On October 20th, I purchased a tie from the Aldo store on Amazon.com, and paid full price for it ($15). It was promptly shipped to me, but when I received it there was a Sale tag attached to it, and the price was marked down to $9.98 but Aldo still charged me full price for it.

I tried to contact their customer support (via e-mail first) and they told me they would pricematch this item to the lower price if I sent the original invoice, plus a hand-written statement describing the problem, plus proof of purchase and proof of lowered price; to CANADA. I responded back, informing them I can walk literally .2 miles from my house to the nearest Aldo store, and that it made no sense to mail all those things to Canada. They agreed, and said I could go to the store to process this refund.

I thought, great, so I went into the store, and they told me physical stores can't process any Aldo orders made from Amazon. I called customer support, and after being on hold for way too long, I was informed the only way they could help me was if I mailed those things to their center in Canada.

I don't know what to do about this. On one hand, it's only a $5.02 difference, and I DID get free shipping on the order. On the other hand, I was sent a sale item when I paid full price for it. Had I known before ordering it would be a sale item at full price, I would probably still have bought it anyway, but the fact still remains, the item was misrepresented. Also, I'm certainly not going to spend $1 on international first-class postage (plus even more if I get it certified etc) just to get a $5 credit.

All of my friends told me to file a merchant complaint with Amazon, but I feel somewhat hesitant to do that because Aldo DID offer an avenue for this conflict resolution, it's just that I feel the option they gave me is unreasonable.

What would you do?

(Photo: The Consumerist)

Yeah, can't help you with that too much, Michael. The problem is we're in the early stages of ebook sales going mainstream, and that means every publisher and every retailer is trying something different. The good news is sometimes it will work out in your favor as a consumer, like Amazon forcing competitors into selling new releases for $10 no matter how high publishers want to price them; the bad news is that sometimes you'll get screwed, like every format being locked down by DRM so that you can't read it on a competing device.

One thing you can do is buy from the independent ebook retailer shortcovers.com, which I've found frequently sells ebooks at prices lower than Sony, and competitive with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. (They're currently selling Cheerful Money for $10.49.) Shortcovers sells ebooks in the ePub format, locked down with Adobe Digital Editions DRM, and they say you can read their books on Sony Readers as well as several other ereader devices currently on the market.

The site doesn't offer as large a library as the other retailers, and as I noted the books come with the same DRM plaguing every ebook retailer. But it's a good alternative for owners of Sony Reader devices until Sony discovers competitive pricing.

Update: You can also try ebookprice.info to comparison shop—just make sure that whatever format you buy will work with your ereader. (Thanks to BinaryTB!)

(Photo: kevindooley)

The LA Times says:

The price cuts are welcome news for movie studios because it could spur demand in a year of flagging DVD sales. The wholesale price paid by Walmart and its competitors remains unchanged at about $18, meaning studios will make the same profit despite the discounting.

It's normal for retailers like Walmart to price DVDs below their wholesale cost at stores and online to draw customers who often spend more money on other items.

Although discounting is not unusual for Walmart and Target, the new $10 price means the retailers will incur a big loss on each sale.

It comes as the two companies and Amazon engage in a price war over books that has driven down the price of some hardcovers to $9.

Will these new unsustainably low prices get you to skip Redbox or Netflix and actually buy a DVD?

Walmart, Target slash online prices of popular DVDs [LA Times]

This phrase does, at least, have the benefit of being easy to remember.

PREVIOUSLY: Amazon Launches PayPhrase: Buy Stuff By Typing Two Words

Apparently one can now buy new release books for about $5 cheaper than the wholesale price. From the WSJ:

The retailers are losing money on each copy sold because publishers charge them about 50% of a book's hardcover price. The prices for the 10 books involved in the promotion are also lower than the wholesale price independent booksellers pay for the merchandise.

Arsen Kashkashian, head buyer at the Boulder Book Store, in Boulder, Colo., said he had intended to buy as many as 70 copies of Barbara Kingsolver's "The Lacuna" from Walmart.com, Target.com or Amazon, because their prices are "more than $5 cheaper than what we can get it for from the publisher, Harper.

The books in question are from Stephen King, John Grisham, Dean Koontz and James Patterson among others. The books have list prices of $22 to $35, but can be found at retailers for about $9.

Amid Price War, Three Retailers Begin Rationing Books [WSJ]

You don't e ven have to be logged in to Amazon, or any other site that uses it. Best of all, it's not PayPal. It's linked to your credit card so if something goes wrong with your transaction, you actually have a prayer of getting your money back. And it's also linked to your shipping address so you don't have to keep entering it in at all these different sites.

A possible solution for making it easier to buying stuff on your mobile.

Would you use PayPhrase? Do you think it's safe?

PayPhrase [Amazon]
Amazon Speeds Checkout with New PayPhrase Technology [Read Write Web]

Probably the coolest new feature is that in the future, when you search for an artist or song, Google will present tracks along with other search results. Click on the track link and you'll be able to hear the song in its entirety once, through an arrangement with Lala.com. (The New York Times says MySpace Music will be another track provider, but they may not offer the same "listen once" service.)

The other two features are that now Google will be smarter about identifying songs based on snippets of lyrics you enter, thanks to a partnership with Gracenote; and the search engine will also provide direct links to relevant Pandora, Imeem, and Rhapsody pages.

The reason Google is doing all of this: higher quality search results mean more traffic, and that means more ad sales. In other words, you'll still buy your songs through Lala or one of the other partners, which isn't a terrible deal considering Lala has probably the cheapest option around right now for à la carte song and album purchases. (The subscription-based eMusic is cheaper if you buy your music in bulk.)

"Google Lifts the Curtains on Its New Music Service" [New York Times]
(Photo: dabasse)

You'd think the deal would be a clearance mechanism to get rid of crap games, but not so. Some of the titles eligible are the murderer's row of The Beatles: Rock Band, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, all of which are spectacular.

Of course, you have to take into account the fact that most new video games are ludicrously overpriced, and even the bestsellers are known to drop significantly in price less than a year after they're released. If you're an enterprising sort, you could buy some games, sell them online for about the same price and pocket the $40 credit as profit.

