another Kindle US spend $20 get $5 offer, Nov 27 - Dec 4

[issybird]

Uh, nothing there disproves a word I've said. And he's an authority exactly why? Because it's on the internet?

I've granted that the $5 represents a 25% credit on a (very unlikely) purchase of exactly $25. But it really is snake oil. If you ignore the 25% and look at the essence, it's a $5 credit on a minimum purchase of $20. The percentage is just an attempt to make people think they're getting more than they are.

Generally when people talk percentages, it's in terms of a discount or savings on total outlay, and in this case, the best you can do is 20%. You can't just ignore the reality that you likely didn't get 25% off the first purchase, even as a future credit, and even more you can't ignore that you're going to have to make another purchase to convert that credit into actual savings. So I really don't understand these attempts to seemingly rebut what I've said, which just reiterate the very dead horse of how Amazon describes the credit, couched in rather fictional terms based on the minimum initial purchase, but doesn't deal with the underlying arithmetic of the discount Amazon is really giving people once they've bought the two books necessitated by the terms of the deal. I like to know what I'm getting.

Five bucks is five bucks and very nice at that. You save that on two purchases. The discount or savings as a percentage of total outlays, however, is going to be at most 20%, and most likely less and perhaps significantly less. But again, five bucks is five bucks and have at it. Just don't kid yourself that it's a bigger discount than it is.

I admit I'm ready to throw in the towel. I don't know how I could be clearer and anyway, I'm about to go out for a third day of eatin' with family.

[Dr. Drib]

Enjoy your outing with family.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Atunah

I activated it, but I just cleaned out my wishlist with that recent offer we had. I think it was buy $60 get $30? Or something like that.

I think it was buy $60 get $40. I've still got a graphic novel wishlist a mile long (probably >$1000 remaining) that I've been chipping away whenever they go on sale at $5 per volume.

By the way, I remember on the $60/$40 deal, as soon as I hit the $60 mark, the $40 was credited immediately to the account so I had one book that was charged partially from gift card and partially from the $40 credit.

I had already spent $30 before I saw and activated this promo, though so dunno if this would've behaved the same.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by issybird

Yep, but you can't spin that into a 25% discount or savings, no matter how hard you try and how many times you make that point. When you must spend a minimum of $25, your maximum discount is 20%. So when people are talking discounts and you're talking credit, it's apples and origins. In other words, precentages apply to discounts after all outlays are taken into account but a credit is a flat sum. And nobody can save 25% on this deal. No point in passing around Amazon's Kool-aid after drinking it yourself.

Heh, try explaining that to folks and investing.

Most people don't understand why when a stock loses 50% of its value, it then needs to gain 100% of the new value to recover from the loss.

[Dr. Drib]

^
I definitely remember a couple of different offers on that $60 deal. Both were great (like the current one that gives you $5 after spending $20, for a potential 25%), but the deals you mention had even GREATER savings.

I think the deal you mentioned was also by invitation [email], wasn't it?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

^
I definitely remember a couple of different offers on that $60 deal. Both were great (like the current one that gives you $5 after spending $20, for a potential 25%), but the deals you mention had even GREATER savings.

I think the deal you mentioned was also by invitation [email], wasn't it?

Invitation only and I think people received different offers ($60/40, $45/30, $30/20).

I remember seeing my offer on a top banner when I went to the Kindle ebooks home page.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Enjoy your outing with family.

Thank you. I did! I ate too much and then wiped the floor with the younger generation when the board games came out.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Invitation only and I think people received different offers ($60/40, $45/30, $30/20).

I remember seeing my offer on a top banner when I went to the Kindle ebooks home page.

I have to smile at that invitation stuff, when the mailings are sent out to millions of people.

[SeaBookGuy]

The key here is whether you purchase books you would have bought anyway (wish list) or whether they're ones driven purely by bargain hunting.

For the record, I bought three books of $9.99 + $9.99 (yup 2 cents short) + $2.99. Plan on two more @ $4.11 + $3.99.

[ShortNet]

Thank you so much for flagging this. I had to dig to find the offer on the Kindle store, but was able to click and receive my $5 credit (I had already spent enough over the holidays). If it hadn't been for Moblieread I would be $5 poorer this morning.

[ZodWallop]

Got my $5 credit right now.

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

If one spends exactly $20 (a difficult proposition), then one gets back exactly $5 (25%) in credit to purchase more ebooks.

Not sure what you are saying here. If you spend $20 (or more) within the date range, you get a $5.00 credit to use by December 21st.

[Apache]

This reminds me of stores offering 70% to 80% off back in the mid to late '80s. People would buy something at 80% off even if a store next door was selling it for less money. Customers would say, " but it is 80% off". If you are marking something up six to eight times 80% was not a deal. They still bought into the hype.
It's the same thing with the odds of winning a lottery. If the odds are a million to one and you buy a half million tickets the odds are still a million to one not two to one.
Apache

[binaryhermit]

that sort of thing is common with liquidation sales. often, by the the things are good deals, idiots have bought everything worthwhile

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Got my $5 credit right now.



Not sure what you are saying here. If you spend $20 (or more) within the date range, you get a $5.00 credit to use by December 21st.

That if I spend exactly $20 (and no more), then I'll get $5 in credit.

And if I spend more, then the savings (%) drops. That's all.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

That if I spend exactly $20 (and no more), then I'll get $5 in credit.

You get the $5 in credit if you spend more, too. That's part of Amazon's game.

And if I spend more, then the savings (%) drops. That's all.

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Again. The savings is never going to be 25%. You've got to spend another $5 to get any savings at all, making a minimum total outlay of $25, of which the $5 credit would be a 20% savings.

The 25% is Amazon snake oil, or a distraction if you'd rather. This is the deal: spend a mimimum of $20 on ebooks and Amazon will give you a $5 credit. Focus on the $5. The 25% is irrelevant and inaccurate; it's spin. Don't fall for Amazon's ploy.

If percentage savings matters to you, as it does to me as I consider the quality of a deal, it's no better than 20% and that's virtually impossible to attain, especially as the $25 outlay is over two transactions. Spend exactly $20 on the first and exactly $5 on the second and you max out at 20%.

But, heck, if you're happy and think you've saved 25%, there's obviously nothing I can say after all these attempts to convince you otherwise. Enjoy.