How to get Amazon to stop accepting returned Kindle ebooks

[GJN]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I aksed, and it turns out that he would buy multiple technical books on a single topic and only keep the best one. I think he was pushing his luck, honestly.

Doesn't he know about free samples? If he can't judge the quality of a book and/or its formatting from the first couple dozen pages, then he shouldn't be using a Kindle. Does he do this with physical books, too?

[Daithi]

Over the last couple years I've purchased over 200 books from Amazon and returned two, due to really bad formatting. Thirty returns seems like a lot to me, but like Sonist said, "it would depend on the ratio of purchases/returns."

[CleverClothe]

Originally Posted by olympian

Amazon DRM's been hacked?

For about 1 1/2 years I think. Might be a little less, I think it happened after I got my iLiad.

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by Daithi

like Sonist said, "it would depend on the ratio of purchases/returns."

Again, that's a myth. Amazon have made in plain in the past they take action on the absolute number of returns (for anything), over any period of time, rather than a ratio. Usually by banning the account without warning, so their restraint is unusual.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

For about 1 1/2 years I think. Might be a little less, I think it happened after I got my iLiad.

Well... kinda. If the book is not in Topaz format, then yes, it's crackable. If it is, however, then no. Topaz is still not breakable. Much to my sorrow and dismay.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Really? You must not buy very many. My total ebook purchases over the last couple years is about 200. And I've returned at least 10 to Amazon. That's not a very high ratio, is it?

I aksed, and it turns out that he would buy multiple technical books on a single topic and only keep the best one. I think he was pushing his luck, honestly.

Well, I've bought about 150 and never returned any. There was one I probably should have because the formatting was horrible but I read it anyway. I'm curious. What were the main reasons you returned them? Do you read samples first? I've only bought a book without reading the entire sample when I was outside of the US. That has generally been enough to ascertain if there's a problem with a book. I've never returned a paper book for not liking it, so I don't think I'd return an ebook for that reason either.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by kenschunk

No matter what the number is, it's still more than the Sony store will give you, which is exactly zero. I can't even get them to give me credit for a book that was left in my shopping cart at the change to ePub, and wasn't available when I purchased it. Their answer is "well, someday you'll be able to download it, and we don't allow ANY refunds".

I don't get this. How was it in your shopping cart but not available when you purchased it?

If you are saying that you paid for the book but it wasn't downloaded to your computer after you paid, then you should not be asking for a refund, but rather, for the book.

If they are saying they don't have the book (maybe because it hasn't been converted to epub yet) and won't give you back your money, call your credit card company & contest the charge. Tell them you paid for the product but Sony refuses to deliver the item you bought, or to refund your money. You'll get your money back.

[markbot]

If I worked for Amazon I would probably have the person investigated for fraud so the way they actually handled it was quite nice of them.

[SpiderMatt]

Seems like something that could be fixed with a new account.

[sassanik]

I don't buy ebooks from Amazon as I don't have a Kindle. However I have "returned" 2 books to Fictionwise. I was refunded for them, I have bought over 100 books from Fictionwise. One was blank... something funky happened and there was no book in it, and the other was book 2 in a series but it said it was supposed to be book 1.

30 books seems high to me. Even Bricks and Motar bookstores very rarely accept book returns. The main reason being printing problems and missing pages.

Though it is good to note that Amazon's tolerance of book returns is not terribly high.

Amy

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by olympian

Amazon DRM's been hacked?

Yep. If it had not been, I would NOT have purchased a single title from Amazon.

I have returned two books so far:

One was White Nights, which was basically taken straight from Gutenberg, with a million typos in it.

The other was The Christ Conspiracy, which was in Topaz format - that one is not yet cracked, so I don't want to spend my $$ on it.

Since then, I download samples first, even though I think it's annoying to have to do so.

[dura]

How would that work with real books, order one, return it after say 1 or 2 weeks? Do that a few times and see what your brick&mortar bookshop has to say.
Perhaps to avoid this kind of misunderstandings it would be better to offer the first chapter free as a demo and not offer refunds at all.

[Ea]

Unless something is defective, the return of a purchase is not a right - it's a service that the shop can offer if they want - AFAIK. I don't get why this guy haven't taken more advantage of the samples? In most cases they give enough of an impression of the style and quality to know whether or not to take a chance and purchase the book.

[owl123]

Money-back guarantees make people feel safer about the purchase and this way they buy more. That's Marketing 101 ;-)

[Ea]

[QUOTE=lisreed;698454]

Originally Posted by owl123

Money-back guarantees make people feel safer about the purchase and this way they buy more. That's Marketing 101 ;-)

Of course! I agree and I take advantage of it - it's just not a right - and in IMHO something that comes down to a question of trust between you and the shop and as such should not be exploited.