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

sufue · 11-29-2019, 08:12 AM

Kindle US is running another of their spend $xx on ebooks, get $xx credit on ebooks offers...

For me it's buy $20, get a $5 credit, but sometimes in the past the amounts have varied for different people.

This one appeared as a banner on my Kindle US webpage, but I haven't seen an email for it - at least as of now. Sometimes the emails seem to lag the banners by quite a while.

It says it's invitation-only, so check your email and/or visit the Kindle US store and look for the banner.

And the offer has to be activated, but it is retroactive for purchases within the date range, which is kind of nice of them...

YMMV, but it's probably worth taking a look - especially if you have some books that never go on sale sitting on your wish list.

Dr. Drib · 11-29-2019, 08:23 AM

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

It's a good deal if your Wish List is getting somewhat lengthy, or to save just a little bit of money (or, possibly, spend a little bit more money).

Then there is the wit who will say that spending $20 isn't saving money at all: It's spending $20.

tempest@de · 11-29-2019, 09:56 AM

thank you for posting, I just activated it, not sure if I will actualy use it but it's nice to have the option. I will look in my wishlist to see if there is something that I want right now.

Atunah · 11-29-2019, 02:46 PM

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.

Dr. Drib · 11-29-2019, 04:27 PM

Quote:

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'll give you a portion of my Wish List.

issybird · 11-29-2019, 04:33 PM

At its best, and it's a practical impossibility, it amounts to a 20% discount on $25 worth of books, but it means you have to spend exactly $20 and then exactly $5. A discount that isn't cash on the barrelhead, but has to be spent on more product, needs to reflect the total outlay including the credit. In other words, although they'll give you $5 which reflects 25% of the $20 outlay, the percentage of the discount has to reflect the everything that needs to be spent to take advantage of it.

For me, it's really only a good deal if I were about to pull the trigger anyway. A discount that most likely falls somewhere between 15% and 20% isn't all that compelling. Decent, but not terrific.

Dr. Drib · 11-29-2019, 05:34 PM

Hey, everyone...I'm in luck. I'm a big fan of novellas and this publisher - Nouvella - has 4 titles each for $5.00 that I have on my Wish List. This is a literary publisher, by the way.

If I decide to get these 4 (total: $20.00), then that will qualify me for the 25% ($5) in credit!

I'm seriously considering it.

sufue · 11-30-2019, 07:30 AM

Lucky you

, I never got that biggish one!

Quote:

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.

sufue · 11-30-2019, 07:35 AM

I always have a few titles on my wish list that I am pretty sure will never go on sale - usually non-fiction, but also some books from a couple of smallish mystery publishers who so rarely discount that it might as well be never. So I'm willing to take this type of (admittedly small) discount and pull the trigger.

I'll wait until Dec 3, to see how much I spend on Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale titles, and then pick a title or two from the wishlist to finish it out. And I buy enough from Kindle that it won't be a problem using the credit.

Sure, it's not a big discount, but it's nice that it can "work" on anything...

Dr. Drib · 11-30-2019, 08:03 AM

It only shrinks from 25% to less the more one initially purchases.

Remember, the purchase point is $20 - as stated in the header by the OP and verified by the email sent to me - and not $25.

BUT, spend more than 20 bucks and the percentage credit awarded to you begins to decrease. Keep in mind that it's very, very, very, very difficult to spend only 20 bucks to maximize that 25% savings represented by $5 in credit to your account (due to the way Amazon prices ebooks), but it CAN be done. (See my post above.)

The thing to do, I would suggest, is try to get as close to that dream figure of $20, and then wait for another sale like this.....perhaps around Christmas?

By the way, Merry Christmas everyone!

issybird · 11-30-2019, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sufue

Sure, it's not a big discount, but it's nice that it can "work" on anything...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

It only shrinks from 25% to less the more one initially purchases.

Remember, the purchase point is $20 - as stated in the header by the OP and verified by the email sent to me - and not $25.

BUT, spend more than 20 bucks and the percentage credit awarded to you begins to decrease. Keep in mind that it's very, very, very, very difficult to spend only 20 bucks to maximize that 25% savings represented by $5 in credit to your account (due to the way Amazon prices ebooks), but it CAN be done.