Spend $80 on games at Amazon, get $40 in credit [Joystiq]
(Photo: Great Beyond)

"Maybe Amazon and Visa should talk?" [The Atlantic]
(Photo: TheTruthAbout...)

I can see why B&N, or rather publishers, might not want an infinite digital lending sys—oh wait! No I can't, because currently a consumer can infinitely re-lend a bound book and so far as we know that behavior doesn't contribute to piracy.

If you want to really lend out your books, it looks like you'll have to keep buying physical copies (or break the law by removing the DRM on your digital versions). The problem with this highly restricted "lending" feature is that Barnes & Noble is getting a lot of marketing buzz over it, when it turns out it's nothing at all like real book lending.

"It's official — You can only loan a book out once." [MobileRead] (Thanks to Gideon!)

Lucas writes:

Just wanted to give you a little update. I did get in contact with Amazon. I talked to a fine fellow whose name I know, but would slaughter the spelling since he seems to be from India. Anyways, he apologized for the condition of the package, and gave me a $10 credit even though I was looking for just an apologize and not any type of compensation. So all is well from Amazon. I plan to write a letter to UPS after finishing this email. We shall see how far I get there.

Reading the comments left, yes, I should have directed most of my rage towards UPS as well. This is my first IPod purchased. The iPod worked perfectly since the case seems to be made of storm trooper plasteel; hopefully no one will shoot a laser at it. I did write the letter before I tested the iPod. Next time I shall count to ten before going off.

But the packaging still bothers me because the IPod did not keep in place, and there was no protection above or below it. Working at FexEx in college, I know how packages are handled sometimes. This just seems unacceptable. I wasn't expecting complete enclosure, just a little care. Thankfully, as you said, the case was tough.

A gold star to Amazon for the swift, decisive and generous resolution. UPS, you go sit over there in the corner with the dunce cap.

He writes:

I am writing to congratulate Amazon and UPS. This past week I cashed in some of my bank points for Amazon Gift Certificates to help buy an IPod touch for my wife's birthday. And let me tell you, I couldn't be happier. As you can see from the pictures, Amazon not only delicately placed the IPod in the box, but they spared no expense on packaging material. As for UPS...what else can I say??? Their angelic touch made sure my package was not only delivered promptly, but in pristine condition.

So, for all you fellow readers out their who would like to purchase a fragile 250 dollar piece of equipment, DON'T SHOP AT AMAZON!!!!!!

Lucky for Lucas and his wife, them iPods is tough. Also, Lucas, redirect your wrath from Amazon towards UPS. They're the ones with the hippos.

Paul is generally speaking a very smart cookie, plus he went to law school, so he sent them a very strongly worded letter noting that Amazon falsely indicated the device's durability in a video (embedded here) that shows it falling to the ground unharmed and he would be willing to settle the matter for a payment of $400 ($200 to cover his replacement fee and $200 for incidental mucketymuck). He told Amazon they had 30 days to agree to his settlement offer, after which point he would file suit. Twenty days later, Amazon sent him a $400 check.

This is the amazing letter he sent them:

Paul Gowder
[Address omitted]

August 12, 2009

Amazon.com Inc.
Legal Department
1200 12th Avenue South
Suite 1200
Seattle, WA 98144-2734

Dear Sir or Madam:

On June 21, 2009, I purchased an Kindle 2 e-book reader from the Amazon.com website. I purchased this device based, in substantial part, on the expectation that it would be reasonably durable. In particular, I expected that it would be approximately as durable as is ordinary in the consumer electronics market.

Amazon.com advertises the Kindle 2 on the basis of its durability. Notably, Amazon.com displays a "drop test" video on the web page for this product. That video displays the device being dropped twice from thirty inches onto what appears to be tile. That video displays a fall with sufficient force that the device visibly bounces, and deliberately creates the impression that the device will function after impacts similar to that sequence of drops.

Despite those representations, the Kindle 2 is far less durable. On July 26, 2009, I dropped a messenger bag containing the device onto the sidewalk, from approximately two feet above the ground. It was dropped only once, and the messenger bag absorbed enough of the shock that nothing else in the bag, including a Macbook laptop, suffered any damage whatsoever. (Unlike the drop displayed in Amazon.com's video, for example, nothing actually bounced.) Moreover, there was no visible damage on the exterior of the Kindle 2. Nonetheless, the Kindle 2 became completely unusable, with over 50% of its screen no longer able to display any text.

I called Amazon.com support and was told that, because of the accidental drop, you would not be willing to supply a replacement device under warranty. You did, however, offer to sell a new device at a discount, for $200.00. I took advantage of that offer under protest, and explicitly reserved my rights to bring a claim against you based on the unreasonable fragility of the device and the misrepresentations in your advertising. It is that claim that forms the subject of this letter.

I am prepared to offer an immediate settlement of my claims against Amazon.com for a payment of $400.00. That sum represents the $200.00 replacement fee I paid plus $200.00 to compensate me for the diminution of utility and value of the device as well as of the e-books I have purchased for that device, in light of the fact that the replacement device, too, can be expected to be far more fragile than advertised and prone to destruction under the slightest stress. This offer expires thirty days from your receipt of this letter. If you do not accept this offer, I intend to bring suit either individually, or, if I decide it is warranted, as representative for a class of similarly situated plaintiffs. At that time, I will seek the amount noted above, plus punitive damages under the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Civil Code §1750 et. seq., costs, fees, and such other monetary damages as provided for by law, including without limitation Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §17200 et. seq., the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and other relevant law.

Also, you have demanded the return of the broken device as a condition to the unreasonable discounted replacement offer which I accepted under protest. Your agent has informed me that you will charge my credit card for the full price if the broken device is not returned to you. I am considering seeking a protective order placing that device in the custody of the Court pending litigation. However, should I instead return the device, you are hereby notified that it is evidence in the anticipated litigation to which this letter refers. Should you modify, destroy, or resell the broken device, I will ask the Court to treat that as deliberate spoliation of evidence and make adverse inferences as appropriate.

