Help!!

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Registration and Logging in

You will need to register and log in to make your purchases and to download files. If you don't have an account, you will be asked to create one when you reach the checkout. Although the questions about your location are optional, please complete them as it helps us to verify that you are South African.

Although the "remember me" will work for 30 days over most of the site, if you are doing anything that requires higher security (like adding a short story or downloading), you might be asked to confirm your login creditials.

You can use your email address to log in instead of a username.

If you can't see your account, please try logging out (link on the top right of the banner) and then logging in again.

The Shopping Process

1. If you are not logged in, the shopping cart remembers your purchases for an hour or two. If you are a member and logged it, it remembers for about a week.
2. The shopping process is standard - click on a book and add it to your cart
3. Your shopping cart should be shown in the top banner at all times if you are logged in. Click on the links to view your cart or go to the checkout.
4. If all the books in your basket are free, the process is automatic. Your books will be available to you under "My Account" in a few minutes. Even if you plan to buy books, we suggest you buy one free book first to see how it all works!
5. If any of the books bought has a price, the EFT transfer has to go through before ANY books are released. Therefore it is best to buy free books separately.
6. Banks can take a while to show payments on our statements. If you have done your EFT transfer, send us a bank notification by email (PDF) and we will make your downloads available. This service is only available to South Africans who have given us their details.
7. You can also buy credits to use in the future, saving on bank charges and the hassle of multiple EFTs

Downloading your book

Go through the “shopping” process on the site. After shopping (and payment if applicable) you will receive an email with links.

• If you set your account to “remember me” when you registered the link in the email will go straight to the download, and ask where you want to save the file.
• If you aren’t logged in, it will ask you to log in. Go to My Account / Files and your books will be there (.azw files). 

Then...

1. Connect your Kindle to your PC using the USB cable
2. Save the .azw file into the "documents" folder of the Kindle

When you eject your Kindle from your PC, and start it up, the new books will appear in the menu. Always eject your Kindle from your PC (never just pull out the USB cable).

What are "Credits"

South African bank charges are high and doing an EFT every time you buy is a hassle. If you plan to buy more books, you can increase your EFT payment amount and get "credits" for the difference. Due to the price of our books, we do not recommend holding more than 100 credits.

Any EFT payment for more than the value of the cart will be allocated credits automatically, although you can also "buy" credits as a specific product.

Your credits are shown under "My Account" when you are logged in. You should be able to see individual details of purchases and credit by clicking on the link. You will also see credits you have used under "My Orders".

You can also click on the link in the left menu "My Credits".

If you are logged in, credits should be shown in the banner. Sometimes the banner goes out of sync with the points – this usually only happens when you have lots of debits and credits in multiple categories and is due to computer caching. Refresh your page and it should correct itself. If your credits remain incorrect, please contact us to confirm.

You might also try logging out and in, in case it isn’t “remembering” who you are correctly.

If you have credits, when you reach the checkout you will have the option of buying using credits, or using EFT.

Buying a Kindle in South Africa

Kindle Books only sells the books themselves, not the readers.

We recommend that you buy your Kindle direct from Amazon.com. The price is no higher and often less than local suppliers, even at the rand exchange rate. Your Kindle will arrive already set up and you won’t have to link it to your Amazon account, and you will be all set up to purchase ebooks from Amazon straight off the reader.

No, we don't get commission on sales for recommending them.

When you are looking for bestsellers and major authors Amazon is often the cheapest place for them and having set up an account with them, shopping is easy.

The only issue with Amazon is that they won’t use the SA postal service because so many items disappear in transit (especially DVDs), so they use a courier. Delivery prices can therefore be high. Please note that this policy could be changed at any time.

When you buy your Kindle from a local supplier, it’s not set up and you need to go through a procedure to let Amazon know who owns the Kindle and link your free email account to it, as well as your 3G etc. I never did this, but I have heard it’s a hassle.

When you buy your Kindle, I recommend you buy a leather cover for it also. It help to prevent it getting scratched if you plan to put it in your handbag. If you buy the two together, you only pay shipping once. If you are just using it at home, the cover isn’t necessary.

We also sell eBooks for the iPad. There are any number of eReaders on the market who will read the ePub format and a few that will read the Kindle azw format.

Until your Kindle arrives, why not download a Kindle reader for your PC!

• Download a reader here

Why are Books on Amazon more expensive

This isn't a help topic, but we do get asked it a lot.

Books from Amazon are often only a little cheaper than the paper versions. Amazon is not evil [at least not yet], but bound by the laws of publishing and royalties in the USA. Authors and publishers choose their own prices for their books, and of course most only slightly discount the paper version so their don't undercut their own sales.

As more authors write books and publish on Amazon without the Publishing industry middleman, so more books will be available more cheaply.

My Kindle isn't working

Kindle Books is not a Kindle supplier or service centre. If you have a specific problem, please contact Amazon.com. They have one of the best service departments in the world, and are quick to replace a Kindle under guarantee with no questions. Their forum has answers to many problems, and their help centre monitors the forums to give specialist advice.

One of the most common problems is that the Kindle won't switch on, or switches off on its own.

OVERHEATING

1. If you use your Kindle in the South African sun, it can overheat. If it reaches critical, it will switch itself off to cool down. Always leave your Kindle in the shade. If you are reading while sunbathing, try to sit so that your shadow covers the Kindle. If it switches off on it's own, it saves your place and should start normally once it is cool (about 10 minutes).

FLAT BATTERY

It takes around amonth to completely flatten a Kindle Battery, however if you leave your 3G wireless connection on permanently, the Kindle will contact Amazon every few minutes to check for new books and that can flatten a battery in a few days. Heavy internet browsing can also flatten a battery quickly.

If you allow the Kindle battery to discharge completely, now and then it won't switch on until the battery is completely full again (i.e. 2-3 hours of charging via USB).

CHARGING TIPS

If you are using the USB cable, it will only charge if the computer is turned on and not in power saving mode. When you link to a laptop, the laptop can hibernates or goes onto power saving. The Kindle won't charge because hibernation usually turns the USB connector off (to save power). Your computer might be doing the same thing it is has power saving.

Although it takes longer, I personally always use the USB connector to charge my Kindle, because I worry about our Eskom power surges and fluctuations.

My Kindle won't switch on

Please try the following:

1. Make sure the Kindle is unplagged from the power adapter or computer.
2. Slide and release the power button. The LED light that surrounds the power button will display green for two seconds.
3. Shut down Kindle by sliding and holding the power button for five seconds. The LED light will blink three times. Wait for the screen to go blank, then release the power button.
4. Turn on the Kindle by sliding and releasing the power button.
5. If Kindle is still not working, you can perform a hard reset by sliding and holding the power button for 15 seconds.
6. If Kindle is still unresponsive, try charging Kindle before trying to restart the device once again.

Check for the latest software version on your Kindle. The latest version is available here: www.amazon.com/kindlesoftwareupdates

Do you have usage tips for our readers? Please add comments below if you are a member.