Mad at B&N

[steph_g]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Kindle owners have long known (usually learning the hard way) that if they wait.......the initial price will go it down.

I'd say you just learned this also.

Problem solved.

Yep, you're right. Just needed to vent a little. (I AM enjoying the book! I guess it would be a lot worse if it turned out to be a book I wasn't that crazy about.)

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by steph_g

Yep, you're right. Just needed to vent a little. (I AM enjoying the book! I guess it would be a lot worse if it turned out to be a book I wasn't that crazy about.)

Well.........there ya go!!!

[JSWolf]

if I buy something and then within 30 days, I find the price has been lowered, I will go back and ask for the the difference.

[steph_g]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

if I buy something and then within 30 days, I find the price has been lowered, I will go back and ask for the the difference.

Yeah, I asked. The answer was no. Oh, well.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by steph_g

Yeah, I asked. The answer was no. Oh, well.

B&N seems to be not very nice. Once you buy, you are stuck with what you bought as you bought it.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

As for one-click, if you do buy something in error, I certainly would, immediately, fire off a note to customer service to reverse the charge. If you haven't downloaded yet, you might get a positive response. And -- even if a download has taken place, you may still get a positive response the first time. But put away that trigger finger!

The problem with that is that if the bookstore charges in US dollars and you're not in the US, you lose out on the exchange rate on your CC, even if you get the purchase price "back".

I'm not so much annoyed because the book I accidentally ended up buying when I was trying to get a sample got cheaper later, because I'd have expected and been prepared for that had I been willing to pay to read the book *just right then*, as that Amazon's store is set up in such a way as to make it fairly easy to buy without clear confirmation or particular indication that's what one's doing.

I didn't even notice until sometime later when the "sample" on my Kindle seemed unusually long, and by that time I'd read a fair chunk of it and I figured I might as well not waste the 5% or so that would get eaten up by the two-way foreign currency back-and-forth, especially as the Canadian dollar had dropped substantially in the days that passed.

As it is, I've now padded out my Amazon account with a gift card so that should it happen again, at least I can return without incurring that financial penalty.

But I'm still annoyed enough at their automatic 1-click system that I'm very unlikely now to buy any of my e-books through them if I can get them at the same price at Kobo or even Sony, which for all its faults, at least has a shopping cart system.

[Pagali]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

But I'm still annoyed enough at their automatic 1-click system that I'm very unlikely now to buy any of my e-books through them if I can get them at the same price at Kobo or even Sony, which for all its faults, at least has a shopping cart system.

If you go into your account settings at Amazon, you can turn off the 1-Click feature. Problem solved!

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Pagali

If you go into your account settings at Amazon, you can turn off the 1-Click feature. Problem solved!

That only works for "regular" physical 1-click purchases, not the ones for e-books in the Kindle store.

Apparently there may be a way to disable even 1-click e-purchases, but if it exists at all, it involves contacting Amazon Customer Service and making a specific request. And there's no official word as to whether it actually exists.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Pagali

If you go into your account settings at Amazon, you can turn off the 1-Click feature. Problem solved!

I have my 1-Click turned off, but when you buy an ebook or MP3s 1-Click still shows up as the only way to purchase. I sent Amazon an email complaining about this - if I forget to turn off my PC or forget to logoff my cleaning service can buy stuff with my credit card! Their response was that I need to remember to turn off my PC or logoff and there is no way to completely turn off 1-Click.

[tubemonkey]

One-click is is to Amazon's favor. They're hoping for mistakes that people don't catch. It's like having cell phones set up so that you "accidentally" connect to the web with just a push of one button and not even know it until it's too late.