Very truly yours,

Paul Gowder

<- And this letter is Amazon completely surrendering.

Savvy. It's a great example of having all your facts lined up, knowing exactly what you want from them, and not making your request too outrageous. And Paul's not the only one to have problems with Kindle screen breakage.

Sure, who believes advertising? The thing is, there is an allowance for puffery in advertising, but the drop test video goes beyond puffery (i.e. "The greatest car ever!" Or "World's #1 Gold Buyer!) and creates the warranty that a Kindle 2 can survive as high a drop onto a hard surface. As one commenter said, "If you are at a fast food place and a picture of a hamburger has a bun, cheese, and lettuce on it you expect the hamburger to come with those items on it." If Amazon can't live up, they gotta pay up.

Kindle 2: fragile piece of shit or overpriced fragile piece of shit? [Uncommon Priors]
The Kindle War Begins [Uncommon Priors]
This is what victory looks like. [Uncommon Priors]

Walmart is also now selling over 200 current best-sellers at at least half off the list price.

We randomly picked a best seller from the list—A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris—and compared prices, and Walmart was cheaper at $11.50 versus Amazon's $13.47. With shipping, Walmart's total price comes out to $13.47, exactly the same as Amazon's price before any shipping costs are figured in.

As we wrote above, if you have Amazon Prime or bundle the book with other merch to hit the $25 free shipping mark, Walmart loses the price war. Still, it's a pretty competitive offering, and we assume it will appeal to people who are already shopping on Walmart's site.

Publishers and authors have been upset at Amazon's $10 price point for new ebooks ever since the Kindle store launched, because they worry that it's training consumers to expect an unrealistically low price that will never be profitable in the real marketplace—that is, in a world where Amazon and Walmart aren't using books as loss leaders. Smaller booksellers can't begin to compete on pricing, of course, so if you value your local non-chain bookstore you might want to keep giving them your business. For the rest of us, as long as the big retailers keep eating the costs of such steep discounts, it's a great time to buy books. Or at least, new releases and top selling titles.

"Wal-Mart offers new books for $10" [Associated Press via Publishers Weekly]

The new service, Local Express Delivery, is being rolled out in New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston, D.C., and Las Vegas. Members of Amazon's $79-per-year Prime service can get their quick fix for $5.99 per item. Everyone else will have to deal with shipping rates that include both per-shipment charges of as much as $18.99, plus additional fees based on weight or number of items (which means you could easily spend more than $79 to satisfy your urge for a new computer or LCD).

If Local Express Delivery reminds you of Kozmo.com or UrbanFetch, you can stop palpitating. Those doomed bubble-era services snuffed themselves out with a business model based on charging as little as possible to customers who abused them mercilessly (raise your hand if you ever ordered a pack of gum at midnight, and then demanded it for free because the delivery guy didn't make it there in under an hour) and praying they wouldn't run out of cash before they could go public.

In addition to steep delivery fees, the Amazon service requires customers to place their orders early in the day for same-day delivery; by 10:30am in most cities. But it could be a better solution than roaming aimlessly searching for the right birthday gift two hours before a party. And if you want that pack of gum, they'll deliver it too, for about $19.

Amazon Launches Same Day Delivery in Seven Major Cities and Expands Saturday Delivery Options [Amazon.com]

Josh called Amazon to get it to accept the money back, but got no response. He tried again and has now hit the opposite of paydirt. Amazon will grudgingly accept its money back. He writes:

I called and spoke to an Amazon representative. Other then the fact that both reps wondered why I would call to report an error in my favor. Eventually it was determined that they would bill me for the improper credit and reclaim the erroneous refund.

I was repeatedly thanked for my honesty regarding the situation. But I did get Amazon to reclaim their rightful money.

It's good to know that sometimes the little guy can score a victory over an over-generous corporate giant. Let this be a lesson to any Amazon higher-ups who may be reading this: We the consumers have had enough with your money-giving-away shenanigans and won't stand by idly while this practice goes on. If Josh can beat you, anyone can.

In fact, Amazon, I personally dare you to try to give me $300 and see what happens. Yeah, I went there. Bring it on.

(Photo: funny strange or funny ha ha)

Joshua and his wife both adorably purchased Kindles from the e-tailer, and one of them didn't survive a not-so-rowdy night. So Joshua contacted Amazon for a repair/exchange, and when the dust settled he was left with not only a new Kindle but about $300 in free money that he's tried to return to Amazon to no avail.

In Joshua's words:

I bought two Kindle 2's from Amazon at launch in February 2009. My wife and I received them without incident and use them constantly. The problem came in September 2009, when my wife had an 'accident' with hers. She was reading before bed, and after turning out the light, set her Kindle on the nightstand. A couple minutes later, we heard it fall in the dark. It was a short fall to the carpet, so she did not worry about it. Come morning, as she got out of bed, it must've slid further than expected. She stepped on it. CRACK! The screen was toasted.

She called me at work, and asked what could be done. I called Amazon and spoke to a representative. I explained the issue, and asked what my options were for repair. Amazon stated that for $135, they would cross-ship a replacement. After receiving the replacement, we would ship back the broken unit. I was shocked when Amazon told me that depending on refurbished Kindle stock, I could actually get a new one. I sprung for overnight shipping as my wife was in the middle of reading and wanted it ASAP.

The order was processed at Amazon, and as luck would have it. We were being shipped a new one, not refurbished. Excellent!

The unit arrived the next day as scheduled. We packed up and shipped the broken one back within a few days. Everything was proceeding without a hitch. Once again Amazon exceeds expectation in my eyes.

Here's where it takes a strange turn.

Three days after Amazon received the broken Kindle, I received an e-mail stating this fact. Problem is, the e-mail stated they received the returned Kindle, and were processing my 'return' and a refund would appear on my Visa card within 7 to 10 days. They were going to refund a total of $291 to me. I was surprised. I paid the $135 for the 'repair' and cross-ship of the replacement. That amount was charged. At first I figured this was just accounting on Amazon's end and the credit would never actually appear on my statement.

