# Why hasn't the price of the original Kindle come down? Do you think it will? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656 "2013-01-09T19:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/1 "2013-01-09T19:00:23Z")
I have a Kindle Fire but I’ve been wanting a regular Kindle for a really long time. They’ve been priced at $69 for what seems like forever (at least a year, which is when I started looking into purchasing one). I suppose I should just buy a used one. But still, Amazon is pushing Fires and Paperwhites and 3gs and Touches &etc out the door by the gazillion. Why not make vanilla Kindles cheaper? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/2 "2013-01-09T19:22:46Z")
I got mine for something like $300, and it was the second generation, not the first, which was more expensive. Sixty nine dollars seems pretty fucking cheap to me! You can’t get a decent iPod for that! ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/3 "2013-01-09T19:38:12Z")
They are already selling them at a loss. How much cheaper do you think they should be? ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/4 "2013-01-09T19:42:42Z")
The original Kindle cost $400 at launch just a little more than four years ago, that’s a pretty big price drop, especially considering that this is an overall improved unit. $70 is less than the cost of 9 paperbacks, and the Kindle is still the best e-reader around IMO, so that’s a very good price in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/5 "2013-01-09T19:46:57Z")
They tend to drop the price on Kindles by selling “refurbished” units or selling with a coupon. For example, some time last year they sold the Kindle for $50 if you had the amazon credit card and typed in the right promo code. They don’t really have any straight up competition at the $69 price point so they try to price discriminate instead. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/6 "2013-01-09T19:51:20Z")
Teeheehee 69… ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/7 "2013-01-09T19:53:40Z")
$69 seems low enough to me- if I didn’t have a 3G Kindle already I’d buy one for that price. What would your ideal price be, realistically? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/8 "2013-01-10T00:53:30Z")
The kindle was $300-400 in the first and second generation. The third generation is when the price dropped, it was only about $139 then from what I recall because I got mine in the 3rd generation (christmas of 2010 I believe). So the prices have already been cut in half, then cut in half again over the life of the kindle. The $69 version is the vanilla kindle. As for when the next price cut will come, I don’t know. But prices have already declined drastically over the last 4 years. My 3G broke (I stepped on it), but I can get an ad supported 5th generation for half what my 3G cost. Is making a kindle for less than $69 going to open up the market? I don’t know if there are large numbers of people who won’t buy one at $69 but would buy one for $35. So I don’t know what incentive there is to drop the price anytime soon. You can check craigslist for a used one. But you will only save $20 or so doing that, better to buy one new and know its history. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/9 "2013-01-10T01:21:50Z")
Fair enough! I didn’t know it was that expensive to start with. Just that since I’ve been eyeing it, the price hasn’t changed at all. And I figured it would have. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/10 "2013-01-10T14:36:25Z")
Didn’t they just drop the price from $79 to $69 in August or September? That’s when I bought mine. I was considering buying one, but the price drop sealed the deal for me. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/11 "2013-01-10T15:52:59Z")
Don’t know if any of you are old enough to remember, but back in the day you could sign up and get 12 tapes/CDs for a penny! Of course, there was a catch - there is always a catch. You had to buy an additional certain number of tapes/CDs for full price over the next year or so. I mention this as I have always wondered why they don’t give away FREE Kindles, with a contract to buy 20 books or something at full price. For instance, printers these days are practically free - they make their real money with the toner cartridges. So why not just give away the Kindle (or Nook), knowing the real money is selling the (way overpriced) digital versions of the books. BTW, remember when hard copies cost way more than the digital copies of books? Still - $69 is not exactly expensive for the hardware - you would spend that much buying just a decent sized hard drive for a computer. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/12 "2013-01-10T15:56:44Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > So why not just give away the Kindle (or Nook), knowing the real money is selling the (way overpriced) digital versions of the books. BTW, remember when hard copies cost way more than the digital copies of books? The reason is that Amazon doesn’t own the books. They have to share the proceeds with the publisher. In fact, Amazon’s strategy is just the opposite. They put the squeeze on publishers to keep the prices of E-books artificially low as an inducement for people buy their devices. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/13 "2013-01-10T16:02:03Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Don’t know if any of you are old enough to remember, but back in the day you could sign up and get 12 tapes/CDs for a penny! Of course, there was a catch - there is always a catch. You had to buy an additional certain number of tapes/CDs for full price over the next year or so. Yeah, but where else could you get get 8-tracks of Bloodrock and Rick Derringer delivered to your doorstep for only $19.95 each? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/14 "2013-01-10T16:22:04Z")
