Amazon won't price match their own prices.

[omegahack]

A book I bought a few days ago for $14.27 is now $9.99 and they won't price match it. How does that make any sense?

Has anyone else run into this or successfully had Amazon price match a book they bought with a lower price?

[Dana]

Price matching would be very nice.......  sort of like how they agree to give you the lower price if you preorder a book and the price then goes down at the release.

BTW, if it's an eBook, you have 7 days to get a refund from Amazon....  and I assume that you could then repurchase for the lower price.

[omegahack]

I am talking about an ebook, the purchase date was on Feb. 22nd and I had contacted them a few days ago.

I just believe that 7 days to return and repurchase the book is a little ridiculous, it should be closer to 14 - 30 days IMO. Now I feel like if I buy a book I have look at the price of the ebook every day just in case if the price were to go down. It also makes me not want to buy any books with the thought that the price could possibly go down in 8 days.

It really just comes down to good business practices and keeping customers happy and willing to purchase a product.

[Leslie]

Amazon did have a 30 day price match guarantee but they quietly ended it quite awhile ago...at least a year, I am thinking. Maybe longer. Even so, if you call Kindle customer service and explain the situation and that you are unhappy about this $4.28 price difference, they may very well refund the difference to you. I think I've heard of that happening with other folks, even though they are beyond the 7 day return period.

EDIT: I just re-read your message and it sounds like you did call and they wouldn't refund the difference. Okay, well in this case, they are sticking to their policy.

L

[Betsy the Quilter]

I am talking about an ebook, the purchase date was on Feb. 22nd and I had contacted them a few days ago.

I just believe that 7 days to return and repurchase the book is a little ridiculous, it should be closer to 14 - 30 days IMO. Now I feel like if I buy a book I have look at the price of the ebook every day just in case if the price were to go down. It also makes me not want to buy any books with the thought that the price could possibly go down in 8 days.

It really just comes down to good business practices and keeping customers happy and willing to purchase a product.

Seven days seems entirely reasonable to me, it's long enough for me to tell whether there are formatting issues or not, which to me is the main reason to return a book. If the book costs more than I care to pay, I don't buy it to start with.  If I think it's priced reasonably, I buy it and I'm done with it.  My time is worth something.

Betsy

[ElaineOK]

Personally, I am surprised that they have any return policy on ebooks.  You buy it, you read it, you return it.  That's just wrong.  Sorry, but customer satisfaction is one thing.  Guaranteeing against buyer's remorse is something else.

Elaine
Norman, OK

[Betsy the Quilter]

Personally, I am surprised that they have any return policy on ebooks.  You buy it, you read it, you return it.  That's just wrong.  Sorry, but customer satisfaction is one thing.  Guaranteeing against buyer's remorse is something else.

And that's the problem with a longer return period...it just encourages people to read the book and then return it, and I know that already happens even with the seven days.  People have posted here about not liking a book and then returning it, which I agree isn't a valid reason.

I do think that the price fluctuations on ebooks are pretty extreme and a bit silly.  Paperbacks go out to the store and, unless it's a discount store or there's a sale, are the same price forever...eventually I think the ebook market will stabilize to be something like the music market, but it's going to take some more time...

Betsy

[pomlover2586]

I wholeheartedly agree with Betsy.....10-30 days for a return policy on and E-Book is absurd.......people would purchase, read it, and return it.......and Amazon would make zero profit. 7 Days is more than fair......it's enough time to start reading the book.....and I'm sure some people even finish them and then return them [not that it's OK] but at least the problem probably isn't as rampant as it would be with a 30 day return policy.

[worktolive]

There was a discussion about this over at the Mobileread forum awhile back. Someone had posted that a friend of his had been cut off from being allowed to return ebooks because he'd returned around 30 of them in the time he owned his K. Whether you agree with that policy or not, I'm just posting this to let you know that apparently Amazon does monitor the number of returns you make and will cut you off once you reach a certain point.

Personally, I was glad to hear that because I think that otherwise, dishonest people will do exactly that, they will buy a book, read it within 7 days and then return it. I'm glad Amazon is doing something to prevent that. If you think about it, 30 or so returns of ebooks is pretty generous. I've had a K for about 18 mos, have purchased close to 400 books and I think I've returned two or three - always because I accidently one-clicked when I meant to just get a sample. I've never had to return a book for formatting problems because I sample about 90% of the time before I buy and formatting problems tend to be throughout a book so they will show up in the sample.

