Barnes & Noble Booksellers
reviews and complaints

I placed on a sunday morning. I had an emergency, so after midnight I wanted to cancel my order. I was ignored til monday evening, saying I couldn't cancel my order it was already shipped sunday. There are no deliveries on sundays. My bank disputed the bill. I also contacted the better business bureau, the federal center, and the internet complaint center (Ic3. ) I did get my money back. Beter business bureau did investigate. I never did receive those 2 books. I wanted to take these people to court. This isn't a respected website like people say it is. Thank you.

I was given gift cards for Barnes and Noble which I tried to use online only to discover that online purchase is limited to "NOOKbooks" this was annoying since this information is not shared at the time of purchase. I live 50 miles from the closest Barnes and Noble, do not have a drivers license and my husband is a long haul truck driver, the entire purpose for the gift cards was the ability to purchase BOOKS online and have them delivered to my house. I personally think this is a marketing strategy to force consumers to buy gadgets required for reading ebooks. Amazon is rapidly becoming my best friend!

At the danbury, ct barnes and noble there is one employee who is always walking around angrily. He mutters that customers are jerks and constantly uses foul language including the f-bomb.

This employee is constantly slamming the books and magazines into the shelves and if you ask him to help you find a book, it better not be a book against his political/religious beliefs, or he will just continue to mutter for minutes about how people are going to ***.

It's ridiculous how this man hasn't lost his job yet. Nearly the entire staff at this store are grumpy and not so helpful, but this particular individual is the worst. I never was able to see his name tag, but as far as I know, he is the only male working there with a beard and mustache!

I tried to exchange a damaged presentation book bought recently from barnes and noble. The "manager" who was she was extremely rude and smug refused to exchange it. She said I needed to have the receipt but I explained to her that it was a gift from a family member from out of state and didn't have a receipt. I tried to purchase a new one and she said she would put a note not to be able to return it because she said I would just return the old one. She accused me without letting me even explain my situation. It's a presentation book that lacks the key function of it... "the presentation". I even have their membership card... What a waste of money. I wish barnes and noble would train their employees on how to solve a customer's issue. What a terrible place.

I purchased an etextbook from barnes and noble and utilized their nookstudy program downloaded onto my computer. I had trouble from the start - the book would not download and open for the first several weeks. I was finally able to access it. It did fine for a while, and then when I had to redo my computer and reinstalled nookstudy, and needed the book for my final project and final exam, I was not able to access the book. The program told me I had reached my maximum number systems I could download the book to. It was the same computer that I had originally put it on. So all in all, I had no information to use for my final project and exam, and got an f on both which dropped my a to a low b. I complained to barnes and noble and asked for a partial refund for the remainder of the etextbook - since it's still supposed to be accessible to me for another 2-3 months, and they told me that they cannot do that. What a waste of time and money! I definitely would not recommend using their etextbooks or nookstudy program.

Barnes & noble supposedly offers "free express shipping" to their members. This is an outright lie. As a paying member, every time I order online and choose "free express shipping" which is quoted as 1-3 business days, my packages are shipped ups ground. Ground shipping is not express, expedited, or anything resembling fast. My packages always take 4-5 business days once handed to ups. A more accurate offering for their shipping would be "free ground shipping".

When I contacted customer service about this, they simply stated that they make no guarantees, processing delays etc, however even after providing them the tracking numbers which show my products being shipped ups ground and showing "5 business days" on the ups site, they stopped responding to my e-mails. I finally called into customer service, requested my accounts be closed and as politely as possible asked the csr to pass on the message as to why I was cancelling.

