Sony can be considered the first mainstream company to get involved in the e-reader space. They had models on the market at least a full year before Amazon even announced the first Kindle. A few weeks ago a bombshell announcement was made that Sony was closing their online Reader Store and transitioning all of their North American customers to Kobo. Users, are starting to express tremendous disdain about this move.
Jeff P recently wrote “HORRID! HORRID! HORRID! I’ve been a member since November 2007. The only readers or tablets I’ve ever were Sony so that I could use the reader software. I once told a sales clerk that I didn’t need the extended warranty because I was buying a Sony. Almost every piece of electronic equipment I have is Sony. I won’t buy another Sony ANYTHING. Yes, you say customers are first, well, I’m the first customer to tell you that you’ve made a HORRID mistake and I’m never going to buy another Sony product EVER.”
Ray Laurence actually made a very good point. “Shocking news. I am surprised that I received this news via my son who received an email from you. I never received an email. Considering the volume of purchases and the activity in my account, I would have thought I would have been notified. I would like to know what Sony intends to do with our financial data, and if I can remove it at this point.” Sony let him know that they will only remove financial data on a per request basis.
Danise said “I am struggling to not cry. I worked for Borders books for 10 years and liquidated 3 stores. For any book lover, for anyone who wants options in the marketplace (Amazon being the last place I buy books), this is a shame.”
Elle Couto weighed in by saying “I am very unhappy about this and it is unlikely I will ever purchase a Sony product again. Your company does not realize that any time a U.S. customer purchases anything from Kobo, we pay a foreign transaction fee. This is why I stopped purchasing from them. Bad form, Sony and I will certainly keep that in mind when I purchasing other products that Sony makes.”
Joeanne Vallat commented “To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. I love my Sony e-reader and the Sony site. I have 300+ books on my e-reader and am holding my breath that they transfer over. From the other comments about Kobo, the quality, pricing and customer service I am really not looking forward to this experience. I signed with Kobo with my BB Playbook and only got one book as there was just no comparison between Kobo and Sony. I do not believe your statement that you care about your customers or you would have done more research on this before you made the move.”
Della said “I hate kobo when borders went out of business kobo took over and we never could recover our purchased books. This stinks.”
Ron is another user regretting to ever do business with Sony “When Borders closed their ebook store they moved content to Kobo as well. What a disappointment that was. Funny thing, Sony closes a well run site and transfers customers to Kobo, a company that somehow manages to stay in business despite a lack of customer service, poor interface, poor selection, high prices and just an overall bad experience.
For what it’s worth, I went to Kindle recently and I wish I had gone with Kindle in the first place. And, it’s relatively simple to load epub books onto the Kindle, just google for instructions. Amazon customer service is great, prices are good, it’s easy to use and the battery life is much better than Sony (I have 3, all have short battery life). And the new Paperwhite has built in side lighting as an option. It will be a long, long time before I buy another Sony product.”
Tony weighed in with “I have just been SHOCKED by the news of Sony abandoning yet another one of its greatest creations! I am a loyal SONY consumer, but it is starting to become hard to stay in love with them. From the Mini-Disc to its music store and now its ebook store…all GONE. Extremely saddened!”
Elizabeth Ruyle lamented “I am really beginning to feel like I have been scammed. I have had my Ereader for a little over 3 years and have been very happy with it and the library/store. Therefore, for Christmas I bought two readers for my children – supposedly on sale. Now I find out my reader won’t work on transfer.
My reader needed a repair and in the process the tech lost about 8-10 books I really want. Now they say over $100 to repair, even though the model won’t work. I thought Sony was a well established and reliable company – so much for “reliable name brand” companies. I really feel like we are getting a raw deal. I have bragged about Sony readers to everyone who has asked what brand I have. Not any more, I will complain and bad talk Sony now. This 78 yr old lady feels like I have been taken advantage of.”
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.