06-05-2013, 11:04 AM | #16 |
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06-05-2013, 11:11 AM | #17 |
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06-05-2013, 05:50 PM | #18 |
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I live in Eastern NC, which is about as rural and country as it gets these days, and there were 4 bookstores within an hours drive that had multiple Kobo Glo's in stock when I was out looking to buy one. It's not a geography thing so much as whether or not a particular bookstore wishes to enroll in the program. I did notice when I looked at the list of participating stores on the indiebound website that it had grown a good bit since I purchased my Kobo. Just out of curiousity, I looked it up and they show quite a few bookstores in the Hartford Ct area, some of which state they sell the Kobo.
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06-06-2013, 06:19 AM | #19 | |
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Quote:
Shari Last edited by shalym; 06-06-2013 at 06:58 AM. |
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06-06-2013, 06:57 AM | #20 |
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My point in posting this stuff about distances is that the Kobo isn't easily available to look at. I would to check one out, but I don't know anyone who has one, and I don't have time to drive that far just to look at an e-reader.
I might do it if there weren't many others available to look at in stores that are much closer to me, and I'd bet that many others would, too. If you ask most people about E-readers in the US, they are going to talk about Kindle or Nook. I actually knew someone who had a Sony a couple of years ago, but she switched to Nook when her Sony died. So...is Kobo ignoring the US because they figure that they've lost the market here already, so they're focusing on the rest of the world? Or is it just that they don't know how to try to break in to the US Market? Why are they no longer selling anywhere but independent bookstores in the US? (and they don't even sell at all independent bookstores, just a select few) Shari |
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06-06-2013, 05:44 PM | #21 | |
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Quote:
Many of us want to see these small, independent shops survive due to the value they add to reading in general and services to the reading community, things like author readings, hosted book clubs, coffee shops and meeting space plus writer's forums. What specific services a bookstore has depends on the particular bookstore. Kobo was founded by a large independent Canadian book store. They designed what they felt was a better eReader, one they would themselves want to use, and an entire service designed specifically for enthusiastic readers. Kindles are good too, I know because I have a pile of them, but I want my local bookstore to still be around because it provides many things to me and my community that Amazon cannot. |
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06-06-2013, 06:28 PM | #22 |
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Here's the list I was referring to, this is just the list of independent bookstores that are selling the Kobo.
http://www.indiebound.org/ebooks The home page has a link where you can search for all independent bookstores in your area, not just those that sell the Kobo. The problem isn't that Kobo only sells to a few independent bookstores, it's that only a few independent bookstores signed up to participate in the Kobo program. The bookstore I got mine from explained to me that they don't make a whole lot of money on the Kobo program, but it has brought more customers into the store, me for instance. I had never heard of the store until I started doing research to find a Kobo Glo. Apparently I was not the only one and they have now sold several. I've returned to that store a time or two and purchased things there. The owner remembers me because of my emails asking about the Kobo and refers to me as "The Kobo Guy"! They had decent brand exposure through Borders when that was still around, it's how I got my first Kobo. When Borders disappeared they were left without a way to really continue in the US market and decided to create the independent bookstore program. Will it work? Only time will tell, I do know it worked for me. Last edited by IcecreamLtDan; 06-06-2013 at 06:31 PM. |
06-07-2013, 09:25 AM | #23 |
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Apparently Powell's will ship everywhere in the US (through their online store powells.com). Several posters on other threads have bought their Kobos there. No Auras available though. Free shipping through Father's Day right now...
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06-09-2013, 09:03 AM | #24 |
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06-10-2013, 11:12 AM | #25 |
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That's funny. For the first time in a verrrrry long time, I went into a secondhand bookstore on Saturday (they also have some first-run books). It was an adventure. I forgot what it was to search and look for books in a physical environment.
Of course, since I was there, I did purchase a book - even though it was a little over-priced. I had no idea that place had moved into the shopping center. But, it was a nice surprise. |
06-10-2013, 12:01 PM | #26 |
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When utilizing lists of U.S. bookstores which are said to carry the Glo, I've had to be empirical. In New York City alone, a series of quick phone calls will confirm that only one of the stores listed by the ABA does in fact carry the Glo (and that certain of the stores themselves no longer exist).
I'm hoping the Aura becomes de rigeur for Kobo next year, and that Powell's excellent discount on the Glo and official case will be recapped a year after that with the Unlimited Aura. A man can dream, after all (insert Victorian etching of wingéd Auras flying to various MR members' homes). |
06-10-2013, 05:33 PM | #27 |
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I was out shopping with my youngest and we passed a B&N. We stopped into the store. They had a tablet right where you entered the store and he did not move past that display until I surrendered and we left.
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06-14-2013, 10:39 AM | #28 |
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My Kobo Touch has suffered from "freeze" for some months, ever increasing frequency. It has now reached the stage where it freezes/crashes every page or two. Restarting opens at page 1 every time. Followed all Kobo instructions to reset and to restore to factory settings several times. Same fault recurs. Spoke to Kobo help line - no help at all, just repeated reset/restore instructions. Next instruction - as it is over a year old and there is no repair service, just toss it in the trash.
Kobo have just lost a customer, going to get me a decent tablet. |
06-19-2013, 01:49 AM | #29 | |
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Not by a long shot, and especially if you've never left your respective county. |
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06-19-2013, 05:58 PM | #30 |
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I've lived in 15 of our states and 1 other country to boot. No expert of course, but I think I have a clue.
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