I used B & N for awhile when I first started downloading e-books back in early 2010 to rean on the B&N e-drader. At one point, I bought a book that wouldn't download. Contacted them, they gave me credit for it, no prob. Some months later, after they launched their Nook reader, I again purchased a book to downloan on my iPhone. Didn't download. Tried every way possible and wouldn't work (use computers a lot and usually can "back door" things or get them to work somehow). I again contacted them and asked for credit. They first gave me some crap about "correct format." So I checked the site again - book still said "downloadable" and had NOTHING saying only in certain formats. Told them that. Went back and forth with them over like a $10 charge. Finally said the hell with it and just didn't do any more biz with them. Awhile back, husband decided to surprise me with a Nook. It was really sweet and I didn't want to burst his bubble, so told him how sweet he is and started using it. For him. I personally found it to be a rather outdated piece of crap, with a bad glare on the screen and rather "user unfriendly" program, etc. Ah well. It was sweet. So last week I was looking over my checking account and discovered they had charged me twice for one book. All of $7.99. But I contacted them, copy/pasting the two charges out of my bank statement (it was charged to a debit card) and asked them to refund me my money. Few days later I get a "thanks so much..." e from them. Would I provide certain information, etc. - part of which was a copy of the charges, which I'd already provided. So I provided all of it. Got this sort of "pro forma" e saying that "yes, we charged you $7.99 for that purchase. Thanks and have a nice day." So e'd again - resent the copy/paste from bank statement. Got the same e again. So tried once more - suggesting that they READ the e's (if they were capable). Finally realized, "Heather" and "Douglas" don't exist. It's just a standard e that B&N sends to people, trying to wear them down by not being responsive and requiring you to keep sending them stuff. After having spent about 45 min to an hour of my time, I realized I could call my bank and dispute the charge. They not only charged it back to B&N - but they'll likely have to pay the banks standard $12 charge-back fee too. B&N IS A BAD-FAITH, RIP OFF COMPANY! DON'T USE THEM. AND DON'T BUY A NOOK. THEY'RE A PIECE OF CRAP AND NOT WORTH MORE THAN MAYBE $25. CERTAINLY NOT THE $100+ MY HUSBAND PAID. GO KINDLE!

After waiting over the 4-14 day shipping window of which I think 14 days is a little extreem I am told to give it more time now. I can have a car shipped to me faster that these people move. And I guess they dont actually read the emails you send them based on I am in texas and they tell me about prolonged shipping to military address. Below is excerpts from my email trafic with them.

Them: your order was accepted by the marketplace seller on (03/29/2011). The
Shipping method selected for the order usually takes (4-14) business
Days in transit. Please note: business days are monday through friday,
Excluding holidays observed by the post office. We anticipated delivery
Of your order on or around (04/18/2011). We apologize for the delay in
Delivering your order. Occasional delays in the receipt of these orders
Can range from 1-5 additional business days. For military addresses
(Apo/fpo) there can be delays in the receipt of these orders due to
Additional processing time within the receiving military base.

Since you did not receive your package by the date above, kindly contact
The seller via the seller's email address provided in your order
Confirmation email.

Please allow the seller 1-2 business days to respond to your inquiry.

Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience.

Me: it has now been the 14 days that you said as the max average shipping
Time. You base this on business days of monday threw friday however the
Usps works on saturday so it has actually been 17 days. At 14 days to
Ship two small books is very unacceptable with the speed at which you
Can ship any sized package across the us in much less time without
Expediting the package. I will not use your services again in the future
And will not be recommending your services to anyone. As far as
Contacting the marketplace seller that is your responsibility to vet and
Hold accountable any sub contract sellers that you use to provide your
Services. As I purchased these books off your website and the receipt
Has your name (B&n) on it and states for any questions to contact you
Not the sub contract seller.

Them: thank you for your inquiry regarding your order number xxxxxxxx.

Your order was accepted by the marketplace seller on 3/29/11. The
Shipping method selected for the order usually takes 4-14 business days
In transit. Please note: business days are monday through friday,
Excluding holidays observed by the post office. We anticipate delivery
Of your order on or around 4/18/11.

The shipper has not obtained or provided a tracking number for your
Package.

If you do not receive your package by the date above, kindly contact the
Marketplace seller via the seller's email address (Provided in your
Order confirmation email).

Me: I am checking with you in regards to this order as I have not received
It as of today. Can you please update me as to the status of this order?

First off they never pick up their phones. Ive called numerousness times to check if they have a book. Not once have I spoke to another human being... Nevertheless, I come here to study, and their are 2 outlets that are not working. When I asked for service they tell me " we don't usually let our customers use our outlets. Mind you there is sign that says, "free wi - fi" and everyone at a table has a laptop. I've never been so upset. If they had a sign in the sitting read said "no outlets available, I would have gone somewhere else. This used to be my favorite place to unwind. Now my friends and are really starting to resent this place.

