Kindle sales make no profit for online shop Amazon
Amazon's Jeff Bezos declared that the company makes no profit from the sales of its popular Kindle tablet and e-reader devices.
"We sell the hardware at our cost, so it is break-even on the hardware," chief executive Jeff Bezos told the BBC.
This revelation is a stark contrast to Amazon’s competitor, Apple.
Mr Bezos made the comments as his firm launched its new Paperwhite e-reader and an associated book lending scheme in the UK, Germany and France.
Amazon is pushing a different different strategy to its competitors, offering a subscription package that includes access to the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, including more than 200,000 ebooks at launch.
Deliveries of Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite will begin in Europe on 25 October, coinciding with the release of its 7in (18cm) Kindle Fire HD tablets.
Mr Bezos made clear that the devices' success would depend on how many books and other media files were subsequently bought by their owners.
"We want to make money when people use our devices, not when people buy our devices," he told the BBC.
In contrast, Apple makes much of its profits from the sale of the device, running its iTunes store "slightly above" break-even.
Access to Amazon's Lending Library facility will be tied to a £49 annual subscription to its Amazon Prime service.
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