Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

I was with a group of women they other day, and we were discussing our reading habits, specifically whether we prefer eReaders or print books. By-the-way, most prefer print, though we all acknowledged the convenience of eReaders as well as benefit of digital books being much cheaper than hard copies. 

I was the only author in the group and about half of the women knew I have several books published. The others hadn’t a clue. 

Anyway, the chat regarding eReaders got quite interesting when one little gal announced, bold as brass, that she frequently reads digital books and returns them,

 “…cause you know those authors are making a killing, and Amazon is so stupid, they let you keep the book for a whole week before you have to return it. Who can’t read a book in a week? I just say I didn’t like it, but I usually do. And I’ve even gotten other books from some authors.”



I was thinking she wouldn’t be able to read for a month after I hit her up along side her forehead with my Kindle or Ipad, the twit!

“So, have you ever asked for your money back after watching a movie at the theater, or after attending a concert? Or refused to pay for your meal at a restaurant after you’ve eaten the entire thing?” I asked, in my best teacher-to-clueless-student-voice. 

Miss Book Thief giggled and flicked her fingers at me. “Don’t be silly. You couldn’t get away with that. Besides, that’s stealing.” 

Let’s pause here while I take a couple of deep breaths and refrain from writing the rather uncomplimentary thoughts that banged around in my head regarding her intelligence level, lineage, and another use she might consider for her Kindle that involves a part of one’s body one sits on. 

You don’t need to know the rest of the conversation but one other person in the group thought it was okay to return a book “…if you get to the end and never liked it to begin with.”

I disagree, emphatically, categorically, and equivocally!  

How’d you like all those adverbs? 

I know within the first few pages whether or not I’m going to like a book, and often within the first page or two. I don’t finish reading it, and have NEVER returned a digital book, even ones I’ve not finished reading. 

Read the book description and take the look inside that almost all eBooks allow for before you buy. After doing so, you’ll have a pretty darn good idea if you like the author’s voice or the story. 

If not, don’t buy it. Simple. 

But then, these thieves aren’t buying the books because they don’t like them, are they? They want a free read, and because the have the ethics of a sewer rat, they steal from authors. 

Amazon’s lax policy on Kindle refunds encourages the unethical cockroaches and social parasites to steal. 

Below is Amazon’s policy, along with the link where I found it. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200144510 

“Books you purchase from the Kindle Store are eligible for return and refund if we receive your request within seven days of the date of purchase. Once a refund is issued, you’ll no longer have access to the book. To request a refund and return content, visit Manage Your Content and Devices, select the 

You tell ’em Amazon. Once you have your refund, you can’t read anymore of the book. 

Duh, they already read it, dim wit.  

I don’t care how bleeping long the book is, seven days is excessively lenient. I can read a full-length novel in three to four hours. Personally,  I don’t think any digital books should be allowed to be returned after the first five pages are read. 

Sites that offer refunds for digital books should monitor how many books and how often those slugs return books. Maybe if they monitored book thieves the way the do book reviewers …

Nope, that won’t work, because I can name dozens and dozens of instances where certain retailers don’t abide by their own book review policy, but that’s another blog. 

I’m really curious to hear your thoughts about returning digital books. They’re  not like a hard copy book that can be reshelved and resold. 

Nobody but the author loses when book thieves ask for a refund after they’ve read the book.