Kobo vs Kindle e-books

[Senior]

OK, my son-in-law went with Kindle and I with Kobo and there seems to be a price advantage with Kindle books so I thought I would check it out. The first book I tried to download was by Stephen Hawkins and listed for $12.59 shipped to Canada, and the Kobo was $20 which included taxes. In trying to download through the Kindle app the book was not available. Therefore I assume international rights were not bought by Amazon (just a guess). So I tried a second book by Simon Scarrow, $9.99 Kindle and $14.13 Kobo. I was successful in downloading this book using the Kindle app. The total cost at Kindle was the shown price of $9.99. However it does not appear on the Kobo Vox library but is only available via the Kindle app to read. This is not a serious problem as the format is excellent. So Kindle is definitely cheaper, the Kindle shown price includes all taxes etc. while the higher Kobo shown price does not. Kobo smarten up.

[hpulley]

Get Calibre and you can convert them to epub and sideload them to read in the Kobo app.

[oldyellr]

I would definitely recommend installing the Kindle app. Not only are more books available for Kindle; they're also cheaper. One can only hope that Kobo will try to become more competitive. If it weren't for library books in Canada only being available in epub format, Kobo wouldn't have any advantage at all.

[paulsalter]

not sure if I am imagining it, but it looks to me like kobo prices went up shortly after christmas

just picked the first book in the new releases section, Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd, Kobo £10.96, Kindle £5.98

I prefer the Kobo app for reading if the prices are similar, but almost double the price I wouldn't even consider Kobo

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by paulsalter

not sure if I am imagining it, but it looks to me like kobo prices went up shortly after christmas

No I don't think you are, although prices started going up there before that.

[jsokal]

Fellow Canadians,.....don't we always pay more than Americans do for EVERYTHING?

[Cdesja5]

Not all books are less expensive at Amazon... Some prices are fixed by the publisher and all stores are prevented from discounting. For example, The Drop by Michael Connelly is the same price (14.99) at Amazon, Kobo, BooksOnBoard, Diesel-ebooks. No discounts permitted by the publisher. However, if you were purchasing a book without this restriction and you were to use a Kobo Discount Code which is generally always available and posted in this thread,

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...+discount+code

you could save 20-25% most of the time and on many books. It always pays to check as I have regularly found that books are cheaper on Kobo as they often offer books at a "discounted" price and then with a coupon code applied on top of that, the price IS lower than Amazon even taking into account that taxes are charged.
US booksellers do not charge Canadian tax on ebook purchases. Amazon is not unique. Books bought from BooksOnBoard or Diesel-eBooks for example, also do not have any tax charged. Kobo does not have that option...being located in Canada it is obliged to charge Canadian taxes to its' Canadian customers.
To make comparing prices easier, Calibre has a feature that allows checking multiple sources (bookstores) for the price of a specific book by clicking on the Get Books icon in the toolbar.
Also, there are ways of getting US books and pricing such as buying a gift certificate with your account on BoB or Diesel, opening a "US" account on the site and then using the certificate to pay rather than a credit card.
There are many ways to obtain the cheapest price. It pays to shop around...

[Jesslynne]

I don't know, some books are very similar in price and others are a huge gap in the price. I buy from Kobo when the price really isn't that much different but will buy from Amazon when there's a large difference.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by Senior

OK, my son-in-law went with Kindle and I with Kobo and there seems to be a price advantage with Kindle books so I thought I would check it out.

It's really hit or miss. I did a check on the entire collection of Kelley Armstrong, around 25 titles in total: some were a little higher on Kobo, some were a little higher on Kindle, and it came out almost exactly the same in the end (right around $200 on either platform).

But, as "Cdesja5" says, all "non-agency" books on Kobo are eligible for codes, and you can get discount codes to the tune of about 3-5 per week, which would make buying those approx. 25 books over 20% cheaper on Kobo.

As for taxes, Amazon does not include sales taxes (despite what they say). In fact, they are doing everything they can to simply avoid having to collect them in Canada (not to mention several American states, and everywhere else they can get away with it). Kindle users in Canada are legally required to voluntarily submit the sales taxes that Amazon is not collecting. Yes, you are breaking the law if you buy books on Kindle in Canada and don't voluntarily rebate the sales taxes to the government. Thanks Amazon.

I don't agree that the book selection is better (in Canada) on Kindle than on Kobo. It's a bit different, but not better: each has some the other doesn't have.

