troublesome Kobo website

franklekens · 06-29-2021, 09:28 AM

Not an ereader question so much as a Kobo website question.
Since quite a while now, I'm having trouble on the Kobo website on my desktop (Windows 10 , Chrome).
Some of the functionality is gone. Suppose for instance I go to this page:
https://www.kobo.com/nl/en/ebook/dag...rgesteld-man-1

If I click on the arrow to expand the book description, nothing happens.
If i click on add to cart, the book is added to the cart. But if I click on the cart, I'm not taken to the cart, whatever I do.
I can get around it some other way and buy the book eventually, but it's bothersome.

Now the strange thing is: if I start chrome in a private window, I have all of this functionality back. However, that's bothersome too.
Now this might suggest some extension is at fault. But I've just tried that: disabled them one by one in a non-private window. No dice: it still doesn't work.
What might cause this, does anybody know?

gbm · 06-29-2021, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklekens

Not an ereader question so much as a Kobo website question.
Since quite a while now, I'm having trouble on the Kobo website on my desktop (Windows 10 , Chrome).
Some of the functionality is gone. Suppose for instance I go to this page:
https://www.kobo.com/nl/en/ebook/dag...rgesteld-man-1

If I click on the arrow to expand the book description, nothing happens.
If i click on add to cart, the book is added to the cart. But if I click on the cart, I'm not taken to the cart, whatever I do.
I can get around it some other way and buy the book eventually, but it's bothersome.

Now the strange thing is: if I start chrome in a private window, I have all of this functionality back. However, that's bothersome too.
Now this might suggest some extension is at fault. But I've just tried that: disabled them one by one in a non-private window. No dice: it still doesn't work.
What might cause this, does anybody know?

Clear all cookies for Kobo.com

https://support.google.com/chrome/an...es-from-a-site

You want to do "Delete cookies from a site".

bernie

franklekens · 06-29-2021, 12:30 PM

Yes! Thanks.

I have an uneasy deja vu feeling about this. But no matter.

franklekens · 06-30-2021, 02:03 AM

However, there's serious issues with the Kobo site, it seems to me. I had done this and had access to the full site again.
I left it. Later in the day, I googled a book on my desktop. Google took me to the Kobo shop, but for some reason to the English version. Fine. I logged in, no problem.
This morning, I tried getting a book onto my device via the Kobo Plus subscription I have. It's a Dutch book, it's a Dutch subscription. The device said: sorry, this is not available in your region.
I went to my desktop. I tried to access the Kobo shop. It took me to the English version. The book wasn't available there. I went to the URL for the Dutch version. It gave me a time-out, inaccessible.
Server trouble? No. I repeated the process of deleting the cookies. Now I could access the Dutch version of the page again.
That's just not right. Cookies or not, it shouldn't result in a *time out* when trying to reach a specific language page.
I suggest they invest a little in their software & website development team, or something.

rashkae · 06-30-2021, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklekens

This morning, I tried getting a book onto my device via the Kobo Plus subscription I have. It's a Dutch book, it's a Dutch subscription. The device said: sorry, this is not available in your region.

If your language/region gets changed somehow (by following a link, for example,, that should probably not happen.) , Use the "Flag" picture/link at the top of the page to change back to your country

Cootey · 07-09-2021, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklekens

However, there's serious issues with the Kobo site, it seems to me. I had done this and had access to the full site again.
I left it. Later in the day, I googled a book on my desktop. Google took me to the Kobo shop, but for some reason to the English version. Fine. I logged in, no problem.
This morning, I tried getting a book onto my device via the Kobo Plus subscription I have. It's a Dutch book, it's a Dutch subscription. The device said: sorry, this is not available in your region.
I went to my desktop. I tried to access the Kobo shop. It took me to the English version. The book wasn't available there. I went to the URL for the Dutch version. It gave me a time-out, inaccessible.
Server trouble? No. I repeated the process of deleting the cookies. Now I could access the Dutch version of the page again.
That's just not right. Cookies or not, it shouldn't result in a *time out* when trying to reach a specific language page.
I suggest they invest a little in their software & website development team, or something.

It sounds like you've changed your street address in your account to be outside your original region. Change it back to your hometown, especially in billing details, and you should gain access to those books again.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

franklekens · 07-10-2021, 10:03 AM

I did nothing of the sort. I googled a book, i.e. not using the search engine on the site. Google turned up a result of the English language site, and took me there. Nothing to do with me or my settings.

davidfor · 07-10-2021, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklekens

I did nothing of the sort. I googled a book, i.e. not using the search engine on the site. Google turned up a result of the English language site, and took me there. Nothing to do with me or my settings.

The search result are expected. Google has found it somewhere, and it has the link to the edition in the country and language specific Kobo site. But, whether you can buy the book depends on your country when you login.

I have hit the problem with returning later and getting the wrong country. I assume there is a cookie for the last language/country that I used. That is probably used when I return without a specific search. Something like this is happening, but, I don't know the rules exactly. The main reason I change the language or country is trying to work out issues like this, and I usually change back when finished.

