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Amazon's Kindle lineup has led the e-reading space for years. In terms of design, performance, and convenience, they're nearly unrivaled by other brands. Right now, buyers can choose between four main Kindle models, and I put them all to the test to find the best Kindle for most readers.

My top pick, the Kindle Paperwhite, presents the ideal balance between performance and price. It has a larger screen than the base Kindle and is one of the cheapest waterproof e-readers you can get. But if you're on a tight budget, the more affordable standard Kindle is also a great buy. It isn't waterproof but delivers the same core features that Kindles are known for without breaking the bank. 

After dozens of hours of reading, page-flipping, and book browsing, here's how all the best Kindle models stack up and why certain ones are better suited for specific buyers.

Our top picks for the best Kindle

Best overall: Kindle Paperwhite – See at Amazon

Best premium pick: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition – See at Amazon

Best on a budget: Kindle – See at Amazon

Best for notetakers: Kindle Scribe – See at Amazon

Best overall

The Kindle Paperwhite offers everything a reader could want from a book replacement, balancing simplicity with an excellent set of features, speedy performance, and a reasonable price. More than just the best Kindle, it's also our pick for the best e-reader you can buy. 

The Paperwhite is designed with all the Kindle essentials, including a beautiful paper-like display with adjustable lighting, font size settings, and a dark mode. It's also got a sharp screen with 300 pixels per inch (PPI) and Bluetooth support for Audible listening. But you can expect as much from any of our picks in this guide. 

What sets the Paperwhite apart from the rest of the Kindle lineup is its perfect set of features for the money. Unlike the standard model, the Paperwhite is waterproof and has a more modern flush-front design. After unlocking the device, you'll find the snappiest performance of all the Kindles with little to no ghosting (after-images left on the screen). Its lighting temperature is also adjustable, and it has a larger 6.8-inch screen versus the standard Kindle's six-inch display. 

Starting at $150, it's the cheapest waterproof Kindle available. Even better, it's sometimes on sale for as low as $100, which is the regular starting price of our budget pick. Whether discounted or not, the Paperwhite delivers the best Kindle value for most people. 

Note: Though Amazon previously sold an 8GB version of the Kindle Paperwhite for $140, that model is no longer available. As of April 2024, only the 16GB Paperwhite is listed for purchase on Amazon's site.

Check out our Kindle Paperwhite review.

Best premium pick

Designed with all of the normal Paperwhite's splendor and more, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature offers additional features if you're willing to pay a little extra. It's a convenient size with a beautiful display and snappy performance that helps you stay immersed in your books. 

Like the regular version, the Paperwhite Signature Edition has a 300 pixels per inch (PPI) resolution with a 17-LED backlight. That translates to crisp page fonts that are easy on the eyes, with lighting powerful enough for reading books in the sun. It's also waterproof and powered by a speedy processor for quick page turns with little to no ghosting (after images left on the screen). 

It gets its premium title by being the only Kindle to charge wirelessly and the only model with automatic light adjustment aside from the $340 Kindle Scribe. And where the normal Paperwhite has 16GB of storage, the Signature Edition comes with a whopping 32GB for building a massive library of titles and storing tons of audiobooks. 

Our former pick in this category, the Kindle Oasis, offered even more cool features but had an outdated design and was more expensive. However, the Oasis has been phased out of the Kindle lineup and is no longer available to buy. I wish the Paperwhite Signature Edition had the Oasis' page turn buttons and automatic page orientation flipping, but for $60 less, missing these features isn't a dealbreaker. 

Best on a budget

Amazon's base Kindle got an upgrade in 2022, making this model one of the newest of the bunch. That means, despite being the cheapest option, the 11th-generation Kindle now has the benefit of a modern user interface with a 300-PPI resolution. 

This model forgoes many extra features in exchange for a lower price point, but it still comes with a glare-free display, adjustable backlight, and customizable settings. With a six-inch screen, it's the smallest Kindle in the lineup, but it feels great in hand. In my review, I found it ideal for users who just want to read and don't want to pay for all of the bells and whistles of its pricier siblings. 

