Sony Ebook Store Customer Service Experience

Phirebird · 02-12-2010, 10:47 AM

Hi all,

I've been following the forums for quite some time and this is my first post.

I know others have had issues with Sony customer service and thought I would pass along my experience this morning as a way of helping others avoid the mistake I made. I don't want this to be another vent and rant post, although it may seem that way, but rather a warning to all to stay focused when making your ebook purchases.

I've had my PRS-505 for about a year and love it. I would say it is one of the best things I have ever purchased. No complaints with it at all.

All my ebook purchases have been from the Sony Ebook Store. This morning I bought 2 books and I goofed on 1 of them. I admit, I downloaded the wrong book. I wanted "Cross Country" by James Patterson and by mistake downloaded "Cross", which I have already read. The covers look very similar on the Ebook Store page and I goofed.

I immediately called customer service and explained my mistake and asked if I could make an exchange and pay the difference. As you probably guessed, all sales are final, no way to exchange.

I realize that people could download, return and thereby obtain their ebooks for free, but it seems there should be some allowance for honest mistakes that are addressed quickly. My customer history obviously indicates several purchases each month and no prior problems.

Well, I learned my lesson. Don't try to multi-task when purchasing ebooks. Sooner or later it will lead to regret.

Thanks to all for a fun and informative forum.

lilac_jive · 02-12-2010, 10:54 AM

Yeah, unfortunately unless it's a formatting problem with the book, they don't allow returns or exchanges, and it's pretty clear in the FAQs. You could try and escalate the call, but you would need to be polite about the whole affair as it was your mistake (not beating up on you).

I'm not sure if Sony has the capability of getting the book back anyway, if you wanted to return it. They could remove it from your purchased books, but they wouldn't be able to remove it from your computer or device, if I'm not mistaken. Which is a good thing, if you think about it.

kenschunk · 02-12-2010, 05:24 PM

Good luck with getting any other answer from Sony. I had the misfortune to purchase Pirate Latitudes the day the store switched to ePub. Too bad for me that Sony didn't actually have the book available - it was in my cart, so the system let me purchase it, but of course I couldn't download it.

Several calls and chats and emails with technical support provided no answer other than "no refunds". Not even for a book that they couldn't produce, since they didn't have the ePub version yet. Polite, insistent, or exasperated, none of it made a difference. No refunds.

Since there were no refunds for a book that they couldn't deliver and was never downloaded, I'd wish you good luck in getting a refund for a book that was purchased by mistake.

And, as I pointed out to Sony in my final email to them on the subject, that's why Amazon is getting all of my ebook orders in the future.

lilac_jive · 02-12-2010, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenschunk

Good luck with getting any other answer from Sony. I had the misfortune to purchase Pirate Latitudes the day the store switched to ePub. Too bad for me that Sony didn't actually have the book available - it was in my cart, so the system let me purchase it, but of course I couldn't download it.

Several calls and chats and emails with technical support provided no answer other than "no refunds". Not even for a book that they couldn't produce, since they didn't have the ePub version yet. Polite, insistent, or exasperated, none of it made a difference. No refunds.

Since there were no refunds for a book that they couldn't deliver and was never downloaded, I'd wish you good luck in getting a refund for a book that was purchased by mistake.

And, as I pointed out to Sony in my final email to them on the subject, that's why Amazon is getting all of my ebook orders in the future.

You should be able to download it now, it's available on their site (just in case you haven't done that yet).

Ervserver · 02-12-2010, 09:28 PM

I've never bought a book from the Sony store, snagged a few free ones but I get books elsewhere. Lately from libraries who lend ebooks

kenschunk · 02-12-2010, 09:42 PM

Yes, I downloaded it when it became available - 3 weeks after I paid for it. I've still got a couple of books that are "Available Soon" after the conversion - soon clearly being a relative term.

dhbailey · 02-13-2010, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenschunk

And, as I pointed out to Sony in my final email to them on the subject, that's why Amazon is getting all of my ebook orders in the future.

You can buy ebooks which work on the Sony from Amazon? I didn't know that. how does that work?

kenschunk · 02-13-2010, 04:10 PM

Well, in my case I have both a Kindle and a Sony. It's not all that difficult to take a Kindle book and convert it to something that the Sony can read. A quick search in the forums can provide the info needed.

craigwillie · 03-03-2010, 11:31 AM

Just an FYI for books that have not yet been made available in ePub format -

I had a book that I had purchased in 2008 when I had alot of credit in my account but had not read yet. When I went to download it, I was unable to as it was not yet available in ePub.

