No ePub for PRS-500, but Sony offers $100 trade-in credit to upgraders - Page 3

nathantw · 08-07-2008, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eppythacher

Hmm just checked ebay. For a used PRS-500 the bid + shipping prices are:
<snip>
Seems alot easier to just trade in for 100.

I tend to agree with you eppythacher.

grooks · 08-07-2008, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenG

I wonder if this offer would be good for the rumored new model Reader if its released before the offer expires.

I wondered the same thing.

eppythacher · 08-07-2008, 02:33 PM

I just called the Sony Style store here in San Francisco, they never even heard of the trade in deal. Sony HQ, please contact all your retail stores about the deal. Sheesh, who's in charge of this? Has anyone else had trouble from other companies not honoring deals that their parent company has announced? Also, even when Sony does something good it comes back to bite them, why is that?

Studio717 · 08-07-2008, 02:35 PM

I'd add in the value of the AC adapter to the deal, too, so for me it would add up to more than $100. Definitely going to do this. I've been waiting for the next gen stuff to appear (wanting an iLiad, but so far, not a peep), but this will be a nice stopgap, even if the next gen models appear sooner rather than later. I have enough books that I've formatted for the Sony Reader to make the trade worth while.

Now to read through that tiny and light gray (as in nearly illegible) type on their trade-in page... (Actually, I'll probably copy and paste into TextEdit.)

Thanks to Sony for this! (And to Bob for telling us about it.

)

grooks · 08-07-2008, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nesagwa

Either way, not that happy about it. I dont like the way the 505 looks or the button orientation on it. If I wanted a 505 I would have bought one already.

Thanks for nothing Sony.

What scenario would you deem acceptable?

volwrath · 08-07-2008, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grooks

What scenario would you deem acceptable?

I want a $150 trade-in

zelda_pinwheel · 08-07-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eppythacher

I just called the Sony Style store here in San Francisco, they never even heard of the trade in deal. Sony HQ, please contact all your retail stores about the deal. Sheesh, who's in charge of this? Has anyone else had trouble from other companies not honoring deals that their parent company has announced? Also, even when Sony does something good it comes back to bite them, why is that?

this deal was only announced today ; it's breaking news. i'm sure Sony HQ will inform its stores about the offer quickly. isn't it amazing that mobileread is at the heart of the action to the point where we know the news even before sonystores do ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Studio717

I'd add in the value of the AC adapter to the deal, too, so for me it would add up to more than $100. Definitely going to do this. I've been waiting for the next gen stuff to appear (wanting an iLiad, but so far, not a peep), but this will be a nice stopgap, even if the next gen models appear sooner rather than later. I have enough books that I've formatted for the Sony Reader to make the trade worth while.

Now to read through that tiny and light gray (as in nearly illegible) type on their trade-in page... (Actually, I'll probably copy and paste into TextEdit.)

Thanks to Sony for this! (And to Bob for telling us about it.

)

and to the brilliant mobileread campaign which helped make it happen !

maxio · 08-07-2008, 04:02 PM

Sony's Customer Service s#$%. So I drive myself to SF and walk into the Sony Style store. I ask about the special rebate trade-in offer, so that I can upgrade and the manager replies: "I just found out about this deal, and don't know how to handle it, so at the moment we are not recognizing the offer!" He said, that I should go through the online process. So let me get this straight! I drive 100 miles so that I can trade in my unit and avoid shipping costs, and this is his response!!! Don't go to the Sony Style store in SF before calling in first!! This guy is an idiot and shouldn't be in retail! Second, this is exactly why Sony is losing its loyal customers!

Xtremegene · 08-07-2008, 04:19 PM

I'm actually most glad about not being jerked around anymore about 'hoping' for an upgrade on the PRS-500; the $100 rebate is nice, but I can't personally justify spending $200 for a new ebook device when I spent $400 (including the extended warranty) on it's older cousin. The good news is that the offer lasts until January 2009, so I can just hope for the 505's price to drop (lots) if I feel like I really need one.

In any case, go Mobile Read!

Lexicon · 08-07-2008, 05:09 PM

I can't believe people are actually complaining about this, it is a very generous offer and one that Sony should be applauded for making.

Somebody from the Sony Reader team probably had to go into their head office and argue for this trade-in deal - had to convince their bosses that it was a good idea to lose thousands of dollars revenue to keep the goodwill of the early adopters.

They manage to get the deal approved and what do they get? A load of whining babies verbally throwing their toys out of the pram, complaining because it isn't exactly what they wanted.

