Amazon Still Can't Keep Kindles In Stock
Sat Feb 2, 2008 7:49PM EST
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Amazon's Kindle remains the surprise electronics hit of the holiday season, and it's still going strong, even now that February is here.
CEO Jeff Bezos, in statements during the company's most recent earnings call this week, noted: "Kindle is, in terms of demand, is outpacing our expectations, which is certainly something that we are very grateful for. It's also on the manufacturing side causing us to scramble. We’re working very hard to increase the number of units that we can build and supply per week, so that we can get back—our goal is to get into a situation as quickly as we can where when you order a Kindle, we ship it immediately. That's the standard we want to hold ourselves to and we are working very hard to get there. We are super-excited by the very strong demand."
Ars Technica notes that the Kindle is still listed as "temporarily out of stock," but that you should "please ORDER KINDLE NOW" so you'll get one as soon as they are available... but Amazon can't be any more accurate about when that might be. The best way to get one immediately is probably to head over to eBay. No longer selling for double price as they were in December, the eBay markup is now only about $70 or $80 over retail.
In related news, Amazon moved this week to purchase Audible, the venerable books-on-tape company and one of the oldest of dot-com enterprises still standing. Coupled with its bold moves into the digital music market, things are looking awfully positive for the once-beleaguered retailer, despite a sagging economy.
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2 Posted by culver602004 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:32PM EDT Report Abuse
The Kindle is a terrific instrument. Of course, it does not do everything and the entire Library of Cogress is not available. But with 90,000 books that can be readily downloaded, it's not bad. I buy new releases for less than I can get them at big box discount stores. A side benefit is that I don't have to find a place for that hardback book or somebody with my tastes to give it to. By the way, how many out of print books does the normal person buy. My guess is nada. The Kindle is great for traveling. I used to dump books in my suitcase. No more! The Kindle is not a "Do all, end all' device. It is just a very convenient way to enjoy reading. As an added attraction, it provides instant gratification. Download of a new bestseller takes about 30 seconds. I'm slowly recouping the bit over the top Kindle purchase price. Finally, it weighs very little, much less than a hardback book, which makes reading more enjoyable.
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3 Posted by nolo_8 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:40PM EDT Report Abuse
I think Ill wait 10 years for my e-book.
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4 Posted by richmirabella on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:40PM EDT Report Abuse
I received my Kindle two weeks ago and I am very happy with it. I have since ordered a second for my teenage daughter (she paid for it with her own money) - my wife and son are still thinking about buying. When I show my Kindle to other people that read books and have good incomes - they get very excited and 2 of six have since placed orders. Don't expect people who don't enjoy reading books to get excited about Kindle, just as people who don't care for music don't buy iPods. I suspect that avid book readers also have higher incomes than average. For me, reading on the Kindle is better than a paper book - I can change the font size to make it more comfortable so I can read more quickly than with most paper publications. If there is a reference to something I want to understand more about - I go immediately to Wikipedia or find the dictionary definition. There is less to carry around when traveling. I have been having good experience reading the NY Times, Investor Business Daily and Wall Street Journal and magazines on it as well. A big factor that has not received much press is that I can read a new book for free through the first chapter and then decide if I want to read the rest before I buy. If a book is recommended to me, I can get a free sample immediately to remind me of the book and to try out - paper books don't allow this. The cost of new books is much less than hardcover, typically $9.99 and there is no sales tax or shipping charge. Kindle books are priced lower when the paper book is in paperback. In addition up to 6 Kindles registered to my Amazon account get the content at no additional charge. In addition to the paid works on AMZN, there are over 25,000 free and legal public domain books (e.g., most any classic used in High School and College) on the web for downlaod. Putting my own content on the Kindle by USB or SD flash is free and simple, or I can send it by wireless for 10 cents through email from a pre-authorized account. Their is no monthly service charge.
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5 Posted by gggold4 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:08PM EDT Report Abuse
What exatly iss Kindle?
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1 Posted by rayvr@att.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:31PM EDT Report Abuse
The Kindle looks like a terrific instrument --BUT, many books, many, many, are not available on Kindle and may never be released to this format for reasons only the license holders know. And, if you have already purchased a book from Amazon but haven't read it yet, you'll still have to repurchase it in the Kindle format, IF it is even available in that format. In my own case, I had eagerly put in an order for Kindle and then canceled it when I looked to see what books are available in the Kindle format. I was very disappointed and soon realized it would be of no value to me. The Kindle can do a lot of things and the idea is terrific, but until all books, even those that are out-of-print, are available in the format, I am not interested.