Buying a nook in US buy non-US citizen

[IgorS]

Hello,

I'm another non-US citizen who is tempted to buy a Nook.

Having read most of the related Q&A section and TOS and a dozen forum topics, I've learned that there is no straightforward way for me to do this and that I'll have troubles with some essential functionality as well as warranty. Still, I want to give it a try since the quality/price ratio is attractive in spite of all problems mentioned.
It seems that official worldwide sales aren't feasible any soon and meanwhile online auction sellers can make some business.

Luckily for me, a friend of mine is planning a vacation trip to US right now and I'm going to ask his assistance with purchase.

But there are several issues I'd like to be clarified (preferably by B&N representative; however, any ideas are appreciated):
1) Is it legal for non-US citizen to buy a Nook in a traditional local B&N store?
2) If I'm planning to load e-books to the device via desktop computer am I obliged to register the device from US?
3) Is it possible to take advantage of B&N online store shipping if I specify the hotel front desk as the delivery address?
4) Can I use my foreign Visa card to pay in B&N online store? Are there any restrictions like that the cardholder must be the same person as the order recipient?

Thanks for any information in advance, I hope this topic might be useful for somebody else as well.

Regards,
  Igor

[zippyap]

If you live outside of the USA, the Kindle is going to suit you better if you're going to use it as your primary e-reader.

I own a Kindle and live outside of the USA for half the year. I've had no problems and only positive experiences with the Amazon the company, and Kindle the  product.

That being said, I also ordered a Nook. Because I have strong ties to the USA (I'm a US citizen and still maintain residency in my home state), there are ways for me to get around being outside of the US.

I can't compare the two e-readers because I've yet to get the Nook into my hands (I can't wait), so I can't tell which one I'm going to prefer. However, for the INTERNATIONAL user, I think that you'll have a smoother purchasing experience with the Kindle.

[Michael-V]

@IgorS,

At this time, NOOK is only available for shipping to the US. We understand the interest for our customers outside of the US and are working to bring NOOK to everyone.

When you travel abroad, you can read any files that are already on your NOOK. You can connect to Wi-Fi hotspots that do not use proxy security settings, such as those commonly used in hotels, and download eBooks and subscriptions already in your online digital Library. You cannot, however, purchase additional eBooks and subscriptions outside of the U.S.

The NOOK can be used to read ebooks purchased through other sites as long as the format is either PDB, PDF, secured PDF, or ePub.  Additionally, titles can be downloaded and transferred to NOOK via the supplied USB cable.

Having a Canadian billing address and CC would not preclude a customer from placing an eBook order.  When you create an account on BN.com you can input a Canadian credit card with a Canadian billing address and save them as your defaults.

 If you are living in or visiting Canada you can shop our eBook store and download eBooks to your B&N eReader supported devices, including the iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Mac and PC. This also includes the NOOK.

 Although we are not selling NOOK in Canada (or anywhere outside of the United States) at this time, if you are using NOOK in Canada you will be able to sync to your B&N eBooks library and access our eBook store via Wi-Fi (not 3G).

[bastianbalthaz…]

Answer to two of the questions: No its not illegal for non-US citizen to buy nook, they are not gonna ask you for proof of citizenship as long as you pay.

credit card: They don't care what nationality card as long as the payment is authorised and they get their money.

I don't know about having to register it, I registered mine in the US but I can buy books online through B&N from Australia as long as I have something like hotspot shield on so my IP is not traceable.

Also don't know about having it sent to a hotel, that is more for B&N to answer...

[lacruzenlasia]

  Coming back to question #2 in the initial post,

  Can the Nook work without registering (ie. just for reading existing eBooks downloaded from a PC)?

  Thanks.

[Ya_Ya]

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lacruzenlasia wrote:

  Coming back to question #2 in the initial post,

  Can the Nook work without registering (ie. just for reading existing eBooks downloaded from a PC)? 

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NOOK 3G/Wifi will do this.  Several posters have NOOKs for their pre-teens and manage them this way.

NOOKColor will not let you do anything else with it until you register it.  

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

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lacruzenlasia wrote:
Can the Nook work without registering (ie. just for reading existing eBooks downloaded from a PC)?

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Yes, although you won't be able to use shelves. Added: As Ya_Ya noted, NOOKcolor will not work without registering.

The question is, why buy a NOOK if you're not going to buy B&N e-books? There are other readers that are less expensive, that you probably can buy locally, and that will come with a warranty for your country.