(This post was first published in another blog owned by myself in November 2010. The date of this blog will be amended regularly to keep it on the first page of this website, as I feel that most readers are more interested in this post than other posts)
You live outside the U.S. You tried to buy the Kindle, but you realised that Amazon does not allow you to complete your purchase as Amazon does not deliver the Kindle to you. This is because Amazon only delivers Kindle to certain countries outside the U.S., but you are not in one of these countries. But you are determined to get the Kindle. There is a work-around to this obstacle.
To check if Amazon delivers to your country, click on this link. On the right side of the webpage, below the “Add to cart” and “Add to Wish List”, look for the box labelled “Live outside the U.S.?” and click the link in it to check if Amazon delivers to the your country.
I live in Singapore, outside the U.S. and Singapore is not one of the countries which Amazon delivers the Kindle to. However, I have purchased several Kindles for myself, family and friends, without stepping out of the country.
How To Work-Around Problem Of Amazon Not Shipping To You
There are a few ways how you can do this. If you have a family or friend based in U.S. or travelling to the U.S., you can order one from Amazon and send it them, and ask them to send it to you. Alternatively, you can do it as I did. Get Amazon to deliver it to a third party shipper (such as Borderlinx, comGateway, or vPost), which will forward the package to your home address. Any of the three shipper will provide you with a free U.S. address for Amazon to ship your purchase to.
Based on experience, Borderlinx and comGateway’s delivery time is shorter than vPost. However, Borderlinx is only available to users with Citibank credit cards. Without any promotions, vPost is usually the cheapest option of the three. However, there are usually ongoing promotions available for all three. For Borderlinx and comGateway, perform a search on Google for discounts codes. For vPost, any discounts available are usually listed on its website. The shipping cost for one Kindle and one Kindle cover should be S$20+.
Set-up A Separate Amazon Account To Buy And Register The Kindle
When I bought my Kindle, what I did is to have two separate Amazon accounts (using two different email addresses). One account with my credit card information (“regular account”), another without any credit card information (“Kindle account”). For the regular account, I used my own home address to register the account. For the Kindle account, I used the address provided by the shipper for the Amazon to deliver my purchase to (this should be a U.S. based address) to register the account. This is an important step. Without the U.S. address, Amazon will not deliver the Amazon to your shipper, unless the Kindle is delivered to one of the “approved” countries. You will also face problems buying Kindle books after you receive your Kindle.
Use Giftcards To Buy Kindle
After you have set up both accounts, use the account with your credit card information to purchase giftcards. Apply the giftcards to your second account without credit information, and use the giftcards to buy the kindle as well as other accessories (eg. Kindle cover) you want. Ask Amazon to send it to the address your shipper has given to you, and you will receive your Kindle in due time.
The value of giftcards sold by Amazon is not restricted to specified values. You can buy any value you want, depending on your cashflow and your needs, and if you want to have less hassle you may want to buy higher value giftcards as these giftcards can also be used to buy ebooks as well (see below).
Why Use Two Separate Amazon Accounts?
Some people would probably say, why use two accounts, why not just use one account and just delete the credit card information when buying books. By keeping your credit card information and home address separately from your Kindle account, you can continue to use the regular account to continue making purchases from Amazon, and letting Amazon deliver your purchases direct to Singapore. Amazon often has fantastic deals which I take advantage of. Anyway, setting up of Amazon accounts is free. This will also minimise the chances of Amazon asking you to provide evidence of your residence when you start buying ebooks. There have been reported instances of Amazon requesting for proof of residence when users try to purchase ebooks using their regular accounts.
You can also use your credit card to buy the Kindle, get it shipped to the third party shipper and when you receive it from the third party shipper, deregister the Kindle and register it under a separate Amazon account. However, I see two disadvantages in doing this. The first is that if you have problems with your Kindle, and you report this to the customer service, the customer service will not have the record of your Kindle purchase because your Kindle was purchased from another account. The second disadvantage is that you are unable to buy free kindle books until you have registered your Kindle. For example, after you buy the Kindle and while waiting for it to arrive, you see this free ebook that you want to buy. Some free ebooks are free for only a limited time, and if there is no Kindle registered to the account that you intend to use to register the Kindle to, you will not be allowed to buy the ebook.