For the sake of clarity, there's a difference between a discount and a credit. The $5 savings is a maximum 25% credit of the initial purchase, but it's a maximum 20% discount/savings. The terms are not interchangeable. And since by the terms of the offer, the savings has to be spread across two different purchases, that further drives down the amount of the credit/discount, both, unless you can hit both marks exactly. To put it into simple terms, if you spend $15 on $20 worth of books, you've saved 25%. But if you spend $20 on $25 worth of books, you save 20%. The credit is worthless without that second purchase, so you have to include it in your calculations.

Perhaps I'm being overly pedantic, but I think it's important to be accurate in sussing out offers, and Amazon's game here is to present the credit as a bigger discount than it actually is both in absolute terms and in practical terms. Or, it's fun with numbers.

For me, it's the required second purchase that's the biggest stumbling block to the offer. I do have pricey books on my wishlist that never get cheaper, and I'd be tempted to get whatever discount I could. But I don't have a $5-ish wishlist item to give full value to making actual use of the offer. At that price, I've generally bought them if I really wanted them anyway. So if I have to apply the credit to some $35 worth of books (since the first book has to be $20 or so, the overall discount has dropped below 15%. Better than nothing, but....

Heads up: You have to use the credit within 21 days of having it applied to your account, so don't wait until Christmas Eve unless you've made your purchase the last day of the offer!

Dr. Drib · 11-30-2019, 08:40 AM

Everyone:

1) Spend the $20 (ebooks) and get 25% in credit ($5) in your account toward the purchase of more ebooks.

2) Spend more than $20 and your percentage decreases.

issybird · 11-30-2019, 10:48 AM

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.

issybird · 11-30-2019, 11:08 AM

Because I'm having fun with this as aa marketing ploy, I'm going to play with it a bit more. I know everyone has moved on!

Amazon in effect is saying, "Spend at least $25 on ebooks and we'll take $5 off and you have to do it in two transactions with specified minimums, to boot. The 25% is window-dressing and irrelevant; it's a virtually impossible value to realize in any case. It's just an intentionally deceptive way of making a $5 flat credit toward a future purchase look more valuable than it is. As consumers, we want to watch out for attempts on the parts of merchants to make us think we're getting more than we are; it's good to check out the underlying realities on promotions.

Dr. Drib · 11-30-2019, 11:36 AM

Hey, Mobilereaders looking for a great bargain, here's some information on this great sale. The link below will fill out some of the details as first mentioned by the OP.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/5-cred...-spend-amazon/

I have no affiliation with Amazon - except that they love my credit card!

I just love great bargains!

11-29-2019, 08:12 AM	#1
sufue lost in my e-reader... Posts: 7,543 Karma: 52440304 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: sunny southern California, USA Device: Android phone, Sony T1, Nook ST Glowlight, Galaxy Tab 7 Plus	another Kindle US spend $20 get $5 offer, Nov 27 - Dec 4 Kindle US is running another of their spend $xx on ebooks, get $xx credit on ebooks offers... For me it's buy $20, get a $5 credit, but sometimes in the past the amounts have varied for different people. This one appeared as a banner on my Kindle US webpage, but I haven't seen an email for it - at least as of now. Sometimes the emails seem to lag the banners by quite a while. It says it's invitation-only, so check your email and/or visit the Kindle US store and look for the banner. And the offer has to be activated, but it is retroactive for purchases within the date range, which is kind of nice of them... YMMV, but it's probably worth taking a look - especially if you have some books that never go on sale sitting on your wish list.

11-29-2019, 05:34 PM	#7
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,748 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Hey, everyone...I'm in luck. I'm a big fan of novellas and this publisher - Nouvella - has 4 titles each for $5.00 that I have on my Wish List. This is a literary publisher, by the way. If I decide to get these 4 (total: $20.00), then that will qualify me for the 25% ($5) in credit! I'm seriously considering it. Last edited by Dr. Drib; 11-30-2019 at 07:59 AM.

