A couple days ago, I was feeling rather foolish and suckerly, having plunked down $259 for a Kindle 2 on June 3rd, only to see the price plummet $70 a little over two weeks later.

That brutal reality is fairly typical of how the computer and consumer electronics industries have introduced price cuts over the years. If your timing is favored by the gods and the stars, your decision to click on the Buy button comes only after the announced price reduction or rebate is announced and active. But if you’re just a little early – so sorry – that’s just the luck of the draw. There’s a saying in the computer industry that summarizes this you’re-out-of-luck policy: you can always tell the early adapters by the arrows in their backs.

Imagine my surprise and delight when one of my fellow e-journalists (our little professional group always has several threads going, on a number of different subjects) flashed a post that stated that Amazon would refund $70 to anyone who had purchased a Kindle 2 within the last 30 days. I immediately went to Amazon’s Website and searched for some sort of confirming notice, but alas, there was nothing pointing to how to get your refund, or indeed, if such a refund were even possible.

So I went to Amazon’s Contact Us option and tried to leave a message. First, I had to log in with my user name and password. Still no refund message. Then, under the subject of billing, I clicked on leave a message. It asked for the invoice number, so in another open window in Internet Explorer, I looked up the transaction receipt, then cut and pasted the number into the email reference slot. Once done, I left a simple message, saying that I understand that Amazon was offering a refund to anyone who had purchased a Kindle 2 within 30 days of their announced price reduction to $189, and since I had bought mine on June 3rd, I am eligible for said refund.

Then I sent the message.

Within a half-hour, I received an automated response from Amazon informing me yes, you’re right, you are going to receive a $70 refund, which will be applied to the credit card with which you paid for the device, but it will take up to 10 business days before you’ll see it reflected on your credit card statement.

One moral of this story is, yes, sometimes you can get your money back, when a vendor would rather keep a customer satisfied that make a few extra bucks. Another lesson is that you have to ask for that refund, because Amazon won’t go out of its way to inform you of your eligibility. Regardless, I’m now a happy camper and not an angry, frustrated consumer whose lousy timing emptied my pocket of an extra seventy bucks.

Way to go, Amazon!