Today Is 1 Sep, Right?

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

I do think it must be a mistake and it's just mix up with them copying the Canadian $ price across. £139.99 is a far more realistic price, which is why I mentioned that £180 is far more expensive than CAN$180, and so much dearer than the previous model - and yes I meant the Aura HD (which I though retailed at £139 on release although its now £129?).

It must be a mistake, if they contact you again Josieb1, point out to them that £180 is equivalent to over $300 in Canada. Even taking into account any taxes that might need to be added to the Canadian price, that's crazy.

Don't worry I did

[soulfuldog]

Attagirl! Hope they listen to you.

[93terp]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Personally, I see a large difference between being able to pre-order from Kobo's website which is happening and the original complaint that there was no list of retailers for a product that is not shipping.

Regards,
David

My original complaint had absolutely nothing to do with the absence of retailers for this product. Perhaps the link I used led to this misperception. My complaint was only to do with Kobo's site not being live for pre-orders when I checked. It is now live with the pre-order link.

[93terp]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Google tells me that 139 British Pound Sterling equals 230.96 US Dollar, is that right??? 179 pounds is almost $300?? Seriously! It should be 107 pounds to equal the US price. Or 99 pounds to equate with the Canadian dollar.

Sounds like a huge error on their web site. Maybe once the holiday skeleton crew is replaced by the regular staff, they can get it corrected.

It certainly makes me wonder who is charge of the asylum at Kobo. This whole pre-order launch is an epic fail IMHO.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by 93terp

My original complaint had absolutely nothing to do with the absence of retailers for this product. Perhaps the link I used led to this misperception. My complaint was only to do with Kobo's site not being live for pre-orders when I checked. It is now live with the pre-order link.

Sadly, I don't include being a mind reader amongst my multitudinous talents. All I can go by is what you wrote.

To wit:

Well, Kobo seems to have fumbled the H2O pre-orders. I do believe today is 1 September, and here in the U.S. it doesn't seem possible to pre-order the Aura H2O, even though the reader specific page clearly states "Available for pre-order September 1st". When i click on the "Retailers" link, I am taken to a "Coming Soon" blue circle.

One question out of curiosity. When you went to that page, did it say Sept. 1st or Sept. 2nd which is what it showed when I went to the page?

I know it's hard for some people to understand that from Kobo's point of view the U.S.A. is not a primary market. They closed their Chicago office a while back and have reduced their spending on advertising in the U.S.A. to virtually zero. Barnes and Noble might be a good indication of why -- take a lot at the Nook division's financial reports and you'd swear that they've forgotten how to manufacture black ink.

Or take a look at some of reviews published by American sources. One recent one listed 5 ereaders. Two from Amazon, Two from Barnes & Noble and a token Kobo Glo for those interested in epubs and international use. Another listed 6 ereaders. Four from Amazon since they listed the Kindle DX for those who wanted a larger screen and two from Barnes & Noble. A mention of a Sony model but not included in the review since it was no longer available.

By comparison, a review on a British site listed 14 ereaders from 9 manufacturers with mention of several other devices that might still be available but are discontinued (Kobo's Mini was mentioned there). Oddly you got the impression that the reviewers had spent some time with each device before writing the review rather than the 5 minute, maximum of 140 character, instant expert reviews that seems to be the North American standard.

Regards,
David

[murg]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I can't believe that people are THAT concerned that they can't order a device.. Sigh... It's not as if this is being sold as a limited edition or anything! Relax, enjoy the day, and order when you can.

I can't believe that anyone could possible expect Kobo to get something right...

[93terp]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One question out of curiosity. When you went to that page, did it say Sept. 1st or Sept. 2nd which is what it showed when I went to the page?

It most definitely said Sept. 1. I've never seen the "pre-order Sep. 2" message that you say you have seen.

[PeterT]

All that they said was Preorders start on the 1st. At no point did they say 9 AM or 12 PM; just simply the 1st.

I'm sorry but there are some of the community who find ANY excuse to call Kobo incompetent, or to put them down.

Do you guys wonder why it is that no-one from Kobo posts here officially? Simply put it's because of the gigantic amount of fault finding many of you do.

[Sharkus]

On the subject of pricing, as posted elsewhere, I've asked the question as to what the actual UK £ price will be. £180 does sound quite high, and I think £139 is possibly more likely, especially given that the Aura HD is listed on WHSmith website as £129.
However, I will report back as / if and when I get something back from someone who knows the actual pricing info.

As for the website not showing the pre-order page. No idea about that, and I would not want to speculate. What I can say is that if I go to the devices page, I can click on the Aura H2O and I see the new pre-order page, which I didn't previously (just saw the coming soon sticker).

[93terp]

Originally Posted by PeterT

All that they said was Preorders start on the 1st. At no point did they say 9 AM or 12 PM; just simply the 1st.

I'm sorry but there are some of the community who find ANY excuse to call Kobo incompetent, or to put them down.

