Woolworths subsidiaries Big W and Dick Smith Electronics are to begin stocking and selling Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book reader from August 29.The Kindles will be available in the stores and online, where they are already being advertised for pre-order at $159 for a Wi-Fi only version and $219 for 3G and Wi-Fi model. Shipping to Australian addresses are free.
But buyers can still save a couple of dollars by ordering direct from Amazon.com in the US. The Amazon store at the weekend was offering the Wi-Fi Kindle at A$136.38, plus $20.59 to ship to Australia, for a total of $156.97, a couple of dollars below DSE’s deal.
The 3G Kindle was available at A$206, including shipping: $10 below the Dick Smith/Big W price.
The Dick Smith and Big W Web sites cite the advantages of buying the Kindle locally rather from Amazon as: a local customer service team; local returns if the Kindle breaks; and availability of additional accessories, such as wall chargers and cases.
