Buying a book boworred with Prime Question

jtdolphins · 03-02-2014, 08:40 PM

I borrowed a book with my Prime membership. I would like to buy that book.

Reading the help pages on Amazon it says that when I return the book my notes that I took are saved. So if I decided to buy the book my notes will be restored. I couldn't find anything about buying a book before I return it.

My question is do I have to return the book before I buy it? Or can I buy it and everything will sink up? Its just not clear. I'm rather surprised there is no option to buy a book that you borrowed in the drop down menu on the my kindle web page, so I thought I must be missing something.

eschwartz · 03-02-2014, 09:41 PM

If you buy the book, it will transform from a borrowed book into a bought book, and you won't notice anything except that you can keep the book.

If it is a Prime book, not a library loan, then when you return it, it will be purged from your record and notes will not be saved. If you then buy it, your notes are already gone. Library loaned books retain their presence in your Kindle Cloud, even after they are returned, and you would keep your notes from it.

That's the impression I got.

jtdolphins · 03-02-2014, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

If it is a Prime book, not a library loan, then when you return it, it will be purged from your record and notes will not be saved. If you then buy it, your notes are already gone. Library loaned books retain their presence in your Kindle Cloud, even after they are returned, and you would keep your notes from it.

To be clear, I'm talking about borrowing Prime books with my Prime membership. Not library books. I assumed it worked the way you suggested, but I couldn't find anything from Amazon that said that.

On this page it says ....

Your bookmarks, notes, and highlights within the book will be saved to your Amazon account. They are available if you borrow or purchase the book later.

eschwartz · 03-02-2014, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtdolphins

To be clear, I'm talking about borrowing Prime books with my Prime membership. Not library books. I assumed it worked the way you suggested, but I couldn't find anything from Amazon that said that.

On this page it says ....

Your bookmarks, notes, and highlights within the book will be saved to your Amazon account. They are available if you borrow or purchase the book later.

That's odd, I thought that was only for library books. I know Prime books disappear from your library when you return it.

I am forced to conclude that they are being confusing, and that you will probably retain your notes, even if it was returned.

crich70 · 03-02-2014, 11:19 PM

One thing I noticed with borrowed books (non prime) that I had on my Kindle for pc is that they are hard to remove (at least I haven't figured out how) after their borrow time expires but you can buy them easily enough if you decide you want to buy a copy.

Edward_R · 03-03-2014, 01:18 PM

I was able to delete all of the books I borrowed (Non Prime) from the new "Manage my Kindle" page without a problem.

jtdolphins · 03-03-2014, 05:35 PM

I heard back from Amazon. The info on the page is correct. If you borrow a book with your Prime Membership, the notes are saved for later when you return the book. Then.....

They apologized for me not being able to buy the book.

I'm not sure where that came from.

I feel like they copy and pasted in their answer without reading. They didn't answer my question about buying the book and whether it synchs with what you have. So I still don't know if it works the way you think eschwartz.

nynaevelan · 03-03-2014, 10:10 PM

If memory serves I "think" your notes and annotations are saved, but honestly I do not remember for sure, none of the prime books which I've purchased had notes in it. But honestly I do not think they do since Amazon removes Prime borrows from your MYK page after the borrowing period is over. But the will always be available on your Kindle Highlights page, so you can retrieve them from there.

crich70 · 03-03-2014, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward_R

I was able to delete all of the books I borrowed (Non Prime) from the new "Manage my Kindle" page without a problem.

Well maybe that was the problem. I had borrowed the books in question some time back and perhaps there was a glitch in the system that the improved MYK page fixes.

eschwartz · 03-03-2014, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

If memory serves I "think" your notes and annotations are saved, but honestly I do not remember for sure, none of the prime books which I've purchased had notes in it. But honestly I do not think they do since Amazon removes Prime borrows from your MYK page after the borrowing period is over. But the will always be available on your Kindle Highlights page, so you can retrieve them from there.

Precisely what I was thinking. But perhaps Amazon saves the information, just doesn't show it in MYK due to "issues".

On that note, I've seen notes in Kindle Highlights for books that were never in that account, but were on my Kindle from a family member's account. I think.