Do you guys wonder why it is that no-one from Kobo posts here officially? Simply put it's because of the gigantic amount of fault finding many of you do.

Most other competent competitors of Kobo - Amazon & Apple are 2 that come to mind - seem to get their pre-orders right from the git-go. If there are glitches it's due to the overwhelming demand experienced. And by the way, more often than not, when the pre-order or product goes live, you can buy it beginning at 12:01AM on the advertised release day. Again, competent management finds a way to make it work. It's not like the online ordering is a new invention.

Kobo's ineptitude and horrific customer service over the years are why people call them incompetent. They have consistently proven this time and again. It's not like there aren't reams & reams of complaints/posts to back up the incompetence claim. I find it impossible to believe that Kobo doesn't post here simply because of the fault finding on these boards. Are you saying that their corporate skin is so thin that they can't find the courage to come to these boards & defend themselves? Last time I looked, no one from Apple or Amazon posted on these boards either - is that because they too are afraid of the "fault finders"? Maybe it's just that they have better things to do with their time, like develop quality products that meet a market demand. And for the record, lest you think I'm just here to bash Kobo - they make the best eInk device on the market, bar none. I gladly gave up my Kindle Keyboard when the Aura HD came out, and never looked back. Today, I'm still happy with that decision. But it's unfortunate that Kobo makes the buying experience one of the most frustrating I've ever come across, period.

Perhaps the people pointing out faults are doing so in the hopes that the product creators might take the comments seriously enough to use them in developing a better product.

[Smartie]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Given that it's only 9:37am, maybe the people who need to enable the pre-order are not yet at work.

people who enable it is on vacation on labour day

[dordale]

In the U.S.--I'm now seeing a "Pre-order now" link for the H2O, so it seems they've got it figured out at least in the U.S.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by 93terp

It most definitely said Sept. 1. I've never seen the "pre-order Sep. 2" message that you say you have seen.

Take a look at message #16 in this thread. As I mention in the edit information, about 1 minute after I posted the message, I got a PM stating fairly unequivocally that I was lying about having seen that since they could not click on the pre-order button. So I went back to the pre-order page and grabbed a screenshot where it still said Sept. 2nd plus the screenshot of the checkout page showing that I had been able to add an Aura H2O to my cart -- this was all around 7:30AM PDT.

Take a look at the image on the right. Now compare it to the current page where it has flipped back to Sept 1st. Link is http://www.kobo.com/koboaurah2o#overview. If I dig into my browser history, I can bring both versions up. Interestingly the source has been modified around the line reading: <!-- B-START ::: Kobo Aura H2O: Hero (CA, US, UK) ::: koboaurah2o-hero -->

Looks as if someone at Kobo is not taking Labour Day off.

Regards,
David

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sharkus

On the subject of pricing, as posted elsewhere, I've asked the question as to what the actual UK £ price will be. £180 does sound quite high, and I think £139 is possibly more likely, especially given that the Aura HD is listed on WHSmith website as £129.
However, I will report back as / if and when I get something back from someone who knows the actual pricing info.

As for the website not showing the pre-order page. No idea about that, and I would not want to speculate. What I can say is that if I go to the devices page, I can click on the Aura H2O and I see the new pre-order page, which I didn't previously (just saw the coming soon sticker).

From where I sit, the pre-order button worked at 7:30AM PDT. On the other hand, the page said pre-orders start Sept. 2nd. I suspect someone has been busily fixing up issues since go live hit.

OTOH -- up to three hands now --, I preordered the Aura H2O from Chapters/Indigo last week and 4 of the 5 retailers I checked showed a live pre-order link on their webpages that led me to a page that let me order with a warning that shipments would start around Oct. 1st.

I'm just wondering about the back from looking at the images on the website, it looks much like the Aura HD's back but with the center being smoother without the sharp line in the center but an odd upper looking right corner (looking at the back view). Not sure if the freckled appearance means it has more of a grip than the Aura HD.

Regards,
David

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Take a look at message #16 in this thread. As I mention in the edit information, about 1 minute after I posted the message, I got a PM stating fairly unequivocally that I was lying about having seen that since they could not click on the pre-order button. So I went back to the pre-order page and grabbed a screenshot where it still said Sept. 2nd plus the screenshot of the checkout page showing that I had been able to add an Aura H2O to my cart -- this was all around 7:30AM PDT.

Take a look at the image on the right. Now compare it to the current page where it has flipped back to Sept 1st. Link is http://www.kobo.com/koboaurah2o#overview. If I dig into my browser history, I can bring both versions up. Interestingly the source has been modified around the line reading: <!-- B-START ::: Kobo Aura H2O: Hero (CA, US, UK) ::: koboaurah2o-hero -->

Looks as if someone at Kobo is not taking Labour Day off.

Regards,
David

The fact that you saw it does not mean someone else had to see the same thing. It merely means that you are as mistaken as the person who told you that what you saw is impossible.

If people are saying they were unable to order it, I believe them. Just as I believe you even without your documentation, that you were able to.