Amazon Kindle now $189

[cheerio6414]

I just received this press release from Amazon:


AMAZON KINDLE NOW ONLY $189
Still with free 3G wireless--no monthly fees or annual contracts

SEATTLE, Jun 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced that Amazon Kindle, the best e-reader on the market (see this recent press release from the world's leading consumer reporting organization--http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/2010/06/amazons-kindle-tops-cr-ebook-reader-ratings.html), is now only $189, down from $259. Kindle is the 3G wireless portable reader that allows you to think of a book and be reading in 60 seconds, from wherever you happen to be. Easy to read even in bright sunlight, the 10.2 ounce Kindle is light enough for one-handed reading. Even though it's a 3G wireless device, Kindle has no monthly fees or annual contracts. The Kindle Store includes over 600,000 books and the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read, including 109 of 112 New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases from $9.99. In addition, over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are available to read on Kindle. Since its release, Kindle has been the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon. Kindle is in stock and available for immediate shipment at the new lower price of $189.

Learn more at www.amazon.com/kindle.

[pat.indie]

Great. Now I feel stupid for having spent $70 more a little over a month ago.

Et tu, Brute?

[cheerio6414]

Can never predict the future

[DiapDealer]

Hell, I paid $349 several years ago and don't feel cheated in the least.

[pat.indie]

Seems like the price was inflated from the beginning, if Amazon could take off $70 in a flash..

And I thought Amazon was customer oriented. May be they are, but they will also overcharge you when they can...

[pat.indie]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Hell, I paid $349 several years ago and don't feel cheated in the least.

At least you had several years to enjoy your overpriced gadget...

[CeNoBiTa]

Originally Posted by pat.indie

Great. Now I feel stupid for having spent $70 more a little over a month ago.

Et tu, Brute?

Same here...

[jasonfedelem]

Bought mine last week. I'm returning it and re-purchasing.

[GreenThumb]

Originally Posted by jasonfedelem

Bought mine last week. I'm returning it and re-purchasing.

If you bought it from Amazon (and not Target), you can call them, and they will refund the $70, because you bought it less than 30 days ago. I did this the last time they dropped the price.

[lilman]

Originally Posted by GreenThumb

If you bought it from Amazon (and not Target), you can call them, and they will refund the $70, because you bought it less than 30 days ago. I did this the last time they dropped the price.

You got lucky. Current Amazon policy is if your item has already shipped they won't give you a discount if the price drops later. If you email cs about a price adjustment, they'll send you a reply that looks something like "the price you payed was the cheapest we could offer at the time... sorry". Even if you try to argue "I can still return and re-buy it" they'll reply "ok, fill out the return form". You may get lucky and get a cs rep that will price adjust for you, but the last few times I've tried I was shot down every time. And if you return an item because of a price adjustment you have to pay for your own shipping (not a big deal since the price difference is $70 here, but it's kept me from returning when the price difference was a few bucks).

[PaulGuy]

Originally Posted by lilman

You got lucky. Current Amazon policy is if your item has already shipped they won't give you a discount if the price drops later. If you email cs about a price adjustment, they'll send you a reply that looks something like "the price you payed was the cheapest we could offer at the time... sorry". Even if you try to argue "I can still return and re-buy it" they'll reply "ok, fill out the return form". You may get lucky and get a cs rep that will price adjust for you, but the last few times I've tried I was shot down every time. And if you return an item because of a price adjustment you have to pay for your own shipping (not a big deal since the price difference is $70 here, but it's kept me from returning when the price difference was a few bucks).

First time I've heard anything like this. Call CS don't email. People are already reporting instant refunds when calling in. But you have to be in the 30 day window.

[lilman]

Originally Posted by PaulGuy

First time I've heard anything like this. Call CS don't email. People are already reporting instant refunds when calling in. But you have to be in the 30 day window.

They may treat kindles differently, I don't know. But the last few times I tried asking for a price adjustment on other items I always got the same polite no response.

It's nice to see the K2 drop. There is a lot of competition in the 6" ereader market.

[Yeti]

Bugger! (That's Australian for Not Happy )
Bought mine May 17th, guess I just missed out. Never mind, I will continue to enjoy it just as much. That's the annoying thing about buying electronics these days; you're almost guaranteed that something cheaper and probably better will be available within a few months of your purchase.

Yeti.

[SensualPoet]

So, those lucky folks who recently bought a Kindle 2 ... by all means claim your credit. Amazon has an exceedingly good track record on stuff like that.

I bought mine in Nov 2009 and have had at least $70 use from it.

Assuming this makes longer term business sense for Amazon, I'm delighted. I wonder what sorts of goodies they plan for Kindle 3 later this summer?

[RevRick]

Can you say Kobo? Wired called it -- at $149 -- the real Kindle Killer. Given the Kindle's advantages technologically (chiefly, free on-board wireless), I'd say the $189 is priced very well.