I'm not entirely sure what can actually be predicted over here...

Vmurph · 03-05-2014, 03:19 AM

I'm pretty sure the bookmarks, notes and highlights from Prime borrowed books ARE saved. If I'm not mistaken, I believe they're stored on the device itself, not the cloud.

If you plug your Kindle into your computer, you'll notice there's a FOLDER for every single book. That folder contains several files related to the book. When a book is returned, the AZW file (the eBook) is deleted from the device, but the rest of the files remain.

eschwartz · 03-05-2014, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vmurph

I'm pretty sure the bookmarks, notes and highlights from Prime borrowed books ARE saved. If I'm not mistaken, I believe they're stored on the device itself, not the cloud.

If you plug your Kindle into your computer, you'll notice there's a FOLDER for every single book. That folder contains several files related to the book. When a book is returned, the AZW file (the eBook) is deleted from the device, but the rest of the files remain.

Usually when you delete a book, the rule is if it's from the Kindle Cloud, the .sdr sidecar folder is deleted as well, since the data should be saved on the server. If the book was sideloaded, it will first ask you to confirm you want to remove it, then delete only the file, not the sidecar folder, so you can still reload the book and have your notes.

Are you saying you can confirm that Prime books act in this regard like sideloaded books?

jtdolphins · 03-06-2014, 01:27 PM

When you return the book, from the my kindle page, you receive a notice that your notes are saved. I then bought the book and all my notes and highlights were there. The book opened at the last page.

A minor irritation is that the book is on my kindle twice. The one I returned, says returned next to it. It doesn't seem to remove for some reason.

I never received an answer from Amazon about what happens if I buy the book before I return it. I asked through email twice. Then asked for a phone call but missed it.

I would speculate that you would have two copies on your kindle, both with the same notes and highlights. Then you can return the one and continue reading the copy you bought.

eschwartz · 03-06-2014, 02:43 PM

The one that says [Returned] is not the book, it is a personal letter from Amazon. You get one for each Prime book you have on your Kindle when it gets returned. Library books are the same, but they say [Loan Ended]. You also get a letter when you first register a device, and on some firmware upgrades.

You can safely delete them, the same way you delete any sideloaded documents.

Borrowed books, no matter how you borrow them, are the exact same book as the one you buy, except the Could knows you don't get to keep it and will message your Kindle to delete it when the loan expires/is returned. You should not end up with two copies.

jtdolphins · 03-06-2014, 08:22 PM

It went away finally. I had clicked the button "Remove from Kindle", but wasn't deleted like normal.

Walked away, leaving the kindle on, and it was gone when I came back.

03-02-2014, 08:40 PM	#1
jtdolphins Zealot Posts: 142 Karma: 248484 Join Date: May 2011 Device: ipod touch, Kindle3	Buying a book boworred with Prime Question I borrowed a book with my Prime membership. I would like to buy that book. Reading the help pages on Amazon it says that when I return the book my notes that I took are saved. So if I decided to buy the book my notes will be restored. I couldn't find anything about buying a book before I return it. My question is do I have to return the book before I buy it? Or can I buy it and everything will sink up? Its just not clear. I'm rather surprised there is no option to buy a book that you borrowed in the drop down menu on the my kindle web page, so I thought I must be missing something.

03-05-2014, 03:19 AM	#11
Vmurph Cat Whisperer Posts: 239 Karma: 2490708 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: (USA) In the Hall of the Mountain King Device: Kindles Oasis 3, Kindle Oasis 1, and iPhone XS Max	I'm pretty sure the bookmarks, notes and highlights from Prime borrowed books ARE saved. If I'm not mistaken, I believe they're stored on the device itself, not the cloud. If you plug your Kindle into your computer, you'll notice there's a FOLDER for every single book. That folder contains several files related to the book. When a book is returned, the AZW file (the eBook) is deleted from the device, but the rest of the files remain. Last edited by Vmurph; 03-05-2014 at 03:22 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Arthritis Interrupted (health book): Free ONLY for Prime Members on Kindle April 4-5	Jim Healthy	Self-Promotions by Authors and Publishers	3	04-04-2013 02:06 PM
Buying a PW with Prime trial	Avwriter	Amazon Kindle	3	10-07-2012 04:27 PM
Question before buying my first e-reader	LCIII	Which one should I buy?	6	01-25-2012 07:51 AM
Prime: How to lend a book on the Fire?	Andy_T	Kindle Fire	8	12-13-2011 06:14 PM
Smashwords - question about buying and formats	texasnightowl	General Discussions	20	08-11-2010 03:16 PM