A nickel here and a dime there adds to the bottom line.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by steph_g

I bought Bill Bryson's new book through B&N to read on my iPad for $15.92 on Oct. 5th (the day it was released). I thought the price was too high, but I really love his books, so I decided to go for it (and it's really excellent, BTW). Yesterday, I was browsing through some of his books on their web site thinking I might buy the ebook editions of some of the ones I have in hard copy when I noticed that book is now $9.99. Needless to say, I am miffed! They dropped the priced ~$6.00 in the first ten days - what's up with that? I have emailed them asking for a credit for the difference, which I doubt I'll get, but it will definitely make me think twice about ordering from them again, especially a new release. Has this happened to anyone else? What do you think about this? I mean, I know the prices drop eventually, but to have it drop that much within the first 10 days is surprising, don't you think? (Now why won't that happen with Ken Follett's new book on iBooks? )

do you have this sort of reaction when the grocery store puts steak on sale for $1.50/lb the day after you paid $6.99/lb? Or even if the price of milk drops from $3.99/gal to $2.99 right after you bought it?

I don't see why you feel you "deserve" money back...as others have pointed out you saw it, you indulged yourself and got what you paid for...whether the price is worth it is a very subjective and completely different discussion without a doubt.

[abookreader]

Well for future reference the Bryson book is published by Doubleday (Random House) in the US.

Random House is the BIG non-Agency Publisher in the US and the retailers can discount those books. If there is a book like this one that is likely to hit the NYT Bestseller list the week after publication - it will almost certainly drop to $9.99 eventually.

Sometimes the retailers will drop it to $9.99 earlier, sometimes not. Usually if one store drops to $9.99 then the others will follow with a price match within a day or two. Never guaranteed.

Amazon will refund a price difference if the price drop occurs within 7 days of purchase but I don't know of any other retailer that does that. They will also let you return an eBook within 7 days after purchase, but I have a feeling that if you started getting too liberal with that policy you could find your Kindle account frozen.

[steph_g]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

do you have this sort of reaction when the grocery store puts steak on sale for $1.50/lb the day after you paid $6.99/lb? Or even if the price of milk drops from $3.99/gal to $2.99 right after you bought it?

I don't see why you feel you "deserve" money back...as others have pointed out you saw it, you indulged yourself and got what you paid for...whether the price is worth it is a very subjective and completely different discussion without a doubt.

Well, I think most people feel a little pissed when they see something they just bought on sale for a lower price. Maybe you don't. (I'm a teacher - you probably make more money than I do!) Really, at this point, I'm most surprised by some people's reaction here to my vent. I thought I'd find more like-minded book lovers that already think that most ebook prices are too high. I guess not. It's certainly not the end of the (or my) world. Yes, lesson learned. Frankly, the farther I get into the book, the less it bothers me, because it's probably my favorite Bryson book so far. I'm so happy for you that it doesn't bother you to see something you just bought for sale at a cheaper price. Personally, I like stores that have a price guarantee, but to each his own.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by steph_g

Really, at this point, I'm most surprised by some people's reaction here to my vent. I thought I'd find more like-minded book lovers that already think that most ebook prices are too high. I guess not.

We'd all like books to be cheaper I'm sure, but by buying at the instant of release you're always going to pay a premium. If you can hang on for a month or so, you'll generally be able to find it significantly cheaper.

[SensualPoet]

My experience with Amazon is they will go the extra mile and give the customer the benefit of the doubt if they bought something in error. Sure -- don't push that. Sometimes life happens and it's not necessary to find someone to blame for every small inconvenience that trips us up. But if you believe you didn't get what you bought, eyes-wide-open pressed "yes, I'll buy it", then of course ask for refund (right now: time is of the essence).

I try not to look at expenses on the micro-level. In principle, I won't spend $15.99 for an e-book ... but if the stars align, well, ok ... because overall, my e-books average out at $6.99 (I'm guessing, I don't know but I could find out the exact amount if arsed).

The point is: today a Margaret Truman mystery is $6.29 today and tomorrow $7.49 and a couple of week later $5.19 on sale. In the grand scheme of things, my "mystery e-book reading hobby" is costing me $30/mth and I'm getting enormous pleasure from the book-a-week adventures. The husband spends $10 on cigarettes in two days. Really, I'm getting a bargain. Even if I "get soaked" on an Ian Rankin $2 more than I see it offered a week after I bought it.