I came across an interesting deal at Amazon today. As mentioned earlier in the week, a number of Kindle ereaders and Fire tablets are on sale this week for Mother’s Day.
Today Amazon added another Kindle to the deals list. This time it’s the Kindle DX that’s on sale, which is really strange since it was discontinued and hasn’t been sold new for like a year.
The model that’s on sale isn’t new but it’s super cheap.
Amazon describes the deal as a 20% off sale on an Open-Box Kindle DX. But what’s weird is the description describes it as used and in good condition.
The 20% off deal applies to this listing for the Kindle DX through Amazon Warehouse Deals. The regular price is $128.89. When you add it to your cart and proceed to checkout, the discount is applied, taking the final price down to $103.11.
That’s a really low price for the Kindle DX, even if it is used. When it was first released it sold for $489 new.
Another odd thing about the offer is it says only one is available on the product page, but I have no problem adding 20 to my cart and proceeding to checkout. Plus the deal doesn’t expire until May 11th, so perhaps they really are getting rid of open box units and not the used good condition one described on the listing.
Either way, a Kindle DX for $103 is pretty hard to pass up if you want a large-screen Kindle. Just remember that the software is older and it offers less features than newer Kindles. See my Kindle DX review for more info about the device.
I clicked on “proceed to checkout.” It turns out that you get the $30 discount by signing up for an Amazon Visa card. As I already have one, I couldn’t get the $30 discount.
$103 is the price before shipping and taxes without applying for the Visa card. It actually offered me a $70 discount if I applied.
I bought one of these for my mom a while back. She can’t handle touch screens. The DX is relatively easy for her to use because the page buttons are large. (If she gets “lost” I have to figure it out, but she’s 85). I have to say, she’d rather read hard-copy books. But at least she manages with this and setting her font to a large print size makes her have an unending supply of books.
Thanks for posting this; it’s a great price! I’ve always wished the DX wasn’t so expensive, because it would be really nice to have the large-screen option. (And I like that it will automatically change to portrait or landscape depending on how you hold it.)
I still have all my various front-lit eReader brands/models. But this will occupy a special place in my collection. And it’s about the only thing I could afford to add right now, so thanks again for posting it!
Too bad that there is no shipping to Canada!I would take it with a big grain of salt.
Thanks for the heads-up! I’ve wanted one of these for myself since I bought a close-out from WOOT for my Grandfather way back at Christmas 2012. I’ve kept my eye out, I think I’ve seen them for sale about 3 times since then, but never was able to catch one.
The only other place I’ve seen them is crazy expensive on eBay.
I went for free shipping, and not being a Prime customer, it won’t get here until next Monday. Hopefully I got a good one. I’ll let you all know once it arrives.
Mine just arrived today in perfect condition (in spite of the website’s indication that it could have flaws on the sides, top, or back of the device). It appears to be a new, unused unit. Had zero battery charge from the get-go, so had to charge it for awhile before it would wake up. I don’t seem to have access to the appropriate cell towers where I live, so I’m sending titles via USB. Overall, this appears to be a fantastic device for the price!
Actually, my new DX refuses to connect to wireless. Even though I’ve used the trick of entering 311 in the Settings area, and allowing it to scan for wireless towers it can see, and it comes up with more than one AT&T 3G option, it still fails to connect. I can’t register it because of this (although after I placed the order online, it showed up online as one of my devices very soon afterwards). I don’t know what’s going on with this. I’ve sideloaded books and can read them, but I want wireless access!
I ordered one. It came Tuesday. I was BRAND NEW not refurbished. I had a difficult time registering it and had to call Kindle support. They had to do it from their end. They were very helpful. The the unit is great for $103. I have several other Kindles but this one is cool.
Good to hear. Sounds like they are indeed open box units then. I kind of wish I would have gotten one now. That’s just a crazy price for a 9.7″ E Ink ereader. The older software is pretty limited by today’s standards but there are a bunch of hacks for the DX. I forgot about all the things that can be done with it; that alone would have been a good reason to get one. They still have them for $128, which is a good price, but it doesn’t quite have the same pull as a hundred dollars did.