03-02-2014, 09:41 PM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	If you buy the book, it will transform from a borrowed book into a bought book, and you won't notice anything except that you can keep the book. If it is a Prime book, not a library loan, then when you return it, it will be purged from your record and notes will not be saved. If you then buy it, your notes are already gone. Library loaned books retain their presence in your Kindle Cloud, even after they are returned, and you would keep your notes from it. That's the impression I got.

03-02-2014, 11:19 PM	#5
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	One thing I noticed with borrowed books (non prime) that I had on my Kindle for pc is that they are hard to remove (at least I haven't figured out how) after their borrow time expires but you can buy them easily enough if you decide you want to buy a copy.

03-03-2014, 01:18 PM	#6
Edward_R Zealot Posts: 111 Karma: 516224 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Pacific Northwest (about 35 miles northeast of Seattle) Device: K3 / HP 10" Tablet (FBreader Installed)	I was able to delete all of the books I borrowed (Non Prime) from the new "Manage my Kindle" page without a problem.

03-03-2014, 05:35 PM	#7
jtdolphins Zealot Posts: 142 Karma: 248484 Join Date: May 2011 Device: ipod touch, Kindle3	I heard back from Amazon. The info on the page is correct. If you borrow a book with your Prime Membership, the notes are saved for later when you return the book. Then..... They apologized for me not being able to buy the book. I'm not sure where that came from. I feel like they copy and pasted in their answer without reading. They didn't answer my question about buying the book and whether it synchs with what you have. So I still don't know if it works the way you think eschwartz.

03-03-2014, 10:10 PM	#8
nynaevelan eBook Junkie Posts: 1,526 Karma: 1464018 Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle Fire 2020, Kindle PW2	If memory serves I "think" your notes and annotations are saved, but honestly I do not remember for sure, none of the prime books which I've purchased had notes in it. But honestly I do not think they do since Amazon removes Prime borrows from your MYK page after the borrowing period is over. But the will always be available on your Kindle Highlights page, so you can retrieve them from there.

03-06-2014, 01:27 PM	#13
jtdolphins Zealot Posts: 142 Karma: 248484 Join Date: May 2011 Device: ipod touch, Kindle3	When you return the book, from the my kindle page, you receive a notice that your notes are saved. I then bought the book and all my notes and highlights were there. The book opened at the last page. A minor irritation is that the book is on my kindle twice. The one I returned, says returned next to it. It doesn't seem to remove for some reason. I never received an answer from Amazon about what happens if I buy the book before I return it. I asked through email twice. Then asked for a phone call but missed it. I would speculate that you would have two copies on your kindle, both with the same notes and highlights. Then you can return the one and continue reading the copy you bought.

03-06-2014, 02:43 PM	#14
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	The one that says [Returned] is not the book, it is a personal letter from Amazon. You get one for each Prime book you have on your Kindle when it gets returned. Library books are the same, but they say [Loan Ended]. You also get a letter when you first register a device, and on some firmware upgrades. You can safely delete them, the same way you delete any sideloaded documents. Borrowed books, no matter how you borrow them, are the exact same book as the one you buy, except the Could knows you don't get to keep it and will message your Kindle to delete it when the loan expires/is returned. You should not end up with two copies.

03-06-2014, 08:22 PM	#15
jtdolphins Zealot Posts: 142 Karma: 248484 Join Date: May 2011 Device: ipod touch, Kindle3	It went away finally. I had clicked the button "Remove from Kindle", but wasn't deleted like normal. Walked away, leaving the kindle on, and it was gone when I came back.

Advert

Advert