Kobo Discounts: Coupon Codes + Discussion - Page 1036

disconnected · 05-13-2016, 09:15 PM

Kobo's really trying to suck the joy out of shopping. Even the curreent bonus points days are only for "select" books.

darryl · 05-14-2016, 12:49 AM

@BearMountainBooks. Maria. Thanks for the information. I'm curious why your boxed sets do so much better on Kobo and by a large margin. I would have thought Amazon should sell more. Do these Box Sets get more prominence on Kobo? It would certainly be nice to know as it may enable you to improve sales on the other sites.

As agency has never been challenged in Australia (and presumably New Zealand also) I took Mark's comments as a simple statement of fact reflecting BPH practices in Australia and New Zealand. I totally agree with Lynx-lynx. I think Australian's are sick to death of this, not only with books but software and all sorts of other items. The attitudes that Lynx-lynx refers to are actually recommenatons to Government by I think the Productivty Commission and a Senate Enquiry notable for grilling Apple and Adobe amongst others on their practices in this regard. One can only hope that Government adopts these recommendations, but based on past experience I am not hopeful.

I found Mark's comments on "optimising" the prices on conversion quite incredible. OPtimising for who? I would rather save the 29 cents in the example given, a price increase of 3.37% for absolutely nothing and likely on top of an exchange rate already incorporating some commissions or other charges. And, believe it or not, I doubt there are any readers who would be dismayed by a price ending in .70 rather than .99. Nonsense of the first order. I wonder what evidence if any is available to support what to me is meaningless drivel. If Kobo recommends the practice, automated or not, presumably it does have something to support its efficacy. To me the practice discriminates against Non-US customers and does not pass the so-called "smell test".

Mura35 · 05-14-2016, 12:23 PM

Thanks all for the link to the old library and the discussion thread! I did send it to Kobo directly.

I wonder how Kobo distributes "welcome back" coupons? I have two additional accounts, one for my kid and one for my husband and they received none

My husband wanted a Grisham book and is now upset with them.

Purple Lady · 05-14-2016, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mura35

Thanks all for the link to the old library and the discussion thread! I did send it to Kobo directly.

I wonder how Kobo distributes "welcome back" coupons? I have two additional accounts, one for my kid and one for my husband and they received none

My husband wanted a Grisham book and is now upset with them.

You can't use coupons on Grisham books though, right? Big authors are usually published by the big publishers.

BearMountainBooks · 05-14-2016, 01:32 PM

@darryl - Kobo has promos for boxed sets (specifically for boxed sets, as opposed to just overall promos) that I think make them more visible, but even when there are no promos I still sell more boxed sets at Kobo. One of the most likely reasons is because Amazon has their algos skewed pretty heavily towards trad publishers right now (because trad publishers are paying for placement as part of their contracts as I understand it). Amazon is not just in the business of selling--they sell advertising and placement/mentions in newsletters, etc. Their algos also require 50 reviews of a book to participate in some of the placements (things like hebought/shebought but that is also dependent on the release date because the longer a book is out, the less it might get shown anyway unless the sales are large and steady enough). I received an email several months ago letting me know that reviews, the number of reviews and the frequency of reviews (meaning we had to keep getting them, not just get a huge number all at once) would affect a book's ranking. A lower ranking means you get more placement/shows -- so the more a book is reviewed, the better the book will do (assuming good reviews.)

The boxed sets of my two best selling series came out after my most loyal readers had already read the series (this would be true of any boxed set just by the nature of the normal release cycle). That means it's difficult to get reviews because most readers leave reviews on the individual books (only makes sense). So the boxed sets are going to be pretty high in the ranking and simply not seen. The boxed sets that do well tend to be multi-author sets that sell for 1.99 or 99 cents for a while--they get a high number of buys in a short period and because they are multi-author, reviews generally do get left on those sets. Most of them also contain a "headliner" author--someone who already has very good sales.

There are just different strategies and different algos at work.

While I do think that the UK, Aus and New Zealand charge more for books in general, for me, my niche has to be to target those looking for a bit of a deal. I don't have huge name recognition. I don't care about tax issues, monopolies or other problems a government causes. I just want to sell books. If Kobo thinks .99 helps sell I'll end my prices in .99.