Remember To Get All The Accessories You Want At The Same Time
Before you confirm your order, remember to get all the accessories you want at the same time. As Kindle is not available in Singapore, you will find that you will have problems getting the accessories you want locally. Ordering the accessories separately will most likely result in extra shipping expenses.
Personally, one set of Kindle means 1 Kindle, 1 Kindle lighted leather cover and 1 screen protector.
I prefer the Kindle lighted cover offered by Amazon as the built-in light means that I do not have to worry about making sure my light has sufficient battery power when I need to read in dark conditions, especially when I am travelling on public transport such as buses or in bed at night. The light attached to the cover actually draws its power from the Kindle using the hinges attaching the cover to the Kindle. There are also no unsightly straps over the corners to attach the Kindle onto the cover.
For the screen protector, I am using Grantwood Technologies’Anti-Glare Screen Protector to protect the screen from accidental scratching and also to facilitate cleaning the screen. Although the Grantwood Technologies’Anti-Glare Screen Protector is shipped by the manufacturer directly and incurs in an additional shipping fees, the additional shipping cost is worth it. Grantwood Technologies’ Anti-Glare Screen Protector reduces the glare on the screen, which improves my reading experience as compared to standard screen protectors that does not have anti-glare. I have tried another screen protector without the anti-glare, and this screen protector defeats the Kindle’s anti-glare capabilities, therefore, I bought the Grantwood screen protector to replace my original screen protector.
Buying Multiple Kindles
If you are buying more than 1 Kindle, check your country’s import regulations to see if VAT/GST is applicable for imports, and whether there is a threshold before the customs office starts to charge VAT/GST on your purchase. For example, shipping 2 Kindles + 2 Kindle covers together to Singapore is more expensive than shipping 1 Kindle + 1 Kindle cover to Singapore twice as GST is only charged on imports exceeding SGD400. Shipping 1 Kindle + 1 Kindle cover twice to Singapore would not incur any GST as the total per shipment is less than SGD400, but shipping 2 Kindles + 2 Kindle covers would incur a 7% GST charge on the purchase. Any shipping cost you may save by shipping all together may be less than the 7% GST you are likely to incur.
How To Buy Kindle Ebooks
Before you want to start buying Kindle ebooks, use your account with your credit card information to buy giftcards. Apply your giftcards to your second account with U.S. address. If your U.S. account already has giftcards with sufficient value, skip this step.
Use A VPN To Buy Ebooks
Do not use your Kindle to purchase any ebooks unless you are in U.S, regardless of whether it is via 3G or wireless. Use your PC. Get a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to mask your IP address. Apparently, Amazon is checking the addresses based on the IP address of the network you are on to make sure you are located in the US or one of the “approved” countries. I have used the free Hot Spot Shield before, but I am now using Always VPN (need to purchase). Both works equally well, but using Hot Spot Shield means additional ads showing up on your browser, which I find irritating.
The important thing is to always check your IP address before going to Amazon’s website. You can use this link to check your IP address http://whatismyipaddress.com/ Make sure your IP address is somewhere in the U.S. Also, if you are downloading stuff, make sure you stop any downloading before logging onto your VPN. Otherwise, your downloads will take up your VPN capacity and slow down the process.
Masking your IP address also serves another purpose. It will allow you to purchase ebooks without any surcharge. Currently, Amazon has a surcharge of US$1.99 for all ebooks purchased by users outside U.S.
Once you have confirmed that your IP address is somewhere in the U.S., go to Amazon website, and make sure you have logged in to the correct account. You should also be able to see on the top left hand corner where Amazon thinks you are. Make sure it states United States.
Proceed to buy your ebook. You can ask Amazon to send it directly to your Kindle (choose this option only if you have wireless access), or download to PC. So far, I have used both methods without any problem (ie Amazon requesting for proof of address). The method I used more frequently is for Amazon to “push” the ebook directly to my account, using wireless. I have not tried the 3G method as my Kindle is a wifi only model.
If you choose to send to your Kindle, just switch on your Kindle’s wireless, connect to network, and Kindle will send the ebook to your wireless, or use the “Sync & Check for Items” function when you press the “Menu” button in the Kindle’s Homepage to download the purchase into Kindle.
If you choose to download to PC, after your ebook has been downloaded, connect your Kindle to your PC and send the ebook to your Kindle and save it under the “Documents” folder.
