Kobo returns

[Luv2read5]

I was quite surprised to learn today that the Kobo ereader can only be returned if unopened.

I decided to buy a Kobo after using another reader for the past 2 years. I have purchased many ebooks from the Kobo site so I thought I would give it a try. I was not impressed at the process needed to transfer non Kobo ebooks to the Kobo reader.

What if a person really does not like the product ?

Seems to me, a Chapters store should be able to make a judgement call on some returns or even offer a gift card to encourage further spending.

Is there someone other than the on duty "manager" that can be contacted?

I am not one of those "raging" customers who make a "scene" in the store but I am upset with this policy.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you.

[HarleyB]

This won't help you now but I can only suggest that you needed to do more research before your purchase - both on how the Kobo works and on the returns policy.

What didn't you like about transferring non Kobo books? I use both Calibre and Adobe and I don't think it could be easier - I've never bothered with the drag method but it's supposed to be quite simple as well.

Perhaps if you could explain your problem or why you weren't impressed someone could assist you?

[murg]

How can the process of loading non-Kobo books to the Touch be?

Plug reader into USB.
Click and drag epub file to reader disk.
Disconnect USB.

[Luv2read5]

Thank you Harley & Murg

You are correct. I should have done more research. Lesson learned.

Unfortunately Murg it wasn't that simple for me to transfer by plugging the usb in. That does work for the Sony though.

I appreciate you both replying. It is always nice to hear from others who have a different perspective on the situation.

[HarleyB]

You still haven't said what your problem is - only that your aren't impressed and it's not simple.
If you explain what you are trying to do and what happens then most likely someone here will be able to help you.
Where are your ebooks currently stored? What happened when you tried to drag them onto your Kobo?
Have you tried using Calibre?

[RoninTech]

Originally Posted by Luv2read5

Thank you Harley & Murg

You are correct. I should have done more research. Lesson learned.

Unfortunately Murg it wasn't that simple for me to transfer by plugging the usb in. That does work for the Sony though.

I appreciate you both replying. It is always nice to hear from others who have a different perspective on the situation.

Go to a different store. I had this same experience at an Indigo (Calgary - 130th Ave.) and after 5 minutes of questions got to this topic (what if my wife doesn't like it?) and when the sales girl checked with the manager and said this I replied "are you kidding? If you guys won't stand behind your product then I'm not interested", and left. Went to a different Chapters (Shawnessy) and they told me I could return it within a year. You can't "really" try it at the store and reading others reviews doesn't tell you if it will meet your ( or in my case, my wife's) needs.

If a store really wouldn't let you return a product then I'd steer clear from it as they must suspect there will be many returns...

I think this is another example of the usual rule of thumb when dealing with customer service. If you don't hear what you want, call back (or go to a different location) and try again.

[The Terminator]

Originally Posted by Luv2read5

Thank you Harley & Murg

You are correct. I should have done more research. Lesson learned.

Unfortunately Murg it wasn't that simple for me to transfer by plugging the usb in. That does work for the Sony though.

I appreciate you both replying. It is always nice to hear from others who have a different perspective on the situation.

Are you using Windows Explorer? That's the simpleist way to load them onto it, just like the Sony, Nook, and Kindle.......

Originally Posted by Luv2read5

Unfortunately Murg it wasn't that simple for me to transfer by plugging the usb in. That does work for the Sony though.

I'm not sure what you mean. The Kobo should just appear in your file manager as a removable drive or in ADE/Calibre, and you just copy/paste the files across. Very little out there is much simpler.

Originally Posted by RoninTech

when the sales girl checked with the manager and said this I replied "are you kidding? If you guys won't stand behind your product then I'm not interested", and left

Slight deviation of topic, and I know bookstores are different, but I just wanted to say that, as someone working in electronics retail, blanket change of mind returns policies are a major pain to deal with. Customers return products badly repacked or not even repacked at all. Sometimes, there's packaging missing, and the company I work for, at least, has a minimum 10% off all returned stock, and customers tend to demand more off. So stores end up losing money because someone didn't like the colour or didn't like how the light reflected off their screen. (Or worse, they've bought a 40"+ TV for a sports match and returned it the next day. Actually happens.)

This tends to be why you'll find places which won't accept change of mind returns. The retailer I work for used to have this really popular 14 day 'no questions asked' returns policy for over a decade, but then head office slowly realised that the company was losing a lot of money because of it. Mondays have been a lot slower since the returns policy was removed, I can tell you.

If they won't accept it because it's faulty, then there's something very wrong and iffy going on there (in Australia, the national consumer law specifically states that a retailer cannot refuse to deal with any faulty products it sold, and I get the impression that Canada has a similar thing), and you'd be right to be a little suspicious.

But I just wrote this to say that, from the other side of the counter, accepting returns for simple changes of mind isn't always that simple. Or nice to deal with. Not saying it's not great for customers, and bookstores tend to be pretty good about returns. At least, Borders and A&R over here were before they went into administration and all their physical stores closed.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

Are you using Windows Explorer? That's the simpleist way to load them onto it, just like the Sony, Nook, and Kindle.......

