When should we start seeing 350/650 in stores

[porkupan]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

Borders eh?

Borders in Australia - maybe. Borders in the U.S. - probably not for a while. They are still not sold out of their old 300/600 stock, and their usefulness for Sony Reader distribution and promotion is very much in doubt. I suspect Borders will be the last place we will see the next generation of the Readers - about the same time they will start showing up at Targets, Walmarts, Staples and Best Buys...

I think one's best bet to actually see one in person would be at the nearest SonyStyle. And the 350's may be there in stock already.

Whatever happened with the 650, obviously that is not good. Sounds like Sony has hit a major snag with shipment delivery from China. The 9/16 date didn't happen, and there has been no explanation from Sony. They probably can't explain anything anyway. Talking to the SonyStyle customer service is going to be futile, they don't know anything.

The thing with the colors doesn't make sense either. Sounds like the Blue 350 and Silver 650 were manufactured first, and delivered to Europe, Canada and Australia, and the U.S. ended up with whatever colors they could make before the parts supply at the manufacturer runs out. Or something.

[etienne66]

I got an email from the SonyStyle.com store saying that my order, placed on September 5th, has an estimated ship date of September 22nd. I did not pay for expedited shipping, so I will be lucky if I receive it by the end of the month.

Perhaps those that ordered it on the 2nd, will receive theirs sooner.

Etienne66

[hamfitz]

i canceled mine from sonystyle.com and am just going to pick one up when they get them in the sony store here.

Originally Posted by darex2

I just got mine today (a 350). It's not quite true that there's NO reflection. Try reading it directly beneath a bright light. You can't, but a slight angle correction, and the glare is gone.

2) the build quality is as good as all the previous version. Yes, the edge is now plastic, but it's still very solid

All eInk screens I've seen have some reflectivity in bright lights, but as you say just tilt it a bit and the reflectivity goes away.

I disagree that the build quality is as good as past readers. Not by a long shot IMHO. But they are still sturdy but now comparable to the K3 in build quality. Sony lost it edge in that category. Also, the older readers had plastic around the edges too, Sony just did a better job of painting it to look metallic.

Originally Posted by etienne66

I got an email from the SonyStyle.com store saying that my order, placed on September 5th, has an estimated ship date of September 22nd. I did not pay for expedited shipping, so I will be lucky if I receive it by the end of the month.

Perhaps those that ordered it on the 2nd, will receive theirs sooner.

Etienne66

Maybe sooner--mine shipped on the 10th (Friday) and I got it on the 14th (Tuesday). If yours ships on the 22nd (Wednesday) you should get it no later than the 27th (Monday). I'm in Texas too and they shipped mine via FedEx ground from Illinois and I went for the free shipping too.

[Avwriter]

This story just keeps getting stranger and stranger. My local Sony Store just refused to sell me a 350, even though they have them in stock! I went in to buy one, the sales clerk first checked to see that they had them in stock. She them went to the back to get. When she came back, she apologized and said the that they she cannot sell it to me. She then said that the store had just gotten a message from "corporate" not to sell any readers until the end of the month, even if they had them in stock. I asked to speak to a manager, who confirmed this, but would not or could not produce an explanation for why. he said that they had already sold a couple last night, but that they could not sell any more. WTF?????

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by Avwriter

This story just keeps getting stranger and stranger. My local Sony Store just refused to sell me a 350, even though they have them in stock! I went in to buy one, the sales clerk first checked to see that they had them in stock. She them went to the back to get. When she came back, she apologized and said the that they she cannot sell it to me. She then said that the store had just gotten a message from "corporate" not to sell any readers until the end of the month, even if they had them in stock. I asked to speak to a manager, who confirmed this, but would not or could not produce an explanation for why. he said that they had already sold a couple last night, but that they could not sell any more. WTF?????

That is very odd

As it doesn't say in your profile, would you mind telling us where you are (just the country would do)?

[Avwriter]

US - Atlanta.

Has anyone else in the US succeeded in buying one today from a physical store?

Originally Posted by Avwriter

This story just keeps getting stranger and stranger. My local Sony Store just refused to sell me a 350, even though they have them in stock! I went in to buy one, the sales clerk first checked to see that they had them in stock. She them went to the back to get. When she came back, she apologized and said the that they she cannot sell it to me. She then said that the store had just gotten a message from "corporate" not to sell any readers until the end of the month, even if they had them in stock. I asked to speak to a manager, who confirmed this, but would not or could not produce an explanation for why. he said that they had already sold a couple last night, but that they could not sell any more. WTF?????

Maybe the ones they have in stock are for those who pre-ordered them through the store. But if that is the case, they should have told you. Sony really sucks when it comes to selling their readers! It is as though they don't care at all.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by Avwriter

US - Atlanta.

Thanks.

I'm in Canada next week and was hoping to try to pick one up.

[Avwriter]

Update. After calming down a bit, and thinking through everything I have read here, I tried calling back and speaking to the manager again. I asked him to explain to me again why he could not sell me one. First, he said that all the stock they had received was intended for eventual use as display models (he said nothing about this earlier). I responded that why then did they tell me yesterday that they could sell them? I pointed out that this just does not make any sense. Why would "corporate" suddenly tell them not to sell their stock, and use it for display models when they already had display models up in the store??? Moreover, the product is up for sale on the website. Furthermore, I pointed out that from the Internet forums that it obvious that people are receiving their orders, and that many world-wide are walking into stores and buying them, including Canada and the U.S. I went on to mention how bad this looked from the customer's end to first tell me that me have them in stock, and then to suddenly refuse to sell it to me half way through the transaction. I said that I had half a mind to just go buy a Kindle or Nook. He then asked for my name and phone number, and said that he wanted to take this "up the chain" and that he would call me back. 20 minutes later, a different salesperson called me back, and told me that the whole thing "was a big misunderstanding on the part of the regional manager." She said that they could sell them now, and said that she would put one on hold for me.

Good lord, what a train wreck! If it wasn't for determined customers like ourselves, it is a wonder that ever they sell anything at all. I had originally, wanted a 650, but as they do not seem to be available in the US in the near future, and also since the people here with 350 seem to like it so much, I had decided to give one a try.

[Otter]

The 350 is now listed on bestbuy.com's site with a status of "coming soon". And it is listed on Vanns.com as being in stock. Vanns lists the 650 as coming soon, but no sighting of the 650 on BB's site yet.

[Otter]

Originally Posted by etienne66

I got an email from the SonyStyle.com store saying that my order, placed on September 5th, has an estimated ship date of September 22nd. I did not pay for expedited shipping, so I will be lucky if I receive it by the end of the month.

Perhaps those that ordered it on the 2nd, will receive theirs sooner.

Etienne66

Wow I am surprised you got an email from them! I placed my order on the 3rd and have received nothing from them yet. When I called today they still had no idea of any shipping date but promised to escalate my inquiry to a Tier 2 status (lol) and I should receive a magical email within 48 hours. Not holding my breath.

[confusednow]

I don't know how true this is, but having spoken to the salesperson at W, he is under the impression that Sony is trying to severely limit the availability of the ereaders to sort of create hype/demand. Could explain the sudden refusal to sell the ereaders at Sony stores until the end of the month.

[porkupan]

Well, if anyone is interested, there are still some pink 350's and covers in stock at ABT Electronics. They are a great store, usually very prompt with shipping.