Policies
Returns and warranty, read from the source — not summarized secondhand
Four brands, four very different levels of published detail. Here's what each one's own pages actually say, and what changes if you buy through a retailer instead of the brand's own store.
Read this before the tables below
Every link on this site points to a retailer, not to the brand's own store. That matters here: the return terms below are each brand's DIRECT-purchase policy (bought at kobo.com, shop.boox.com, or pocketbook.ch), not what applies when you buy through a third-party retailer. Buying through the links on this site means the retailer's own return window and process govern the return itself — check the specific listing, since it can vary by seller and by season. What survives past that window is the manufacturer's own hardware warranty, which is what the rows below actually describe.
Return policy
| Kobo | Boox | Meebook | PocketBook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return window (brand's own store) | 45 calendar days | 30 days | Not published | Not published — the warranty page describes repair/replacement, not a no-questions-asked return window |
| Counted from | Date of purchase | Date you receive the order | Not published | Not applicable — see above |
| Restocking / handling fees | None stated for unopened returns; shipping protection itself is non-refundable even on a returned order | 15% of sale price if the returned unit is scratched, plus a flat $15 (6"–9.7" devices) or $20 (10.3"–13.3" devices) inspection charge on any opened item, plus $10 if the original packaging is lost | Not published | Not published |
| Exclusions | Items marked "Final Sale" and Kobo eGift Cards are non-refundable outright | Applies only to units bought directly from the official BOOX Shop — explicitly does not cover purchases made through any other retailer | No published policy to exclude anything from | Its published document is a repair/replacement warranty, not a return policy — the two aren't the same thing, and PocketBook's own site doesn't appear to publish the latter |
Warranty
| Kobo | Boox | Meebook | PocketBook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware warranty length | 1 year (per Kobo's own document title: "Kobo eReader One (1) Year Limited Warranty") | 1 year for US customers; 2 years for EU customers | Not published — no manufacturer warranty document found | 24 months from purchase (or 30 months from manufacture, whichever comes first) — per PocketBook's Swiss warranty document |
| The detail everyone skips | The 45-day return clock and the 1-year warranty are two different things — the return window is short and closes first | The 2-year EU figure isn't Onyx being generous — it's the EU's statutory minimum consumer warranty. US buyers get the shorter, non-mandated 1-year figure | With no public warranty document, whatever protection you have after the retailer's own return window closes runs through direct contact with the seller, not a policy you can read in advance | The 24-month figure is published on PocketBook's Swiss site and explicitly stated as country-specific — worth confirming which term applies to a US purchase |
| What voids it | Not itemized on the pages we could access beyond "defective" vs. accidental damage | Unauthorized disassembly or repair, liquid damage, cracked screens, physical/accidental damage, and — separately — buying the device in one country and filing a claim in another | Not published | Natural wear or cosmetic damage, liquid or mechanical damage, third-party repairs, non-original accessories, and up to five dead screen pixels are explicitly excluded |
Where this came from
Kobo: us.kobobooks.com/pages/shipping-and-returns; help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045151893 (Cancel or Return your Kobo eReader); Kobo's own hardware warranty document, titled "Kobo eReader One (1) Year Limited Warranty," hosted at download.kobobooks.com. Checked 2026-08-27.
Boox: shop.boox.com/pages/return; shop.boox.com/pages/warranty. Checked 2026-08-27.
Meebook: themeebook.com — no dedicated returns/warranty/shipping policy page exists on the official site as of this check. Checked 2026-08-27.
PocketBook: pocketbook.ch/en-ch/warranty-terms. Checked 2026-08-27.
Policies change. If you're reading this more than a few months after the date above, check the brand's current page directly rather than trusting this table as current — that's the same advice this site gives about prices, and it applies here too.