Don’t Force VIP On Me

I love to read books, that’s a fact. Some people act so surprised that I read books more than I watch TV like they do. I’ve rambled before about why I have been reading a lot. I read both physical books and on my Kobo reader.

One of the things I love about the latter is that books are actually really cheap there. Like I’ve snagged some great deals from Kobo since I bought it in 2020 when things reopened for the first time.

I also loved that I occasionally had enough points on my account to redeem for a free ebook, so I would find something on my wishlist and do just that.

But now, the company will no longer make that available to me. One day, I woke up to an email from Rakuten that Kobo Super Points would now become exclusive to VIP members only. That meant for me that I would no longer be earning points on any future purchases and I would have until next year to redeem what I already had before they expired.

My first reaction was I was disappointed and then I was outraged due to something that would let me save money every now and then was now permanently locked by ANOTHER subscription service. Because God knows we have enough of those already!

Sure, Kobo’s VIP membership is only $10 a year which is really cheap compared to other subscriptions I’ve seen. But still, everyone knows how I feel about living the subscription life.

What’s next? Is Kobo going to remove the ability to buy books forcing us to use their Kobo Plus subscription to read whatever we want? God I hope not. I like to own my books!

I personally think this was a poor business decision. They might lose customers over this I can feel it.

I love earning points for purchases but make it available to everyone, not just those who are VIP.

👽Emily