Aura HD Ouch! Kobo ebook prices!

[darryl]

Thanks @GeoffR. And they wonder why people circumvent geographical restrictions or even resort to piracy? I condone the former. I do not condone the latter, but I certainly understand it.

[murg]

Originally Posted by darryl

Thanks @GeoffR. And they wonder why people circumvent geographical restrictions or even resort to piracy? I condone the former. I do not condone the latter, but I certainly understand it.

I think you're not using condone correctly:

condone
kənˈdəʊn/
verb
verb: condone; 3rd person present: condones; past tense: condoned; past participle: condoned; gerund or present participle: condoning

1. accept (behaviour that is considered morally wrong or offensive).
   "the college cannot condone any behaviour that involves illicit drugs"
   synonyms:deliberately ignore, not take into consideration, disregard, take no notice of, take no account of, accept, allow, make allowances for, let pass, turn a blind eye to, overlook, forget, wink at, blink at, connive at; Moreforgive, pardon, excuse, let someone off with, let go, sink, bury;
   let bygones be bygones;
   informallet something ride
   "we cannot condone such dreadful behaviour"
   
   
   
   antonyms:condemn, punish
   
   • approve or sanction (something), especially with reluctance.
     
     
   
   
   

[darryl]

Originally Posted by murg

I think you're not using condone correctly:

condone
kənˈdəʊn/
verb
verb: condone; 3rd person present: condones; past tense: condoned; past participle: condoned; gerund or present participle: condoning

1. accept (behaviour that is considered morally wrong or offensive).
   "the college cannot condone any behaviour that involves illicit drugs"
   synonyms:deliberately ignore, not take into consideration, disregard, take no notice of, take no account of, accept, allow, make allowances for, let pass, turn a blind eye to, overlook, forget, wink at, blink at, connive at; Moreforgive, pardon, excuse, let someone off with, let go, sink, bury;
   let bygones be bygones;
   informallet something ride
   "we cannot condone such dreadful behaviour"
   
   
   
   antonyms:condemn, punish
   
   • approve or sanction (something), especially with reluctance.
     
     
   
   
   

Perhaps I am having a bad night but after reading your post I am of the view that I have used the word "condone" correctly. Whilst no one, including myself, relishes being wrong, I do like to know when I make mistakes so I can try to avoid making them in the future. Perhaps I have missed your point. Could you elaborate please.

[Anak]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

There are much better than 35% coupons Canada, UK and US because of the contests there, so for those markets you should probably look at the Kobo price after a 55% or 65% coupon.

In other countries there are not many coupons above 35%, so looking at the Kobo price after a 35% coupon is appropriate in those places.

Correct, only in those countries there are higher discount coupons available.
In other countries the highest available coupon is about 35%, maybe 40%.
But the actual average discount is (much) lower as the 'coupon distribution rate' of these higher coupons is much lower than those of lower discount coupons' (in the 10-25% range).

The post from darryl (#76) clearly shows that with an average 35% discount Kobo isn't cheaper than Amazon.
The other thing is you need a discount coupon for every single book title/purchase/transaction.
I'm sure you can find one or two 35% discount coupons. But to get or find more would become difficult.
And, most coupons are issued as single use. Either as strict single use or as single use per account.

Originally Posted by GeoffR

Also in other countries most of the big publishers allow discount codes to be used, so Kobo is much more competitive.

The Issue for Kobo is that in some countries like the US none of the big publishers allow the use of discount codes on their books, and that is why I think Kobo needs to look at other discounting schemes such as rebates or rewards in those countries.

You're probably partly mistaken, here.
I assume you are refering to English language books. From personal experience I know that many books are much cheaper on Amazon or Kobo stores where English is (one of) the native language(s): CA, US, UK (and others).
This is only a rule of thumb, therefore
I strongly advice to the check pricing of foreign language books first in countries where that book has been released or is targeted for before you buy a foreign language book locally.

