BUT, there’s A SOLUTION!
- Amazon doesn’t ship Kindle out of the US. Therefore you must register with Vpost first. With Vpost, you can buy products from countries like, US, Europe and Japan.
- Go to Amazon.com, log into or create an account if you do not already have one. Buy the Kindle 2/DX and have Amazon shipped it to your Vpost (USA) **address. I will skip the rest of the procedures between you and Vpost as you can find them at their site.
- Once you receive your Kindle 2 in Singapore, the fun begins!
- Log into your Amazon.com account and buy a Gift Certificate and email the code to yourself.
- You should be able to receive the gift certificate code in your email in a matter of minutes.
- Copy and paste and apply the code to your Amazon account.
- Delete ALL you existing credit card information. Reason being that when you buy a Kindle book, the system will check this information and when it recognises that your credit card is not issused by a US bank, the purchases won’t go through.
- Drum rolls please…..
- Congratulations! You should now be able to buy books for your Kindle 2. Just ensure that the gift certificate has enough credit for what you are purchasing.
- To download your purchased books and sync to your Kindle via USB, go to ‘My Account’, scroll down to ‘Digital Content’ and click on the ‘Manage Your Kindle‘ link.
- Scroll down until you see, ‘Your Orders’. You should be able to see all your purchases. And on the right, there is an drop down menu that says, “Deliver too…”.
- And in that menu, choose the option that says, “Transfer via computer…” or something to that effect.
- Connect your Kindle via USB and drop the newly purchased book(s) into your Documents directory of your Kindle and HAVE FUN READING!
- Hope the above instructions help. If you run into any problems, feel free to ask me via this blog.
*Updated on 2 Jul 09: Thank God, I finally found the original blog where I learned this trick from. Credit must go to NerdGirl! I just tweaked it to people here living in Singapore. 
WARNING! (dtd 10 Jul 09): DO NOT use IE 8 to purchase your Kindle books. A reader, David, had problem purchasing his Kindle books, even with the gift voucher. Until he changed to Google Chrome, the problem was solved!
Update: 10 Jul 09: PDF Conversion: If you want to read pdf books, no problem! Just send your pdf book to yourusername@free.kindle.com. And in a few minutes time, an. azw (Kindle) version will be sent back to you. There’s no need to add Subject or Body heading. But remember the word, “free.” must be added in front of “kindle.com”. Therefore, it should be @free.kindle.com, not @kindle.com.
**Update: 11 Dec 09: Spoke with a Singpost staff and asked her especially with regards to the Amazon Kindle. She told me to ship it to Portland Oregon address instead of the Compton California’s. Reason being Compton is very strict with battery stuff. I’d suspect it’s the state of California that is strict, not Compton itself. So, just ship to the Portland Oregon address.
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Charles, yes it works. I bought 4 books yesterday. FYI, I am using a free VPN service online. Just do a search. Speed is ok – you have to live with the adverts
Thanks Daphne for your sharing, i not yet try using vpn as i am using a usa cc. i suspect when using usa cc, they dont check on ip address but when u start using gift cards then it will hunt for your ip location.
I hope this vpn solution stays on but it sure will increase the cost of buying books from amazon.
I hope spore can bring in amazon kindle 2 soon and have it working in our 3G Mobile networks.
I just went back to MonkeyVPN (http://www.monkeyvpn.com/?gclid=CMmQnKzfo50CFdMtpAodt3xfCg) to take a look and realised that they are the ones who offer the 1-day (24 hrs) subscription for $1.49. It’ll probably make more sense for us since we won’t be purchasing books everyday. I’ll most probably cancel the 1-month subscription and use the 1-day service.
Hi, I’ve just followed the advice of one post in Kindle Forum. I googled for US VPN and signed up on MonkeyVPN at $9.95 per month (1-day free trial). The service is easy to configure and no software installation required. Just tried to purchase Kindle books and it works now. Will be look for other VPN service that offers 1-day subscription / pay-per-use type, saw some which are going for $1.50 per day.
To alvin lim
Its great so now u able to buy with gift vouchers after u vpn to usa ?
