If you've ever bought a print version of a book on Amazon, you can now buy the Kindle edition at a hugely discounted price — from free to $2.99.
Amazon announced on Tuesday a new program called MatchBook, giving customers incentive to buy a digital version of any physical book ever purchased on the site. This includes books bought back in 1995 when Amazon first opened its online bookstore.
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MatchBook, which launches in October, will have more than 10,000 books enrolled in the program. In the meantime, Amazon is asking authors and publishers to enroll their books in Kindle MatchBook, which could also open up additional revenue for both the platform and writers.
"If you logged onto your CompuServe account during the Clinton Administration and bought a book like Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus from Amazon, Kindle MatchBook now makes it possible for that purchase —18 years later— to be added to your Kindle library at a very low cost," said Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle content, in a statement. "In addition to being a great new benefit for customers, this is an easy choice for publishers and authors who will now be able to earn more from each book they publish."
The company said the concept stems from customers asking for bundled print and digital content.
The initiative is similar to Amazon's AutoRip service, which gave customers free MP3 versions of any CD they ever purchased on the site. AutoRip, which launched in January,also gives shoppers a digital copy of their music order before the physical CD arrives in the mail.
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