Buy Kindle in US?

MayoForSam

I'm off to the US next week on business and I was thinking of ordering a Kindle from Amazon.com for delivery to an address in the US and picking it up while I'm there.

Would I have any hassle if I order the basic model for $79 or do I need to get the $109 version without the ads? I already have a decent library of PDF books, etc. so I probably won't even need to use the wifi much to connect to the Amazon store from here.

ucd.1985

MayoForSam wrote: »

I'm off to the US next week on business and I was thinking of ordering a Kindle from Amazon.com for delivery to an address in the US and picking it up while I'm there.

Would I have any hassle if I order the basic model for $79 or do I need to get the $109 version without the ads? I already have a decent library of PDF books, etc. so I probably won't even need to use the wifi much to connect to the Amazon store from here.

i have the basic model and the ads do not put me off at all. A screen saver with ads when not in use and a very small banner across the bottom on the hoe portal.

No ads ever when reading.

Similar to you I already have a sizeable collection of ebooks on my computer and so a 3g model was not required.

richardw001

MayoForSam wrote: »

I'm off to the US next week on business and I was thinking of ordering a Kindle from Amazon.com for delivery to an address in the US and picking it up while I'm there.

Would I have any hassle if I order the basic model for $79 or do I need to get the $109 version without the ads? I already have a decent library of PDF books, etc. so I probably won't even need to use the wifi much to connect to the Amazon store from here.

If I were you I would go with the 79 dollar one (which is great value). Otherwise you might as well be buying it in Ireland

terencemc

Is there any problem using a US kindle in Ireland - e.g. buying books through amazon.co.uk with an amazon.com kindle...

slave1

May be of interest to some, Tesco now have Kindles for sale in store...

Mr E

Any idea how much? Anything off the 109/129/179 in PC World/Currys?

MayoForSam

Well, I'm just back from the US with my basic Kindle 4 in tow, very impressed I must admit. In fact, I haven't even bothered to use the wi-fi at all, I just transferred some e-books I had on my PC with the cable supplied (Calibre is ideal to convert almost anything to .mobi format). The new model is very slim and lightweight, extremely portable (fitted inside my jeans pocket) and the battery will apparently last a month. Very similar reading experience to a real book.

No sign of any advertising on the screensaver, the wi-fi must have to be enabled for this to happen.

Very handy option if you are traveling or know someone going to the US shortly, I had it delivered to my hotel with absolutely no hassle. Not bad for €67 in total.

vibe666

i used a US forwarding address to order a kindle fire and kindle touch off amazon.com and had no issues using an irish credit card to purchase it. i just got an email today to say my kindle fire has just shipped and i saw online that the first kindle touch orders have started shipping early.

if anyone is interested, i set up a US based address with www.viaddress.com and used that. 2-3 day shipping from the US to Ireland is about $33 for a 1lb package, $38 for a 2lb and $45 for a 3lb one.

you can consolidate multiple orders into one shipment and they will even repackage them to minimise on weight if you ask them to.

i'm not going to recommend them just yet since i haven't actually got my first order with them completed yet, but watch this space and i'll let you know next week (hopefully) how it goes with them.

barryd09

Nice!!
Ive seen people do this recently with a UK address company for items that customs here are pretty interested in lately (not-so-legit soccer jerseys)
How does it work with customs? There is a chance you could be hit for import duties using this method (or any method really while importing from the US)
How much including shipping were you charged for the kindle fire?
Id expect they will be more than a direct conversion of $199 when they get a european release?
Undercutting the ipad by a fairly large chunk will be great for the people wanting to get i to the tablet market without breaking the bank.
Are there only 7" versions of it?

Amalgam

Mr E wrote: »

Any idea how much? Anything off the 109/129/179 in PC World/Currys?

Ohh, I was in Ballybrack (South Dublin) last night. They had the 3G\Wifi\keyboard one for €195 and the new model without keyboard for €95\€99. (apologies, I forget which price)

vibe666

barryd09 wrote: »

Nice!!
Ive seen people do this recently with a UK address company for items that customs here are pretty interested in lately (not-so-legit soccer jerseys)
How does it work with customs? There is a chance you could be hit for import duties using this method (or any method really while importing from the US)

i've bought stuff several times from companies who do ship to ireland (thinkgeek.com and others) from the US before and i've always been hit by customs, so i don't expect to get away with it this time either.

barryd09 wrote: »

How much including shipping were you charged for the kindle fire?
Id expect they will be more than a direct conversion of $199 when they get a european release?

Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi
Item Subtotal: $199.00
Shipping and Handling: $18.98
Shipment Total: $217.98 (EUR 164,23)
Paid by Mastercard: $217.98 (EUR 164,23)

i'm guestimating, but i'd be expecting a UK price of £149 when it eventually comes out, based on the price of the new *regular* kindle @ $109 (£69) in the US with £89 in the UK.

barryd09 wrote: »

Undercutting the ipad by a fairly large chunk will be great for the people wanting to get i to the tablet market without breaking the bank.
Are there only 7" versions of it?

only 7" ones for now and no news of anything bigger as far as i am aware.

Rockiemalt

terencemc wrote: »

Is there any problem using a US kindle in Ireland - e.g. buying books through amazon.co.uk with an amazon.com kindle...

I'm just wondering the same, if I get a US kindle will there be any problems using it over here, extra charges on wifi or 3G?

vibe666

no charges for transferring data, amazon whispernet (for the 3G enabled kindles) is free, worldwide almost anywhere that you can get a mobile signal on all the older kindle 3's (can't confirm if the same for kindle v4's).

wifi downloads are always free anyway, other than your regular broadband costs, regardless of where it was bought.

i.e. you can download any of the 4000+ free kindle ebooks totally free with no download charges at all.

the charger for it is a standard microUSB conneciton into a US 2 pin plug with a usb socket on it, but if you have a mobile phone or camera or any other usb powered electronics from the ladt year or two, it will have the same connection anyway.

barryd09

vibe666 wrote: »

i used a US forwarding address to order a kindle fire and kindle touch off amazon.com and had no issues using an irish credit card to purchase it. i just got an email today to say my kindle fire has just shipped and i saw online that the first kindle touch orders have started shipping early.

if anyone is interested, i set up a US based address with www.viaddress.com and used that. 2-3 day shipping from the US to Ireland is about $33 for a 1lb package, $38 for a 2lb and $45 for a 3lb one.

you can consolidate multiple orders into one shipment and they will even repackage them to minimise on weight if you ask them to.

i'm not going to recommend them just yet since i haven't actually got my first order with them completed yet, but watch this space and i'll let you know next week (hopefully) how it goes with them.

Has yours arrived yet? If so, how much in total did it cost you including the extra shipment?
May order one of these soon for xmas to be safe.
Are they alright for pdf files? Thats one of the main reasons my gf wants a tablet.

vibe666

barryd09 wrote: »

Has yours arrived yet? If so, how much in total did it cost you including the extra shipment?
May order one of these soon for xmas to be safe.
Are they alright for pdf files? Thats one of the main reasons my gf wants a tablet.

Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi
$199.00
Shipping and Handling: $18.98
Shipment Total: $217.98 (EUR 164,23)
Paid by Mastercard: $217.98 (EUR 164,23)

plus $38 to ship to ireland with www.viaddress.com.

you can choose the free supersaver shipping if you're not in too much of a hurry.

it would be here right now, but my wife wanted to order something else and i also ordered a kindle touch for my dad for xmas so i'm waiting for those to arrive at my viaddress and then it should only be a couple of days shipping here from there as they are at a major interrnational shipping hub in the US.

InTheTrees

No need to deal with having them delivered anywhere, you can buy them in Best Buy stores. Which are all over the country.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0500000%23%230%23%234lm~~cpcmcat209000050006%23%230%23%23px~~cpcmcat223300050025%23%230%23%234u~~nf397||416d617a6f6e&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&usc=abcat0500000

vibe666

all well and good for the jet setting crowd, but some of us have to make do with posting the go stuff over from the US.

InTheTrees

Oh right. Someone had mentioned going to the US and ordering one mail order and having it delivered to their hotel.

It used to be a problem with Amazon with the first Kindle because there was nowhere you could actually play with one and see what it felt like. Until Best Buy started stocking them.

vibe666

yeah, handy enough if you happen to be over there, but it doesn't look like the touch or fire will be in europe this side of xmas, so i've had to resort to drastic measures to avoid the wait.

JohnnyCarmello

Anyone gotten stung by VAT or import duty using VIAAddress to bring a kindle into the country?

vibe666

pretty much everyone will, regardless. customs will charge you for whatever the declared value is, based on the description and may open the package to confirm that what is declared on the package is actually what's in it, but *if* they don't open it they can only charge based on the declared value.

i imagine if you under-declare though, they'll probably stamp on you pretty hard, or possibly just make you pay the full whack before they will release it.

