Amazon Listens To Reason, Replaces My Second Defective Kindle For Free

No one likes when their brand-new electronics purchase goes on the fritz almost immediately after they buy it. Luckily, there are usually manufacturers’ warranties to cover when this happens. But what about when that replacement device also craps out?

In April 20111, Consumerist reader Mike purchased a Kindle for his daughter. Within three months, there were strange lines showing up on the screen and Mike had to use his 1-year warranty to get a replacement device.

But then last week, Mike’s replacement Kindle started showing those same strange lines. Figuring it had been less than one year since receiving the replacement, Mike called up Amazon to see about getting a replacement.

“I was informed that the 1-year warranty only applied to the original Kindle, and that the replacement Kindle only had a 90-day warranty,” Mike tells Consumerist. “This means that the warranty on the replacement actually expired before the warranty on the original.”

The rep offered to let him purchase a new Kindle for a discounted price, but he argued his case that the warranty should cover the replacement device because the one year should have restarted when the second Kindle was shipped, especially since he had two defective devices with the same exact problem.

“After a long time on hold, the CSR came back and said they would send me a replacement for free!” says Mike. “Thank you Amazon for being reasonable. I just wish I didn’t have to argue my case to get good service.”

Whether or not you agree with the Amazon rep that the warranty should cover the replacement device, it’s in Amazon’s best interest to keep Mike as a customer. The Kindle is really just a device to allow the company to sell e-books. Driving a customer away over an arguable, nitpicky point — especially since he was only two months past the warranty on the original purchase — would be bad business for Amazon.

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