Quote:
Originally Posted by ntamas
Hi! Recently, I've just downloaded a book sample because I was going to buy it later. After a few weeks it has been deleted from the Kindle Store. When I go to the Buy Now option in Kindle Keyboard it says: I'm not entitled to buy this content. (due to copyright restrictions?!)
Why does Amazon do this? Can you buy certain ebooks from Kindle Store for only some time? Why?
How can this be explained by copyright restrictions?  As far as I know ebooks can't have been sold out like real books.
Does it mean that the collaboration between Amazon and the author won't work any more?
Second issue:
There are many ebooks being only available for customers with US billing address. Why? It's strange because it doesn't necessarily mean that the author is from the United States at all. 
Third issue:
Even if the ebooks are available for both the Americans and the Europeans, the prices are different for the exact same ebook. WHY?!
I doubt if this could be explained by copyright restrictions again because there are no reasonable explanations on why the exact same ebook costs more for those with European billing address than for those with US billing address? |
1) Downloaded the book sample to what?
Did you download to the kindle keyboard that you could not later buy it?
Or did you download it to a different model kindle or to something other than the same kindle you tried to buy it from?
Did it actually say: "copyright restrictions"?
Otherwise the book just might not be available in a format that the Kindle Keyboard can display. (The samples need not be the same format as the actual book.)
Consider this:
Amazon will allow book samples to be downloaded by anyone/anything that can connect to their site.
There is no requirement to have an Amazon account for book samples.
Thus there can not be any account data lookup, because there might not be an account.
Not having an account means they can't tell if any geographic restrictions are met. IP geo-location is not reliable enough for such purposes.
If you like the sample of the book enough to buy it, you might even open an account to buy it if you don't already have one.
Awkward programming things that way, but easier to upsale the potential customer into opening an account once they have a book sample they like "in their hands" as it where.
So this one you can blame on the marketing department.
2) This one would have to be judged on a book-by-book case.
But the person who owns the publication rights usually can choose where they want it published.
The choice of where it can be published might have been separated from the right to publish.
So to answer this one, you would have to start by contacting the author (or other current owner of the copyright) and find out who, if anyone, has the right to decide.
Knowing that, you would then know who to ask why.
3-a) Because the (hidden) costs may not the same.
3-b) Because the owner of the publication rights wants it that way.