<shakes head in disgust>

Barcey · 08-07-2008, 06:04 PM

Kudos to Sony!

- Selling the PRS505 in Canada
- Announcing availability of the PRS505 in the UK
- Upgrading the PRS505 to support ePUB
- ... and now listening to the customer and offering a rebate to the PRS500 end users!

I'm feeling much better about recommending the Sony.

dedicated · 08-07-2008, 06:44 PM

I'm glad Sony responded, coherently and quickly. It may not be the best solution to make everybody happy, but at least there is an option. Thanks to everybody on this board who made it happen.

I have some thoughts about the strategy for an upgrade. First of all, if you don't need ePub or PDF reflow capability urgently, I would recommend waiting until Dec or Jan. By then, the stores would have been familiar with the trade-in program, and maybe the PRS-505 price will have dropped some (it's selling for $300 on Sony's site and $279 on Amazon's). Secondly, who knows what other options, like Kindle 2.0, will be available over the next few months. Since it's an option for us to exercise, we should maximize the intrinsic value of it by waiting until near expiration

The eBay option has always been around, even before Sony made this offer. So for those willing to go that route, it's still a way to upgrade (even to a non-Sony device). However, if we all decided to flood eBay with our used readers, then the prices will drop. While I'm not convinced that this new deal from Sony will drive a sudden increase in eBay sales, the non-upgradeable nature of the PRS-500 probably generate a small spike.

Anyways, I'm glad they announced this deal. They're showing a willingness to listen and placate us early adopters. Thanks again to everyone here.

Nate the great · 08-07-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxio

Sony's Customer Service s#$%. So I drive myself to SF and walk into the Sony Style store. I ask about the special rebate trade-in offer, so that I can upgrade and the manager replies: "I just found out about this deal, and don't know how to handle it, so at the moment we are not recognizing the offer!" He said, that I should go through the online process. So let me get this straight! I drive 100 miles so that I can trade in my unit and avoid shipping costs, and this is his response!!! Don't go to the Sony Style store in SF before calling in first!! This guy is an idiot and shouldn't be in retail! Second, this is exactly why Sony is losing its loyal customers!

I think I have an explanation for your experience.

Bob didn't stress this in the original post, but Sony only decided to make this trade in offer because of the campaign I started on Friday. It looks to me like they put the deal together yesterday with the intention of announcing it today. The store manager probably came into work today with no idea that the trade in deal existed. (What usually happens is that the store gets a regular shipment of marketing info around 2 weeks before it is supposed to take effect. That didn't happen this time.)

We only heard about the offer last night when Bob got a call from someone we know at Sony. We have had conference calls before, but those were usually planned out a few days in advance. This call was completely unplanned.

I think we should have stressed how sudden the announcement was. I'll try to remember that in the future.

MidknytOwl · 08-07-2008, 06:58 PM

I've got to agree with the disappointment in people complaining. Sure, it’s not perfect, but what do you really expect, them to give you a 505 for free for having bought a 500?

You’ve got to know that buying anything electronic is going to get better and probably cheaper and you’re always going to want the new thing and feel a little screwed. At least they are giving you a trade-in for it.

I bet Amazon doesn’t do that when it releases the Kindle 2.0 we’ve been hearing about, and that's $400 in the hole.

Greg Anos · 08-07-2008, 07:07 PM

What I wonder is whether openinkpot will be able to be ported onto a PRS500. If so, it would be worth hanging on to.

08-07-2008, 04:02 PM	#38
maxio Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2006 Device: PRS-500	Sony's Customer Service s#$%. So I drive myself to SF and walk into the Sony Style store. I ask about the special rebate trade-in offer, so that I can upgrade and the manager replies: "I just found out about this deal, and don't know how to handle it, so at the moment we are not recognizing the offer!" He said, that I should go through the online process. So let me get this straight! I drive 100 miles so that I can trade in my unit and avoid shipping costs, and this is his response!!! Don't go to the Sony Style store in SF before calling in first!! This guy is an idiot and shouldn't be in retail! Second, this is exactly why Sony is losing its loyal customers! Last edited by maxio; 08-07-2008 at 04:58 PM.

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08-07-2008, 02:33 PM	#33
eppythacher Connoisseur Posts: 76 Karma: 3992 Join Date: Jan 2007 Device: prs-500, prs-650	I just called the Sony Style store here in San Francisco, they never even heard of the trade in deal. Sony HQ, please contact all your retail stores about the deal. Sheesh, who's in charge of this? Has anyone else had trouble from other companies not honoring deals that their parent company has announced? Also, even when Sony does something good it comes back to bite them, why is that?