However, if a waterproof design is important to you, you'll have to get the more expensive Paperwhite. You can't read in the rain or the tub with a regular Kindle, and that's its main drawback. It also lacks extra features you might want to pay more for on another model, like lighting temperature settings, automatic adjustments, and a writeable screen. 

In the end, my advice is this: if the Paperwhite is on sale for the same price, opt for that, but when the regular Kindle costs less money, it's an excellent budget e-reader. 

Check out our Kindle review.

Best for notetakers

Most readers don't need the Kindle Scribe, an e-reader you can write on, but it is a nice device. Starting at $340, it offers an incredible sketching and note-taking experience, as well as all of the essential e-reader features you could want. 

The Scribe comes with the usual Kindle glare-free display, adjustable brightness, and customizable settings, with the added bonus of automatic page orientation flips and lighting adjustments. With its paper-like feel and responsive e-ink display, writing on this device is a joy that feels leaps and bounds better than writing on an iPad with an Apple Pencil. It's also well organized with digital notebooks you can format and file away into folders.

For an extra $30, you can upgrade the included stylus to the Premium Pen. After testing, I found the Premium Pen to be a nice improvement over the basic option. It adds a dedicated eraser and a shortcut button to the base design. Both can attach magnetically to the Scribe. 

But despite just how fun it is to use, it's tough to justify the Scribe's high price. As noted in my full review, it's uncomfortably thin, making a case a necessary investment for commuters and students to prevent any potential bending. One of the Scribe's main selling points is its annotation functionality, but most Kindle ebooks don't allow you to write directly on their pages. Instead, you need to use a clunky sticky note feature. You also can't use the highlighter directly on text. Did I mention it isn't waterproof?

If you have $340 to spare, the Scribe is a fun device, but if you fall into the category of "most readers," I recommend opting for a cheaper Kindle model.

Check out our Kindle Scribe review.

How we test Kindles

I used several key evaluation points to judge each of the Kindles in Amazon's e-reader lineup to arrive at their final ranking, including display, responsiveness/speed, price, and lighting customization. Here's how those aspects were considered during testing for our reviews. 

Display: Though all Kindles share the same 300 PPI resolution, every model has a different size that makes a big difference when used. In testing, I found the Kindle (11th Generation) could be too small for some readers and the Scribe too large for others. Luckily, the sharp resolution is easy on the eyes across all of the models, even during long reading sessions. 

Responsiveness/speed: You don't need to be a speed reader to notice when an e-reader is slow. Page turns will take a second to stutter into view, previous screens will leave an after-image, and graphics will load in slowly. I evaluated this by loading each device with 100 titles from my ebook library before testing. The fastest model is the Kindle Paperwhite, and the Oasis is the slowest, but this difference is small. 

Price: Of course, price plays a big part in judging a Kindle's value, and that's part of what brings the Paperwhite above the rest. I compared pricing between Kindle models and comparable e-readers from Kobo and Nook to see what the industry is like overall. None of the Kindles are a waste of money, but the Scribe is definitely the least cost-efficient.

Lighting customization: You won't always be reading in the same room, under the same conditions, every time, and that's where lighting customization comes in. The ability to toggle the brightness based on your current environment is a godsend for eye comfort, especially for long reads. All of the Kindles offer adjustable brightness, but the base Kindle doesn't offer temperature adjustment, and only the Oasis and Scribe offer automatic lighting changes.

What to look for in a Kindle

Every reader is different, but there are a handful of features that all buyers should look for when it comes to committing to a Kindle. 

If you ever plan to read in the bathtub or the rain, waterproofing is a must — that eliminates the 11th-generation Kindle and the Scribe from the running. Readers who like to get in a few chapters before bed can also benefit from lighting temperature adjustment to warm the screen and ease your eyes into bedtime, which is something the base Kindle doesn't offer. And if you're looking for a digital notebook that you can write on, the Scribe is the only Kindle to offer such a feature.

