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Barnes & Noble Reviews
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Reviewed Aug. 24, 2023
I've had good experiences with B&N before, especially with the first printing of my book. But the second printing was so poor that I can't sell it. So, as they instructed, I emailed B & N Press Customer Service, expecting to get a substantive response back soon. No such luck. It's coming up three weeks now and all I get, despite many emails and calls even to the corporate offices, are occasional emails saying that they'll respond soon. No one can actually call B & N Press Customer Service. We're expected to wait an indeterminant amount of time for them to tell you where things are. I'm losing book sales now because I don't have inventory. They'll say to be patient because they are now exceptionally busy, but it takes a minute just to clue a customer in on the status. Despite new management, such bad customer behavior of B & N Press Customer Service hasn't changed.

Dear Stephen,
We truly apologize your experience with our BN Press, and would like to look further into this matter.Will you please provide your BN Press account details so we may locate your account.
Regards,LaShanna
Reviewed July 30, 2023
I ordered a book months ago that was released on July 25th. Now it is being shipped internationally despite the fact that the order originated in CA and I live in FL. Speaking to an online associate was useless as they stated, "I don't know why, you ordered it." They stated there is nothing they can do until the book isn't received by Aug 14th. The tracking number states it's going to Israel for some reason. When I asked to be transferred to a supervisor I was told there were none currently working and I would have to call the following day.
I asked if I could be compensated in some way as I am meeting the author July 3rd and this book was supposed to be signed by him at that point and I was hoping to have finished it. I paid $19 for shipping. I was told, "Sorry, we don't have any coupons right now." I will never preorder another book from Barnes & Noble and will do my best to no longer shop there after this unless someone is able to own this error and fix it.
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Reviewed July 13, 2023
I liked the store I bought a couple of books in a few years but until recently I found out that I have a membership which without my authorization they are debiting me of $25 from my account and this started in 2018 faith which I have not signed anything nor I was not aware nor was I clear about a membership that was charging me, I called customer service. The person who spoke to me told me that he was giving me credit for 2023 and 2022, and that they couldn't do anything with the illegal charges since 2018. I went to My bank now has 4 charges and I can present the screenshot of the charges and of those 4 charges, only one has been returned to me.
I call B&N and the customer service lady tells me that she has no idea why a charge appears in her system $25 and that was already credited. I am very offended by the illegal way this business cheats and steals their customers and does not inform them. I never received any emails, any texts, any correspondence, any contract that I had a membership of $39 first year and $25 AUTOPAY RENEWAL. I sent a letter to them two days ago, I hope they will refund my full amount since 2018 because I have not had any "supposed" benefit from the membership and it is something illegal with the consumer. I would like to attach the screenshot verifying the illegal charges that they are making to me and I want a legal answer.
Reviewed June 7, 2023
I order a book to print and I never be available to contact Customer Service except by email and they take 3 to 4 days to reply and it's never the same person. I believe it's robots. Finally I receive the book with the cover super pixelise; it's was not like the proof they send me. I fight from one month now for them to replace the cover. No news! Make business with them is enter in a neverending nightmare. AVOID AT ALL COST!

