Returned Kobo ereaders: what happrns to them?

Deobulakenyo · 10-30-2021, 10:50 AM

What do you think happens to returned ereaders to Kobo/Rakuten?

Do you think they just put new screen plastic protector and reseal the boxes and ship them to the next orders?

Or are they evaluated based on the buyers' complaints and reason for returning?

Sirtel · 10-30-2021, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deobulakenyo

What do you think happens to returned ereaders to Kobo/Rakuten?

Do you think they just put new screen plastic protector and reseal the boxes and ship them to the next orders?

Or are they evaluated based on the buyers' complaints and reason for returning?

I guess they'll be resold as refurbished units, unless the reason for returning was a serious hardware fault.

ZodWallop · 10-30-2021, 11:27 AM

I don't know about returns that go directly back to Kobo. But from what I have seen and read online, returns to Amazon and Walmart go to that warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is a problem.

Sirtel · 10-30-2021, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't know about returns that go directly back to Kobo. But from what I have seen and read online, returns to Amazon and Walmart go to that warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is a problem.

Why is it a problem? Environmental concerns?

It's been many years since I watched the Raiders. I don't remember this warehouse at all.

Josieb1 · 10-30-2021, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Why is it a problem? Environmental concerns?

It's been many years since I watched the Raiders. I don't remember this warehouse at all.

It’s at the end of the film, where they store the Ark.

ZodWallop · 10-30-2021, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Why is it a problem? Environmental concerns?

Yes. The stuff that gets sent back doesn't typically just go back up for sale again like you think it would:
Free Returns Are Complicated, Laborious, and Gross

Quote:

We can dispense now with a common myth of modern shopping: The stuff you return probably isn’t restocked and sent back out to another hopeful owner.

There’s an industry that handles our returns, and it’s not pretty

Quote:

If it’s an average blouse or a pair of pants, and it’s coming back brand new and in packaging, it might get put back into the new sales stream, or it might get offloaded to an outlet. But a lot of stuff does just get thrown away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

It's been many years since I watched the Raiders. I don't remember this warehouse at all.

Oh wow. It's the punchline to the whole movie.

Calenorn · 10-30-2021, 05:39 PM

They go here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr6GbKciNCY

Sirtel · 10-30-2021, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Oh wow. It's the punchline to the whole movie.

Yeah. My memory is pretty bad. It's why I reread (and rewatch).

Still, I can at least brag that my sister has it even worse. While I usually remember general plotline and some details (with luck), she almost always remembers nothing at all. And she doesn't reread or rewatch either.

Josieb1 · 10-31-2021, 05:25 AM

Well I hope my Sage never gets in anyone else’s hand.

Deobulakenyo · 10-31-2021, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Well I hope my Sage never gets in anyone else’s hand.

You and your sage experience prompted me to ask the question.

graycyn · 10-31-2021, 04:21 PM

I guess I didn't realize how much stuff that is returned does NOT go back into inventory. That's rather alarming, the waste!

I try to do my research, so that I get items that are "suitable to the purpose" and that will last me, but one still ends up having to do returns, like it or not.

Ordered a bedside lamp from Amazon recently. It's going back. I ordered black, with a USB socket and got sent a gold color with NO USB socket. It kind of pains me to think of a perfectly good lamp potentially going into landfill.

I guess some items DO get sold as refurb, my Voyage was a refurb model, and there was nothing wrong with it, no uneven lighting, nothing. And because I paid less initially, when I sold it, got back my investment.

Sirtel · 10-31-2021, 04:26 PM

I don't even remember when I last had to return anything. 30 years ago, I think. And I've bought all kinds of stuff online since. Laptops, tablets, ereaders, home appliances, clothes and so on. Nothing has ever been returned.

The only thing I will never buy online is footwear. Because those are impossible to get right without trying them on first. And I don't want to be bothered with returning them.

ZodWallop · 10-31-2021, 04:48 PM

I suspect most refurbed ereaders are ones that had issues in the factory. Amazon (or any company really) collecting old Kindles from around the world and sending them back to China to be refurbished and sent back out to be resold seems pretty unlikely.

The stuff I've looked into on returns mostly covers the process as a whole. What I have seen about e-waste is pretty bad though.

Karellen · 10-31-2021, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yeah. My memory is pretty bad. It's why I reread (and rewatch).

