Quote:
Originally Posted by shalym
My point in posting this stuff about distances is that the Kobo isn't easily available to look at. I would to check one out, but I don't know anyone who has one, and I don't have time to drive that far just to look at an e-reader.
I might do it if there weren't many others available to look at in stores that are much closer to me, and I'd bet that many others would, too. If you ask most people about E-readers in the US, they are going to talk about Kindle or Nook. I actually knew someone who had a Sony a couple of years ago, but she switched to Nook when her Sony died.
So...is Kobo ignoring the US because they figure that they've lost the market here already, so they're focusing on the rest of the world? Or is it just that they don't know how to try to break in to the US Market? Why are they no longer selling anywhere but independent bookstores in the US? (and they don't even sell at all independent bookstores, just a select few)
Shari
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The independent bookstores sell more than eReader hardware. They sell paper books, children's books, toys, puzzles and games, stationary and eBooks too. When it comes to eBook sales, Kobo in the US simply acts as their wholesaler.
Many of us want to see these small, independent shops survive due to the value they add to reading in general and services to the reading community, things like author readings, hosted book clubs, coffee shops and meeting space plus writer's forums. What specific services a bookstore has depends on the particular bookstore.
Kobo was founded by a large independent Canadian book store. They designed what they felt was a better eReader, one they would themselves want to use, and an entire service designed specifically for enthusiastic readers.
Kindles are good too, I know because I have a pile of them, but I want my local bookstore to still be around because it provides many things to me and my community that Amazon cannot.