So far as I'm aware, you can only buy Kindle books from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk - they simply aren't sold on other amazon sites. If you have a UK address, you should buy your kindle and kindle books from the .co.uk site. (You would proably have to have the Kindle sent to the UK address and then get it forwarded to you in India.)

Once you have an account on that site, with a UK address, you should have no problem in buying Kindle books from there, whereever you are in the world. If you don't have any reliable wireless access on 3G or wi-fi then yes, you can download to your PC and transfer by usb.

If you're surfing the store without being logged into a UK account Amazon will automatically assume you're not in the UK from your IP address and that's why it keeps telling you you need to use the Indian site.

It's confusing I know, but I hope that helps to clarify.

 

Here's how it worked for me. I live in the UK but up until recently, the UK Amazon store did not supply ebooks, you had to go to the US store and then it would tell you what ebooks were available for UK customers (even though you paid in US dollars...). But the supply of ebooks for UK residents was terribly small, only about 1/4 of my to-read list was available (now it's about 3/4 since they recently expanded it). So I switched my Kindle account to a US address (I am actually American so I used my parents address) - but after purchasing a few books, Amazon said they noticed (by my IP address, I assume) that I'm in the UK and blocked me from buying any more ebooks until I proved that I live in the US. Fortunately, since I'm American I had a US ID that they accepted but that's probably not the case for most people. Hopefully, I haven't just ratted myself out, lol.

If the Indian Amazon store doesn't supply ebooks, you'll have to use either the .com or .co.uk store - not sure which. If you use your Indian address, it will only allow you to buy books available for Indian residents and if it's anything like the UK store was, it won't be much. You can try to use a UK address but like I say, you will have to provide them with some kind of ID that proves you're a UK resident.

What frustrates me the most though is the fact that a UK resident can order a paperback book from the US store and have it imported/shipped to the UK. So why am I not allowed to basically do the same with an ebook? All we can do is hope that Amazon become more worldly - they have just recently expanded the UK ebook store (and made it available on the actual UK site to purchase in £ instead of $) so that's a good start but if they did it right to begin with, people wouldn't have to resort to these measures to get around the red tape.

 

It seems it is not a straightforward solution, what if i bought the 3G International version?, the whole point with that is so you can travel abroad , (admittedly i don't get good coverage here)  or does Amazon only permit 'short' overseas visits only and anything that goes beyond what they consider a reasonable time overseas means they will suspend your account unless or until you can provide proof of residency in the UK (in my case).  It seems a bit harsh of them and also a bit short sighted, how do people who don't live in the US and UK manage if they want to own a Kindle?

Well i guess i will have to decide whether it is worth buying now as, although i have my bank account registered at a UK address not sure this will be accepted as proof of residency and i do spend most of the year here in India.

Thanks guys for the advice...

 

It seems it is not a straightforward solution, what if i bought the 3G International version?, the whole point with that is so you can travel abroad , (admittedly i don't get good coverage here) or does Amazon only permit 'short' overseas visits only and anything that goes beyond what they consider a reasonable time overseas means they will suspend your account unless or until you can provide proof of residency in the UK (in my case). It seems a bit harsh of them and also a bit short sighted, how do people who don't live in the US and UK manage if they want to own a Kindle?

Well i guess i will have to decide whether it is worth buying now as, although i have my bank account registered at a UK address not sure this will be accepted as proof of residency and i do spend most of the year here in India.

Thanks guys for the advice...

I don't know if the Kindle device itself will make a difference - I think they know your location by your IP address. They do allow you to buy a few books before prompting you for proof of residence but I guess after buying X amount of books in the same overseas country, they start to suspect you actually live there and aren't just travelling. It's a shame Amazon are so US-centric.

 

Just out of curiosity i wrote to Amazon (UK) directly and this is their (very prompt) response,

You are not reliant on 3G wireless connectivity to download content to your Kindle. If you have access to a wireless hotspot, you can also use the Wi-Fi. Alternatively, you can simply download the content to your PC, and transfer manually to your device via a USB connection.

In relation to content restrictions, if your billing address is in the UK, then yes, you will be able to purchase content from Amazon.co.uk as a UK customer, regardless of your location worldwide.

Seems they will now allow you to make downloads overseas, admittedly they haven't said if there is a restriction on the number of times you can do this in any given period but it sounds promising.

 

Maybe UK publishers aren't as bothered about it as US publishers? Because I always assumed the publishers were probably putting pressure on Amazon to police that issue.

Have you tried setting up a UK account and buying something to read on Kindle for the PC/Mac? That way, if they give you a hard time, you won't have wasted your money on a Kindle but if they don't, you can go ahead and buy one.

 

what is the definition of living by their licensing/ terms of use? if they don't specifically state the amount of days then by all means, tell them that you are on extended and well deserved/needed 10 year vacation in India.

 

Just to clarify matters i wrote to Amazon again asking if there was a limit to the amount of downloads you can make overseas and here is what they said

Currently, there is no limit to the amount of Kindle books that you can purchase and download while you are overseas.

Firstly, please ensure that your Kindle account is set up with a UK billing address. Once this is set, you should not encounter further problems.


So i guess that means it is ok to have an Amazon UK account (so long as the billing address is in the UK) but make as many downloads from overseas as you like.
Not sure why it differs in the US, maybe they have reviewed their policy now.

Thanks