Ultimately, the best Kindle for you is whichever one covers your needs the most without breaking the bank. That's why I recommend the Kindle Paperwhite as our top pick because it manages to offer the best balance between price and features for most people.

Kindle FAQs

Are Kindle books free?

Ebooks typically cost money, just like physical books, but you can score titles for free in several ways.

• Join Kindle Unlimited: This Kindle Subscription service comes with over four million digital titles when you sign up for $12 a month.
• Become an Amazon Prime member: If you're a Prime member, you have unlimited access to thousands of Prime Reading titles as an included benefit of your subscription.
• Check out a book from your Public Library: E-reader users can still take advantage of borrowing books for free from their local public library's website.

What is Kindle Unlimited?

Kindle Unlimited is Amazon's e-reading subscription service. For $12 a month, it includes access to over four million books, thousands of audiobooks, magazine subscriptions, and Kindle Books you can borrow. 

Can the Kindle read to me?

Your Kindle can read most content to you using Text-to-Speech, an option available in your Kindle's menu. If you prefer a human voice reading to you, you can also buy and download Audible Audiobooks of your favorite titles to have a narrator read to you from your e-reader.

Do I need a case for my Kindle?

While most Kindles are designed with a solid build, a case is still a good idea for protecting your device from drops or scratches. The Kindle Scribe, in particular, has a very thin design, which makes it feel flimsy without a case. You should also consider buying a case if you bring your Kindle with you outside your home during trips and commutes.

Cases can also help by providing a better grip on these otherwise flat devices. For less bulk, you may even want to consider attaching an adhesive phone grip, like a popsocket, to your e-reader.

For top recommendations, check out our picks for the best Kindle Paperwhite cases.

When is the best time to buy a Kindle?

Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are the best times of year to buy just about anything, including Kindles. During these major sales events, Kindles drop to their all-time lowest prices, making it easier than ever to make the leap and buy one. 

Historically, we've seen the Kindle Paperwhite on sale for as low as $95 and the Kindle (11th Generation) on sale for as low as $65. Deals can be short-lived and low in stock, so we highly recommend acting fast if you come across a great deal.

Is Amazon releasing new Kindle models?

Amazon has not officially announced any plans to release new Kindle models. The last new Kindle was the Kindle Scribe, which launched in 2022. However, Amazon recently discontinued the Kindle Oasis, which could point to a new high-end Kindle replacement on the horizon.

• Bill Ackman is aiming to take Pershing Square public as soon as next year, the WSJ reports.
• Ackman aims to secure funding by first selling a stake in his firm, the Journal reported.
• It would be an unusual move for a hedge fund.

Billionaire Bill Ackman is planning to take his investment firm Pershing Square public, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal.

But first, Ackman intends to drum up some funding by selling a stake in his firm to investors in a deal that's expected to close very soon, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.

This funding round is expected to give Pershing Square a roughly $10.5 billion valuation, the outlet reported. The firm told prospective investors to value it like an asset management firm, rather than a hedge fund, citing Brookfield Asset Management as a comp.

For context, Brookfield — valued at about $15 billion — oversees more than $925 billion, compared to the $16.3 billion Pershing Square had under management at the end of April.

Pershing Square spokesman Francis McGill declined to comment on the report to Business Insider.

The IPO filing would be an unusual move for a hedge fund, as their performance can be volatile and it lifts a shroud of secrecy they're accustomed to. But the Journal cited a prospectus filed by Pershing noting that Ackman's growing personal brand among retail investors could give Pershing Square the publicity it needs for a successful public launch.

Ackman could take Pershing Square public as soon as the end of 2025, or early the following year, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.

• Prominent business leaders doubled down on their support for Trump after his conviction.
• Some called the trial unfair, others felt the guilty verdict would backfire.
• Small-dollar donors also flocked to the campaign in record numbers, Trump's campaign said.

