how does amazon's free pre-order work?

wyndslash · 02-23-2011, 06:46 AM

i tried to pre-order an ebook that was up for free pre-order, but it asked for my credit card information. why is that?

would i get a chance to cancel if the book came out with a fee?

and what /is/ a free pre-order anyway?

thanks

Terisa de morgan · 02-23-2011, 07:04 AM

About credit card information, I think Amazon ask always for it if you're buying a Kindle book, even if it's free. If it shows free when you pre-order, then Amazon doesn't charge you anything. And a free pre-order means that you will receive the book when it's published and Amazon will charge you nothing even if at that moment it has a bigger price.

vaughnmr · 02-23-2011, 07:07 AM

Have you set up an account with Amazon? Do that and enable "one-click" and you are good to go. Free ebooks are available to anyone with an Amazon account.

wyndslash · 02-23-2011, 07:07 AM

@terisa: i see, thanks! well, they didn't ask for my credit card info when i bought free ebooks from them before. strange D:

wyndslash · 02-23-2011, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

Have you set up an account with Amazon? Do that and enable "one-click" and you are good to go. Free ebooks are available to anyone with an Amazon account.

yeah, i do. i'll try and set up one-click

TenaciousBadger · 02-23-2011, 07:09 AM

I have to admit I'm a bit stumped as to what you're referring to when you say "free pre-order".
Do you mean a free book which you pre-ordered (in the sense it hasn't been published yet)?
Otherwise, anyone can pre-order a book, without an additional fee to the actual book price. Evidently before you pre-order or order you need to have set up an account with amazon where you do have to specify a credit card number that will help pay for the book.
And yep, you can cancel the pre-order by going to "Digital orders" on your account.

Hope this helps

EDIT: right, so I'm a slow typer

wyndslash · 02-23-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenaciousBadger

I have to admit I'm a bit stumped as to what you're referring to when you say "free pre-order".
Do you mean a free book which you pre-ordered (in the sense it hasn't been published yet)?
Otherwise, anyone can pre-order a book, without an additional fee to the actual book price. Evidently before you pre-order or order you need to have set up an account with amazon where you do have to specify a credit card number that will help pay for the book.
And yep, you can cancel the pre-order by going to "Digital orders" on your account.

Hope this helps

EDIT: right, so I'm a slow typer

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...19#post1411019

and when i go to the page to pre-order it, it says $0.00

Don0801 · 02-23-2011, 07:23 AM

Now I understand why I was asked to fill out my credit card information when I *pre-ordered* a $0 e-book. I have an account, but I don't have one-click set up (and don't plan to). The funny thing is the order, and the delivery, goes right through when it's an available free e-book.

Yeah, I missed out some pre-order freebies ...

wyndslash · 02-23-2011, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don0801

Now I understand why I was asked to fill out my credit card information when I *pre-ordered* a $0 e-book. I have an account, but I don't have one-click set up (and don't plan to). The funny thing is the order, and the delivery, goes right through when it's an available free e-book.

Yeah, I missed out some pre-order freebies ...

do they ask you for credit card info when you download free ebooks that are already "published"?

Blossom · 02-23-2011, 07:54 AM

My experience is books that are free that are already released you don't need a CC on your account but you do with all pre-orders that are free. I have never been charged anything for a free pre-order. I always remove my CC from my account after I am done ordering due to auto buying by accident once when I meant to send myself a free sample.

So the only time I need to enter my Credit Card information is when I do a free-preorder or buy something from there. If the book is free and already published I just click buy now and it's ordered no CC info needed.

wyndslash · 02-23-2011, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

My experience is books that are free that are already released you don't need a CC on your account but you do with all pre-orders that are free. I have never been charged anything for a free pre-order. I always remove my CC from my account after I am done ordering due to auto buying by accident once when I meant to send myself a free sample.

So the only time I need to enter my Credit Card information is when I do a free-preorder or buy something from there. If the book is free and already published I just click buy now and it's ordered no CC info needed.

cool, thanks for clearing this up!

wyndslash · 02-23-2011, 04:37 PM

No, they don't ask me when I'm getting a free ebook that's already available.

stargazir · 02-23-2011, 05:19 PM

I'm glad someone has asked about free pre-orders as I have noticed a few lately as well. I like to download my books via my PC then transfer to my Kindle however this option isn't available with the pre-orders. I was contemplating just adding them to a wish-list then checking back at a later date however i'm not sure if they will still be free then so this plan may not work.

