Loaning ebooks

caleb72 · 05-01-2011, 10:32 AM

Hi - just a (hopefully) simple question.

From what I can see, I can add Kindles to my Amazon account at will and those Kindle devices will be able to access my library.

There's many reason why I would not want to do this with just anybody. However, with family members this seems like a legit way in which I can share books inside the family unit.

For example, my sister might have her own account. She is ready to read a new ebook and I have one I wanted her to read. So she deregisters from her account, I register her with my account and she can read the book, then swap back to her account. She'll no longer have access to my copy - not sure if the ebook still remains on her device though.

From what I can see, this is how Amazon facilitates legit sharing within small groups.

Am I right in this? Can I do this freely within a select group? Are there any disadvantages for doing this?

My family-in-law were going to pitch in for a Kindle for my mother-in-law, but unknown to me, one of the advantages of said purchase was that I was going to give copies of all my ebooks so that she had a lovely amount of content to start off with. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of shock expressed when I stated I was going to do no such thing (I'm in the dog house at the moment).

However, I said there may be a way I can loan her ebooks. By the time, we got there though they'd already made the pronouncement that they will not buy a Kindle (while glaring at me).

I thought I might still try to understand the mechanics of loaning books on Kindle just in case this topic comes up again. Maybe if I can be more eloquent about the process I can avoid too many more trips out to the doghouse.

Regards
Caleb

GeoffC · 05-01-2011, 10:47 AM

doghouses are quite posh these days .... http://www.oldenglishinns.co.uk/frilford-heath/

HarryT · 05-01-2011, 10:55 AM

Your understanding of the process is absolutely correct.

bZkindle · 05-01-2011, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caleb72

She'll no longer have access to my copy - not sure if the ebook still remains on her device though.

Yes it does. It has to actually be on the device though and not in amazon's cloud.
It seems like you're talking about sharing kindles on your account and not loaning books per se.
I'm not sure if you are able to loan books out being in Australia (I'm not able to in Canada) but you are probably able to borrow books from a site like booklending.com .

Tome Keeper · 05-01-2011, 11:00 AM

There is also the ability to loan books to another account for 14 days on some e-books via Amazon. Haven't used it myself as it's restricted to the US.

Tome Keeper · 05-01-2011, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bZkindle

you are probably able to borrow books from a site like booklending.com .

Don't think so, I tried this recently and could not download the book to my Kindle. Contacted CS and got told that I could not receive a loaned e-book because I was not in the US. Their FAQ however suggests it is possible as long as the lender is in the US but seems not.

bZkindle · 05-01-2011, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tome Keeper

Don't think so, I tried this recently and could not download the book to my Kindle. Contacted CS and got told that I could not receive a loaned e-book because I was not in the US. Their FAQ however suggests it is possible as long as the lender is in the US but seems not.

I have borrowed many books from booklending.
Some books however are not loan-able because of publisher restrictions.

Tome Keeper · 05-02-2011, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bZkindle

I have borrowed many books from booklending.
Some books however are not loan-able because of publisher restrictions.

Amazon must have been wrong then, I'll keep trying.

EltaninPub · 05-02-2011, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caleb72

...
For example, my sister might have her own account. She is ready to read a new ebook and I have one I wanted her to read. So she deregisters from her account, I register her with my account and she can read the book, then swap back to her account. She'll no longer have access to my copy - not sure if the ebook still remains on her device though...

As another person pointed out, this isn't entirely accurate, so I just want to clarify. Once your sister (for example) registers to your account and downloads the book, she can immediately deregister from your account and go back to hers. The book stays on her kindle and stays functional.

So, with your mother-in-law, you could add her kindle to your account, download a bunch of books to her kindle, then deregister it and she can register it to her own account. That way, she gets the books, but wouldn't have access to any... salacious... books you might have, you wouldn't have to worry about her buying books on your account, etc.

susan_cassidy · 05-02-2011, 01:57 PM

Does your family understand that you can't give copies of DRMed books to other people on other devices, either? Getting a Nook or whatever won't solve the problem of being able to "give" copies of DRMed books to someone. Of course, public domain stuff is different.

Tome Keeper · 05-02-2011, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhillipA82

That would be awesome if it was international of cource...

I'd say try it, some people say that it works as long as the sender is in the US, others say that it doesn't and that was my experience and what Amazon said, but it may be that certain books work and certain books don't.

Loosheesh · 05-04-2011, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tome Keeper

I'd say try it, some people say that it works as long as the sender is in the US, others say that it doesn't and that was my experience and what Amazon said, but it may be that certain books work and certain books don't.

From Amazon's Lending Kindle Books page:

Quote:

Is lending available internationally?
At this time, Kindle book lending can only be initiated by customers residing in the United States. If a loan is initiated to a customer outside the United States, the borrower may not be able to accept the loan if the title is not available in their country due to publisher geographical rights.

