# The Kindle scam



## jpele (Jun 26, 2012)

Sorry I can't join the " I love my Kindle crowd" but  i find that Amazon and it's kindle fire nothing mare than a scam.

I own an Ipod, Ipad and computer but thought the Kindle would be perfect for on the road . Although the size is perfect it's very heavy if you try reading for extended periods.

Now the the scam. I'm not a fan of fiction and only read true crime book,  so I search amazon for that genre only to find at least a third of their "true crime books" are actually  thrillers or mystery novels. Another third of their books are between 10 to 35 pages ( seriously how can you write a book about a serial killer in 15 pages) and try to sell it to people? 

As for the rest they are very expensive.  I belong to a book club and never pay more than $2.45 for a book. Which brings up another point.

When I purchase a book it belongs to me,  I can lend it to as many people as I choose,  or I can sell or swap it,  on the kindle I purchase a book and can only lend it out once then my options are to delete it .

Sorry for the rant but I had to get that off my chest.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

jpele,

Welcome to KindleBoards.

I note, that though you call the Kindle Fire a scam, you are posting from it. 

The Fire, or any Kindle for that matter, is not the right device for everyone. For what it's worth, I have an iPad, an iPod Touch, two other iPods, a netbook and a desktop computer and I love my Fire. I have no problem reading on the Fire; I find it quite comfortable to read on.

It sounds like you are experiencing a problem with the search engine on Amazon; I don't think that's necessarily the same thing as a scam. As for length, there are a lot of true crime Kindle singles--perhaps that's what you're finding?

I'll point out that not all Kindle books can be loaned.  But for those of us that have Kindles, lendability isn't a prime requirement anyway. Another device, and DRM-free books, might suit you better.

Finally, note that Forum Decorum says, in part:



> - No trolling. This includes posts that seem designed to incite angry responses, or posts that seem designed to dissuade Kindle enthusiasts. This is a Kindle forum! If you prefer other readers, you are still welcome here; but don't try to turn this into an anti-Kindle forum.


You're more than welcome here, and I see you've posted a question about removing web pages on your Fire, but because we ARE a Kindle Forum, people may not react positively to your rant, as you call it.  I'll try to protect you. 

Betsy
KB Moderator


----------



## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

Your thoughts on the lack-of-lendability of the books you "purchase" is something a lot of people are usually displeased with.  But, we get our happy-time meds, and then go on about our days hailing Bezos...


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hadou said:


> Your thoughts on the lack-of-lendability of the books you "purchase" is something a lot of people are usually displeased with. But, we get our happy-time meds, and then go on about our days hailing Bezos...


That reminds me, it's time for mine... 

Betsy


----------



## Guest (Jul 17, 2012)

It's hard to tell whether to treat this as a joke or take it seriously. I'll take it at face value and offer some of my thoughts.

About the lengths of books, that's not really something Amazon has control over. The kind of cheap true crime books you may be looking for are most likely offered by independent publishers or authors who are able to set their own prices for their works. Considering it's true crime as well, some of these stories may be touching on long-form journalism, and less than $2 may actually be an appropriate price for them. Otherwise, your...thriftiness may be part of the reason you are having trouble finding books that you like in such a narrow genre.

While you may feel like you should be able to do whatever you want with your purchased e-book, there are some important differences between it and a physical book that you can lend to anyone. With a physical book, you can't wholly reproduce it and make it available to millions of people at the touch of a button. With e-books you can, so it makes sense to me to have some restrictions on it.


----------



## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Sorry that you're having a poor user experience. As for me, I sold my iPad 1 two months after getting a Kindle Fire, and I've never regretted it. About the cost of books: when the publishers and Steve Jobs killed the $9.99 NYT bestsellers, I walked. About 90% of the books I read now are by indies, and I'm constantly amazed at how many talented writers are out there selling their books for $2.99 or less. Try reading indies for a while, and I bet you'll enjoy the experience.


----------



## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Hadou said:


> Your thoughts on the lack-of-lendability of the books you "purchase" is something a lot of people are usually displeased with. But, we get our happy-time meds, and then go on about our days hailing Bezos...





Betsy the Quilter said:


> That reminds me, it's time for mine...
> 
> Betsy


*wanders in dispensing chocolate*


----------



## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

JimC1946 said:


> and I'm constantly amazed at how many talented writers are out there selling their books for $2.99 or less.


AND then there is always the public library. Ours is adding ebooks in epub and Kindle format at a pretty rapid rate. I'm finding I"m reading ebooks about 3 to 1 vs hard copy now. Who wants to drive all the way to the library to get a book.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jpele said:


> Sorry I can't join the " I love my Kindle crowd" but i find that Amazon and it's kindle fire nothing mare than a scam.
> 
> I own an Ipod, Ipad and computer but thought the Kindle would be perfect for on the road . Although the size is perfect it's very heavy if you try reading for extended periods.
> 
> ...


Hmmm. Well, I'll just disagree. 

I have no iThings, but do have a smartphone and tablet, as well as multiple eInk Kindles, the Fire, and a couple of laptops. For reading out and about, the tablet's too big and the phone's too small but, for me, the Kindle is just right -- portable, not too heavy, adequately sized screen. I mostly do that on my eInk devices and do admit I got the Fire because it was shiny and new.  But I like it for reading and some games. Not interested in watching movies or tv on it. . .I like a big screen and comfy couch for that.  And if I'm stuck somewhere waiting, I'd much rather dip into my latest read than pull up video. . . . .

