Distressing news about the books on your Kindle

[Superfly]

This is why I keep telling people to get an ePub reader (Kobo is my favorite), not a Kindle, and why I don't support anyone who DRM's, and why I will never DRM any of my own content.

If I pay for it, it's mine. I will not allow a company to simply make me pay for something over and over again by selling it under false pretenses.

But if you are worried about your books, there are ways to convert them to universal ePub format. Just sayin'.

I will look into all this. I'm pretty pissed. I don't have hardly any books anymore. I just thought that the Kindle would replace them all.

 

[radcen]

Here's what I seriously don't get... Why does Amazon even care?

They'll gladly sell you a physical book and have zero expectation to have any control of it after the sale, and they're just fine with that. An e-book of the same title is the same thing, just a different format.

 

[jonny5]

Of course it's still a Kindle. It's just a Kindle that offers more. I was looking around for a Kindle for my husband for Christmas, so he would give me mine back, and I was going back and forth between the paperwhite and the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire was just far better, for the money. If you don't want to use it for anything other than an e-reader, then don't. But I'd rather have the capability and not need it, than need it and not have it.

No, its a tablet that runs the Kindle app. The original Kindle was such a success because it more closely replicates a paper book. A Fire is in no way similar.

 

[jonny5]

Depends on whether or not we can expect the digital medium to be treated like traditional books in the years to come. If not, then there may be reason for concern. As of now, I use the traditional wallet strategy, but if it becomes increasingly difficult to get by without a paper copy, and digital rights have continued to remain stagnant rather than increased, I would certainly support limited intervention.

Why not just offer a competing product instead?

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Here's what I seriously don't get... Why does Amazon even care?

They'll gladly sell you a physical book and have zero expectation to have any control of it after the sale, and they're just fine with that. An e-book of the same title is the same thing, just a different format.

Because they can.

They can't sell a physical book and have any control of it after the fact. It's just not physically doable.

But with electronic formats, they can rig the format of the book so that they can try to make you pay for it again in the future. It makes them more money, fleecing people who just aren't very tech savvy.

They don't care that it's obviously not consistent or ethical. It's just money to them.

 

[radcen]

Because they can.

They can't sell a physical book and have any control of it after the fact. It's just not physically doable.

But with electronic formats, they can rig the format of the book so that they can try to make you pay for it again in the future. It makes them more money, fleecing people who just aren't very tech savvy.

They don't care that it's obviously not consistent or ethical. It's just money to them.

And really, I think that's it. There is no real reason. Simply because they can... and enough people go for it.

 

[jonny5]

And really, I think that's it. There is no real reason. Simply because they can... and enough people go for it.

People wouldnt go for it if they didnt feel they were getting something in return.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

People wouldnt go for it if they didnt feel they were getting something in return.

Most of them have no idea Amazon can simply break their books anytime they want. Most people feel rather differently once they do. See the OP.

They're capitalizing on ignorance in a pretty underhanded way, and they keep it fairly quiet on purpose. It's not like Amazon is the only place to get ebooks or ereaders.

One of the many, many reasons I don't use Amazon at all.

 

[Jerry]

You don't own your Kindle books, Amazon reminds customer - NBC News

Am I the only one that knew about this? I thought that, once you "bought" the books, you owned them. I'm a little frustrated about this. Once I bought my Kindle, I "repurchased" all my favorite books and put them on the Kindle, and then donated the books. So I have had to pay for them twice, which is bad, but now I don't own them?

It's an anti-pirating law. By not transferring ownership to you, you don't have legal standing to replicate and distribute the book for free. The thing that you're buying is the use of the book, not the book, in the same way that us online gamers are buying use of the game, not ownership of the game client.

 

[MaggieD]

Most of them have no idea Amazon can simply break their books anytime they want. Most people feel rather differently once they do. See the OP.

They're capitalizing on ignorance in a pretty underhanded way, and they keep it fairly quiet on purpose. It's not like Amazon is the only place to get ebooks or ereaders.

One of the many, many reasons I don't use Amazon at all.

Until someone provides a link that says Amazon will jump into my Kindle and shred my copy of an Ebook I purchased from them, I don't buy any of this. Just sayin'...

Edit: If you buy a real-world book and lose it . . . the publisher won't be sending you a free copy any time soon either.

 

[radcen]

People wouldnt go for it if they didnt feel they were getting something in return.

Most of them have no idea Amazon can simply break their books anytime they want. Most people feel rather differently once they do. See the OP.

They're capitalizing on ignorance in a pretty underhanded way, and they keep it fairly quiet on purpose. It's not like Amazon is the only place to get ebooks or ereaders.

One of the many, many reasons I don't use Amazon at all.

This. Companies like Amazon keep it quiet on purpose. They purposely hide the negative nuances deep in legal crap that they know virtually nobody reads. They purposely use words like "buy" knowing full well that most people take the word at face value and don't think deeper than the base meaning of the word. And really, they shouldn't have to think any deeper than that. Companies should be very clear regarding what they mean by the words they use. One could blame the customer for not fully reading all the legalese, but it's pretty crappy that they should even have to for the more basic aspects, and to defend the companies doing this is just repugnant apologism for unethical behavior.

