Pocket Pro battery issue?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by gargoyle67

Still waiting to hear from Astak regarding buying another battery, I emailed support as Robertb suggested, 2 days and counting waiting on reply

Ah, they're too busy repainting to worry about silly things like batteries.

[gargoyle67]

Originally Posted by RichyRich

I haven't charged my EZ Reader Pro since Tuesday and I've read through a 711 page EPUB, half of a 360 page EPUB, and I am 50 pages into another EPUB e-book and I haven't lost a bar yet. I turn my reader off every time I'm done using it and I have only charged it via the wall charger so far. Despite any e-reader's advertised battery life, the fact that I can get through an entire book without needing to charge makes it so much better than the PDA I used to use, which I had to charge after reading for 6 hours on one book.

I never turn mine off, But then I didn't on my bebook 6" and that lasted books before showing less than full.

[gargoyle67]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Ah, they're too busy repainting to worry about silly things like batteries.

mmmm customer care strikes again !

[theducks]

Originally Posted by gargoyle67

mmmm customer care strikes again !

It is only Monday here.
Many businesses are normally closed on the Weekend if they do not have an active walk in store .
I can not understand why (spare/replacement) Accessories can not be added to the Sales Web page, eliminating the need for personal intervention on a non-warranty transaction.

[polly]

Originally Posted by theducks

It is only Monday here.
Many businesses are normally closed on the Weekend if they do not have an active walk in store .
I can not understand why (spare/replacement) Accessories can not be added to the Sales Web page, eliminating the need for personal intervention on a non-warranty transaction.

I got the impression that Astak didn't have a lot of spare batteries from the manufacturer. It makes sense that if you're trying to conserve your stock for warranty work, you'd save the extras for the people really motivated to buy them.

[gargoyle67]

@theducks, yes I'm aware of the relative time difference as proved by Einstein but I emailed them on Thursday

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Ah, they're too busy repainting to worry about silly things like batteries.

Dear Gargoyle 67 and Kenny C:

Geez, it is hard to stop painting long enough to worry about things like batteries but I will put up the paint can for a few minutes!

The batteries will be up on our website for sale soon. I was promised this three weeks ago... but no price yet. We have the spare batteries but no idea yet what the factory is charging us. We are promised that we will know tonight (our tonight is tommorrow in China).

I do apologize for the delay on such a normally simple item. The info will be posted as soon as we can get it.

Now, excuse me while I pour a can of slate blue paint all over Kenny!!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by polly

I got the impression that Astak didn't have a lot of spare batteries from the manufacturer. It makes sense that if you're trying to conserve your stock for warranty work, you'd save the extras for the people really motivated to buy them.

Dear Polly and The Ducks:

You are right and we are saving them FIRST for the people who may have a bad battery and we need to do the exchange. First priority is to get people up and running as fast as possible.

Secondly, you are also right. We should sell them on our website. We will. It takes a few days though to get the websire set up to do the sale mechanically.

I expect them up and selling in relatively short order!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Robertb

....

Now, excuse me while I pour a can of slate blue paint all over Kenny!!

Blue IS my favorite color!

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Polly and The Ducks:

You are right and we are saving them FIRST for the people who may have a bad battery and we need to do the exchange. First priority is to get people up and running as fast as possible.

Secondly, you are also right. We should sell them on our website. We will. It takes a few days though to get the websire set up to do the sale mechanically.

I expect them up and selling in relatively short order!

I agree with taking care of paid customers, with problems first .
I would suggest responding with a "We have your message, you are currently ## in the queue. Please be patient."

BTW Fry's Palo Alto only had 1 demo EZReader (6") in stock today (and a ton of Sony's)

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by theducks

I agree with taking care of paid customers, with problems first .
I would suggest responding with a "We have your message, you are currently ## in the queue. Please be patient."

BTW Fry's Palo Alto only had 1 demo EZReader (6") in stock today (and a ton of Sony's)

FRY's made another mistake and sold the device way too low so some locations ran out!! They sold way under cost!

Spare batteries should be up on our website next week!! Cost around $16-$17 likely.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by Robertb

FRY's made another mistake and sold the device way too low so some locations ran out!! They sold way under cost!

Spare batteries should be up on our website next week!! Cost around $16-$17 likely.

Why was it a mistake by Fry's? They paid Astak, then they get to sell for whatever the heck they want to. Astak has no say in the matter.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

Why was it a mistake by Fry's? They paid Astak, then they get to sell for whatever the heck they want to. Astak has no say in the matter.

I agree with you on the fact that, once they have the contracted rights to sell the EZR, the price is up to them (if not contractually bound otherwise).

