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Amazon has been quietly making a sequence of adjustments to their Kindle insurance policies relating to e book returns, lending between customers, e book codecs, and extra. What’s afoot at Amazon, and what’s the longer term of Kindle? While the e book big might not be forthcoming with particulars about these adjustments, right here’s what we all know thus far.
Changes to Kindle eBook Return Policy
The most up-to-date change is one authors and publishers have been begging for: updating the return coverage for “accidental” ebook purchases. Previously, Amazon allowed customers to return any e book inside seven days of buy, no questions requested. A TikTok pattern led to this return coverage being abused on a big scale. Users would buy a ebook, learn it inside the seven day window, and return it as an unintentional buy. Some argued that this was a innocent manner to make use of Amazon as a lending library.
Authors, particularly self-published authors, had been fast to level out that this “life hack” was something however innocent. On Twitter, authors identified that Amazon deducts royalties for returned books from writer funds. In some circumstances, Amazon requests cash already paid out to authors be returned, resulting in adverse royalty balances. Unlike in precise libraries, the place authors are paid royalties for the copies out there to patrons, this learn and return trick with Amazon meant authors weren’t paid in any respect for his or her work.
Authors begged Amazon to repair this downside, declaring that Amazon had the instruments at hand to see if readers had completed the books they claimed to have bought mistakenly. A Change.org petition concerning the return coverage gained over 75,000 signatures. On September 23, Amazon responded by saying they are going to change their Kindle return coverage for unintentional purchases. Readers will now solely be capable to return ebooks inside seven days of buy in the event that they’ve learn 10% or much less of the e book in query. Otherwise, customers might want to contact a customer support agent to be able to course of e book returns. The coverage is about to enter impact earlier than the tip of the yr.
This is a constructive transfer for authors whose books had been primarily being pirated via the e book return loophole. For readers, whereas it could restrict their potential to freely learn and return ebooks, it’s a good change. Presumably, readers will notice they’ve “accidentally” bought a ebook inside the first 10% of the textual content, and additional assist for returns is accessible via customer support. The Author’s Guild and the UK Society of Authors are each praising the change, with the Society of Authors calling it “a major improvement for authors of books available on Kindle.”
Kindle to Support EPUB Files
Earlier this yr, Amazon introduced one other change that can affect Kindle customers. Kindle will help EPUB information for the primary time since its creation. EPUB is an open normal format extensively supported by different ereaders and units. Until now, all Kindle books needed to be in MOBI or a proprietary Amazon format, limiting the place ebooks could possibly be acquired.
Good E-Reader experiences that the brand new compatibility is now in impact as of late August 2022. Users can ship EPUB information via their Kindle e-mail tackle. With this alteration, nevertheless, comes the information that Kindle not help MOBI information, a format supported on Kindle units from its inception. MOBI information beforehand downloaded to Kindles will nonetheless be accessible, however all new ebooks will should be downloaded in an EPUB or proprietary Amazon format.
Overall, it is a constructive transfer, making it simpler to buy and obtain ebooks from sources aside from Amazon and to entry your ebooks on completely different ereading units.
End of eBook Lending Between Kindle Users
Now for a bit of unhealthy information: Amazon has silently ended lending of ebooks between Kindle customers. Previously, sure e book titles could possibly be digitally “lended” between customers via the Amazon web site. Someone who bought a lendable ebook may ship it to a buddy’s Amazon account. The purchaser was not be capable to entry the ebook whereas it was lended. At the tip of two weeks, the e book was robotically returned to its proprietor.
No official Amazon announcement is accessible, but it surely seems this characteristic has now disappeared from all Kindle ebooks. This was delivered to my consideration by a Book Riot reader who, after speaking with a number of Amazon customer support representatives unaware of the change, lastly spoke with an agent who shared that the lending possibility was discontinued on the finish of August 2022. This reader was using a submit I wrote for Book Riot in 2018 explaining easy methods to lend Kindle ebooks and reached out to inform me of the change. Unable to seek out any formal details about the change, I seemed round in my very own Kindle library and noticed for myself that books that had been beforehand lendable not had the choice to lend.
The purpose for this alteration stays unknown. As this was beforehand a profit to buying ebooks via Amazon, it’s disappointing to lose this characteristic. And it’s not the one “lending” Kindle choice to disappear lately. The beforehand widespread Kindle Lending Library was resulted in August 2020 after nearly a decade. This lending program allowed customers to borrow one free e book per 30 days and re-download that ebook at any later date. Users had been as a substitute directed to Prime Reading or Kindle Unlimited.
What’s Ahead for Kindle?
None of these adjustments to Kindle options and insurance policies have been extensively communicated by Amazon, inviting the query, What different Kindle options are quietly disappearing? It’s common for Amazon to make adjustments to their merchandise and companies with out announcement. These adjustments over the previous few months point out that Amazon is shifting Kindle in a brand new path, though that path is unclear.
Can updates to new Kindle merchandise give us a glimpse at what Amazon is prioritizing of their ereading companies? In September, Amazon previewed their new base mannequin Kindle on October 12 and is now out there for preorder. The new Kindle appears nearer to the present Paperwhite editions, with a 6-inch excessive decision, glare-free, entrance lit display screen and an enhanced battery that lasts for as much as 6 weeks. All of these enhancements over the earlier mannequin are available at $99, solely $10 greater than the older machine. Amazon can be releasing a model aimed toward youngsters, Kindle Kids, for $119.
At the identical time, 5 older fashions of Kindles will lose their entry to the Kindle Store to buy books via the machine. As of subsequent month, customers of Kindle International (2nd era), Kindle DX International, Kindle Keyboard, and 4th and fifth era Kindles will not be capable to buy books via their ereaders. Instead, books may be bought via Amazon’s web site and downloaded to older Kindle units.
It’s clear that Amazon is evolving their Kindle merchandise and companies for higher expertise, honest writer pay, and file compatibility. But these adjustments come on the expense of widespread options like lending between customers. We could not know what’s forward for Kindle, and Amazon shouldn’t be at all times forthcoming with details about adjustments that affect customers. But right here at Book Riot, we’ll proceed monitoring ereading traits and holding you up to date on what adjustments is likely to be coming to your digital library.
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