About 8 days later it did appear as a pending credit, and a day later it was fully credited to my bank account. I immediately e-mailed Amazon bringing this information to their attention. It has been almost 3 weeks since I brought this to their attention and have yet to get a response.

I would like them to provide an official response, as I technically have almost $300 of their money, to which I am not actually entitled. Any ideas of who else to e-mail and notify?

So what does Josh do here? Launch an EECB? Donate the money to charity in Amazon's name? Pay it back in goodwill by spending it on Amazon? Stuff it in the Consumerist tip jar? Call his bank and ask them to reverse the refund?

What would you do, Consumerists?

(Photo: tagurity)

But not Darrell, an honest sort who ratted himself out — even though he didn't intentionally double-dip — but Amazon would hear none of it. His story:

I had a $60 gift certificate at Amazon.com, and I used it. The next time I had an order, I placed it and after the fact realized that they applied my $60 gift certificate, AGAIN. I emailed them and said that I owed then $60, and this was their reply:

Greetings from Amazon.com.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We appreciate your honesty and apologize for the inconvenience.

Please keep the uncharged order with our compliments.

We want to make sure that you are completely satisfied when you shop with Amazon.com. Please be assured that we are here to make things easier for you and will do whatever we can to prevent you from bearing any kind of loss.

You are certainly the type of customer that we would like to retain. Please know that we value your business, and we hope to see you again soon at Amazon.com.

Thank you so much for your cooperation, and thanks again for shopping at Amazon.com.

Good to know honesty and huge faceless corporations still have integrity, heart and good will!

Have you ever tried to pay back an unwarranted discount and had it turn out so well?

(Photo: Tengaport)

*You save nearly $3.8 million off the original price of $16.3 million.

*The TV is in freakin' 1080p. So GREAT picture.

Unfortunately the TV is not available for Amazon's free Super Saver Shipping because it comes from a third party vendor. Oh, and if you've enabled one-click buying on your Amazon account you may want to stay away from that link.

Olevia 747i 47-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV [Amazon]
(Photo: phototaker)
(Thanks, David!)

Here are the conditions under which Amazon will delete your content:

Amazon will not remotely delete or modify such Works from Devices purchased and being used in the United States unless

(a) the user consents to such deletion or modification;

(b) the user requests a refund for the Work or otherwise fails to pay for the Work (e.g., if a credit or debit card issuer declines to remit payment);

(c) a judicial or regulatory order requires such deletion or modification; or

(d) deletion or modification is reasonably necessary to protect the consumer or the operation of a Device or network through which the Device communicates (e.g., to remove harmful code embedded within a copy of a Work downloaded to a Device).

I must admit, it's hard for me to come to terms with the idea of a company retaining any control over something I've paid for, even though networked devices by their nature must participate within a larger group. I suspect this will be one of those attitudes that dates me as future generations grow up within such a system and learn to accept it. But books are a special case in that they can contain revolutionary, heretical, or otherwise controversial ideas, which is the sort of stuff that people in power, or people seeking power, like to control. Call me crazy and paranoid, but I never want a government or legal agency wielding power over my books. Never.

So the real problem here, which this clarification doesn't resolve, is that Amazon doesn't sell ebooks on the Kindle store. It sells licenses to ebooks. It describes the licenses as more or less perpetual, but as Amazon has proven in multiple real world circumstances over the past year, the license is pointless if the digital manuscript stored on Amazon's servers goes away. If you own a Kindle device you can download backup copies to your PC, but if you're using an iPhone you can't even do that (unless you jailbreak your phone). The average consumer is completely at the mercy of Amazon's library. Yes, they've tightened the rules under which they'll remove something, but you can still drive pretty big trucks through the holes that remain. After all, they still can delete your books.

And that's the part we just don't get. We don't understand why Amazon built its syncing system in such a way that it retains full control over the content that it continues to say it "sells" to you.

"Amazon settles lawsuit over deleted Kindle copy of '1984'" [TechFlash] (Thanks to Matthew!)
(Photo: alshain49)

She was not only so nice as to do better then the 50% she offered be a full refund of over $125 outside the return period, told me I can keep the 2nd book they sent me for my issues (she suggested donating to a library or giving to a friend), as well as processing the refund BEFORE I even send back the copy they do want back.

So Amazon in my opinion has gone well above and beyond not only trying to get me the book again next day, but offering me a full refund outside their policy, and letting me keep an extra copy! So I wanted to say great job with customer service Amazon and keep it up.

It's up for debate exactly what use a second copy might have to Robert, but it was still a nice, courteous move by Amazon. Instead of being bitter that Amazon sent him two defective books, screwing up his schoolwork, Robert is gushing about the company. CSR managers take note.

(Photo: Tengaport)

Len says:

Just wanted to send along the story of my most recent experience with Amazon.com. I've usually been very happy ordering from them – fast shipping, competitive prices, and good customer service – it's the reason I pay for an Amazon Prime membership. But this last episode has me scratching my head.

Last Wednesday I order two items from Amazon: a bottle of shampoo, and a book. I got the package on Friday, opened it up, and the shampoo had opened up during shipping. While I could've just rinsed off the bottle and used it, the book was also covered in the sticky stuff. OK. I get it. It happens. I call their customer service number, and the rep I spoke with was super apologetic and told me that they would overnight a new shipment to me right away, and he said that he "put a note in there" that they should pack it extra carefully so that this mess doesn't happen again.

Cool. Kudos to Amazon. They could've blamed it on the shipping company, but instead they did the right thing. I was happy.

I forgot about it until Monday when I got home and the package was waiting for me. I opened it up, and whadya know, same old goopy mess. Open bottle, book covered in shampoo. Now I'm a little annoyed.

I called back, and this time I spoke with [redacted], who couldn't have been sweeter and more apologetic. She told me that they'd re-send it in two separate packages so that it wouldn't happen again, and that I wouldn't even have to return this order, it was mine to keep.

Alright. They messed up twice, but they're clearly taking steps to fix it. Game on.

