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Amazon changes e-book returns policy after discussions with SoA and Authors Guild
Amazon has agreed to change its e-book returns policy following discussions with the Society of Authors (SoA) and the US Authors Guild.
The online giant’s returns policy for e-books currently allows readers to receive a full refund for up to 14 days, even if they have read the full work. The SoA claimed the use of this refund loophole has been encouraged by users on the social media platform TikTok, with videos on how to return books being viewed more than 17 million times.
A petition was set up on Change.org to reduce the returns window to 48 hours, which attracted more than 78,000 signatures. High-profile authors including Jeanette Winterson and Ian Rankin also criticised the loophole and the impact this would have on authors’ profits.
Amazon stressed at the time that its e-book return rates were “consistently low” and said it had policies and mechanisms in place to prevent this from being abused.
The online retailer maintains there have been “no discernable spikes” in returns but confirmed a change in policy in an email on 21st September to the SoA and the Authors Guild. David Naggar, Amazon’s vice president of books and Kindle content, said: “We do hear all you have said over the course of our conversations on this topic and are planning to make meaningful changes... Most notably, we will de-activate self-service returns for any book read past 10%, adding substantial friction to the process.”
He confirmed the company will introduce the change to all platforms that support Kindle, including e-readers, computers and smartphones. He said Amazon’s developers have, “reprioritized existing product roadmaps... and believe this improvement can be implemented by the end of the year”.
A spokesperson from Amazon confirmed the statement from Naggar to The Bookseller and added: “We’re always listening to feedback to provide the best experience for customers and authors. While we continue to see low overall returns, we will de-activate the self-service return option for any book read past 10% by the end of the year.”
Commenting on the move, Nicola Solomon, SoA chief executive, said: “This is excellent news for authors, and a perfect example of what unions can achieve through lobbying together. We look forward to hearing more from David and his team at Amazon when their new system goes live. In the meantime, thank you to the many self-published authors who first brought this problem to our attention.”