Former President Donald Trump's conviction yesterday on falsifying business records hasn't dissuaded high-profile supporters on Wall Street — some of whom are newly energized by the historic verdict.

In a post Thursday evening on X, venture capitalist Shaun Maguire revealed his support for Trump, noting "the timing isn't a coincidence" as he announced a $300,000 donation to the presumptive Republican candidate.

"Bluntly, that's part of why I'm supporting him," Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, wrote on X about a potential conviction. "I believe our justice system is being weaponized against him."

He wasn't the only prominent business leader who seemed fired up.

Tech investor David Sacks, who was reportedly in talks to hold a Trump campaign fundraiser at his San Francisco home, denounced the guilty verdict on X.

"A sham trial designed for one purpose: to brand Donald Trump as a 'felon,'" Sacks wrote yesterday on X. "Watch Dems and the MSM endlessly repeat that word."

The investor Omeed Malik, of 1789 Capital and Farvahar Partners — who hosted a fundraiser for Trump last month that raised over $10 million, CNBC reported — told CNBC he thinks the verdict will "completely backfire," bolstering support for the convicted candidate.

Maguire, Sacks, and Malik did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

It wasn't only prominent business leaders on Wall Street circling their wagons.

The Trump campaign said it raised a record $34.8 million after the verdict from small-dollar donors, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee also hit a fundraising high of $360,000 on Thursday.

Even billionaires who haven't formally announced their support for Trump were quick to lambast the proceedings.

Amid reports that Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman is leaning toward endorsing Trump, the billionaire wrote on X Thursday that he agreed with Governor Ron DeSantis' assessment of the trial; DeSantis called it "the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved."

Ackman didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's questions about the report that he may back Trump.

Elon Musk, too, said the proceedings had caused "great damage…to the public's faith in the American legal system."

"If a former President can be criminally convicted over such a trivial matter — motivated by politics, rather than justice — then anyone is at risk of a similar fate," Musk wrote on X.

Musk is being considered for an advisory role in Trump's White House, though the two have had a bumpy relationship in the past, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Musk has denied that he's in talks to work with Trump.

• Trump's post-conviction speech quickly turned into an airing of grievances.
• Trump called star witness Michael Cohen a "sleazebag" and "one of the worst people" to testify.
• Trump is still under a gag order not to attack witnesses as he plans to appeal his 34 felony convictions.

It didn't take long for Donald Trump's press conference after his felony convictions to go off the rails.

Trump launched into a free-wheeling speech on Friday, insulting President Joe Biden and spreading conspiracy theories about terrorists crossing the US border.

But most notably, Trump ranted against key prosecution witness and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, risking another violation of the judge's orders in his hush-money case.

In a meandering press conference at Trump Tower on Friday, the former president railed against the "rigged trial" that ended with him convicted on 34 felony counts.

He also slammed "sleazebag" Michael Cohen, whose testimony helped seal his fate.

"This was a highly qualified lawyer, now I'm not allowed to use his name because of the gag order, but you know, he's a sleazebag," Trump told reporters, referring to Cohen without mentioning him by name. "Everybody knows that. Took me a while to find out."

Trump then accused Cohen of throwing him under the bus in a plea deal so Cohen could "get off" himself.

Trump also attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, falsely accusing Bragg of believing that Cohen would be a dishonest witness and taking the case anyway.

"When Bragg came in, he said, 'This is the most ridiculous case I've ever seen,' " Trump said, impersonating Bragg.

Trump may be referring to a comment Bragg once made about not wanting to bring a larger financial crimes case against Trump until it was "ready," NBC New York reported.

"And who would have a certain person — again, gag order — who would have a certain person like this ever testify?" Trump continued, in an apparent reference to Cohen. "[Bragg] said, 'This is essentially one of the worst people I've ever seen, ever, to testify.' "

There's no reporting that Bragg ever said that. But now that Trump has, he could be in trouble yet again.

Trump's attacks on Cohen could amount to another violation of his gag order, which Judge Juan Merchan hasn't lifted yet.

