Kobo Discounts: Coupon Codes + Discussion

[Aleron Ives]

$9.88 is also a rather weird price, since it doesn't end in .99, but the Kobo price does. Are you sure it's the same edition of the same book being sold by the same publisher?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by birdplan

I might decide to repeat the process in a couple of months with the same book and see what happens. Thinking it over, I half-expect that with a different reviewer I'll get a different result.

Considering that I have price matched several Amazon one day specials (a screen shot of the price works well there), I am surprised that you got a refusal to match.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

$9.88 is also a rather weird price, since it doesn't end in .99, but the Kobo price does. Are you sure it's the same edition of the same book being sold by the same publisher?

That's my first thought. I've seen books with ePub and Kindle ISBNs in back. Do those count to the price match?

[birdplan]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

$9.88 is also a rather weird price, since it doesn't end in .99, but the Kobo price does. Are you sure it's the same edition of the same book being sold by the same publisher?

The prices I cited are correct: $9.88 vs. $21.99.

https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Connec...1901340&sr=1-1

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cosmic-connections-3

As far as I can tell, it's the same publisher's same edition of the same e-book, based on the web pages linked above. And the ground for denial was not that the books didn't match, it was that "[t]he book on the competitor's site was less expensive due to a promotion or other offer."

Enough; I'm putting this episode behind me.

[zelda.owns.link]

Originally Posted by birdplan

Kobo may be tightening its policy. Today I purchased an e-book from Kobo at $21.99 having already priced it at Amazon at $9.88. I claimed the difference but Kobo denied my claim.

"Unfortunately, the Price Match credit does not apply to your purchase due to the following reason(s).

​- The book on the competitor's site was less expensive due to a promotion or other offer"

I wait an hour or so, than resubmit. Works every time.

[pdurrant]

It sounds like it was incompetence rather than a tightening of policy. Good to know.

[iBeth]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Switching to purchasing from Kobo hasn't really made much difference either way. Except that I think that with price match my average purchase price is likely to be lower than before!

I also switched to Kobo, except for books that cost less than 99 cents that are available only on Amazon.

Recently, though, Kobo turned down my price match request for no understandable reason. The book was on sale for 99 cents at Amazon, and the price was not "due to an advertising error; misprint; combination promotion (e.g., gift with purchase); after-sale rebate offer; or preferred-customer, or other similar discount."

I shared a screenshot that showed the price and I asked for more explanation. The reply was, "We understand that you did not use any discount code or coupon, but the real price is $19.99, and Kindle offers a 95% off promo sale, resulting in the price being less than our price. Therefore, we can't process the price match request."

This, of course, makes no sense. The whole point of the price match guarantee is to match prices that are less than the Kobo price. If Kobo will only match the list price, it's hard to see what they are guaranteeing.

My hope is that this event will inspire me to purchase *even fewer* ebooks. My purchases are already way down over last year, partly from switching to Kobo, partly from reminding myself that I can afford to pay full price for a book that I know I will read immediately.

[DNSB]

Perhaps the recent number of people aware of Kobo's price match and switching from Amazon to Kobo for the ebook purchases has caused this? Oddly, about 2 hours ago, I purchased an ebook from Kobo for $12.99 and they price matched the $1.99 price on Amazon which was a 48 hour sale according to the author. I did supply a screenshot from Amazon.ca.

[Fbone]

Even if Kobo price matched the 99 cents, you'd still have paid extra sales tax of $1.14 [if bought in Florida] on an item available for 99 cents.

For large price differences I think it's less risky to just buy at the lowest price.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Perhaps the recent number of people aware of Kobo's price match and switching from Amazon to Kobo for the ebook purchases has caused this? Oddly, about 2 hours ago, I purchased an ebook from Kobo for $12.99 and they price matched the $1.99 price on Amazon which was a 48 hour sale according to the author. I did supply a screenshot from Amazon.ca.

I notice multiple books have both ePub and Kindle ISBNs. I wonder if that might also count as not-a-match.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Perhaps the recent number of people aware of Kobo's price match and switching from Amazon to Kobo for the ebook purchases has caused this? Oddly, about 2 hours ago, I purchased an ebook from Kobo for $12.99 and they price matched the $1.99 price on Amazon which was a 48 hour sale according to the author. I did supply a screenshot from Amazon.ca.

How do you add a screenshot to the price match form?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

How do you add a screenshot to the price match form?

I don't. I mention that I have it available if needed. I've had one occasion that I remember when it was requested otherwise, it seems that just having it is enough.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Even if Kobo price matched the 99 cents, you'd still have paid extra sales tax of $1.14 [if bought in Florida] on an item available for 99 cents.

For large price differences I think it's less risky to just buy at the lowest price.

That kept me from trying the price match program for years. I was largely store agnostic; I'd buy from Kobo at the same price and Amazon when it was cheaper. However, once Amazon cut way back on the kickbacks through their Kindle Rewards program, I stopped buying from them as it meant that Kobo was always cheaper at the same price. So long as you keep your account topped up with a gift card bought when they offer a $10 bonus, you effectively save from 12.5% to 16.7% on every purchase, given the cost of the underlying gift card which ranges from $50 to $70.

It's a significant outlay, I know. But if you spend the total amount in a reasonable (to you) time frame, it's a big savings. I'll add that purportedly Rakuten gives an additional 2% off, but even when buying through their website I haven't been credited with my rebate since last October. Not worth pursuing.

I haven't had a price match rejected; I can't imagine you can't do a return if they reject it. A nuisance, but it lessens the risk of a major loss. And, one final comment, I live in a no sales tax state, so that's not a consideration!

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by issybird

So long as you keep your account topped up with a gift card bought when they offer a $10 bonus, you effectively save from 12.5% to 16.7% on every purchase, given the cost of the underlying gift card which ranges from $50 to $70.

I'd be curious to see how the the Kobo VIP Super Points factor in too. Redeem is limited but you get them on all purchases.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I'd be curious to see how the the Kobo VIP Super Points factor in too. Redeem is limited but you get them on all purchases.

You also get a price discount with the VIP program.