Then, today, I got a follow-up e-mail from [redacted], who apparently forgot about our phone conversation. Here's an excerpt:

"I'm sorry to hear the replacement book and Health and Beauty had the same problem as your first order. This usually doesn't happen. Since it's likely another replacement would arrive damaged, I won't trouble you with another order.

Please return the book "[redacted]" We'll pay for the return shipping costs."

Um…what? Then, much to my surprise, I immediately got another e-mail that my money had been refunded. What the…? I didn't ask for my money back, nor do I want it – I just wanted the products I ordered. I don't get it. They're not sending it to me because "it's likely another replacement would arrive damaged?" Why not just send it in two packages, as originally promised?

Urgh.

I ended up buying some shampoo at the store today – which I probably should've done in the first place, but I was trying to avoid a trip to the store by ordering it online. Lesson learned.

Anyhow, I'm not "taking my business elsewhere" (other than for shampoo, I guess) or anything like that. Truth is, I'm still drawn to Amazon for the convenience and time-saving aspect of it. I'm willing to pay a bit more to get all my stuff in one place, delivered fast. Hopefully this kind of thing won't happen again.

You know, Drugstore.com shrink-wraps their shampoo before they ship it. Just sayin'.

(Photo:stirwise)

This kind of thing is par for the Amazon course. I bet Solid Snake is all over this buy-an-SD-card-get-a-humongous-stealth-box deal.

I just received an email from Amazon stating: "As you were one of the customers impacted by the removal of "Works of George Orwell" from your Kindle device in July of this year, we would like to offer you the option to have us re-deliver this book to your Kindle along with any annotations you made. You will not be charged for the book. If you do not wish to have us re-deliver the book to your Kindle, you can instead choose to receive an Amazon.com electronic gift certificate or check for $30." I think Jeff has handled this issue in a most upstanding way. I know it might not appease those who are concerned about how Amazon handles this kind of problem in the future but I feel confident it will be handled in a way that at least I will feel comfortable with.

This is a nice first step, but Amazon still hasn't spelled out in exact terms what it will and will not do in the future with respect to your Kindle purchases. Because of that, it stinks of PR, protect-us-from-a-lawsuit maneuvering and not real progress toward being open with customers. By comparison, note that Amazon has still not made any actual public announcements about the missing details of its user license. (No, they never got back to us on those questions after promising they would.)

We love money, but we love owning the things we paid for even more. Amazon still hasn't made it explicitly clear—via a detailed license agreement—that they will respect that approach to ownership in the future. Our verdict: the Kindle is still an unwise investment if you want to protect your book purchases from evaporating over time.

"$30 From Amazon for Taking My Copy of 'Works of George Orwell'" [Amazon]
(Photo: twirlop)

I wanted to write you about a really positive experience I just had with Amazon.com. Below is the email I sent to them, and their fast and unexpected response. I really did not expect to get anything from them due to the circumstances of the item lost, but thought it was worth a shot and they came through beautifully.

My email to Amazon:

I recently placed the order referenced above for the book "Ariel." On Friday, August 29th, the day of the book's arrival, I experienced a break-in at my home and the thief stole my mail from the mailbox (among other valuables). I would be happy to email you the police report # if necessary, the mail is listed among the stolen items. Is it possible for me to get another copy of the book free of charge? I understand that this is an out-of-the-ordinary situation, I would be more than willing to pay S&H for it. Thank you.

Amazon's response, less than 24 hours later:

Hello, I'm sorry your shipment was lost. Because of the circumstances surrounding your order, I've made an exception to our standard policy and placed a new order that's listed below. We'll ship it to the same address as soon as possible. I've also upgraded the shipping method to One-Day Shipping at no additional charge. There's no charge for this replacement order. We look forward to your next visit. Best regards, Prasath C.Amazon.comWe're Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company

Despite what the CSR told Sarah, it seems as though they way the company handled her misfortune was the rule rather than the exception. Remember that time Amazon replaced the stolen Wii?

Regardless, it would be foolish to expect a free replacement if a thief should strike. If your package gets thieved, remember to be nice to your Amazon CSR and don't give him or her any reason to think you're being dishonest.

(Photo: mod*betty)

Question 1: Since Amazon only sells licenses and not digital copies of the ebooks themselves, why don't the product pages clearly say "Buy License" instead of just "Buy"?

Response: The Specialist told me that they had received a lot of feedback from customers regarding this situation, and that "the marketing department is working on it."

I asked him if there was anything more specific—what might be changed, for instance, and when might we expect it? He said he had no idea because it was the marketing department's decision, and that if any changes were made they'd appear on the Amazon site.

Translation: Oh yeah, we're going to look into that probably.

Question 2: How do I find out the number of devices I can download a book to?

A couple of months ago, a reader discovered he'd hit his limit on the number of devices his license would cover, and consequently he couldn't open an ebook on his new iPhone.

Amazon was able to reset some of the authorizations for old devices so that he could access his ebook, which works even though it's a clunky way to do things. (By contrast, iTunes lets customers authorize and deauthorize devices as needed without contacting customer support for permission. Update: It now appears Amazon works this way, too. Hooray!) The real problem—and what my question is referring to—is Amazon says the publisher can set the limit and is permitted to set it lower than 5 devices.

Response: The Specialist noted that as of sometime earlier this month, product pages for ebooks now list the device limit clearly.

He's right, but you can drive a oil tanker through the loophole it creates:

I pointed out that this only indicates the maximum allowable devices, but that it doesn't tell me if this particular book has a lower limit. It certainly says it might have a lower limit depending on the publisher's whims, but it keeps that actual information hidden away.

The specialist told me he could not answer this and would have to escalate it and get back to me.

Translation: You can't find out exactly, so just trust us.

Question 3: How do I find out the limit to the amount of a book I can highlight or 'clip' with my Kindle?

A few months ago, a reader discovered that she'd suddenly reached a "clipping limit" on the ebook she was reading. (Clipping is basically saving excerpts into a note file.) Even after deleting her previous clips and highlights, she was still forbidden to clip anything else.

