Why does the "free Kindle for Prime" rumor keep coming up?

[charmian]

http://www.slate.com/articles/techno...re_s_why_.html

The profitability of Kindles and Amazon Prime aside, it doesn't make sense to me. For this deal to make sense, the customers buying it must a) buy enough ebooks for the Kindle to be profitable, or b) buy enough stuff online for Prime to be profitable.

At this point, with the lowest-priced Kindle being $79, and with a price drop likely this year, isn't it likely that most of the people who want one, except those who are in financial difficulty (and thus unlikely to do a) and b)), has bought one already? If you buy so many things from Amazon that Prime sounds like a good deal, and you do want a Kindle, why haven't you gotten one already?

I think Amazon is likely to promote the Kindle in other ways, such as the 40% with Amazon credit card, or lowering the price, or packaging an Amazon gift card with Kindle purchase, etc.

[pidgeon92]

a) and b) certainly both apply to me, and I doubt I am a rare bird. I buy several hundred of dollars of ebooks every year, and a few thousand of additional Amazon purchases every year. Semolina flour. Dog treats. Housewares. Lord knows what else. The UPS guy and I are on first name terms, and it's because of Amazon.

[Barty]

Wishful thinking?

I don't think Amazon can just do straight up free kindle with prime, b/c then people (ok, me) will just get prime for one year and drop it. So there will have to be a catch, like you need to keep or have had prime for two years, or buy certain number of books, etc. which will make it much less appealing to people (ok, me).

[charmian]

Pidgeon92: but you already own four Kindles and two other e-readers. I see now I phrased it wrongly: while there are people for whom a) and b) apply, they are likely to already own a Kindle, making the deal less appealing.

Barty: Yeah, that makes sense. It'll be less financially burdensome to Amazon to do this if/when the Kindle drops to a very low price, say less than thirty dollars. But at that point Kindle will be far less desirable because of its lower value.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Barty

I don't think Amazon can just do straight up free kindle with prime, b/c then people (ok, me) will just get prime for one year and drop it. So there will have to be a catch, like you need to keep or have had prime for two years, or buy certain number of books, etc. which will make it much less appealing to people (ok, me).

One year would work. If you don't use Prime during that period, then Amazon isn't out anything. They've collected $79 from you, which easily covers the cost of the Kindle. If you do use Prime, Amazon wins because it's getting you to make purchases; which is what they want.

I had Prime for several months and found myself making numerous small purchases. For starters, it saved me a trip to the store. I had my stuff in two days, which was frequently faster than waiting for my weekly shopping day. Also, I no longer had to meet a $25 minimum before the free shipping kicked in, so I could place orders immediately; I could also take advantage of sales on items below $25 in cost. Because of Prime, I found myself ordering more stuff from Amazon.

I no longer have Prime and as a result, I rarely order anything from Amazon. I refuse to pay for shipping charges, so small frequent orders are out. Another result of not having Prime is that I don't do the daily Lightning Deals. Those deals are usually limited to one per account and each deal must be ordered within a 1~2 hour window. Since the items I'm generally interested in are frequently below $25, that would mean I'd have to pay shipping charges for each purchase. I won't do that.

Lack of Prime, means Amazon has basically lost me as a paying customer.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Lack of Prime, means Amazon has basically lost me as a paying customer.

My guess is that no merchant has ever made any real money off the bargain hunting monkey, anyway.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

My guess is that no merchant has ever made any real money off the bargain hunting monkey, anyway.

...they at least make something.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

...they at least make something.

They take in some money, but they never make any profit.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

They take in some money, but they never make any profit.

...and back at home, monkey counts the bananas he's saved

[elemenoP]

I agree with you, I don't think it makes sense. They say that people who own Kindles buy way more (e)books. But those are people who chose to PAY for Kindles, they are self-selected readers. If Amazon offered Kindles for free to Prime members, they would have to give away Kindles to millions (?) of people who might read a book a year, if that. They would want the free Kindle because it's free! And free is fun! But I don't think a free ereader is going to magically turn a non-reader into a reader. And now that tablets are popular, I see e-ink readers becoming an even more specialized product for "hardcore" readers. And I don't think Amazon could give away a Kindle Fire for free??

Let me put it another way. Amazon started out as a bookstore, now they sell pretty much everything under the sun. People who pay for Amazon Prime, are they readers? Or are they people who like the convenience of shopping in one place for everything? I guess Amazon knows the answer to this question, but we don't.

I think a discount for Prime members on the whole Kindle lineup makes more sense.

eP

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

People who pay for Amazon Prime, are they readers? Or are they people who like the convenience of shopping in one place for everything? I guess Amazon knows the answer to this question, but we don't.

I think a discount for Prime members on the whole Kindle lineup makes more sense.

eP

While I participate in the wishful thinking of the "free with Prime" train... I do agree that a plain discount would make more sense.

But, I also would lean towards the idea that by giving someone a Kindle or Fire (who wouldn't have purchased one anyways), there's a solid chance they'll hit the ground running with it and Amazon would make some money on it in addition to the Prime membership.

Prior to my getting a Kindle, I had no intentions on getting one. But, when I got mine (it was essentially free), I have spent a crap-ton of money on Kindle books and such. I've heard similar stories with the Fire and other eReaders alike, and I know that the plural of anectode isn't "data." But, I don't think it would be completely unwise for Amazon to give out a Kindle/Fire with Prime.

[david_e]

.....

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Let me put it another way. Amazon started out as a bookstore, now they sell pretty much everything under the sun. People who pay for Amazon Prime, are they readers? Or are they people who like the convenience of shopping in one place for everything? I guess Amazon knows the answer to this question, but we don't.

I became a Prime member last year, and I have more than saved the 79.00 membership fee with the free shipping savings. I don't have a Kindle nor am I likely to ever get one. But I have found all kinds of things that I need, on Amazon that would I would have to hunt all over Boston to find...maybe.

So when they start charging me that 79.00 it will be well worth it to me.

[Fluribus]

Maybe they could offer one year (or six months) of free Prime with every Kindle Fire.

[bill_mchale]

Amazon Prime offers so much, I suspect that if people were lured into getting it, many would keep it. I know I signed up to save on some initial shipping... then I started watching videos (and more importantly my son often watches kid videos on Prime), if I had a kindle, I am sure I would be using the lending library.... etc. I suspect I will be renewing Prime for years.

--
Bill