Thankyou all for your comments.
I had a look at the Kobo Reader last night and I was suitably impressed by it, but when I asked them "What happens if the store has to close?" (With the trouble both Angus & Robertson and Borders are in, I think it's a valid question.) She told me she had no idea and nobody knew and if it were up to her, she would steer well clear of a Kobo just in case. I know that Kobo themselves say there will be no issue no matter what happens, but it still sits a little uneasy with me. So I have scratched that off the list.
In my searches last night I found a unit for $90 with a 12 month warranty and a 21 day return policy. While the company themselves freely admit it is a 'no frills' ereader, it ticks enough of my boxes that I've been seriously considering it overnight and have settled for this one. I'll go and pick it up this afternoon and provide a full review.
My view is that for $90, if my unit only lasts the warranty period, I'm still getting a year worth of ereader for less than $100 with the features I like. It's not restricted to any one company and the transferring system is simply drag and drop (which I love!)