Two examples:
For Valour (Nick Stone Book #16) - Andy McNab
Amazon CA: CAD 11.18 (€ 7.99799669); Kobo NL: €12,99 (CAD 18,158072)
Kobo CA: CAD $29.59 (€21.2752823; USD 24.8933568)
Kobo UK: £9.99 (€ 13.0012756; USD 15.2122725 CAD 18.0823802)

Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect (A Jack Ryan Novel, Book 10) - Tom Clancy/Mark Greaney
Amazon CA+Kobo CA: CAD 15.99 (€11.4389953); Kobo NL: €22.74 (CAD 31.7871099)
Amazon USA: USD 14.32 (€12.2605364; CAD 17.1383913)
Kobo UK: sells a different edition (£9.99).

Note: I used the Amazon Canadian store to be sure to compare the same book editions.

But geographical restrictions apply, international customers can not buy directly in any overseas Kobo store. At check out local prices (here: euro) are charged.
Sure, this can be circumvented. This is a hassle but it can save you plenty. Or simply refuse to pay (extra) for it and download it illegally.

I took the first four book titles from darryl's list. Here, the price differences are not that staggering. But the last two books are still more expensive.

Descent $10.91 (Kobo US after discount), $9.99 (Amazon US)
The Magician's Lie $12.47 (Kobo US after discount), $14.39 (Amazon US)
The Bishop's Wife $14.03 (Kobo US after discount), $12.99 (Amazon US)
The Internet is Not the Answer $12.99 (Kobo US after discount), $12.99 (Amazon US)

I used Google to calculate the exchange rates ("15.84 eur in usd"):
Decent: €15.84 (€10.30; -35%); US$ 18.500724 (US$ 12.0301425) * Tim Johnston: Decent: A Novel
The Magician's Lie €18.26 (€11.87; -35%); US$ 21.3272235; (US$ 13.8638632)
The Bishop's Wife: €20.44 (€13.29; -35%); US$ 23.873409; (US$ 15.5223877) * The Bishop's Wife (A Linda Wallheim Novel)
The Internet is Not the Answer: €13.06 (€8.49; -35%); US$ 15.2537535; (US$ 9.91610775)

Note: If discountable and if you can find and use as many discount coupons you need.

Originally Posted by darryl

That is "Is the discount real, or simply a marketing trick?" My above post strongly suggests the latter.

Ofcourse it is mostely a marketing instrument.
Coupons

• offer silent discounts (to avoid direct competion on price (no auto price matching);
• coupons can not be redeemed on the bulk of (popular) titles/many titles are not eligible for discounts (i.e.: titles (imprints) from the big publishing groups).

It also seems that Kobo is reducing the number of book titles that are eligible for the use of promo codes.

• less 'general' codes that can be redeemd on all titles that are eligible for discounts;
• introduce 'special' promo codes that can only be redeemed on titles that are on particular book list.

Coupons are a marketing tool. "We offer discounts" (whispering: but only on a very limited number of titles).
But even more than a marketing tool it is an instrument to to improve the bottom line: increase net earnings or decrease net losses.

[murg]

Originally Posted by darryl

Perhaps I am having a bad night but after reading your post I am of the view that I have used the word "condone" correctly. Whilst no one, including myself, relishes being wrong, I do like to know when I make mistakes so I can try to avoid making them in the future. Perhaps I have missed your point. Could you elaborate please.

Originally Posted by darryl

Thanks @GeoffR. And they wonder why people circumvent geographical restrictions or even resort to piracy? I condone the former. I do not condone the latter, but I certainly understand it.

If you are against the former (geo-circumvention) and not against the latter (piracy), then your statement was correct.

The reason I questioned this is that this is generally the opposite of the stated opinion of pretty much everyone here, who state that they are against piracy, and the lesser majority that state that they don't have a problem with geo-circumvention.

I'm not questioning the opinion, just the way it was worded.

[Lynx-lynx]

GROAN .....