Is it common for free pre-orders to remain free once they are available or do they normally convert to having a fee associated with them?

wyndslash · 02-23-2011, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stargazir

I'm glad someone has asked about free pre-orders as I have noticed a few lately as well. I like to download my books via my PC then transfer to my Kindle however this option isn't available with the pre-orders. I was contemplating just adding them to a wish-list then checking back at a later date however i'm not sure if they will still be free then so this plan may not work.

Is it common for free pre-orders to remain free once they are available or do they normally convert to having a fee associated with them?

i think someone else said that they are free once available to all who got the free pre-orders, if that makes any sense.

ATDrake · 02-23-2011, 05:56 PM

Whether a pre-order remains free depends on who's offering and why.

Pre-orders for "Free with Bonus Material" books which are early on in a series and being promoted to help spike interest in the latest that's being newly released tend to remain free for a short time before they disappear from the catalogue entirely.

Other free pre-orders may or may not stay free, depending on whether they're a time-limited promotion (sometimes, but not always), or just a publisher listing glitch.

Personally, I wouldn't bet on the wait-and-see method for any book that I actually wanted.

But if you pre-ordered it when it said $0.00 and the price goes up later, you still pay just the pre-order "price", aka $0.00.

02-23-2011, 06:46 AM	#1
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	how does amazon's free pre-order work? i tried to pre-order an ebook that was up for free pre-order, but it asked for my credit card information. why is that? would i get a chance to cancel if the book came out with a fee? and what /is/ a free pre-order anyway? thanks

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02-23-2011, 07:04 AM	#2
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,597 Karma: 12595249 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	About credit card information, I think Amazon ask always for it if you're buying a Kindle book, even if it's free. If it shows free when you pre-order, then Amazon doesn't charge you anything. And a free pre-order means that you will receive the book when it's published and Amazon will charge you nothing even if at that moment it has a bigger price.

02-23-2011, 07:07 AM	#3
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	Have you set up an account with Amazon? Do that and enable "one-click" and you are good to go. Free ebooks are available to anyone with an Amazon account.

02-23-2011, 07:09 AM	#6
TenaciousBadger Mrawr? Posts: 1,109 Karma: 15039064 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: kindle 3 wifi	I have to admit I'm a bit stumped as to what you're referring to when you say "free pre-order". Do you mean a free book which you pre-ordered (in the sense it hasn't been published yet)? Otherwise, anyone can pre-order a book, without an additional fee to the actual book price. Evidently before you pre-order or order you need to have set up an account with amazon where you do have to specify a credit card number that will help pay for the book. And yep, you can cancel the pre-order by going to "Digital orders" on your account. Hope this helps EDIT: right, so I'm a slow typer

02-23-2011, 07:23 AM	#8
Don0801 Member Posts: 20 Karma: 18504 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: MA Device: Kindle 3 wi-fi	Now I understand why I was asked to fill out my credit card information when I pre-ordered a $0 e-book. I have an account, but I don't have one-click set up (and don't plan to). The funny thing is the order, and the delivery, goes right through when it's an available free e-book. Yeah, I missed out some pre-order freebies ...

02-23-2011, 07:54 AM	#10
Blossom Treasure Seeker Posts: 18,708 Karma: 26026435 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kobo HD Glo, Kindles, Kindle Fires, Andriod Devices	My experience is books that are free that are already released you don't need a CC on your account but you do with all pre-orders that are free. I have never been charged anything for a free pre-order. I always remove my CC from my account after I am done ordering due to auto buying by accident once when I meant to send myself a free sample. So the only time I need to enter my Credit Card information is when I do a free-preorder or buy something from there. If the book is free and already published I just click buy now and it's ordered no CC info needed.

02-23-2011, 04:37 PM	#12
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	No, they don't ask me when I'm getting a free ebook that's already available.

02-23-2011, 05:19 PM	#13
stargazir Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 78 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kindle 3	I'm glad someone has asked about free pre-orders as I have noticed a few lately as well. I like to download my books via my PC then transfer to my Kindle however this option isn't available with the pre-orders. I was contemplating just adding them to a wish-list then checking back at a later date however i'm not sure if they will still be free then so this plan may not work. Is it common for free pre-orders to remain free once they are available or do they normally convert to having a fee associated with them?

02-23-2011, 05:56 PM	#15
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Whether a pre-order remains free depends on who's offering and why. Pre-orders for "Free with Bonus Material" books which are early on in a series and being promoted to help spike interest in the latest that's being newly released tend to remain free for a short time before they disappear from the catalogue entirely. Other free pre-orders may or may not stay free, depending on whether they're a time-limited promotion (sometimes, but not always), or just a publisher listing glitch. Personally, I wouldn't bet on the wait-and-see method for any book that I actually wanted. But if you pre-ordered it when it said $0.00 and the price goes up later, you still pay just the pre-order "price", aka $0.00.

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