Pierre Menard · 05-14-2016, 01:40 PM

OK, I lied. I said it wasn't worth shopping at Kobo anymore at any price since they weren't providing updated copies of purchases (unless you specifically ask, according to one post here). But then they sent me a 90% "come back" coupon, and it was a book I had a less-than-legitimate copy of already, so it was still an upgrade...

So you hear that, Kobo? If you *really* want me, that's what it takes to break down my resistance. 90% off coupons. Lots of 'em. Keep 'em coming.

1234 · 05-14-2016, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pierre Menard

So you hear that, Kobo? If you *really* want me, that's what it takes to break down my resistance. 90% off coupons. Lots of 'em. Keep 'em coming.

Oh, they will. They'll send you the same code every month.

Mura35 · 05-14-2016, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

You can't use coupons on Grisham books though, right? Big authors are usually published by the big publishers.

I am not quite sure, because I did use a coupon on one J.R. Ward's books in the past. I haven't looked into Grisham closely, just saying my husband wanted to use it. Now I am curious if it's applicable for a come back code. If I get another one, I will make sure to check on it.

darryl · 05-14-2016, 10:20 PM

@BearMountainBooks. Maria. Sounds like Amazon should fine tune its algorithms for box sets. They may eventually get around to it. I must say that I don't really like this emphasis on reviews, which seem to be basically a total mess. Just for the record, I don't blame you for following Kobo's advice and setting the price ending in 0.99. No criticism of you is intended. My criticism is of Kobo's position, which seems to be not only cynical but thinly justified.

BearMountainBooks · 05-15-2016, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darryl

@BearMountainBooks. Maria. Sounds like Amazon should fine tune its algorithms for box sets. They may eventually get around to it. I must say that I don't really like this emphasis on reviews, which seem to be basically a total mess. Just for the record, I don't blame you for following Kobo's advice and setting the price ending in 0.99. No criticism of you is intended. My criticism is of Kobo's position, which seems to be not only cynical but thinly justified.

No worries, Darryl. I didn't take it as criticism.

There have been some market studies that show *some* people associate an x.99 with the first number -- ie, if a book is 4.99 they associate the price with four dollars rather than five.

If that works, so be it!

JSWolf · 05-16-2016, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 49Kat

I have to say that the Price Match Guarantee does work quite well. I've used it twice so far, and it has worked without a hitch. I've just tried it with a book to which I had applied a 20% discount code, so it will be interesting to see which price difference Kobo uses--the discounted version or the original.

How exactly do you price match? Thanks.

Lynx-lynx · 05-16-2016, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

How exactly do you price match? Thanks.

Jon I'm not sure if you've seen the Price Match Guarantee info link at the bottom of the kobobooks.com homepage?

Here's a pic of part of the screen after you click that link. There's also a 10% credit given to your account. But, check the terms on how that works.

zelda.owns.link · 05-19-2016, 12:10 PM

Canada Spring into Summer Sale

sufue · 05-27-2016, 08:03 AM

BTW, a while back, when the third Parker Bilal mystery (Ghost Runner) was on sale at Nook US for $1.99, but never price dropped at Kindle US, and since I refuse to deal with BN's horrible no-download-from-my-library hassle, I figured this would be a good chance to try Kobo's price matching for myself.

It was $14.57 with my VIP discount, which is WAY more than I'd ever pay for a book, other than maybe a textbook, but I steeled myself to push the button, figuring I would eventually be able to get the match from Kobo.

I then filled out the price match form, which was surprisingly easy. (And saved screen shots of everything...)

And, lo and behold, a few days later, I got an email from Kobo saying that the price match had been processed and $12.78 was credited to my account. And they even got their math right: $12.78 = ($14.57-$1.99) + 0.10*$1.99

Pretty amazing for Kobo, and for me, at least, it was hassle free after I filled out the form. So, I'm planning to try it again sometime when circumstances arise.

