Kobo Discounts: Coupon Codes + Discussion

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

@Geralt has Japan got a contest going?

No, these are just normal codes.

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by greenapple

Is there anyway to tell from kobobooks.com if a book is a novel, novella, or a short story? Surely this is an important decisional factor before making a purchase?

Um..shouldn't you know in advance what you are buying?

Goodreads is good site to find out what kind of book it is.

[spersephone]

It's a fair enough question, they send you these emails with suggested books, so you go and have a look and there is so little actual information apart from a really brief synopsis. They don't make it easy to know what sort of book it is, how other readers felt about it (reviews), or whether you can actually read it on your device!!

**Sometimes it is clear, but other times it is not, is all that I'm saying.

[FlorenceArt]

Kobo is not where I try to find out about a book before buying it. The only book selling website that is useful for that, IMO, is Amazon. Usually I go to LibraryThing to find reviews, then if I'm not satisfied to Amazon. But it would be nice to have everything on the same site.

I'm surprised by the comments on the format though. I agree it's not easy to see it, but I'm pretty sure that if you click to buy it, you can see the format before confirmation. I always make sure to check it. However, it should definitely be more visible.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by spersephone

It's a fair enough question, they send you these emails with suggested books, so you go and have a look and there is so little actual information apart from a really brief synopsis. They don't make it easy to know what sort of book it is, how other readers felt about it (reviews), or whether you can actually read it on your device!!

**Sometimes it is clear, but other times it is not, is all that I'm saying.

Look it up on Goodreads. Some kobo book-for-sale pages have a direct link, even.

[spersephone]

I do realise that, I just don't think it's best practice for a book selling site.

[greenapple]

In a way, isn't kobo leeching bandwidth of other sites (when we have to look elsewhere for details), when it should be the one providing basic information about what it is selling? Just not too happy that I have to steal info from Amazon so that I can give money to kobo, LOL.

[Lynx-lynx]

I'm in the camp that says 'Please Kobo reinstate format and DRM status' and also include pages in book.

After all the old site has format and DRM status and Kobo Customer Care has told x number of people that they are working towards including it into the new site.

Re the book pages number - I want to know this info because it's part and parcel of buying an ebook - I look at the page length in a physical book. It's just basic info.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by greenapple

In a way, isn't kobo leeching bandwidth of other sites (when we have to look elsewhere for details), when it should be the one providing basic information about what it is selling? Just not too happy that I have to steal info from Amazon so that I can give money to kobo, LOL.

Actually.... a huge amount of that bibliographic data was provided gratis by volunteers like me. Don't feel the slightest bit guilty.

[library addict]

If more publishers (including self-published authors) provided the word count/length in the blurb, then Kobo and other storefronts would have it.

Not that it's always accurate. Sometimes the word/page count includes all the backmatter which can be 10-45% or more.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by spersephone

I do realise that, I just don't think it's best practice for a book selling site.

Agreed, it's a pain in the patootie. I was looking at a book that was suggested and thought it looked good until I went to Ammie and saw it was a novella. Not that I have anything against novellas, but I'm very particular about the genre when spending money on them. Since this was billed as romance with a slight mystery, I figured there wasn't going to be enough time to develop the mystery to my satisfaction.

The 50feb code worked GREAT for me -- picked up a book last night. Thanks!

[issybird]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Got this 50% code in an email Grt50dis.

Not sure how strict the "rules" are on this one. There was a link included, so it may only be good on those titles...

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Lis...1wy7T7g&page=1

...it also says it's only good in certain countries, not sure if that's accurate or not.

I hope this doesn't presage changing policies at Kobo, in which coupons will be restricted by country and by limited book lists and where it will be impossible to "travel" to avoid geo-restrictions and agency prices.

[taming]

Originally Posted by issybird

I hope this doesn't presage changing policies at Kobo, in which coupons will be restricted by country and by limited book lists and where it will be impossible to "travel" to avoid geo-restrictions and agency prices.

Kobo has always had a mix of this sort. In fact, not too long ago almost all coupons had country codes some of which worked everywhere, others not. Codes for a particular list of books also goes waaay back.

My best guess is that it is currently in Kobo's best to let people like us "vacation" all over the place (while being in violation of the Kobo terms of service), thus inflating sales numbers for those countries. Whether Kobo and publishers make money this way, remains to be seen. Ultimately, Kobo has to make a profit, and this need for profit will impact the prices of the books that are sold.

[Geralt]

New 35% off

Comeback1cr46

[Major General]

Anyone heard anything about the next contest?