Either Kobo is in the process of downsizing (or possibly phasing out) their US distribution or they’re incompetent. I’m not sure which, but the fact of the matter is Kobo’s ereaders are constantly out of stock in the US or priced above the MSRP, while they’re readily available in other parts of the world.
You might think that it’s just a coincidence, but there’s definitely something fishy about Kobo’s US distribution. Right now Kobo’s US website only has 3 models in stock, the Libra Colour, the Clara BW, and the Elipsa 2E. The Clara Colour has been out of stock for the better part of the past month.
And yet all models are in stock and shipping from Kobo’s UK and Canadian websites. Counting refurbished units, there are 8 different models available to order in Canada and there are 7 in the UK. It’s hard not to notice such a significant drop off when it comes to their US offerings.
Additionally, Kobo opted not to do a Mother’s Day sale in the US this year, but their UK and Canadian sites both have ongoing sales for Mother’s Day right now.
It’s gotten to the point where it’s hard to find Kobo ereaders on Amazon that aren’t listed above the MSRP. Right now the Kobo Clara BW is selling for $225 on Amazon when the retail price is supposed to be $139.
Blue Proton, Kobo’s official reseller in the US, is charging $299 for the Kobo Sage, despite the fact the real retail price is $269. They’re selling the Kobo Libra Colour for $249, while Kobo is selling it for $229. Why is Kobo allowing their official partner to price gouge customers in the US?
Maybe Kobo’s margins are too thin to absorb the new 25% tariff in the US, but they recently raised the prices of their ereaders by $10 each to defer some of the costs to customers. I’ve seen some reports on reddit of people in the US ordering directly from Kobo and not having any extra fees added at all, even when shipped from Canada, so nobody is really sure if tariffs apply to Kobo’s ereaders or not.
Maybe it’s just too much of a hassle for a small company like Kobo to deal with, so they’re starting to treat the US market as an afterthought. If the Clara Colour is out of stock for a couple months, so be it—who cares. Kobo’s US distribution has always seemed half-hearted at best, especially after their partnership with Walmart ended.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kobo ditch the US market entirely at some point. It already seems like they’ve conceded the US ebook market to Amazon, so it wouldn’t really change much from their point of view. They rarely advertise in the US, they don’t stock their ereaders in a single retail store in the US, their devices are constantly out of stock unless you’re willing to pay above retail, and now they’re not even doing sales in the US anymore, so what’s really going on with Kobo?
Would ceasing sales of Kobo readers in the US affect purchasing Kobo ebooks as well? Would the US be geo-blocked from accessing their website unless we run a VPN? I’ve been slowly but surely diversifying my ebook purchases, since it’s easy to strip DRM from Kobo books. Kobo seems to have every title that’s available on Amazon, unless said title is Amazon exclusive of course. Google Play is very much hit and miss.
As far as I know when Kobo left the German market to make way for their partnership with tolino, the bookshop remained functional (and even after that for new devices logging into Kobo accounts).
I think that the US would be too big of a market to abandon completely anyway. Maybe the stock shortages are a sign of new devices coming, and/or Kobo streamlining their portfolio.
No, I’m not suggesting anything like that. They’d still sell ebooks even if selling ereaders in the US became too much of a hassle. A lot more people use apps to read on phones and tablets than dedicated ereaders by a wide margin—that’s the main reason ereaders aren’t more popular.
Tariffs on products coming in to the US directly from China would have been subject to tariffs for a while now. I’m not surprised that the distributor is getting low on stock. There’s plenty more of that to come (not just from Kobo). Before May 2nd packages coming from Kobo Canada or UK would have been exempt from tariffs under the de minimis program. That’s no longer the case. Anything coming in to the US now will be subject to the 145% tariff plus brokerage fees and any applicable local sales tax.
Not sure I understand this post. I can get one from Amazon, delivered tomorrow for $229
Yeah, they have the Libra Colour in stock for the time being. But what about the Clara BW, the Clara Colour, the Kobo Sage—all those are above MSRP on Amazon or out of stock.
I am wondering if this is a consumer response to Amazon’s decision that no longer allows readers to download kindle books. There are a ton of YouTube videos promoting Kobo as a way to move from the kindle universe.
I think that’s it too, Sandra. Kobo doesn’t have a reason to abandon USA sales, after many are leaving Kindle for Kobo.
Good e reader has no shame …two articles, including this one, this week from Nathan, the Ebook Reader, have been plagiarized. Unreal.
From what I’ve read there was a general trend in the U.S. to buy (foreign made) consumer goods in the run-up to the Trump Tax. Perhaps such a mass buying spree was responsible for Kobo’s lack of U.S. inventory. With the sporadic on-and-off nature of Trump’s tariffs U.S. consumers should expect supply chain and price volatility and a general reluctance to invest long term in the U.S. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kobo (and others) pulls out.
More likely, Kobo didn’t or couldn’t stock up enough for these detrimental tariffs.
What exactly is surprising about that? The tariffs mean a lot of companies are gonna leave American market. And the ones that stay will raise their prices by dozens of percent (same as local companies like Microsoft making Xbox 25-30% more expensive because of tariffs as they import from China).
Kobo is doing the logical thing if they leave. At this point doing business in the USA just doesn’t make sense. And as was stated here already, they didn’t have to pay the tariffs until the beginning of May. That’s why it’s changing now. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the other brands would follow this trend until only Amazon is left.
Hopefully, this tariff madness will resolve itself in time for the fall release readers. I am not optimistic.
Neither am I. Trump is an idiot, so these problems will probably last. And the only people feeling the result will be American citizens who will become much poorer than they ever were. I mean as European I don’t mind, it’s only making us richer in comparison and we laugh at the situation, but it’s kinda sad to watch once so well respected and powerful country to self-destroy like that.
Wait, I’m about to get poorer?…..LOL. Will an e-reader cost 1000 dollars?
Search for Kobo shows a US site. Looks to be a Walmart replacement.