Which would make Valentine's Day a crap shoot, too.
Yesterday a colleague was raving about her Kindle -- Amazon's much-hyped and Oprah-endorsed e-book reader -- so, primarily out of curiosity, I asked what a Santa's helper might expect to spend on one of those bad boys.
Her e-mail reply: "$359, but I think you've already missed Christmas (the estimated ship date is 11 to13 weeks)."
Say what? Eleven to 13 weeks? Christmas is only 30 days from today, so the fact that a hot toy is out of stock shouldn't be a shocker; but three months for a gadget that's been on virtual shelves for a year already?
Here's what Amazon says on its main Kindle page:
Usually ships within 11 to 13 weeks. ... Due to heavy customer demand, Kindle is sold out. Please ORDER KINDLE NOW to reserve your place in line. We prioritize orders on a first come, first served basis. This item will arrive after December 24.
Quite a bit after Dec. 24. And does that "usually" open the door to even longer waits?
As might be expected, would-be buyers are not happy. Here's one recent reaction culled from Amazon's legendary "customer reviews" section:
"You have to be kidding me: an 11- to 13-week back order just before Xmas. Amazon sure screwed up here. I wanted a Kindle for Xmas but I will instruct my wife not to purchase one. Why should she pay a premium for a product that has been out for so long? Amazon has had plenty of time to build up inventory and now the week of Thanksgiving the Kindle is on back order. Very disappointing. ... I am so angry!"
That seems an unassailable point of view, yet the reviewer was assailed by several of those who already have (and clearly cherish) their Kindles. It was off-topic and unfair of Mr. Angry to vent, allege The Lucky Ones, given that he has not actually caressed a Kindle in his own hands. Off topic? I don't know. It seems to me that a three-month wait is pretty darn on topic for Amazon visitors doing their Christmas shopping.
I suppose it's worth noting that there was a "used -- like new" Kindle for sale at Amazon ... one ... for $800. And you can have your pick of them if you're willing to compete and pay a hefty premium at eBay.
The easy explanation for Kindle demand outstripping Kindle supply is the vaunted Oprah Effect, although at least one analyst is skeptical of that theory.
But might the shortage be contrived, as is often alleged in such situations? Just another way to drum up publicity? ... Please, this makes Amazon look plain inept. Difficult to imagine even the dumbest marketer pulling this stunt on purpose.
I've got a request in with Amazon public relations for comment about all of this. Hope they get back to me in less than 11 to 13 weeks.
Welcome regulars and passersby. Here are a few more recent Buzzblog items. And, if you'd like to receive Buzzblog via e-mail newsletter, here's where to sign up.
This Year's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries.
YouTube takes a page from xkcd.
Airport "X-ray art" isn't likely to amuse TSA screeners.
Almost half of Google's products -- including 4-year-old Gmail -- remain in beta. Why?
Doing the Laptop Drive of Shame.
Bank of America to support Firefox, finally.
Top 10 Buzzblog posts for '07: Verizon's there, of course, along with Gates, Wikipedia and the guy who lost a girlfriend to Blackberry's blackout.
The Leader in Network Knowledge
Get your Kindles here
Used to be retailers overstocked their warehouses to make sure all their customers were covered. Now it seems commercially acceptable, if not an incentive, to remain in a constant depleted state. The mattress industry has taken this a step further whereby neither retailer, distributor and manufacturer have stock. Instead, products are manufactured as they are purchased. They call this 'Just-In-Time Shipping" where the customer has to bare the 3 week delay for their purchase. We're all sheep to be herded to the slaughterhouse and just like sheep, we gladly fall in line.
Kindle
Oh, woe betide anyone who dares say anything less than complimentary about the Kindle on the Amazon discussion boards! The Kindle faithful rush to defend their cherished devices with a fervor equaled only by Mac fanboys. It's frightening and quite annoying.
There is no excuse for Amazon to make an inventory blunder of this magnitude just before the holidays. Pathetic.
Kindling (?)
It just may be me, but I have a couple of thoughts to point out.
You can read books on this?
You can buy and borrow books with this?
I have a great idea.
Books.Paper books.
Book: buy at retail or wholesale price,usually less than 20.00 a title , or much less for more obscure titles.
Borrow for 0 dollars at a library.
And I am sure I'm not the only one who prefers reading paper to reading a screen.
Book Fanboy
Not the Only Game in Town
The Sony Reader is very similar to the Kindle, and actually has a much better design. And both share the same e-Ink technology for the screen.
It's more ergonomic, boasts a very similar library, and isn't... ugly!
The main advantage the Kindle has is that it can download books directly to the Kindle. And while the libraries are similar, Amazon's *is* larger.
But all-in-all the Reader is a great alternative. Many people actually like it better than the Kindle.
-Pie
E-Reader sucks!
I have had both, and the Kindle is more useful for someone working in the IT field given the Experimental Web Browser. I have quite a few websites bookmarked and can get to just about anything I need.
There are other more expensive alternatives that do a much cleaner job of native PDF reading, but only have WIFI vs 3g access. Free Internet browsing anytime anywhere can't be beat.
Paul 11-13 weeks isn't that bad I waited much longer for my child's Wii, and even longer for my own Kindle. Get in line............
Sony eReader
Why wait for the Kindle? Check out the Sony. I have had mine for over a year and it's great. The great advantage is carrying multiple books in a small package. Battery life is fine, selections are great, price is right, and no wait.
@Paper is King: Let me
@Paper is King:
Let me guess, you think iPods are ridiculous because you can listen to music on a cassette player:)
I'm really disappointed. I
I'm really disappointed. I was reading up on the Sony, but it seems the Kindle is the better choice.
1) Kindle has a larger library. Unless you ONLY read brand new titles, the Sony isn't worth it.
2) The Kindle can use MOBI, which as far as I understand it, is the vast majority of free books on the web.
3) It's difficult to read books on a Sony because the page is so small (Or so I hear, can anyone clarify?)
4) The Sony buttons stick and are hard to push.
5) Sony interface is clunky.
So I can buy a Sony and put up with it for a few months until I can get a Kindle, in which situation I will have blown like 600 dollars. I think I'll just wait for the Kindle...unless someone can convince me that I can find all my obscure titles for the Sony and read them comfortably and for cheap.
The Sony is a total waste
Wait for the Kindle, I've read 2 very large Cisco press titles on the Kindle, and use it regularly for checking RSS Feeds, email, and the news. It is a much better product. You decide you want a book, and you have it within 2 minutes. Free Internet, it can't be beat.............
If you have a safar account using the IPhone or Ipod Touch can be pretty cool on the go, but the screen is just too small.
Kindle is king for now, not to say it doesn't have it's own shortcomings. You might wait for the next version. A while back it was rumored that they were going to release two new models in Q1 09. Not sure if that is still the case though.
Information re Sony inaccurate
1. I mostly read new content, so I can't tell you much on this one.
2. I've been able to download plenty of free content to my Sony eBook Reader, no problem. Not sure about MOBI format, but overall the Sony handles more formats than the Kindle, including PDFs. I get many of my "classics" from the Project Gutenberg site.
3. The page is the same size as the Kindle's.
4. I've never had an issue with the buttons being difficult to push or sticking. In fact, I find that when I've used a Kindle, I'm constantly turning pages when I don't intend to.
5. I like the Sony interface much better than the Kindle's, so I think that may be a matter of personal choice.
If you have a Sony store locally, you may want to drop by & play with one a bit. You may find it to be a better option than you think it is.
Post new comment