By WU Yangyu

Kindle, Amazon’s e-book reader has closed its store on Tmall. Kindles are also out of stock on JD.com, except for the most basic model which has been on the market for three years.

Rumor has it that Kindles will soon disappear from China entirely. Or at least that no new devices will be sold with services continuing for existing users.

“Kindles are really popular among Chinese customers. Some models are currently out of stock in China,” Amazon said. Kindles remain available offline and via third parties online with the same service and warranty as before, the e-commerce giant added.

Amazon all but closed down its China e-commerce business in 2019. Kindle is one of few businesses that Amazon has kept on and holds a 65-percent market share. However, the domestic e-reader market is small, and domestic brands like iReader, JD.com, and Dangdang.com have their own e-book readers.