Kindle 3 Serial Number question

[macfrugal]

I acquired a damaged screen Kindle 3 WiFi (no 3G) and located what I thought was the serial number as detailed here. The serial number I found was in the following format: B008A0A--------2&0
(the blue portion should represent the serial number - the dashes are numbers).

I have two 3G Kindles with serial numbers that end in a letter. My question is: Do the WiFi Kindles' serial number end with a letter or a number? The reason why I'm asking is that I got the following message when I tried to register what I think is the serial number: "There was a problem registering your Kindle. Please contact customer service at 1-866-321-8851."

I'm trying to figure out if I'm putting in the wrong serial number, if the Kindle needs to be deregistered, or if it's blacklisted.

Thanks for any insight.

[mrsquash]

My K3 WiFi serial ends with a letter (the last 3 characters are N7U).

My K3 3G serial ends with a number.

In Amazon's Kindle User Guide, the picture of the Settings screen shows a 3G (B006...) serial which ends in a number.

In all cases, the serial is 16 characters long.

Hope this helps.

[wvcherrybomb]

Just checked a K3 wifi only and it ends in 935

[kranu]

What did they say when you called the number on the error message?

I have a 3G Kindle, so I can't help you with the serial number.

[macfrugal]

Thank you, mrsquash and wvcherrybomb! That helps.

I haven't yet called the number - I'm going to attempt to blindly deregister first.

[macfrugal]

I contacted Amazon and they informed me the Kindle was lost or stolen. They've sent a label for the return of the Kindle.

[kranu]

Originally Posted by macfrugal

I contacted Amazon and they informed me the Kindle was lost or stolen. They've sent a label for the return of the Kindle.

About the label to return the Kindle.. are they paying you money for returning it?

[sirmaru]

I had received one defective Kindle WiFi and another Kindle WiFi in good condition. The defective one ended in three digits starting with a letter. The one in good condition ended in three numbers.

It's possible all the ones ending with the letter in the last 3 digits were recalled since, as soon as I gave my serial number to CS on the defective one, it was recalled immediately without questions. The letter starting the last 3 digits in the defective one was an "E".

Both Kindle WiFi's started with B0008A0A.

[macfrugal]

Originally Posted by kranu

About the label to return the Kindle.. are they paying you money for returning it?

No. And I'm in an ethical quandary. I purchased the damaged Kindle on eBay with the hope of having it fixed. Amazon treated me like a criminal and said it must be returned to Amazon. Now the eBay seller says return it to him for a refund. What a mess!

[reech]

Return it to the seller for a refund from them - that's the only way you'll get that money back.

Contact Amazon, and say you're not sending it back to them, since the person on ebay sold it to you, and you need to return it to them for a refund.

If I were you, I'd pass Amazon the ebay Seller's detail as well - but there's no doubt some law against passing on a third parties details, even if they're likely a crook

[Gwen Morse]

Originally Posted by reech

Return it to the seller for a refund from them - that's the only way you'll get that money back.

Contact Amazon, and say you're not sending it back to them, since the person on ebay sold it to you, and you need to return it to them for a refund.

If I were you, I'd pass Amazon the ebay Seller's detail as well - but there's no doubt some law against passing on a third parties details, even if they're likely a crook

I'd send it back to Amazon, and then file a request with Paypal to have your payment returned, citing sale of lost/stolen goods. Paypal is supposed to make good in that case (through the Buyer Protection program).

[kranu]

Originally Posted by macfrugal

No. And I'm in an ethical quandary. I purchased the damaged Kindle on eBay with the hope of having it fixed. Amazon treated me like a criminal and said it must be returned to Amazon. Now the eBay seller says return it to him for a refund. What a mess!

As reech said, return it to the eBay sender. If the seller gives you any problems, open a dispute, and Paypal will have your back when you state that it was a stolen good. As for Amazon, if they call you, just tell them that you returned the product.

[macfrugal]

I informed the seller that it has to go back to Amazon regardless. The screen was completely unreadable on this Kindle, but it also had a lighted case which I'm sure the owner would like returned.

The seller consented and refunded my money. Tomorrow, the Kindle and case will go back to Amazon.

It sure has been an interesting 24 hours with this broken Kindle.

[kranu]

Originally Posted by macfrugal

I informed the seller that it has to go back to Amazon regardless. The screen was completely unreadable on this Kindle, but it also had a lighted case which I'm sure the owner would like returned.

The seller consented and refunded my money. Tomorrow, the Kindle and case will go back to Amazon.

It sure has been an interesting 24 hours with this broken Kindle.

I'm glad it all turned out well, although I don't understand why you would give the case to Amazon. You could sell/keep/return it. I doubt that Amazon would send the Kindle back to the original owner, since the screen is broken.