I Bid Adieu to My Sony Reader |

As many of you know, I have been a loyal user of a Sony PRS 505 Reader for the past several years. Unfortunately, that loyalty ends today.

My Sony Reader has been experiencing intermittant issues lately. The battery doesn’t hold a charge as long as it should and it frequently locks up. Today, it locked up for good. Despite my attempts to reset it, my beloved Sony Reader remained locked on the Start Up Screen:

So I contacted Sony’s Customer Support. The wait time for the phone support was too long. I’m at work, and the constant “We are experiencing an unusually high call volume” was quite annoying. So I decided to use the online chat support. I was quickly connected with an analyst who spent the next several minutes walking me through the same troubleshooting I had already gone through myself. I was then informed that the analyst would be unable to assist me and I would need to send my product in for repair. To top it off, my Reader is no longer under warranty. Sony only offers a one year warranty with a 90 day limited warranty for parts and labor. This is what I get in return for spending over $250 on said Sony Reader.

I then learned that “Your unit is covered under an exchange program. The exchange is for the same or a comparable model. The replacement unit may be factory refurbished.” IF I PAID $90! Yep, that’s right! And there’s more:

A refurbished unit is one which is not an original, factory fresh unit; for various reasons, it has been returned to Sony from a dealer or customer, or for some reason cannot be sold as “new”. The replacement would have been through a complete re-work and inspection and, except for possible minor cosmetic flaws, returned to the original factory specifications. It is then repackaged with all of the accessories and supplied materials a new unit comes with.

The cost to exchange this unit under our Exchange Program is $99.00 (plus any applicable taxes). Return shipping is included in this price.

This quoted price is based upon the direct replacement model. Product availability and pricing may vary if the direct replacement model is not available. If this applies, You will be contacted by a customer service representative.

Based upon the information you have entered, your unit appears to qualify for the Flat Rate pricing quoted above. Not covered under our Flat Rate pricing is the following:

Units requiring replacement of display devices*
Internal corrosion or moisture damage
Cosmetic parts **
Physical abuse.
Misuse or excessive wear. ***
Units older than seven (7) years from last market date.
Damage resulting from prior service.

If upon examination, it is determined that your unit does not qualify for Flat Rate pricing, then a parts and/or labor repair quote will be given to you. If you approve your estimate, payment must be made in order to proceed with repair. If you refuse your estimate, you can elect to have your unit disposed at our facility or your unit can be returned to you for a nominal fee. All repaired units will be returned to you with a 90 day part and labor warranty covering the entire unit.

During the course of the repair of your unit, it is possible that data, software or other materials stored or preserved on your unit will be lost or reformatted. It is your responsibility to backup any data, software or any other material. If you are not comfortable with performing this backup process, we suggest that you contact a service professional. Sony does not perform this type of service and will not be responsible for any damage or loss of material.

So, I have to pay a $90 fee. Then, if for some reason they find the product is ineligible for this program, I will receive a quote for the cost required for repair. This just keeps getting better, doesn’t it? And if I don’t want to pay for the repair, I can pay an additional fee to have MY product returned to me.

Sorry, Sony. You’ve lost a customer. A very loyal customer.

I now have to contact several publicists who are awaiting my review of ebooks they submitted to me, and contact another handful of reviews in the works to request hard copies of the books in lieu of egalleys. A huge inconvenience, especially around this time of year.

The eReader market is a very competitive one. Customer service plays a big part in which company I chose to make big purchases from. I’m now in the market for a new ebook reader of some sort. I will be doing a bit of research before deciding this time around.

**Update: Last night I was able to get my Sony Reader back to it’s working condition. Apparently the problem I experienced is a common one in Sony Readers. The problem is called “bricking” and the remedy was to reset the device until it rebooted itself. I did not receive any support from Sony on this issue, even though it is a known problem. I received help from a good friend who frequents a forum specifically for problems with Sony Readers. So, again, I thank Geri. She saved my sanity! I’m still on the look for a new Reader as I continue to have a problem with my Sony holding a charge for more than a few hours.**