Sony can't keep up the the demand for the Sony Reader 650 & accessories

 

So I wasn't able to buy the case I wanted. The Sony Centre in George Street had run out, and told me they had been discontinued. They are still listed on the website. I called Burwood's David Jones store and they only have the hideous red ones {pic1} {pic2}. I will only buy one of the red ones if I have to. I'd prefer my pretty red Sony Reader to be in a black case. I didn't buy one when I bought my ereader because I had limited funds at the time. I do now as well, but as I explained yesterday, a girl has to do what a girl has to do! Tomorrow I am getting Lillian to scout Myer's in Toowoomba, and I'll spend the day with the phone calling around stores in Sydney. I really don't want the red one. I am not an eBay user, but the search I did on eBay today turned up no sources. I am ready to scream or cry or something emotional. If the case was cheaper I would just get the red one, but I am NOT spending $60 on something I find unattractive unless I have no other options. The "red" binding is too brown for my liking, and although the red flap is a gorgeous red, the brown detracts from it. If in doubt, go black! Not that it is my favourite colour or anything! *snickers* (coincidently, nearly all my clothes are black LOL The only colours are for contrasting the black.) Anyway, I am in a quandary. What to do, what to do!?!

I've been talking to @fangbooks, @staticsan and @SonyNZ on twitter, and apparently there is a high demand for them and they are sold out and unlikely to get new stock soon. I don't know who to believe. A busy manager who could have been fobbing off a customer or a twitter account. I'll go with the twitter account's reasoning because the girl looked busy and annoyed. Also, I would hate to think this product has been discontinued. It would be such a loss!

I guess it doesn't really matter. I'll be leaving NSW for the sticks in QLD in just under a month, and I need a case with a light. Unless I can find the black one, I'll have to buy the red one. But it may sell out. In that case, I guess I'll have to get a normal book light and *cries* clip it to my pretty red ereader.

God, these are SUCH #firstworldproblems! But I don't have much money, and when I buy something, it needs to count. Also, a month with solar power. It is lovely on paper, and I am proud that we aren't using grid power and all it's nasty associations, but I grew up on solar power, and it is not fun when you are a book worm! You either drain the batteries and get yelled up (just remember, I have been dealing with this since I was 6. I am now 27. I moved out of home when I was 16, but I visit as much as I can. Every night I was yelled at to put down the book and turn off the light!), or huddle with a torch which constantly kills the batteries, or ring your bed with 20 candles to get light bright enough not to give you eye strain. The option of not reading in bed of a night is a no brainer. So, yes, I need a solution. I will be home for nearly a month. A month of not reading of a night? Have I mentioned I am an insomniac? And books are my cocaine? I have? Well, you can see why this is the most pressing issue about visiting my parents. And that it is a problem I'll have in the future. My ereader was partly bought for travelling. I can take hundreds of books with me and they won't take up any room. I tried to take 20 books with me on a flight home once - it cost me a fortune! So this case will be an investment! All those times I am trying to read in low light - either on holiday, camping, on trains or in blackouts - I can just use the light!

Wish me luck! I have 3 or 4 weeks to find a solution! Damn you Sony! You create such an amazing product and then can't keep up with the demand? You need better planning in place!! Serious book readers are addicts! We can't not read. It is a compulsion! And we share our love with those around us. Three people at my book club last night were interested in buying a Sony Reader after Maria and I waxed lyrical. Three people! I guess they luck out. And apparently @staticsan hasn't been able to buy one for months... And Rosie from @fangbooks lost hers when travelling and has been desperately trying to find a replacement. There is such a demand out there for the Sony Reader Touch 650, but it seems everyone is out of luck. So good luck to everyone else who is on the endless search for the ereader and accessories!

Edit: A quick update. Rosie from @fangbooks called around about the Sony Reader 650 and apparently there are none to be had in Australia! The new release is apparently in a few months.

Edit: My friend Zach just made a comment on the Book Bites facebook page about the availability in America: "The 650s are becoming rare here in America, too. There are very few left even on Amazon. The Daily and Pocket editions are a bit more available, but that's understandable, considering the Touch is more popular. All three are out of stock according to Sony's website. I've decided that I want a Reader over a Kindle or a Nook, so I'll patiently wait for the release."