# Is the Amazon Kindle available in Dubai?



## zin

If so, has anyone seen it anywhere?


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## Jynxgirl

The 3G works here in the uae. If you have access to wifi on a regular basis not that big of a deal to get the 3g version. 

I think they are being sold here but like double the price if you can find them. Suggest to get it from amazon and do the shop to ship or one of those services.


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## zin

Thanks Jynx. It's a birthday gift, do you think 1 week is enough time with shop and ship thing or shall I just go find it in a shop here?


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## Jynxgirl

You can pay out the ying yang to have it shipped fast I guess. ??? That I dont know.


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## indoMLA

zin said:


> If so, has anyone seen it anywhere?


1. No, I have not but.... LINK

2. Amazon does ship to the UAE... the countries and the rates are noted here.... LINK
And here is another LINK for other information for Amazon

I would hit up Amazon customer support via chat and inquire to them directly. You might be able to process the order through them as well. 

Good Luck.


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## ash_ak

zin said:


> If so, has anyone seen it anywhere?


I saw it sold at the Virgin store in Deira City Centre, was pricey though, twice the US price if i remember correctly.


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## zin

indo my question was more around whether anyone has seen it in a shop so I can go and buy it, more of a forum query than a google one I'm sure you can appreciate - the irony of the google results pointing to other dubai forums I'm sure is not lost on you. 

I've ended up ordering from amazon anyway and using aramex shop and ship.


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## zin

ash_ak said:


> I saw it sold at the Virgin store in Deira City Centre, was pricey though, twice the US price if i remember correctly.


thanks ash, I may pop down there just to see how much I've saved!


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## ccr

Kindles are sold in Sharaf for ~50% more than directly from Amazon (i.e. 1000 AED for 3G version which is ~$270 versus $170).

Not sure of the shipping and import duties, but might work out similar.


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## GlabrousD

zin said:


> using aramex shop and ship.


Watch out they'll screw you for an extra % on the duty.


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## aosman766

I found a guy on dubizzle that selling the new Amazon Kindles for ~25% more than the US prices, which seems fair. A quick search should pull them up.

Another thing: I'm not sure Amazon ships the Kindles to the UAE. Can anyone confirm?


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## BedouGirl

Sharaf has them.


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## claredoc

Amazon does not ship to UAE. I tried and they wouldn't do it


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## aosman766

claredoc said:


> Amazon does not ship to UAE. I tried and they wouldn't do it


Ya that's what I figured. Couldn't find these new kindles anywhere else :ranger:

Thanks!


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## zin

GlabrousD said:


> Watch out they'll screw you for an extra % on the duty.


100 dirhams.


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## Barbalee

I'm not sure about the Kindle, but I brought my BN Nook with me from the US only to find that I can't buy any books from the UAE though I attempted to use my US bank account :-(!


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## ccr

Barbalee said:


> I'm not sure about the Kindle, but I brought my BN Nook with me from the US only to find that I can't buy any books from the UAE though I attempted to use my US bank account :-(!


Kindle works fine here.


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## Ogri750

Amazon does ship to the UAE. We have bought numerous things from it, and also had others send us gifts from Amazon to here


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## zin

Amazon does ship but I don't think they ship electronics. I could be mistaken.


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## Gavtek

zin said:


> Amazon does ship but I don't think they ship electronics. I could be mistaken.


Yep, I placed a big order a few weeks ago, the only thing they would ship was the books. Not even kitchen utensils.


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## wazza2222

*Yep*

+1 

I think it might be a situation where they won't ship where local suppliers have a monopoly with the producer/wholesaler. 



Gavtek said:


> Yep, I placed a big order a few weeks ago, the only thing they would ship was the books. Not even kitchen utensils.


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## zin

With Xmas coming up I noticed the Kindle (I don't believe it was the 3G) for about 800 AED and the Kindle Fire for 999 AED in Virgin Megastore. 

The cost of the normal Kindle on amazon.com is $110 + tax and the Kindle Fire is $200 + tax so there's about $70-$100 difference from online (dont think tax is that high), keeping in mind it would cost around $30 to ship it over using Aramex shop and ship you'll be paying essentially anything between 100 to 300 dirhams more here.

I'm a little confused as to how the Kindle is available here even though the amazon website clearly states there are no books available for the UAE. More so the Kindle Fire which is only available in the U.S. at this moment in time.


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## aosman766

Just an FYI – you can get Kindles from souq.com for cheaper than you can get them at Virgin:

Kindle Fire for 900 aed – Brand-New Amazon Kindle Fire - 7" Multi Touch Display - Available Immediately! Great Price, Fast Shipping - CYBER MONDAY PRE-SALE!| UAE Souq.com

Kindle Touch for 535 aed – Amazon Kindle Touch - Brand New, with Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - With Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers - Available Immediately!| UAE Souq.com

I bought a Kindle Touch last week from Dubizzle, and I have to say its pretty awesome.


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## Amal_44

I have a Kindle but when I go to download any e-books, it gives me a message "sorry only available within the US"... so is there another site for books?? I ended up getting a fake kindle that I was able to get a ton of books from though so far. I tried getting stuff from their Beauty category (just brushes, not even cosmetics) shipped and they wouldnt do that either.