I find a LOT of books that are not at all expensive. Many are free. The Kindle Daily Deal offers one book a day marked down from regular price; I've picked up a bunch of them. I _prefer_ books in electronic format, though, so actually am willing to pay a bit more on that account. Still, I've only bought a few books -- maybe a dozen total over the last 4 years -- that were more than $10. That's a 'significant' price point as, in the early days, that's the price Amazon set all NYT bestsellers. So it's rather a bench mark.

In general, full length novels now run $12 to $15 for traditionally published titles/authors, which is on par with the price of the newly released hardback. (I won't get into the debate about whether that's a fair price relative to a paper book.) Independent authors rarely sell for more than $5. Yes, you're taking a bit of a chance on an unknown author, but these books are very popular here -- many of the authors are, in fact, members -- so you're not going into them completely blind. People will give honest recommendations. AND, they also periodically put them on sale for just a buck or two, or even free, which is a great time to pick up something you've been on the fence about. I've found some great reads that way.

I don't care about the distinction between 'owning' and 'paying for a license'. I rarely read a book twice, and I don't usually lend them to people; I just don't have many friends who read as much as I do. So, if it wasn't something I wanted to keep, I'd end up donating to a charity shop eventually. No, I can't do that with ebooks but it's not a big deal to me. I don't completely delete many, though. I read a LOT -- and am very happy to have reduced the clutter. I probably have 1000 or more books on Kindle waiting to be read -- they'd take up a lot of space if in paper! 

Now, as to your issue with the length and categorization of books in the 'true crime' genre. . . . I guess you'll have to take that up with Amazon. Generally the publishers specify what genre, but if you think it's wrong you can advise Amazon of the fact. As to length, at least you can now tell what that is before you buy!  Initially all you could go by was a file size -- the page equivalent thing they have now is vastly better. You just have to decide, then, whether you're willing to pay the price for the size book it is. 

Anyway, as Betsy says, no one device is going to be 'just right' for everyone. . .there are a ton of options out there though, and I, for one, think that's great. Anything that gets more folks reading is a good thing, I say.


----------



## RedGolum (Nov 2, 2011)

I bought my bride a Fire for her birthday, for a totally different reason.  I thought the IPad is over priced for the performance.

I can't do what I can with my laptop or desktop. For ME, it is a big smart phone that costs to much.

However, the Fire is just what my wife likes, and she didn't like the the IPad.  It is what you like.


----------



## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

The Kindle isn't a scam. You aren't being defrauded. Some works are short, yes. If you don't want short works, don't buy them. Short stories, novelettes, novellas and novels are well established in literature.

No more than $2.45 for a book? You can get books for the Kindle that are cheaper than that, or for free. If you walk into a bookstore and purchase a new book, it's going to cost more than $2.45. But if you don't want to pay more than $2.45, no one is forcing you to.

Your complaints aren't unique to the Kindle, they would apply to any other e-reader. They would apply equally well to e-books in the iPad. And aside for the ability to loan books out, they apply to paper books as well.


----------



## Lindafaye (Mar 29, 2012)

Not sure if anyone else brought this up, but....if your print books get lost or  damaged in a fire or by water or any other way...they are pretty much ruined....you always have a brand new copy waiting for you in your Amazon account.


----------



## Guest (Jul 23, 2012)

My book is in paperback and ebook.

If you buy the paperback, you can only loan it to one person at a time. I can live with that.
But if you want to loan it to several people at one time, you'll have to copy all 244 pages (usually about 10 cents a page at copy shops or $24.40 for the book). Again, I can live with that because it would make more sense (cents) for you or your friends to buy more paperback copies at $19.95 each.

Ebooks are different. If you loan out several copies of a digital file, then I'm losing money. It took me long time to research and write the book that resulted in the digital file, so I can NOT live with that.

By the way, when you "loan" a copy of digital file, you ask that person to "return" that digital file to you?
Right?

Yeah, right.


----------



## 350X (May 25, 2012)

I thought the scam was to use a butter knife to carefuly pry up the flap with out harming the "security" zip pull tab after a sit in the sun, replace the kindle with something else that weighs 1lb, reseal and return it like it was never opened.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

No, I think that''s called "theft."

Betsy


----------



## GhiiZhar (May 23, 2010)

jpele said:


> .....I own an Ipod, Ipad and computer but thought the Kindle would be perfect for on the road . Although the size is perfect it's very heavy if you try reading for extended periods..


I also have an iPod, iPad, and Fire, as well as a Playbook, and a Nexus. I have also owned K2, K3, K4, DXG, and just recently - a Nexus, so I would say that I can offer a qualified *opinion* about ereaders.

I believe that you could have chosen a better device if wanted something light, and designed to be read for "extended periods". Any of the Kindle (or Nook, Sony, Kobo) e-ink readers would have been a much better choice. They are considerable lighter than any tablet computer, the battery lasts much longer, and their screens do not suffer from glare and reflections like tablets do.

In my opinion, the iPod is just to small, and the iPad is too large and too heavy for extended reading. The Playbook and Fire are OK for an hour or so - as long as you are not outside or in bright lights. In full sunlight, none of the tablet computers are suitable for reading.

I will not comment about the "scams" that you mention. Others have covered that subject well enough.


----------

