Barnes & Noble Reviews

I called Barnes and Noble on July 22nd, 2024 to rectify a shipping issue I had with them on 2/25/2024. They issued a refund credit for books I purchased on two separate GFCs and I asked the representative to issue the credit on a specific GFC but he didn't. After the shipping debacle, I was so angry I took a break from BN and ordered all of my books from Amazon. When I went into the store recently to purchase a book with my GFC the money wasn't there. I called Customer Service on Monday and was told that a replacement Egift card with a courtesy amount of 10 dollars added would be sent in 48 hours. I have yet to receive the gift card.

**Edit** the company brought themselves from a 1 to a 4 by coming thru with my order ON TIME! I'm so impressed. I would've given five stars but 5/80 of the books came with printing errors. Otherwise, kudos!!

Went to Barnes & Noble’s book signing in in New York and all the staffs that were there were professional, except for Barnes & Noble’s staff. I was separated from my phone and friend by a Barnes & Noble employee that insisted I go beyond the signing area. Should’ve not never got separated from my property or my friend and no reason to rush me for the time allotment still had 40 min left and there were about 30 people behind us. Never a good move when you are trying to stay afloat in a digital world. I loved the how engaging the author was but Barnes needs better practices if they want to stay in business. When I contacted the customer service I get an ultra generic response. “Ok we will reach out to the store.”

Beginning of March 2024 I ordered five gift cards to be shipped to my address. I received a shipment through UPS of three gift cards. After calling Barnes & Noble immediately and reporting the problem, I was told a replacement for the missing two cards would be shipped from their warehouse. The Barnes & Noble employee requested the gift card numbers off the back of the three gift cards I did received. I requested a tracking number for the replacement cards but was told that he could not give me that information. I thought that was odd since the first shipment had UPS tracking information. The replacement cards never arrived.

I buy in store frequently. I have had some issues with one store saying one thing, and another refuting it. Nothing catastrophic. Online has been nothing but an issue. I pre-order books frequently. Recently, I had an order with several pre-orders cancelled because of payment information. The card number changed because I had to get a new card. All my payment information is updated on my actual account. I got an email to update my information on an order. I tried to use the link and it said the link was expired. (Same day it was sent.) I waited till the next day and tried to use the link in the order to change billing information. I changed it and it said “can not update information at this time”. Said that for 2 days. Called customer service. They stated they “could not update payment information. You have to do it online in the order.” Tried again to no avail. Order canceled.

I was contacted by an America based service team member and they were able to resolve my issues. I have a lot of books to re-read now that I'm retired.

I am trying to update an old Barnes & Noble Press account to publish a book under the name of my new company. I have been unable to update the old account to include my new mailing address or to change the name of the bank (and account and routing numbers) where any revenue should be deposited. At least one B&N Press individual sent me a message stating what I needed to do on the Vendor Account page. However, the options he stated do not exist on that page. My guess is no one at Barnes & Noble Press has even tried to use its service. It doesn't work.

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.

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 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 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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

While the pre-order system certainly should be changed, Cavellene went above and beyond to rectify the issue and managed to locate the album for me. I really appreciate taking the time to track one down rather than just cancelling the order and moving on.

Mind blowing experience.. Bought a NOOK which is Barnes & Noble product, similar as Kindle. When I bought it I never ever in my life would thought that in 2022 there are still issues to buy e-books worldwide.. So tried to set my credit card, no option to choose my country (Lithuania). Right, made a transfer to PayPal, shouldn't be any problems with that, right? Wrong! Apparently, you cannot buy these products for taxes, VAT and other ** reasons, which does not make any sense.. So now my NOOK will be perfect coaster for coffee while I'm going to enjoy my audio book from Audible. Which as a matter a fact doesn't have any problems to sell products worldwide, and already bought what I was looking for. :)

I am a newly published author, Nefertiti Wolf. I have printed books from Lulu.com and Amazon with no problem. However, Barnes & Noble has been completely unprofessional, lazy and unreliable to its sellers. My publisher placed an order the BEGINNING of December for my books. When I received the books, there was different size font throughout the book and a picture missing from inside the book; there was a blank page where an illustration should be. We have emailed (since you can’t call) them numerous of times to send me the correct books but still no update or return box for the original books they ruined. It is now February and I do not have my books which I am now losing money for. This company is a disgrace to authors.

After several days of worry, B&N Executive customer service intervened and took care of the issue -soley becuase of this review- still believe this should have been able to be resolved immediately. Nothing more frustrating than the "canned" answer repeated.

I recently returned a book that I purchased only to find out that they would take the book back, keep my money, and give me a gift card. Apparently if you make a PayPal purchase, you cannot get your funds returned. One book is not a lot to me, but I feel this is a pretty disgusting policy and it will end the relationship that I have had with this business. I’m pretty disappointed that they chose this, even after I tried to reach out to their customer service to see if they could process the return differently. Reaching out to them only got me a copy of the fine print regarding their return policy. I will be finding locally owned book stores from now on.

Have done business with Barnes and Noble for many years. No more. Ordered a set of books for my daughters birthday. To insure it would arrive on time, purchased the expedited shipping. For two days straight, got email stating packaged shipped. The tracking shows "label created only" on both Barnes and Noble website and UPS. The Barnes and Noble rep says to wait one more day and then call back. You can't actually talk to anyone at UPS. Realistically, if UPS does not have the package, it won't be here tomorrow. If you want to compete, customer service can make or break you.

Updated on 01/06/2022: I have had an ongoing issue trying to publish my hardcover book. It has been showing as processing for a number weeks. To make matters worse the only time Barnes and Noble pays attention to my issue is when I write a negative review. Then they very disingenuously offer to help and when I explain the issue there is no follow up from them whatsoever. Stay away from them for self publishing. I assume because it was Barnes and Noble they would be good. They are awful. Please stay away.

I wanted to send a book as a gift. I normally use Amazon, but I literally felt sorry for Barnes & Noble and wanted to give them some business. Barnes & Noble sent the wrong book. When I told them of the error, they refused to refund me. When I filed a dispute with my credit card they fought it tooth and nail. Congratulations Barnes & Noble, you cheated me out of my hard earned money. Hope it was worth it, because you will never get another cent from me. Sincerely, A former lifelong customer.

I ordered a Barnes and Noble gift card with a specific design on December 13th. I was informed that the expected delivery date was on or before December 21st and standard delivery would be 3-5 business days. The customer service rep confirmed that the gift card had not been delivered and since the company delayed the shipping of a basic gift card, the delivery date was delayed as well. I was offered a replacement gift card that would arrive 8-10 days later (well after the holidays) or to nullify the gift card order and get issued a refund.

I ordered a book online. I received the wrong book, not even close to what I ordered. I called the B & N shipping. Was told they will send the correct order with a shipping label and take it to UPS to send the wrong book back. Once I received the correct book, it came with a label to ship the error back. Went to UPS, and they said it was not a label for them, it was for USPS... Took it to local post office and was informed it was not a prepaid label and it would cost $10.15. I paid it so I would not be charged for the book I did not order.