I called customer service, and they gave me the line that the book had not yet been supplied to them in ePub from the publisher - until I pointed them to the publisher's website where the book could be purchased and downloaded in ePub.

Long story short, they gave me a $10 account credit for the book, and said it would still be available in my account when they got around to make it available via ePub.

kenschunk · 03-03-2010, 10:00 PM

I had the same experience yesterday - seeing that I still had books marked as "Available Soon" I called and asked what exactly their definition of soon might be. I got the same "we're waiting on the publisher line", which I responded to by pointing out that one was available in ePub on the several other sites, including the publisher, and the other two were classics series published by Sony.

The customer service rep very nicely gave me a credit for the amount I paid for the books.

Teddman · 03-04-2010, 01:31 AM

Do you think Sony Customer Service would sell me a 505 if I begged over the phone? I'd like to buy one but it's been discontinued in the U.S. and I don't want to pay eBay prices. I know they have new/refurbished units.

AbominableDavid · 03-08-2010, 01:43 PM

My first experience buying an ebook from the Sony site was bad. This was all after the conversion to epub (which made me happy, at first, because I do like the epub format).

I found the book I wanted (a book on the history of India) and purchased it - the correct book showed up on the purchase page. I paid for the book and downloaded it, but instead of the book I purchased I got a Mafia potboiler. First I tried to use Sony's online chat support, but that didn't work with Firefox at first. Then I called their support and got bounced around from person to person before finally being told the problem would be fixed within 24 hours. After 24 hours passed, I got the online chat to work but the person I chatted with was completely unable to help. So I called back to the phone support line and was told that it would be at least 3-5 days before my problem was fixed.

I was pretty irritated by that point, but decided to wait it out. After 4 days the problem still hadn't be resolved, so I called back and was told that it might be 2-3 weeks.

At that point I decided that Sony was just too incompetent to keep my money, so I asked for my money back. They tried for a while to tell me they couldn't do that, but eventually I did get a refund.

I love Sony's PRS-505, but I'll never use their bookstore again.

Zipr · 03-08-2010, 04:13 PM

I called on Saturday to complain about a couple of "Available Soons". They offered to send me a coupon, saying I'd get it within 12-24 hours. That was 2 days ago and I haven't seen it yet.

02-12-2010, 10:47 AM	#1
Phirebird Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Finger Lakes, NY Device: Sony PRS-505 Blue	Sony Ebook Store Customer Service Experience Hi all, I've been following the forums for quite some time and this is my first post. I know others have had issues with Sony customer service and thought I would pass along my experience this morning as a way of helping others avoid the mistake I made. I don't want this to be another vent and rant post, although it may seem that way, but rather a warning to all to stay focused when making your ebook purchases. I've had my PRS-505 for about a year and love it. I would say it is one of the best things I have ever purchased. No complaints with it at all. All my ebook purchases have been from the Sony Ebook Store. This morning I bought 2 books and I goofed on 1 of them. I admit, I downloaded the wrong book. I wanted "Cross Country" by James Patterson and by mistake downloaded "Cross", which I have already read. The covers look very similar on the Ebook Store page and I goofed. I immediately called customer service and explained my mistake and asked if I could make an exchange and pay the difference. As you probably guessed, all sales are final, no way to exchange. I realize that people could download, return and thereby obtain their ebooks for free, but it seems there should be some allowance for honest mistakes that are addressed quickly. My customer history obviously indicates several purchases each month and no prior problems. Well, I learned my lesson. Don't try to multi-task when purchasing ebooks. Sooner or later it will lead to regret. Thanks to all for a fun and informative forum.

03-03-2010, 11:31 AM	#9
craigwillie Member Posts: 12 Karma: 78 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: rooted nook	Refund for books not available in ePub format Just an FYI for books that have not yet been made available in ePub format - I had a book that I had purchased in 2008 when I had alot of credit in my account but had not read yet. When I went to download it, I was unable to as it was not yet available in ePub. I called customer service, and they gave me the line that the book had not yet been supplied to them in ePub from the publisher - until I pointed them to the publisher's website where the book could be purchased and downloaded in ePub. Long story short, they gave me a $10 account credit for the book, and said it would still be available in my account when they got around to make it available via ePub.