Here's today's weekend deal: (in Aus but it'll be the same in most countries)
Unlimited use coupon on a fixed list: newyear30

Here's the Aus link to the list: (remember you have to be logged into the Aus site before you'll see this list. However if you're logged into say the UK or wherever then you should see the newyear30 list for your country)

save 30 on these great titles

The list is crap from my interest point of view ... but .... I've taken a pic (shown below) of one of the titles. Yuck!!! Yeah, if you find it attractive then good for you, but that front cover does nothing for moi!

Because this list, and it's quite a long one in scroll format, can't be filtered into genre categories it means that you get to see quite a lot of the sex covers advertising who knows what type of book.

It just irks me when there are fixed lists with a promo code, what a waste of a good code, eh!

[darryl]

Originally Posted by murg

If you are against the former (geo-circumvention) and not against the latter (piracy), then your statement was correct.

The reason I questioned this is that this is generally the opposite of the stated opinion of pretty much everyone here, who state that they are against piracy, and the lesser majority that state that they don't have a problem with geo-circumvention.

I'm not questioning the opinion, just the way it was worded.

Thanks for clarifying. I wondered if I was suffering from one of those mental blocs which I believe we all occasionally have but it looks like you might have been. In my statement, as you correctly point out, the former was geo-circumvention, and the latter piracy. I said:

"I condone the former" (geo-circumvention). I do not condone the latter (piracy), but I certainly understand it.

Probably the easiest way I have found to break a mental bloc like this is to substitute an appropriate synonym in the relevant passage. From the dictionary definition you quoted I like "turn a blind eye to", though it is not the best choice gramatically. My above statement would then become "I turn a blind eye to the former." (geo-circumvention). "I do not turn a blind eye to the latter." (piracy)." Or, using the synonym "accept", I accept the former (geo-circumvention) but not the latter (piracy).

To clarify, I am "for" geo-circumvention and "against" piracy, However, in some instances I am very close to a pro-piracy stance, as I consider some of the behaviour of some rights holders almost the moral equivalent.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've been noticing that Google Play eBooks (which are ePub) are priced to match Amazon. So if you can buy from Google Play, do so as you'll get an ePub instead of KF8 and in the worst case, Mobi.

Google Play sells ADE epubs. You can also get non-DRM PD epubs and PDFs for free.

Unless I have a great coupon code for Kobo, Google Books has become my go-to for purchasing ebooks.

[Lynx-lynx]

Price confusion: Kobo Aus Deal of the Day:

Deal of the Day:
Clive Cussler - now $4.00
Was: $16.99
Buy now: $13.59

front page kobobooks.com (Aus)

[JSWolf]

I just found a price discrepancy. The book is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. The price at Kobo US is $9.99. At Google Play and Amazon it is $2.99. That's a $7 difference.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just found a price discrepancy. The book is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. The price at Kobo US is $9.99. At Google Play and Amazon it is $2.99. That's a $7 difference.

Easy fixed. All you need is a 70% discount coupon and you can buy it for the same price as it is at Amazon.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by darryl

Easy fixed. All you need is a 70% discount coupon and you can buy it for the same price as it is at Amazon.

And just where are you going to get a 70% off code that's going to work with this The Fault in Our Stars in the US? I don't think there is one.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And just where are you going to get a 70% off code that's going to work with this The Fault in Our Stars in the US? I don't think there is one.

Either do I. I was being facetious. So far I have seen no evidence of Kobo seeking to even be competitive on price.

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just found a price discrepancy. The book is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. The price at Kobo US is $9.99. At Google Play and Amazon it is $2.99. That's a $7 difference.

In New Zealand the prices are: Kobo $NZ 8.79, Amazon $NZ 7.50, Google $NZ 7.35

The book is discountable at Kobo, so with a 20% discount code Kobo is the cheapest at $NZ 7.03.

[jiminrussell]

The Fault in Our Stars is $10.99 at Kobo in Canada, and is the same price at Amazon.ca and google, so if I were to buy this I would buy it from Kobo as I can use a discount code.