Which vpn solution u using and how much it cost to use it ?
How many books u managed to buy now.
Many thanks to Charles and Caroline Wong from the amazon forums for hinting at the solution. The current block happens to those without an ‘instant click’ payment information in their account and uses gift cards for purchases. What amazon does is to check whether you have a valid ‘instant click’ payment info – if it is blank, it will then check your IP address for location. Workaround is as Charles suggested – do a google search for “VPN to the US”, install the software and run it before any amazon session.
Hey,
For those of you who’re still waiting for an answer, this post shows how you can get Kindle books via other means instead of just Amazon. Better copy and paste the information to your hard disk before Amazon removes the link. Here’s the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Million-Kindle-books-available-now/forum/FxBVKST06PWP9B/Tx15UAKRX5252A/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B000FI73MA
The last boo boo amazon created was deleting a user book remotely….and now they might have implemented this new boo boo….purchase restriction…
if this carries on, we all just switch to sony ebook reader and amazon can kiss their book revenue good bye
Yes! This is exactly what I’ve mentioned in my earlier comments. If Amazon were to restrict purchases outside of the US, those travelling US citizens living outside of the US would have problems too! They’d better resolve this issue before other e-book readers catch up on them.
From what i have read, this geographical restrictions error affects the US Kindle users too.
http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum/ref=cm_cd_ef_tft_tp?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx2J12TE27GL3ZT&displayType=tagsDetail
To Pui Shan
I suspect Amazon is tracking u via IP address of your PC, maybe u VPN to USA server and trying buying again.
I had created a new account with @gmail.com email address and registered my kindle to this new account. The geographical restrictions crap came up even though I entered a US address.
I bought 1 free book just now and 1 non-free yesterday. No problems…weird…
I downloaded 4 free e-books on Friday night with no problems. However, today I get the same “we’re sorry” message – I sincerely hope it’s not permanent and that a solution is found to this problem.
You know. It’s funny that Amazon should block purchases done outside of the US because there are US citizens who have US issued credit cards but are staying outside of US. If they were to do that, these US citizens living outside of US would be stuck.
Let’s see if either people here or at NerdGirls have come out with any solutions or not.
The saving grace is at least we still can read pdf files/books.
Hey,
Please check NerdGirl’s site latest comments. Someone bought some Kindle books around 24 hours ago. I guess they may have found the solution. I think one of them re-registered their Kindle as the one that was already registered was tied to a non-US issued credit card.
Please keep us posted if any of you guys found a solution. Thanks.
Here’s the link. http://www.nerdgirl.com/2009/03/20/amazon-kindle-outside-the-us/
Thanks Melvin.
Alvin,
looks like this is something new. I guess Amazon had made additional checks. I hope someone has something to share about overcoming this problem. My Kindle is brand new and I could not load a single book. : (
Hi, I’ve just got my Kindle for a few days. Even though my 1-Click option was turned off, the only available option to purchase the Kindle edition book was 1-Click. And when you click that, you are asked to enter a credit card and billing address. I used my local bank issued credit card number and entered the vpost US address. Wasn’t able to purchase the book as the “geographical restricted” message came up. I switched to a Singapore-issued AMEX card and the transaction went through and I was able to purchase and download several ebooks. That was 3 days ago. I just tried to purchase another Kindle book and I have the same “geographical restricted” message again. What went wrong?
Hello,
We’re facing the same problem too. We have three kindles (Dad, myself and my wife). All three of us have been buying kindle books using Melvin’s suggested method (Thanks a lot, Melvin!) for the past few months, and it’s worked fine. Today, we got exactly the same message as Alvin did. We just called Amazon and they said they would email us with their response. We’ll post the solution if we get one. Meanwhile, if anyone is facing the same problem or has a solution, please let us know. We’re going thru Kindle withdrawal right now
Been using the kindle 2 for a few months now using the gift voucher method without any issues. Today, it didn’t work. I can’t purchase any Kindle books – I get the message saying that it does not support my geography. Has Amazon put in additional checks on this?
