kobobooks.com doesn't give format anymore? - Page 3

jgoguen · 08-07-2013, 07:38 PM

Well I tried and didn't see it, but I used Firebug to inspect the page source and revealed the Live Chat option. Silly people thought a simple "display: none" would stop people from getting to it

Anyway, I clicked on it and got an agent almost immediately. <conspiracy>Maybe they just hide it from people they expect to ask them uncomfortable questions!</conspiracy>

Funny enough, when I asked them about where the format and DRM status went, the representative I was chatting with suddenly became very vague and took quite a while to answer. And gave me completely different answers from what I got from emailing help@kobobooks.com just a few minutes earlier

Purple Lady · 08-07-2013, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Since it seems like no comments are appearing on the blog, I sent an email to feedback@kobo.com with the following comments:

Quote:

Here is my feedback for the new Kobo website.

New site likes - can search for books that I can use coupons with and the site loads much faster. That's about it.

New site dislikes
• Lack of information in the book results - used to see format, genre, author, series info, publisher and publish date in the book results list. Now there is just a big thumbnail, title and price - to get any more information I have to go to the book details. Is it possible to make the results presentation a choice - either thumbnails only or more details?
• The author was presented in the book results as a link to click on and get all books by that author - now to get that I have to go to the book details.
• The series info was presented in the book results as a link to click on and get all books in the series - now I don't see series info anywhere.
• There is no information on format anywhere now - if I buy a book and the format is one I cannot use, am I just out of luck or will I get a refund?
• Book thumbnails are too big and are different sizes giving the results list a very uneven and difficult to follow look.
• The scrolling books at the top are very distracting - please make them stop!

Here is the response I got:

Quote:

Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. We are sorry to hear that you dislike our new website page. However, please be informed that we are still workingon making the website page better for our customer and will take your suggestions to our development team. Please be informed that you would not be able to see the file format of the books. However, you would be able to see the devices that they can be applied to.

I sent this response back:

Quote:

Your web site does not always show correctly what devices that the book can be used on. The book "Bushman Lives!" shows on your site that it can be read on desktop and ereaders but it cannot - would I get a refund for it? In at least one case the customer did not get a refund and had to file a dispute with her credit card company. The link for the book is http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/bushman-lives. I can understand that my other comments were simply personal likes and dislikes that made the site not user friendly for me, but everyone needs to know what format a book is in order to buy it.

Here is the thread that had a problem getting a refund for the book

I cannot believe that they don't think the format is needed! But it does seem that some in Kobo CS are giving different answers.

Mivo · 08-08-2013, 07:13 AM

It still shows formats for me, but the moment it stops doing that, I'll need a different e-books vendor that sells epubs and accepts PayPal. I don't want to accidentally pay for a PDF that I then can't properly use on my e-ink readers. And their store does show PDFs as usable on the Glo/etc, though their definition of "usable" clearly clashes with mine.

It's no wonder that Amazon dominates the market the way it does.

BillSmithBooks · 08-08-2013, 10:16 PM

Two days ago, I also submitted a comment complaining about Kobo no longer showing format. My comment is also not showing.

So, now we know that Kobo is hiding negative comments.

I will not buy from them any more...I cannot buy from them anymore because the only way I can read is to buy and download the Epub file, DRM-free only.

Kobo for Web does not work at all in my browser and there is no Linux app.

GeoffR · 08-09-2013, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CommonReader

Admittedly not quite on topic but the Kobo site just gave me some surprise. I accessed the German site to see if there were any changes and I couldn't see any. However, as I am currently in France and access the site via a French ISP Kobo has apparently decided that I am French and shows me French content only. The user interface is a wild mix of French and German. Who approves such a nonsensical website design? Why would they assume that someone who calls up their .de site is interested in French books just because his access is via a French ISP?

If you haven't logged in then they don't know who you are, so surely It is a reasonable default that someone with a French IP address gets the Kobo France site.

Once you log in the site you see should be based on the address you gave in your account information, regardless of your IP address.

(I still see the old format site from New Zealand, but if I change the address in my account information to a UK address then I see the new format site.)

GeoffR · 08-09-2013, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I think they aren't/weren't thinking about folks who buy books from them for use on non-Kobo devices and figure download formats aren't important to most people who do use Kobo devices (in other words users who don't hang out at places like MR).

Even stranger, the format information is still shown if you use your Kobo device to browse the shop, so they are withholding the format information from those who don't have a Kobo device, the very ones who probably need it the most.

GeoffR · 08-09-2013, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillSmithBooks

Two days ago, I also submitted a comment complaining about Kobo no longer showing format. My comment is also not showing.

So, now we know that Kobo is hiding negative comments.

From what I can see they are not hiding negative comments, it is just their normal practice not to show comments on their blog articles. (None of the other blog articles I looked at show any comments).

AnemicOak · 08-09-2013, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffR

From what I can see they are not hiding negative comments, it is just their normal practice not to show comments on their blog articles. (None of the other blog articles I looked at show any comments).

Which is odd since they mention leaving a comment in that specific blog post.

Mivo · 08-09-2013, 02:03 AM

Something positive: I had accidentally bought an e-book in PDF format from the Kobo store (I didn't pay attention, the pages still show the format for me) and contacted them to see if I could return it. They gave me a refund within a day, without trouble or questions. So at least if you do end up with a nasty PDF, they'll at least sometimes let you return it.

(I didn't expect it, since it had been my fault, but it was a nice surprise.)

jersysman · 08-09-2013, 12:57 PM

What is their logic for taking the format information away? If I missed it further up the thread I am sorry. I see that they have on there what devices the file can be read on. But, you can load epub and PDF on most of those devices and, I for one, would rather not purchase a PDF file if I am given the choice.