I've heard that B&N and Sony do not allow any returns except for formatting.

[raven312]

Try a few of the other larger booksellers; you buy it, you own it.  If there's a problem with it, you still own it.  Check out (for example) B&N's policy and you'll realize that 7 days (and exceptional circumstances) is fantastic.  

[loca]

They don't price match on books.

[pawsplus]

Seriously -- does anyone here want Amazon to just hand stuff out to everyone so they end up going out of business?  I have no problem with either they or the pubs making money.  That's how they stay in biz and we get books.  

I've never returned a book. If I get it and don't like it, that's MY problem.  After all, they offer free samples.  I've made a few mistakes and I lived w/ them. No biggie.  The only reason I would return one would be b/c of formatting problems that were distracting.  

And I don't see why Amazon should "price match" its own books either.  Prices change.  That's life.  You pay more today for a book than you would have paid yesterday? You'll make it up next month when you pay LESS for one than you would have paid yesterday.  It all comes out in the wash.

[Patra]

Seriously -- does anyone here want Amazon to just hand stuff out to everyone so they end up going out of business?  I have no problem with either they or the pubs making money.  That's how they stay in biz and we get books. 

I've never returned a book. If I get it and don't like it, that's MY problem.  After all, they offer free samples.  I've made a few mistakes and I lived w/ them. No biggie.  The only reason I would return one would be b/c of formatting problems that were distracting. 

And I don't see why Amazon should "price match" its own books either.  Prices change.  That's life.  You pay more today for a book than you would have paid yesterday? You'll make it up next month when you pay LESS for one than you would have paid yesterday.  It all comes out in the wash.

I agree.  It just amazes me that people think they should be able to return anything for any reason.  I have NEVER returned a book.  I even bought a book twice because the original (DTB) had a bunch of pages missing and the bookstore wouldn't exchange it for one that was complete (no receipt). I did go to another bookseller to buy the complete book, though!  Why do people think that if they buy something and don't like it when they get it home that the seller is somehow responsible?  I bought a Sony Pocket reader and just didn't like it.  I don't know if the store would have taken it back or not.  I just gave it to someone else to use.  I don't have money to throw away, but if I make the mistake of buying something without doing the research that I should have, then I figure it's my tough luck; I'll be a little more careful next time.  A lot of us are just spoiled rotten brats.  We have to have things our way or we make sure that everyone around us knows how mistreated and abused we are.  *Backing down off the soapbox*

[Leslie]

There was a discussion about this over at the Mobileread forum awhile back. Someone had posted that a friend of his had been cut off from being allowed to return ebooks because he'd returned around 30 of them in the time he owned his K. Whether you agree with that policy or not, I'm just posting this to let you know that apparently Amazon does monitor the number of returns you make and will cut you off once you reach a certain point.

Do you know, from the discussion, if he is still able to buy books? He just can't return them? I bring this up because someone recently said that Amazon has the ability to "brick" your Kindle and make it useless if you return too many books. Since I had no knowledge of the exact circumstances, I stayed out of the discussion, but from what you are saying, it sounds like he could keep using his Kindle and buying books, he just couldn't return them anymore.

L

[Leslie]

@Paws and @Patra...agree and agree.

About 2 weeks ago, the zipper on my winter jacket broke. This was a little annoying because it is the tail end of the winter season, but not warm enough to give up winter gear completely. Well, at least 5 people told me I should take the coat back to LL Bean and return it. I was flabbergasted. This coat must be at least 5 years old and I have certainly gotten my money's worth out of it. Why on earth would I return it, even with Bean's legendary "return anything, no questions asked" policy. If the zipper had broken in the first month, that would be one thing, but 5 years?

I just bought another jacket, on sale, so I should be good to go for the next 5 years or so...

L

[pawsplus]

Do you know, from the discussion, if he is still able to buy books? He just can't return them? I bring this up because someone recently said that Amazon has the ability to "brick" your Kindle and make it useless if you return too many books.