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## claredoc

My friend just brought my kindle to me from uk and she registered it there but I just put in my details that I was in uk and I can purchase books fine! )


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## zin

claredoc are you using a UK credit card for book purchases or a UAE one?


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## claredoc

UAE cr card!!!


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## ccr

I don't believe the CC matters, it is the account origin.

For example, I am using an account created based on US address and CC, thus I could access everything anywhere without problem. If I were to add an UAE CC to this account, I don't think anything will change.

Now, if a new account is created based on UAE (or equivalent 3rd world country) "address", then some copyright issue might be in play and your book selections might be limited.

That's how I understand it based on using Kindles for many years in various countries.


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## Amal_44

My account and credit card were created and used in the US, I didnt even live here. I still have a US computer which I connect the Kindle to. But when I go to put them in my cart a pop up comes up and says I cant buy them and deletes them from the cart. this happens with most, but not all, because I have been able to download a few. I will try again but I am pretty sure it has to do with my IP address.


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## zin

Amal, we have a Kindle with a UK address and credit card, we are only using a UK card because Amazon told me on the phone that it does matter. Clearly not. I would check your amazon account kindle settings, there may be something in there which is set wrongly.

My only concern is whether the Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire which are currently US only will accept any other address other than a US one.


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## Sparkysair

There are many discussions on the Amazon website about this issue, specifically relating to UK expats who live in Spain but the principle is the same for any country. Basically you need to make sure your Amazon account and Kindle are set up correctly. If you want to use amazon.co.uk:

1) Register a UK credit or debit card
2) Register a UK postal address
3) Set up one-click purchasing
4) In 'Manage Your Kindle' make sure that you have your current country set to UK

If you have everything set up like this you won't have any problems


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## ccr

Amal_44 said:


> My account and credit card were created and used in the US, I didnt even live here. I still have a US computer which I connect the Kindle to. But when I go to put them in my cart a pop up comes up and says I cant buy them and deletes them from the cart. this happens with most, but not all, because I have been able to download a few. I will try again but I am pretty sure it has to do with my IP address.


Based on your post above this one, you were trying to buy eBooks that Amazon rejected. Correct ?

PM me the name & author of the book(s) and I will try with my account - to check for you if it is IP or settings.

Again, I have purchased hundreds of books from outside of US in the last years without ever had any problem.


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## Amal_44

ccr said:


> Based on your post above this one, you were trying to buy eBooks that Amazon rejected. Correct ?
> 
> PM me the name & author of the book(s) and I will try with my account - to check for you if it is IP or settings.
> 
> Again, I have purchased hundreds of books from outside of US in the last years without ever had any problem.


will do, thanks very much!


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## zin

Sparkysair said:


> There are many discussions on the Amazon website about this issue, specifically relating to UK expats who live in Spain but the principle is the same for any country. Basically you need to make sure your Amazon account and Kindle are set up correctly. If you want to use amazon.co.uk:
> 
> 1) Register a UK credit or debit card
> 2) Register a UK postal address
> 3) Set up one-click purchasing
> 4) In 'Manage Your Kindle' make sure that you have your current country set to UK
> 
> If you have everything set up like this you won't have any problems


This doesn't explain how Virgin Megastore in the UAE are able to sell the Kindle as well as the Kindle Fire (which is U.S. only according to Amazon.com) here.


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## Jynxgirl

Is anyone a prime member (I am so woulndt be an added cost) and actually able to stream all the tv and movies direct from their normal router/wifi/internet who has the fire in hand??? I have to turn on the work around to make it look like I am in the usa at this point, and do so on my laptop and use an hdmi cable to my tv at this point. Hoping the fire just magically works.  I know, optimistic. But Fire has no port out to a tv is my understanding   Why didn't they include this, even if would of been ten bucks more would be worlds better especially with their amazon prime available catalogs??? UGGHHHH. 

Anyhow... I have come to the conclusion that I am going to have to buy a new vpn included router to use either the fire or my playbook for any type of normal streaming from the major sites I use (Hulu, Direct tv, etc). But curious if anyone is able to stream from the Fre in the uae direct from amazon with their prime account on their normal router? And any work around to stream it to their tv?


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## Mr Rossi

My wife got me the new Kindle Fire from Virgin Megastore here in the UAE for Christmas. She was sold by the assistant on the fact that it's an android tablet as well as a traditional content reader.

What Virgin are (obviously) not telling you is that this thing is locked into purchasing content from Amazon ie you have to use Amazon app store rather than the traditional Android market place. It's understandable, apparently Amazon are making these at a loss and intend to recoup/profit from selling content.

Here's the double whammy though - Amazon app store is not available in this region rendering the bulk of this 1000 AED machine useless. I wouldn't mind so much if it was some grey import job for a local store but it's little more than a scam from Virgin. I'm getting by with work arounds and side loading but can't help feel sorry for the less technically minded out there. In half a mind to try take it back myself, though I can imagine that would be a long fight.

Anyway be warned if you fancy one of these and it'll be the last dirham I ever spend in Virgin.


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## Jynxgirl

Thanks for that Rossi. That was the feedback (and what I figured was the case) I was looking for.


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