Q. I have a problem. I ordered a book for my sister from Amazon in April and I had to send Amazon my sister’s e-mail address so they could e-mail the book to her so she could download it onto her Kindle. Unfortunately, I sent the wrong e-mail address. I corrected the address and my sister got her book. Now, however, I am being charged twice for the book. I have been trying to resolve the issue by e-mail to no avail. Can you help?

A. This is an example of the difference between ordering something you can hold in your hands and something digital. It’s better to know about the differences in the rules upfront rather than find out the hard way.

Amazon wouldn’t specifically discuss your case. However, based on their answer about how these situations are supposed to work, a refund didn’t seem likely.

Once people realize they directed a gifted e-book to the wrong address, they should contact customer service, Amazon spokeswoman Brittany Turner said.

Ordering the same book twice is the same as buying a physical copy two times. The difference: You could return the printed version when you realized you had a duplicate book.

“In general, Kindle Book Gifts are not returnable,” Turner said. “But Kindle books you receive as a gift are eligible for exchange for an Amazon.com Gift Card before acceptance.”

In other words, if you reported the first error — prior to ordering the second book — this problem could have been avoided. And if the second book wasn’t opened, you or your sister could have received a credit. You should try to get the credit for the misdirected book — since it shouldn’t have been opened.

Hopefully, this won’t end up being a total loss. Amazon has a form on its customer service page to have them call you on the phone. A conversation can often work better than e-mail. Ask for a supervisor if the customer service representative who calls can’t offer a satisfactory resolution.