I used to buy from Amazon, but have switched to Kobo and haven't looked back. With the dirty tricks Amazon has been playing on bricks-and-mortar retailers, with their steadfast insistence on avoiding collection of sales taxes (all I want is a level playing field for all competitors), and my desire for a competitive e-book market without dominance by any one player, I am more comfortable buying from Kobo.

[msxman]

Kindle offers s few advantages:
1) Send a Sample actually gives the first chapter on Kindle whereas on Kobo you see the first pages of comments on other books and the ISBN and copyright page, but no actual sample
2) Amazon has a Wish List to be able to track upcoming releases and wanted books
3) Amazon has a better search allowing to search an author by publication date etc.
4) There are lists of suggested books created by other users based on what you like

Kobo books are also available from Chapters online which makes gift certificates for Canadians to get. Although I don't know if the Indigo rewards card that gives %10 off works with ebooks.
All books offered on Kobo are available in Canada, no exchange needed
Supporting Canadian company is good!

[pokee]

Originally Posted by msxman

Kindle offers s few advantages:
1) Send a Sample actually gives the first chapter on Kindle whereas on Kobo you see the first pages of comments on other books and the ISBN and copyright page, but no actual sample
2) Amazon has a Wish List to be able to track upcoming releases and wanted books
3) Amazon has a better search allowing to search an author by publication date etc.
4) There are lists of suggested books created by other users based on what you like

Kobo books are also available from Chapters online which makes gift certificates for Canadians to get. Although I don't know if the Indigo rewards card that gives %10 off works with ebooks.
All books offered on Kobo are available in Canada, no exchange needed
Supporting Canadian company is good!

Add this to the list of Kindle advantages:

#5 - Amazon offers pre-sales for digital books, while Kobo does not. I've been searching for a book (Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver) and cannot seem to find a Canadian ePub release date because Kobo does not even have it posted on their website yet (according to Harper Collins Canada, I should see it available for sale tomorrow - but I cannot see it today) BUT with Amazon and Kindle, you not only can SEE when the digital book is available for your device, you can PRE ORDER it and have it delivered to your device the second it is released. Now, coming from someone who loves her books and wants them when she wants them, that is a HUGE advantage. KOBO - are you reading this? Get with the program!!! PRE-ORDERS PLEASE!!!

[pokee]

I've found that the Barne's and Noble ebooks are cheap - but are they regular ePubs that will work as sideloaded books (on Kobo WiFi or Touch)? I suspect on the Vox we may have to download a Barne's and Noble app to read their books?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by pokee

I've found that the Barne's and Noble ebooks are cheap - but are they regular ePubs that will work as sideloaded books (on Kobo WiFi or Touch)? I suspect on the Vox we may have to download a Barne's and Noble app to read their books?

Correct. B&N ePub's use a different style of DRM and won't work on any other eInk readers (unless you remove the DRM). Many Android apps you can use on the Vox support this DRM besides the Nook app. My personal preference is Mantano, but Aldiko and BlueFire both work with it too.

[Cdesja5]

Originally Posted by msxman

Kindle offers s few advantages:
1) Send a Sample actually gives the first chapter on Kindle whereas on Kobo you see the first pages of comments on other books and the ISBN and copyright page, but no actual sample
2) Amazon has a Wish List to be able to track upcoming releases and wanted books
3) Amazon has a better search allowing to search an author by publication date etc.
4) There are lists of suggested books created by other users based on what you like

Kobo books are also available from Chapters online which makes gift certificates for Canadians to get. Although I don't know if the Indigo rewards card that gives %10 off works with ebooks.
All books offered on Kobo are available in Canada, no exchange needed
Supporting Canadian company is good!

Welll...I do the reverse of what Amazon was trying to get customers to do...I browse and preview at Amazon and then buy wherever it's cheapest, which is often not Amazon since I never find discount codes for Kindle! I note the release date, title etc in my google calendar and when its' time, check Kobo, BooksOnBoard and Diesel-ebooks for best price and then buy.
And yes, the Indigo rewards card does give 10% off ebooks (but the thread with the Kobo Discount Codes always gets you better discounts).
It would definitely be a BIG plus if Kobo posted books pre-release.

[Jesslynne]

Cdesja5: Does it? Geeze.. I work at Chapters and no one's told me that... I just remember there were rumours that they may allow it to work.