Cootey · 07-11-2021, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklekens

I did nothing of the sort. I googled a book, i.e. not using the search engine on the site. Google turned up a result of the English language site, and took me there. Nothing to do with me or my settings.

We're all just trying to help you here. What you were describing sounded similar to problems others have run into for the reason I stated. With more information, we can help you better.

When I follow the link you posted, I get a warning from Kobo that I can't shop in that store because it's not my country. That seems to be functioning as designed. By using Google to search for books, perhaps they're introducing or removing something from the url that is fouling up the cookies which Kobo uses to manage which site they show you. I can't say for certain because I can't study the link you followed.

However, if you feel that you're running into problems that you shouldn't, there are two things that you can do. One is to visit Kobo's website and click on the "feedback" link on the right side of their website (desktop version). Give them details. One of the purposes of that feedback link is to report website issues. The other thing is to contact Kobo via chat or through their customer support line to detail the issue you are bumping into. They'll open a case and escalate it to the web development team.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

franklekens · 07-14-2021, 02:54 PM

My apologies & thanks. I think I just wanted to let off steam. Maybe I'd try describing the problem to them if it was consistent. The other day there was a weird thing again, with search results varying depending on whether I chose Dutch or English at the top of the page -- but *not* in the way you'd expect or with any system. I was looking for English translations of Zola novels. With one title, I could only get it to display in the Kobo shop if I went from Dutch to English at the top; with another it was the other way round. It was as though the search results weren't dependent on the language so much, as the site only wanted to show me the book I was looking for if I *switched* the language, no matter whether I switch *to* or *from* English.
But... today that doesn't seem to happen.
It's probably like the problem of not being able to access your cart: some sort of cookie problem. I guess I'll just try to live with it until I see something really consistently reproducible.

Thanks for thinking along.

06-29-2021, 09:28 AM	#1
franklekens Addict Posts: 398 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: various Kobo's, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	troublesome Kobo website Not an ereader question so much as a Kobo website question. Since quite a while now, I'm having trouble on the Kobo website on my desktop (Windows 10 , Chrome). Some of the functionality is gone. Suppose for instance I go to this page: https://www.kobo.com/nl/en/ebook/dag...rgesteld-man-1 If I click on the arrow to expand the book description, nothing happens. If i click on add to cart, the book is added to the cart. But if I click on the cart, I'm not taken to the cart, whatever I do. I can get around it some other way and buy the book eventually, but it's bothersome. Now the strange thing is: if I start chrome in a private window, I have all of this functionality back. However, that's bothersome too. Now this might suggest some extension is at fault. But I've just tried that: disabled them one by one in a non-private window. No dice: it still doesn't work. What might cause this, does anybody know?

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06-29-2021, 12:30 PM	#3
franklekens Addict Posts: 398 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: various Kobo's, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	Yes! Thanks. I have an uneasy deja vu feeling about this. But no matter.

06-30-2021, 02:03 AM	#4
franklekens Addict Posts: 398 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: various Kobo's, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	However, there's serious issues with the Kobo site, it seems to me. I had done this and had access to the full site again. I left it. Later in the day, I googled a book on my desktop. Google took me to the Kobo shop, but for some reason to the English version. Fine. I logged in, no problem. This morning, I tried getting a book onto my device via the Kobo Plus subscription I have. It's a Dutch book, it's a Dutch subscription. The device said: sorry, this is not available in your region. I went to my desktop. I tried to access the Kobo shop. It took me to the English version. The book wasn't available there. I went to the URL for the Dutch version. It gave me a time-out, inaccessible. Server trouble? No. I repeated the process of deleting the cookies. Now I could access the Dutch version of the page again. That's just not right. Cookies or not, it shouldn't result in a time out when trying to reach a specific language page. I suggest they invest a little in their software & website development team, or something.

07-10-2021, 10:03 AM	#7
franklekens Addict Posts: 398 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: various Kobo's, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	I did nothing of the sort. I googled a book, i.e. not using the search engine on the site. Google turned up a result of the English language site, and took me there. Nothing to do with me or my settings.

07-14-2021, 02:54 PM	#10
franklekens Addict Posts: 398 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: various Kobo's, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	My apologies & thanks. I think I just wanted to let off steam. Maybe I'd try describing the problem to them if it was consistent. The other day there was a weird thing again, with search results varying depending on whether I chose Dutch or English at the top of the page -- but not in the way you'd expect or with any system. I was looking for English translations of Zola novels. With one title, I could only get it to display in the Kobo shop if I went from Dutch to English at the top; with another it was the other way round. It was as though the search results weren't dependent on the language so much, as the site only wanted to show me the book I was looking for if I switched the language, no matter whether I switch to or from English. But... today that doesn't seem to happen. It's probably like the problem of not being able to access your cart: some sort of cookie problem. I guess I'll just try to live with it until I see something really consistently reproducible. Thanks for thinking along.