We’re living in a global community but money-hungry international companies have imposed artificial barriers to inflate their profits.
I have N K Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy in paperback format for review; I’ve had it for a while but I’m juggling too many books so I haven’t read it yet. This weekend I’m going to Canberra by car; with a 6-hour drive ahead of me, I thought I’d buy the ebook version so I can read the Inheritance Trilogy on my kindle. (I can’t read my paper copies without magnification. Here’s a photo of my magnifier — too big for the car.)
So off I went to Amazon as you do.
In the US, Amazon charges $9.99 for the Inheritance Trilogy.
But Amazon won’t let me buy it for $9.99 because I live in Australia.
Instead, Amazon wants to charge me $16.99. Because I live in Melbourne, Australia, one of the most expensive cities in the world, to get disability access to books I already own, I have to pay $7 more than an American. Thus Amazon helps make Melbourne one of the most expensive cities in the world.
So. The question is: do I buy the ebook and read the Inheritance trilogy this weekend on my kindle? Do I find an alternate ebook version? Are there other formats for sale cheaper?
Or do I read a different book and plan to read my [cough] AUTOGRAPHED [cough] paper copies some time in the future?
It is very annoying when ebooks have higher prices in Australian than in other markets on Amazon, especially the US and UK. Sometimes is due to Amazon itself, but often I have found it happens when the prices are being set by the publisher itself. The Inheritance Trilogy is a case in point. The price is being set by Hachette in both markets:
Amazon.com:
Kindle Price: $9.99
Sold by: Hachette Book Group
This price was set by the publisher
Amazon.com.au:
Kindle Price: $16.99 includes tax, if applicable
Sold by: Hachette Book Group (AU)
This price was set by the publisher
So in fairness this is a case of the blame lying with Hachette but Amazon