Trump has violated the order — which prohibits him from disparaging witnesses, jurors, and others involved in the case — 10 times since the trial began, racking up a $1,000 fine each time.

Merchan threatened earlier this month to consider jail time for Trump if he violates the order again.

It's not clear how long the gag order will last, but a legal expert told Forbes the judge would likely be hesitant to lift it anytime soon while Trump vows to appeal the case.

On Thursday, the jury in the hush-money trial convicted Trump on all felony charges that he faked business records to cover up a hush-money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from taking allegations of an affair to the press before the 2016 election.

The conviction was historic: no former president has ever been convicted of a crime.

While the impact of the convictions on the 2024 race isn't clear, it won't stop Trump from running. Convicted felons and even people serving time in prison can run for president.

During his Friday press conference, Trump — the presumptive GOP nominee — bragged about a recent poll that showed him with a lead over Biden if the election were held now.

• Ukraine's allies look set to approve its use of their weapons on targets inside Russia.
• A growing number of NATO allies have backed the move, prompting the US to also reconsider.
• Ukraine could attack Russia's border forces, experts told BI, but it's no silver bullet.

As more of Ukraine's allies say it can use weapons they've supplied to hit targets in Russia, under certain conditions, experts say the move will open up new targets, but may not be the silver bullet Ukraine hopes.

Lifting the restrictions will help Ukraine repel Russian attacks, especially at its borders, but comes late, with Ukraine facing major ammunition and manpower shortages, war analysts and experts told BI. For these missions, Ukraine is also likely to lack the Western intelligence support useful to locate high-value targets far beyond the front lines.

"It is so late," Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia Programme, told BI. "It is more than two years after a decision like that should've been taken," he said, blaming delays from the US and slow decision-making.

The ability to strike within Russia would strengthen Ukraine's hand, but it was unclear if it would fundamentally alter the course of the war, Alexander Libman, a professor of Russian and East European politics at the Free University of Berlin, said.

"The military logic of allowing Ukraine to use weapons against targets in Russia is straightforward," he said, but "there are structural limits, which Ukraine is now facing."

An overdue shift

Ukraine's allies have sent it billions of dollars in military aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, but with the caveat that it wasn't allowed to use the weapons to go after targets on Russian soil.

Many worried that crossing that line would provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin and escalate the conflict. That's meant that Ukraine has had few ways to strike attack aircraft or troop build-ups that threaten it from Russian territory.

But this calculation seems to have changed with the launch of a border offensive near Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast.

On Tuesday, France said Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons to hit targets in Russia — but only sites that Russia is using to launch attacks on Ukraine.

A day earlier, lawmakers from all 32 NATO states adopted a declaration urging alliance members to allow strikes on military targets inside Russia.

And the US, which has repeatedly stated it won't allow Ukraine to use weapons it's supplied to strike Russia, appears to be changing its tune.

Three unnamed officials told Politico on Thursday that Ukraine can now use US-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia.

One of the officials said that Ukraine could use US-provided weapons only to hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them in Kharkiv, where Russia has seized more territory and threatens the country's second-largest city.

No more 'sanctuary zones'

In recent weeks, Ukraine has faced renewed Russian offensives, especially in Kharkiv.

One Ukrainian commander told The Times of London that his unit had Russian troops in their sights for weeks as they gathered across the border, but hadn't been allowed to attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has repeatedly begged the country's partners to let it use Western weapons to target the Russian soldiers across the border.

According to Giles, lifting the restrictions would be of "huge" assistance to Ukraine in repelling incoming Russian offensives, as well as in targeting Russia's war-making capabilities.

"This would be a major step forward because Russia would no longer have the sanctuary zones from which it could prepare and launch these attacks," he said.

He also said that Ukraine could launch the same kind of military campaign it has been conducting against Russia's Black Sea Fleet, where Ukraine has successfully held back Russia's far superior navy despite having no real navy of its own.

This is a "demonstration of what Ukraine could achieve if it did not have these restrictions for striking into Russian territory itself," Giles said.

