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vxf · 02-28-2012, 01:42 AM

I have been a long time Amazon customer as others above. I would think ten years at least. I used to buy a lot of books, some music, the occasional game. Lately, much less, but since I got a Kindle, I have been buying ebooks.

Now, I have nothing but praise for Amazon. They have always been punctual and precise. Whenever something was wrong (the occasional book damaged in the mail is all I can really think of), I have had no problems with returns. And they had no problems with it either, as my account has not suffered. I suspect it is easy for them to spot patterns... like people returning books regularly after a week, or similar. I have had two friends banned for ordering multiple items restricted to 'one per household' on different accounts (game systems, for example). I know of someone banned for buying music CDs, copying them and returning them right away. Neither of those cases seems unfair.

Now, the other side of the issue. This whole idea that we 'rent' items instead of buying them is bullcrap. The damn button we press says 'BUY', not 'rent'. So no, I don't think Amazon - or any other digital retailer - should have the right to render legally purchased content non-accessible. So I take my precautions. I use Calibre, strip DRM off of everything (from ebooks to digital newspapers, magazines) and back it all up manually. None-the-less, I do think it is simply absurd that a customer has to jump through hoops like this to protect his own private property from the possibility of 'discontinued service' (what if Amazon, or whoever else, simply goes bankrupt, or decides to exit the business?).

I believe in free markets, and truly hope that someone spots the problems and decides to see it as an opportunity. I would pay extra (not much, but certainly a bit) for DRM-free content that is truly MINE. Yes, I can obtain the same result right now with a bit of work. But I have had better things to do with my time - and I suspect so have many other people.

02-28-2012, 01:42 AM	#25
vxf Guru Posts: 944 Karma: 1490348 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Norman, OK Device: Sony PRS 350, 900, 950; Kindles (ALL of them!); Kobo Aura One	I have been a long time Amazon customer as others above. I would think ten years at least. I used to buy a lot of books, some music, the occasional game. Lately, much less, but since I got a Kindle, I have been buying ebooks. Now, I have nothing but praise for Amazon. They have always been punctual and precise. Whenever something was wrong (the occasional book damaged in the mail is all I can really think of), I have had no problems with returns. And they had no problems with it either, as my account has not suffered. I suspect it is easy for them to spot patterns... like people returning books regularly after a week, or similar. I have had two friends banned for ordering multiple items restricted to 'one per household' on different accounts (game systems, for example). I know of someone banned for buying music CDs, copying them and returning them right away. Neither of those cases seems unfair. Now, the other side of the issue. This whole idea that we 'rent' items instead of buying them is bullcrap. The damn button we press says 'BUY', not 'rent'. So no, I don't think Amazon - or any other digital retailer - should have the right to render legally purchased content non-accessible. So I take my precautions. I use Calibre, strip DRM off of everything (from ebooks to digital newspapers, magazines) and back it all up manually. None-the-less, I do think it is simply absurd that a customer has to jump through hoops like this to protect his own private property from the possibility of 'discontinued service' (what if Amazon, or whoever else, simply goes bankrupt, or decides to exit the business?). I believe in free markets, and truly hope that someone spots the problems and decides to see it as an opportunity. I would pay extra (not much, but certainly a bit) for DRM-free content that is truly MINE. Yes, I can obtain the same result right now with a bit of work. But I have had better things to do with my time - and I suspect so have many other people.