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02-12-2010, 10:54 AM	#2
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Yeah, unfortunately unless it's a formatting problem with the book, they don't allow returns or exchanges, and it's pretty clear in the FAQs. You could try and escalate the call, but you would need to be polite about the whole affair as it was your mistake (not beating up on you). I'm not sure if Sony has the capability of getting the book back anyway, if you wanted to return it. They could remove it from your purchased books, but they wouldn't be able to remove it from your computer or device, if I'm not mistaken. Which is a good thing, if you think about it.

02-12-2010, 05:24 PM	#3
kenschunk Member Posts: 22 Karma: 502 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Saratoga Springs, NY Device: History:PRS-505, 700, Kindle-2. Current: Nook 3G, Nook Color	Good luck with getting any other answer from Sony. I had the misfortune to purchase Pirate Latitudes the day the store switched to ePub. Too bad for me that Sony didn't actually have the book available - it was in my cart, so the system let me purchase it, but of course I couldn't download it. Several calls and chats and emails with technical support provided no answer other than "no refunds". Not even for a book that they couldn't produce, since they didn't have the ePub version yet. Polite, insistent, or exasperated, none of it made a difference. No refunds. Since there were no refunds for a book that they couldn't deliver and was never downloaded, I'd wish you good luck in getting a refund for a book that was purchased by mistake. And, as I pointed out to Sony in my final email to them on the subject, that's why Amazon is getting all of my ebook orders in the future.

02-12-2010, 09:28 PM	#5
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	I've never bought a book from the Sony store, snagged a few free ones but I get books elsewhere. Lately from libraries who lend ebooks

02-12-2010, 09:42 PM	#6
kenschunk Member Posts: 22 Karma: 502 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Saratoga Springs, NY Device: History:PRS-505, 700, Kindle-2. Current: Nook 3G, Nook Color	Yes, I downloaded it when it became available - 3 weeks after I paid for it. I've still got a couple of books that are "Available Soon" after the conversion - soon clearly being a relative term.

02-13-2010, 04:10 PM	#8
kenschunk Member Posts: 22 Karma: 502 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Saratoga Springs, NY Device: History:PRS-505, 700, Kindle-2. Current: Nook 3G, Nook Color	Well, in my case I have both a Kindle and a Sony. It's not all that difficult to take a Kindle book and convert it to something that the Sony can read. A quick search in the forums can provide the info needed.

03-03-2010, 10:00 PM	#10
kenschunk Member Posts: 22 Karma: 502 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Saratoga Springs, NY Device: History:PRS-505, 700, Kindle-2. Current: Nook 3G, Nook Color	I had the same experience yesterday - seeing that I still had books marked as "Available Soon" I called and asked what exactly their definition of soon might be. I got the same "we're waiting on the publisher line", which I responded to by pointing out that one was available in ePub on the several other sites, including the publisher, and the other two were classics series published by Sony. The customer service rep very nicely gave me a credit for the amount I paid for the books.

03-04-2010, 01:31 AM	#11
Teddman Addict Posts: 242 Karma: 695 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505	Do you think Sony Customer Service would sell me a 505 if I begged over the phone? I'd like to buy one but it's been discontinued in the U.S. and I don't want to pay eBay prices. I know they have new/refurbished units.

03-08-2010, 01:43 PM	#12
AbominableDavid Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Tennessee Device: Kobo Aura HD	My first experience buying an ebook from the Sony site was bad. This was all after the conversion to epub (which made me happy, at first, because I do like the epub format). I found the book I wanted (a book on the history of India) and purchased it - the correct book showed up on the purchase page. I paid for the book and downloaded it, but instead of the book I purchased I got a Mafia potboiler. First I tried to use Sony's online chat support, but that didn't work with Firefox at first. Then I called their support and got bounced around from person to person before finally being told the problem would be fixed within 24 hours. After 24 hours passed, I got the online chat to work but the person I chatted with was completely unable to help. So I called back to the phone support line and was told that it would be at least 3-5 days before my problem was fixed. I was pretty irritated by that point, but decided to wait it out. After 4 days the problem still hadn't be resolved, so I called back and was told that it might be 2-3 weeks. At that point I decided that Sony was just too incompetent to keep my money, so I asked for my money back. They tried for a while to tell me they couldn't do that, but eventually I did get a refund. I love Sony's PRS-505, but I'll never use their bookstore again.

03-08-2010, 04:13 PM	#13
Zipr Zealot Posts: 99 Karma: 30 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Grapevine, TX Device: Sony PRS505	I called on Saturday to complain about a couple of "Available Soons". They offered to send me a coupon, saying I'd get it within 12-24 hours. That was 2 days ago and I haven't seen it yet.

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