Looking to get your hands on an Amazon Kindle when it becomes available internationally next week? You might want to hold off for a while. You see, whoever is in charge of launching the device worldwide has messed up – big time.
Not only will many international customers pay significantly more for their books but the Kindle itself will be lacking much of the functionality that makes it such a hit in the US.
More expensive:
Despite Amazon’s initial claims that international customers would pay no more than their American counterparts it appears that’s not the case at all. As Bobbie Johnson wrote for The Guardian last week:
“An Amazon.co.uk spokesman revealed that customers in the EU – including those in Britain – would be paying $13.99 (£8.75) for new releases and bestsellers, instead of the American price of $9.99 (£6.25). That amounts to a 40% premium for the same title. Prices in other countries will also vary.”
The reason for this is that international Kindles won’t be connected to local online stores for purchases. Instead they will be connected to AT&T’s US network and the US Kindle Store via roaming deals with local mobile network operators.
[Update: As a comment below points out, part of the price increase on books is down to sales taxes but as The Guardian's Bobbie Johnson points out in his own comment below, that far from explains the price hike in full.]
Missing features:
Because the Kindle is always connected to Amazon’s Whispernet system, US owners get blog subscriptions and a web browser thrown into their devices. These features add to the overall value of the device. While it only has a monochrome screen, there’s no doubting the convenience of having access to RSS feeds and web pages on an e-reader.
Outside the US these features are conspicuous by their absence. As Charlie Sorrel at Wired notes, this is once again down to the fact that international Kindles are connecting to AT&T via local networks, clocking up substantial roaming charges for Amazon:
“Hidden in the features section of the product page is this line: “Amazon pays for Kindle’s wireless connectivity so you won’t see a monthly wireless bill.” We suspect that AT&T is passing on some hefty roaming charges to Amazon, even for those people who will be living and using their Kindles in the same country they buy them in.
“It’s possible that Amazon will, once the Kindle is actually on sale internationally, start to negotiate with local cell providers, but that’s just a (wishful) guess.”
American devices, American plugs:
Believe it or not, wherever in the world you order your Kindle from it will be shipped from the USA – with a US plug. This isn’t an international launch so much as the chance to buy an American Kindle from anywhere in the world.
This will certainly reduce Amazon’s costs and allow for a ‘big bang’ roll-out but without attention to local details international customers could justifiably feel like second class citizens. Giving some of your customers a lame deal while others get the “first class” treatment is no way to inspire loyalty.
Will the situation get better?
As it stands, we’re looking at a mess of situation; books will be more expensive and features will be missing. Will we ever see international customers get a complete Kindle experience with locally-priced books?
This is likely to depend on whether Amazon can strike local connectivity deals. It’s certainly in Amazon’s interests to do this. Connecting to AT&T from all around the world is likely to cost Amazon a significant sum, while the bad press it is already receiving over missing features and overpriced books is likely to put some potential buyers off shelling out for a Kindle.
Throw in increasingly enticing competition from companies like Barnes & Noble, whose own e-reader is turning heads, and the importance of Amazon sorting out this mess as soon as possible becomes even more apparent.
The Kindle is a beautifully seamless e-reading experience in the USA. Until Amazon can match that across the rest of the world it might be worth avoiding it.
Wow – what a disappointment :( After waiting for it for a while I was really ready to buy one and not go for the Sony Reader – now this ‘fake’ international roll-out leaves me doubting..
In Japan, not such a mess as stated. U.S. plugs work fine here. We will have the browser enabled (as in Hong Kong and Mexico). Finally, buying Kindle editions from the U.S. store is a huge advantage for us here vice buying from the local outfit. Forex rates (the dollar is fading fast) all but eliminate higher prices on some books. True about the blogs. But why on earth would I pay for a blog?
LOL we should call it the ‘Amazon Swindle’ !!!
Just wait for the mythical iPad from Apple.
And MS is coming with its funky looking dual screen booklet device: ‘The Courier’.
Hell, Asus has also said that they are creating a dual screen reader thingy.
And knowing Asus, it will be cheap!
So, why would you want this shitty black & white Amazon Swindle device anyway?
I just checked the amazon website and it’s not available in Korea where I live.
For the errors in Bobbie Johnson’s much-distributed article, see Amazon’s own UK product page.
The actual prices are $11.99 – *TO* $13.99
and the price *INCLUDES* the government Value-Added Tax (VAT) which is about 15-17% with the January 2010 increase.
U.S. prices are $9.99 unless otherwise marked and they are otherwise marked more often than liked.
So the whole premise is off.
