Hi all-
Thanks again to those who have provided me with helpful advice throughout the past 24 hours.
As I wrote earlier, I followed Amazon's cis contact procedure, and after reviewing my account, they did remove the ban and reinstate me. I can now log in once again and make purchases.
Sure, it's worrisome to learn that you can be cut off from digital purchases, but this is nothing new - anyone with an iPod (myself included) knows this, and I hope it makes us all think.
But in their favor, Amazon did clearly respond to my (politely worded) emails and welcome me back to the fold -- very quickly, I might add.
I truly believe that they are only making a sweep and closing accounts of those few customers who are trying to scam them, commit fraud, or "buy to try" - I don't think many honest customers are really affected by this, just some (like me) who got caught up accidentally...
... and surely, considering how many Amazon account bans are permanent, if my reinstatement doesn't convince people in this forum that my story is true, I'm not sure if anything else will.
All I'll say is, whenever dealing with a customer service situation, stay calm, concise and polite, and tell the truth. If you're dealing with an honest company, you'll usually be heard and listened to.
As I was today.
Lets all go read eBooks now!
Have a good afternoon-
-Ian