Earlier today I was contemplating on splurging on some ebooks on Amazon and I was just about to get one when I saw a very curious button, one I have never seen before:
Give as a gift? I wondered. So I tested it and got to this screen:
Imagine my excitement when I understood what this meant! Yes! It is possible to give an ebook as a gift from the Amazon Kindle Store!
From the press release (source):
Beginning today, just in time for the holiday season, customers can give Kindle Books as gifts to anyone with an e-mail address—no Kindle required. Kindle Books can be read on Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps for iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices. For more information or to give a Kindle Book as a gift, go to www.amazon.com/givekindlebooks.
“We are thrilled to make it easier than ever for our customers to give their favorite Kindle book to a friend or family member as a gift,†said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “We’re making this functionality available in time for the holidays to offer an easy, stress free holiday shopping option for anyone – not just Kindle owners.â€
To give a Kindle Book as a gift, customers simply choose a book in the Kindle Store, select “Give as a Gift†and send their gift to anyone with an email address. Notifications of Kindle Books gifts are delivered instantly via e-mail and the recipient redeems the gift in the Kindle Store to read on any Kindle or free Kindle app.
But what if you don’t have a Kindle, or the person you’re giving to doesn’t have a Kindle? According to the website, Kindle ebooks can be given as gifts as long as the recipient has an email address. The ebook can still be read through any of the free Kindle apps on PCs, Macs, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or Android Phones.
All ebooks available in the Kindle Store can be given as gifts, and in case the recipient doesn’t like or want the gift, it can be exchanged for Amazon.com gift cards.
This ebook gifting is a great way to save on shipping, IMO. It doesn’t beat receiving real books in post, of course, but it would be a great gift idea for friends who have Kindles or likes ebooks.
You know what this means, right? Time to start building my Amazon Kindle ebook wish list! :)
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Aww! I’d put up my own wishlist but it would all be technical books which cost a lot. :P
Who knows? There may be generous souls out there. ;)
Hi Tina, I was trying to write a message for you on GR but for some reason I can’t access my own inbox… So I thought about leaving a comment here instead.
I know very few people (that includes you!) who own a Kindle, and I thought about gifting my hubby with one (because he really doesn’t care much about a book after he’s read it, he only cares about actually reading them) for his birthday. May I ask if they’re already available in the Philippines, where and for how much? Either the Kindle or Sony’s ebook reader is fine. :)
Thanks, sorry for the trouble. Have a nice day! :)
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