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The free ride is over: Amazon now charging for direct-to-Kindle conversions

05.18.09 | No Comments

k-nickelsanddimesWe all knew it wouldn’t last forever; Amazon always promised us that they might start enforcing their small conversion charge when you emailed them a document to be converted and sent directly to your Kindle. However, they’ve not only implemented the fee but raised it, so be careful!

Amazon originally said they’d charge 10 cents per document some day. The reality, which went into effect on May 4th, is that they’re charging 15 cents per megabyte rounded up.

That means you’ll pay at minimum 15 cents for each conversion. If your doc is, say, 1.14 MB (or 1140 KB, if that’s how your computer displays it to you), then you’ll pay 30 cents, and so on.

There are two ways to avoid this:

  1. Have Amazon email the converted file back to you instead of sending it on to your Kindle.
    When you registered your Kindle, you set up an email address along the lines of “name”@kindle.com (where “name” is your name, of course). Attachments sent to this address will incur the fee and be forwarded on to your Kindle.

    To avoid that, send attachments to “name”@free.kindle.com instead. The converted Kindle-formatted file will be emailed back to you instead of sent to the device, and you won’t be charged a thing.

  2. Convert the document yourself using software on your computer
    The easiest and best way to do this is with the free software program Calibre, which will convert several different formats into the MOBI format, which your Kindle can read without problems. You can also try the desktop version of Stanza or Mobipocket eBook Creator (Windows only) if for some reason Calibre won’t meet your needs.

Either path will result in you having a Kindle-friendly document on your computer, which you’ll then need to transfer over to your Kindle via USB. No, it’s not quite as hassle-free as letting Amazon send it directly, but if you want to save the equivalent of a Kindle text messaging fee for each conversion, you’re gonna have to start transferring it yourself.

(Photo: LabyrinthX)

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