Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffR
There are much better than 35% coupons Canada, UK and US because of the contests there, so for those markets you should probably look at the Kobo price after a 55% or 65% coupon.
In other countries there are not many coupons above 35%, so looking at the Kobo price after a 35% coupon is appropriate in those places.
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Correct, only in those countries there are higher discount coupons available.
In other countries the highest available coupon is about 35%, maybe 40%.
But the actual average discount is (much) lower as the 'coupon distribution rate' of these higher coupons is much lower than those of lower discount coupons' (in the 10-25% range).
The post from darryl (#76) clearly shows that with an average 35% discount Kobo isn't cheaper than Amazon.
The other thing is you need a discount coupon for every single book title/purchase/transaction.
I'm sure you can find one or two 35% discount coupons. But to get or find more would become difficult.
And, most coupons are issued as single use. Either as strict single use or as single use per account.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffR
Also in other countries most of the big publishers allow discount codes to be used, so Kobo is much more competitive.
The Issue for Kobo is that in some countries like the US none of the big publishers allow the use of discount codes on their books, and that is why I think Kobo needs to look at other discounting schemes such as rebates or rewards in those countries.
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You're probably partly mistaken, here.
I assume you are refering to English language books. From personal experience I know that many books are much cheaper on Amazon or Kobo stores where English is (one of) the native language(s): CA, US, UK (and others).
This is only a rule of thumb, therefore
I strongly advice to the check pricing of foreign language books first in countries where that book has been released or is targeted for before you buy a foreign language book locally.
Two examples:
For Valour (Nick Stone Book #16) - Andy McNab
Amazon CA: CAD 11.18 (€ 7.99799669); Kobo NL: €12,99 (CAD 18,158072)
Kobo CA: CAD $29.59 (€21.2752823; USD 24.8933568)
Kobo UK: £9.99 (€ 13.0012756; USD 15.2122725 CAD 18.0823802)
Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect (A Jack Ryan Novel, Book 10) - Tom Clancy/Mark Greaney
Amazon CA+Kobo CA: CAD 15.99 (€11.4389953); Kobo NL: €22.74 (CAD 31.7871099)
Amazon USA: USD 14.32 (€12.2605364; CAD 17.1383913)
Kobo UK: sells a different edition (£9.99).
Note: I used the Amazon Canadian store to be sure to compare the same book editions.
But geographical restrictions apply, international customers can not buy directly in any overseas Kobo store. At check out local prices (here: euro) are charged.
Sure, this can be circumvented. This is a hassle but it can save you plenty. Or simply refuse to pay (extra) for it and download it illegally.
I took the first four book titles from darryl's list. Here, the price differences are not that staggering. But the last two books are still more expensive.
Descent $10.91 (Kobo US after discount), $9.99 (Amazon US)
The Magician's Lie $12.47 (Kobo US after discount), $14.39 (Amazon US)
The Bishop's Wife $14.03 (Kobo US after discount), $12.99 (Amazon US)
The Internet is Not the Answer $12.99 (Kobo US after discount), $12.99 (Amazon US)
I used Google to calculate the exchange rates ("15.84 eur in usd"):
Decent: €15.84 (€10.30; -35%); US$ 18.500724 (US$ 12.0301425) * Tim Johnston: Decent: A Novel
The Magician's Lie €18.26 (€11.87; -35%); US$ 21.3272235; (US$ 13.8638632)
The Bishop's Wife: €20.44 (€13.29; -35%); US$ 23.873409; (US$ 15.5223877) * The Bishop's Wife (A Linda Wallheim Novel)
The Internet is Not the Answer: €13.06 (€8.49; -35%); US$ 15.2537535; (US$ 9.91610775)
Note:
If discountable and
if you can find and use as many discount coupons you need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by darryl
That is "Is the discount real, or simply a marketing trick?" My above post strongly suggests the latter.
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Ofcourse it is mostely a marketing instrument.
Coupons
- offer silent discounts (to avoid direct competion on price (no auto price matching);
- coupons can not be redeemed on the bulk of (popular) titles/many titles are not eligible for discounts (i.e.: titles (imprints) from the big publishing groups).
It also seems that Kobo is reducing the number of book titles that are eligible for the use of promo codes.
- less 'general' codes that can be redeemd on all titles that are eligible for discounts;
- introduce 'special' promo codes that can only be redeemed on titles that are on particular book list.
Coupons are a marketing tool. "We offer discounts" (whispering: but only on a very limited number of titles).
But even more than a marketing tool it is an instrument to to improve the bottom line: increase net earnings or decrease net losses.