Kobo has proposed a very adequate solution to the mess resulting from last week's bungled Kobo Mini sale.
As I reported yesterday, Kobo briefly ran a sale last week where they offered a new Kobo Mini with a Pearl screen and a gray knit sleepcover for $50.
Unfortunately for everyone, what Kobo had intended to sell (and all they ahd on hand) were old demo units with pink rubber shells. Since Kobo doesn't have the units it listed on its website, it has instead decided to give everyone a refund.
Here is the official statement:
The Kobo Mini eReaders that were sold from November 3 to 7 in Canada and the US were devices produced for retail store demo environments. Although the eReaders were unused and in original, sealed packaging, the description onKobo.com should have explicitly stated that they were demo devices. This was an error and it was not Rakuten Kobo’s intention to mislead customers. As such, those who bought the Kobo Mini will automatically receive a full refund for the device and shipping costs, and are welcome to keep the device if they wish. Rakuten Kobo apologizes for this unfortunate error and is working quickly to get booklovers back to reading.
If you bought a Kobo Mini in last week's sale, contact customer service so you can get your refund. You might need to reference this post.
I just got off the phone with customer service. He has been getting calls about this bundle, but said his department can’t do anything about it. He knew nothing about this official statement. Not surprised. Amazon customer service this isn’t. I was told that my case was escalated yesterday and to wait until I hear from them.
It’s a mess, isn’t it?
Yeah, you could say that. He also said that their info shows that we mistakenly got the grey sleepcover when we should have gotten the red back plate. Oh how I wish. I really wanted that cover.
[…] Mittlerweile hat sich Kobo gegenüber The Digital Reader offiziell geäußert und will allen Käufern automatisch den Kaufpreis und die Versandkosten erstatten. Gleichzeitig […]
I have not received a refund yet. Well it said automatically.
I haven’t heard back from the direct orders division yet, but they still have another day (I was given a 48 hour window). If I don’t hear back from them or receive a refund by tomorrow evening, I will call again to demand a refund.
And if that doesn’t work, I will be forced to dispute the charge.
I was just coming back round to Kobo after buying the Glo HD. I really thought they have improved their UI, responsiveness, and ebook prices. But if they screw me over or give me the runaround I will be done with them for good.
What went wrong with the Glo HD?
Got an email today with my tracking number, and just now got the Paypal refund notification for the full amount!
I didn’t need to contact them–they refunded my account in full last night, and I get to keep the reader, which is holding a charge like a new one.
I guess I shouldn’t have said “really thought” it made it sound like I was having issues with the Glo HD. I’m not having any issues, it’s an awesome device. It’s just that if I receive bad customer service then I’m done. That is what happened with me and Nook.
I’ve been issued a refund. It was bad of them (actually illegal right?) to falsely advertise a Kobo Mini model that didn’t exist and sent an old demo model complete with 2011 firmware and an old battery and no sleep cover.
Thank you for digging into this and posting about it. I can’t help but think that made a difference in Kobo issuing those refunds.
I’m still waiting for my refund. Getting a refund will alleviate my sudden animosity for Kobo. I hope they don’t delay too long. In the meantime, I’ve already updated my Mini to 3.18.0.
I received a full refund also. I agree with DavidW in thinking that your posts about this issue most likely made a difference in how it was handled by Kobo. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Thanks!
[…] the Kobo Mini, who thought they were buying new but actually were getting refurbished demo devices (refunds […]