This morning we posted an alert about three Kindle Books which were listed as free for pre-orders.
Amazon has now, as of early afternoon, changed its Kindle Store listings for these three books so that they are no longer free. Whether the listing was a Kindle Store glitch or, as it might seem to some customers, a bait-and-switch tactic, Amazon should refund any charges levied against customers who naturally believed they were pre-ordering these books at no charge, and issue an apology for the confusing website behavior. It is especially important for the Kindle team to be proactive in this case, given the fact the these were pre-orders and Kindle Store customers probably will not see evidence of the charges on their credit or debit accounts until Monday (the books’ Kindle release date) at the earliest.
The telephone number for Kindle Support is 1-866-321-8851 (1-206-266-0927 outside the US).
Update: By way of explanation, a contact at Amazon emailed Kindle Nation Daily this afternoon: “In this case, the publisher decided this morning to end the free promos, timing and control of which is at their discretion.”
As shown in the screenshot below, although the books in question are no longer listed as free, they continue to show up as of 2:30 pm EST 1.29.2010 in response to a Kindle search for zero-priced titles.
What charges? It was free and A pre-order. What exactly do want them to refund?
A number of customers clicked to buy from a screen that showed the title in question as being free, only to receive an email later saying that they had been charged.
I have received no e-mail, and these items are still showing as $0.00 in my order history.
It shows as free still on my Kindle account page, but I'm canceling it now anyway. I'll wait a week and see what the buzz is on the Kindle boards about people being charged.
Kim, if your account shows it as free, I wouldn't cancel it, because I am quite sure you got it before they raised the pre-order price!
Likewise, Amy, anyone who got it free will no doubt have it free.
I just spoke with a rep at Amazon. He assured me that mine are free. But when I pressed him further that if I am indeed charged on Feb 1, what recourse would I have, he said to call and they would refund the charge. But he seem confident I wouldn't be. I will wait and see…
Ordered under the free window yesterday, and when I got up this morning (Saturday), the book I ordered on Alaska was waiting for me on my Kindle. The transaction e-mail I received says that it was free. Thanks, Amazon!
I don't think this is confusing at all. Offering a Kindle edition for free pre-order is a great way to have your book debut high on the Kindle best sellers list, new and noteworthy list and movers and shakers.
I'm sure I'm not the only heavy ebook buyer who scans these lists for new items I might want to purchase.
I'll bet there are plenty of Kindlers who routine download free books they would never have purchased at the regular price, so I doubt the publisher loses many paid sales by offering the book as a free pre-order for a few days. In return the publisher gest on these lists, generates some buzz on the message boards and generates reviews from grateful readers judging the books as freebies.
I ordered two of the books in question, and they were both delivered today, two days ahead of the official rfelease date. I also received emails from Amazon notifying me that they had been sent by whispernet and confirming the $0.00 pricng.
I probably would not have purchased them if they had not been free, so the publishers got a no cost assist from me in launching these titles onto the best seller lists.
This is not confusing at all. By offering free pre-orders for a few days, the publisher will probably ensure thst the titles debut on the Kindle best sellers list, along with New and Noteworthy and Movers and Shakers. The cost is small, since most of the free pre-orders will come from alert Kindlers who regular check blogs and message boards for new free titles, but would not have purchased the books had they not been free.
I pre-ordered two of the titles in question, and they arrived today, two days before the official release date. I also received emails from Amazon alerting me that they had been sent via Whispernet and conforming the $0.00 price.
To be super safe, I saved the emails and will monitor my credit card for any charges, but I'm quite sure that I got them free by acting before the price was increased.
Since I almost certainly would not have paid for these bboks, I gave the publishers a free assist in getting the titles on three lists ahtta heavy ebook buyers regularly scan for new content. They also got the titles mentioned in several blogs and on message boards that heavy ebook consumers frequent.