It sometimes feels like the price-fixing settlement between e-book publishers and the government has been stretching on for forever. But it now seems Amazon is prepping Kindle customers for a potential, partial refund if they bought e-books between April 2010 and May 2012. That is if the court approves the settlements in various states.

PCWorld says customers could be getting back anywhere from $0.30 to $1.32 per e-book from Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. Those publishers agreed to paying $69 million into a fund for the settlement.

Amazon has been sending eligible customers e-mails alerting them to the possible refunds, which wouldn’t go into effect until February 2013 if the court approves. There’s also as a special FAQ page for those wondering if they’ll get some money back.

Amazon says:

“If the court approves the settlements, the account credit will appear automatically and can be used to purchase Kindle books or print books. Alternatively, eligible customers may request a check in the amount of the credit by following the instructions included in the formal notice of the settlements.”

You’ll get more money back if you bought something on the New York Times bestseller list, and the lower amounts will be paid out to those books not on that list.

Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Sony and Google are also on the hook to issue refunds, but with Sony and Google customers will ahve to file a claim form before December 12, 2012 to get a check. Penguin, Macmillan, and Apple have yet to agree to the settlement, pending further court hearings.

Check out ebooksagsettlements.com for more information from the State Attorneys General regarding the e-book settlement.

Amazon offers e-book refunds in price-fixing settlement [PCWorld]
Customer FAQ for Attorneys General E-book Settlements [Amazon]

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