International customers considering purchasing the Amazon Kindle might want to wait until the facts – and all the facts – come to light re: what the Kindle will actually cost.
The Guardian newspaper ran a series of articles regarding hidden – or not immediately apparent – costs of buying a Kindle and purchasing ebooks to read on it.
I was unsurprised but unimpressed to learn that international Kindle users will pay up to 40% more for the same title as their American counterparts.
When asked by the Guardian precisely how much downloads would cost, an Amazon.co.uk spokesman revealed that foreign customers – including those in Britain – would be paying $13.99 (£8.75) per book instead of the American price of $9.99 (£6.25). That amounts to a 40% premium for the same title.
“International customers do pay a higher price for their books than US customers due to higher operating costs outside of the US,” said the spokesman. “Additionally, VAT rates in the EU are higher on ebooks than on print books.”
Those comments are in strict contrast to earlier statements by the company, in which it had said specifically that “there are no additional fees for international customers”.
Even more worrying was this article, which claims that using the international Amazon Kindle could rack up fees.
Not only does the new international Kindle cost more than its US counterpart, owners who want to take advantage of the wireless connectivity will be paying more for it. In addition to the $2 per-book fee for non-US downloads, paidContent has learned from Amazon that it will cost users $5 a week to access their newspaper, magazine and blog subscriptions via Whispernet.
I’m used to paying more for American goods in Europe but a 40% price hike on a digital book seems ridiculous. It’s not as if they have to pay shipping. Amazon have made much of the fact that international customers will not have to pay for wireless downloads for books, but by increasing book prices so dramatically, I’m guessing that’s how they’re defraying the cost. In other words, while there might not be a direct charge for downloading a book as a non-US Kindle user, Amazon will get the money out of you through other means. Obviously, downloading newspapers, magazines and blogs will NOT be free.
In addition to what I’m learning through the press about the true cost of the Kindle, I am not pleased with Amazon’s customer service. I’ve now e-mailed them three times with specific questions concerning geographic restrictions, price of ebooks, and roaming costs, but have yet to receive answers. They keep sending me the same form e-mail with links to information which does not answer my queries. I realize they are likely inundated with questions from potential international customers, but I find the standard form letter a pretty poor example of future customer service should I choose to buy a Kindle.
Despite my initial excitement at the announcement that the Kindle would be available to customers outside the US, I’m now firmly in the “wait and see” camp. The information on the international Kindle is confusing, with many questions left unanswered. I’m betting there are many people who are unaware of geographic restrictions and assume the books which will be unavailable to them are ones which are Amercentric. If I wasn’t already informed about geographic restrictions, I would assume I’d be able to buy all new releases on the Kindle.
Due to the lack of transparency about the Kindle on Amazon’s website and elsewhere, this truly is a case of caveat emptor.
{ 9 comments }
buh humbug to all that
Back to the waiting game on a decent ereader outside US..
Guess Kindle’s no go then.
@Edie @Nadia Lee It is total bullshit. I pay exactly the same amount as an American customer would when I shop at eHarlequin. As far as I’m aware, it’s the same with Ellora’s Cave and other ebook retailers. I really can’t see how Amazon can justify the price increase.
Yes, the wait goes on for me too. I was excited at first by the announcement, but it turned out to be a big let down.
I think Kindle is an absolute no go in Europe. They really think we are stupid. Read The Guardian yday and was really pissed about what they do. Nope, no ereader for me till this whole mess is solved. I’m officially back to wanting an IPhone.LOL
Kindle didn’t rock my boat before it became available to Europe and I don’t think it ever will. Personally, at this point, e-reading will be my second way of reading and I think I will have better options to ensure e-reading pleasure with an e-reader such as BeBook or Cybook or whatever e-reader that can handle multiple formats which I can buy at any given store. I will always bitch about the prices of e-books if they are higher than their dead tree counterpart, 40% increase…are they insane!!
@Portia Da Costa A total let down. I was really looking forward to the Kindle coming to Europe and I now feel totally disillusioned.
@SusiSunshine Yep, the iPhone is back on my wish list, too!
@Leontine I keep hearing that dedicated ereaders are interim technology in any case. I’m hoping that by the time a decent ereader becomes available, digital rights will have been revised and geographic restrictions eliminated.
A late comment, but up until this week, I had no experience of any sort with an e-reader. We visited a friend in Florida who swears by her Kindle; she travels with it, reads it in the pool (it goes into a sealable plastic bag, I gather), has dressed it up in a pretty “skin” and suede cover thingie, etc.
Well, I didn’t exactly fall in love with it. And my first complaint is probably a silly one. Because I didn’t know any of the books that my friend had on it, I couldn’t immediately figure out what to sample. Where’s the Kindle equivalent of a back cover to read? But of course, if it were my Kindle, I’d know what books I’d loaded on. (Until I had so many I couldn’t know anymore, but that sort of greed is not necessarily the Kindle’s fault.)
My real objection is that its controls are all at the edges of the frame, so I kept moving a page ahead or a page backwards just by holding the thing. This was really the fault of trying to multitask: sample a Kindle while also socializing with my friends, but I truly think I’d hate that feature even all alone.
Maybe I’m being a Luddite, but it just doesn’t appeal. I like books. I like paper. I like magazine blow-ins as bookmarks. I don’t entirely love the clutter of books on my bedside table, but I do like that there’s something to read there even if I left the primary book I’m reading elsewhere. I like that a paperback book — most of them, at least — will fit in my handbag. I like that I can replace a lost or damaged paperback book for under $10.
So, not for me, not yet at least. And maybe never.
@Magdalen I’ve heard from several people that the Kindle is clunky. It certainly doesn’t look the prettiest from the pictures I’ve seen. Another major problem with ordering the Kindle is that I have no opportunity to try it out before purchasing.
I also love books. I can’t imagine ever completely replacing print books with digital. On the other hand, ebooks would save a lot of storage space, particularly for those titles I’m unlikely to read more than once.
At the moment, I’m definitely waiting until problems such as geographical restrictions have been resolved and prices come down.