Where to buy?

[Traye]

I'm in the UK and wondered if any fellow UK people had bought their reader from an actual store instead of the net?

I'm wary of customer service when you can't actually speak to people face to face if a problem occurs.

Or for anyone who's bought online, where from and did you have any problems if you had a fault?

I'm asking lots of questions, and I apologise but this is all new to me and I want to make a well thought out decision.

Thanks!

[Bilbo1967]

I bought my Sony 505 from Waterstones. The person I spoke to there seemed pretty knowledgable and was helpful. Waterstones do seem to have the Sony readers on display still so that you can play with them.

I would strongly suggest that you do try to get your hands on any reader you like the look of on paper before you buy. Many people dislike certain readers which others think are great and vice versa. There's no substitute for a hands-on try to assess your own personal preference.

[Traye]

Thankyou for a quick response Bilbo. The nearest Waterstone is in Liverpool and I'm going in a couple of weeks so I think I'll nip in and have a look.

I reserved a Sony 300 at Argos, but it's not covered by the 30 day returns if I don't like it and I agree that I should actually hold one before I make my decision to buy.
There don't seem to be a whole lot of stores that actually have them in stock, it seems to be some of the big stores that have them in their online shop.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

I would strongly suggest that you do try to get your hands on any reader you like the look of on paper before you buy. Many people dislike certain readers which others think are great and vice versa. There's no substitute for a hands-on try to assess your own personal preference.

Great advice. The challenge is that in many markets it's impossible to "touchy feely" the darned things because they aren't sold in bricks and mortar stores. Starting with the Kindle (but appearing next week in Target ...). Having said that, I think it's okay to find ONE device and play with it ... then you get a sense of what e-ink is, etc. Then it's ok to choose from the features and comments. Plus, many vendors offer decent returns policies. Nonetheless, being in the store, is a huge advantage to Sony which has wide bricks-and-mortar distribution. It's a testament to how well the Kindle works, and the Amazon bookstore standing behind it, that Sony hasn't not taken over the market.