Read anywhere capabilities: In addition to Amazon’s best-selling Kindle devices, customers can download a free Kindle reading app for iPhone, iPad, Android tablets and phones, PC or Mac and start building their Kindle library today.Popular Kindle-only features: As with regular purchases, Kindle MatchBook titles have unique features such as Whispersync, Popular Highlights, and X-Ray.Easy discovery: Readers can easily look up their entire print book order history to discover which of their past purchases are enrolled in Kindle MatchBook.For book purchases dating back to 1995: Print purchases all the way back to 1995-when Amazon first opened its online bookstore-will qualify once a publisher enrolls a title in Kindle MatchBook.Kindle editions at a great price: Amazon customers who purchase or have purchased qualifying print books can get the Kindle edition for prices that are typically $2.99, $1.99,$0.99, or free.It sounds like eligibility for the books will rely on the publisher's willingness to enroll the title into the Kindle MatchBook program, but Amazon says over 10,000 books will already be available once Kindle MatchBook launches in October. And this goes all the way back to 1995 when Amazon first launched as an online bookstore. I say “used to be”: Shelfie was bought out last year by Amazon competitor Kobo.Amazon announced Kindle Matchbook (opens in new tab) today, stating that the benefit gives customers the option to buy - for $2.99, $1.99, or $0.99, or free - the Kindle edition of print books they have purchased new from Amazon. Quick bit of history: there used to be a business named “Shelfie” that allowed you to create a shelf online of books you currently own and then provided information about free or discounted prices for the ebook versions from sellers. So I might rephrase your question to begin “Why can’t you get a discounted Kindle book…” When I pushed the button, after years of purchasing books at Amazon, two titles came up. You will see a button that reads “Find Your Kindle MatchBook Titles.” Once you click that and sign in, Amazon generates a list of books you’ve purchased that qualify for the MatchBook program, which means that you can purchase the Kindle edition of that book for $2.99 or less. You can discover which of your print purchases qualify for MatchBook by following the link above to the MatchBook page. Amazon, in its pursuit of “seamless” bookselling, came up with MatchBook, but they have to persuade publishers to participate. Take as an example John Grisham’s recent “The Rooster Bar.” You can buy a hardback, a paperback or a Kindle version, so the publisher could offer the Kindle version for $2.99 for purchasers of the physical book, but they don’t. Some, but certainly not all, hardcopy books you buy from Amazon qualify for MatchBook. The Kindle MatchBook program is a great example of this principle. So a “free” Kindle version of a hard copy book you purchased can only come with the publisher’s blessing. As you may know, Amazon’s aggressive pricing for popular books on Kindle has come under control of the publisher as well. ![]() For example, some Kindle books can’t be loaned to a friend because the publisher won’t allow it. As with many innovative ideas that Amazon has promoted regarding e-reading and e-books, the final decision on this sort of thing lies with the publisher of the book. “Why” you don’t get a free digital version of a physical book that you purchase from Amazon is a reflection of the “profit motive” at work. So what gives? Why not have both? And since the content is the same, why isn’t one of those copies FREE? It is devilishly hard to save all your notes and clipping when you have a print copy, and you can’t admire a book on your bookshelf or share it with a friend (in most cases) when you have an e-book copy. There are compelling reasons to own a print book you want to read, AND to have an e-book version to go along with it.
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