Every month we find on our Amazon sales where several ebooks
have been returned. Amazon allows
returns within 7 days. I used this once
when I bought a book accidently hitting the mouse on my computer on the one
click buy button. I have not been able
to find where Amazon limits returns. So when
we saw several returns of our ebooks, we both wondered if people buy ebooks,
read them, then return them. I am sure
some have, but I was curious what would keep readers from doing this all of the
time. A little Googling gave me the
answer. If Amazon thinks you’ve returned
too many of your purchases, you will get a letter like the following.
Greetings
from Amazon.com.
A careful review of
your account indicates that you have required refunds on a large majority of
your orders for a variety of reasons.
In the normal course
of business, the occasional problem is inevitable. The rate at which such
problems have occurred on your account is extraordinary, however, and cannot
continue. Effective immediately, your Amazon.com account is closed and you
are no longer able to shop in our store.
Please know that any
accounts related to yours have also been closed. If you were to open a new
account, the same will result and it will also be closed. In the event that you
attempt to do so, we will not accept the return of any additional orders, nor
will we issue further refunds in connection with any future orders. We
appreciate your cooperation in refraining from using our web site.
Going forward, all
inquiries must be directed to (deleted email address).
Please do not contact
regular Customer Service again, as they will no longer be able to assist you.
Best regards,
Account Specialist
Amazon.com
It’s a little frightening that they can close your account
with no warning so that you can’t access your Kindle books, you would lose all money on gift cards, and to be banned from Amazon for life. Yikes!
This would be well deserved to the people who abuse the return policy
and basically steal, but a policy like this could harm innocent people,
too. A little warning might be
nice. So here’s a fair warning to all
the people who return ebooks after they read them. You can be BANNED FROM AMAZON FOR LIFE!
12 comments:
I've wondered about that too!
Wow, that is scary! I'm glad you addressed the returns, though, Livia. I had wondered about them. Since we buy more than books from Amazon--like most of our gifts and stuff around the house--having our account closed would be terrible. Glad you're feeling better. Take care.
I'm wondering if this is a one-strike-you're out deal or whether there's a warning prior to having your account closed forever. But there does have to be some way to control abuse of returns, especially with ebooks. I also returned one ebook--same reason, Livia, I accidently clicked the one-click buy button. I've never returned a book for any other reason, and would never return a book just because it wasn't to my taste.
From everything I've read online, it's a no warning deal. Who knows how many items you have to return to get this. It's not really explained on Amazon.
Yeah, I got one of those letters while I was waiting for the doctor to come in for my appointment. What I lost was not just my Kindle books (true, I was starting to build up a pretty sizable library) but also my copious number of MP3s. I got an e-mail with the exact same wording as the one you quoted.
It's not about returns, as it was only rare in a blue moon when I would need to return something to Amazon. It also makes no sense as I was one of their most loyal customers and defenders, having been a customer for years.
Jessica, did they give you any clue why? That would be very upsetting. I use Amazon and my kindle a lot. I've heard that it's very hard to get a response back from Amazon about this.
No, they didn't. I am trying to figure out what the hell went on and no one at Amazon is willing to talk to me. I am thinking that this has taken forever and I am thinking of making this a saga and going all Simon Jones on their ass.
So, as someone who actually works for the company, if you get banned, you are going to more than deserve it. I have seen people who come across as being an abuser, and had account specialist tell me that it wasn't really abuse in their eyes yet. As far as Kindle content goes, you basically have to return everything that you've bought over a long period of time, and let's be honest....If you are doing this, you are a thief. Amazon might be a large company, but you are hurting authors, publishers, and the employees of the company by doing this. Also, if you are constantly having "issues" and asking for extra funds beyond the amount of your refund for an order, this is also abuse. If you do this over a long period, you will get caught.
Kirsty,
That's good to know. This was something I've really been wondering about. Thank you for your time.
I know a girl this happened to. She would buy a Kindle book, read it, and then return it for a refund. She used the Kindle store like a library. She thought if she read a book and didn't like it, she should get her money back (she returned a few she did like, ass well, just because she really didn't have the money to buy it). Life doesn't work that way, and she got banned. She tried to set up another account, but because it was attached to the same bank account as the first one, it got bounced too. It served her right. You shouldn't be allowed to read and return.
I have same issue. They closed my account for rest of life just for returning. Do their policy mention anywhere regarding number of limit return per year? They sucks..
I do recall reading something on Amazon pertaining to this. While an initial warning would in my opinion be helpful, repeatedly returning ebooks just because they've been read (As opposed to some technical glitch associated with them!) would certainly warrant such a ban! In cases of defective product from merchants, I generally adhere (When Practical!) to a three strike rule. If the three strikes occur within a ridiculously short time frame (IE. Six months, or 3 out of 6 orders, if longer!) without anything remotely resembling a reasonable explanation, I shop elsewhere. These things do after all, work both ways!
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