How to get Amazon to stop accepting returned Kindle ebooks

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by djmixon

Anyone who writes and publishes knows there ar far too many "customers" who do just this and it is wrong.

If the purchase is returned immediately, that is one thing. But many times the books are purchased and returned several days later and after the royalies have been paid.

Of course, the "customer" doesn't know that, but the problem is pervasive. Yes, pervasive. And it must stop.

Not only does it clearly show that the webiverse is full of cheats and scammers, but also that your friend's behavior is suspiciously close to that category.

I reviewed my purchases for 2011 and I counted almost 1000 (one thousand) ebooks. How many did I "accidently purchase"? 2 (two). How many did I return? 0 (zero).

Your friend either "sleep shops" or doesn't understand what the "Sample" feature is for and how to use it.

Honestly? I think Amazon SHOULD ban him and others like him from receiving refunds from ebook purchases UNLESS the refund is processed immediately via the "accidentally purchased" option. At the most generous, any return should be required to be completed within a VERY short time frame, as in minutes, to protect the varacity of the storefront.

It really annoys me when people abuse the system put in place for normal, law-abiding (non-pirates) citizens.

Others may beleive my thoughts to be harsh, but I am looking at a much larger picture.

I say it's about time Amazon grew a pair.

For the record, books can only be returned within 7 days no questions asked. After that, you have to call or write CS and give one of a few valid reasons that are usually linked to formatting, content not as advertised (erotica as a children's book) and such.

Also for the record, the royalties are not paid until approximately 60 days after a purchase so anyone returning within the 7 day period because of accidental purchases, formatting, etc, does not affect the paycheck.

Yes, there are probably some people who gleefully rub their hands, download an ebook, read it and return it within 7 days. But there is a limit on the number of times a reader can do that--after a certain number their account with Amazon is closed. So a reader would have to be 1. Dishonest, 2. somewhat sneaky 3. limit it to books that were very expensive to get the bang for their buck and 4. willing to try hard not to run into the algorithms that would pick up on it.

I'm guessing it would be easier for a person to just troll the web and find a pirate version of the book.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I realize the pointlessness of replying, but no, reality has nothing to do with what people believe. Stand out in the rain without an umbrella, and you will get wet, no matter how hard you believe that you or will stay dry. You can believe that you can jump to the moon, but you will come right down to Earth again. You can't breathe under water unless you bring air with you. Two apples plus two apples is four apples, it doesn't matter that you've clicked your heels together and wished really hard that they were four apples. You can pretend that reality is made up, but reality has a way of insisting, and doesn't care what you wish it to be.

But we are not talking about apples, or raindrops. We are talking about the creative products of the human mind. Our conception of what rain feels like as it strikes our skin, that is the consensual delusion. You might hate the feeling, others might love it.

You might believe that creators should be paid before their creations are consumed, others might not. There is no right or wrong way to think about this, however with the digital we are able to provide universal access, as long as the reader has access to the network (which is another matter entirely) But once this is access is obtained, NOTHING should stop those who only wish to read. Compensation should be an afterthought.

[QuantumIguana]

Your position would result in less books being written, if paying was an afterthought, then few people would pay. If few people paid, authors would have to make a living doing other things beside writing. This means they would have less time to write, and therefore, less books would get written. If everything is free, no one has any incentive to produce.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Your position would result in less books being written, if paying was an afterthought, then few people would pay. If few people paid, authors would have to make a living doing other things beside writing. This means they would have less time to write, and therefore, less books would get written. If everything is free, no one has any incentive to produce.

Few people already pay... And more and more books are being uploaded every day.

I am not sure if time should matter either, much garbage is written quickly, as well as quality, and the reverse is also true.

If someone wants to write they are going to write. If someone wants to read they are going to read.

[martienne]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Your position would result in less books being written, if paying was an afterthought, then few people would pay. If few people paid, authors would have to make a living doing other things beside writing. This means they would have less time to write, and therefore, less books would get written. If everything is free, no one has any incentive to produce.

—Books got written before modern copyright and corporate publishers.
—Books got written in strictly socialist countries either because people loved writing and would write regardless, or because they got paid a salary for being an author rather than having to live off royalties.

