PocketBook special promo

[tvpupsik]

For the next month we are offering a special PocketBook promo. The offer is valid for the customers from the USA and other countries where the PocketBook USA dealers are allowed to ship (Canada, Australia, Mexico, Japan, Singapore to name a few).

Call us at (+1) 314-814-3380 if you'd like to hear more details

Thanks,
Tatiana

P.S. No specific details of the promo will be discovered unless you call. Thank you for the understanding.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by tvpupsik

No specific details of the promo will be discovered unless you call. Thank you for the understanding.

Dear Tatiana,
We understand.
No angry customers complaining about high prices in EU, Ukraine and Russia this time.
I guess I could call as well, or ask a friend living in USA to call (in case you track where the caller is from (*)) and find out, but I am not sure I care anymore. I used to be hard-core PocketBook supporter. Sigh ...

PocketBook Global (the RoskietVook Managers In Kiev (TM), NOT the hard-working resellers that have to dance to the tune from the headquarters) are fighting tooth and nail to win our hearts.

(*) that should be the next logical step *enforced* by headquarters.
And do not forget to force the customer to prove his country of origin. Of course the perspective customers should have to sign a draconian Non Disclosure Agreement before they are allowed to see the price or hear about the product.

[fjtorres]

No way to win, is there?

Guys, in the US, they have to compete with Kindles at US$114 and Kobos at $129. All of which sell by the million, not thousands.
Either they squeeze margin to try to build up volume and get the same economies of scale as the North American vendors or they abandon the market. Which one is more likely to keep them in the business until ebooks get mainstreamed in europe?

In case you hadn't heard, ebook readers now reside in 12% of US households, double last year's 6%, versus typical european penetration of under 2%.

Anybody think a $10 price drop is going to even double the sales rate of euro-localized, euro-certified Pocketbooks? How about an eight-fold increase? Right now we're looking at entirely different markets. (Temporarily, perhaps, as Kobo and Amazon are bringing their ebookstores and business model over there. Expect blood to flow.)

Of course, since we can't see PBG's financials, we have no way of knowing how much they actually sell in a given region; for all we know, they have entire warehouses full of unsold US certified readers they can't legally sell in other regions (regulatory regimes being so prolific and diverse) and have to move at any cost. The undisclosed prices could be a clearance sale prior to abandoning the market, for all we know.

Me, as much as the PB360 plus intrigues me, I'm not in the market for another reader and won't be at least till next year, but I would like it if PB were still a competitive option by then. There is no guarantee they will be, though; the market here is very competitive and we have yet to see what Sony's next (last?) attempt to join the NorthAm top tier vendors looks like, or how Amazon will use its million-ereader-a-month volume to counter Kobo and Nook.

Economics is a cruel science and its not much fun to be on the wrong side of its cold equations (with apologies to Tom Goodwin) but the rules of the game are pretty clear; each market has its own dynamics and you either keep up with the leaders or pack up and go home.

Hopefully this is just a summer promo and PB will be a player for years to come.
But "you never know"...

[kacir]

Thank you for the insight.

Originally Posted by fjtorres

... as Kobo and Amazon are bringing their ebookstores and business model over there. Expect blood to flow...

The blood has started to flow the moment that Amazon started delivering Kindle 3 to Europe for $139 + $21 shipping. With no VAT on top of that if you get lucky in some countries (the price being under 150Eur that is, in some countries, the threshold for importing things without having to pay customs and/or VAT).
Do you remember times when Illiad - the 8.1 inch e-ink reader from iRex - was selling like hot cakes for 800 Euro, despite being beta-quality model, with the battery life that never reached the promised parameters?

Originally Posted by fjtorres

unsold US certified readers they can't legally sell in other regions (regulatory regimes being so prolific and diverse) and have to move at any cost.

Well, I never looked at it from this point of view. But I think that the units are identical.
You might, hoverer, have provided a hint about the availability of the PB360PLUS model

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Economics is a cruel science and its not much fun to be on the wrong side of its cold equations

... and bitching customers ;-)

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by kacir

Well, I never looked at it from this point of view. But I think that the units are identical.
You might, hoverer, have provided a hint about the availability of the PB360PLUS model

All I know is that wireless certification for the US market is a one-stop, three month process. Europe requires individual certification in each of the 50 or so nations. (Don't know how the certification costs run but that might make a difference in the decision on which markets to ship to and when.)

I also know that the only wireless Sony, the 950, took ages to show up anywhere but the US. And I'm not sure how broadly available it is.

Also, PB360 is the top-selling PB product in the US but we don't know if the US is the 360's top-selling market.

And finally, didn't somebody say PB went with Foxconn for the 6xx/9xx because Netronix was volume constrained? The 360-plus is still a Netronix-built reader, no? There may only be so many pluses to go around...

As I said, we really don't know much of what goes on in the black box called Pocketbook Global or what challenges they face.

We do know the game is changing from the days when, as you say, the barely usable iRex could "sell like hotcakes" or, more recently, when companies like Cool-Er and BeBook could *brag* of annual sales of 25000 units.

I think that when it comes to ebook readers, we are very close to the end of the beginning; the point where the rules get firmed up and the window of opportunity closes up for small players. Vendors that don't measure up in terms of volume won't have access to the latest component tech or volume pricing needed to be competitive.

Ebook readers are becoming a global business; we're not there yet, but we're headed there. Pocketbook is one of four that can credibly claim to be there. That much is hopeful.
But at a time when even Sony's long-term ebook future is in doubt...

I dunno, guys...
Bigger issues loom.

[gshank]

This is a sale on the 902. The 903 isn't sold in the US... My guess is that they'd like to sell a few extra before new models come out. So if you're in the right selling area and are interested in the 902, you could check it out.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by tvpupsik

No specific details of the promo will be discovered unless you call. Thank you for the understanding.

That's a new low, I must say...

Originally Posted by fjtorres

No way to win, is there?

I think there is, actually. It involves trying hard to not piss off your international customers. Amazon, interestingly enough, gets this right (or should I say seems to try hardest of all the major booksellers).

... but I would like it if PB were still a competitive option by then.

It's sad, but I've pretty much given up on them. If they get their act together, fine. If not... well, there will be other options when I'm in the market again for a new reader. I'm reasonably happy with my PB 360 for the time being.

Hopefully this is just a summer promo ...

Even if it is, "call for details" is never a good sign. Honest prices can be advertised openly.

[linux_author]

Originally Posted by tvpupsik

P.S. No specific details of the promo will be discovered unless you call. Thank you for the understanding.

disingenuous

no thanks

[tvpupsik]

I personally agree with all the comments that asking potential buyers to call to find out about the promo instead of just showing the promo prices of the models is not too attractive. I would probably not call myself if I were in your place. Unfortunately the rules are dictated by the PocketBook headquarters and we (USA resellers) just have to follow them.