Yeah, you are not the only one. I can read a book and get completely absorbed and lost in it. But 3 months later and after reading another 6 or 7 books, ask me what that book was about, and I'll barely remember it. Same with movies and tv shows. Which is why I generally don't have a problem reading or watching my better material again every few years.

I read and watch for the "at the moment" enjoyment, and then move on. (well, that is what I convince myself of. hopefully its not a sign of dementia

)

Sirtel · 10-31-2021, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karellen

hopefully its not a sign of dementia

)

Don't think so. Me and my sister have been this way all our lives, since we were really young. I remember rereading books as a child.

10-30-2021, 10:50 AM	#1
Deobulakenyo Guru Posts: 706 Karma: 2153490 Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: Stupid Philippines Device: Kobo Libra 2, Boyue Likebook P78	Returned Kobo ereaders: what happrns to them? What do you think happens to returned ereaders to Kobo/Rakuten? Do you think they just put new screen plastic protector and reseal the boxes and ship them to the next orders? Or are they evaluated based on the buyers' complaints and reason for returning?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Why do you prefer Kobo ereaders to Amazon ereaders	Pajamaman	General Discussions	173	02-23-2022 02:52 PM
Sell For Sale Cancelled Returned to Kobo today	JimmyH	Flea Market	1	11-01-2014 10:07 PM
Kobo Announces eReaders Available for Purchase on Kobo.com in Canada and US	markemark	News	1	04-02-2013 01:46 PM
Touch Returned my Kobo Touch	pamay	Kobo Reader	18	03-02-2012 09:46 PM
Failed Kobo returned to Borders	dixieknits	Kobo Reader	6	08-03-2010 06:52 AM

10-30-2021, 11:27 AM	#3
ZodWallop Gentleman and scholar Posts: 11,479 Karma: 111164374 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Space City, Texas Device: Clara BW; Nook ST w/Glowlight, Paperwhite 3	I don't know about returns that go directly back to Kobo. But from what I have seen and read online, returns to Amazon and Walmart go to that warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is a problem.

10-30-2021, 05:39 PM	#7
Calenorn Brash Fumbler Posts: 1,203 Karma: 9224939 Join Date: May 2013 Device: NST, Kobo Mini	They go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr6GbKciNCY

10-31-2021, 05:25 AM	#9
Josieb1 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,086 Karma: 18051062 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Device: Kindle Scribe, Coloursoft, PW SE, Kindle 6, Kobo Libra 2	Well I hope my Sage never gets in anyone else’s hand.

10-31-2021, 04:21 PM	#11
graycyn Wizard Posts: 1,591 Karma: 11722446 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: NE Oregon Device: Kobo Sage, Pocketbook Era, Kobo Forma, Kindle Oasis 2	I guess I didn't realize how much stuff that is returned does NOT go back into inventory. That's rather alarming, the waste! I try to do my research, so that I get items that are "suitable to the purpose" and that will last me, but one still ends up having to do returns, like it or not. Ordered a bedside lamp from Amazon recently. It's going back. I ordered black, with a USB socket and got sent a gold color with NO USB socket. It kind of pains me to think of a perfectly good lamp potentially going into landfill. I guess some items DO get sold as refurb, my Voyage was a refurb model, and there was nothing wrong with it, no uneven lighting, nothing. And because I paid less initially, when I sold it, got back my investment.

10-31-2021, 04:26 PM	#12
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,473 Karma: 239219543 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	I don't even remember when I last had to return anything. 30 years ago, I think. And I've bought all kinds of stuff online since. Laptops, tablets, ereaders, home appliances, clothes and so on. Nothing has ever been returned. The only thing I will never buy online is footwear. Because those are impossible to get right without trying them on first. And I don't want to be bothered with returning them.

10-31-2021, 04:48 PM	#13
ZodWallop Gentleman and scholar Posts: 11,479 Karma: 111164374 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Space City, Texas Device: Clara BW; Nook ST w/Glowlight, Paperwhite 3	I suspect most refurbed ereaders are ones that had issues in the factory. Amazon (or any company really) collecting old Kindles from around the world and sending them back to China to be refurbished and sent back out to be resold seems pretty unlikely. The stuff I've looked into on returns mostly covers the process as a whole. What I have seen about e-waste is pretty bad though.