Kobo Being a Pain

plumboz · 02-21-2012, 01:17 PM

For quite a while I had my book distributed both through Amazon and Smashwords. Through Smashwords it went to B&N, Sony, Apple, Diesel (does anyone buy books from Diesel?) and Kobo. One problem I ran into was adjusting the price from what was originally intended to be strictly an introductory price of $0.99 to $2.99 because I could never get all of the Smashwords affiliates to change and therefore Amazon, which of course is where most sales come from, would not change their price.

So, when the Select program arrived I recognized what I thought was a way to get the price problem taken care of: unpublish, at least for 90 days, with Smashwords, and just go with Amazon for that time. Then, when and if I went back to Smashwords, I could set the price to what it was supposed to have been ages ago.

Well, after I unpublished with SW, the listings at B&N, Sony, Apple and Diesel went away, as they should, but Kobo continues to offer the book and at $0.99. So far I have gotten nothing but "We'll have to refer this to Tier 2" responses to my demands they take the book off their site.

I know it's weird and rather unusual to want to eliminate a distribution point, but does anyone have experience with this sort of situation?

Thanks,
Alan

mr ploppy · 02-22-2012, 05:09 AM

If all else fails you could send them a DMCA takedown notice. They are not authorised to sell your book, so they would need to remove it in a timely manner.

plumboz · 02-22-2012, 09:33 PM

Thanks, mr ploppy, I appreciate the info. I had no idea what a DMCA was, but then, that's what Google is for, right?

Looks like they have finally taken care of pulling the book. Now I just have to get Amazon to take notice and adjust the price. My intention was to have the book at $0.99 for no more than six months and it is coming up on three years. Waiting a day or two shouldn't be a big deal!

Alan

Nirmalanow · 03-11-2012, 01:27 PM

I have had all kinds of problems with Kobo with my books as published through Smashwords. For over a year, they have not been updating the changes to my books as every other channel on smashwords does in a timely fashion. Now, Kobo has uploaded the newest versions of my books, but is still selling the old versions also. So all of my books are listed twice in their catalog.

As others have mentioned on here, it is the most frustrating aspect of using Smashwords, is how slow they can be to address problems when they arise.

HarryT · 03-11-2012, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

If all else fails you could send them a DMCA takedown notice. They are not authorised to sell your book, so they would need to remove it in a timely manner.

Kobo are Canadian; the DMCA (a US law) doesn't apply to them.

VydorScope · 03-11-2012, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Kobo are Canadian; the DMCA (a US law) doesn't apply to them.

Actually... Japanese now. They just bought by a Japanese company... so dunno if Canadian law even applies any more then American law does.

J. Strnad · 03-12-2012, 01:34 AM

I see it's $2.99 now, so I guess it got worked out!

owly · 03-23-2012, 08:48 AM

I buy from Diesel :-)

VydorScope · 03-23-2012, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by owly

I buy from Diesel :-)

You might be the backbone of their business then!

Lazybones · 03-23-2012, 01:13 PM

I'm having similar problems with Kobo via Smashwords. It's consistently the latest in updating sales data. It's several months behind at the moment. It's not a huge deal since my sales there are a tiny fraction of what I get from B&N, but it's annoying.

Nirmalanow · 03-25-2012, 11:03 AM

Update: Kobo has removed the dulicate versions of my books, so for now, they are all up to date.

M T McGuire · 03-27-2012, 04:43 PM

If it's any consolation my book is 99p on there, too - I think. It's also the only site where I can't give people a link to an author page.

Cheers

MTM

02-21-2012, 01:17 PM	#1
plumboz Novelist Posts: 591 Karma: 452032 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Arizona Device: Nook	Kobo Being a Pain For quite a while I had my book distributed both through Amazon and Smashwords. Through Smashwords it went to B&N, Sony, Apple, Diesel (does anyone buy books from Diesel?) and Kobo. One problem I ran into was adjusting the price from what was originally intended to be strictly an introductory price of $0.99 to $2.99 because I could never get all of the Smashwords affiliates to change and therefore Amazon, which of course is where most sales come from, would not change their price. So, when the Select program arrived I recognized what I thought was a way to get the price problem taken care of: unpublish, at least for 90 days, with Smashwords, and just go with Amazon for that time. Then, when and if I went back to Smashwords, I could set the price to what it was supposed to have been ages ago. Well, after I unpublished with SW, the listings at B&N, Sony, Apple and Diesel went away, as they should, but Kobo continues to offer the book and at $0.99. So far I have gotten nothing but "We'll have to refer this to Tier 2" responses to my demands they take the book off their site. I know it's weird and rather unusual to want to eliminate a distribution point, but does anyone have experience with this sort of situation? Thanks, Alan

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02-22-2012, 05:09 AM	#2
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	If all else fails you could send them a DMCA takedown notice. They are not authorised to sell your book, so they would need to remove it in a timely manner.

02-22-2012, 09:33 PM	#3
plumboz Novelist Posts: 591 Karma: 452032 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Arizona Device: Nook	Thanks, mr ploppy, I appreciate the info. I had no idea what a DMCA was, but then, that's what Google is for, right? Looks like they have finally taken care of pulling the book. Now I just have to get Amazon to take notice and adjust the price. My intention was to have the book at $0.99 for no more than six months and it is coming up on three years. Waiting a day or two shouldn't be a big deal! Alan

03-11-2012, 01:27 PM	#4
Nirmalanow Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle	I have had all kinds of problems with Kobo with my books as published through Smashwords. For over a year, they have not been updating the changes to my books as every other channel on smashwords does in a timely fashion. Now, Kobo has uploaded the newest versions of my books, but is still selling the old versions also. So all of my books are listed twice in their catalog. As others have mentioned on here, it is the most frustrating aspect of using Smashwords, is how slow they can be to address problems when they arise.

03-12-2012, 01:34 AM	#7
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	I see it's $2.99 now, so I guess it got worked out!

03-23-2012, 08:48 AM	#8
owly Guru Posts: 729 Karma: 3822612 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sweden Device: Paperwhite 2, Kobo Aura H2O	I buy from Diesel :-)

03-23-2012, 01:13 PM	#10
Lazybones Groupie Posts: 162 Karma: 1719250 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Sacramento Device: Kindle	I'm having similar problems with Kobo via Smashwords. It's consistently the latest in updating sales data. It's several months behind at the moment. It's not a huge deal since my sales there are a tiny fraction of what I get from B&N, but it's annoying.

03-25-2012, 11:03 AM	#11
Nirmalanow Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle	Update: Kobo has removed the dulicate versions of my books, so for now, they are all up to date.

03-27-2012, 04:43 PM	#12
M T McGuire Addict Posts: 231 Karma: 1006970 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England Device: kindle	If it's any consolation my book is 99p on there, too - I think. It's also the only site where I can't give people a link to an author page. Cheers MTM

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