Price drop

[Zyzomys]

I was able to get Price Protection at Walmart easily enough and now have another $23.60 to spend on eBooks.

[HamsterRage]

This is the thing about electronics in the modern world. The price drops over time, which is different from what we have come to expect with inflation.

So it's generally true that you'll spend less and get more if you wait. But you can drive yourself nuts doing that. Look for the best deal you can find when you're ready to buy, and then be prepared to see other people getting it for less tomorrow.

[viviena]

Originally Posted by dixieknits

I know nothing of it, except I"m not sufferring buyers remorse. I wish Kobo the best, but the competition is growing quickly.
http://www.slashgear.com/augen-the-b...in-90-1994356/

I don't think it's fair to compare an LCD-based ereader to an eInk ereader though. There's always been cheap LCD-based multitasking devices around, and the Augen isn't particularly great, from what I understand. Then again, I had specific reasons for choosing an eInk-based reader as opposed to LCD ones, so whatever works best for you and for me.

A fairer comparison is probably with other eInk devices such as the Nook and the Kindle 3 in particular. I'll admit to feeling a twinge of regret when I first heard of the K3, but that's passed. I like having a bare-bones ereader that is largely vendor-independent and can read Overdrive books, but I also eventually look forward to getting something like the K3, feature-packed with integrated bookstore service -- with two eInk devices, the best of both words.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by viviena

I don't think it's fair to compare an LCD-based ereader to an eInk ereader though. There's always been cheap LCD-based multitasking devices around, and the Augen isn't particularly great, from what I understand.

After reading for years on a backlit LCD screen and then purchasing a Sony PRS-300, I would NEVER go back to a backlit LCD device for everyday reading. My eye strain issues went away almost immediately.

[tpw]

Originally Posted by HamsterRage

This is the thing about electronics in the modern world. The price drops over time, which is different from what we have come to expect with inflation.

So it's generally true that you'll spend less and get more if you wait. But you can drive yourself nuts doing that. Look for the best deal you can find when you're ready to buy, and then be prepared to see other people getting it for less tomorrow.

Very true rage. I learned long ago to not buy bleeding edge but wait until the smoke had settled and get mid range for half the price. The Kobo is the mid range compromise I made and I don't regret the outlay, even though as you say the board will soon be flooded with people who bought it for less than I did.

[clintbradford]

>> ... another E-reader called Augen for $90.00 ...

I found reviews on it. Not a single one was impressed.

[zoran]

To my knowledge, ereaders are intended to be quite cheap, since
people would buy ebooks that way and reimburse the value spent
on it. I assume the price will never be 0. The other question is how
kobo compares to competitors. They all try to "silo" users, so no
big surprise. None of them would never open source or give more
data, if not the last resort. My credo is to use epubs and kobo runs
it fine. Do we need newer firmware version aside 1.4? My best bet
is that it should wait till say Christmas or about. What are really
necessary up to dates? Cover when powered down? Sleep on/off?
Jump to page <number>? Removed free books?
At this moment I don't expect more kobo interference on this forum.

[moffattm]

I bought my Kobo at a Whitcoulls store here in New Zealand and paid NZ$295 (about US$216 at today's exchange rate). And no rebates or free ebook coupons or anything else that American and Canadian customers received.

Should we Kiwi's feel ripped off? Should we be demanding refunds? Ummm, no, I don't think so.

Most people that know anything about electronics will tell you that these sort of devices always come out at a high price in order to tempt the early adopters. Then after a while they drop in price. And when Christmas rolls around there will be further reductions (I expect the Kobo to get down to NZ$199 here by Christmas time).

I don't mind paying extra for mine because the Kobo is one of the few ebook readers available in NZ (can't buy Kindle or Nook or Sony readers here, unless you import them from overseas which can be a nightmare for dealing with warranty issues, power cables, etc). And I've had hours and hours of use out of my Kobo.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by moffattm

Should we Kiwi's feel ripped off? Should we be demanding refunds? Ummm, no, I don't think so.

Pretty much the same across the Tasman. The Kobo is selling very well here currently and I doubt the price will drop anytime soon. BUT, come November, that might be a different story.

The Kobo will still sell well, even after the Kindle 3 is released simply because it is a physical presence in Borders and A&R stores here. This is something the Kindle series of ereaders falls short of.

[moffattm]

Interestingly Borders in NZ isn't selling the Kobo, instead their competitor, Whitcoulls, is selling it! My understanding is that it sold very well initially, but I guess that was the early adopters. I've been into some Whitcoulls stores and haven't even been able to find them!

[JPenguin]

Yup, even if the competition is growing here in Canada we might not see a permanent drop yet. The Kobo was selling really well at $150, the Kindle might beat it on price and features but the Kobo is available in store at Chapters & Indigo locations which I think helps a lot. We will see the price drop but while the Kobo is still selling well at $150 then it doesn't make sense to drop the price.

I wouldn't be too surprised if this weekend's drop was to gauge the market's response to a lower price, would sales increase dramatically or only increase a bit? If the sales didn't sky rocket then it doesn't really make that much sense for the price to drop, simple keep selling at the $150 price point and do sales till Christmas when a price drop will reposition them for the holiday sales. If the sales response was good then perhaps they will lower the price to compete with the Kindle.

I bought the Kobo on release day, I don't have any regrets about the price. I was a little disappointed about the Black version being available so quickly but at $150 it really wasn't enough to worry about and I don't dislike the blue button that much. If I was in the market for an ereader today I don't know which I'd go for, I would not buy a Kindle cause of the locked down format so the Nook would be the competitor but there's the lack of support/warranty there which would concern me.

-- Edit:

Also about the eReaders supposed to be cheap: I think that is very true with the Kindle, Amazon want to get the device into consumers hands to drive the sales of ebooks since ebooks can only be purchased through them. With the Kobo I think it is a little different, Kobo want to sell to everyone with a smartphone, PC, Sony reader, Kobo reader, iPad, or any other (Adobe DRM) ePub device. They probably want a slight profit margin on the Kobo reader since there's no vendor lock in while Amazon can support selling the Kindle at a loss to recoup in ebooks (like Sony & Microsoft were selling their consoles below cost initially with the intention of making money back on games).