It started with Lisa Kessler after finding a negative earning balance as her Kindle e-book Returns. Since then, authors have been protesting against the Amazon Kindle E-Book Return Policy. Is it an accidental book purchase or a read-and-return practice? In this post, we will expound more on Amazon Kindle e-book return policy.
Are you aware that Amazon, through the Amazon Kindle Return Policy, allows its clients to return an e-book seven days after purchase? This policy has rattled many authors, as learners have been purchasing books, reading, and returning them within the said period. Most learners do claim that they accidentally purchased the book.
As per the Amazon Tablet Return Policy, Amazon refunds the purchasing account and deducts a fee from the author's kindle account. Authors are protesting against this policy, saying that it’s too easy for customers to return the book after reading it.
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What is the Amazon Kindle E-Book Return Policy?
In a genuine situation, a learner can cancel an accidentally ordered book within seven days. After the cancellation is initiated, a refund is credited to the original payment source within three to five days.
How to Return A Kindle E-Book Order Under the Current Amazon Tablet Return Policy?
Getting a refund on a purchased Kindle e-book within seven days is easy. Here is the Kindle Book Return process:
Step 1: Sign in to Your Orders using the same Amazon account details you used to make the purchase.
Step 2: Click the Return for Refundn tab next to the title you wish to return from the Digital Orders section.
Step 3: Select Return for Refundnfrom the drop-down menu after selecting the reason for return.
Be aware that the self-service refund option may be unavailable if your account has a history of many return requests. To stop these accidental purchases, account owners are advised to enable parental restrictions to stop kids from making unauthorized purchases.
Who Are the Individuals Pushing for The Change of the Amazon Kindle Return Policy?
Here are the key stakeholders pushing for the amendment:
Lisa Kessler
Before the "read and return" fad, Kessler said she typically received two book returns per month, resulting from honest mistakes. Now she’s watching her whole catalogue being repurchased. "It shook me to my core," she added. It's discouraging to wonder if you'll be able to support yourself if the current state of affairs persists.
Reah Foxx
After learning about "life hacks" that encourage others to take advantage of Amazon's return policy to read for free, a Louisiana reader named Reah Foxx started a petition to change the policy. So far, approximately 70,000 people have signed the petition.
Eva Creel
Eva Creel, writing under the pen name E. G. Creel, claims that consumers who support read-and-return may assume they are "sticking it to Amazon," although in essence, they are hurting the writers. "The library has a copy of my book. Anyone who wants to can access it without cost. "To quote Creel: However, after reading it, I began to feel as though I had earned money that was being stolen from me.
Kristy Bromberg
Romance author Kristy Bromberg asserts that she has earned more returns within the past two months than she did in the preceding eight months put together.
Nicole Givens Kurtz
Nicole Givens Kurtz, a science fiction and fantasy writer expressed fear that this pattern would continue. Her quality of life and her capacity to provide for her family will suffer if customers continue to read and return electronic books. She also said that “I don't think the audience fully grasps the humanity behind the product.”
What Was Amazon's Reply Regarding the Change In the Amazon Kindle Return Policy?
After all the petitions and claims were received, Amazon took the initiative and said the following: "In its pursuit of excellence, Amazon is dedicated to serving readers and writers exceptionally well. Our e-book return policy is protected by several policies and safeguards designed to stop misuse. We take customer comments seriously and look into every complaint." The Amazon spokesperson added that we could only hope that book returners will soon realize their harm to authors and readers.
The Difference Between Amazon Tablet Return Policy from Other Vendors
However, only Amazon, one of the five largest e-book vendors, makes it simple for buyers to return e-books within that time frame. The return policies of Kobo and Apple iBooks, for example, require customers to get in touch with customer care to find out if an item is returnable. Electronic books purchased from Barnes & Noble or Smashwords cannot be returned. Another disgusting thing is that only digital books can be returned from various products Amazon offers.
What Are the Expected Changes to the Amazon Tablet Return Policy?
By the end of the year, the refund policy will have major changes. The Authors Guild claims that Amazon will restrict their automated e-book return policy to customers who have read less than 10% of the book.
Customers who have read more than 10% of an e-book and still want to return it must submit a customer care request, which will be examined to ensure that the return request is valid and does not violate Amazon's anti-abuse policy. This procedure will serve as a severe disincentive to buy, read, and return e-books within the seven-day grace period, and readers who seek to misuse the return policy will be punished under Amazon's guidelines.
Amazon has measures in place for customers who return books for no reason. There will be a set maximum number of Kindle book refunds that can be processed per Amazon account, and once that number is reached, no further refunds will be processed. Although the precise number is not disclosed, Good e-Reader, a reliable source, says it will range between four to six monthly returns.
Conclusion
Yes, we all agree that there will be changes to the Amazon Tablet Return policy. Learners seem to have been taking advantage of Authors' e-books. The 7 days purchase cancellation window will be replaced by a 10% reading restriction. Learners will no longer submit more than 6 cancellations a month. The unfair cancellation of e-books does not hurt Amazon but rather than authors themselves.