[mebad247]

Ok, I've read a number of related posts, but want to reaffirm a few things...

I live in Toronto, and I want to purchase a Kindle 3 wi-fi from ***********. End price is $167, including duty deposit.

Here are a few of my questions:
If I drove to Buffalo to purchase, what is the duty charged at the border?
How frequently are people getting the duty refunded?
What are the obvious differences when using a Kindle in Canada? Are there any?
Are there any risks to uploading mobi files not purchased through amazon to the Kindle? What are your experiences with that.
Is the 3G surfing functionality worth the extra cost? I'd only be interested in checking email in the GTA.

Look forward to your thoughts.

 

[james99]

I think everybody gets the duty refunded, even on returned broken Kindles. In other words you're making money on a returned unit.

It may take 2 months but you'll probably get 100% of duty returned.

Kindle in Canada has a smaller selection due to the deals that are not in place with the publisher(s). If you go across the border you can buy items that you can't buy here. The opposite is probably true as well.

I email 30+ documents a day to my Kindles wifi address. No issues. These are mainly publications sent via Calibre software.

3G is a user preference. If you have a smartphone with tethering you won't need it. If you're on a beach and want to check your email, perhaps you need it.

How would you use it? I have it, mainly for travel purposes.

 

[jshel101]

Kindle in Canada has a smaller selection due to the deals that are not in place with the publisher(s). If you go across the border you can buy items that you can't buy here. The opposite is probably true as well.

Or save the travel time and change the primary address of your account on the US Amazon site with a fake US address. Then you can purchase the items from the US store that you can not get in Canada. This is what I do for my wife's Kindle. I picked a state that doesn't have a sales tax, not sure if you get charged sales tax on e-books purchased from the US Amazon store.

 

[mebad247]

Any comment on uploading mobi files? I have several hundred that I'd like to import.

 

[james99]

I have 350+ mobi books that I downloaded from http://freekindlebooks.org/

I just connected Kindle to PC and i copied and pasted the files over using a USB cable.

 

[JamesK]

If I drove to Buffalo to purchase, what is the duty charged at the border?

If you drove to Buffalo, you'd likely spend more on gas and bridge toll than you'd save on duty.

 

[Proteosome]

Non amazon mobi's don't need it, but the calibre software, as mentioned previously, is a must have for kindle owners looking to use other services to get their ebooks.

It will allow you to convert pretty well any book into the mobi format.