Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
The way I heard it Amazon had a hard time getting into Canada thanks to Indigo behind the scenes maneuvering.
(shrug)
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AFAIK Amazon wasn't interested in selling ereaders in Canada due to their perception that the population was too low and the tax differences etc were too much for their sales software. You could not order a kindle 3 (the first kindle shipped to Canada)when they came out through Amazon.ca but could through Amazon.com.
Nook still doesn't sell ereaders in Canada, and like Amazon 2-3 years ago, and many other US companies, because they can't be bothered to. The market is not perceived to be big enough to make it worthwhile to deal with the extra paperwork (GST perhaps).
When I got my mother a kindle 3 it was shipped with no customs (duties) added, and the GST was strangely enough paid by Amazon. I paid shipping which they refunded.
When I had to return it they shipped me a new one from Texas to Vancouver in under 13 hours. I was awed and amazed. No customs, no extra charges.
Canadians bought Kobos because they were available in stores, advertised widely, (big campaign around the same time as the release of the kindle 3) and much cheaper than Sony and kindles. Many were not impressed with their purchases and hate ereaders passionately and many were perfectly fine with them.
As for the Canadian government discouraging ereader import, why would they? Few people knew what an ereader was before Amazon started shipping kindles to Canada.
Kobo was never a big employer like Ford for example (and yes I know Ford is American but Canada subsidized them) or a major force in the marketplace, or an exciting innovative company. Canada has let many larger and better Canadian companies die through US competition and or takeovers, why would they get all excited about Kobo? You can now buy kindles in many electronic retail stores in Canada, and I have heard no news about embargos being lifted, And like I said earlier, most Canadians think Kobo is American
Helen