Dear Gaetan,
We apologize for your continued dissatisfaction; however, after reviewing your contacts, we show that all your emailed communications were responded to within two business days.
Regards,Cavellene
Reviewed May 13, 2023
Recently, I ordered a single book titled "Common Errors in English Usage" by Paul Brians in paperback for $19.00. It was my very first online order and it will be my very last order from Barnes & Noble. I will be choosing some other company besides Barnes & Noble. Now that there are fewer bookstores available some companies are choosing to lower their standards. The condition of the book made it untouchable for a human being to hold within their hands and read. "Common Errors in English Usage" was downright toxic.
I will not be returning this book and spending one extra minute within this situation that Barnes & Noble has placed me in. I just do not understand why this company chose to send this book to me in this condition. It is practically unusable. The written statement given is factual. As we all know that Barnes & Noble is a very expensive bookstore and I recommend you choose a different bookstore. This order has changed how I see this company totally. I have never received anything like this in my life and hope to never receive anything like it again. One word describes this situation is disgusting. No explanation or apology can fix this situation.
Reviewed April 14, 2023
These companies need to take note of why we shop at Amazon. Barnes & Noble changed my arrival date twice on an order. Pushed it out further at the last minute. They don't consider the amount I paid for shipping. They don't offer a refund of the shipping. Their prices are much higher than books on Amazon and Amazon ships on time or early. I don't understand the problem.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2023
I am currently trying to self publish my book on their platform and the interface is not allowing me to order a proof copy even though it is approved. I have to order a proof to ensure that it looks okay! I have contacted their support team via email multiple times and have not heard from them. They need a phone line as well. Also, their site is really slow and confusing.
Reviewed July 25, 2022
I'll preface by stating that I am a professional graphic designer who produces publications for clients in runs from 10,000 to 50,000 copies, so I know what I'm doing. In Spring 2022, I decided to write and design my own book and self-publish. When I ordered 36 hard-cover copies on May 6, 2022, I paid for a paper upgrade to ensure best-quality printing. B&N Press estimated a May 13 delivery.
The shipment arrived on May 25. My elation turned to disgust when I opened the cartons. I specified gloss on the cover, expecting film lamination; I got aqueous flood coating. Apparently, while the coating was still wet, debris had fallen in it, leaving visible specks and lumps. Wrapping of the printed cover sheet over the boards forming the cover was sloppy; the mitered corners had "tags" hanging out and there were several instances of excess glue squeezed out at the edges. 12 of the book covers had dents and/or dog-ears.
Inside, the pages were printed on stock one step above newsprint: grayish and rough. As a result, printing was inconsistent. Photos were dark and muddy or pale and washed out. Text was heavy or faint. I sat with this garbage for 2 days, trying to convince myself the books weren't as bad as I initially thought, and I failed. On May 27, I wrote to B&N Press Customer Support, outlined my disappointment and requested a refund. "Amanda" replied that they don't give refunds, but would do a reprint if I sent photos showing the defects. On June 1, I sent the photos, expressing skepticism that repeating the process would yield different results. After that, I heard nothing. On June 8, I followed up with a status request. The next day, "Amanda" replied that a reprint request had been made. After that, I heard nothing. Since then, I have sent several inquiries, each answered by a different person to the effect of "we're looking into it," followed by silence.
Today is July 25. I have no reprinted books, nor do I have any word from B&N when or if I will ever have reprinted books. If you are thinking of self-publishing a book you've labored over, do not even think of entrusting your work to Barnes & Noble Press!
Updated review: June 7, 2022
I gave 1 star before because no one responded to me for weeks regarding my concerns. I just changed my rating because Barnes and Noble finally did everything they needed to do. They were backed up which caused the slow timing, but it was extremely slow. I’m happy with the outcome and product.
I just have one more concern, I wish someone would tell me, why I don’t see my sales on my press account even after the books were shipped and delivered? A chat agent informed me before that when the book actually ships, the sales would show up on my press account but they still haven’t. I know for sure my mom has had her book for 5 days already and the site still says no sales. This concerns me because I wonder if Barnes and Noble sales reports are accurate or if we’ll get bamboozled.
Original Review: May 29, 2022
Self published author here. I’ve been having some trouble with a few things. I emailed customer service numerous times and two weeks later…still no response. I recently published my 1st book with Barnes and Noble, which is currently listed for sell, however on my account it still shows publishing. Also my mom purchased a hard copy of my book last week and my account still says no sales. I purchased a personal copy which had been showing pending for almost two weeks now. The money for the books have already been taken from both mine and my moms account.
I reached out to find out why my account says no sales and to also get an update on the books, because the tracking number is not recognized in their system but still says pending. Originally I was told I would get my book by June 1st, I’m starting to doubt it as nothing is being updated and I’m receiving no response. I’m second guessing selling my books on bn.com because I’m afraid they wouldn’t report my accurate number of sales.
I’m also afraid of all my buyers near future experience purchasing my books from bn.com. I wouldn’t want them to have to go through this. I also messaged the Barnes and Noble Facebook page, the only time I got a response and I was told to give them time to respond which I already gave them nearly two weeks. Then I was sent a link explaining how to find my sales online, which was obvious but that wasn’t my issue, it still says no sales even though I witnessed my mom purchasing her book. I can’t find help from Barnes and Noble anywhere and it’s very disheartening.

Hi,
We are looking further into this matter for you.
Regards,Cavellene
Reviewed May 20, 2022
I just cancelled two titles I was trying to publish through B&N. I lost money because of this. Messages to their support email aren't answered for days, and are then answered with scripted responses that don't actually address the issues. First problem was with a title I had originally intended to publish through another company. I have my own ISBN for it, but B&N wouldn't let me use it until the other company "transferred the title to them." So it took a couple of weeks to get that done, but even after the title was transferred, I still couldn't use my ISBN. I tried to contact customer support about it, but they haven't bothered to respond.
Even more frustrating is the hardcover version of a novel I wrote. I submitted a cover for it 3 times. Each time, they rejected it, saying it didn't meet the specifications, even though I had tried to use the template the provided. I asked for help, pointing out that I have no experience with such things. They responded with their scripted guidelines, which I already had. The template doesn't seem to help at all. So I hired a professional and paid him to make the cover. I sent him the template B&N provided, as well as the specific requirements. The cover he made was rejected. Like each of my rejections, no specific explanation of what the problem was. He tried again. Rejected. I sent him another copy of the template. He tried again. Rejected.
I tried to contact B&N support, practically begging them to tell me specifically what was wrong with the cover. Several days later, still no response. I sent them another message telling them I was cancelling both titles. I'm out the money I paid for the professional cover designer, and probably out the money I paid for the ISBN for the first title.

Dear Bill,
We truly apologize your experience with our BN Press, and would like to look further into this matter.Will you please provide your BN Press account details so we may locate your account.
Regards,
Cavellene
Barnes & Noble Company Information
- Company Name:
- Barnes and Noble
- Website:
- www.barnesandnoble.com
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