I have never been in a store to buy coffee where they have hired such rude inconsiderate girls. Who said blonda have all the fun? These two girls are the rudest most sourfaced people in the world. And one is the manager of the cafe. I use to go in everyday and if either one is working I wont go in. Made numerous complaints to the store but it seems the manager doesn't really care. So if you go in and there is a tall blond or a short one with a ring in her nose don't order. Not only that it is completely obvious their co workers despise them. Get rid of them and hire some nice people. Im done with the rude girls and I should just name them.. Elyse and jaqueline.

Barnes and nobles has very poor customer service. I do not understand why they would invent a product like the nook and hire piss poor personnel to deal with the customers. They are just plain rude, not only will they cut you off before you can even tell them your issue. I had one lady tell me I didn't even have an email registered there, i've been with b&n over 15 years, bus she couldn't spell jamaica! She kept taking deep breaths, like I was bothering her but she's the one that couldn't spell. I've even gone so far as to go into the store to allow the associates there to deal with them and the "corporate" office seems to be just as rude as to them. My complaints were about books missing from my library after a software upload, gift cards not being charged, missing gift cards, nook books with missing chapters, etc. I was called by a rep, rasheed west-ford, he spoke very loud and was no help at all. He sent me one email stating they were not aware of any other customers having the issues I was having and exactly 3 mins later he sent another one stating the exact opposite. So finally I was offered a $25 egift card for my trouble, I arrived almost a year later and then there was no money on it! I couldn't make this up if I tried! So I email mr. West-ford (Who can be reached directly at [protected], he claims is direct boss is the vp of customer relations) and got an out of office reply, eventually he returned and sent me an email stating the exact order numbers that I used to deplete the gift card. I did make the purchases but they were not charged to that gift card! This is awful, I have an entire spreadsheet dedicated to b&n, i've exchanged exactly 113 emails, 19 complaints, over 187 phone calls, 29 gift cards, $1, 009.47 of purchases and 48 store visits! Yet b&n launches the color nook and had the nerve to email me about it. Really? They can't provide reasonable customer service for the current nook! The bad part is that b&n is a good company that have decided to employ awful people, I would love to see the qualifications and training the employees are required to have. If it is more than three paragraphs, i'd be amazed!

I just had a baby. Do you know how many people have given us duplicate books? Everything from what to expect (During pregnancy, during year one, etc. ) to baby books, and children's books. Often the books come wrapped in the box from barnes and noble.com. However, since I don't have the receipt, I can't return the duplicate items. It is tacky and rude to ask the gift giver to locate the receipt and hand it over. I've been donating the books, but it seems ridiculous that we are unable brand new, unopened books. Store credit would be great. I don't need cash - just let me select a dr. Suess book that we don't already own!

This is the 2nd time that I’ve ordered Barnes and Noble Gift Cards online and did not receive. The first time was 4 years ago and I was able to get a refund for the purchase that was never received after several phone calls.

This year I thought I try again. Big Mistake. I ordered the items on November 30. Received an email that the items shipped on 12/3/09. Never received the items – meantime I’ve made numerous calls to track the shipments, etc. The Customer Service department is an absolute joke.

I was told conflicting stories – items shipped on 11/20/09 (odd because the order was made until 11/30), item shipped and should receive in 3-5 weeks ) for gift cards). Item never shipped, etc, etc. Finally I requested that the order be canceled and that the gift cards be voided. Was told that I would receive a refund in 3-5 days. Never happened!

After many, many phone calls to Barnes and Noble, I got nowhere. Finally filed a dispute with our credit card company who took care of the refund.

When barnes and noble first released their version of an e-reader (The nook) , my fiance wanted one so bad, so I went out and got a credit card just to get the nook for her. I spent 250.00 dollars on this nook and just two days later had to return and exchange it for another one due to the fact that the first one had terrible loading times. Then shortly after we get the second one, the nook goes on sale for 200.00 dollars. Just for the record, im not complaining about how much I spent, im upset cause I could have bought her a 50.00 dollar gift card for the nook if it had originally been 200.00 dollars. Then this second one starts to have networking problems even after daily updates, but the worst thing about it is now barnes and noble now have a color nook for the same price I payed for the black and white screened nook, which is now 150.00 dollars. I just do not see why barnes and noble could not release the color screened nook first to begin with, now I look like a fool when that commercial comes on about this great new colored screen nook and the love of my life does not have one cause times are hard and I cannot afford her one. By the way, that nook of hers is still having trouble and now it will not even turn on.