One thing to keep in mind about subsidizing/giving away these readers is the concern of jailbreaking them. Many, but not all, Kindles have been jailbroken. Nooks have. (I just got one and rooted it right away.) Then the owner has a cheap Android tablet and can do all sorts of things with them, including not buying books from the supplier. My Nook Simple Touch is now $79 and can be had for even less here and there. And I will never buy a book from Barnes & Noble. They are losing money on me. If you give them away, the jailbreaking urge would go wild and the makers would be afraid of taking a bath on them. (Note: I don’t think very many people jailbreak their devices, so this may be paranoia more than anything.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/15 "2013-01-10T16:52:04Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Didn’t they just drop the price from $79 to $69 in August or September? That’s when I bought mine. I was considering buying one, but the price drop sealed the deal for me. Yeah I bought mine at $79 some time last year. So it’s had a 12% price drop in the past year. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/16 "2013-01-10T17:31:33Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > One thing to keep in mind about subsidizing/giving away these readers is the concern of jailbreaking them. Many, but not all, Kindles have been jailbroken. Nooks have. (I just got one and rooted it right away.) > > Then the owner has a cheap Android tablet and can do all sorts of things with them, including not buying books from the supplier. > > My Nook Simple Touch is now $79 and can be had for even less here and there. And I will never buy a book from Barnes & Noble. They are losing money on me. > > If you give them away, the jailbreaking urge would go wild and the makers would be afraid of taking a bath on them. (Note: I don’t think very many people jailbreak their devices, so this may be paranoia more than anything.) For the $65.00 Kindle, what can it do jailbroken, that it can’t do normally? ---
**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:** [January 10, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/17 "2013-01-10T18:19:46Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Fair enough! I didn’t know it was that expensive to start with. Just that since I’ve been eyeing it, the price hasn’t changed at all. And I figured it would have. There may be some confusion in your use of the term “original Kindle.” The most basic Kindle model, the one that costs $69 and that Amazon currently refers to simply as the “Kindle,” is not the earliest model they currently offer, let alone the earliest model they’ve ever made. The [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle) does a pretty good job of showing the various “generations” and models of the Kindle. By the time they started selling the $69 Kindles, I think the technology was mature enough that they were already making and selling that particular variety about as cheaply as they can. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/18 "2013-01-10T19:07:24Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Don’t know if any of you are old enough to remember, but back in the day you could sign up and get 12 tapes/CDs for a penny! Of course, there was a catch - there is always a catch. You had to buy an additional certain number of tapes/CDs for full price over the next year or so. > > I mention this as I have always wondered why they don’t give away FREE Kindles, with a contract to buy 20 books or something at full price. Consumer psychology. You offer to sell something cheap, and people come running, because they think they’re getting a bargain. Offer to give that same thing away for free, and people stay away, because there must be some sort of scam involved. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/19 "2013-01-10T19:11:35Z")
As others have said, the first Kindle was $400. I wanted one so bad but just couldn’t afford that. Now I look at pictures of the original one and am glad I waited. The design now looks just awful to me. I’m sure just about any design of any electronic item could always be improved, but those original Kindles were just ugly! ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656/20 "2013-01-10T19:47:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The reason is that Amazon doesn’t own the books. They have to share the proceeds with the publisher. In fact, Amazon’s strategy is just the opposite. They put the squeeze on publishers to keep the prices of E-books artificially low as an inducement for people buy their devices. Actually not. Amazon has stated they sell the Kindle devices at cost. > [@](#): > > “We sell the hardware at our cost, so it is break-even on the hardware. We are not trying to make money on hardware; we want to make money when people use our devices, not when people buy our devices. After you buy Kindle Fire HD, you may use it to buy books, games, movies and so on. So that continuing relationship with the customer is what we hope to make money on over time,” said Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, in an interview with BBC. [http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20121011225505\_Amazon\_Makes\_No\_Profit\_Selling\_Kindle\_Tablets\_E\_Book\_Readers\_Chief\_Executive.html](http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20121011225505_Amazon_Makes_No_Profit_Selling_Kindle_Tablets_E_Book_Readers_Chief_Executive.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-price-of-the-original-kindle-come-down-do-you-think-it-will/646656.md?page=2)