Daily Archives: April 14, 2016

Vegans want an alternative to leather Kindle Oasis cover

Posted on by

brown-216001_1280With a $290 price tag, Amazon is definitely marketing the new Kindle Oasis as a luxury item. The cover Amazon has chosen is also what most would consider a luxury item: a finely-crafted leather cover. While it comes in a choice of three colors, leather is the only option.

That creates a dilemma for some, however. Many people who are vegan or vegetarian not only do not eat meat, but also refuse to use animal products for ethical reasons. Most vegans would refuse to have the cover in their homes. And in case you think that is just a few people looking for that option, take a look at the product Q & A forum. At the time of this writing, there are 592 comments on the thread post, most with remarks like these:

This was my first question as well. They have every right to offer leather, but they just eliminated millions of people who won’t buy it, what an idiotic decision when all they had to do was offer a fake leather option.

~

One more ethical vegan who will definitely not buy an e-reader only available with a leather cover.

~

I noticed this too and am very disappointed to see that that there isn’t an option to selected cruelty-free “vegan leather”. As an ethical vegan, I do not buy leather products and therefore will not consider this new Kindle. Amazon, please offer more compassionate choices in the future.

Many are saying that they will Keep using their Paperwhite and Voyage e-readers instead because there are leather alternatives available for those e-readers.

One customer suggested that concerned vegans write customer service to express their concerns and ask for this option.

Sara Farr feels so strongly about it, she took it one step farther and  started a petition on Change.org to try to get Amazon to sell a vegan alternative, or better yet, stop selling the leather altogether. She says:

The new kindle oasis is awesome for book worms, but not if they’re vegan (or a cow for that matter).  The only cover options are leather, which is not kind and limits options for people who don’t want an animal to die for a good story.  I want Amazon to offer a vegan cover option (or even better make all covers vegan!) so we can all enjoy this new technology.

If you also want  a vegan and animal cruelty free alternative, you can sign the petition on  change.org here. You can also contact Amazon customer service or write  kindle-feedback@amazon.com to express your opinion  on the topic.

Thanks to Karen for the tip!

Daily Links and Deals: EU states set to have more power over setting own VAT rates

Posted on by

daily_links_1Today, stories on EU VAT rates, Sling TV adding multiple channels, disturbing news about the Horror Writers Association, email privacy  and more. In deals,Fallout 4 for PC, multi-port chargers and Fire tablet bundles and deals.

Daily Links for Thursday, April 14, 2016:

EU states set to have more power over setting own VAT rates (RTÉ) I missed this story in all the new Kindle excitement, but it is an important one. High VAT rates on ebooks are a real problem affecting sales in the EU.

Sling TV addresses one of its biggest problems with debut of a streaming service for multiple devices (Techcrunch) Sling’s one stream rule at a time was a deal-breaker for many people (including me).  Here’s their alternative.

Are e-books really that important to Amazon? (Teleread) Everyone is scared of Amazon’s domination of the ebook market, but are ebooks that important to Amazon’s bottom line?

Why and When I Will Begin Boycotting the HWA (Brian Keene) Profoundly disturbing story about some of the goings on with the Horror Writers Association.

US House Committee approves bill requiring warrants for e-mail (Ars Technica) Legal provisions to protect our email privacy are wending their way through the system. Will they become a reality.

How Snapchat Killed the Homepage: In an attempt to woo Generation Z, publishers are launching social media-only concepts. (Business of Fashion) It is not your parent’s internet anymore….

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes Men of the Otherworld: A Collection of Otherworld Tales (The Otherworld Series Book 1) by Kelley Armstrong for $1.99.

In Today’s Deals, there’s a deal on Fallout 4 for the PC, Sabrent 60 Watt (12 Amp) 10-Port Family-Sized Desktop USB Rapid Charger and savings of $15 on a Fire Essentials Bundle.

Amazon is still offering savings on the Fire HD 6 and the pre-owned Fire tablets.  I am also still seeing the option for 5 payments of $58 for the Kindle Oasis pre-order.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is Dark Within by Candice Gilmer for $99 cents.

Barnes and Noble is promoting pre-orders for Bill O’Reilly’s Killing the Rising Sun, the epic true story of America’s fight against World War II Japan.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Tall, Dark, and Wicked: Wicked Trilogy (Book #2) by Madeline Hunter for $1.99.

Still available until April 18, select Romantic Times winners & nominees are on sale for under $3 at the Kobo store.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stweart for $1.99. This book about the plants that humans have turned into alcoholic drinks sounds fascinating!

(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.

Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)

Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.