It’s true that the Kindle’s experimental web browser will not be activated in Europe so far, while it is going to be activated in Japan, Hong Kong, and Mexico, where wireless is not as expensive as it is known to be in the UK and in the rest of Europe.
As U.S. customer I do use the web browser and the very slow browser is worth quite a bit for me, but I’ve found that most don’t use it. Probably a good third do though, from polls I’ve seen.
But that book pricing? Totally off.
Subscriptions will be fairly expensive though.
For details and links to the sources, you can see
http://bit.ly/kipricing
– Andrys
Well, not such a rip off for those living in HK. I moved here some years ago from London and I have felt totally ripped off and deprived when going into bookstores in HK. Some bestsellers can be sold at 3 times the retail price in the UK and US.
Bookstores here have very limited titles and is not at all catered for a book lover. The Kindle will be an amazing addition to my life!
In response to Andrys (I’m the one who wrote the story you’re claiming is inaccurate).
I said that new releases and best-sellers will be charged at $13.99, versus $9.99. Not all books. $11.99 is the low water mark for books in the EU; American Kindle store books go lower than $9.99 – I was trying to compare oranges with oranges.
And yes, it includes VAT on ebooks, which is levied in EU states. But that accounts for less than half of the $4 hike.
Note: Amazon contacted me to object to the fact that we said there was a “substantial” increase on all foreign sales – despite the fact EVERY country is seeing at least a 20% increase (let’s ignore forex rates, we all know how they can fluctuate).
These could all be sorted out by local stores, of course, but the company has not said that prices would go down as a result of that happening.
Martin, thanks for taking other info into consideration. It was not just the VAT at all – it was that the price of $13.99 (top of a $11.99 to $13.99 range given) was compared to $9.99 and up price in the U.S.) and the situation is pretty complex with known wireless costs in Europe. But you can see the details in my note to B. Johnson.
I think everyone should take time to ask why iRex and Plastic Logic have not made wireless agreements in Europe when they are European companies. Instead, exaggerations have been made with regard to the book-pricings by Amazon in Europe. There is already enough to be less than happy about in that wireless access IS expensive enough in Europe that Amazon can’t offer web-browsing there while they can in Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, and the U.S.
And, as I mentioned in my reply to Bobbie Johnson, periodical subscription prices are more than twice as much for Europe. I am guessing, without knowing, that it may be that subscription downloads are daily and therefore definitely more costly than one-time book downloads, but that is just not an attractive situation for Europeans.
Amazon has online stores in the UK and in Germany and maybe they will eventually have their own servers for all this. But I wouldn’t count on it. The competition in e-readers is intense right now and they all seem to be somewhat rushing to market. The iRex DR800Sg will debut online access in the U.S. (at Barnes and Noble and at NewspaperDirect online) without editing or study tools ready for what is a serious reader at $400. And without a free 24/7 web browser in the U.S.
However, they will have much better file format flexibility than Amazon.
– Andrys
VAT in most EU countries is actually around the 20% mark. UK has lowest rate at the moment (along with Luxembourg) so if VAT is at 20% and there is a 20% increase in costs doesn’t this all even out? Also economies of scale would dictate that running this in the EU will be more expensive than the US? This would explain any additional fees I assume. Am I missing something?
Forgetting the Kindle for a second, why does the EU apply VAT to Ebooks at the full rate. Most EU countries have a reduced rate (UK no VAT). Shouldn’t the EU be encouraging E books purely from an environmental perspective?
I am in the UK – have been very interested in getting a Kindle as Amazon have a huge catalogue of Kindle editions. However, most of the books I have been looking at come up as “Kindle edition not available in the UK for copyright reasons”. That and the higher prices for Kindle editions seem to make it not worth bothering about at the moment.
It seems to me that everyone’s complaints should be targeted toward your government officials for charging such a ridiculously high tax on something that doesn’t even really exist.
And Amazon stated that they were working toward setting up the Amazon UK website for the Kindle.
To Bobbie Johnson
Am correcting a sentence above to
“11.99 is not the “low water mark” in the EU.”
I wrote that too quickly :-)
– Andrys
AT&T ! GIVE ME A BREAK ! WHEW !
Features sounded great – including text to speech feature – but the less I have to do with AT&T the better. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER .
AT&T is one of the worst ( if not the worst ) run companies I have ever dealt with. What a shame ! KINDLE FEATURES SOUND GOOD THOUGH.
It is virtually impossible to get a hold of a fully non-automated human being at AT&T without wasting hours of time with mindless automation.
