Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble

 3.5/5 (3019 reviews)

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Page 1 Reviews 0 - 10
Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: 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.

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Rated with 1 star
Verified Reviewer
Original review: 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.

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    Rated with 1 star
    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: 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.

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    Customer increased Rating by 4 stars!
    Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
    Resolution response: Jan. 3, 2023

    They contacted me and solved the issue. Thanks.

    Original review: Jan. 3, 2023

    Ordered a book, never received it. Ordered a book, received an email that it was delivered and was never delivered. Sent 4-5 emails, got one answer asking for the order number and since then nothing, no book and no response from their customer service and no refund or replacement for the book. Really disappointed.

    Barnes & Noble response

    Dear Shaylie,

    We truly apologize you have not received your Barnes & Noble order. We would like to look further into this matter.

    Will you please provide your order number, or the email address used to place the order, so that we can immediately address this issue?

    Regards,

    Cavellene

    2 people found this review helpful
    Rated with 1 star
    Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
    Resolution response: Aug. 2, 2022

    August 2, 2022. Yesterday, the shipment of reprinted books arrived with no prior notice that the books had been shipped. Quality of workmanship on the covers was improved over the originals. However, print quality of the interior pages was just as disappointing as the first printing. These books cannot be sold. This morning, I received an email from B&N Press customer support that the books had been shipped, a day after they were unexpectedly delivered.

    After an unacceptable delay, B&N Press has honored their promise to ship reprints (probably under pressure of public shaming). But it is clear that B&N Press' contractor, Lightning Source, is incapable of producing a high-quality product. I stand by my recommendation that authors look elsewhere for a publisher.

    Original review: 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!

    6 people found this review helpful
    Customer increased Rating by 4 stars!
    Verified Reviewer
    Resolution response: 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.

    Barnes & Noble response

    Hi,

    We are looking further into this matter for you.

    Regards,

    Cavellene

    2 people found this review helpful
    Rated with 2 stars
    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: 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.

    Barnes & Noble response

    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

    4 people found this review helpful
    Rated with 1 star
    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: April 29, 2022

    UPDATED 04/29/2022: After writing my 1st review I received the 34 books that I ordered today May 3, 2022. Sad to say the books were poorly printed and had quality issues. It appears as if they do not quality check the books before sending them out to customers. Some of the issues I observed with the printed copies are: 1. Dried glue leaving a shiny residue on the book cover 2. Ink smeared on some copies 3. Sloppy bookbinding on the 4th page of the book 4. the interior images on the left and right of the page was separated by a big white space which should have been covered in the binding process. Needless to say after waiting 3 weeks for my books I had to return all 34 copies for a refund and replacement. Barnes and Noble press is a big joke and an embarrassment to self-publishers.

    ORIGINAL REVIEW: If you are an author seeking any form of support during the print process this platform is not for you! I recently self published a book with Barnes and Noble Press. After editing and ordering several copies I am still baffled as to why my interior file though perfect when uploaded on the website keeps printing with an ugly white border at different sections of the page. I've contacted Barnes and Noble Press along with the publisher author inquiry at the emails provided and have yet to receive an email back from them. I have emailed multiple times, possible over 25 emails sent with no reply.

    After not getting any help with resolving this matter I had to make adjustments to the illustrations to compensate for the white lines. With this update to the interior file I have now ordered 34 copies and have yet to receive them. The shipping is still pending! I have also submitted the file for approval so my book can be placed back on sale on the Barnes and Noble site however the file has been sitting in "publishing mode for almost two weeks." For time sensitive projects I do not recommend Barnes and Noble Press. For projects that require feedback to facilitate a smooth publishing experience with minimal errors I do not recommend this publishing option. Communication/good customer service is nonexistent and an embarrassment for such an established and prominent company.

    Barnes & Noble response

    Dear Keimesha,

    We truly apologize your BN Press order was not printed as expected. We would like to look further into the matter. Will you please provide us with your BN Press account information.

    Regards,

    Cavellene

    4 people found this review helpful
    Rated with 1 star
    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: April 23, 2022

    I have an old Nook E reader that I love. I have been loyal to BN even when they introduced the new Nooks and began to phase out the old versions. My old one has been a workhorse and even though it has been difficult to find chargers for the old Nooks I stuck with it. My beef is not with the device itself but with the website. It became more and more difficult to use the BN site to purchase e books. Sometimes the site would be incredibly slow and freeze, sometimes it would just entirely not work.

    Today was the final straw. As background information, my credit card had been hacked recently, and so my payment information was incorrect and was from my old card. I didn't notice until I had tried to purchase the book and it kicked me out saying that my CVV number was wrong. I discovered the error and corrected it and updated the card information. But no....it still would not take the number. Even after rebooting my computer! So I used the customer service chat. The first chat was a waste of time and the service rep basically cut me off. The second chat was better and she was helpful but in the end told me she could not help me and because the site wasn't working and to try back later. Which I did and got the same message. I then tried to cancel my account. I was unable to cancel the account immediately and got a message that I would be sent and email in 7 days but if I didn't respond to the e mail the account would not be cancelled.

    2 people found this review helpful
    Rated with 1 star
    Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
    Original review: April 19, 2022

    I ordered one book copy to start. The cover was beautiful and perfect. I had made some mistakes in the manuscript. So corrected the manuscript printed 8 copies. Never touched the files for the cover since they came perfect the first time. The covers came messed up. Was told it was my fault because my margins were off on my manuscript. Corrected margins of manuscript again never touching the original cover files. Comes messed up again. Get told it’s because my cover files aren’t correct. I email them back asking how is that possible because we never changed the file since the first print. Why was the first print perfect? Also how is the white border that shouldn’t be there different on every single book? Because if it’s a margin issue how is it never the same? I never get emailed back. So I am out 50 dollars and 12 copies. For someone that is trying to self publish their first book this is a horrible experience.

    Barnes & Noble response

    Dear Samantha,

    We truly apologize for your experience. We will look into this immediately.

    Cavellene

    Barnes & Noble

    3 people found this review helpful
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    Barnes & Noble Company Information

    Company Name:
    Barnes and Noble
    Website:
    www.barnesandnoble.com