Hmmm... wish I had encountered this thread before placing my order. I recently ordered an Aura directly from Kobo simply because they had the best price (around $15 cheaper than anywhere else), but I am thoroughly annoyed by the complete lack of information regarding my order. I didn't even receive an email confirmation that the order had gone through, but since my credit card was almost immediately charged (within 12-hours) then I assume that Kobo received it. However, there doesn't appear to be any way of tracking the order or checking its status through Kobo's website, which is extremely frustrating, and I have received no further communication from them. They still promise free 5-7 day shipping, so if I'm to receive it within that time then it should have shipped no later than Monday, but obviously I have received no shipping confirmation.
I guess I've been spoiled by other sites (Amazon, Newegg, Walmart, Best Buy, etc.) who give you a play-by-play letting you know exactly where your item is in the shipping process. I was really hoping to have my reader in time for the holiday weekend, but it looks like it won't happen -- unless they happened to ship it without telling me.
It's rather disappointing that they've known about these problems for over a year (according to this thread) and have apparently taken no steps to correct or improve their order fulfillment process. This is likely the last time I will order directly from Kobo.