SoA calls on Amazon to cut e-books refund window as petition against policy passes 33,000

The Society of Authors (SoA) has called on Amazon to cut its e-books returns window to 48 hours, after the online retailer was criticised in an online petition signed by more than 33,000 people for offering refunds on e-books to customers who have finished reading. 

The online retailer’s returns policy allows customers to receive a full refund within 14 days of purchase, even if they have read every word, depriving authors of royalties from those sales. 

Nicola Solomon, chief executive of the SoA said: “Seven days is more than enough to read a whole e-book and exchange, and it is not fair to deduct the author’s royalty for books that have been or could have been read." She said royalties should be deducted only in cases of accidental purchase.

A petition demanding the policy be changed has received more than 33,000 signatures in a matter of days. Authors say this is a growing problem, with one claiming that more than 100 copies of their books were returned last month, compared with fewer than 10 in the first two months of the year. 

Jeanette Winterson and Ian Rankin are among high-profile authors to have also criticised Amazon.

“It’s difficult to know how writers are supposed to live; perhaps we are meant to double up as Amazon delivery drivers?” Winterson said. “Jeff Bezos started selling books because they have a long shelf life, are easy to package and their ISBN system is an algorithm dream. The man has never given a toss about books, bookstores or writers.” 

Rankin added: “I am appalled. Writers have a tough enough time as it is trying to make a living. If someone can read your book without paying you anything for the privilege you’re sunk.” 

The Times reported the trend appears to be driven by TikTok users, with videos about returning e-books viewed more than 17 million times. Some users provide tutorials on how to return books after reading them, it said.  

E-book royalties are calculated on a proportion of receipts, typically 25%, whereas for physical copies writers are paid a percentage of the recommended retail price. 

A spokesperson for Amazon said: “Amazon aims to provide the best possible experience for authors and customers. We allow e-book returns up to 14 days after purchase. Our e-book return rates are consistently low and we have policies and mechanisms in place to prevent this from being abused. Our aim is to inspire reading and we recognise the important role of authors. That’s why we launched Kindle Direct Publishing and further recent initiatives like the Amazon Literary Partnership, which supports authors and a variety of literary groups."