Amazon released a new version of the Kindle Scribe in 2024 and since its release its been on sale almost every two months, sometimes even more frequent. It is the most expensive Kindle in modern times, it is designed for taking notes, freehand drawing, editing e-books and reading. When the first generation model came out it was the first 10-inch e-paper device to have 300 PPI, and the one that came out last year still maintains the ultra high resolution screen. When it is not on sale, it does cost a lot. If you were in the market for a Kindle Scribe, would you wait for a sale or buy it at full price?
The Good e-Reader audience might buy the Scribe when it wasn’t on sale, but the average person does not. In the past month, the Kindle Paperwhite, Paperwhite Signature Edition, Kindle Colorsoft, and base Kindle sold over 10,000 units in the United States. Each e-reader costs between $100 and $229, while the Kindle Scribe only sold 1,000 units in the same period. The United Kingdom is Amazon’s second-largest market for Kindle sales. In the past month, the base Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite sold 5,000 units each. The Paperwhite Signature Edition sold 2,000 units, while the Colorosft sold 500. The Kindle Scribe sold less than 100 units, while the original Scribe sold 200. Meanwhile, the Kindle Colorsoft is unavailable in Canada, and prices tend to be high. The Kindle sold 2,000 units in the past month, the Kindle Paperwhite sold 5,000, the Paperwhite Signature Edition sold 1,000, and the Kindle Scribe sold 100.
When the Scribe isn’t any on sale, it hardly sells any units on a month by month basis in some of the most important markets in the world. It retails for $399 for the 16 GB version, $419 for the 64GB and $449 the 128GB. When it is on sale, it is normally discounted anywhere from $50 per unit to the latest sale which slashed $100 off the regular price, which makes the Scribe have a bit better value.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.