Quote:
Originally Posted by sonyreaderfan
I still think Kobo is misleading about its international presence. For example, Amazon.com has US presence (Amazon.com) and UK presence (Amazon.co.uk). I'm sure Britons buying a Kindle ebook in UK aren't charged an international service fee. Their transaction is handled in the UK, not in US. Kobo is handling the transactions in Canada only. That's why I'm wondering why couldn't Kobo really present a localized web presence so that there won't be the international service fee charges, if Kobo claims to be an international company.
People in Australia getting charged international service fee for buying stuff from foreign countries know at least knows that they are buying from foreign countries and expect that. Nowhere is Kobo saying in the checkout process, since you're buying in the US, we're a foreign country store.
Kobo is sold prominently in the US. Do people in the US have to realize that they are a foreign country store and that they would be hit with a international service fee when they buy Kobo ebooks? (Do people in Australia realize that before making Kobo ebook purchase?) I think most like me would assume that it would just work like Amazon or Barnes and Noble ebook stores.
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There is nothing misleading about what Kobo is doing. And it's your credit card provider who is making the "foreign transaction charge," not Kobo.
The domain *.com is not restricted to US use. There are zillions of *.com websites located here in Europe, for example.
What has changed at Kobo, however, is that they apparently are being pushed to identify where their customers are coming from in order to comply with geographical restrictions on their books and to properly assess VAT (and probably sales tax in the US). I used to buy books from Kobo on my US credit card with prices denominated in US dollars, no problem. A few months back, though, they changed their system so that those of us in Europe get all prices quoted in euros. I'm not sure if they are going by the billing address on my credit card or my IP address when I make a purchase. (Will test that soon when visiting the US.)
Now, if I use my US credit card to buy books, I get a foreign transaction fee (of 3%!) because they insist on billing me in euros. I have contacted Kobo and there's nothing they can do about it. It's a combination of the geographical restrictions on books and the tax regulations - but the added fees are assessed by your credit card company and not by Kobo.
If I buy books at Kobo using my French credit card, I'll still get assessed a foreign transaction fee because the transaction is coming from North America (doesn't matter whether US or Canada).
FWIW, things work much the same way if you order from a "foreign" Amazon. When I buy through Amazon.co.uk I pay the French VAT - and there are a certain number of items that they will not ship to France. (And if I were buying books for a Kindle I wouldn't be allowed to purchase from the UK Amazon at all!) The publishers don't seem to realize that they are shooting themselves in the foot on the e-books issue. But maybe they'll learn one of these days...