# If you buy E-Books, you're getting money back... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-buy-e-books-youre-getting-money-back/748285 "2016-03-08T15:28:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-buy-e-books-youre-getting-money-back/748285/1 "2016-03-08T15:28:26Z")
…probably. Since the Supreme Court refused to hear Apple’s appeal, they have lost their price fixing Class action so everyone who bought an e-book between 2010 and 2012 is getting a partial refund. Note, not just Apple store users, Kindle users and others also since the case was that they conspired with publishers to raise prices for everyone. Some details are [here](http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/03/07/how-to-find-out-if-you-are-included-in-apples-450m-e-book-settlement). ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-buy-e-books-youre-getting-money-back/748285/2 "2016-03-08T17:28:20Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > …probably. Since the Supreme Court refused to hear Apple’s appeal, they have lost their price fixing Class action so everyone who bought an e-book between 2010 and 2012 is getting a partial refund. Note, not just Apple store users, Kindle users and others also since the case was that they conspired with publishers to raise prices for everyone. Some details are [here](http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/03/07/how-to-find-out-if-you-are-included-in-apples-450m-e-book-settlement). The way my wife buys ebooks for her Nook, I expect she’ll rack up a fortune. In in-store credit, of course. But hey, free ebooks. That might make her day just a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-buy-e-books-youre-getting-money-back/748285/3 "2016-03-08T17:39:41Z")
The cost of eBooks is what made me go back to buying paper books. When I started seeing eBooks cost the same or more then the paperback I switched back. Now I can go back to lending or donating books again. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-buy-e-books-youre-getting-money-back/748285/4 "2016-03-08T19:00:44Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > The way my wife buys ebooks for her Nook, I expect she’ll rack up a fortune. In in-store credit, of course. But hey, free ebooks. That might make her day just a little bit. Bad news, buddy. [B&N has pulled the plug on the Nook](http://diginomica.com/2016/03/07/bn-nukes-the-nook-with-a-15-march-deadline-for-customers-to-save-their-content/#.Vt5uoyY3Kcw.facebook). Your wife has till March 15 to save all those books. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-buy-e-books-youre-getting-money-back/748285/5 "2016-03-08T20:03:52Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Bad news, buddy. [B&N has pulled the plug on the Nook](http://diginomica.com/2016/03/07/bn-nukes-the-nook-with-a-15-march-deadline-for-customers-to-save-their-content/#.Vt5uoyY3Kcw.facebook). Your wife has till March 15 to save all those books. I knew they would! When I was shopping for e-readers I went into B&N and asked the saleslady about this very possibility. She gave me the most sour look in the world, but I was not asking to be snarky or a bitch, but to find out if it was really worth it to buy one. I didn’t expect her to come out and be like “No, it’s going to tank, don’t buy it,” but I thought she would at least say something reassuring. She did not. I bought a kindle. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-buy-e-books-youre-getting-money-back/748285/6 "2016-03-08T20:24:06Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Bad news, buddy. [B&N has pulled the plug on the Nook](http://diginomica.com/2016/03/07/bn-nukes-the-nook-with-a-15-march-deadline-for-customers-to-save-their-content/#.Vt5uoyY3Kcw.facebook). Your wife has till March 15 to save all those books. Is that a UK site? What’s happening, if I understand correctly (which I’m not 100% sure I do) is that on March 15, nook is shutting down its UK store (see [here](http://blog.booksontheknob.org/2016/03/barnes-noble-closing-uk-nook-service.html) or [here](http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/03/03/bn-to-close-nook-uk-store-will-hand-customers-off-to-sainsbury/)), which is a big deal to UK nook users but shouldn’t directly affect customers in the US (beyond possibly serving as an omen). Also, it is [shutting down its nook App Store](http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/03/03/bn-is-shutting-down-its-second-greatest-digital-blunder-on-15-march/) (which sells apps, not books, for nook tablets) and nook video store. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-buy-e-books-youre-getting-money-back/748285/7 "2016-03-08T21:07:11Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Bad news, buddy. [B&N has pulled the plug on the Nook](http://diginomica.com/2016/03/07/bn-nukes-the-nook-with-a-15-march-deadline-for-customers-to-save-their-content/#.Vt5uoyY3Kcw.facebook). Your wife has till March 15 to save all those books. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Is that a UK site? What’s happening, if I understand correctly (which I’m not 100% sure I do) is that on March 15, nook is shutting down its UK store (see [here](http://blog.booksontheknob.org/2016/03/barnes-noble-closing-uk-nook-service.html) or [here](http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/03/03/bn-to-close-nook-uk-store-will-hand-customers-off-to-sainsbury/)), which is a big deal to UK nook users but shouldn’t directly affect customers in the US (beyond possibly serving as an omen). Also, it is [shutting down its nook App Store](http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/03/03/bn-is-shutting-down-its-second-greatest-digital-blunder-on-15-march/) (which sells apps, not books, for nook tablets) and nook video store. I agree with you, Thudlow. Nothing in the article says they’re pulling in or shutting down ebook operations, only tablet app and video. Those were never a big thing in our household; everyone has regular Android tablets for those, and the Nooks are pretty much only for ebooks. In the UK, [B&N is getting completely out of the digital business.](https://help.barnesandnoble.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3481/kw/March%2015) In the US, [Nook applications](https://help.barnesandnoble.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3516/kw/March%2015) (their own App Store, or Nook-tailored versions of apps in the Play store) and [Nook video](https://help.barnesandnoble.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3501/kw/March%2015) are going away, including in-app purchasing. But “NOOK is committed to continue offering a great selection of NOOK Books, NOOK Newspapers, NOOK Magazines and NOOK Kids Books.” So the only real use-case my family has for Nooks seems to be continuing. There’s nothing to say B&N isn’t going to eventually dry up and blow away, but that’s the persistent risk of any DRM-encumbered digital media: you’re really only renting, not buying; entirely at the support and sufferance of the vendor.