Amazon Apologizes for Kindle Shipment Delays
Posted on 20 March 2008, at 1:02 pm, by Christopher Gavula
I’m a big fan of ebooks. Unfortunately, they haven’t really lived up to their potential yet. As a fan – I’ve been watching the release of the Kindle closely. In some ways, it feels like it has to succeed if ebooks have any chance of becoming more than a niche market. I really want to buy a Kindle, but I need decent backlighting and I’d prefer a color screen first. The fact that’s it’s based on Sprint service is unfortunate since their coverage in my part of the world is terrible, but all that aside, the Kindle has always struck me as a cool idea that I hope is successful.
So today I browse over to the Amazon.com website and I’m greeted not to the usual Amazon.com opening page, but rather one that contains a big apology from Jeff Bezos to people who’ve been patiently waiting for shipment of their Kindle.
It seems, according to Amazon, that the Kindle has been much more popular than expected. The apology states that the initial supply sold out in 5 1/2 hours. They expect to be back on track with shipments in the next few weeks. In the meantime, they are asking people to continue to be patient.
So are we to assume then that this means the Kindle is a success? The device is still in short supply, but how are they doing with content? Have eBooks finally found a way to take hold?
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March 20th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Actually I am kind of surprised at how well it sells. I think they found what others haven’t in eBooks.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I think the key for Amazon was that they hide the DRM so well, and hit a sweet spot between dedicated ebook reader and connected device.
By integrating so tightly with Amazon.com, it feels less like you’re buying a highly restricted book. It also isn’t a separate authentication process, like from e-reader for example. It’s just a click and there it is.
Also, by having blogs, magazines, newspapers, etc all available, it’s more connected and powerful than the average ebook reader but not with the excess bells and whistles of a smartphone. It straddles the two and delivers JUST what it needs to through it’s connectivity. No more and no less.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I’m taking one for the team .. I put in an order about a week ago because I wanted to know whether Amazon was truly out of stock – and if so how long it took them to fill the order.
It seems VERY odd to me that a H-U-G-E retailer like Amazon does not have the executive talent to forecast demand for this device. I think there’s a good chance that the letter was a publicity gimmick (it certainly gained them wide coverage).
And I remain convinced Kindle is more proof of concept than profit generator.
I’ll be interested to see how it works when mine arrives..
March 20th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Until I see sales figures I will assume that the lack of inventory is a marketing ploy to make the Kindle seem much more popular than it really is. I will hazard a guess that it is selling better than expected, but that the expectations were lower than they should have been (and were deliberately lower in order to make the Kindle seem scarce.)
March 21st, 2008 at 3:51 am
@doogald – I agree with you 1000% percent – imho you are right on track with your thoughts. This is a marketing ploy. Either that or Amazon after years in the business suddenly became incompetent about supply chain management. Either that or we’re to believe they totally outsourced their development of the Kindle and are at the mercy of a third party supplier.
I’m not buying the excuses.
I am buying a Kindle though (on order)…so as soon as it get’s here I’ll report back.
Why would I buy one? I’m tired of filling my house up with books that waste paper and resources. If I could get this all electronically and have Amazon store my books for me — I would gladly pay for the device plus a smallish storage fee. That’s my hope anyhow.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:42 am
It’s still a few things for me:
- too expensive
- too 1.0 -ish. The controls look awkward, and the device looks like it was designed by a committee. I know that they will improve it going forward
- I still greatly prefer ink on paper. Call me crazy. At least if I drop it in the lake I have a $10-ish handful of pulp that is easy to replace, rather than a several hundred dollar doorstop.
I use bookins.com to clear out my read inventory that I know I will never read again.