Why Kobo didn't focus only on the U.S., home turf of Amazon

[meeera]

Originally Posted by John F

This article about market share has been posted before and shows how Kobo is doing in some of the bigger markets:

http://authorearnings.com/report/february-2017/

How well do ebook sales translate to device sales?

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by meeera

How well do ebook sales translate to device sales?

they don't

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

they don't

Nor do device sales translate to ebook sales.
Just ask Nook, right?
Big reader installed base, itty-bitty ebook sales.

[filmo]

Borders Book Stores sold Kobo and other ereaders about 1 year before they started closing excess stores on their way to going out of business. This was about 2011 when Kobo Wifi was released. By late 2013 Kobo readers were gone from US stores including Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others that had sold them. Their is now no US affiliate selling Kobo readers.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by filmo

Borders Book Stores sold Kobo and other ereaders about 1 year before they started closing excess stores on their way to going out of business. This was about 2011 when Kobo Wifi was released. By late 2013 Kobo readers were gone from US stores including Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others that had sold them. Their is now no US affiliate selling Kobo readers.

Family Christian still sold them after Best Buy dropped them (until they went bankrupt in 2014 or 15) so now it's just up to a few indie book stores that still participate. The only one I know of still offering them is http://www.politics-prose.com but there may be others. It would be really nice if Kobo could/would come up with a larger US B&M presence, but I'm not sure how advantageous it would work out to be for them.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Family Christian still sold them after Best Buy dropped them (until they went bankrupt in 2014 or 15) so now it's just up to a few indie book stores that still participate. The only one I know of still offering them is http://www.politics-prose.com but there may be others. It would be really nice if Kobo could/would come up with a larger US B&M presence, but I'm not sure how advantageous it would work out to be for them.

At this point in the game?
Not very.
To want a Kobo reader you need to know Kobo exists and is a good alternative to Kindle. Mindshare.

The funny thing is all the anti-Amazon screeds in the publishing world have given the Kindle brand so much visibility many people don't even know alternatives exist. Very Nietzche-an, actually.

To a total newbie, the choice pictured by the media is either print or Kindle. Alternatives--even ibooks--are rarely mentioned.

[filmo]

I bought my Kobo Mini at local Family Christian store about 1 year before they closed. Politics and Prose removed everything related to Kobo Readers from their web site more than a year ago.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by filmo

Politics and Prose removed everything related to Kobo Readers from their web site more than a year ago.

If they did then it's back. I checked before I posted.
http://www.politics-prose.com/kobo

[tdonline]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

If they did then it's back. I checked before I posted.
http://www.politics-prose.com/kobo

That tidbit of info made my day! I have been obsessing about the KA1 over the last day but not comfortable with buying it without a test drive. I'm a short bike ride from P&P. Called them and they not only carry Kobos online, but in their store. Will be down there this week for a test read--maybe an expensive week...

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I disagree. Kindle books can already be read on all of the major device platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac. That includes e-ink Android devices. I believe that Amazon currently puts more effort into supporting those platforms than into their own e-ink Kindles.

I started out with a Sony PRS300. It was built like a tank and still looks as new as it did when I bought it. But Sony's ebook buying experience was a miserable thing. When the Sony house of cards finally collapsed, I started reading ebooks on my Android smartphone and my Android tablet via the Kindle apps.

The truth is, Amazon goes out of its way to make my reading experience as easy and as pleasant as possible. I don't have to jump through that Adobe bottleneck to buy DRM locked books. MAN! I hated that!

If I see a book that interests me, I can buy it and auto download it with a single button click. And about 40% of the time it is a Kindle Unlimited title, so I don't have to pay anything other than my monthly KU fee, which is roughly the cost of a single Paperback book in the USA.

It's easier, and frequently cheaper, to buy a book from Amazon, than it is to go to a library (I'm rural, and live 20 miles from a SMALL library) or drive 10 miles to the local Barnes & Noble. I'm thinking about buying a Paperwhite device for the improved battery life.

The truth is, if Kobo, and the other potential Amazon competitors want to REALLY compete with Amazon, they need to invest heavily on the overall user experience, and the last time I looked, they weren't anywhere close.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

The truth is, Amazon goes out of its way to make my reading experience as easy and as pleasant as possible. I don't have to jump through that Adobe bottleneck to buy DRM locked books. MAN! I hated that!

If I see a book that interests me, I can buy it and auto download it with a single button click. And about 40% of the time it is a Kindle Unlimited title, so I don't have to pay anything other than my monthly KU fee, which is roughly the cost of a single Paperback book in the USA.

It's easier, and frequently cheaper, to buy a book from Amazon, than it is to go to a library (I'm rural, and live 20 miles from a SMALL library) or drive 10 miles to the local Barnes & Noble. I'm thinking about buying a Paperwhite device for the improved battery life.

The truth is, if Kobo, and the other potential Amazon competitors want to REALLY compete with Amazon, they need to invest heavily on the overall user experience, and the last time I looked, they weren't anywhere close.

You're right, the one-click buying from Amazon is so much better than the two clicks I have to use in the Kobo store. And the way I need to tap the sync button on the device to get the books or having to wait for the automatic sync to happen to download the books. Just so painful.

I take it you have never bought a book from the Kobo store. Or used a Kobo device. I don't consider one extra click to be a bad experience.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I take it you have never bought a book from the Kobo store. Or used a Kobo device. I don't consider one extra click to be a bad experience.

All snarkiness aside, I have bought from Kobo for use with my Sony devices, and have never used a Kobo device because i was unimpressed with their service overall. And I also buy books from Google Play, for use in the Moon Reader Pro software. It's kind of a pain to buy non Amazon sold books.

