Amazon's New Deal: Buy Print Book, Get E-Book Free

Have you ever purchased a physical book from Amazon? Then you may soon be eligible to receive a cheap or even free Kindle version of that same book.

The new feature is called 'Matchbook,' and applies to any book that a customer has ever bought on Amazon (at any time) that is also available for the company's Kindle e-book reader.

So far more than 10,000 books have been enrolled in the scheme, largely because of the involvement of publishing giant Harper Collins. Amazon is hoping to get other publishers on board soon. (Source: bbc.co.uk)

Once the system launches in October, users will be able to log into their Amazon accounts and see a list of eligible books from their purchase history.

Amazon says the deal will extend to books by authors like Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, Blake Crouch, James Rollins, Jodi Picoult, Neil Gaiman, Marcus Sakey, Wally Lamb, Jo Nesbo, Neal Stephenson, and J.A. Jance. (Source: corporate-ir.net)

Kindle Books Will Be Cheap Or Free

It's up to the publisher to set a price for the Kindle second copy. Some may choose to give e-books away for free, though others may decide to charge a reduced price of 99 cents, $1.99 or $2.99. The publisher will reportedly get a royalty for the Kindle sale ranging from 35 to 70 per cent of the total cost.

The deal has two main goals for Amazon: the first is to make a little extra cash from people who take up the offer to buy a Kindle book at a reduced price.

The second: publishers of new books will be able to promote package deals by which anyone buying a printed book from Amazon can get the Kindle version free or cheap right away.

The system will launch in the US but will be rolled out worldwide in the months that follow.

Free MP3 Downloads Already Available For CD Buyers

Earlier this year Amazon launched 'Autorip', a similar service for music buyers. In that case the deal was free, meaning anyone who has ever bought a physical album from Amazon can now get a digital MP3 copy free of charge.

In addition, users can stream the digital version of their purchased music album from any computer or mobile device.