Kobo needs a shopping cart.

oj829 · 12-27-2012, 05:29 PM

I've had the opportunity to take a peek at the processing fees taken out of my Kobo purchases, and while I can't say that they are 100% credit card "swipe" fees, I can say that whatever they are, they're a bigger percentage of the pie when the retail price is lower: 4.6% of a $5.99 e-book, and 2.7% of a $35 e-book, for example.

Folks have belly-ached before about lack of a cart, and it now seems to be costing both Kobo and its indie affiliates real money (if indeed any portion is going to the CC juggernaut).

murg · 12-27-2012, 08:15 PM

This behaviour may be illegal in Australia. We have strong laws surrounding credit card surcharging.

nogle · 12-27-2012, 08:48 PM

I think the OP is saying that s/he had the opportunity to see some breakdown of the fee charged to his/her card and that of the charge, the credit card was charging Kobo an amount ranging from 2.7-4.6% that would include processing and other fees. So, not money out of the OP's pocket, but out of Kobo's margin.

I think that surcharges on credit card transactions are disallowed under the merchant agreements with Visa and MasterCard in most jurisdictions.

oj829 · 12-27-2012, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogle

I think the OP is saying that s/he had the opportunity to see some breakdown of the fee charged to his/her card and that of the charge, the credit card was charging Kobo an amount ranging from 2.7-4.6% that would include processing and other fees. So, not money out of the OP's pocket, but out of Kobo's margin.

(And out of the indie bookstore affiliate's, too.)

But yes - Correct. I paid Kobo's retail price and not a penny more, but the "processing fee" line item of the breakdown varied as a percentage of the retail price. And it appears that the smaller the bottom line number, the bigger taste the card companies got. I may be mistaken, but if I could "shopping cart" the books, and thus avoid, say, $5.99 purchases, the CC companies could be kept to getting only a half pound of flesh.

murg · 12-28-2012, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oj829

(And out of the indie bookstore affiliate's, too.)

But yes - Correct. I paid Kobo's retail price and not a penny more, but the "processing fee" line item of the breakdown varied as a percentage of the retail price. And it appears that the smaller the bottom line number, the bigger taste the card companies got. I may be mistaken, but if I could "shopping cart" the books, and thus avoid, say, $5.99 purchases, the CC companies could be kept to getting only a half pound of flesh.

As related, this is basically a credit card surcharge, it's just being included in the sales price. Of course, since you can only buy Kobo books by credit card, their is not offsetting ability to purchase using cash.

~tjayz~ · 12-28-2012, 02:08 AM

Quote:

As related, this is basically a credit card surcharge, it's just being included in the sales price. Of course, since you can only buy Kobo books by credit card, their is not offsetting ability to purchase using cash.

You can buy Kobo books using Paypal, and if your Paypal account is linked to your bank account like mine is - no annoying credit card surcharges.

But I do agree that it would be good if Kobo had a cart for when you want to buy more than one book at a time.

Danger · 12-28-2012, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~tjayz~

You can buy Kobo books using Paypal, and if your Paypal account is linked to your bank account like mine is - no annoying credit card surcharges.

But I do agree that it would be good if Kobo had a cart for when you want to buy more than one book at a time.

I've got my paypal set the same way. After trying to buy a large amount of books initially from Kobo this was a huge pain in the ass without a shopping cart. If I have a good discount code 25%+, I'll buy from Kobo (assuming I can find a book to use it on) but I don't buy more than one book during a visit. I do however buy upwards of 5-6 books at a time at Books on Board and Baen as they both have a shopping cart, decent prices and allow paypal. Now if Tor would get their store up and running I'd be really happy.

kevenv · 12-28-2012, 12:13 PM

Cart or no cart, PayPal or CC, the price you pay for the book is the same. Credit card companies charge the seller a processing fee on every transaction. This happens to EVERY seller that accepts credit cards for payment, online and in person. Again, you pay the same price regardless of how you pay.

12-27-2012, 05:29 PM	#1
oj829 Groupie Posts: 191 Karma: 574940 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo, Kobo Arc(32GB), Kobo Arc 7HD, Kobo Glo HD,NookHD	Kobo needs a shopping cart. I've had the opportunity to take a peek at the processing fees taken out of my Kobo purchases, and while I can't say that they are 100% credit card "swipe" fees, I can say that whatever they are, they're a bigger percentage of the pie when the retail price is lower: 4.6% of a $5.99 e-book, and 2.7% of a $35 e-book, for example. Folks have belly-ached before about lack of a cart, and it now seems to be costing both Kobo and its indie affiliates real money (if indeed any portion is going to the CC juggernaut).

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Glo Kobo Glo: Today's Showstopper on The Shopping Channel (Canada)	dmacmart	Kobo Reader	11	10-26-2012 07:39 PM
The Shopping Channel - Kobo Vox - $180	PeterT	Kobo Tablets	2	08-15-2012 11:16 PM
Kobo eBook Shopping Cart	PeterT	Kobo Reader	36	01-06-2012 08:22 AM
A question about cross-border Kobo shopping	kjturner71	Kobo Reader	8	03-08-2011 10:41 PM
Shopping at Sony ebook store for kobo	wrenn1	Kobo Reader	15	06-17-2010 12:31 PM

12-27-2012, 08:15 PM	#2
murg No Comment Posts: 3,240 Karma: 23878043 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Australia Device: Kobo: Not just an eReader, it's an adventure!	This behaviour may be illegal in Australia. We have strong laws surrounding credit card surcharging.

12-27-2012, 08:48 PM	#3
nogle Gangnam style! Posts: 373 Karma: 3646106 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kobo	I think the OP is saying that s/he had the opportunity to see some breakdown of the fee charged to his/her card and that of the charge, the credit card was charging Kobo an amount ranging from 2.7-4.6% that would include processing and other fees. So, not money out of the OP's pocket, but out of Kobo's margin. I think that surcharges on credit card transactions are disallowed under the merchant agreements with Visa and MasterCard in most jurisdictions.

12-28-2012, 12:13 PM	#8
kevenv Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 178980 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kobo Touch	Cart or no cart, PayPal or CC, the price you pay for the book is the same. Credit card companies charge the seller a processing fee on every transaction. This happens to EVERY seller that accepts credit cards for payment, online and in person. Again, you pay the same price regardless of how you pay.

Advert

Advert