. No other tricks so far.
Hope it helps.
Hi Michael,
I just got a Kindle 2 as a gift and am residing in Malaysia.
I tried the method where I set up an Amazon account with US address and US email address.
I have another Amazon account with Malaysian details and I purchased a gift certificate which I gave to the US based Amazon account.
The only thing is I did not put in any credit card details in the US based account, and am just relying on the gift certificate balance.
It worked for a day and then today, I managed to download 3 books and when I tried the 4th, Amazon gave me the message that said “You attempted to purchase an item while in a different country than listed on your Amazon account. ”
Have they suddenly imposed the IP check again?
Do I need to input a US credit card detail in the 1-click payment? Unfortunately, I don’t have a credit card with US billing address.
I tried installing the Hotspot Shield which assigned me another IP (not sure if this is US IP) but still Amazon did not allow me to purchase any ebooks.
Appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Kien Ling
Hi Kien Ling,
May be somehow you picked a book from US but they detected your IP is from Malaysia … have you tried this trick I blogged before ?
Hope it helps.
Thanks Michael.
For some reason, I can now download again from Amazon.
Not sure what happened in those few days when I was blocked.
Wonder if it was because I did not sign out, now I sign out after every session.
May be Amazon has a limit on number of download per day ? Just a thought … anyway, glad that you have your problem solved !!
Thanks for the info. I posted on another stream but this may be a better fit. Using above method I purchased a Kindle Title. I recieved an email with the following statement:
If you have moved to a different country, you can easily update your country for your Amazon account at http://www.Amazon.com/manageyourkindle
If this is not the case, and you would like to share information that you live in the United States, we can be reached by fax at 001-206-266-1838 from outside the US, or 206-266-1838 from within the US. Helpful information includes:
– Passport
– Military ID
– Permanent Resident Card
– Driver’s License
– Other state photo identity card
Since when do you have to prove where you live to read a book!!
It is easier to get into the US that it is to buy a book from Kindle.
Hi AJ,
I can see the frustration … for me, I actually don’t mind to pay extra to get a book outside US, but kinda puzzled why I don’t have a choice to buy a book I want outside US (which probably available in the local bookstore already).
Anyway, glad you find the tips useful and bought the book you like.