Hi Bailey,
This is strange. Anyway, you can also check the comments at NerdGirl’s site. Some of them just bought some books less than 24 hours ago. They may have faced the same problem as you and may have a solution there. Here’s the link:
http://www.nerdgirl.com/2009/03/20/amazon-kindle-outside-the-us/
I’ve followed the instructions of geeting an e-card gift certificate and removed all credit card information and Singapore mailing address. But I still can’t buy any ebooks. I am so disappointed.
Hi Riona,
I cannot remember which address I used for the credit card. I suppose you can use either since as far as Amazon is concerned, the Kindle DX will not be shipped out of the US. It’s the buying of Kindle books, not Kindle itself that they require a US issued credit card.
Hi Melvin, the e-gift card was finally approved… phew!
So the next step is to order a Kindle DX and have it shipped via Vpost. I’ll need to insert the US shipping address given by Vpost, but do I also use this same US address as my credit card billing address or should I use my actual SG credit card billing address? Thanks for your help again!
Hey Riona,
I’m not sure about the rest. But your case hasn’t happened to me before. I think it should be okay. Because a gift card can, well, be gifted away. So regardless of the country where your issue card is issued, the purchase should still go through. By the way, make sure what you’ve bought was the e-version gift card and not the physical one.
Regards,
Melvin Neo
I tried using my SG credit card to test buy a US$100 gift card (using actual SG billing address) but received an email from Amazon telling me to fax in my credit card statement so that they could verify my address! Has this happened to anyone else before? I faxed to them yesterday and keeping my fingers crossed…
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the compliments.
Please see my answers to your questions below:
Have fun with your Kindle 2!
Hi bro. Just a click away from puchasing a refurbished Kindle 2 and was wondering a few things.
- Registering the Kindle on Amazon.com is possible in an account with no credit card info yes?
- Can we download the free books in the kindle store in Singapore too?
Great blog you have btw.
To Charles,
That’s great progress. Let us know if eventually they will deduct from our SG credit cards. I’ll test it as well and will ask them to release the subscription from pending status for me. Good job!
My magazine subscription pending for Newsweek and Times and Economist and i wanted Amazon to cancel them. But instead they enabled the subscriptions, so i decided to enjoy the trial subscriptions. Compared to SG printed copies…the monthly subscription is much cheaper.
To Meng : I signed up for Economist and i find the file super huge in MB.
Guys, the magazine subscription didn’t work. The status stayed at “Pending” for more than 2 weeks. I tried to cancel the subscription but did not succeed either. Now I have 2 magazine subscriptions that’s not working in my account. I subscribe to paper versions of Economist and New Yorker, I don’t mind paying the same amount for the Kindle version for the convenience, but too bad it would not work so now I am considering canceling my subscription and buy individual copies of New Yorker instead. Have you tried The Economist? Its analysis are succinct and top rate.
Charles, I’m still testing out my magazine subscription. I’m on the trial period now and will wait to see what happens later. I don’t really mind if it doesn’t work because I don’t need it to work… No I haven’t signed up for blogs.
To Meng @ September 11, 2009
I also faced the same problem, the magazine subscription queued for a while and i had to write in to Amazon to release the queue.
Took them 2 working days to come back to me.
I signed up for Business week, PC magazine and Technology Review.
overall i find Business week gives me the knowledge meat i desire…vs the other magazines
I am considering if i am to sign up for newsweek or times. Newsweek and times magazine contents is rather ……. not up to my reading pleasure.
To Jeffrey Yen of 4 Sept 2009
Thanks for sharing on your sun fading issue, i am still experiencing sun fading issue when i bring out the kindle under hot sun. But i wont read under extreme sun… I merely testing out the sun fading issue. Overall the kindle is serving me well as a book reader and a magazine reader.
Hey I am surprised u can sign up magazine subscription using Singapore credit card? I am now using my brother usa debit credit card till Jan to sign up for magazines. But i experienced technical issues on the signing up process. The magazines i signed up was pending forever… So i wrote into Amazon via email and they help me resolve it with 2 days.
I am curious to try using singapore credit card but i fear that will Amazon disable our kindle account once they know we are users from overseas and not from USA? This is something i am worried of so i did not dare explore the option.