In these cases the borrower will be notified of this during the Loan redemption process, and the book reading and lending rights will return to the lender at the end of seven days from loan initiation. You can always check the status of a loan by viewing the book on the Manage Your Kindle page.

Hope this helps

CRussel · 05-04-2011, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caleb72

My family-in-law were going to pitch in for a Kindle for my mother-in-law, but unknown to me, one of the advantages of said purchase was that I was going to give copies of all my ebooks so that she had a lovely amount of content to start off with. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of shock expressed when I stated I was going to do no such thing (I'm in the dog house at the moment).

Really, they should go ahead and do it, buying the Kindle on your account. Once it arrives, download all the books from your account that she might want, and then deregister it and give it to her. She can then register on her account, and the books will remain.

In future, you can either register it over to your account temporarily if you want to give her one of your books, or you can strip the DRM and side-load it to her Kindle.

Emma Dog · 06-02-2011, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caleb72

Hi - just a (hopefully) simple question.

From what I can see, I can add Kindles to my Amazon account at will and those Kindle devices will be able to access my library.

There's many reason why I would not want to do this with just anybody. However, with family members this seems like a legit way in which I can share books inside the family unit.

For example, my sister might have her own account. She is ready to read a new ebook and I have one I wanted her to read. So she deregisters from her account, I register her with my account and she can read the book, then swap back to her account. She'll no longer have access to my copy - not sure if the ebook still remains on her device though.

From what I can see, this is how Amazon facilitates legit sharing within small groups.

Am I right in this? Can I do this freely within a select group? Are there any disadvantages for doing this?

My family-in-law were going to pitch in for a Kindle for my mother-in-law, but unknown to me, one of the advantages of said purchase was that I was going to give copies of all my ebooks so that she had a lovely amount of content to start off with. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of shock expressed when I stated I was going to do no such thing (I'm in the dog house at the moment).

However, I said there may be a way I can loan her ebooks. By the time, we got there though they'd already made the pronouncement that they will not buy a Kindle (while glaring at me).

I thought I might still try to understand the mechanics of loaning books on Kindle just in case this topic comes up again. Maybe if I can be more eloquent about the process I can avoid too many more trips out to the doghouse.

Regards
Caleb

Can anyone tell me how to register another's Kindle to my Amazon account? Thanks.

Emma Dog · 06-02-2011, 09:34 AM

Can anyone help me figure out how to add someone's Kindle to my account? Thanks!

05-01-2011, 10:32 AM	#1
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	Loaning ebooks Hi - just a (hopefully) simple question. From what I can see, I can add Kindles to my Amazon account at will and those Kindle devices will be able to access my library. There's many reason why I would not want to do this with just anybody. However, with family members this seems like a legit way in which I can share books inside the family unit. For example, my sister might have her own account. She is ready to read a new ebook and I have one I wanted her to read. So she deregisters from her account, I register her with my account and she can read the book, then swap back to her account. She'll no longer have access to my copy - not sure if the ebook still remains on her device though. From what I can see, this is how Amazon facilitates legit sharing within small groups. Am I right in this? Can I do this freely within a select group? Are there any disadvantages for doing this? My family-in-law were going to pitch in for a Kindle for my mother-in-law, but unknown to me, one of the advantages of said purchase was that I was going to give copies of all my ebooks so that she had a lovely amount of content to start off with. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of shock expressed when I stated I was going to do no such thing (I'm in the dog house at the moment). However, I said there may be a way I can loan her ebooks. By the time, we got there though they'd already made the pronouncement that they will not buy a Kindle (while glaring at me). I thought I might still try to understand the mechanics of loaning books on Kindle just in case this topic comes up again. Maybe if I can be more eloquent about the process I can avoid too many more trips out to the doghouse. Regards Caleb Last edited by caleb72; 05-01-2011 at 10:35 AM.

06-02-2011, 09:34 AM	#15
Emma Dog Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kindle	Registering another's Kindle to my amazon Account Can anyone help me figure out how to add someone's Kindle to my account? Thanks!

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05-01-2011, 10:47 AM	#2
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	doghouses are quite posh these days .... http://www.oldenglishinns.co.uk/frilford-heath/

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HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Your understanding of the process is absolutely correct.

05-01-2011, 11:00 AM	#5
Tome Keeper Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 1001201 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3 Keyboard, Surface Tablet, Android Smartphone, Laptop, Netbook	There is also the ability to loan books to another account for 14 days on some e-books via Amazon. Haven't used it myself as it's restricted to the US.

05-02-2011, 01:57 PM	#10
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	Does your family understand that you can't give copies of DRMed books to other people on other devices, either? Getting a Nook or whatever won't solve the problem of being able to "give" copies of DRMed books to someone. Of course, public domain stuff is different.