Why is it illegal to buy international version of a textbook?

Question

I need a textbook and I know how big/heavy it can be so I wanted to lighten the load on myself (& my wallet) by buying it paperback. On Amazon.com, the paperback is called [IMPORT] but I did research to make sure they were the same so I called the Publisher and they told me they're the same except illegal to purchase in the U.S. She didn't really answer me as to why so can someone else please explain it to me?

Answer 1

It's not illegal if you buy it online. I usually buy it from textbookw.com and ebay.com

To know more about international edition, you can read it from NY times articles below.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht...

Answer 2

none of the answers above me are right.

the publisher has distribution contracts with companies in each country.

these contracts specify that they may not sell outside of their contracted region, even on line.

i have set up dozens of these arrangements with software distributors, I am sure it is the same.

so her claim is either that someone is violating their territory, or that a seller that does not have the right to sell the book at all is behind the web site. either case would be called "gray market" as opposed to "black market"

OTOH, in the US and presumably elsewhere, you have the right to resell books - that is how used bookstores work. So the seller could make that claim.

In any case, buy the book if you trust the seller to deliver (a big IF for gray marketers) - any issues are between the publisher and the seller, and don't involve you. Be aware that you may not have any warranty rights or other means of resolving disputes that arise in such a case, so buyer beware.

Answer 3

It sounds to me like it's a money thing just like with prescription drugs. We the U.S. citizens subsidize other citizens in other countries because we have more discretionary income and can therefore pay more for the exact same product. It's illegal because corporations know they will make less if we can just buy the international version which is cheaper. This is fact. We discussed this extensively in a graduate business course I recently took. It was quite enlightening.

Answer 4

You've stumbled onto a cover up.  God, man, I'm shaking.  Where's the book coming from?  Japan?  India?  It's bad enough they've got us beat as far as technology and intelligence goes, now they're withholding the truth from us.  What have they been lying to us about so far?  e = mc squared - false.  Pythagorean theorem - gone.  Socrates -  never existed.  Our nuclear technology - a sham; we got the fake stuff.  My advice to you is to go build a bunker in the woods, buy many many guns and keep your head out of them their books.

Answer 5

I do not know if it is illegal to buy but the publisher does not want you to because they make less money.  It is the same with lots of goods, such as prescription drugs.  The maker sells them for the maximum price they can in each market so does not want product in meant for a cheaper market coming back to an expensive market, such as the US.

Answer 6

It can't be illegal on the U.S. side, but maybe it is illegal in the country where it is from to export it to the U.S.