I finally called Kindle support to try and get my 3G connectivity going (problem described in my recent posting). They were great, and tried all kinds of things until it finally started connecting. Happy as can be!
Do you know what they did to get your 3G working? I also tried everything including the 311 check. Calling Amazon got someone who didn’t even try to fix it. I’ve returned two DXs with the same problem (also losing my 20% discount because with Amazon warehouse, you can’t replace, but instead must return and rebuy ).
Joe, I think it was creating a new DX representation in my amazon devices list online that did it. (While the initial one was left in place.) It didn’t work right away, while I was on the phone with the really great Kindle Support guy who helped me (and who recreated it/reregistered it for me). But after I pecked around a bit afterwards on the DX it suddenly started working. I believe the number I called was (866) 321-8851, and it was on a Friday night around 7pm-8pm.
I renamed the original DX icon as “DON’T USE” or something, since it still sits there in my list.
I wondered if it was the fact that I’d changed the name of that device before I received it in the mail and attempted to register it. But that’s just a wild guess; probably has more to do with the change in wireless technology, or something, since the time it was created.
One thing he had me do was to enter 611 in the settings, instead of 311, to retrieve a bunch of information. (Like 4 pages of detailed technical info!) He was going to bump that info up to a higher level after he’d tried everything he could think of. (But didn’t end up having to do that.)
I think if you get the right person, you can resolve the problem. I’m loving this device!
BTW, I meant that perhaps the original problem occurred because of my renaming the device before receiving and registering it. (I didn’t mean that’s what resolved the problem.) I was just now re-reading what I wrote, and didn’t want to cause more confusion!
Same thing happened to me and I contacted kindle support. They had me try several things and what finally worked was giving them the serial #, imei #and the iccid # and then they sent that to their tech guys and within a half hour the 3G was working fine. It is a great device and was in perfect condition when I received it except for the 3G.
Thanks so much Mike E. and LJ for responding. This is great and hopeful info, plus the 20%-off deal is back, probably for Memorial Day. I’m buying yet again.
I’m so grateful to you both.
Awesome, Joe – I’m glad the deal is back! (I was feeling bad about your having had to forfeit that 20%.)
Hello folks,
I received my DX on Monday, and finally had time to open it today. I’m having the same cell connectivity problem as Mike indicated.
I’m in Portland city limits so I’d say it’s all but impossible for it to be a signal strength issue. Mike, thanks for running this down, now I know what to do when I call tech support.
Other than that, the unit does appear to be brand new. About the only thing I noticed different from brand-new was it came with a cable, but no charger, and the internal packing that supports the DX itself had some damage in the upper corner. No idea how that would have got there. The printed manual looked new/unopened and the unit still had the protective plastic shields attached front and back.
All in all, I’m feeling pretty pleased right now.
Got my 3rd DX, same no wireless condition. Called support and they solved it!
She saw that the DX wasn’t really registered, even though there was a Device name “Joseph’s 7th Kindle” listed on Amazon. She needed to register it on Amazon’s end. She asked for the Serial Number and ICCID (found on the “611” page by typing “611” in Settings). Less than a minute later, wireless started working. I asked what she did, and whether it was the ICCID that did it, she said something like, “yeah, that was the final step.” I didn’t have to give the IMEI, nor did she have to send the issue further up the chain.
I’m one happy camper, thanks to you Mike E. and LJ. Good luck, Folzag, in fixing yours.
P.S.
– all three of my DXs looked pristine.
– the 20%-off sale is still on.
– re: the Amazon leather cover
— one Amazon reviewer thought the cover caused premature failure of the four-way toggle button by pressing against it when shut. Maybe one can cut out a square area for it in the inside front cover?
— another Amazon reviewer thought he solved the problem of the latches pulling at the DX’s screen by taping the back of the DX to the inside back cover with two-sided tape, to avoid the sudden swinging of the DX when picked up by the back cover.
Thanks for the ideas on making the case work better. My plan was to share this with my 11 y.o. so anything to make it tougher is well advised.