Amazon Shananegians
Normally, I don't post non-review material during the week unless it's related to the book club. Something like this would normally be a weekend update, but I wanted to talk about it while it was fresh on my mind and to find out if this had ever happened to anyone else. So, erm, sorry? :)
On November 17th, I received one of those "new from an author you like" emails, and it was for an ebook called Reckoning: From Unbound by Jeanine Frost. When I got the email, I was curious to see what it was about (the cover looked so different from her Night Huntress books), so I clicked on the "Learn More" link. When I saw it was a short story that had originally appeared in an anthology, I said no thanks and closed it out. I've stopped reading Frost anyway, so my investigation into the title was out of sheer curiosity (and to see if she was starting a new series) rather than intent to purchase.
This morning, I saw that I received an email last night from Amazon that an eBook order was being delivered to my Kindle today. The title? Jeanine Frost's Reckoning. I was perplexed at first. Perhaps it was a gift? Why it would be a gift is beyond me, but maybe that's what it was? But no, my digital order history shows I apparently pre-ordered it on November 17th and my credit card was charged.
But I don't remember doing that. Furthermore, you know when you order something on Amazon (pre-order or not) you get an IMMEDIATE email that thanks you for your order and details the items you just bought or are planning to buy? Yeah, I didn't get one of those. If I had, I would've realized my mistake immediately and canceled the order. I've done that before in the past, thanks to the one-click option Amazon offers, and since then, I've disabled the one-click option so I don't accidentally order something again. That was before this happened, so I shouldn't have been able to accidentally order this eBook.
So we've got a few scenarios:
1) I ordered it (accidentally or on a whim), and Amazon's system screwed up and never sent me the original confirmation. According to the Amazon rep I spoke to earlier, their system screwing up and not sending a confirmation? EXTREMELY RARE.
2) I didn't order the eBook, but somehow, because I've purchased the author's work in the past, the system sent it to me anyway once it was available; hence why I never received the original confirmation to begin with. I imagine that this scenario, from Amazon's POV, is laughable. But I swear that's what happened.
3) There's always the possibility that it was a gift, but the fact that the item was pre-ordered the same day I received the notification email is fishy, you know? Oh, and let's not forget that I could find the digital order in my account, and that it was charged to my card.
I don't know what or how it happened. I've already talked to Amazon and after numerous communication difficulties (my cell may have been to blame, but even when they called back on the land-line, the rep still sounded like she was talking from the bottom of a tin can), I've been refunded and the item has been returned.
But I'm still befuddled. I know that #1 is the most likely scenario, but yet I don't remember that AT ALL and if I were going to give Frost another shot, it wouldn't be this. So I'm wondering if this has ever happened to anyone else? Maybe I'm just crazy and really did order it and never got the original confirmation, or maybe the original confirmation got accidentally deleted. Still, the date of the supposed order I was traveling to Fort Lauderdale (so unless it was a rare book that I had to order ASAP, why pre-order it on the road?), and my gmail trash can shows deleted stuff since October, and there's nothing from Amazon there.
Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble. I'm still utterly confused, despite the issue being resolved.
EDIT: I've decided I know what happened. November 17th wasn't the day I was traveling to Ft. Lauderdale, but the day after I got back. I got the email on my phone, checked out the item on the phone, and in the process of closing out the screen/turning off my phone, clicked the wrong thing and it ordered. Amazon still never sent me the initial confirmation, which is their bad, but it's been fixed, so it's all good. :)
On November 17th, I received one of those "new from an author you like" emails, and it was for an ebook called Reckoning: From Unbound by Jeanine Frost. When I got the email, I was curious to see what it was about (the cover looked so different from her Night Huntress books), so I clicked on the "Learn More" link. When I saw it was a short story that had originally appeared in an anthology, I said no thanks and closed it out. I've stopped reading Frost anyway, so my investigation into the title was out of sheer curiosity (and to see if she was starting a new series) rather than intent to purchase.
This morning, I saw that I received an email last night from Amazon that an eBook order was being delivered to my Kindle today. The title? Jeanine Frost's Reckoning. I was perplexed at first. Perhaps it was a gift? Why it would be a gift is beyond me, but maybe that's what it was? But no, my digital order history shows I apparently pre-ordered it on November 17th and my credit card was charged.
But I don't remember doing that. Furthermore, you know when you order something on Amazon (pre-order or not) you get an IMMEDIATE email that thanks you for your order and details the items you just bought or are planning to buy? Yeah, I didn't get one of those. If I had, I would've realized my mistake immediately and canceled the order. I've done that before in the past, thanks to the one-click option Amazon offers, and since then, I've disabled the one-click option so I don't accidentally order something again. That was before this happened, so I shouldn't have been able to accidentally order this eBook.
So we've got a few scenarios:
1) I ordered it (accidentally or on a whim), and Amazon's system screwed up and never sent me the original confirmation. According to the Amazon rep I spoke to earlier, their system screwing up and not sending a confirmation? EXTREMELY RARE.
2) I didn't order the eBook, but somehow, because I've purchased the author's work in the past, the system sent it to me anyway once it was available; hence why I never received the original confirmation to begin with. I imagine that this scenario, from Amazon's POV, is laughable. But I swear that's what happened.
3) There's always the possibility that it was a gift, but the fact that the item was pre-ordered the same day I received the notification email is fishy, you know? Oh, and let's not forget that I could find the digital order in my account, and that it was charged to my card.
I don't know what or how it happened. I've already talked to Amazon and after numerous communication difficulties (my cell may have been to blame, but even when they called back on the land-line, the rep still sounded like she was talking from the bottom of a tin can), I've been refunded and the item has been returned.
But I'm still befuddled. I know that #1 is the most likely scenario, but yet I don't remember that AT ALL and if I were going to give Frost another shot, it wouldn't be this. So I'm wondering if this has ever happened to anyone else? Maybe I'm just crazy and really did order it and never got the original confirmation, or maybe the original confirmation got accidentally deleted. Still, the date of the supposed order I was traveling to Fort Lauderdale (so unless it was a rare book that I had to order ASAP, why pre-order it on the road?), and my gmail trash can shows deleted stuff since October, and there's nothing from Amazon there.
Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble. I'm still utterly confused, despite the issue being resolved.
EDIT: I've decided I know what happened. November 17th wasn't the day I was traveling to Ft. Lauderdale, but the day after I got back. I got the email on my phone, checked out the item on the phone, and in the process of closing out the screen/turning off my phone, clicked the wrong thing and it ordered. Amazon still never sent me the initial confirmation, which is their bad, but it's been fixed, so it's all good. :)