An online petition, which criticises the retailer for offering refunds on ebooks to customers who have finished reading, has been signed by more than 37,000 people. Amazon’s policy allows customers to receive a full refund within 14 days of purchase, even if they have read every word.

Authors, including Jeanette Winterson and Ian Rankin, say this is a growing problem. One author claimed that more than 100 copies of their book were returned last month, compared with fewer than 10 in the first two months of the year.

‘Seven days is more than enough to read a whole e-book and exchange, and it is not fair to deduct the author’s royalty for books that have been or could have been read,’ said SoA CEO Nicola Solomon, adding that royalties should be deducted only in cases of accidental purchase.

According to the Times, the trend is driven by TikTok users. Videos about returning ebooks—including tutorials on how to return books after reading them—have been viewed more than 17 million times.

E-book royalties are calculated on a proportion of receipts, typically 25%, whereas for physical copies writers are paid a percentage of the recommended retail price. 

A spokesperson for Amazon said: “Amazon aims to provide the best possible experience for authors and customers. We allow e-book returns up to 14 days after purchase. Our e-book return rates are consistently low and we have policies and mechanisms in place to prevent this from being abused. Our aim is to inspire reading and we recognise the important role of authors. That’s why we launched Kindle Direct Publishing and further recent initiatives like the Amazon Literary Partnership, which supports authors and a variety of literary groups.”