[astrodad]

Sorry for bringing up an old thread but I didn't want to start a new one. My wife, who is an avid reader but not a technologist, has a K2 and loves it. Tuesday she yelled at me because there were four books she could not get because of Simon & Schuster. So we sent the following to Amazon:

I am greatly annoyed that several publishers have decided to delay the release of the ebook edition of their books. On your website, you state that "we know that even the best book reader is useless without the books you want to read." Well, I have been unable to purchase four new ebooks for my Kindle because the publisher, Simon & Schuster, has chosen to delay their release by at least four months.

I have notified them that I will NOT be buying the new, hard cover version of their books from Amazon or anywhere else. They will not be receiving money from me. Their authors will not be compensated, and I will buy these books used. Amazon, will also not be receiving any revenue from my purchase.

I feel cheated. I purchased this book reader under the impression that I could get best sellers when they were released. If Amazon is unable to curb this trend of publishers delaying their ebook releases, then I will be forced to sell my Kindle and go back to buying paperbacks and renting books from the library.

And got the following:

Thank you for writing to us at Amazon.com.

I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you, I have researched about some of the kindle books from publisher Simon & Schuster as it is not available to purchase right now.

Normally publishers determine the price and release date of the book. We're working hard to build a successful digital book store and make every effort to provide you the book on time.

Strong customer feedback like yours helps us continue to improve the service we provide, and we're glad you took time to write to us. I'll send your comments to the Kindle development team.

We appreciate your understanding, and look forward to serving you again.

I even sent a letter (much nicer in tone) to Lisa Lutz, who is the author of one of the books my wife could not purchase. I don't know if she'll reply, but if she does, I'll post it.