Amazon Prime Free Lending. Was I Charged Anyway?

[laurie_lu]

I found a book on Amazon that is suppose to be free for Amazon Prime customers (me).  I clicked to buy it and then got a receipt saying I was charged $2.99 for the book.  Did I do something wrong?  I thought the books marked 'Prime' were free (one/month) for Amazon Prime customers ??

[Dragle]

Were you using your Kindle or your computer's browser?  I found out from customer service that if you browse to the book with your computer, you can see that it's free to borrow, but you can't actually borrow it from there. You have to go to it from your Kindle and then there will be a button available for borrowing it.  But from your computer, there is no button to borrow, only to buy it.

[laurie_lu]

Yep, I used my browser.  Not my Kindle. I clicked "Refund" in my Kindle orders section of my account.  Not a good first impression of the Amazon Prime perks since I signed up last night.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Books marked Free for Prime members must be checked out through your Kindle.  It's limited to people who actually own a Kindle.  I think the fact that it is so easy to return books bought in error is a tribute to Amazon, but I do agree that they need to find a way to make it clearer from the web page that the book must be borrowed from your Kindle.

Note that you can borrow one book a calendar month, but you can keep a book out as long as you want, you just can't check out another one until you've returned a first one.

Betsy

[laurie_lu]

Thanks, I went back to the book's page and dug through the hyperlinks to see exactly where I went wrong with my purchase.  I finally saw the fine print "Includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet".  I think I was too impatient grabbing the book and I always make my purchases via my desktop PC.

[arshield]

I agree there has got to be a better way.  Combined with the quickly changing prices for free books I know have a regular go through my books for the week and make sure that I didn't accidentally get charged for stuff I thought I got for free.  Around $20-25 of charges I thought should have been free so far this month.  Caught most of then, not not a couple

[Dragle]

Yep, they should make it more clear on the webpage.  Right next to 'Free to Prime members" it should say you must borrow from your Kindle.  But the weird thing is, Amazon knows if you have a Kindle linked to your account, so it's not like checking it out from there is needed to prove you have one.    It's not that big of a deal to use the computer to find the book you want (easier to browse), then go to the Kindle and search by title to go directly to the page to borrow it from, but still.

[jmiked]

Thanks, I went back to the book's page and dug through the hyperlinks to see exactly where I went wrong with my purchase.  I finally saw the fine print "Includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet".  I think I was too impatient grabbing the book and I always make my purchases via my desktop PC.

Don't all Kindle books say free wireless delivery (at least in the US)?

Mike

[Sandra Edwards]

I wish we could borrow from our computers, too. I just don't shop for books on my Kindle. I always buy on my computer and send it to my Kindle.

[kindlegrl81]

People really need to start reading the instructions before jumping in.  Under the purchase options there is a box that has a link that says "Learn more about Kindle Owner's Lending Library."  When you press this it shows this: "For more information about the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, including how to borrow a book, visit our help and FAQs," which links you to step by step instructions:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=kinw_prime_popup_h?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200757120&ie=UTF8

[Ann in Arlington]

On the page for a Prime book it says the following:

Borrow this book for free, with no due dates, if you are a Kindle owner and Prime member. If you don't own a Kindle, get yours today. If you're not a Prime member, start your one month free trial today. You can borrow this book from your Kindle device.

With Prime, Kindle owners can choose from thousands of books to borrow for free — including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. Learn more about Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

It's in the box labeled Prime with the words For Kindle Device Owners just like that in orange.  The last sentence is actually a link that takes you to the page kindlegrl linked to which give pretty clear step by step instructions on how to get to the book on your Kindle.

The other thing is that the buy button is different than on non-Prime books in that it has a price on it.  And the regular price is listed under the 'free to borrow' price.

I'm not sure how much clearer they could make it, but it is, I suppose, having that large $0.00 where people are used to seeing the actual 'buy' price, the thing that causes the problem.  It is clearly marked, I think, but if you move too quickly with out reading closely I can see how one can make the mistake.

[meromana]

With the Prime lending books, they've added the actual price to the One-Click buy button when you're shopping in the browser.  I always check what it says there before I click it.  It will say "Buy for $2.99", so you know you're not getting it free, and you're not just borrowing it.

--Maria

[Chris_Diamond]

Thanks, I went back to the book's page and dug through the hyperlinks to see exactly where I went wrong with my purchase.  I finally saw the fine print "Includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet".  I think I was too impatient grabbing the book and I always make my purchases via my desktop PC.

So you was not charged when you "borrowed" the e-book via the prime membership from your Kindle device?

[tamaraheiner]

I would've made the same mistake. Glad you got your money back!

[ProfCrash]

Same here. I rarely shop on my Kindle, only when I am traveling, so I would not have thought to go there. And no, I don't read all of the instructions many times. I think that I am in the majority on that. The good news is that it is an easy fix and a painless lesson learned.

Thanks for sharing so that others don't make the same mistake.

[Lambert]

Yeah, it's confusing. They should have some note there about how to do it that's obvious

[kindlegrl81]

Same here. I rarely shop on my Kindle, only when I am traveling, so I would not have thought to go there. And no, I don't read all of the instructions many times. I think that I am in the majority on that. The good news is that it is an easy fix and a painless lesson learned.

Thanks for sharing so that others don't make the same mistake.

Probably

However, if you do not read the instructions and you end up doing it wrong then it is your own fault IMO, not Amazon's.

[ProfCrash]

I am glad that you read everything all of the time and hence would not make such a mistake.

I am glad that laurie_lu mistake was easily rectified and that she shared her story with those of us who are not perfect so that we can learn from her mistake.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Hey, it's a beautiful day (here) and KindleBoards is back on line!  And who are you going to root for in the Superbowl?  In other words, let's move on. 

Betsy

[kindlegrl81]

I'm not perfect, I just don't blame amazon when I make a mistake. 

I don't know who is even playing in the Super Bowl this year 

[Lambert]

I am glad that you read everything all of the time and hence would not make such a mistake.

I am glad that laurie_lu mistake was easily rectified and that she shared her story with those of us who are not perfect so that we can learn from her mistake.

I agree. Wish Kindleboards had a thank you button like the Warriorforum.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Well, posting one's appreciation always works.
 

Betsy

[laurie_lu]

Glad my mistake was able to prevent others from doing the same.    Yes I was able to get a refund and re-download the book via my Kindle Touch for free.