Troubleshooting Can’t buy ebooks from Kindle

[Cootey]

I’ve run into a problem that I wanted to let others know about just in case they run into it.

I’ve been unable to purchase ebooks from my Paperwhite or from a desktop browser. If I try to buy an ebook from the Kindle store, I get an order error whether the book is free or not. If I try to buy the same books at Amazon.com from a desktop browser, clicking on 1-Click loads the page where you choose which device to send the ebook to, but no matter which device I select, the page just reloads. There is no purchase made.

According to Amazon, this is a known issue for some people. The ticket is five days old. So, if you’ve been ripping your hair out, now you know it’s not just you. You can avoid calling Amazon where they’ll have you logging out, then logging back in, reloading the page, turning 1-click on and off then on again, deleting your default card then re-adding it, and wiping your browser cache and cookies. If you can, show gratitude by lighting a candle in memory for every hair I’ve ripped out over this issue.

[Fat Abe]

This looks like a book which falls into the anime/manga/graphic novel category. My theory is that many such titles are restricted from being downloaded in the AZW3 (KF8) format to prevent users from decrypting the book. You may not be able to push the book to your specific reader even if you buy it online through the web site. Do you own a more modern reader?

[Cootey]

That’s not the problem, unfortunately. I can’t buy any book, Japanese light novel nor western fiction. I can’t buy any book from my Kindle Paperwhite 4, a desktop browser on my Mac, nor a mobile browser on my iPhone. The Paperwhite at least gives me an error. The browsers just get stuck in a loop sending the book to a device. As far as I can tell, the browser thinks the transaction has completed, but never debits my card or adds the book to my list of purchases. I was hoping other people who ran into this issue might jump in here so we could compare notes.

If you shared a link to a free book of a genre of your choosing that you can purchase, I could give it a shot. That might be worth experimenting with.

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by Cootey

If you shared a link to a free book of a genre of your choosing that you can purchase, I could give it a shot. That might be worth experimenting with.

You can try this book.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by hleo12

You can try this book.

I just tried buying that eBook and I was successful. I did not use a Kindle. I did it via a web browser.

[Paperbackstash]

This sounds like a very annoying issue to have - hopefully they fix for you soon.

[Cootey]

Thanks for the ebook suggestion, hleo12. Thanks for the feedback, Jon. Unfortunately, I cannot buy it. Same problem as listed above. I’ll try using a third party browser on my Mac, but I am skeptical that it will work because I can’t buy ebooks on my Kindle Paperwhite 4 either.

I think I’ll also try sending an Overdrive book to my Kindle. Even though the CS agent said other users couldn’t borrow books, I haven’t tried it personally myself yet. I usually read library ebooks on my Kobo.

Do any of you have credits available for purchasing ebooks? I have a little over $9 in credits with Amazon. I’m wondering if that is where the inability to purchase bug is springing from. If anybody with credits could purchase that free ebook that hleo12 shared and let me know, I’d appreciate it.

Update: I cannot borrow books with my Kindle from Libby. It uses a browser to authorize the process on Amazon's site, which encounters the bug.

Update 2: Using Brave Browser instead of Safari on my Mac, I run into the same loop when trying to select which device to send the ebook to. This is either an Amazon issue (which the CS agent already said was a known issue), or a problem with my account, though I bought an ebook as recently as 2/15, purchased goods last Friday, and saw my Prime subscription clear the bank over the weekend. It's just an ebook issue.

Update 3: On a whim, I fired up my Japanese Amazon account and purchased two Japanese books without an issue using Safari web browser on a Mac. I didn't attempt to purchase the book listed above since I was in the Japanese store. Whether it's relevant or not, I had no credits in my Japanese account.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

This sounds like a very annoying issue to have - hopefully they fix for you soon.

It’s beyond annoying. I feel like Amazon is pushing me deeper into the Kobo ecosystem now.

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by Cootey

It’s beyond annoying. I feel like Amazon is pushing me deeper into the Kobo ecosystem now.

I've seen similar posts on reddit. For some reason they can't buy books with credit. And some even can't buy books with their credit/debit cards.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by hleo12

I've seen similar posts on reddit. For some reason they can't buy books with credit. And some even can't buy books with their credit/debit cards.

I may never know what happened. I just tried again, and finally succeeded in buying an ebook. With credit.

I didn’t think to check out Reddit. I thought for sure that somebody else would’ve had the same problem here. I guess it wasn’t very common.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Cootey

I may never know what happened. I just tried again, and finally succeeded in buying an ebook. With credit.

Congratulations! I guess Amazon can now take your money again. Support seems less helpful than it used to be at Kindle.