Did u sign up for blogs?
Hey Daphne,
I believe the reason why 1-Click is still there is because you did not turn it off. To turn off the 1-Click, go to “Your Account” >> “Settings” >> “1 Click Settings”. And turn it on/off accordingly. Hope it helps.
If this doesn’t help, which I’m sure it would, just delete all your credit card information with Amazon. As for my account, my credit card information is still intact. It’s just that my 1-Click is turned off.
Regards,
Melvin Neo
I tried to follow the steps that you’ve mentioned here, but when I try to purchase a kindle book, it can only be purchased with 1-click – which must be tagged to a credit card account. Where can I choose to use the gift card? I’ve already applied the gift card to my account. Thanks.
Well, go over to the Kindleboards. We can set up a Singapore thread first…
Hey MingYao,
Congrats! I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading on your Kindle! Have fun.
Melvin:
thanks
U need not auth my previous post.The gift card was eventually approved and sent.Hey WenHui,
Yes. You still need to follow the steps to get the gift certificate. No. You don’t need a US-registered credit card or Vpost to do that. But if your Amazon account already has your credit card information with a non-US address, you have to delete those information. Reason being that when you buy a Kindle book, the system will check this information and when it recognises that your credit card is not issused by a US bank, the purchases won’t go through.
I think if you follow the steps outlined in this post, you should be able to get your Kindle books without must hassle.
Hi,
I’m thinking of getting a friend to buy me a Kindle 2 because she’s now in US, so I can save up on the Vpost steps. However, for dowloading the book files itself into the gadget, do I still need to follow the steps of purchasing a gift certificate? Do I need a US-registered credit card or Vpost to buy this gift cert? Kindly advise. Thanks!
Just plucking this out of thin air, could you have bought the ’snail mail’ version of the gift card instead? There are 3 versions: by email (5 mins response), ‘print at home’, and ’snail mail’.
Hi Melvin,
Thanks. Actually had emailed them earlier. Still waiting for a response
Think you replied faster than they do. ha ha ha
hi ming yao, you probabaly have to change yr billing address. It was the same case for me until i change my billing address to the vpost one assigned to me…=)
Hey MingYao,
I think you gotta email them and ask them why. Their response is usually quite prompt. And I feel that you don’t have to worry about them finding out anything because one can use a gift card to pay for anything that’s sold in Amazon – not necessarily to be Kindle books.
Hi Melvin,
I’ve been trying to purchase a gift card and to apply to myself but without any success. The status is “Not Sent Yet”
1. Used SG credit card
2. Used SG billing address
Tried it 2 days ago but the code does not get sent to me.
Any idea?
Jeffrey, I managed to subscribe successfully too but so far no content has been queued for download even though new issues are already out. I’ll keep the subscription there for another week and see if I can eventually get the content. I’ll report to this forum on the result of this “test” next week.
OK I think you’re right. I met with success (in the sense that they allowed the buying process to go through) when I first subscribe to a magazine. It seems to allow SG cards when getting the trial subscription. (I’m not sure whether the card will then be rejected after the trial period and they deduct funds after that because I didn’t try that out.)
But after I said I wanted to cancel the trial subscription, I couldn’t re-activate the subscription when I tried it. It will then ask for a card with a US billing address.
Jeffrey Yen,
Your discovery of using SG credit card to purchase magazine subscription is significant. Did you use a SG or US address associated with the credit card? I just tried with 3 SG credit cards with US address and they all didn’t work.
To Charles of August 13th,
I’ve experienced the fading issue as well in very very strong sunlight (sunbathing). By right, it shouldn’t happen but certain sets do exhibit it. It generally won’t fade, but when we turn the page and the screen refreshes in extremely bright light, the fading may occur. If you shield the screen when refreshing the screen, the problem is lessened somewhat. I don’t feel it’s a big deal myself but of course I think the newer devices such as DX don’t have the issue anymore from what I’ve read.
BTW, I just decided to use a Singapore credit card and buy a Kindle magazine subscription. Strangely enough, it works!
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