E-Books

Customers looking to pre-order upcoming eBook releases can now do so from stores participating in the ABA/Kobo partnership.

On January 31, IndieCommerce stores that do not participate in the Kobo eBook program will no longer be able to sell e-books. That’s the date set by Google for the end of the Google eBooks reseller program worldwide. Stores that would still like to offer e-books to their customers should sign up as soon as possible for the ABA/Kobo program.

Among the topics put forth at morning sessions on Thursday, January 17, at the Digital Book World Conference + Expo were a discussion on how Kobo is helping independent bookstores reach the e-book market and a look at consumers’ attitudes toward e-books and how they’ve changed over the course of just a few years.

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Kobo is launching a national promotional event on Kobo Mini eReaders and Snapbacks leading up to Valentine’s Day. Beginning January 25 and ending February 14, the promotion consists of a Kobo Mini for $59.99 and a free Snapback.

On Tuesday, January 15,  at the Children’s Publishing Goes Digital Conference in NYC, two sessions presented key findings from recent studies on influencers of children’s book choices, methods of discovery, and attitudes towards books and reading.

From now through Wednesday, January 23, Kobo will be offering readers the opportunity to win prizes in a “Guess the Character Trivia Contest.”

ABA is asking member stores to direct all Kobo-related e-mails to a new address.

On Tuesday morning, January 15, Kobo announced that the Kobo Interactive Trivia Contest, which was set to start at  at 10:00 a.m. EST, had been indefinitely postponed. Kobo apologized for the inconvenience and said it would let booksellers know when it will be ready to proceed with the contest.

Independent bookstores now have the ability to sell tablets to their customers. Kobo has announced that the newest member of its device family, the Kobo Arc, is in stock at Ingram and ready to ship. Arc accessories — a sleep cover and anti-glare screen protector — are also in stock at Ingram.

The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it had reached a settlement with Penguin Group (USA) in the antitrust suit brought in April against Apple and five major publishers with agency model pricing for e-books.

To help stores catch last-minute holiday shoppers, Kobo is sponsoring a  $49.99 Kobo Mini promotion this weekend. There are no restrictions on when stores can begin publicizing the December 21, 22, 23 sale, and promotional resources, including banners and posters, are now available on the Booksellers DIY Kobo page.

IndieCommerce stores that have not signed up to participate in the Kobo eBook program must do so by January 7 in order to ensure that there is no interruption in their ability to sell digital content. Also on the 7th, stores already signed up for the Kobo program that have not indicated a time for the switch from Google eBooks to Kobo eBooks will be switched automatically.

Fifteen-minute modules that stores can use to train staff to handsell and respond to customer questions about the Kobo Mini and Glo were added this week to BookWeb’s Kobo Booksellers Resource page.

ABA member stores that sold the Kobo Mini for $49 on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday must report their sales by this Friday, December 7, in order to receive the $30 rebate for each Mini sold.