Luckycharms_74

vibe666 wrote: »

i used a US forwarding address to order a kindle fire and kindle touch off amazon.com and had no issues using an irish credit card to purchase it. i just got an email today to say my kindle fire has just shipped and i saw online that the first kindle touch orders have started shipping early.

if anyone is interested, i set up a US based address with www.viaddress.com and used that. 2-3 day shipping from the US to Ireland is about $33 for a 1lb package, $38 for a 2lb and $45 for a 3lb one.

you can consolidate multiple orders into one shipment and they will even repackage them to minimise on weight if you ask them to.

i'm not going to recommend them just yet since i haven't actually got my first order with them completed yet, but watch this space and i'll let you know next week (hopefully) how it goes with them.

I was trying to set up a US phone number. The sites which viaddress list are not free.

"You can simply get a Free US Phone number with Free Voicemail
Phonebooth.com or Sipgate.com.
Or you can also obtain a low cost U.S. telephone number from Skype.com, vonage.com, Magicjack.com, or Evoice.com "
That's from their FAQ section.?

It seems some charge you $20 pm to use the service. How did you get your US number set up ??

vibe666

you don't need one, it's optional in the event you order stuff of someone who requires it.

it *may* also be required if you're ordering something to be delivered by the USPS, but i just opted for courier shipping on my orders as you also have to fill out some USPS form or another if you're getting stuff delivered by them.

it's not essential though and i never got one and haven't had any trouble with not having one.

the onyl problem i've had so far is that i'm moving house over the next 2 days and so i'd put in my new address for delivery when i asked them to send it on Tuesday night, thinking it would be a few days before it arrived and they already tried to deliver it this morning but i'm not even there yet.

Luckycharms_74

vibe666 wrote: »

you don't need one, it's optional in the event you order stuff of someone who requires it.

it *may* also be required if you're ordering something to be delivered by the USPS, but i just opted for courier shipping on my orders as you also have to fill out some USPS form or another if you're getting stuff delivered by them.

it's not essential though and i never got one and haven't had any trouble with not having one.

the onyl problem i've had so far is that i'm moving house over the next 2 days and so i'd put in my new address for delivery when i asked them to send it on Tuesday night, thinking it would be a few days before it arrived and they already tried to deliver it this morning but i'm not even there yet.

It won't leave me create an account on Viaddress without the phone number

vibe666

i only registered a few weeks ago, not sure why that would be.

did you try using your irish number?

might be worth contacting their customer services people, they were very helpful sorting me out with the repackaging and stuff.

Luckycharms_74

vibe666 wrote: »

i only registered a few weeks ago, not sure why that would be.

did you try using your irish number?

might be worth contacting their customer services people, they were very helpful sorting me out with the repackaging and stuff.

I got registered on Viaddress. I now have to set up a US online number. Which company did you use ?. I was looking at Skype (3 months for €17.50)

blastman

Guys, a friend is going to New York on Wednesday for five days and I've asked them about getting me a Kindle Touch (or Fire, still haven't made up my mind for sure yet!). Would it be delivered to the hotel in time if I ordered today or tomorrow, or would they be better going to BestBuy to get it?

vibe666

Luckycharms_74 wrote: »

I got registered on Viaddress. I now have to set up a US online number. Which company did you use ?. I was looking at Skype (3 months for €17.50)

they never asked me to set one up, so i never did.

InTheTrees

blastman wrote: »

Guys, a friend is going to New York on Wednesday for five days and I've asked them about getting me a Kindle Touch (or Fire, still haven't made up my mind for sure yet!). Would it be delivered to the hotel in time if I ordered today or tomorrow, or would they be better going to BestBuy to get it?

Amazon will do overnight delivery (for a price) so you still have time.

It might be more convenient to have it delivered just so your friend doesnt have to go to a best buy.

If you live in the US i'd get it from Best Buy just because they have a good exchange and warranty and you can take it back to the shop if its no good or breaks.

But if its just for convenience and you're taking it out of the country then I dont think it matters.

blastman

Thanks, ordered a Touch Wi-Fi with offers and two-day delivery to make sure it gets there in time, total cost just under €94, so happy with that.

I went for the Wi-Fi only because you can only access Wikipedia and Amazon over 3G on the Touch, so I figured it wasn't worth the extra getting the 3G model. The offers I can ignore easily enough (not even sure they'll work too well as Wi-Fi will be off 99% of the time).