Response: Amazon is still passing the buck on this one. The Specialist told me that "because books are self-published on the website by the publishers, they set this limit and can change it." I asked him how a consumer can find out the limit beforehand since it's not listed under the product details of a book, and since technically his explanation means a publisher can set a clipping limit to zero. He said he would have to escalate the question and get back to me.

Translation: You can't find out exactly, and it's not our fault.

I'm optimistic that Amazon will indeed respond with better answers, and if they do, I'll post them. As for now, however, we're still pretty much where we were earlier this summer when it comes to knowing full well what you're buying from Amazon when you buy a Kindle ebook license:

• You're not buying a permanent copy of the book, only a permanent license to access Amazon's copy (which leaves considerable power and responsibility in Amazon's hands instead of yours);
• There's no way to tell whether a particular ebook has special restrictions on the device limit; fixed!
• There's still no way to tell what sort of restrictions a publisher may have placed on your ability to highlight or clip selections from the ebook.

What's most frustrating is that Amazon has basically diffused the responsibility for their DRM policies. They blame the publishers, as if if to imply that if you want to know what your rights are for an ebook you should contact the publisher before buying it through Amazon. Presumably both the device and clipping limits are set with flags when the publisher uploads an ebook to Amazon, so we don't see why that information can't be made part of the public product listing.

These aren't outrageous demands; they wouldn't give consumers special rights at the expense of publishers. Without them, though, consumers are buying Amazon ebook licenses in the dark, trusting that an online retailer will ultimately put their interests ahead of its own.

Update: To address a reader's comment below that I didn't choose the right path to get these answers: actually, I deliberately chose the customer service path to highlight a point, which is that Amazon is not doing anything to provide answers to consumers about the licenses they're buying. Your typical consumer is going to follow the route I followed, not search for media contacts.

In addition, these are questions people in the media have been asking for months, and Amazon hasn't been answering them. Cory Doctorow in particular has tried to get their DRM details spelled out explicitly, and Amazon first said they'd get back to him, then ignored him entirely. Ignored him, a published author with a business interest in knowing the fine points of the DRM being applied to his work before being sold on the store.

As far as "Kindle Specialist," this is not the front line person you get when you call in for help. The front line Kindle CSR transferred me to this so-called Kindle Specialist after she read through my questions and realized she couldn't answer them. This was some mysterious second tier in the system.

I actually emailed these questions to Amazon originally back in early July and was ignored. I emailed them again in early August and pointed out that they promised to respond to most questions in 12 hours or less. They responded in about 12 hours and said they couldn't answer them via email but would answer them if I called. So I called.

(Photo: twirlop)

From MarketWatch:

Best Buy's "confronting a new set of strategic challenges from its perch as the dominant specialty retailer of electronics in the U.S.," the analyst said. It's "confronting them from a position of strength, in terms of market share, talent, and balance sheet, but they remain thorny nonetheless."

This is Wall Street for "LOL, people are going to "shop" at Best Buy and buy at Walmart (which is upgrading its electronics offerings) or Amazon.com."

Best Buy is facing declining music and DVD sales and a "maturing video game cycle." Flat panel TVs are cheaper and less profitable. In Best Buy's favor is the fact that their main competitor, Circuit City, died a violent, public death and has only recently sort of risen from the ashes. All in all, it's a fun time to be in retail, no?

Retail stocks drop as Best Buy downgraded from buy rating [MarketWatch]
(Photo:penner42)

I have now received 3 issues of "Brides" magazine in the last 3 weeks, but I never subscribed. Their May/June issue arrived in mid-July (very ripped and beaten up), addressed to my maiden name. I have been married (with a new last name) for 18 months and never subscribed to their magazine. I e-mailed them asking why they sent me this, and how they got my old last name, but they never responded.

Then a week later, I received their July/August issue. I e-mailed them again, and again no response. Then I found how to look up "my account" from the 10-digit number on the mailing label. It said my subscription is "Active Paid" starting May 1, 2009 and ending March 1, 2010. I called their customer service and was told, "this subscription was ordered through your Amazon.com Wedding Registry." When I said that my registry was 2 years old and I NEVER signed up for a "Brides" magazine subscription, they couldn't tell me anything else about it. Upon my request, said they would cancel my 'subscription' immediately. I contacted Amazon.com, who assured me that they never signed me up for this subscription, never charged me for it, and said "you must have purchased this through another website." Um, no, I never signed up for this, nor did I purchase a subscription...

So today in the mail, I received their September/October issue, and when I checked "my account" on their website, it STILL shows me as "Active Paid."

Has this happened to anyone else?? Did Amazon.com give my contact information to Brides magazine? Is there a way for me to get a real answer from either company?

Have you had a similar experience with a third-party subscription vendor? Is there anyway to stop the unwanted magazine menace?

(Photo: halighalie)

Gawronski told The Associated Press he was assigned "1984" for an advanced placement course in which students must turn in "reflections" on each 100 pages of text when they return from summer break, then take a test. He was a quarter to halfway through the book when it disappeared from his Kindle.

His notes on the book were "rendered useless because they no longer referenced the relevant parts of the book," according to the lawsuit.

The notes now apply to an edition of the book to which nobody has access. Another Kindle owner, an adult in Milpitas, Calif., is also a party. Chicago attorney Jay Edelson filed the lawsuit.

Amazon sued over Kindle deletion of Orwell books [AP] (Thanks, Bryan!)

PREVIOUSLY:
Amazon Deletes Your Books, Has Always Been At War With Eastasia
How To Load Up Your Kindle With Non-Amazon Ebooks
Bezos Apologizes For Kindle's Orwellian Moment

Here's the exact message that he received:

From: Amazon Fraud Check
Date: Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 1:39 PM
Subject: Account Closure: please read
To: Subscriber

Greetings from Amazonfraudcheck.com.

Please take the time to read this message - it contains important
information about your Amazon.com account.

At Amazonfraudcheck.com, we routinely perform reviews of orders and customer
accounts to protect our customers. After careful review of your
account, we believe it may have been accessed and used by a
third-party to make purchases without your permission, but it appears
they did not use your credit card to make these purchases. It seems
that someone obtained your personal account and/or financial
information elsewhere, and used it on Amazon.com to access your
account.

