Amazon/Kindle returns?
By Michael Haskins
Since “To Beat the Devil” has been doing well on Kindle, I’v been receiving emails from friends and other writers with questions that usually are beyond my explaining. I’m not a techie nor do I read the small print when the bank or credit card sends me something to sign. The damn print is too small for one thing and the other is that I missed law school entirely, so it’s all gibberish, but I figure it protects them and screws me.
I have a question for Amazon/Kindle and thought maybe someone out there could answer in plain English. On the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, My Reports, it lists my books, sales, UNITS RETURNED, units sold, and so on.
What the hell are UNITS RETURNED? I know what units returned are, but with my eBooks there’s the chance to read a half dozen chapters before buying it. Shouldn’t that be enough?
A friend thinks it happens when someone buys the book and is able to download a copy for themselves (and maybe for resale) and then returns it for a refund. All this for $2.99 to $4.99!
I’m okay with someone not liking my book, but I’m not sure you get a refund if you return a book. Maybe a credit toward another book. What’s wrong with Amazon? Don’t they know that they and I are being cheated? If someone reads the free chapters they should have a good idea of the writing and story line, so why give a refund?
The more I get into this techie stuff the more confused I become. It’s like trying to understand a publisher’s spreadsheet explaining why you are not receiving royalties, again.
Too many damn lawyers and too few common folks, if you ask me!
Can anyone help me here? I’ll take help from a recovering attorney, if there’s such a person.
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