# amazon KINDLE



## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Has anyone bought a Kindle from Amazon.co.uk to use here in Portugal?

When ordering on Amazon they will not deliver to Portugal diverting you to the US site. Saying that the one from the UK may not work to it's full potential here in Portugal.

Don't want to order from the US as it will involve VAT & import duty !!


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## mayotom (Nov 8, 2008)

There would be import duty if you bring it from the uk too,

The reason is probably more to do with Portuguese customs been among the strictest in Europe, you will also find that most sellers on Ebay will not ship to Portugal for this reason


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

mayotom said:


> There would be import duty if you bring it from the uk too,
> 
> The reason is probably more to do with Portuguese customs been among the strictest in Europe, you will also find that most sellers on Ebay will not ship to Portugal for this reason



It is not a case of shipping from the UK...they are saying that it may not be compatible in Portugal . It is not just portugal they will not ship to due to non compatability but other european countries as well
there should be no duty to pay between the UK and Portugal as IVA has already been paid in the form of VAT in the UK

Regularly make purchases online from the UK with no problems at all from customs


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

siobhanwf said:


> It is not a case of shipping from the UK...they are saying that it may not be compatible in Portugal . It is not just portugal they will not ship to due to non compatability but other european countries as well
> there should be no duty to pay between the UK and Portugal as IVA has already been paid in the form of VAT in the UK
> 
> Regularly make purchases online from the UK with no problems at all from customs


There's no real issue of compatibility on the Kindle, but Amazon has their "Kindle department" set up the way it is set up and that's that. The Kindle itself and all e-books listed on the Amazon.co.uk website are only available to those resident in the UK and Ireland. Anyone else buying a Kindle or wishing to buy e-books for their Kindle has to go through the US website. (Pity, too, because the e-book prices on the UK website are usually considerably cheaper than the US site prices, though those are adjusted for the VAT for wherever you live. It may actually be the VAT issue that accounts for the current restrictions on the UK Kindle store.)

And, once you have the Kindle, the books may be subject to geographical restrictions established by the publishers. This is entirely out of Amazon's control. 

The e-book market is still very young and there are lots of issues they are still trying to resolve. There are also many more readers on the market than the Kindle. I have a Sony Reader (which I bought from Amazon.co.uk - or rather from one of their vendors). There are also e-readers by Kobo, Bookeen, and other manufacturers, each with different features and the usual advantages and disadvantages. There is, of course, a format issue (like the old VHS vs. Betamax thing) which limits you a bit to where you can buy your e-books once you have the reader.
Cheers,
Bev


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Bevdeforges said:


> There's no real issue of compatibility on the Kindle, but Amazon has their "Kindle department" set up the way it is set up and that's that. The Kindle itself and all e-books listed on the Amazon.co.uk website are only available to those resident in the UK and Ireland. Anyone else buying a Kindle or wishing to buy e-books for their Kindle has to go through the US website. (Pity, too, because the e-book prices on the UK website are usually considerably cheaper than the US site prices, though those are adjusted for the VAT for wherever you live. It may actually be the VAT issue that accounts for the current restrictions on the UK Kindle store.)
> 
> And, once you have the Kindle, the books may be subject to geographical restrictions established by the publishers. This is entirely out of Amazon's control.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all that Bev. Think I might wait a while until the whole thing stabilises.


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