I love reading books, and this article is for book lovers only and people who never give up.
This article is useful for anyone who believes in keep trying until it’s done – I am going to disclose the secret of getting Kindle replaced free of cost from Amazon even when it was out of warranty.
Yeah, I am not faking it, I did it.
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 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 odds were against me. I had to spend another 10,000+ rupees on Kindle as I am addicted to reading books…. and I am in love with Kindle.
Anyways, 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 in the end of July. I wrote Amazon about my broken Kindle, expecting some discount on the replacement.
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 policies that no replacement can be provided for out of warranty devices.
I told him that I am okay to pay repair amount – but Amazon does not have any repair centre anywhere in the world. They don’t even ship replacement parts.
The only option I left with – is to throw away the broken Kindle and buy new Kindle at the full price. I read few online discussion forums where people confirmed that they had to buy new Kindle in such scenarios.
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But I was still hopeful. I don’t know why I was hopeful even when there was zero chance of getting a discount on the new Kindle, forget about the replacement. Maybe this hope was coming from my experiences in my startups.
I am not a 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 is 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 Kindle device.
I actually buy more than two books per month on an average. By chance, I bought 8 books in the month of July.
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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.
I received his response over the email.
In couple of days, I received another email 🙂
And I got my beloved Kindle at no additional cost.
This is the result of persistence and a little bit of marketing & sales skills.
The good side effects of being in a startup world 🙂
What should you do if you are 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.
#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 gets into trouble, pursue customer care people with logic rather than loud voice.
Product reccomendations to save money on shopping
Do have any similar experience to share?
My Paperwhite, which was bought by my daughter @USA & gifted to me has stopped working. The switch is not working. I talked with Amazon.in with no help at all. They just referred me to Amazon.com. They in turn were offering $18 credit for purchase @ Amazon.com & the quoted price of a new unit is $119. Thus I am stuck with a dead Paperwhite. I’ve checked videos of repair, which appeared to be quite simple. I propose to approach the local mobile/ electronic repair shops, if they can help.
Amazon is doing very good for the costomers. Orders are placed on time.
Thanks
I had the same problem but got replaced for free.
super info
Unfortunately I was not that lucky with my device. My Paperwhite device got a scratch, since I used to carry my device and keys always with me. A small patch of light oozes out of that scratch which sometimes feels irritating. An my device still in warranty. I tried with Amazon.in strictly negative. Rather they offered a mere 1000 discount to buy a new device, which seemed worthless to me, as I have bought my device with more than 2500 discounts. I got habituated with that peeping light while reading. Surprisingly Amazon.com customer care offers full replacement for the device but I am not eligible since I bought from Amazon.in. A great product with bad service in India.
I also bought from Amazon.in
If you read my story again, I also encountered with a tough customer care guy. Pitch them from any other angle.
Here is my list of books that I recommend you start reading today to become a better entrepreneur. – I think the list of books or a link to it is missing. 🙂
here is the link – startupkarma.com/books
Useful information. Lucky me I found your web site
unintentionally, and I am shocked why this coincidence didn’t took place earlier!
I bookmarked it.
Thanks man, great info. That’s right as a entrepreneur we must use our selling & marketing skills in our daily life.
BTW I’m enjoying reading your blog. I’m going to subscribe your blog for sure… keep posting some awesome post.
Brilliant. I’ve experienced similar situations.
When you approach people with strong reasons for taking an exception, it always works.
I’ve used sales skills to show banks how i’m actually qualified for some credit card upgrades and it does make me lucky most times 🙂
Again, That’s a great post that proves, anything is possible!
Good Hustle Pardeep! Reminds me of some of the learnings that Ramit Sethi shares in “I will teach you to be rich” around negotiating as much as you can with vendors on reducing fees/giving discounted rates etc. basis loyalty and tenure.
PS: Admire the rigrous reading that you manage to do. There was a time I was a voracious reader but the addiction to a regular paycheck seems to have become an excuse. Time to change that!
You wonderfully explained how one consumer can sell his idea to the company and can get the product either cheaper or in this case free. Would sure use this in various other cases where it can be applied.
Thanks!!
Thanks Vikas,
Of course our selling & marketing skills can be used in our life on daily basis.
That’s a typical case of using Human Psychology. We do not like to lose and you made sure to make them aware WHAT THEY ARE LOSING if they do not help. 🙂
Actually, they understood my psychology, that I may spread negative vibes if they did not resolve the issue. Anyways, they know how to calculate LTV of customer and how to maximize profits.
Wow Pradeep!! Its really amazing.. Patience and perseverance paid off !!
Well articulated article and thanks for saving many other hearts from getting broken.
Thanks Summi for leaving the comment. I wish many more people can get benefit from my experience.
Dear Pradeep,
I admire your never give up attitude. Its not the matter of kindle but in life too we should never give up and try to find a solution rather than thinking about the problem. I know salesmanship is not everyone’s cup of tea but we all can give our best to whatever we are doing.
Its really a nice lesson for entrepreneurs/ Startups / Bloggers that we should always try to find solution and should never give up.
Thanks for sharing your experience, I am sure it will help many.
Sandeep, you summed up everything about the article’s spirit 🙂
Thanks for taking time and leaving your comment.
You are lucky to have it replaced at no additional cost. Normally people have bitter experiences,when it comes to exchanging or replacing any of their products.Its good to hear that Amazon gives good customer support services to their loyal customers.
Anyways,you proved that it is the “right approach” that matters while dealing with such situations.
“Customer is the king” and you gave a live example of it 🙂 Thanks.
I know that people have bitter experience with many e-commerce companies and broken Kindles are not replaced.
I tried my best and got the decision in my favor 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Harleen.
Very interesting read..
This article is a reaffirmation of the fact that to get the work done – you have to show the other person his benefit and not talk about your benefit.
In the above article as well – you showed Amazon that they will end up foregoing future profits from you and in order to ensure that they earn from you – they replaced the Amazon Kindle.
They didnt replace the kindle because you wanted it, they replaced it because they wanted you to use kindle so that you keep buying from them..
#LearningsforLife
Yeah Karan, that’s what we entrepreneurs learn in our startups.
Thanks for leaving a lovely comment.
Great to know you got your Kindle replaced for free.
Being a book lover myself, I get the pain you must have felt when the device broke. I started using a Kindle back in 2010 and loved the convenience it gave.
Biggest takeaway for me is the sales part. I totally believe that selling is the most important life skill to have and you have beautifully presented this in the article.
Thanks Soumitra for leaving your comment.
I believe that every entrepreneur has interesting stories to share, because they work under extreme conditions and master the art of getting more with less resources.
Would love to publish some of your stories on my blog 🙂 (if you would like to guest post)
Very well! Amazon is really good to customers.
Enjoy your new kindle.
Thanks Pradeep 🙂