 

[Jerry]

Hes right though. A bookshelf is a status symbol to some people. Its also a symbol of waste to others.

I'm ok with that.

 

[radcen]

Until someone provides a link that says Amazon will jump into my Kindle and shred my copy of an Ebook I purchased from them, I don't buy any of this. Just sayin'...

Edit: If you buy a real-world book and lose it . . . the publisher won't be sending you a free copy any time soon either.

Nor should they. You own the book and the onus is on you to keep track of it.

 

[MaggieD]

Nor should they. You own the book and the onus is on you to keep track of it.

Yep, and if I put that book in a suitcase and it catches on fire, the publisher still won't replace it. As I see this issue, it's a "non" one.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Until someone provides a link that says Amazon will jump into my Kindle and shred my copy of an Ebook I purchased from them, I don't buy any of this. Just sayin'...

Edit: If you buy a real-world book and lose it . . . the publisher won't be sending you a free copy any time soon either.

That's not quite how it works. What happens is either your format breaks in an upgrade or device change, or the DRM breaks either because the code was discontinued or Kindle has revoked it, just like with music files.

This has already happened to tons of people over many generations on Kindles. Feel free to check it.

This isn't like someone losing a book. This is like a book being printing in ink that disappears at the publisher's whim.

 

[MaggieD]

That's not quite how it works. What happens is either your format breaks in an upgrade or device change, or the DRM breaks either because the code was discontinued or Kindle has revoked it, just like with music files.

This has already happened to tons of people over many generations on Kindles. Feel free to check it.

This isn't like someone losing a book. This is like a book being printing in ink that disappears at the publisher's whim.

Got a link?

 

[Fiddytree]

Why not just offer a competing product instead?

That depends on whether or not they do. The publishing industry is not that big on internal competition, and neither are ebook retailers.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Got a link?

Welp, I'm smartphoning it in transit, so I don't particularly want to right now, but perhaps later. Our, ya know, you could.

We're already been through this with music in the past. What's so hard to believe?

 

[Fiddytree]

Until someone provides a link that says Amazon will jump into my Kindle and shred my copy of an Ebook I purchased from them, I don't buy any of this. Just sayin'...

Edit: If you buy a real-world book and lose it . . . the publisher won't be sending you a free copy any time soon either.

My second link in that previous post demonstrated that they did it, however, after the nasty feedback they received, they had vowed not to do it again. Amazon blamed the publisher.

 

[MaggieD]

Welp, I'm smartphoning it in transit, so I don't particularly want to right now, but perhaps later. Our, ya know, you could.

We're already been through this with music in the past. What's so hard to believe?

I have. I see one story from some lady in Norway repeated over and over again. And, lo and behold, the situation was resolved. Amazon says this, written to a reporter who queried:

Hello,
Thank you for writing to us, and I understand your concern regarding your purchased Kindle books stored on your Kindle library.

Please know that we store all your purchases from the Kindle Store on Amazon.com so you can access your books and other content from multiple Kindle devices and Kindle reading apps, as long as the Kindle devices and Kindle reading apps are registered to the same account. God forbid, if you passed away, your heir can access your Kindle library by contacting us via phone using your email address.

You can manage your existing Kindle library and download anytime through Manage Your Kindle (www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle). The options for transferring content, and instructions for each option, are available in our Help pages here:

Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more...

e-books: who owns my digital library?

Unless you find other ebook sellers are doing it differently? It's much ado about nothing.

 

[jonny5]

Most of them have no idea Amazon can simply break their books anytime they want. Most people feel rather differently once they do. See the OP.

They're capitalizing on ignorance in a pretty underhanded way, and they keep it fairly quiet on purpose. It's not like Amazon is the only place to get ebooks or ereaders.

One of the many, many reasons I don't use Amazon at all.

Amazon hasnt though, so its moot. People are happy with the service.

 

[jonny5]

That depends on whether or not they do. The publishing industry is not that big on internal competition, and neither are ebook retailers.

Ebooks are a direct result of competition with the rediculous model that was hardback book publishing. If ebooks go the same way, then someone will come along to compete. There is already places to open source publish book without Amazon.

 

[Fiddytree]

Ebooks are a direct result of competition with the rediculous model that was hardback book publishing. If ebooks go the same way, then someone will come along to compete. There is already places to open source publish book without Amazon.

Utopianism aside, can you realistically forecast the impact of such publishing? Can you honestly picture in 10-20 years that the publishing industry will dramatically alter?

 

[Amanda1858]

I guess Im never going to have this problem since I never buy e-books, all my books are made of actual paper. There's nothing better than having your own private library in your house with shelves of books, its a sign of elegance and class.

I agree 100%. And sometimes you can find very good titles at the second hand store. In the last year I've found "Profiles in Courage" by JFK, "An Hour before Daylight" by Jimmy Carter, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain. They were all in good condition except the Mark Twain book. I still bought it though, because it's a classic.

 

[jonny5]

Utopianism aside, can you realistically forecast the impact of such publishing? Can you honestly picture in 10-20 years that the publishing industry will dramatically alter?

I have no reason to think it will or wont. I simply know that free markets adapt to inefficiencies.