Re: Kindle customer comment from MobileRead forum

Interesting suggestion about the post-purchase dissonance, Kent, but that feeling (I think 
feeling is more accurate than trait here), at least as the term is used in marketing, is 
usually associated with irrevocable commitments to buy big big-ticket items like a house 
(where it's also known to realtors as buyer's remorse), a car, and so forth. 

 I'm not sure a $400 Kindle with no long-term service contract returnable within 30 days 
really qualifies as a significant, irrevocable purchase requiring a lot of effort at 
psychological justification for people who are in the habit of buying Sony Readers, 
iPhones, Blackberries, etc..   

And the usual prescription for avoiding post-purchase dissonance is to research your 
purchase carefully before making it to avoid those unpleasant surprises that are the 
source of the dissonance.  Contributors to the MobileRead forums are ebook enthusiasts 
who love to debate (sometimes congenially, sometimes heatedly) the relative merits of 
ebook reading devices including the Sony Reader 500 and 505, the Cybook, and the ILiad, 
not to mention the issues of DRM, PDF, etc., that are so often the subject of comments in 
this group.  Fore example, one MobileRead E-Book Devices forum is entitled "Which one 
should I buy?"

The contributors to the MobileRead forums are generally technology-savvy early adopters 
who don't seem at all hesitant to complain about dissatisfactions with devices they've just 
spent hundreds of dollars to buy, perhaps indicating their concurrence with a philosophy 
you alluded to in an earlier post, namely that complaints will pressure manufacturers to 
improve their products.

John

--- In [email protected], "Kent S. Larsen II" <kent@...> wrote:
>
> At 5:54 AM +0000 12/7/07, John Landahl wrote:
> >Here's an excerpt from a customer comment about the Amazon Kindle that was 
recently
> >posted on a MobileRead forum.
> >
> >"Just got my Kindle, and yes, it's better than the Sony Reader. And I own two Reader 
PRS-
> >500s (wifey and me). Got my Kindle this evening. It really is as good as everyone says." 
...
> >"Amazon won this one. Hands down. And you should have seen me gush over the 
Reader
> >before/when it came out."
> >
> >I find comments like this from someone in a position to compare the Kindle with other 
ebook
> >readers particularly interesting given the continuing flood of negative comments about 
the
> >Kindle from people outraged by its very existence. For balance, here's an excerpt from 
a 1-
> >star customer review posted earlier today on Amazon.com:
> >
> >"OK, I don't own this product. $400.00 for the right to rent a book @ $10.00 a pop is 
crazy!
> >... Another toxic electronic toy nobody really needs. What will they think of next?"
> >
> 
> 
> While I certainly believe that the Kindle detractors are biased, I don't think that those 
happy wiht the Kindle can be completely trusted either.
> 
> Many purchasers exhibit a psychological trait called "post-purchase dissonance", in 
which they continue to look for ways to justify significant purchases. While I'm sure all of 
those that post reviews are sincere, the purchasers are influenced by the fact that they 
purchased it, at least for several weeks or months after the purchase.
> 
> So, post-purchase reviews like this should also be taken with a little skepticism - 
although not as much as the negative comments from those who haven't even purchased 
or used a Kindle.
> 
> For what its worth.
> 
> Kent
>





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