Going after Russia's air operations

John Hardie, the deputy director of the Russia program at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said letting Ukraine use Western-provided tube artillery and rocket systems like the US-supplied HIMARS to hit Russian artillery across the border was a "no-brainer."

"It's unfair to make Ukraine sit on its hands until after Russian forces cross the border, or to make Ukrainian guns stay silent when Russian artillery is firing from across the border," he said.

Western-provided missiles like Storm Shadow and ATACMS could also go after some Russian air bases that launch aircraft for glide bomb attacks.

However, he said that this alone won't be enough to turn the tide in Ukraine's favor.

Ukraine could also struggle to develop the intelligence needed to find and quickly strike targets farther inside Russia.

Earlier this month, unnamed Ukrainian officials told The New York Times that they needed more real-time intelligence and information from the US and EU allies about targets in Russia.

It's far from clear whether the US will reverse its position and offer intel to support these strikes. Without it, Ukraine's targeting will be limited to satellite imagery, drone surveillance, and what its informants can spot on the ground.

This is not the only pressing issue. Libman, the Free University of Berlin professor, said that if Ukraine's lack of troops and dwindling artillery shells remain unresolved, it will continue to face "major" problems on the battlefield.

"This does not mean that allowing Ukraine to hit targets in Russia will not help — but it is clearly not a silver bullet to win the war," he said.

• The FAA will allow Amazon to fly its drones beyond a pilot's direct line of sight.
• That means Amazon can now expand its delivery services with its MK-27 drones, the company announced.
• Amazon's drone delivery program has faced repeated delays in recent years.

Amazon's package delivery drones are expanding their horizons following a nod of approval from the FAA, the company announced on Thursday.

"We're excited to share that the FAA has given Prime Air additional permissions that allow us to operate our drones beyond visual line of sight, enabling us to now serve more customers via drone and effectively expand and scale our drone delivery operations," Amazon said in a press release.

The FAA requires companies to get approval to operate drones beyond a pilot's visual line of sight, something Amazon said it accomplished after developing "detect-and-avoid technology."

"We've spent years developing, testing, and refining our onboard detect-and-avoid system to ensure our drones can detect and avoid obstacles in the air," the company said, including "real planes, helicopters, and a hot air balloon."

Now, Amazon plans to scale the use of its MK-27 drone to "reach customers in more densely populated areas," the company said.

The FAA's permission comes after delays in the company's drone ambitions over the last few years due to field and test crashes, one of which involved a drone that fell 180 feet and "just blew apart when it hit the ground," Business Insider previously reported.

"It's also important to note that during our commercial operations we haven't had any safety mishaps delivering to customers," an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider over email.

The company began executing drone deliveries in 2022 in its distribution areas in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California — the latter of which the company closed in April to focus on other locations across the nation, CNBC reported.

Earlier this year, an Amazon executive boasted that one of its drones in College Station managed to deliver a box of cookies less than 16 minutes after it was ordered.

• Jeep has revealed its first EV, the Wagoneer S. 
• The all-electric Wagoneer gets a sleeker design than the gas-powered SUV.
• The SUV will go on sale this fall with a starting price of $71,995. 

We just got our first look inside the swanky new, all-electric Jeep SUV at an event in New York City.

The electric Wagoneer S is packed to the gills with tech and packs an impressive powertrain.

A screen-laden interior is made possible by parent company Stellantis's BEV-specific platform, which will underpin the Wagoneer S. The platform is also engineered to deliver zero to 60 mph acceleration in 3.4 seconds the company said.

The first launch edition of Wagoneers will cost $71,995, including delivery fees, when they hit dealer lots this fall.

Jeep has positioned the Wagoneer as the premium extension of the rugged SUV brand, and this EV appears to be no exception.

The company's press release highlights Wagoneer S's "meticulously crafted artisan details" and "tech-focused interior," which signal the electric SUV will follow in its gas-powered siblings' footsteps.

