Taking a break from reviews, I wanted to put in a post about buying Kindle from India. This blog is about books and Kindle is one of the best things that has happened to books in recent times.

For me, Kindle is the best thing that happened since the Gutenberg press. If you need some convincing, see my 10 points why you need a Kindle.

If you are one of those whose idea of a relaxed afternoon is curling up and immersing yourself in a story, the idea of a device that allows you to have books at touch of a button is tempting indeed. And unless you are a Luddite who is hell-bent on only reading books in print, you would have contemplated buying a Kindle at one time or the other.

So what has stopped you? It maybe one of the below

· Unavailability of all models to be shipped to India
· Shipping charges
· Doubts of full working of Kindle functionalities in India like whispernet

This article is about how I bought a Kindle Touch sitting in India and how I have been enjoying some of the best reading experience I have ever had. I will also try to dispel doubts on what works and what does not when you buy a Kindle in India




First of all, let me put this in writing – You can get any Kindle variety in India. All depends on the amount of money you want to spend and the time you are willing to wait to get your hand on the Kindle


Lets look at all the things that you need to look at when you are deciding to buy a Kindle in India




First off - Functionalities
For those of you wondering what you will get when you buy and use Kindle in India, first off, the below is a list of all services that Kindle can give you:

· Whispersync
Synchronizes your bookmarks, last page read and annotations across devices
· Free eBooks
There are literally tons of free eBooks out there on Amazon. And many are new books as well, promoted by the authors to gain an audience
· Touch buying
You can literally find a book in 60 seconds and start reading (if you have wifi on)
· Lending library
Amazon has a Amazon Prime membership, you can, as an owner of Kindle, choose from thousands of books and borrow for free including New York Times bestsellers. And no due dates!!!
· Cloud backup
Your library (the ones that you buy from Kindle that is) is backed up securely on Amazon servers. So never lose a book again!!
· Warranty – 1 year warranty

So here is the good news – You get all the services if you buy in India!!!


So it does not matter where you buy it from. As soon as you connect to Amazon, you get the full roster of services!!




Read on about buying the Kindle in India



Which Kindle?



My personal favourite is Kindle Touch – it is at the sweet spot between price, convenience and cool!!



The main thing – Buying your Kindle


So what are the ways in which you can buy?
There are two options really – Amazon international shipment or sites like EBay India

Buying from Amazon –


To start off with, lets see what Amazon site gives as options for international shipment.

There are four Kindle items that Amazon ships internationally
· Basic Kindle - $109 (6” screen, Wifi, Non Keyboard)
· Kindle Keyboard - $139 (6” screen, Wifi, Keyboard) – currently showing out of stock
· Kindle Keyboard 3G - $ 189 (6” screen, Wifi, 3G, Keyboard)
· Kindle DX - $ 379 (9.7” screen, Wifi, 3G, Keyboard)
Main misses: Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire family


My personal take – only the basic Kindle from the above makes sense to me. Keyboard is seldom used unless you are a hardcore PhD student in English. The 6” screen is enough and is the perfect size. This is the size of a normal page of a book. You can easily read and what is more important, carry it around easily.

Also everyone has wifi in their house now. So why pay extra for a 3G chip? 3G in any case is patchy and unless you have uncontrollable urges to download books in the middle of roads, 3G is pretty much useless. In case you don’t have a just buy a wifi router and convert your broadband into a wifi network. It doesn’t cost much. You can check out routers from here if you want.

So how much do you pay to get that Kindle into your house?

This is what you pay (assuming you are buying the Basic Kindle)
· Listed price - $109
· Shipping and handling: $ 11.98
· Import fees deposit: $ 28.21
Total payment to be made: $ 149.19
In INR – Rs 7500 (approx, with exchange rate of 50.4)

And how long does it take: 8- 16 business days (usually they ship within 10 days)

So in about a couple of weeks, after paying Rs 7500, the kindle comes up at your doorstep.


Buying from eBay India




Now there are various sites out there which will claim to get you your Kindle. Not taking any names, if I have to put my money on a site for international shipments, that would be eBay India. Peace of mind is guaranteed.

So, what are the options for Kindle that eBay gives:
· Basic Kindle – Rs 6500 (6” screen, Wifi, Non Keyboard)
· Kindle Keyboard – Rs 7990 (6” screen, Wifi, Keyboard)
· Kindle Touch – Rs 8499 (6” screen, Wifi, Non Keyboard)
· Kindle Keyboard 3G– Rs 10,900 (6” screen, Wifi, 3G, Keyboard)
· Kindle Touch 3G – Rs 12,200 (6” screen, Wifi, 3G, Non Keyboard)
· Kindle Fire – Rs 15,900 (7” screen, Wifi, Non Keyboard)

Comparing apples to apples – eBay India is a clear winner. You save a cool 1000/- if you buy the basic

Kindle from eBay

I bought a Kindle touch, because well, I wanted a touchscreen (personal preference as I feel it makes the reading a tad easier) and Kindle Touch, you can buy only from eBay

This is the merchant that I bought from - http://stores.ebay.in/isalesservice




My experience
I bought my Kindle from eBay India and I got the Kindle touch within flat 3 days with full Kindle packing. It took me no time to connect to Amazon.com and register. It was a very satisfying experience and continues to be so far


The Final verdict – Where should you it from?
Well, it almost seems like a no-brainer as eBay India comes out on top on all the following parameters –
· Price – you save 1000/-
· Variety – Kindle touch and Fire. Amazon does not ship them
· Time to your home – there is a saving of atleast 5 days between eBay and Amazon

So do you go blindly for eBay?

Well, you can as I am yet to have a negative experience of eBay. And since you get the full functionalities whether you buy from eBay India or Amazon, might as well save that money.

The only reason you might want to buy from Amazon is if you want to be 100% of the purchase and are willing to pay extra to get it from the source. Amazon has an amazing delivery mechanism and I have never heard a negative comment on their service.

Boils down to your personal preference, in the end…

So what are you waiting for?

Buy now from eBay India
Buy now from Amazon international

I hope that this small article comes in use to you. Do let me know your experience in buying Kindle from India