The Rare Case Of Replacing An Out of Warranty & Broken Kindle For Free

I love reading books, and this article is for book lovers only and people who never give up. Truth to be told, this article is useful for anyone who believes in keep trying until it’s done – I am going to disclose the secret of getting your Kindle replaced free of cost from Amazon even when it is out of warranty.

Yeah, I am not faking it, I did it a few weeks ago.

The accident happened when I was on my two-month long vacation in Thailand and my son tried to snatch my Kindle. My Kindle fell on the hard floor and got a crack. It broke my heart.

I checked online and came to know that the warranty is not applicable for physically damaged Kindle devices. I checked my device’s purchased date. Oops, the device was out of warranty as well.

All the odds were against me. I had to spend another INR 10,000 on replacing/repairing my Kindle as I am addicted to reading books and I am in love with the Kindle.

Anyway, nothing could be done while in Thailand. Amazon does not provide delivery in Thailand. I don’t know why, but Amazon does not have an online store in Thailand. I came back to India at the end of July.

The Dilemma

I wrote to Amazon about my broken Kindle, expecting some discount on the replacement. In return, I got this response.

I called up the Amazon Service Center Number – 1-800-3000-9011.

I encountered a bad customer care person. He was very strict about Amazon’s policies that no replacement can be provided for out of warranty devices.

I told him that I am okay to pay the repair amount – but Amazon does not have a repair centre anywhere in the world. They don’t even ship replacement parts.

The only option I was left with – to throw away the broken Kindle and buy a new one at full price.

I read a few online discussion forums where people confirmed that they had to buy new Kindle in such scenarios.

But I was still hopeful. I don’t know why, even when there was zero chance of getting a discount on the new Kindle, never mind the replacement. Maybe this hope was coming from my experiences in running my startups.

I am not an easy quitter. I have failed at two startups, lost almost all my money in the first startup, still building my third startup without a single thought of joining a big, corporate job.

I called up Amazon again: the same number but a different customer care guy.

I politely explained my case. This time, I was acting like a sales guy. I wanted to sell them a good loyal customer who they will regret losing.

I told him that I buy two Kindle books every month but my reading has ceased because of my broken Kindle. I asked if they can cancel my recent Kindle books order and ship me physical books because I do not want to invest money again on a Kindle device.

I actually buy more than two books per month on an average. By chance, I bought eight books in the month of July. I made a solid case of presenting me as a valuable customer for Amazon. They would be losing a customer who is going to spend thousands of rupees in the lifetime by denying a new Kindle.

Honestly, I was expecting a paid repair or equivalent discount on new Kindle. I was ready to buy a new Kindle at a 50% discount.

But the customer care guy asked me to wait for few days till he discusses my case with his seniors.

Lo and behold, Amazon accepted my request and I received this response over email.

In a couple of days, I received another email. Amazon confirmed the replacement.

Below were the shipment details I received. And I got my beloved Kindle at no additional cost. 

This exercise is the result of persistence and a little bit of marketing & sales skills.

Persistence, logic, using alternative methods to get the job done: Some of the good side effects of being in the startup world

What To Do While Buying A Kindle

1. Buy a Kindle device if you want to enhance your skills by reading books. I have access to great people’s thoughts through the books they have written. Here is the list of books that I recommend you read to become a smart marketer & entrepreneur.

2. If you already have a Kindle, then buy at least two books every month. If you are a slow reader then buy at least one book every month, but be a consistent buyer.

3. If your Kindle runs into issues, pursue customer care with logic rather than a loud voice.

I highly recommend buying an Amazon PaperWhite Kindle for a flawless reading experience.

This post by Pardeep Goyal first appeared on Cash Overflow and has been reproduced with permission.