I'm talking about the entire experience not just the number of button 'clicks', and you know it. There was ADE, there was the need to download to a pc for storage and transfer to my Sony devices.

I can buy my books on Amazon from my smartphone, and know that my wifi only tablet will download it when it I connect it to the internet. It was a PITA for non KOBO users, I can't say the same for non Kindle users. Their experience is exactly the same as Kindle users.

But I'm not just talking about the physical infrastructure. There is The Prime Reading Program, the Kindle First program, Kindle Unlimited, the ability to share with another household member.

Amazon goes out of its way to make me feel they want my business. My experience with other vendors is spotty, at best. That is why I"m considering a Paperwhite device and not a different brand.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Amazon goes out of its way to make me feel they want my business.

It's not just readers they actively try to engage.

A good portion of Amazon's success stems from their willingness to work with Indie publishers, in contrast with most of their competitors. Apple, for example, only accepted indie titles through aggregators, like Smashwords. They've moved past that but they still only accept uploads coming from Macs. Authors working on PCs still need to go through aggregators or go through an online virtual mac service. B&N was worse: a few years back they were caught systematically downlisting Indie romance titles by a hundred slots to keep them off the first page of the genre rankings. They stopped once they were called on it but the memory lingers.

Kobo was never that bad and they have recently upped their efforts to draw in Indie titles but for years their Indie support noticeably lagged Amazon. And playing catchup isn't going to be easy. They are trying and their overdrve support should be of some help but they are starting pretty far back.

The consequence of that is reflected in the number of Indie publishers willing to be Amazon exclusive, even before Kindle unlimited started up. With KU now delivering more income to its authors than the other ebookstores, it is going to get increasingly harder to peel off those titles from the Kindle catalog. The market advantage Kindle gains from that extra million titles is significant and growing more so every month.

The mistakes of the past linger.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

All snarkiness aside, I have bought from Kobo for use with my Sony devices, and have never used a Kobo device because i was unimpressed with their service overall. And I also buy books from Google Play, for use in the Moon Reader Pro software. It's kind of a pain to buy non Amazon sold books.

Yes, I was being snarky. It was in response the attitude I perceived in your post.

I'm talking about the entire experience not just the number of button 'clicks', and you know it. There was ADE, there was the need to download to a pc for storage and transfer to my Sony devices.

I can buy my books on Amazon from my smartphone, and know that my wifi only tablet will download it when it I connect it to the internet. It was a PITA for non KOBO users, I can't say the same for non Kindle users. Their experience is exactly the same as Kindle users.

Sorry, what you described about buying from Amazon and reading on a Kindle is EXACTLY the same as buying from Kobo and reading on a Kobo device. Except for that one click. And Kobo have their own app I can shop from on my phone. If I buy a book from Kobo, it will appear in the near future on all the devices or apps that my account is logged into. That sounds pretty much like what you say will happen with Amazon and Kindle. My point is that if you stay within either environment, it's pretty much the same.

If you don't stay within their environment, it's still pretty much the same. When I buy from Amazon for use on my Kobo, I need to download the book to my PC using Kindle for PC, find the file, remove DRM and convert as needed. If someone buys from Kobo, Google or elsewhere for use on a Kindle, the process is exactly the same except you replace Kindle for PC with ADE. Though Kobo allows me to download DRM free books directly without ADE, so maybe that is easier.

But I'm not just talking about the physical infrastructure. There is The Prime Reading Program, the Kindle First program, Kindle Unlimited, the ability to share with another household member.

No, you weren't just talking about the physical infrastructure. But, your comments on these were wrong and that is what I was commenting on.

The other programs are interesting, but I haven't felt any loss in not having them. Kobo do have "Kobo Plus" which I think is the equivalent of "Kindle Unlimited". It is a fairly recent thing and only available in a few countries. I assume they will expand this when they are ready.

And personally, Amazon doesn't help anymore the Kobo or the others in the one important thing about this: Actually finding a book I want to buy and read.

Amazon goes out of its way to make me feel they want my business. My experience with other vendors is spotty, at best. That is why I"m considering a Paperwhite device and not a different brand.

Well, my experience with Kobo is excellent. About the only hassle I have with my Kobo devices is correcting people who assume they are a Kindles.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Yes, I was being snarky. It was in response the attitude I perceived in your post.

Sorry, what you described about buying from Amazon and reading on a Kindle is EXACTLY the same as buying from Kobo and reading on a Kobo device. Except for that one click. And Kobo have their own app I can shop from on my phone. If I buy a book from Kobo, it will appear in the near future on all the devices or apps that my account is logged into. That sounds pretty much like what you say will happen with Amazon and Kindle. My point is that if you stay within either environment, it's pretty much the same.

If you don't stay within their environment, it's still pretty much the same. When I buy from Amazon for use on my Kobo, I need to download the book to my PC using Kindle for PC, find the file, remove DRM and convert as needed. If someone buys from Kobo, Google or elsewhere for use on a Kindle, the process is exactly the same except you replace Kindle for PC with ADE. Though Kobo allows me to download DRM free books directly without ADE, so maybe that is easier.

No, you weren't just talking about the physical infrastructure. But, your comments on these were wrong and that is what I was commenting on.

The other programs are interesting, but I haven't felt any loss in not having them. Kobo do have "Kobo Plus" which I think is the equivalent of "Kindle Unlimited". It is a fairly recent thing and only available in a few countries. I assume they will expand this when they are ready.

And personally, Amazon doesn't help anymore the Kobo or the others in the one important thing about this: Actually finding a book I want to buy and read.


Well, my experience with Kobo is excellent. About the only hassle I have with my Kindle devices is correcting people who assume they are a Kindles.

Your last line doesn't make sense.