Remember; if the books are DRM protected ePubs then the Kobo will have to have been authorized; if using ePubs from Kobo Books then this will be done via Adobe Desktop Edition.

[RoninTech]

Originally Posted by cyvros

Slight deviation of topic, and I know bookstores are different, but I just wanted to say that, as someone working in electronics retail, blanket change of mind returns policies are a major pain to deal with. Customers return products badly repacked or not even repacked at all. Sometimes, there's packaging missing, and the company I work for, at least, has a minimum 10% off all returned stock, and customers tend to demand more off. So stores end up losing money because someone didn't like the colour or didn't like how the light reflected off their screen. (Or worse, they've bought a 40"+ TV for a sports match and returned it the next day. Actually happens.)

This tends to be why you'll find places which won't accept change of mind returns. The retailer I work for used to have this really popular 14 day 'no questions asked' returns policy for over a decade, but then head office slowly realised that the company was losing a lot of money because of it. Mondays have been a lot slower since the returns policy was removed, I can tell you.

If they won't accept it because it's faulty, then there's something very wrong and iffy going on there (in Australia, the national consumer law specifically states that a retailer cannot refuse to deal with any faulty products it sold, and I get the impression that Canada has a similar thing), and you'd be right to be a little suspicious.

But I just wrote this to say that, from the other side of the counter, accepting returns for simple changes of mind isn't always that simple. Or nice to deal with. Not saying it's not great for customers, and bookstores tend to be pretty good about returns. At least, Borders and A&R over here were before they went into administration and all their physical stores closed.

Completely agree about "change of mind" returns. When I said "what if she doesn't like it" I should have clarified for reasons such as flakiness etc.

[kaikara]

Originally Posted by cyvros

If they won't accept it because it's faulty, then there's something very wrong and iffy going on there (in Australia, the national consumer law specifically states that a retailer cannot refuse to deal with any faulty products it sold, and I get the impression that Canada has a similar thing), and you'd be right to be a little suspicious.

But I just wrote this to say that, from the other side of the counter, accepting returns for simple changes of mind isn't always that simple. Or nice to deal with. Not saying it's not great for customers, and bookstores tend to be pretty good about returns. At least, Borders and A&R over here were before they went into administration and all their physical stores closed.

In my case chapters did do a return on a defective product. My wifes first touch had a defective screen that would show lots of artifacts. They just gave her a new one no questions asked and this was at a different store then the one purchased at.

For the original poster I agree with the store is that is the policy for just changing yoru mind. The cost of returning non-defective items is huge. The box is now opened and used. So it has to be either sold as such or returned to kobo. If kobo won't pay the retailer for a returned non-defective product then you can't expect chapters to accept the return as they will have to eat the cost. Remember that a retailer is just that. They don't manufacturer the product - they are just selling it.

[paulsalter]

you are quite lucky where you live if stores mainly do a return if you dont like it

many items cannot be returned unless faulty (ebook readers, cameras, mp3 players as examples) in the UK

[RoninTech]

Originally Posted by paulsalter

you are quite lucky where you live if stores mainly do a return if you dont like it

many items cannot be returned unless faulty (ebook readers, cameras, mp3 players as examples) in the UK

"If you don't like it" can be interpreted in so may ways. For example if I went in and said I decided I don't like the colour I could be sent packing. However if I said it was because the browser was very flakey and caused resets, I should have absolutely no problem returning it.

One of the biggest stores in North America, Costco, has an amazing return policy, so this causes many other stores to allow it also. That being said, the number of days allowed for a return is different for different types of items.

[paulsalter]

Originally Posted by RoninTech

"If you don't like it" can be interpreted in so may ways. For example if I went in and said I decided I don't like the colour I could be sent packing. However if I said it was because the browser was very flakey and caused resets, I should have absolutely no problem returning it.

That is very true

If there are issues with something then we are covered by the 'Sale of Goods Act', so if my Kobo goes wrong within the first 2 months I can go back to the store and get a replacement, they might argue, but I have the right to return it (not sure if this covers a refund or not, but possibly does if the device doesnt do what it should), I dont need to go near Kobo for support on the device

If I took it back and said I didnt like the way I transfer non kobo books onto it (like the op), I would be sent packing just like the op was

but as you say, things can be interpreted many ways, not fit for purpose could mean many things

[LuvReadin]

Originally Posted by paulsalter

you are quite lucky where you live if stores mainly do a return if you dont like it

many items cannot be returned unless faulty (ebook readers, cameras, mp3 players as examples) in the UK

That's not really the case - you don't have an automatic legal right to return it unless it's faulty, but in practice, few stores will refuse a return because they don't want to lose a customer.

Originally Posted by paulsalter

That is very true

so if my Kobo goes wrong within the first 2 months I can go back to the store and get a replacement,

Not sure where you're getting this from - the SOGA actually specifies 'within a reasonable time', which is up to 6 years on large appliances, but is usually 1 year for small items like this. Shops do still try to fob customers off and make them contact the manufacturer, but the customer's contract is with the retailer, and it's the retailer who's liable if something goes wrong.