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Amazon Will let You Pay $15 to Opt Out of the Adverts on the Kindle Fire HD

Amazon has just announced that they’re pulling back on the one of the less well received new features for the new Kindle Fire.

You’ve probably heard in the past couple days that Amazon had planned to inflict ads upon all owners of the new Kindle Fire HD Android tablets. I have some good news and bad news. You don’t have to see the ads, but it’s going to cost you $15 to get rid of them (according to TechCrunch). Here’s what an Amazon spokesman said:

We know from our Kindle reader line that customers love our special offers and very few people choose to opt out. We’re happy to offer customers the choice.

Well this was a short-lived story.

So, do you think the $214 Kindle Fire HD is as good of a value as it was when that same tablet cost $199?

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Comments


fjtorres September 8, 2012 um 9:55 pm

For some people the lack of the discount offers is a big minus.

What I’m finding interesting is that last year the ads gave you as much as $40 worth of subsidy–this year $20 or less. Are they generating less revenue than Amazon expects or are they factoring in that they are generally less offensive to people and thus they don’t have to pay as much to get people to accept them?

Nate Hoffelder September 8, 2012 um 9:58 pm

Yes, the pricing margin on the new Kindle Paperwhite and black K4 caught my eye as well. I do wonder why it shrank.

Albert September 9, 2012 um 1:34 am

I believe your first theory is correct. When the Kindle with Special Offers was first released, there were lots of great offers. Now it’s mostly AmazonLocal ads, the Kindle Daily Deal, and various other Kindle books.


Syn September 8, 2012 um 10:11 pm

I’m trading in my Kindle Fire on a new one. I don’t mind ads on the lock screen but if they are on the home screen or any other screen, I’ll pay the money to get them off. If I was strapped for cash, I would probably be glad that I can pay 15 less now and the rest later when able.


Mark September 8, 2012 um 10:52 pm

Honestly, I think if you can’t afford $15, then you shouldn’t be spending $199 on a tablet. This whole kerfuffle is beyond silly to me.

Syn September 8, 2012 um 11:51 pm

Well I did say *if* I was strapped for money. And people save up to buy things they want all the time. Not everyone can plunk down two hundred just like that, does that mean because it took them a month to save it up they shouldn’t buy it? That is rather silly as well.

Now if they can’t pay their rent, then yea they shouldn’t buy it but its up to someone else to judge what they can and can’t afford.

fjtorres September 9, 2012 um 9:45 am

Plus $15 is still $15 and some people *want* the ads. Saves them even *more* money if they see an offer they like.
Meanwhile, Amazon gets to advertise slightly lower prices on the gadgets.
No biggie, really.

Vonda Z September 9, 2012 um 4:10 pm

It’s not so much about not being able to afford $15 as it is about being able to put that same $15 toward something you’d rather have now (a new cover, a new book, a new case, a skin, a Prime membership, etc) . If the ads turn out to annoy you, pay the $15 later when you don’t have so many device and device-related content purchases on your credit card bill. When most people talk about "affording" the 15 dollars, they don’t mean they can’t eat if they pay it. They mean they have budgeted for entertainment and that 15 dollars means they can’t buy some other fun item they might like and stay within their budget.

Mike Quesnell October 2, 2012 um 5:54 am

I do not understand why we have to pay anything to take it off We already bought the tablet thats what "beyond silly to me"

t. vanzetti January 2, 2014 um 7:51 am

Often, companies make very little money per unit to begin with when it comes to things like tablets and consoles. Optional advertisements are a mutually beneficial solution to that issue. You are not paying to have the advertisements to get removed; that is a flawed way of approaching this decision. The actual price of a kindle is the price listed without advertisements. Amazon is giving their customers the option to lower that base price by adding extremely unobtrusive advertisements to the lock screen. This way, Amazon is able to offer an extremely well made product with high end hardware at unbeatable prices, and having the ads will turn out to be even more beneficial than a 15 dollar price cap.

So, for people that absolutely cannot deal with the ads, that option is still an extremely competitive price point. For others strapped for cash, Amazon does something pretty incredible for its customers, and gives them a chance to save much, much more than just the basic $15 'refund' due to the contents of those ads. Finally, either option is fine with Amazon. They get some wiggle room on the price point on the non ad kindle, and the advertisement pages encourage software and other purchases within the kindle ecosystem.

The "added" kindle uses mostly unused screen room to give their users a chance to save even more money while encouraging app purchases among other things. The ads have the potential to earn Amazon back more than the 15 dollars that they cut off the price at time of purchase, and will certainty save kindle users who take advantage of the deals even more.

Personally I see no reason to not get the 15 dollar price cut. They in no way interfere with the kindle experience and are both nice looking and tasteful images which accompany some great deals on books and apps, among other things. So far they are pretty universally viable lock screen backgrounds. Sometimes I forget that they are advertisements at all. In the end it all comes together; if you absolutely cannot live with the ads, a version without them is a menial $15 price change. Next to nothing in price, but allows Amazon to price an incredible product impressively, regardless of the version you choose.

Remember that you are not paying to remove ads and the lock screen becomes a win for all parties. The advertisements are just a method to allow for an even cheaper product without any sacrifice in quality whatsoever. You are allowing Amazon to show the ads and in exchange for that, they offer a discount on their device.


Rebecca Sunshine September 10, 2012 um 6:02 am

$15 Seems extremely reasonable to opt out of Kindle Adverts. Is this just a one-time fee?


keisha mello November 27, 2012 um 7:33 pm

why should i pay 79$/year for prime then another 20$ not 15$ to get rid of dumb shit.


SUSAN September 8, 2021 um 3:20 pm

I paid the $15 to opt out of these annoying ads, but, nothing has changed. Did Amazon just scam me for the $15??


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