We have closed your account effective immediately because of this
possible unauthorized account activity. If this recent account
activity (new shipping address) was authorized by you, please click the link
below to verify your account information, after that we will
reactivate your account.
Reference* http://www.amazonfraudcheck.com

It is important to know that Amazon.com accounts can only be accessed
by those who know personal, specific information about you and your
account — such as your email address, Amazon.com password, physical
address, credit card information, and other details. As mentioned
above, it appears someone obtained some of your personal account
and/or financial information elsewhere and used it on Amazon.com to
access your account.

In the future, you can protect your Amazon.com password and account by
following some of these safety tips:

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—

1. Choose a good password: Use at least 8 characters and a combination
of letters and numbers. Do not use single dictionary words, your name
or other personal info that can be easily obtained, or a password that
contains part of your email address.

2. Password protection: Avoid using the same password at multiple
sites or for your email account. Do not share your password with
others.

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—

Please know you will need to open a new account when you place future
orders with us. We strongly suggest that you follow the safety tips
listed above for increased password and account protection.

Please accept our most sincere apologies for any resulting
inconveniences, and feel free to contact us if you have any further
questions or concerns by writing to account-alert@amazonfraudcheck.com.

Sincerely,

Abdul Hakeem
Account Specialist
Amazon.com
http://www.amazonfraudcheck.com
=========================

Under the guise of fraud prevention and repair, they're committing Amazon fraud. Slick, huh?

If you receive a similar e-mail, forward it to spoof@amazon.comso Amazon can deal with the phishy impostors.

This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our "solution" to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we've received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.

With deep apology to our customers,

Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO
Amazon.com

Meh. We're not mocking it, and he's probably sincere, but still... meh. When we see a clarification to the licensing terms, then we'll take real interest.

"An Apology from Amazon" [Amazon's Kindle Discussion Forum]
(Photo: spud murphy)

According to the article, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh (who wrote in an email to employees that he wished the headlines would read "Zappos and Amazon sitting in a tree…") didn't actually want to sit in a tree with anyone. In fact, he probably hates trees. Actually, that last part might not be so bad, considering the way Amazon must feel about them.

Report: VCs forced Zappos sale [Bizjournals]
(Photo:Gerardo)

CNN Money's lead explains that Zappos is "known for its selection of shoes," which is almost comically incorrect. Yes, Zappos carries a lot of shoes, but that's not why customers love them so much. This can only work if Amazon allows Zappos to keep up its fantastic, stellar, wonderful level of customer service. An e-mail to employees from CEO Tony Hsieh claims that they will do just that:

Over the next few days, you will probably read headlines that say "Amazon acquires Zappos" or "Zappos sells to Amazon". While those headlines are technically correct, they don't really properly convey the spirit of the transaction. (I personally would prefer the headline "Zappos and Amazon sitting in a tree…")

We plan to continue to run Zappos the way we have always run Zappos - continuing to do what we believe is best for our brand, our culture, and our business. From a practical point of view, it will be as if we are switching out our current shareholders and board of directors for a new one, even though the technical legal structure may be different.

We think that now is the right time to join forces with Amazon because there is a huge opportunity to leverage each other's strengths and move even faster towards our long term vision. For Zappos, our vision remains the same: delivering happiness to customers, employees, and vendors. We just want to get there faster.

What do you think, fair Consumerists?

Amazon scoops up Zappos.com [CNN]
"Zappos And Amazon Sitting In A Tree…" [WSJ]

(Photo: theritters)

On the sidewalks of midtown NYC—what should be one of the most "connected" places in the world—I can't even get dial-up speeds when going online, and that's assuming I can go online at all.

An AT&T suit said yesterday that the e-ink device, which is made by Plastic Logic, "will really deliver that ubiquitous connectivity that customers have asked for." We hope he used air quotes and winked when he said that.

"AT&T to Power Upcoming E-Reader" [WSJ via mocoNews]
(Photo: Annie Mole)

First of all, don't believe the old fogeys who pour haterade all over ebooks whenever Amazon does something stupid with the Kindle. Yes, Amazon just flipped a giant, cloud-computed middle finger at its customers, and wiped away any sense of trust that the company either knows what it's doing or respects the privacy of customers—but that doesn't mean ebooks are a bad idea. The ability to carry a virtual library of titles in a single book-sized device (or on a phone or netbook) carries all sorts of benefits that traditional print does not.

The Kindle, however, is proving to be a rotten deal for customers. Not only do you lose the right of first sale, but it turns out even the idea that your license gives you the promised "permanent" access is false. Last week's Orwell stunt by Amazon is almost certainly not the last time the company will swoop in and manipulate your content, regardless of any promises it churns out in an attempt at damage control.

Here, then, is the best and easiest way to get non-Amazon, public domain ebooks on your Kindle:

Feedbooks: the open source alternative to the Amazon Kindle Store

If you don't already use Feedbooks, you're denying yourself access to what amounts to the free, open-source version of the Amazon Kindle store. On the down side, it won't have the Twilight books; but on the plus side, it won't have those Twilight books. To participate, go to Feedbooks (feedbooks.com/help/kindle) and download the Kindle-formatted catalogue. You do this directly on the device via the built-in browser or you can download it to your PC and copy it over via USB cable.

Now you're ready to "shop" for free, legal copies of ebooks. Make sure your wireless is turned on, then open the catalog like you would any ebook and browse through the available titles. When you find something you want, select it; you'll be taken to a download page on the device's built-in browser, and if you accept the download, the book will automatically be loaded onto your Kindle. See? It's just like using the Amazon store, only free!

A lot of public domain works are also available on the Amazon Store, some even offered by Amazon for free. But when you download from Feedbooks you get a copy that will always be yours. When you download those books from Amazon you're just purchasing a license that can (obviously) be revoked without warning. We recommend you use Feedbooks.