Lynx-lynx · 05-27-2016, 07:21 PM

Kobo Ireland is having an 'up to 90% off' weekend ....
https://store.kobobooks.com/p/bargai...campaign=00004

Here are the category links:
Fiction: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc
(This is a mixed category because it includes: Lindsey Davis, Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden etc)
Romance: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc
Crime and Thrillers: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc
Non-fiction: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc
Kids and Teen: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc
Note:
Don't forget you'll need to be signed into Ireland in order to see these deals.

Edit
Kobo UK has a similar promo, but up to 80% off and bonus points stuff as well.
Super Sale: https://store.kobobooks.com/p/supersale
My observation is that a lot of the books are the same, in their respective categories, as for Ireland.

05-27-2016, 07:21 PM	#15540
Lynx-lynx Treachery of images ... Posts: 4,123 Karma: 93720365 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Australia Device: Sony 650, Kobo Glo, H2O, Aura One, Forma, Libra 2, Libra Colour	Kobo Ireland is having an 'up to 90% off' weekend .... https://store.kobobooks.com/p/bargai...campaign=00004 Here are the category links: Fiction: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc (This is a mixed category because it includes: Lindsey Davis, Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden etc) Romance: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc Crime and Thrillers: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc Non-fiction: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc Kids and Teen: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/li...?sort=PriceAsc Note: Don't forget you'll need to be signed into Ireland in order to see these deals. Edit Kobo UK has a similar promo, but up to 80% off and bonus points stuff as well. Super Sale: https://store.kobobooks.com/p/supersale My observation is that a lot of the books are the same, in their respective categories, as for Ireland. Last edited by Lynx-lynx; 05-27-2016 at 07:30 PM.

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05-13-2016, 09:15 PM	#15526
disconnected Fanatic Posts: 527 Karma: 4504715 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: US Device: Kobo Forma, Libra, H2O2e2, Clara, Auras, Kindles, Nooks, Sony, iPAQ	Kobo's really trying to suck the joy out of shopping. Even the curreent bonus points days are only for "select" books.

05-14-2016, 12:49 AM	#15527
darryl Wizard Posts: 3,108 Karma: 60231510 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Oasis, Huwei Ascend Mate 7	@BearMountainBooks. Maria. Thanks for the information. I'm curious why your boxed sets do so much better on Kobo and by a large margin. I would have thought Amazon should sell more. Do these Box Sets get more prominence on Kobo? It would certainly be nice to know as it may enable you to improve sales on the other sites. As agency has never been challenged in Australia (and presumably New Zealand also) I took Mark's comments as a simple statement of fact reflecting BPH practices in Australia and New Zealand. I totally agree with Lynx-lynx. I think Australian's are sick to death of this, not only with books but software and all sorts of other items. The attitudes that Lynx-lynx refers to are actually recommenatons to Government by I think the Productivty Commission and a Senate Enquiry notable for grilling Apple and Adobe amongst others on their practices in this regard. One can only hope that Government adopts these recommendations, but based on past experience I am not hopeful. I found Mark's comments on "optimising" the prices on conversion quite incredible. OPtimising for who? I would rather save the 29 cents in the example given, a price increase of 3.37% for absolutely nothing and likely on top of an exchange rate already incorporating some commissions or other charges. And, believe it or not, I doubt there are any readers who would be dismayed by a price ending in .70 rather than .99. Nonsense of the first order. I wonder what evidence if any is available to support what to me is meaningless drivel. If Kobo recommends the practice, automated or not, presumably it does have something to support its efficacy. To me the practice discriminates against Non-US customers and does not pass the so-called "smell test".

05-14-2016, 12:23 PM	#15528
Mura35 Mammarella Posts: 246 Karma: 954112 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: MA, USA Device: Sony e-Reader, iPad	Thanks all for the link to the old library and the discussion thread! I did send it to Kobo directly. I wonder how Kobo distributes "welcome back" coupons? I have two additional accounts, one for my kid and one for my husband and they received none My husband wanted a Grisham book and is now upset with them.

