In general, many books are converted to files like other documents: with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Software. These are programs that scan the pages and then convert each individual character on the page to its electronic equivalent. No matter how good the software is, there are always machine errors, so the quality of the Kindle file depends on the software program used and the amount of proof-reading and correction the publisher does. Other (newer) books probably have the file electronically converted from the format used for printing to the Kindle format, and these would generally have fewer errors that need to be corrected. Given that the Kindle format is only several years old, and publishers are scrambling to convert 100's of thousands of titles as fast as they can, it's not surprising to see some sloppy work. This should disappear as time go on. Also, older books that are out of copyright can be converted by anyone who wants to do it and then sell it, and not all of those folks do a first-rate job.

You are aware, aren't you, that you are supposed to be able to download the first chapter of any book for free? That will give you a chance to preview the formatting.

If you are unhappy with a particular book, report it to Amazon and the publisher, and get a refund from Amazon.

The link below, to the Kindleboards Forum is a good site to go to for reading about all things Kindle, and there are a number of threads you can search for on this issue.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kindleboards

the kindle format is one of the reasons I chose not to go with kindle it is very proprietary and not many sites offer that option. Where as epub for instance is widely used and can be found on most ebook sites.
There are many reduced price kindle books you just have to search them out, I often post links to free or reduced ones.
I really like feedbooks.com which provides tons of free books also in kindle format which are not just classics but brand new and in many categories. I have a library full of books from there.
It is simply another alternative, I know I will never totally give up real books and I know I can find them much cheaper and buy them too, just one more option we have.
This blog is one place I check monthly for lists of free or reduced price books.

Be very careful about complaining and returns to Amazon they have recently gone on a banning rampage, there are a LOT of people that are furious about it. Amazon simply sends them an email telling them they are banned from all things Amazon including all things kindle related and also locks them out of their kindle library which of course are books that have been PAID for which is just wrong. Google shows many results about banned by Amazon. Just check this out.
"amazon banned"

and many of them were banned for very minor issues. I think that is very very wrong of Amazon and they leave the person no options to contact them to try to resolve it.

Here is a link that might be useful: blog

Unless I am reading it wrong, the "Amazon Banned" link provides hyperlinks to information two, three and in some cases four years old. It is informative, but I wouldn't rely on it as it may be quite dated.

If this policy is indeed still in effect be it to any degree, since this is a major purveyor I recognize it as a result of cause and effect. Thus, my initial blame is on the vein of consumers who caused it and dragged the rest of us into it.

Plainly speaking, there are a lot of lying, stealing, knaving people out there.

DA

ravencajun-
I have a different point of view. I've returned things to Amazon a number of times with no problem and they've even paid the return postage in some cases. Looking at some of those links, it looks like people who have had their accounts closed due to returns have been extremely abusive with what they have been doing. If you put the search "banned by Amazon" in quotes, the number of hits drop way down (from 70 million to 0.05 million), and it's generally things like Amazon storefront sellers who had bad ratings or who were selling questionable merchandise. In particular, in regard to Kindle, I've read a lot of threads on Kindleboards, and people there are generally quite pleased with Amazon's return policies for both Kindle problems and problems with downloaded books. In fact Amazon seems to want to hear about books that are crappily formatted, probably because it makes no business sense to have unhappy customers when you are selling a product that involves repeated purchases, like ebooks.

Just my overall impressions; yours may be different.

I have absolutely no criticism of Amazon's customer service department. I haven't had to return anything, but they were fantastic about crediting my credit card for the cost of the unlighted Kindle cover and then giving me a $25 credit on the lighted cover when I complained that my Kindle was rebooting and acting strangely. Whenever I decide to buy something that costs more than a few dollars I always check Amazon to see if they offer a better deal. They usually do. Is Amazon actually doing the transcription of books, or is it the publisher? Also, from my reading on line, the blame for the high price of books is placed on the publisher and not Amazon--however, I don't know whom to believe about that. I do read a chapter before I buy, but sometimes I want to read a particular book and download a book with typos. Another problem I have with free or 99 cent books is they are often a previously unpublished author's first book, and may be rather poorly written. Please, don't criticize me for saying this because I have a friend who published her first book cheaply and the book is extremely well written. I spend a lot of time searching for an author or title that interests me, is inexpensive, and is of sufficient quality that I do purchase it. I guess that in our world of astounding technology I expect transcriptions to be as good as the hard copy original. I will check out the links mentioned to see if I find a group that may point me toward better books that are, I hope, more affordable.
Nancy

another forum I am on there were about 4 people just recently that got banned one gal had only returned 2 items in her entire usage of Amazon which was a few years and they were not big ticket items, in fact they all posted copies of what they had returned and the emails that were sent to them from amazon, so it is definitely still happening. Why it happens to some for such minor reasons is what I find bewildering. I have never returned anything but use amazon a lot.

The biggest problem I have with the whole thing is that none of their returns had anything at all to do with their kindles or their books so why would Amazon then lock their kindle library and terminate their use of the kindle store making their kindle rather useless, those books had been bought and paid for yet they locked down their library no longer allowing access to any of them.

I absolutely understand when someone is abusing a return situation and it is big ticket items but the ones on most of the forums I read were not the case. Definitely not the case on the forum I was on.
I have not had any experience since I have never had to return anything I got from Amazon, I use them often because of the prices and the free shipping on so many things. Had it not been discussed on the forum I would never have know about it.

I am sure there are a great number of people that try to play the cons and do deserve just what they get in return.

I just happened upon some very good books that are discounted, I had not been to this site before but it is one of the partners in the read an e-book week promotion. It will be down there at the bottom.
here are some of the sites dealing with the promotion
Welcome to Read an E-Book Week!

Contributing Partners for 2011
that is a list of the ones with offers.

Here is a link that might be useful: discounted books

Check this site out daily, as often times books are on there for a day at free or $1.99..the next day they are probably back to their regular prices..I too like "action/fiction/murder mysteries" etc and have found all I can handle at the .99 or 1.99 range

Here is a link that might be useful: Mobile read

Should have mentioned, that at the start of each new month, there is a new link

Hi Mudlady,
I have come across some poorly formatted books from time to time, but it's rare (at least for me). I'm sorry I'm not much help with that, but one of the links below might be helpful. I've also included 2 links to free/inexpensive books and I believe there is a good amount of modern fiction choices. I hope this helps. I *love* my Kinde, but I also order the penny books/$3.99 shipping ones from time to time.
Pam

Top 100 Free Kindle Books
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b/ref=sa_menu_kbo3?ie=UTF8&node=1286228011

The Beginner's Guide to Ebooks
http://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Guide-Ebooks-ebook/dp/B005CLDN88/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1315269026&sr=1-1

100 Books for $3.99 or less
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_357334582_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000706171&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-2&pf_rd_r=0GY1EPSETPGCWVHSCB9C&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1315794582&pf_rd_i=1286228011

Almost forgot.......Amazon is supposed to be enabling library loan books in Kindle format soon...I've seen two "guesstimates"....one says this fall and the other one says Jan 2012.
Pam

Here's a good article, "e stands for error" in ebooks.

Here is a link that might be useful: e stands for error

I get all my kindle books from amazon or from my local library and have never had any trouble. I use a program called calibre that will let me convert any format to kindle so not a problem if I see a nook book I want for my kindle and vice versa with the nook if you have one, really great program and it's free. Mary