If you can't find it on Feedbooks, try Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org). Any file offered in MOBI or Plain Text is a perfect format for the Kindle; other formats—HTML, for example—will require conversion first (see below). Unfortunately, unlike Feedbooks you'll have to download the files first to your PC and then copy them over to the Kindle via USB cable.

(As a bonus, you can read books from these sites on pretty much any device, including mobile phones and netbooks.)

Converting incompatible formats to Kindle-friendly formats

What if you have digital copies of books that you want to read on the Kindle, but they won't display in their current format? Try installing Calibre (calibre.kovidgoyal.net) or Stanza (www.lexcycle.com) on your PC/Mac. Calibre is the golden child right now, but I've also had success with conversions using the desktop version of Stanza in the past. You should know, however, that Amazon now owns Stanza—so if you're looking to go Amazon-free stick with Calibre, which remains independent as of July 2009.

Futureproofing your purchases

"But what about the books I bought from Amazon?" you ask. "How do I make sure Amazon doesn't remove any in the future?" Technically, you can't. You don't have the rights to protect yourself under Amazon's licensing agreement, congratulations.

Speaking practically, though, you've got two options. The first is an illegal hack to remove DRM. The second option is this:

1. Every time you buy a book from Amazon, download it to your PC and save it as a backup copy. You're allowed to do this. You should also be backing up the text file on your device that stores all of your notes and highlights, just in case.

Now if Amazon removes a title in the future, you still have a backup copy. You should always do this with anything stored in the cloud anyway. You can't seriously believe that cloud storage is a secure, permanent solution for your backup needs—it isn't, and it will come back to haunt you if you don't protect yourself with your own backups in multiple locations.

2. Keep your Kindle's wireless connection turned off unless you need it.

This will somewhat reduce your participation in Amazon's cloud storage system, and increase the odds that should Amazon do something stupid in the future, you'll have some advance warning from other users' tweets and posts if not from Amazon itself.

Remember, though, that thanks to Amazon's DRM implementation, any backup copy will only work on that single Kindle device. When you stop using that particular device, you lose access to that file too if it's no longer stored on Amazon's servers. Your only route at that point will be to resort to something illegal, or to start over and buy a new license.

Is it really likely that Amazon is going to go all 1984 on other books in your Kindle library? No, but that doesn't mean you can't look beyond Amazon for your ebook fix. Over the past few months, Amazon has shown an increasing inability or unwillingness to have a transparent, fair licensing agreement for the ebooks it sells licenses to. If you've already invested money in a Kindle and want to make good use of the device, these are some ideas for how to look beyond Amazon when building your digital library.

RELATED
"Amazon Deletes Your Books, Has Always Been At War With Eastasia"
(Photo: EricaJoy)

That's what happened to Kindle owners who had purchased copies of 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell. Amazon stole a page from the totalitarian, history-revising regime portrayed in 1984. Literally. As in, took back every snazzy digitally rendered page back. Amazon deleted the books from the accounts and even the Kindles of purchasers, and credited their accounts. Kindle users are, understandably, sort of freaked out.

The company selling digital copies of the books hadn't secured the proper rights to sell them, so this isn't exactly an arbitrary fascist act. Just a scary one for any consumers who like to pretend that they actually own digital copies of, well, anything.

David Pogue noted:

This is ugly for all kinds of reasons. Amazon says that this sort of thing is "rare," but that it can happen at all is unsettling; we've been taught to believe that e-books are, you know, just like books, only better. Already, we've learned that they're not really like books, in that once we're finished reading them, we can't resell or even donate them. But now we learn that all sales may not even be final.

It sounds like e-book publisher MobileReference was selling Orwell's books in digital form without bothering to secure the rights to them. Pretty straightforward, but having a transaction automatically reversed in this way is new.

What does all of this mean? Is this an incidence of a company abusing their abilities with DRM, of recovering stolen property, of copyright infringement, or just one really big misunderstanding?

Sorry, Winston, you only temporarily held the rights to access the material, and those rights have been revoked.

Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others [Pogue's Posts]
Mysterious George Orwell refunds [Amazon.com Forums]
Amazon removes books from Kindle? [MobileRead Forums]

Received my new Kindle today, same day I heard about their price drop to $299. Obviously I wanted to see if I could get some cash back. Did their customer callback and got a call as soon as I hit OK. CSR said the shipping cutoff for a partial refund was July 8th and that they'd be crediting me $60 in 2-3 days.

We called Amazon to see whether this rebate was automatic or if you have to request it. Our CSR seemed a little confused by the question but confirmed you'd have to call in with your order number or email associated with the account to have them authorize the rebate.

"Contact Us by Phone" [Amazon]
(Photo: richardmasoner)

The e-mail, which Elseiver now claims was the work of an employee gone rogue, went out to academics who contributed to a clinical psychology textbook:

Congratulations and thank you for your contribution to Clinical Psychology. Now that the book is published, we need your help to get some 5 star reviews posted to both Amazon and Barnes & Noble to help support and promote it. As you know, these online reviews are extremely persuasive when customers are considering a purchase. For your time, we would like to compensate you with a copy of the book under review as well as a $25 Amazon gift card. If you have colleagues or students who would be willing to post positive reviews, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them to participate. We share the common goal of wanting Clinical Psychology to sell and succeed. The tactics defined above have proven to dramatically increase exposure and boost sales. I hope we can work together to make a strong and profitable impact through our online bookselling channels."

Even without the review payola, this raises the question: how much credibility would you give a review from a contributor to the book, anyway?

Elsevier is "not taking it lightly," as opposed to "taking it seriously," which is close enough.

Cindy Minor, marketing manager for science and technology at Elsevier, said that the e-mail did not reflect Elsevier policy. She called the request for five star reviews "a poorly written e-mail" by "an overzealous employee." Minor said that the concerns over the marketing pitch have been discussed "at the highest levels" in the company and that nobody favors paying for good reviews. The situation "is not being taken lightly," she said.

"We want unbiased, honest reviews," she said.

So much for that. The only review for the textbook on Amazon at the moment is a one-star review warning shoppers to be wary of any reviews.

Elsevier Won't Pay for Praise [Inside Higher Ed] (via Jessamyn)