05-14-2016, 01:32 PM	#15530
BearMountainBooks Maria Schneider Posts: 3,746 Karma: 26439330 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Near Austin, Texas Device: 3g Kindle Keyboard	@darryl - Kobo has promos for boxed sets (specifically for boxed sets, as opposed to just overall promos) that I think make them more visible, but even when there are no promos I still sell more boxed sets at Kobo. One of the most likely reasons is because Amazon has their algos skewed pretty heavily towards trad publishers right now (because trad publishers are paying for placement as part of their contracts as I understand it). Amazon is not just in the business of selling--they sell advertising and placement/mentions in newsletters, etc. Their algos also require 50 reviews of a book to participate in some of the placements (things like hebought/shebought but that is also dependent on the release date because the longer a book is out, the less it might get shown anyway unless the sales are large and steady enough). I received an email several months ago letting me know that reviews, the number of reviews and the frequency of reviews (meaning we had to keep getting them, not just get a huge number all at once) would affect a book's ranking. A lower ranking means you get more placement/shows -- so the more a book is reviewed, the better the book will do (assuming good reviews.) The boxed sets of my two best selling series came out after my most loyal readers had already read the series (this would be true of any boxed set just by the nature of the normal release cycle). That means it's difficult to get reviews because most readers leave reviews on the individual books (only makes sense). So the boxed sets are going to be pretty high in the ranking and simply not seen. The boxed sets that do well tend to be multi-author sets that sell for 1.99 or 99 cents for a while--they get a high number of buys in a short period and because they are multi-author, reviews generally do get left on those sets. Most of them also contain a "headliner" author--someone who already has very good sales. There are just different strategies and different algos at work. While I do think that the UK, Aus and New Zealand charge more for books in general, for me, my niche has to be to target those looking for a bit of a deal. I don't have huge name recognition. I don't care about tax issues, monopolies or other problems a government causes. I just want to sell books. If Kobo thinks .99 helps sell I'll end my prices in .99.

05-14-2016, 01:40 PM	#15531
Pierre Menard Zealot Posts: 118 Karma: 712690 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Kobo Aura HD, Nook HD+, Nook Simple Touch	OK, I lied. I said it wasn't worth shopping at Kobo anymore at any price since they weren't providing updated copies of purchases (unless you specifically ask, according to one post here). But then they sent me a 90% "come back" coupon, and it was a book I had a less-than-legitimate copy of already, so it was still an upgrade... So you hear that, Kobo? If you really want me, that's what it takes to break down my resistance. 90% off coupons. Lots of 'em. Keep 'em coming.

05-14-2016, 10:20 PM	#15534
darryl Wizard Posts: 3,108 Karma: 60231510 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Oasis, Huwei Ascend Mate 7	@BearMountainBooks. Maria. Sounds like Amazon should fine tune its algorithms for box sets. They may eventually get around to it. I must say that I don't really like this emphasis on reviews, which seem to be basically a total mess. Just for the record, I don't blame you for following Kobo's advice and setting the price ending in 0.99. No criticism of you is intended. My criticism is of Kobo's position, which seems to be not only cynical but thinly justified.

05-19-2016, 12:10 PM	#15538
zelda.owns.link Evangelist Posts: 452 Karma: 1982149 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4	Canada Spring into Summer Sale

05-27-2016, 08:03 AM	#15539
sufue lost in my e-reader... Posts: 8,154 Karma: 66191692 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: sunny southern California, USA Device: Android phone, Sony T1, Nook ST Glowlight, Galaxy Tab 7 Plus	BTW, a while back, when the third Parker Bilal mystery (Ghost Runner) was on sale at Nook US for $1.99, but never price dropped at Kindle US, and since I refuse to deal with BN's horrible no-download-from-my-library hassle, I figured this would be a good chance to try Kobo's price matching for myself. It was $14.57 with my VIP discount, which is WAY more than I'd ever pay for a book, other than maybe a textbook, but I steeled myself to push the button, figuring I would eventually be able to get the match from Kobo. I then filled out the price match form, which was surprisingly easy. (And saved screen shots of everything...) And, lo and behold, a few days later, I got an email from Kobo saying that the price match had been processed and $12.78 was credited to my account. And they even got their math right: $12.78 = ($14.57-$1.99) + 0.10*$1.99 Pretty amazing for Kobo, and for me, at least, it was hassle free after I filled out the form. So, I'm planning to try it again sometime when circumstances arise.