Kindle People, Please Help

[Ohmo]

I wrote a book.  I self published the book on Amazon KDP.  Two years later I closed the Amazon account.  One might think that closing the main account would close the KDP account and delete all references to the book.  Last year I opened a new Amazon account and provided only a valid credit card number for all transactions.  I did not open a new KDP account.

Yesterday my bank account received money from Amazon!  At first I had no idea why, then I remembered my ill-fated book.  Did someone actually buy a copy?!

Long story short, after changing password for old KDP account, I logged in, but found no books or reports available.

While I wait for a response from Amazon to clear up this mystery - does anyone have any thoughts on what happened?

[BoTox]

If you logged into the KDP account, you should be able to see a report on where the money came from.

If you search for the book on Amazon, do you find it? The other option is someone had it in their Kindle and finally started reading it.

[Ohmo]

26 minutes ago, BoTox said:

If you logged into the KDP account, you should be able to see a report on where the money came from.

If you search for the book on Amazon, do you find it? The other option is someone had it in their Kindle and finally started reading it.

Much more complex than that - even confused 3 Amazon reps.

A KDP account is created using an Amazon Account or by creating one.  By closing my Amazon account, I lost all access to the KDP account even though the KDP account remained active so the book is still available, and someone bought one.  I just could not sign in because the old Amazon account had been closed.  Money deposited in my bank account was the first indication 

I have a new Amazon account with a different email address.  I had to create a new KDP account so the KDP team can move all current information from the old one I cannot access to the new one.  Once we were on the same page, the Rep asked 2,347 questions (poetic license used to make it sound more tedious than it was) to verify I am me.  I could have told her that, but figured it would only muddy the waters more. 

So, one email and two phone calls later, the problem is, hopefully, resolved.  Can't wait for the email announcing I am good to go.

[Ohmo]

Update.  Not as easy as the reps want me to believe.

I did receive another message from KDP telling me to call, again.  I tried, but they still don't have a working phone number people can actually call, so I requested a third phone call from them.  It was quick to arrive.

Went through the same song and dance as yesterday. Rep says he'll take care of it by passing it on to another team.  I wonder if the two accounts will ever be merged.

Even if this sounds as though I'm just whining - I might be.  ?

[Ohmo]

End of the story.  I hope. Knowing Amazon, probably not.

During the last phone call, I told the rep I was upset at having to keep running around in their circles.  Rep told me he would personally track progress on the request and inform me of each step completed.  Next day he actually called me back and reported the transfer had been completed.  I thanked him profusely.

So, my one and only pubished novella is now in my KDP dashboard where I can make changes and track sales.  Right now it appears there have been 7 sales in 5 years, half in April, 2021. ?

This morning I received an e-mail for Amazon's advertising website stating my ad campaigns have been suspended because they could not charge my credit card for a bit over a dollar.  When I clicked the link and tried to sign in the popup told me there was no advertising account with that email address.  Well, duh!  So, I took the survey and told them I don't have an advertising account.

We shall see.

On 6/29/2021 at 6:17 PM, BoTox said:

... The other option is someone had it in their Kindle and finally started reading it.

I'm not sure what that means.  Well, I know what it means, just in terms of royalties.  Kindle book sells, author gets paid the royalty a bit later - right?

[BoTox]

4 hours ago, Ohmo said:

I'm not sure what that means.  Well, I know what it means, just in terms of royalties.  Kindle book sells, author gets paid the royalty a bit later - right?

Someone had your book in their Kindle and it sat for a very long time before they decided they would open it and read it. I've had it happen, too.

[Ohmo]

On 7/3/2021 at 10:44 AM, BoTox said:

Someone had your book in their Kindle and it sat for a very long time before they decided they would open it and read it. I've had it happen, too.

So,

1. the reader gives Amazon the money,
2. Amazon gives the book to the reader
3. but Amazon does not give the royalty to the author until the reader actually reads?

That's kind of a ripoff.  I can't find anything even close to that in KDP's terms/conditions, though.

[BoTox]

I should clarify, that should only happen if the book was in Kindle Unlimited. I have no idea if it was never enrolled.