However, Astak (in my opinion) made an error with the agreement. They didn't know that Fry's would put the price so low, or had assumed that they would at least have it up to the point where they would at least profit by it.

Robert didn't give price specifics, but he did hint around that Fry's was selling the units for less than they were paying for them. This not only lost Fry's money in unit profits, it also took sales away from Astak itself, as people would rather order from Fry's than from the distributor. The only good thing that I can see in Fry's actions was to increase sales, even though profits sank. It's all about the numbers.

Maybe any further agreements with Fry's, or such, include a clause concerning price, limiting the lowest price, as well as possible frequency and length of sales. It might deter some sellers, but over all, it might be best. After all, They may be limited to selling it for, say, no lower than 219 or such, but they can bundle the unit with whatever they desire.

[brecklundin]

Astak should not be pointing out ANYONE's mistakes.

And yes you are correct, in The Big Thread (I think but could have been another one) Astak made comments on what Fry's actually paid for the devices, that is a huge breach of the most fundamental NDA business ethics around. Plus it is just, well, not very classy to comment in public. Better to handle those things in private.

Also, it is not legal to set a minimum selling price. A recent, as in this past year, new law in Maryland prohibits ANY company doing business with residents who reside in Maryland from restricting selling prices. It's an interesting law as it's the first to apply to internet sales.

I am too worn out to really explain why MAP is also wrong and anti-competitive/consumer as well. But it is and there do exist laws, both federal and state, which address this/these issue(s). The Maryland law actually simply closed a big loophole in the existing laws/regulations.

Here is a quick Google for the Maryland law:

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...+minimum+price

If you read some of the articles (they are actually quite interesting and I learned a lot from a few of them) but the whole idea is to stop large companies from actually inhibiting or directly manipulating the pricing behavior of a free market (not that we really have much of one these days, but that is a whole different rant...errrr, discussion....hehehehe).

I also understand too that smaller companies who are just getting going NEED to keep a certain margin just to remain afloat let along turn a profit. What they really need is to form relationships with large retailers and get the products out there. People will STILL buy from the mfg, I mean lots of folks buy direct from Sony even though their devices can be found for less elsewhere.

I appreciate how difficult it can be for a small company/business when it's trying to insinuate itself into a market. When I started my network design and support company back in the early 90s it existed in a spare bedroom and my head. I was happy to get a $35k contract and thrilled when I got my first $100k contract. Sounds like a lot of cash, huh? Heck no...included in those numbers was hardware. I made all of $100 on a PC that I would build myself...I based profit only on my time for the week not anything else. And even then it was just $50/hr....where I made the money was on support over time, not from the initial design and installation. Small businesses MUST work that way.

That is why Astak needs it's bookstore up and running. The money just cannot be made selling device, it has to be made selling the books. In the mean time they have positioned themselves as competing with their customers for sales. Has to be frustrating because a business like Fry's can sell at say a $3 markup and still win because few folks walk out with only that device. Astak can't survive on that...hence their desire for MAP and MRP agreements. But those can easily be ruled in violation of anti-consumer laws once reported...it's a very fine line many companies are toeing.

But to say Fry's made a mistake selling too low is just laughable, could it not also be said that Astak made the mistake in selling to Fry's at too low a price? I DO appreciate the position Astak is in as of right now. And how fragile their ability to grow into a larger business is as well. Every mistake/mis-statement can cost them $1000s (or even 10x that)...all at a time when they can least afford it.

Fry's has been doing "it" longer and better than any other electronics retailers around. Look at all those companies Fry's has out lived? Then again, these days they could close the doors tomorrow like so many others.

Am off to snooze now...I will leave with -- even though Maryland law does not hold true in other states, there were something like 20 other states that had similar legislation on the books when the Maryland law passed. So, it will be easy to see this expand to a Federal level or spread at state levels in short order.

Oh, I am not certain agreements can limit the frequency of sales either...it depends on the state and federal laws governing such agreements.

Oh, btw, I will add something, ever wonder why we are seeing more and more "Add to Cart to see lower price" buttons on web sites? Because that is the retailers way around MAP agreements companies are forcing retailers to sign in order to get product. here is a link the what Hoya has done in the camera lens filter market which is what got me reading about MAP/MRP (Minimum Advertised Price/Minimum Retail Pricing) laws and regulations. It's really interesting and confusing as well...

http://www.2filter.com/hoya/HoyaHDpricemarketing.html

BTW, looking forward to reading about the blue case from the new batch of readers. It's a cool blue and I truly hope they finally have it fixed...one can get dizzy in here, if you get my meaning.

[Xerxes]

If Fry's sold them too low, wouldn't that lead to them needing to buy more from you.