11-30-2019, 08:03 AM	#10
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,748 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	It only shrinks from 25% to less the more one initially purchases. Remember, the purchase point is $20 - as stated in the header by the OP and verified by the email sent to me - and not $25. BUT, spend more than 20 bucks and the percentage credit awarded to you begins to decrease. Keep in mind that it's very, very, very, very difficult to spend only 20 bucks to maximize that 25% savings represented by $5 in credit to your account (due to the way Amazon prices ebooks), but it CAN be done. (See my post above.) The thing to do, I would suggest, is try to get as close to that dream figure of $20, and then wait for another sale like this.....perhaps around Christmas? By the way, Merry Christmas everyone! Last edited by Dr. Drib; 11-30-2019 at 08:10 AM.

11-30-2019, 08:40 AM	#12
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,748 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Everyone: 1) Spend the $20 (ebooks) and get 25% in credit ($5) in your account toward the purchase of more ebooks. 2) Spend more than $20 and your percentage decreases. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Dr. Drib; 11-30-2019 at 08:45 AM.

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11-29-2019, 08:23 AM	#2
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,748 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	If one spends exactly $20 (a difficult proposition), then one gets back exactly $5 (25%) in credit to purchase more ebooks. It's a good deal if your Wish List is getting somewhat lengthy, or to save just a little bit of money (or, possibly, spend a little bit more money). Then there is the wit who will say that spending $20 isn't saving money at all: It's spending $20.

11-29-2019, 09:56 AM	#3
tempest@de Fanatic Posts: 516 Karma: 4442943 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Portugal Device: Kobo Glo, kindle	thank you for posting, I just activated it, not sure if I will actualy use it but it's nice to have the option. I will look in my wishlist to see if there is something that I want right now.

11-29-2019, 02:46 PM	#4
Atunah Wizard Posts: 1,817 Karma: 23400001 Join Date: May 2012 Location: USA Device: K1/K3/BasicK Voyage/Oasis1/Oasis3	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.

11-29-2019, 04:33 PM	#6
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,228 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	At its best, and it's a practical impossibility, it amounts to a 20% discount on $25 worth of books, but it means you have to spend exactly $20 and then exactly $5. A discount that isn't cash on the barrelhead, but has to be spent on more product, needs to reflect the total outlay including the credit. In other words, although they'll give you $5 which reflects 25% of the $20 outlay, the percentage of the discount has to reflect the everything that needs to be spent to take advantage of it. For me, it's really only a good deal if I were about to pull the trigger anyway. A discount that most likely falls somewhere between 15% and 20% isn't all that compelling. Decent, but not terrific.

11-30-2019, 07:35 AM	#9
sufue lost in my e-reader... Posts: 7,543 Karma: 52440304 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: sunny southern California, USA Device: Android phone, Sony T1, Nook ST Glowlight, Galaxy Tab 7 Plus	I always have a few titles on my wish list that I am pretty sure will never go on sale - usually non-fiction, but also some books from a couple of smallish mystery publishers who so rarely discount that it might as well be never. So I'm willing to take this type of (admittedly small) discount and pull the trigger. I'll wait until Dec 3, to see how much I spend on Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale titles, and then pick a title or two from the wishlist to finish it out. And I buy enough from Kindle that it won't be a problem using the credit. Sure, it's not a big discount, but it's nice that it can "work" on anything...

11-30-2019, 10:48 AM	#13
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,228 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	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.

11-30-2019, 11:08 AM	#14
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,228 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	Because I'm having fun with this as aa marketing ploy, I'm going to play with it a bit more. I know everyone has moved on! Amazon in effect is saying, "Spend at least $25 on ebooks and we'll take $5 off and you have to do it in two transactions with specified minimums, to boot. The 25% is window-dressing and irrelevant; it's a virtually impossible value to realize in any case. It's just an intentionally deceptive way of making a $5 flat credit toward a future purchase look more valuable than it is. As consumers, we want to watch out for attempts on the parts of merchants to make us think we're getting more than we are; it's good to check out the underlying realities on promotions.

11-30-2019, 11:36 AM	#15
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,748 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Hey, Mobilereaders looking for a great bargain, here's some information on this great sale. The link below will fill out some of the details as first mentioned by the OP. https://thepointsguy.com/news/5-cred...-spend-amazon/ I have no affiliation with Amazon - except that they love my credit card! I just love great bargains!

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