I am personally excited about the interntional Kindle. I travel overseas a lot, and I look forward to being able to download more books as well as possible emergency travel guides/info while abroad. None of the other ereaders can do that. The fact that I get to use it with a web browser in the US is an added bonus (since the real deal is the books!). Again, that is not an application on other ereaders! Even the nook with the heralded Wifi does not offer that in the US.
I do agree that I would like to use the web application overseas as well, but I understand the costs that are prob in the way. Look at any other internet/phone server – you can’t just use it in another country without added fees if it is even possible at all. I also see your point about the higher book prices, but again I do not think it unreasonable or as much of a problem as you do. The Kindle is in new territory here, and has a lot of taxes and red tape to get through.
I think people should give the Kindle some slack, and rejoice for this new cool technology which is becoming more available around the world. I can’t wait to download my first book overseas when I can’t find an English copy at the local bookstore. Thanks!
I would also like to note that a truely international Kindle should be made available as well to service more fully people not living in the US. It should offer books in different languages to fit the readers home country. I see this current Kindle serving US residents that travel abroad like me, as well as people that want to download books in English living in other countries that don’t have access to those books. Since these are American companies, it is natural for them to be focused on the emerging market here before expanding their intentions further. I don’t presume to know the individual motivations of the companies involved, but I m just saying I understand some possible reasons for the lag. Thanks again!
Kindle 2 International Version was released past October and Kindle DX International Version was released on January, 19. What Kindle do you prefer?
Source: eReaders Blog.
Hi Andrys, thanks for the comment. Regarding UK book prices, even 17% VAT doesn’t account for all of a rise in base price from $9.99 to $11.99, let alone $13.99. None of this confusion would have occurred if Amazon had gone for local stores in each territory. It’s had enough time to sort this out. The Kindle’s international launch is still a mess. I will however note your point about sales tax when I update the post shortly.
Also Andrys, check Bobbie Johnson’s comment below.
Thanks for the comment Bobbie. Let’s hope Amazon can sort this mess out – eventually.
Bobbie,
Thanks for replying. I just think you wrote that article too quickly without looking at the product page for the information everyone is getting already.
The simple facts are that new releases and best-sellers per Amazon’s own product page are not “at $13.99″ as you have put it but $11.99 -TO- $13.99.
That’s simply put, by them. $9.99 is not the “low water mark” in the EU – it says on the same product page that some books are as low as $5.99.
Here’s the actual quote from the product page, which has not changed since the announcement was made (and the Amazon rep said to you that European prices were ‘higher’ yes, but he was not quoted as saying 40% higher — that was your own calculation and your headline — which has made the rounds now.
Product page: “New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases are $11.99 to $13.99 (prices include VAT), unless marked otherwise. You’ll also find many books for less – over 70,000 titles are priced under $5.99.”
Your headline said ’40%’ higher. That was just sensationalism, and I agree that anyone should compare oranges to oranges, which was my point.
The U.S. bestsellers and some new releases are $9.99 to start but can go higher and certainly do and, as with the UK, there are books that will cost less.
Subscriptions are where prices ARE substantially higher in the UK ! $22 for “The Times” subscription vs $10 in the U.S. A customer sent me the product page for that, at my request as subscription prices are shown for only the country you register with Amazon as residence. I’d love to know why the difference is so large for subscriptions – possibly because of the daily wireless costs as opposed to the one-time download of a book, but that’s only my guess.
With regard to books — when U.S. customers go TO Europe and download a book to their Kindles, they’ll pay a $2 fee for that download (though they can download to their laptops/pc’s instead for no fee and transfer the book to their Kindles).
If someone from Europe goes to the U.S. and downloads a book while there, there’ll be no added fee for that. The wireless pricing is apparently just higher in Europe.
As for the VAT-$ not accounting for the entire $2 difference, it shouldn’t.
There are also higher wireless charges for Amazon in Europe by all accounts. This is just true in general for Europe vs American right now.
If Sony, iRex, or Plastic Logic, once they get going with wireless access in Europe, do find a way to charge less, then Amazon will have to adjust. But it’s obviously not easy to do. iRex and Plastic Logic are European companies and they haven’t set any wireless deals yet where they are.
The first try for these two European companies will be in the U.S., with Barnes and Noble.
Sony, iRex, and Plastic Logic won’t even start to offer web-browsing or general direct Net access ANYwhere. From the feedback here it seems that the (actual) $-differences are more troublesome for some in Europe than ‘internationally’ because some customers in Asian countries appear to be looking forward to the access. Beware, guys, the web-browsing is slow, but there are ways to make it faster.
I just think people should rely on better basic numbers when looking at this situation and writing headlines, for the reasons I’ve given.
– Andrys