Kindle US getting tricky with "buy" buttons for free titles ???

[sufue]

Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this...

For a couple of weeks (???), whenever I try to buy a book that is free at Kindle US, and is also in the KU program (for which I have a membership), the primary button that shows up first on the webpage for the book has only a "Read for Free" button, that would only borrow it from KU, and not actually buy it. And there is no immediately visible "Buy" button. See the first thumbnail below.

To actually buy the book, you have to click on the little "see purchase options" link, which then reveals the "Buy now with 1-click" button that actually lets you purchase the book. See the second thumbnail below.

At first, I thought this was some glitch, but since it hasn't gone away for quite a while, I am now thinking it is on purpose. Although it's hard for me to imagine the purpose, since free is free, unless maybe they want you to borrow the book, and then like it enough to buy it, maybe after it's no longer free ??? But that seems a bit tortuous, even for Amazon ???

Anyway, just curious if anyone else has noticed this. I'd say it has happened to me 5 - 10 times over the last few weeks.

[sufue]

Well, and now I'm replying to my own post - I just tried this with a non-free KU title, and it shows up the same way.

Since I don't read a lot of KU titles (yeah, I know, probably not going to renew my KU next time it comes up), has this maybe been a change for longer than a few weeks, and I just haven't noticed it?

[Deskisamess]

I noticed it a few weeks ago. Just more tweaks to the site I suppose. I didn't think much beyond that...something to do with pay scales?

[shalym]

Originally Posted by sufue

Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this...

For a couple of weeks (???), whenever I try to buy a book that is free at Kindle US, and is also in the KU program (for which I have a membership), the primary button that shows up first on the webpage for the book has only a "Read for Free" button, that would only borrow it from KU, and not actually buy it. And there is no immediately visible "Buy" button. See the first thumbnail below.

To actually buy the book, you have to click on the little "see purchase options" link, which then reveals the "Buy now with 1-click" button that actually lets you purchase the book. See the second thumbnail below.

At first, I thought this was some glitch, but since it hasn't gone away for quite a while, I am now thinking it is on purpose. Although it's hard for me to imagine the purpose, since free is free, unless maybe they want you to borrow the book, and then like it enough to buy it, maybe after it's no longer free ??? But that seems a bit tortuous, even for Amazon ???

Anyway, just curious if anyone else has noticed this. I'd say it has happened to me 5 - 10 times over the last few weeks.

I think this must be something that is only for people who subscribe to KU. For me, the "Read for Free" button is there, but the buy button is also there...I don't have to click on "see purchase options" in order to buy it.

Shari

[haertig]

If I am logged in to my Amazon account, I only see the KU clickbox, and have to manually select "see purchase options" to make the clickbox to buy it visible.

If I am NOT logged into my Amazon account, I see both clickboxes immediately and do not have to go through the extra manual step to display purchase options.

It appears that if you are a KU member (they can only tell that if you are logged in) then they are attempting to steer you to use a KU loan rather than a purchase. I would have expected the opposite ... because they make money if you purchase the book, they don't make any additional money (beyond your already-paid-for KU membership) if you choose the loan over the purchase. Maybe there is some other hidden revenue stream for Amazon if you choose the KU loan. Do they charge the authors some amount of money if their books are borrowed more frequently?

This has the same kind of "huh???" feel as the case where they sell used paperback books for one penny, with a shipping charge of $3.99 each. I did read an explanation of that once, and sure enough, there was a hidden revenue stream that made it more profitable to sell the books for cheap and charge high shipping. This KU vs. buy thing probably has a similar hidden revenue stream for Amazon that is not immediately obvious to us customers.

[DiapDealer]

Or they're merely streamlining the process, and assuming a KU subscriber will generally want to use the KU option they're paying for. Instead of steering them toward something, perhaps they're just removing a distracting, less likely-to-be-used option. Happy KU customers equals more KU customers.

The more books a KU customer reads using KU, the longer they will likely keep their KU sub, meaning a steady revenue stream for Amazon. One-off purchases are just that, it's not in Amazon's interests to encourage KU users to do the maths and see if KU is saving them money or not. (I did, and for me it wasn't, so I dropped it)

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Or they're merely streamlining the process, and assuming a KU subscriber will generally want to use the KU option they're paying for. Instead of steering them toward something, perhaps they're just removing a distracting, less likely-to-be-used option. Happy KU customers equals more KU customers.

On the other hand, I am not a KU subscriber, don't read anywhere near enough for a subscription to be worthwhile, and don't connect my kindles to wifi, and am unhappy with the increased friction in finding the price and buying.

The past several months they also seem to be experimenting with not having links to hardcover, paperback, and kindle versions on the same page. Sometimes all three show while the page is loading, then one or two disappear. That's really annoying.