Help - what do you recommend I do - I have lost my Kindle. Heartbreak city!
I called Amazon and had them disable my one click account so that whoever has it can't access my credit card and keep downloading books.
Why can't Amazon tell if someone else registers my Kindle?
Also - I then went out and bought an ipod touch - happy days cos I found out I could use the kindle app to get my archived books....BUT - can I/should I attempt to buy any books with my itouch? should I just get a new kindle and reregister with a new name?
I am confused and don't know what to do next - could you do an article on this?
ps - lost it flying...it fell out of my bag somewhere, I have called lost and found to no avail....
thanks for any advice you can offer!
Love your newletter
TerryD
Terry, I appreciate your kind words about Kindle Nation Daily and I wish I had some "tips and tricks" that could really help you turn this one around. You've done the main "after the fact" thing, of course, which is to contact Amazon to de-register your Kindle and disable your one-click account account. You can do this either by calling Kindle Support (Kindle Support Phone Number 1-866-321-8851, or 1-206-266-0927 outside the US), or by going to your Manage Your Kindle page
.Unfortunately, a gadget that costs $259 is too expensive to simply replace without feeling some pain, but probably too inexpensive to be covered in any worthwhile way by any insurance program that I'm aware of. (Although that seems like a great niche for an entrepreneur!) But it may be worth a call to your homeowner's or renter's insurance agent to make sure that your Kindle was not covered -- or to find out if you could add a Kindle to your insurance policy in the future.
One small consolation is that you haven't lost any of the Kindle books that you purchased. If you haven't already done so, it's easy to download the free Kindle Apps for PC
, BlackBerry, or iPhone or iPod Touch, and then you can go to your Manage Your Kindle page to send any or all of your Kindle books directly to the device of your choosing. For those of us who have grown accustomed to the pleasures of reading on a Kindle, other devices can take some getting used to, but my best mate has recently read Kindle editions of her last two book group choices -- Committed and Of Human Bondage, no less! -- on her iPod Touch
, and she has enjoyed the experience. You can definitely keep buying Kindle books with your iPod's Kindle App, and you'll be able to send them easily to a replacement Kindle should you decide to get one.If you decide to replace your Kindle -- and wouldn't that really just be a matter of time for most of us? -- just be sure to register it to the same Amazon account that was associated with your departed Kindle, and again, you'll be able to go to your your Manage Your Kindle page
to send your Kindle books wirelessly to your Kindle.Which Kindle to get? While there's been a great deal of speculation that we may see some new Kindle hardware features or lower Kindle prices soon -- driven by any number of forces including the iPad launch -- it's all just speculation, until it's not. For now, the choices are straightforward:
- Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)
, for $259
- Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)
, for $489
- Kindle: Amazon's Original Wireless Reading Device (1st generation)
, USED, for about $235
Meanwhile, I hope that there's an enterprising app developer out there who is working on an app that will wake up a Kindle and inspire it to emit some kind of appropriate sound -- presumably in response to a command sent via Whispernet -- to help a Kindle owner find his Kindle before it's too late!
Finally, I sincerely hope that there is something I'm leaving out that will just make it all better, Terry, so I am going to send this post along to the fine folks at Amazon to see if there's some other worthwhile remedy that I have missed, and if so I will post it and send it on to you directly.
7 comments:
Stephen, posts such as this are the reason your blog is the first one I read each day. You are so good at what you do that I feel blessed to subscribe. Thank you for your wonderful response and thoughtful suggestions for the lady's loss.
Ken
If he resumes using his account, doesn't that open it up for the person who has his lost kindle?
I also strongly recommend getting a recovery services sticker for your Kindle. That will increase the chances that you'll get your Kindle back, and it's a relatively cheap investment.
Good thought, @Bufo! Here are the basics on that, from this post by Bufo at http://bit.ly/ILMKonLostKindles
There is a service that can reportedly give you an 85% chance of getting back your Kindle. I think it’s really clever, and I also want to say that they were very responsive when I chatted some questions to them.
It’s at http://www.trackitback.com , and here’s the basic idea.
You pay $12.95 for a label (lower for more than one at a time). You register it (no additional charge) at trackitback. The label does not have your identifying information, which can be a good thing. A finder goes to the website (on the label) and enters a number (on the label). The finder is guaranteed a reward. TIB gives them $100 in labels, and you can add your own amount if you choose.
TIB arranges to pick it up and return it to you…no additional cost! I can see how it could work very well, and I’ve read success stories and read about it being tested by the media. I asked TIB if they had a Kindle specific story, and they didn’t have one. Still, my guess is that it would be effective in the same way it is for laptops, cell phones, and so on.
Sounds like Trackitback.com has taken the same idea that Stuffbak.com has done for years. I'm looking at the Stuffbak.com keyfob for my fanny pack, with the toll-free number, and the web address on it. It basically does the same thing as Trackitback, and it has worked well for me over the years. At least 20, as far as I can tell... I haven't used it in several years, but I'm glad it's there. They have stickers, and hangtags, they have BAGS, and they have packages with assorted stickers and hangtags. Their enhanced service means there is no cost to you for them to return an item, otherwise, there is a cost of $29.95 AFTER the service term has expired. So, if I lost my fanny pack today, it would cost me $30 to get it back, but not with their enhanced service. I like it... nice and neat, and it's been around for years, and hasn't failed me yet.
Stephen, after your suggestion about homeowners insurance coverage, I called my agent and added both my Kindle and my notebook computer to a "listed articles" policy. It was $2 per hundred dollars of value, which for the Kindle would be about $5 annually, which IMHO iS a better value than the tag system, since it guarantees a new replacement and covers accidental breakage or spills. Your column has to be one of the most helpful ones out there!
Ken
At the very least, add contact information and/or a 'book' that instructs how to contact you if found. There are a lot of honest folks out there who WILL try to find you--especially if they own a Kindle themselves. I created a book titled 'reward if found' in all caps-to stand out in my book list.
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