I had to uninstall Kindle for PC, reinstall older version, then re-download all my e-books. Why? Because my kindle reader is an older model, using the awz extention, not the newer kfx extension. I am all for keeping people from stealing/pirating content, but seriously.
So, once again I have to convince the older version of Kindle files to play nice with my slightly dated Kindle.
I get an email from them, so they know I'm on Australia. The fact that my account says I am in Australia, and my email address ends in AU, and my default shipping address is Australia seems to be something they're missing.
Back to the email. I get email notice that I can get a new Kindle Paperwhite for $30 off. Ok, since my kindle is getting old, and I have noticed it needs charging more often, it's either get a new battery for it, or a new one, I think "Sure, sounds good to me."
So, I go to Amazon, order one, and case to keep the screen safe. Add it to shopping cart, go to check out.. and get hit with "DOES NOT SHIP TO AUSTRALIA".
Really? REALLY?
So, having it sent to drop address and to sent to me.
but I do want to read books available for sale on Kobo, but don't want to read them on my desktop, I have to jump through some hoops, that to describe how to do it is more complicated than the actually DOING of it. (And made more difficult when you have a small cat climbing all over the place)
Ok, bought a book, and when I went to find the epub on my desktop, all there is is a bunch of incoherent characters. Ok, a bit of google to find what the hell is going on. Ok, found out that to get epub, I have to download and install Adobe Digital Editions, then authorize the computer and download the epub.
Done.
I want to read it on my Kindle. Hmmm, ok, the next step is to 'convince' the epub to not be a drm'ed epub, and then converted it to a mobi format. Find file, have one program talk to it. Then have Calibre make a mobi format, then copy to kindle.
All I want to do is read my damned book. Yes, I understand there are naughty people out there that would prefer to not pay for the ebook, but that isn't me. BUT I want to read it where I want to read it. One device. Not one tablet with three different e-readers, thanks anyhow.
I emailed both Amazon Kindle and Amazon, asking why was a certain e-book 4 times the cost, and why was I being forced to use Amazon Australia? I would much rather pay US dollars for my e-books, even with the conversion prices than being forced to the Amazon Australia. These are the duck/dodge/weave but don't answer replies from them (my messages are italic, Amazon's bold):
Other info:Being forced to use Amazon Australia
Comments:I'm angry. I spotted an ebook by Andy Borowitz, 18 page short story, for 99 cents. I went to go buy it, and when I logged in, the price almost quadrupled to $3.63 because I was forced to select Amazon Australia? Oh HELL no. I know what the exchange rate is, and this is way beyond appropriate pricing.
how to do I stop being automatically shunted to Amazon Australia for my ebook purchases? I would rather find "not available to your geographical location", and pay in US dollars than to be blatantly ripped off.
Message From Customer Service
Hello, I'm really sorry to hear that you are being charged higher than the conversion rate for the book by Andy Borowitz. I wanted to help investigate this problem, and in-order to do so, I will need to know the title of the book by Andy Borowitz. If you can provide the ASIN number of the book, please click on the link below: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us We hope you can contact us soon so we can help solve this problem quickly. We look forward to seeing you again soon. Best regards, S***** U. K.
Message From Customer Service (Amazon Kindle) Hello, I've read your email and I'm sorry for the inconvenience. This is something we don't want our customers to experience. I've checked and found that you have updated your address to Australia, That's the reason your being charged for Australian price. Further to compensate for the inconvenience, I've issued a promotional credit of $10 to your amazon account. Also I would request you to update your country setting.
From your computer:
1. Visit Manage Your Kindle (www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle).
2. From the left navigation, click Country Settings.
3. Under Current Country, click Change to select an existing address or enter a new address.
I am once again sorry for the inconvenience that this may have caused to you. The company is actively working to improve service levels and your feedback has proved to be invaluable. You are our regular customer and we would like to continue our relationship with you. I request you to forgive us as we promise you a better service next time.
If you still have any trouble, I request you to please reach us over chat or phone so that I can transfer you to our live customer support executives who can discuss the problem in detail and perform the real time live troubleshooting to resolve the issue to your satisfaction. I hope you understand our limitation in this case as we'll not be able to do live troubleshoot in email.
If it is not convenient to reach us over phone then please contact via chat for live support. I realize that at this point of time asking you to contact us again would be disappointing, however, we would really like to assist you better.
Your patience and understanding is highly appreciated in this matter. You can reach us by chat or phone directly and toll free from many countries by clicking the Contact Us option in the right-hand column of our Kindle Support pages at: http://www.amazon.com/kindlesupport When you visit our website and select Contact Us, click on the "Phone" tab, enter your number, and we’ll call you right back.
If your country isn't listed or you’re unable to take advantage of the Contact Us feature, you can call us directly at 1-866-321-8851 or 1-206-266-0927 if you're calling from outside the U.S. In addition to our large selection, one of the benefits we try very hard to offer our customers is convenience. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience you experienced in this case. Thanks for using Kindle.
We look forward to seeing you again soon. Best regards, A****** N
The above reply is a crock, and I told them so, as I have been buying ebooks on Amazon, not Amazon Australia for years. I have been paying US dollars for them and with the conversion rates, have maybe paid 25 cents over the US price. I don't want a $10 coupon, I want to know what is so different about the digital bits and bytes that it merits four times the price?
Chronicle of Amber Omnibus, a stack of Richard Morgan, a Stack of Trudi Canavan, and on top of that my Audible account now has a credit and some amazing half priced audio books.
After a famine, a feast!
Probably the audio books until I get my new glasses.
