I met with the head of Kobo today...

[Croptop]

Originally Posted by ficbot

My review is up at Teleread now too.

Thanks for posting that review. Based on it (and a couple of other reviews I've read) I opted to pull the trigger and pre-order one for my wife.

[JSWolf]

Has Kobo sorted out the Agency prices yet?

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by ficbot

My review is up at Teleread now too.

Great review! Thanks! The level of detail is very helpful.

I've also signed up for the beta testing on the additional device testing such as Blackberry.

I will be waiting till I can see a device live ....

[BongoBong]

here's the first video I have found of the Kobo in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK9Sx_8OkUg

looks real nice. The lag that has been mentioned with page turning etc doesnt seem bad (although I have literally never seen an ereader before so maybe someone can compare and let me know how it stacks up). The changing fonts had some lag but that makes sense to me since it has to recalculate pages and such. Overall just looks like a real nice basic cheap 6" reader.

I would order one now but having seen that black version I think I may want a black one instead of the white! Although the white one looks real nice as well.... hmmmm decisions decisions

[kmac]

Thanks for posting that. At this price point I think this one might be my first e-ink device.

[TallMomof2]

I like using the up and down button to change font size. It seems as fast as any other eInk reader I've used.

The shipping on the reader to the US is very reasonable ($9.90), along with the price of the reader so I went ahead and preordered one. Hopefully, it will not be a disappointment like the eSlick which I still can't update since it requires a 32 bit version of Windows.

What sold me was the price and Adobe Adept support along with having two fonts and changing font size with the navigation button. Hopefully, it can be made to work with Calibre.

[coolVariable]

Does anybody know what sort of taxes might be levied on the Kobo if I pre-order it from Canada and ship to the US (California).
I know buying electronics online from a US store and having them shipped to Canada can cost hundreds because of duties, taxes and customs.

Otherwise, I would be ready to pull the trigger right now on that device!

[coolVariable]

Originally Posted by coolVariable

Does anybody know what sort of taxes might be levied on the Kobo if I pre-order it from Canada and ship to the US (California).
I know buying electronics online from a US store and having them shipped to Canada can cost hundreds because of duties, taxes and customs.

Otherwise, I would be ready to pull the trigger right now on that device!

Here I was, thinking that people in the US would be excited about a $150 ereader. I guess not.

[ATimson]

Originally Posted by coolVariable

Here I was, thinking that people in the US would be excited about a $150 ereader. I guess not.

Or maybe, just maybe, they don't know the ins and outs of importing/exporting electronics?

[ficbot]

It will be for sale in Borders in the US in May. Retail.

[DArenson]

Anyone know when pre-orders will be shipped to Canada?

[TallMomof2]

I don't expect to have to pay much if any customs on the Kobo reader. I do a lot of shipping from the US to all over the world and for small ticket items customs duties/taxes tend to be low if there are any at all.

The shipping was less than $10 US so I bet it will shipped via the post office and I've never had to pay customs on any item shipped that way. The only time I had to pay customs was on some expensive musical instruments ($2K +) shipped from Europe via UPS and that was less than 10% of the value.

[coolVariable]

Originally Posted by ficbot

It will be for sale in Borders in the US in May. Retail.

Where did you hear/read that? That would be AWESOME!
Most reports I saw say LATE summer 2010 ... which, considering it will be out in Canada in 1 week, is pretty ridiculous. I only am considering ordering one from Canada because I again want an ebook reader in that price range (got a refurb Kindle 1 before, which was stolen )

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

I don't expect to have to pay much if any customs on the Kobo reader. I do a lot of shipping from the US to all over the world and for small ticket items customs duties/taxes tend to be low if there are any at all.

The shipping was less than $10 US so I bet it will shipped via the post office and I've never had to pay customs on any item shipped that way. The only time I had to pay customs was on some expensive musical instruments ($2K +) shipped from Europe via UPS and that was less than 10% of the value.

That's what I would hope ... but there are horror stories of people ordering electronics from the US (shipping to Canada) who got hit with a $90 customs brokerage fee, etc. I would like to know whether this might also apply the other way around (which would totally kill the appeal of the Kobo).

[Shopaholic]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

I don't expect to have to pay much if any customs on the Kobo reader. I do a lot of shipping from the US to all over the world and for small ticket items customs duties/taxes tend to be low if there are any at all.

The shipping was less than $10 US so I bet it will shipped via the post office and I've never had to pay customs on any item shipped that way. The only time I had to pay customs was on some expensive musical instruments ($2K +) shipped from Europe via UPS and that was less than 10% of the value.

I'm afraid not. Canadians have an import limit of $20 Canadian. Anything over and above that is subject to federal taxes (GST), provincial taxes (PST) which vary from province to province and duty depending on where the item being imported is made. If goods are sent through the postal system it's hit and miss as to whether or not they get assessed taxes. With millions of packages being mailed they can't inspect and collect on all of them. If the goods are sent by courier, which this likely would be, then you are guaranteed to get hit with taxes AND brokerage charges from the courier. Couriers sometimes collect before handing over the goods or they'll leave you the goods and send you a bill in the mail.

Brokerage costs are what courier companies charge for the priviledge of clearing your item through customs from one country to another. They're always expensive even for low dollar value items.

If the Kobo reader is being sent to Canadians from inside Canada, then none of the above applies. If it's coming from the US or directly from China or wherever it's been made then the above will apply.

Americans have an import limit of $200 US before their packages are assessed taxes and duty.

I sell stuff on eBay and bring it over the border myself to mail inside the US. I also import items into Canada for resale. I've gotten pretty good at this import/export, customs, tarrif codes and stuff over the years.

[ficbot]

I heard it from the guys at Kobo themselves. Canada end of April at Indigo, Borders in US in May, Red Group stores in Aus/NZ/Singapore in May or June, and elsewhere to follow.