Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Buying a phone outside US



In my anticipated arrival to US next week, I tried ordering a Galaxy Nexus from the Google Play Store in advance. I wanted to get it shipped to my friends' house so I can use it as soon as I get there. Unfortunately, I was denied access from the Play Store because I was accessing it in a country where they don't deliver. For some reason, Google assumes that if someone is logged in from a certain country, they will not be in US any time soon to receive the shipment!

So, I used Tor to mask my IP and make Google think that I was logged in from US. This time I was successful in placing the order and I gave my friends' house to get it shipped. Felt excited to have it in my hands as soon as I get there!

A few minutes later, I got an email from Google that my order was cancelled because there were some 'discrepancies' in the order. I can only assume that it has something to do with the fact that I was not in US while placing the order.

Finally, with no other option, I had to ask my friend to order it for me and I will reimburse the amount to him. It is very strange that Google makes it so difficult for people to order from abroad. As long as someone is entering a US address to ship to, it shouldn't matter!

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