Kindle Skills - Samples and Collections

You don't need to buy every book that sounds good, only to find out it stinks big time. Amazon makes it very easy to get a sample of anything readable with your Kindle. If you can purchase it, you can sample it first.

If you are ordering the sample from your iPhone or other device, Amazon will send the sample to that device. If you are ordering the sample from the Amazon.com website from your computer, you will see a little drop down with choices of all your active "Kindles" available to choose from. Pick the one you want, then click the Send sample now button.

Saving a sample is a good way to keep a list of "future reads" on your Kindle. Instead of purchasing them all at once, save your samples in a special Collection on your Kindle. Think of a collection as a folder. With the Kindle 2 and newer, including the DX, you can create collections to help you organize the library you have on your Kindle.

The easiest way to start your sample collection is to select the sample in your Home screen with the 5 way controller. Toggle to the right (Kindle 2) or press the right button (Kindle 3) so you see your choices. Toggle down, or press the down button on the 5 way controller to select the words Add to Collection. Press in on the toggle button (center button if you have a Kindle 3) to open a new page of choices.

If you don't already have a samples collection started, toggle down (use the down button if you have a Kindle 3) until you see the words Create a new collection and select it. Press in on the center button to open a new dialog where you can type in the name for your new collection with your keyboard. Use the down button to select the save button, then press in to save your new collection name. Your sample book will automatically be added as the first book in the collection.

Future sample books can be added to this existing collection.

Purchasing a Sample: When you read a sample of a book and decide you want to finally purchase it, open the sample and click the right button (toggle to the right if you have a Kindle 2) to see your choices. the words Buy this book now will be underlined, indicating if you press in on your 5 way controller, the book is as good as yours. It will immediately be sent to your Kindle. You can delete the sample at that time to keep things tidy.

Ask Mrs. Wizard:
Please send me a personal email (mrswizard@mrswizard.com) if you have any questions. I answer all my emails and am more than happy to help any time I can. Your questions mean a lot to me, and may even inspire an article that will help others and make this a more valuable resource to anyone who reads it. 

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