But sure, there might be less books written, slightly less. In a content driven model, quality not quantity would rule though.
Not necessarily a bad thing. There'd be no hyping trashy, mediocre potential bestsellers with cheesy marketing campaigns. No myriad of x10 "how to" books on the same topic, asking fat sums for slim books that are just a re-hash of existing material. There'd be one or two good "how-to" books per topic.

[Katsunami]

edit: Crap. Old thread. Ah well.

--DELETED--

[DiapDealer]

IT LIVES!! AGAIN!

Necro-thread squared.

[DaveinJapan]

Originally Posted by olympian

Amazon DRM's been hacked?

That's the first I've heard of this, too. Any further info on this? Sounds like a pretty major issue!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

IT LIVES!! AGAIN!

Necro-thread squared.

Four years and still shambling about.
Is that the record?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by DaveinJapan

That's the first I've heard of this, too. Any further info on this? Sounds like a pretty major issue!

Mobipocket DRM was first reverse engineered by the Darkreverser and the necessary script was published on his blog on 13th February, 2008.

Work by several others has kept up with changes by Amazon over the years, and the current scripts (including a calibre plugin) can be found by googling for Apprentice Alf's blog.

Note that detailed discussion of DRM removal is not permitted on MobileRead.

[Grace Elliot]

I haven't even worked out how to return a book on Amazon....

[patrickt]

Once I bought a paperback by mistake. My error. I tried to cancel the order and it was already shipped. Since it was my error I had no trouble eating it. I got an email from Amazon saying they had sent me the ebook. They said the value of the paperback was less than the cost for me to ship it back from Mexico so I could just donate it to a library. Amazon is, in my opinion, super customer friendly.

But, then there was the guy who claimed her returned eight Paperwhites in two weeks because none was satisfactory. I think they should have replaced his Paperwhite with a Nook and never accepted another order or email from him.

My personal favorites are people who think they're so special that a one-year warranty really means forever.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by patrickt

My personal favorites are people who think they're so special that a one-year warranty really means forever.

From my time at several customer service desks...

Ignorance/being reeeally backward in time:

"I cannot find any cartridges for $printer anywhere! I just bought it like 15 years ago! What... 'online?' 'Internet Shop?' What's that?"

"WHAT do you say? You don't make any Windows 95 drivers for this printer I just bought?!"

Or the ohter way around:

"WHAT? You're not making anymore Windows 7 drivers for $device from 1991?!"

Hilarious:

"Listen, young man. *I* have bought this device, so it's *your* job to tell me how it works!"

"My daughter of three dropped my friggin' expensive $device, and now it's broken. How are *you* going to fix that? I need it tomorrow!"

"Apple upgraded OSX and now my printer is broken. I want a replacement."

Stupidity:

"My laptop doesn't turn on anymore, but yesterday, I left it out in the rain. Could that be part of the cause?"

"Yesterday I accidentally sat on my $device, and now it's broken. Is that covered under warranty?"

"Connect the printer wirelessly? It's not connected anymore when I pull the power plug, you %^#%^!"

"Hi. My $device is broken, and your warranty terms state that you do pickup and return. Okay, here's my address: Blabla... Tokyo, Japan." Wait. What? JAPAN? "Yeah, I just moved there last month." (Contacting the helpdesk in the UK, and getting angry when told $company only does pickups in the UK, not in Japan.)

===

I could go on and on... and you wouldn't BELIEVE some of the stuff customers think they are (or should be) entitlted to.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by Grace Elliot

I haven't even worked out how to return a book on Amazon....

I assume it works the same way in the UK.... Go to your Manage Your Kindle page, locate the book you want to return, click the yellow Actions... button to the right, and choose "Return for Refund." This can only be done within 7 days of purchase.

They will often still issue you a refund beyond the 7 days if you contact Kindle Customer Service, if there is a problem with the ebook.

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

"Hi. My $device is broken, and your warranty terms state that you do pickup and return. Okay, here's my address: Blabla... Tokyo, Japan." Wait. What? JAPAN? "Yeah, I just moved there last month." (Contacting the helpdesk in the UK, and getting angry when told $company only does pickups in the UK, not in Japan.)

I still haven't gotten my damn $device!