Kobo Store no longer displaying page length or time to read?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

On the other hand, the 24 novels I've written -- ranging from 57,000 words to 125,000 words long -- are all a bargain, regardless of price.

Did you need to have the doors in your home widened to allow that ego to fit through?

On a more serious note, I do own your books and think they were worth the money.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

What a disappointing move on Kobo's part! I used that information a lot.

Especially when considering a pricy ebook, I used that information to make sure I'd be getting my money's worth; I'll make fewer such purchases now.

Feel free to let Kobo know - perhaps feedback from an author whose works they sell will cause them to reconsider. Probably not, but hope springs eternal

[RobertJSawyer]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Feel free to let Kobo know - perhaps feedback from an author whose works they sell will cause them to reconsider. Probably not, but hope springs eternal

Of course, I let Kobo know, and provided them (via their Beta Test slack group) with a link to the discussion here.

[RobertJSawyer]

@DNSB, well, at least I don't feel the need to hear my own voice OVER NINETEEN THOUSAND TIMES in this forum.

Oh, snap!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

@DNSB, well, at least I don't feel the need to hear my own voice OVER NINETEEN THOUSAND TIMES in this forum.

Oh, snap!

Snicker...

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

Of course, I let Kobo know, and provided them (via their Beta Test slack group) with a link to the discussion here.

Awesome, thank you!

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

I've noticed this in the last few days, and have confirmed that some books which WERE showing page counts and time to read a few days ago are now not showing either. It's a bit disconcerting to have no framework of comparison at all about how long a book is, does anyone know what the rationale for this change is?

I always look at page count when I buy a book (fiction or non-fiction), especially with self-published books. I don't use Kobo much for buying, but on Amazon they have quite a few "books" that are really novellas or short stories (in fiction) or 25-50 page "guides" (in non-fiction). So the page count is an important part of my buying decision. It helps me to understand what exactly I (might be) buying.

I'm wondering if maybe Kobo did this because of the way KePubs count screens as pages. Maybe people, who used very small fonts, were complaining that their "400 page book" was "only 200 pages," or something like that. I do know this makes it less likely that I will buy from Kobo in the future. Hopefully they "walk back" this decision.

EDIT: I went to eBooks.com and they don't have page numbers either. I'm pretty sure they used to have this information.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by rcentros

So the page count is an important part of my buying decision. It helps me to understand what exactly I (might be) buying.

EXACTLY

Originally Posted by rcentros

I'm wondering if maybe Kobo did this because of the way KePubs count screens as pages.

The CSR left me on hold for about 10 minutes while getting up to speed on this and when he returned, the mantra he kept repeating was a series of variations on "nobody much was using it, the new genre buttons are better" Given the priomary age demographic of ebook users I doubt there are many who found books to be half as many pages as listed. Twice as many seems more likely

[davidfor]

I'm told this was a bug. And has been fixed. I have checked a few books in the store and on the device and the word and page counts and reading duration are shown.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I'm told this was a bug. And has been fixed. I have checked a few books in the store and on the device and the word and page counts and reading duration are shown.

Which is a great relief, thank you! but it makes me feel sorry for the CSR who was told otherwise and passed that incorrect information on to me.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I'm told this was a bug. And has been fixed. I have checked a few books in the store and on the device and the word and page counts and reading duration are shown.

Good to hear. Not sure how this jibes with what support was telling Uncle Robin, but it's still good news. (Although, oddly enough, the first book I checked at random (the first one on the page) still didn't have the page information, but every other book I checked did.)

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Good to hear. Not sure how this jibes with what support was telling Uncle Robin, but it's still good news. (Although, oddly enough, the first book I checked at random (the first one on the page) still didn't have the page information, but every other book I checked did.)

Yes, a very good outcome, but it seems that Kobo's left hand doesn't know what its right is doing if one person says "it's a feature not a bug" then someone else says "it's a bug not a feature"

[MGlitch]

Let’s be honest the first response is still an improvement for kobo CS from years ago

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Let’s be honest the first response is still an improvement for kobo CS from years ago

Agreed,That's why I said I felt sorry for the CSR I spoke with - he had no idea, went away and took some time to investigate, yet was supplied with bad advice to pass on. I have found a MASSIVE improvement in Kobo CS (from a subterranean starting level, ofc) since they published phone numbers. The ibtroduction of CSRs to actually TALK to seems to have coincided with/been responsible for a shift from Kobo previous default "CS" setting of "nah, go away".