I pre-ordered a book on Borders.com. I also ordered a second book. Since the first book was in stock I was charged for both books and the first one was shipped right away.

The second books was released for the first time two months later. I waited two weeks. I called customer service and talked to a representative, she told me that she could see where I paid for the books and that one was shipped. She said she would get back with me by email. I heard nothing back. I tried to call, the representatives see my account online, they hang up on me immediately without a word.

I made a Better Business Bureau complaint, they emailed me that something went wrong with the order and I was never charged for the book. I have a credit card statement that says otherwise. They will not respond to the Better Business Bureau complaint, they will send me the book, they will not give me my money back, and now won’t answer my emails or talk to me on the phone.

I was charges $25 for a renewal of my Barnes and Noble membership over a month prior to when the account should have expired. Not only does this short me a month of membership it also is not a valid renewal as I never pre-approved the renewal. I have had a membership for over 5 years and each year I allow my membership to lapse for a couple of months because I know it will be inactive for that time. I was not made aware of this auto-renewal at any time during my purchase of the membership nor during the time of my membership. I did not even know that I had a renewed membership until my bank called me with a $35 overdraft fee because they charged an account that I was in the process of closing. If B&N even allows the reversal of the $25 membership fee my bank will not allow the $35 fee to be eliminated so either way I am stuck with a $35 bank fee! I feel that B&N should pay this fee with no questions asked.

I have been a long time loyal customer of B&N spending many thousands of dollars there and at their gift/coffee shops. I find this auto-renewal to be very presumptuous and it is a new addition to their contract, which I had read the first few times I applied. Having read the contracts before, upon purchase of the new membership the clerk should have informed me that their new policy was to automatically withdraw money from my account a month prior to the expiration of the membership.

I found all this out through the over-draft and protection division of my bank. They told me they would close my account if I didn't win the dispute or pay the amount owed. I feel this is a little nasty on the banks side as well.

I feel that I should be refunded the $25 membership fee and the $35 overdraft charge that the bank is insisting upon collecting. I also feel that I should be given a fair sized gift card to B&N for the 3 hours I have spent trying to clear this mess up. I am self employed and I have had to put off a lot of work to take care of something that should not have been an issue.

My final note is that NO company should assume auto-renewal unless the customer specifically asks for it and puts a SIGNATURE and date behind it to make it official.

At this point I am so mad that I will never shop at B&N again nor will I ever accept gifts purchased there or recommend them as a business.

I have no photos as proof as I received nothing from B&N and the overdraft card does not show anything of value. It is up to you whether you want to beleive this or not but I wouldn't waste my time reporting this had it been anything else but true.

Good luck and keep an eye on your bank statements!

I have been trying for 2 months to get them to credit me for my returned item that I bought from their ebay store. It only allows paypal, and they seem totally inept at doing so. I have spent hours on hold and then they promise my refund, but it never appears.

you stay on hold forever, and when they forward you the next person has no idea and you start all over again. their computer system starts mixing your orders up. its just a total CF from the start.

Paid $25 for membership a year ago. Never received any discount or offers. B&n says its the fault of internet explorer, and that their mail to me was considered spam.

Even the person at bn bookstore said that many were having this "problem. " barnes & not so noble—how about fixing this?

Why then, am I able to get promotions from amazon and borders? Why was it up to me to fix this problem?

I want a refund or one year's extension of my "supposed" membership.

I ordered 5 copies of Timothy Ferriss's new book, "The Four Hour Body." I don't normally order multiple copies of a book, but in this case, the author promised admission to a private webinar to anyone who bought 5 copies of the book. So I paid for 5 copies. When the box containing the books arrived, there were only 4 copies inside. Apparently, Barnes & Noble employees who fulfill their orders are incapable of counting as high as the number 5.

I received the wrong order.
The package I received had the correct packing slip but the items were wrong.
I contacted barnes and noble customer service initially by e-mail only to get a response:

We received your recent email and apologize that we have not responded.
We are experiencing unusually high email volume, and want to assure you that your concerns are always very important to us.
We invite you to have a look at our help desk by clicking on this link:
Http://www.Barnesandnoble.com/help/help. Asp

I then called the phone number indicated in their e-mail response (At 1-800-the-book [protected]) ) only to be put on hold for 30 minutes, answered by someone and they then hung up.
So they now have my money and I have the wrong items.
I will never shop at barnes and noble again.