Refurbished Kindle: $99

[ekaser]

An article on CNet News this morning:

Refurb Kindle drops to $99, new model coming?

Amazon has quietly dropped the price for its refurbished Kindles, with the WiFi-only, ad-free Kindle now at $99 while the 3G ad-free version is down to $129.99.

Big deal, you say. The WiFi-only Kindle with Special Offers is $114. But as the blog Beyond Black Friday points out, the last time Amazon dropped the price on the refurbished versions of its e-readers the Kindle 3 (the current model) arrived soon afterwards in late August. To put it more bluntly, Amazon appears to be clearing inventory in advance of a launch.

[Daithi]

It does sound like Amazon will be releasing a new version pretty soon. However, if you are not holding out for a tablet, or really want a touch screen, then a $99 Kindle might just be perfect.

Personally I'd like a thin color 10"+ tablet even if it is LCD based, but not for reading books. I'd like it for movies, games, internet access, and maybe reading magazines. For books, I'd still prefer eInk. I also like buttons for reading books, while I'd want a touch screen for a tablet.

[ucfgrad93]

Those are great prices.

[joobies]

I can't find where they are actually for sale.... would like to pick up some gifts.

[Papi]

Great prices, but I don't see the reason why it is available for US only...Maybe there's a good reason, but sometimes it seems they just "forget" about the "rest of the world".

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by joobies

I can't find where they are actually for sale.... would like to pick up some gifts.

Here's the link.

[Kali Yuga]

I plan to wait and see what's in the pipeline. The ol' K2 is still doing fine for me.

[joenunya]

Originally Posted by joobies

I can't find where they are actually for sale.... would like to pick up some gifts.

Or perhaps other countries need to make selling books slightly less difficult than to get a license to perform brain surgery. Kidding aside before the internet existed did you complain that stores in other countries sold things nowhere but in that country? The web as not changed the reasons those situation existed but rather brought them under a more obvious light. If you have complaints complain to your lawmakers which have protectionist laws on the books. Or just accept what those laws provide that other countries don't have.

[pdurrant]

There are some refurbished models in the UK store too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B002Y27P46/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B002LVUWFE/

£79.99 for the Wifi model and £115.99 for the 3G model. (No advertising supported models in the UK yet).

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by joenunya

Or perhaps other countries need to make selling books slightly less difficult than to get a license to perform brain surgery. Kidding aside before the internet existed did you complain that stores in other countries sold things nowhere but in that country? The web as not changed the reasons those situation existed but rather brought them under a more obvious light. If you have complaints complain to your lawmakers which have protectionist laws on the books. Or just accept what those laws provide that other countries don't have.

Uhh, I don't think she was complaining about the availability in any specific country. I think she just wanted the link to $99 Kindles.

[Daithi]

Oh, I see, Papi was complaining about foreign availability.

[Papi]

Yes I think it was a reply to my post, though I don't really see what the French law on book pricing has to do with what I said. I was complaining about the fact that the refurbished Kindle 3G aren't sold in France. The Kindle 3G IS sold in France, through amazon.com. Now maybe they only have "US" refurbished Kindle 3G (I don't remember if Kindle 3G has anything specific other than the SIM card), maybe there's a law I don't know that prevents Amazon to sell refurbished items outside US, maybe Bezos's daughter was kidnapped and she will be forced to read books on a Sony PRS-600 if amazon sells this item to me...As I said maybe there's a good reason I'm not aware of for them not to sell refurbished Kindle 3G outside USA, but it just seems to me they forgot or don't care. I emailed them, I got a very polite answer, they told me Warehouse Deals is a subsidiary of amazon.com, and that they ship some items outside USA, but not this one. They offered me 10$ on my next purchase, which is nice, and that's it for me, no big deal.

[L.J. Sellers]

From an author's perspective, I hope this is the beginning of the retail season's price wars. Let the buying begin.
L.J.

[Toxaris]

Originally Posted by joenunya

Or perhaps other countries need to make selling books slightly less difficult than to get a license to perform brain surgery. Kidding aside before the internet existed did you complain that stores in other countries sold things nowhere but in that country? The web as not changed the reasons those situation existed but rather brought them under a more obvious light. If you have complaints complain to your lawmakers which have protectionist laws on the books. Or just accept what those laws provide that other countries don't have.

Actually, in the days before internet I could order any foreign book that I wanted in my local bookstore. Sure, it could take some weeks before it arrived and I paid the jackpot for them, but it was possible and not difficult.
Now I have to pull some tricks from the hat to be able to by a e-book. A lot more hassle while it should be a lot easier. The cause? Plain old greed to have the rights sold to as many separate countries as possible.