08-07-2008, 02:35 PM	#34
Studio717 Addict Posts: 208 Karma: 575 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: California Device: Various Kindles, iPhone, iPad, Galaxy 10.1	I'd add in the value of the AC adapter to the deal, too, so for me it would add up to more than $100. Definitely going to do this. I've been waiting for the next gen stuff to appear (wanting an iLiad, but so far, not a peep), but this will be a nice stopgap, even if the next gen models appear sooner rather than later. I have enough books that I've formatted for the Sony Reader to make the trade worth while. Now to read through that tiny and light gray (as in nearly illegible) type on their trade-in page... (Actually, I'll probably copy and paste into TextEdit.) Thanks to Sony for this! (And to Bob for telling us about it. )

08-07-2008, 04:19 PM	#39
Xtremegene Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: TX, USA Device: Sony Reader PRS-500 --- Nokia n800	I'm actually most glad about not being jerked around anymore about 'hoping' for an upgrade on the PRS-500; the $100 rebate is nice, but I can't personally justify spending $200 for a new ebook device when I spent $400 (including the extended warranty) on it's older cousin. The good news is that the offer lasts until January 2009, so I can just hope for the 505's price to drop (lots) if I feel like I really need one. In any case, go Mobile Read!

08-07-2008, 05:09 PM	#40
Lexicon Enthusiast Posts: 44 Karma: 542 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Sony PRS-505	I can't believe people are actually complaining about this, it is a very generous offer and one that Sony should be applauded for making. Somebody from the Sony Reader team probably had to go into their head office and argue for this trade-in deal - had to convince their bosses that it was a good idea to lose thousands of dollars revenue to keep the goodwill of the early adopters. They manage to get the deal approved and what do they get? A load of whining babies verbally throwing their toys out of the pram, complaining because it isn't exactly what they wanted. <shakes head in disgust>

08-07-2008, 06:04 PM	#41
Barcey Wizard Posts: 1,531 Karma: 8059866 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canada Device: Kobo H2O / Aura HD / Glo / iPad3	Kudos to Sony! - Selling the PRS505 in Canada - Announcing availability of the PRS505 in the UK - Upgrading the PRS505 to support ePUB - ... and now listening to the customer and offering a rebate to the PRS500 end users! I'm feeling much better about recommending the Sony.

08-07-2008, 06:44 PM	#42
dedicated Member Posts: 34 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Device: Sony PRS-500, Kindle DX	I'm glad Sony responded, coherently and quickly. It may not be the best solution to make everybody happy, but at least there is an option. Thanks to everybody on this board who made it happen. I have some thoughts about the strategy for an upgrade. First of all, if you don't need ePub or PDF reflow capability urgently, I would recommend waiting until Dec or Jan. By then, the stores would have been familiar with the trade-in program, and maybe the PRS-505 price will have dropped some (it's selling for $300 on Sony's site and $279 on Amazon's). Secondly, who knows what other options, like Kindle 2.0, will be available over the next few months. Since it's an option for us to exercise, we should maximize the intrinsic value of it by waiting until near expiration The eBay option has always been around, even before Sony made this offer. So for those willing to go that route, it's still a way to upgrade (even to a non-Sony device). However, if we all decided to flood eBay with our used readers, then the prices will drop. While I'm not convinced that this new deal from Sony will drive a sudden increase in eBay sales, the non-upgradeable nature of the PRS-500 probably generate a small spike. Anyways, I'm glad they announced this deal. They're showing a willingness to listen and placate us early adopters. Thanks again to everyone here.

08-07-2008, 06:58 PM	#44
MidknytOwl Zealot Posts: 111 Karma: 644 Join Date: May 2008 Device: Kobo Aura	I've got to agree with the disappointment in people complaining. Sure, it’s not perfect, but what do you really expect, them to give you a 505 for free for having bought a 500? You’ve got to know that buying anything electronic is going to get better and probably cheaper and you’re always going to want the new thing and feel a little screwed. At least they are giving you a trade-in for it. I bet Amazon doesn’t do that when it releases the Kindle 2.0 we’ve been hearing about, and that's $400 in the hole.

08-07-2008, 07:07 PM	#45
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,247 Karma: 35000000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	What I wonder is whether openinkpot will be able to be ported onto a PRS500. If so, it would be worth hanging on to.

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