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Old 04-09-2012, 02:02 PM   #1
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Frustration with Book Pricing at Kobo (and others)
I'm looking at "The Hunger Games" set by Suzanne Collins which I think might be a good read for both myself and my kids.

Currently at Kobo store:
Book 1: $5
Book 2: $9
Book 3: $9
Price for set bought individually: $23

Price for set bought as a single collected edition: $27.

That's great. Very sensible. Add that to the fact that the first three hits on a search for "Suzanne Collins Hunger Games" are not books by Suzanne Collins.

Meanwhile, over at Amazon Kindle store:
Book 1: $5
Book 2: $7.40
Book 3: $5.80

Price for set bought individually: $18.20

Price for set bought as a single collected edition: $19

Still not sensible, in terms of the discrepancy between the indiviudual prices and the price of the collection, but a lot closer.

So why would I spend $23 or $27 at Kobo when I can have the same thing for just over $18 at Amazon?

I'd rather have the Kobo editions for my Kobo reader, but the Amazon version is not a challenge to read on the Kobo either. I do it all the time.

If I decide to buy the books, it's no contest. For a difference of a dollar or two, I'd go ahead with the Kobo versions. For $5 difference I'll go to Amazon.
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Old 04-09-2012, 03:42 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by everklear View Post
That's great. Very sensible. Add that to the fact that the first three hits on a search for "Suzanne Collins Hunger Games" are not books by Suzanne Collins.
Of course, the first result for "Suzanne Collins" *is* The Hunger Games. The key is to use quotes for each complete phrase, otherwise it does an OR search instead of AND
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Old 04-09-2012, 03:49 PM   #3
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Over at Sony it is $17.85 for the Trilogy that is the price in both US & Canadian dollars.

So go buy it from Sony in ePub. Granted, you will need to install Reader Library. But you will be saving money and getting it in ePub.
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Old 04-09-2012, 04:04 PM   #4
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@Everklear; have you tried some of the codes from https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=115233 ?
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Old 04-09-2012, 05:42 PM   #5
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Thanks PeterT. Discount codes are not really the point, although I am aware that they exist.

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@Everklear; have you tried some of the codes from https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=115233 ?
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Old 04-09-2012, 05:43 PM   #6
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Thanks, I do typically look at the Sony store before I make a purchase. I've bought from there before if it proves to be cheaper.

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Originally Posted by JSWolf View Post
Over at Sony it is $17.85 for the Trilogy that is the price in both US & Canadian dollars.

So go buy it from Sony in ePub. Granted, you will need to install Reader Library. But you will be saving money and getting it in ePub.
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Old 04-09-2012, 05:48 PM   #7
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Thanks for the tip JD, I'll keep it in mind. That should help my kobo searches give more relevant results.

My layperson response to that would be, how many average people will know to use quoted search terms? Surely it can't be difficult to apply some extra criteria to weight search results such as popularity, relevance of all the terms in the search, and even geography (based on apparent IP address of the requestor). The last would certainly cut down on German language results for the majority of Canadians who presumably aren't reading in German.

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Of course, the first result for "Suzanne Collins" *is* The Hunger Games. The key is to use quotes for each complete phrase, otherwise it does an OR search instead of AND
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Old 04-09-2012, 10:56 PM   #8
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Thanks PeterT. Discount codes are not really the point, although I am aware that they exist.
How can the existance of discount codes not be the point?

If you use the 45% off code you can buy the box set from Kobo for $14.85; or $16.20 using the 40% code; or $17.55 using the 35% code.

By your reasoning why would anyone buy from Amazon for $18?
Last edited by HarleyB; 04-10-2012 at 01:10 AM. Reason: Did my sums wrong!!
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Old 04-10-2012, 09:58 AM   #9
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I haven't checked for this series specifically, but I'm finding more and more books to which the discounts cannot be applied.

I've already used all the big discounts.

My two main points were that collected sets should not be more expensive than buying books individually, and that kobo should really be paying some closer attention to competitive pricing, especially on a series of books that is arguably the most popular thing in the world at the moment.

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Originally Posted by HarleyB View Post
How can the existance of discount codes not be the point?

If you use the 45% off code you can buy the box set from Kobo for $14.85; or $16.20 using the 40% code; or $17.55 using the 35% code.

By your reasoning why would anyone buy from Amazon for $18?
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Old 04-10-2012, 10:03 AM   #10
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Oops. Taking a look now, I see there are a bunch of discounts I haven't used...all those "cN" ones.

I'll have to see whether they can be applied to this series.

Quote:
Originally Posted by everklear View Post
I haven't checked for this series specifically, but I'm finding more and more books to which the discounts cannot be applied.

I've already used all the big discounts.

My two main points were that collected sets should not be more expensive than buying books individually, and that kobo should really be paying some closer attention to competitive pricing, especially on a series of books that is arguably the most popular thing in the world at the moment.
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Old 04-10-2012, 10:31 AM   #11
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Old 04-10-2012, 12:41 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by everklear View Post
Oops. Taking a look now, I see there are a bunch of discounts I haven't used...all those "cN" ones.

I'll have to see whether they can be applied to this series.
They're applicable, Kobo doesn't get to decide if the book is able to be discounted or how it's priced for agency books, HG is published by Scholastic which can be discounted, and I think Kobo also decides the price.
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Old 04-11-2012, 03:18 AM   #13
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collected sets should not be more expensive than buying books individually
Have you ever grabbed a bulk item from a grocery store, only to notice that it is more expensive than the smaller packages (per gram)? Sometimes it's true even when the bulk item is on sale and the smaller package is at regular price. Stores bundle products to give you the impression that you're getting a good deal. Sometimes that impression is right, and sometimes it ain't. The only way to know is to do the math (as you have in this case).
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Old 04-11-2012, 12:51 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by everklear View Post
... collected sets should not be more expensive than buying books individually...
I've seen some folks here opine that they preferred to have the separate volumes anyway, so they would be happy.

BTW, if you had caught it then, there was a (now expired) 85% off code specifically for The Hunger Games. I got the trilogy then for $4.05 (US$) I think.
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Old 04-12-2012, 03:10 AM   #15
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I've seen some folks here opine that they preferred to have the separate volumes anyway, so they would be happy.

BTW, if you had caught it then, there was a (now expired) 85% off code specifically for The Hunger Games. I got the trilogy then for $4.05 (US$) I think.
Yeah, I missed that damn code by a DAY. I can get 45% off but knowing that I could have saves $10 kills me =\
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