I really doubt that this is something that most normal, law-abiding folks need to worry about. I'm sure Kindle reserves the right to zap someone for being a TRUE a**hole, and more power to them, but that isn't going to apply to 99.99999% of the reading public!

[pidgeon92]

I buy books from B&N, Fictionwise and Kobo for my nook. None of them will accept returns for any reason. Amazon is the only e-book retailer I know of that will give any kind of refund.

[kat89447]

I actually think the 7 day return policy is more than fair. When you agreed the book was worth the price you paid, you were happy. How many books have you gotten for free or low cost, and then they went up? Not meaning to be mean, but you obviously thought it was a fair price at the time or you  wouldn't have purchased it to begin with. Could be worse, Barnes and Noble has NO RETURN POLICY. They don't care if you accidentally bought or even if the book is formatted terribly. On top of all of that, I would be willing to bet that even now if you pressed the issue, Amazon would still refund the book for you (in the name of good customer service). I just think that taking advantage of something that was a fair deal to begin with would be wrong.

[pugmom]

@Paws and @Patra...agree and agree.

About 2 weeks ago, the zipper on my winter jacket broke. This was a little annoying because it is the tail end of the winter season, but not warm enough to give up winter gear completely. Well, at least 5 people told me I should take the coat back to LL Bean and return it. I was flabbergasted. This coat must be at least 5 years old and I have certainly gotten my money's worth out of it. Why on earth would I return it, even with Bean's legendary "return anything, no questions asked" policy. If the zipper had broken in the first month, that would be one thing, but 5 years?

I just bought another jacket, on sale, so I should be good to go for the next 5 years or so...

L

I would definintely return it to LL Bean.  They are the ones that offer the lifetime guarantee, and to subsidize this policy you pay a premium for their product.  If I pay $200 for a winter tcoat hrough LL Bean I definitely expect it to last more than 5 years with normal use.  They would probably fix the zipper and return it to you, they don't necessarily refund you the price, or exchange it (if they still sell that coat).

[Mandy]

Personally, I am surprised that they have any return policy on ebooks.  You buy it, you read it, you return it.  That's just wrong.  Sorry, but customer satisfaction is one thing.  Guaranteeing against buyer's remorse is something else.

Elaine
Norman, OK

I agree. Most bookstores will not allow returns on books because of this reason. I think Amazon is being more than generous with a 7 day return policy.

[RamTheHammer]

I've had my K2 for awhile now and have purchased hundreds of books. I have returned 1. The book was minus the last 10-20 pages. It was a real bummer when I got to the end!

[omegahack]

I am not talking about actually returning the book for the longer time but just being able to price match over that time if they drop the price. It's not so much the money as it is the principal...

[Shastastan]

Seven days seems entirely reasonable to me, it's long enough for me to tell whether there are formatting issues or not, which to me is the main reason to return a book. If the book costs more than I care to pay, I don't buy it to start with.  If I think it's priced reasonably, I buy it and I'm done with it.  My time is worth something.

Betsy

I totally agree; Well said.

[Luvmy4brats]

I am not talking about actually returning the book for the longer time but just being able to price match over that time if they drop the price. It's not so much the money as it is the principal...

They did price match back when the Kindle was first out. Then Amazon stopped price-matching (everything, not just ebooks) it's been well over a year since they stopped.

[Leslie]

I would definintely return it to LL Bean.  They are the ones that offer the lifetime guarantee, and to subsidize this policy you pay a premium for their product.  If I pay $200 for a winter tcoat hrough LL Bean I definitely expect it to last more than 5 years with normal use.  They would probably fix the zipper and return it to you, they don't necessarily refund you the price, or exchange it (if they still sell that coat).

I paid $50 when I bought it at the outlet store on Congress Street. It's lasted 5 years...$10/yr. I've gotten my money's worth. Maybe people outside the state pay a premium price but those of us here in Maine get bargains.

My new jacket (which I bought online) cost $58 total. If it lasts 5 years, I'll be perfectly happy.

Meanwhile, the one with the broken zipper...I have the piece that broke. I'll put it in an envelope, pin it to the jacket and donate to Goodwill. It will be fixed and someone who needs a warm coat next winter will have one. Win-win all around.

L

L