Purple Lady · 08-10-2013, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jersysman

What is their logic for taking the format information away? If I missed it further up the thread I am sorry. I see that they have on there what devices the file can be read on. But, you can load epub and PDF on most of those devices and, I for one, would rather not purchase a PDF file if I am given the choice.

I don't think there was any logic, they allowed IT to put up a new webpage without any testing or feedback. Or any knowledge of how ebooks are used.

taming · 08-10-2013, 02:48 AM

I'm going to go out on a limb and do some guessing here. I think the website is half baked at the moment.

I looked at how Google Play is telling folks what format their books are and noticed that rather than saying PDF or ePUB, they are now listed as reflowable or scanned. My sense is that what the Play store is doing is a look at the future--a future that includes reflowable PDF and fixed format ePUBs.

I think that the days when a label ePUB or PDF is enough to tell us how a book will work on a device is coming to an end. Kobo should tell us something though, not just leave us in the dark.

mikaelalind · 08-10-2013, 04:48 AM

This might be a silly question, but have they removed the ability to filter the search result by format? If not, epub is one of the format options...

John F · 08-10-2013, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikaelalind

This might be a silly question, but have they removed the ability to filter the search result by format? If not, epub is one of the format options...

When I try the filter, I see 2 choices: "all" and "ebook". What is the format of "ebook"?

Purple Lady · 08-11-2013, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mivo

It still shows formats for me, but the moment it stops doing that, I'll need a different e-books vendor that sells epubs and accepts PayPal. I don't want to accidentally pay for a PDF that I then can't properly use on my e-ink readers. And their store does show PDFs as usable on the Glo/etc, though their definition of "usable" clearly clashes with mine.

It's no wonder that Amazon dominates the market the way it does.

The PDFs I have seen so far all show only as Desktop under "read this on". What PDF did you find that showed otherwise?

The one kepub I found shows all options under "read this on".

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08-07-2013, 07:38 PM	#31
jgoguen Generally Awesome Person Posts: 1,100 Karma: 2191133 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: /dev/kmem Device: Kobo Clara HD, Kindle Oasis	Well I tried and didn't see it, but I used Firebug to inspect the page source and revealed the Live Chat option. Silly people thought a simple "display: none" would stop people from getting to it Anyway, I clicked on it and got an agent almost immediately. <conspiracy>Maybe they just hide it from people they expect to ask them uncomfortable questions!</conspiracy> Funny enough, when I asked them about where the format and DRM status went, the representative I was chatting with suddenly became very vague and took quite a while to answer. And gave me completely different answers from what I got from emailing help@kobobooks.com just a few minutes earlier

08-08-2013, 07:13 AM	#33
Mivo Fanatic Posts: 556 Karma: 3531054 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Germany Device: In use: Pocketbook InkPad 3, Kobo Glo, iPad Air 2	It still shows formats for me, but the moment it stops doing that, I'll need a different e-books vendor that sells epubs and accepts PayPal. I don't want to accidentally pay for a PDF that I then can't properly use on my e-ink readers. And their store does show PDFs as usable on the Glo/etc, though their definition of "usable" clearly clashes with mine. It's no wonder that Amazon dominates the market the way it does.

08-08-2013, 10:16 PM	#34
BillSmithBooks Padawan Learner Posts: 243 Karma: 1085815 Join Date: May 2009 Location: www.OutlawGalaxy.com, Foothills of NY's Adirondack mountains Device: My PC...using Puppy Linux (FBReader, Calibre, Kindle Cloud Reader,	Two days ago, I also submitted a comment complaining about Kobo no longer showing format. My comment is also not showing. So, now we know that Kobo is hiding negative comments. I will not buy from them any more...I cannot buy from them anymore because the only way I can read is to buy and download the Epub file, DRM-free only. Kobo for Web does not work at all in my browser and there is no Linux app.

08-09-2013, 02:03 AM	#39
Mivo Fanatic Posts: 556 Karma: 3531054 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Germany Device: In use: Pocketbook InkPad 3, Kobo Glo, iPad Air 2	Something positive: I had accidentally bought an e-book in PDF format from the Kobo store (I didn't pay attention, the pages still show the format for me) and contacted them to see if I could return it. They gave me a refund within a day, without trouble or questions. So at least if you do end up with a nasty PDF, they'll at least sometimes let you return it. (I didn't expect it, since it had been my fault, but it was a nice surprise.)

08-09-2013, 12:57 PM	#40
jersysman Wizard Posts: 1,747 Karma: 3761220 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Device: T1 Red, Kindle Fire, Kindle PW, PW2, Nook HD+, Kobo Mini, Aura HD	What is their logic for taking the format information away? If I missed it further up the thread I am sorry. I see that they have on there what devices the file can be read on. But, you can load epub and PDF on most of those devices and, I for one, would rather not purchase a PDF file if I am given the choice.

08-10-2013, 02:48 AM	#42
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	I'm going to go out on a limb and do some guessing here. I think the website is half baked at the moment. I looked at how Google Play is telling folks what format their books are and noticed that rather than saying PDF or ePUB, they are now listed as reflowable or scanned. My sense is that what the Play store is doing is a look at the future--a future that includes reflowable PDF and fixed format ePUBs. I think that the days when a label ePUB or PDF is enough to tell us how a book will work on a device is coming to an end. Kobo should tell us something though, not just leave us in the dark.

08-10-2013, 04:48 AM	#43
mikaelalind Fanatic Posts: 590 Karma: 788068 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sweden Device: Sony PRS 505, Cybook Odessey	This might be a silly question, but have they removed the ability to filter the search result by format? If not, epub is one of the format options...