Kobo Discounts: Coupon Codes + Discussion

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

Gotta love em for trying!

I'm sure for your "average" buyer who doesn't visit forums and blogs where higher value codes are constantly shared that the 20% discount sounds semi-decent and might motivate them to buy a new book they might not have bought otherwise.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by bartveld

Are there people around here who as a matter of course buy their books in India? Or at least shop around? Are there any disadvantages?

If Kobo decides to do so, they can close your account if you "travel" regularly. I actually have two accounts; my own, based at my own Dutch address, and one based at the US address of a family member who lives in the US and Netherlands alternately (depending on work). I also manage the Dutch account of an aunt. (A real aunt, with a real e-reader who buys real Dutch books.)

I mostly buy books in the US because the US vs. EUR rate makes them cheaper, and the choice is larger.

[Blue2u]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I'm sure for your "average" buyer who doesn't visit forums and blogs where higher value codes are constantly shared that the 20% discount sounds semi-decent and might motivate them to buy a new book they might not have bought otherwise.

Agreed, but it gave me a good chuckle.

[bartveld]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

If Kobo decides to do so, they can close your account if you "travel" regularly. I actually have two accounts; my own, based at my own Dutch address, and one based at the US address of a family member who lives in the US and Netherlands alternately (depending on work). I also manage the Dutch account of an aunt. (A real aunt, with a real e-reader who buys real Dutch books.)

I mostly buy books in the US because the US vs. EUR rate makes them cheaper, and the choice is larger.

I wonder... if I were Kobo I would've blocked this whole migration thing ages ago. If Amazon can bar me from buying books at co.uk and force me to .com it shouldn't be too hard for Kobo to do something similar. An IP address carries information on what country it's in. Not that I mind that they don't fix this, I just wonder...

Maybe this should be in another thread.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by bartveld

I wonder... if I were Kobo I would've blocked this whole migration thing ages ago. If Amazon can bar me from buying books at co.uk and force me to .com it shouldn't be too hard for Kobo to do something similar. An IP address carries information on what country it's in. Not that I mind that they don't fix this, I just wonder...

Maybe this should be in another thread.

They know people do it, so I guess they've decided (and the publishers haven't complained) it's currently in their best interests to not make geo restrictions harder to get around.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by bartveld

I wonder... if I were Kobo I would've blocked this whole migration thing ages ago. If Amazon can bar me from buying books at co.uk and force me to .com it shouldn't be too hard for Kobo to do something similar.

It isn't but Amazon doesn't do it either.

[Lynx-lynx]

I think we should make hay while the sun shines.

[Bookpossum]

After all, migrating doesn't hurt anyone, except maybe a country which charges a tax for purchasing a book. If I can't buy a book in Australia but can get it in the US or wherever, I benefit, Kobo benefits and the author benefits. I can't see why they would want to stop it from happening.

[Geralt]

This is off topic but actually Kobo is owned by Rakuten, a Japanese company.
As a result, they have strict policy in Japan.
I can't change countries, or "travel" as you say. My Japanese credit card is linked to my Japanese address. There is no alternative payment method such as paypal. My IP always redirects me to rakuten.kobobooks.com. It is impossible for me to open kobobooks.com
I don't want to rain on your parade, but this "traveling" might be a temporary thing, and Japanese may very well decide to enforce order on other Kobo sites as well.

I hope they don't though

[samhy]

Originally Posted by Geralt

This is off topic but actually Kobo is owned by Rakuten, a Japanese company.
As a result, they have strict policy in Japan.
I can't change countries, or "travel" as you say. My Japanese credit card is linked to my Japanese address. There is no alternative payment method such as paypal. My IP always redirects me to rakuten.kobobooks.com. It is impossible for me to open kobobooks.com
I don't want to rain on your parade, but this "traveling" might be a temporary thing, and Japanese may very well decide to enforce order on other Kobo sites as well.

I hope they don't though

I wouldn't be too afraid. From France I can only access the French website and when I was in England it was the .co.uk one. It's really linked to the IP address.
Regarding the PayPal thing, I don't remember seeing it as an option on many websites in Japan. I don't know how popular it can be now, but then the payment options were credit card or conbini.

[Geralt]

I didn't write that to make you scared O_o
I wrote to let you know how things operate in Japan, because Rakuten is Japanese company. And you are right, it's still mostly credit card or コンビニ. I mentioned paypal, because it's an option on some other Kobo sites. Anyway,my main point was:
You cant change countries at the checkout on Japanese handled Kobo site.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

After all, migrating doesn't hurt anyone, except maybe a country which charges a tax for purchasing a book. If I can't buy a book in Australia but can get it in the US or wherever, I benefit, Kobo benefits and the author benefits. I can't see why they would want to stop it from happening.

I suppose the publisher who paid for the rights in your home area might feel they're "hurt" since it could be a lost sale for them if you're buying from a different publisher. The author could be "hurt" in that they may be getting a lesser royalty for the publisher in the place you migrated to vs your home area.

[hwlester]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I suppose the publisher who paid for the rights in your home area might feel they're "hurt" since it could be a lost sale for them if you're buying from a different publisher. The author could be "hurt" in that they may be getting a lesser royalty for the publisher in the place you migrated to vs your home area.

Those are indeed possibilities, but if the book is out of print in your home area and available in another area, it would indeed be a lost sale if you didn't travel.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by hwlester

Those are indeed possibilities, but if the book is out of print in your home area and available in another area, it would indeed be a lost sale if you didn't travel.

Don't get me wrong. Not advocating one way or the other when it comes to traveling, just saying someone might feel they're "hurt" in some instances. After all they exist because of the territorial rights that authors/agents want to sell and publishers purchase.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Geralt

This is off topic but actually Kobo is owned by Rakuten, a Japanese company.
As a result, they have strict policy in Japan.
I can't change countries, or "travel" as you say. My Japanese credit card is linked to my Japanese address. There is no alternative payment method such as paypal. My IP always redirects me to rakuten.kobobooks.com. It is impossible for me to open kobobooks.com
I don't want to rain on your parade, but this "traveling" might be a temporary thing, and Japanese may very well decide to enforce order on other Kobo sites as well.

I hope they don't though

It's fairly easy to "travel", even when your IP is in Japan (or any other country). And once in another country, their Kobo store allows PayPal, so you don't even really need an alternate credit card. And while such travelling isn't really on topic here, consider StrongVPN or HideMyAss, both of which I've used quite successfully.