Take a look inside at the first fully electric Jeep:

• The CFPB sued student-loan company PHEAA, accusing it of illegally collecting borrowers' payments.
• The lawsuit claimed PHEAA was collecting on private loans already discharged through bankruptcy.
• It also accused PHEAA of sending false information about borrowers to credit agencies. 

A federal consumer watchdog just hit a major student-loan company with a new lawsuit.

On Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, or PHEAA, which is a student-loan servicer that works with American Education Services to facilitate private student loan programs.

According to the press release, the CFPB accused PHEAA of illegally collecting payments from student-loan borrowers whose loans had already been discharged in bankruptcy and sending "false information" to credit reporting agencies. Those actions violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Fair Credit Report Act, the lawsuit said.

The CFPB is requesting that the court require PHEAA to provide relief to impacted consumers and pay a civil penalty to the CFPB over its claims of illegal behavior.

"PHEAA has ignored its responsibilities and illegally pursued borrowers for loans they no longer owe," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. "The CFPB is suing PHEAA for demanding money from borrowers that they do not owe and for reporting false information to credit reporting companies."

PHEAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said that under the US bankruptcy code, some private student loans are not subject to the stringent standards that most student loans are when it comes to receiving relief through bankruptcy.

Typically, a borrower has to meet the "undue hardship" standard, which requires them to prove that they cannot maintain a minimal standard of living, that their circumstances aren't likely to improve, and that they have made a good-faith effort to repay their debt.

But, as the CFPB claimed, PHEAA has failed to recognize that some private loans can receive a discharge order without having to meet undue hardship and "treats certain discharged private student loans as though the consumer still owes those debts."

For example, the bankruptcy code exempts student loans that do not meet the definition of a "qualified education loan" from the hardship requirement, which are loans used solely to pay for the cost of attendance at a school eligible for federal funding, and while the student attends at least half-time.

"PHEAA's failure to distinguish between discharged and nondischarged private student loans, its collection on discharged debts, and its furnishing inaccurate information to consumer reporting agencies causes or is likely to cause substantial injury, as consumers will either pay debt they do not owe or risk negative credit reporting and default for nonpayment," the complaint said.

Per the CFPB, American Education Services collected or tried to collect 7,934 private student loans after a bankruptcy proceeding between 2017 and 2021, and 177 of them were non-qualified education loans.

The CFPB has previously issued guidance over potential illegal collections of borrowers' payments after bankruptcy proceedings. In March 2023, the agency released supervisory findings on servicers that improperly collected loans and warned servicers of enforcement action should that practice continue.

• Gold bars and silver coins continue to show strong sales for Costco.
• The company sells an estimated $200 million per month of the metals.
• Though the markup is low, these high-value items help the company show strong e-commerce growth.

Gold bars and silver coins had another quarter of strong sales for Costco.

While the company didn't break out exact sales figures for the products in its third-quarter earnings call Thursday, it did say the category was a top seller online, alongside appliances, gift cards, and e-tickets.

Analysts estimate the company sells around $200 million of gold and silver each month, and former CFO Richard Galanti has said the supply usually sells out "within hours."

A big part of their appeal for professional and amateur collectors alike is the fact that the bars and coins are sold at a very low markup to the metal's spot price. (Silver coins from the US Mint fetch a slight premium, since there are tax advantages to those.)

But even though Costco's profit on the gold and silver sales is comparatively low, these high-value items are a kind of cheat code for the wholesale club that is still trying to develop its e-commerce business.

Routing hundreds of millions of dollars in sales through Costco.com is a quick way for the company to show strong e-commerce growth with relatively low risk or complicated capital investment: they simply buy a batch of gold and sell every ounce of it to members.

The strategy is paying off too — digital sales for the quarter were up 20.7% over the same period last year, before Costco's gold went viral.

And, since the gold and silver are member exclusives, the buzz around the metals is another way to attract new sign-ups. After all, what is a $60 membership fee on a $4,000 shopping cart of gold bullion?