Why Amazon needs to rethink its eBook return policy or risk an author rebellion
There are some good things to have come from social media but the latest craze on the likes of the CCP owned TikTok is certainly not one of them and is proving to be of direct harm to authors both indie and traditionally published.
Book Returns are Harmful
You may have seen the issue being discussed in the media or seen authors complaining online about the surge in the number of refunds taking place. It all began when some Tik Tok user made a video post telling their followers a way in which to read for ‘free’ by exploiting Amazon’s frankly ridiculous ebook returns policy.
Now we could blame the Tik Tok influencers and the social media platform itself for not stopping the spread of this harmful messaging but at the end of the day it all comes down to Amazon itself. Its returns policy is utter garbage and seems to actively be aimed at harming authors. No other online bookstore has such a refund policy as they do. Oh, and it doesn’t help when utter vermin are allowed to release books like this one onto the Amazon store. There’s a movement out there that is actively encouraging people to exploit Amazon’s shitty returns policy.
Amazon’s returns policy needs to change
Here it is in Amazon’s own words –
Amazon’s policy allows readers to return eBooks up to 14 days after purchase, even if the whole book has been read.
14 days? That’s a crazy long time to give someone to change their mind or as is the case many authors are experiencing more than enough time for someone to read an entire book and then just refund it. This needs to change, and I am amazed that A) this hasn’t been happening far more already and B) Amazon is naïve enough to think that such a policy wasn’t wide open for exploitation.
Amazon claims that its refund system cannot be abused by persistent refunds, but I don’t believe them at all. This is the company that consistently updates its algorithms that then breaks things and causes misery for authors.
We’ve been hearing stories from authors in many different genres all saying that they’ve seen their returns rising in the past year with some popular indie authors seeing returns numbering in the hundreds per month. Such numbers are unviable and will force full time authors to quit altogether in they want to eat and keep a roof over their heads.
Writing for money is already one of the toughest gigs out there not to mention the most undervalued. I’ve worked as a copywriter for years and the pay is always lower compared to other creative specialisms.
We have the power
Authors need to band together and force Amazon to change its ways. This is of course easier said than done due to the number of authors that are solely reliant on the company for their income. I’ve never been a fan of Kindle Unlimited and believe Amazon is directly responsible for the race to the bottom that authors have been forced to participate in just to sell their books. The best option is to take your books wide and sell them to as many retailers as possible. Starting your own store with Payhip for example is also another great way to diversify and protect your income. Like I’ve done here. With my own store I am in control of pricing, and I don’t have to give such a large chunk of my royalties to Amazon.
Audiobook returns policy is far worse
If you though the problem is bad for eBooks, it’s even worse for audiobooks sold on Amazon’s Audible platform.
On Audible, the return policy for people unhappy with their audiobooks is as long as a year after purchasing which is utterly insane. This policy also applies regardless of how much of the book you have listened to.
What can be done?
As I said earlier, authors need to take the power away from Amazon. Only a mass exodus from Kindle Unlimited and from Amazon itself might make them take notice, but again I won’t hold my breath.
The big trad publishers and indie authors only looking out for there own interests (despite all the talk in author groups about being one community, you just know that when the chips are down its dog eat dog) will just exploit the reduction in competition and be happy to take the hit from the refunds.
Amazon needs to change its policy to similar ones it already has in place with digital media such as movies and videogames. Even better it should adopt the returns policy utilised by Steam which states – ‘Valve will, upon request via help.steampowered.com, issue a refund for any title that is requested within 14 days of purchase and has been played for less than 2 hours. Even if you fall outside of the refund rules we've described, you can submit a request and we'll look at it.’
It still offers 14 days to return an accidental purchase, but the key point is the part that mentions ‘played for less than 2 hours’. Amazon could easily adapt this to say, ‘has been read for less than 25% of the total book length’.
Anything is better than what we have now. Authors need to keep the pressure on and perhaps Amazon will begin to take notice and act. But then again, perhaps they won’t.
