Barnes & Noble Reviews 1,900

I purchased a 9" Nook as a birthday gift and paid for the extended warranty. When the gift was given, the recipient (my girlfriend) told me she actually preferred the Glowlight 4 so went to B&N store to swap them out. She also had no interest in the extended warranty. The swap went well as both items were the same price but any credit for the canceled warranty had to come from the B&N website.
The cancelation was successful, however the refund has been a nightmare. In fact, I never received it despite eventually speaking to a customer service manager named Amy who promised to get it handled.
They love to transfer calls from one department to the next. Retail, Digital, Customer Service on and on.
I'm happy to see that my 1-star review may potentially lower their 2.8 score because this organization is a scam and a fraud.

I ordered 7 books from Barnes and noble. The books were sent separately which is weird since it’s international delivery. Delivery date is overdue and the tracking status of all orders haven’t been updated in a while. I can’t even reach out to the delivery partner cos I don’t know which. Also, I reached to their customer service and their response was your package seems lost in transit and there’s nothing they can do about it. Just like that, they also said they can’t help contact the delivery partner. I need to know where my books are, this is not good at all and it’s frustrating

I ordered 3 books from B&N and had them sent to my airport hotel. I chose the standard delivery that said 3-6 days. It turns out all the books were out of stock and B&N had to delay the delivery for half a month. I will not be at that hotel or even at the same country by that time.

I emailed their customer service, they asked me for my order # and billing address and I immediately replied. No word from them at all after that and now I received a shipping confirmation saying my books are being sent to the hotel even if I told them I won't be there anymore.

I am a longtime customer of B&N and I want to support actual bookstores but I really can't shop with them after this. They can't list their books as out of stock, they can't be transparent with their delivery dates and their customer service is not helpful at all.

I purchased a signed copy of a hardback book online.

When the book was delivered, it was packaged only in a thin, lightly padded envelope. When I opened the package, I could clearly see that one corner had been crushed during transit - so much so that it exposed the brown cardboard between the book binding.

Feeling that this was unacceptable for a $40 book, I reached out to customer service, and chatted with “Ian”. Ian immediately offered a 20% refund if I would keep the damaged book, but I explained what I wanted was a new copy, with more responsible packaging. He replied that they did not have any, but I could travel to a local store to “pick out a fresh copy”. Since the closest store to me is over 40 minutes away, I asked that he pull that copy, and mail it to me. He then replied that there were no copies available(?) He did offer a return mailing label as my only option, and advised that I would get my refund when they got their book back. I am now left without a book that I was so looking forward to to adding to my collection, no money to purchase another copy - if I can find one (definitely somewhere else), and feeling most upset at the lack of concern or compassion on the part of “Ian” - he really demonstrated that he couldn’t care less.

If you are looking for a nice, signed copy of a book that you can proudly feature in your collection - look elsewhere… all you will get here is heartache.

Im not sure how to even explain this. First I ordered an ebook on Barnes and noble online. The order would not go through for unknown reasons. So I then bought it as a gift and sent to my other email address. I got an email with the gift message but when I clicked on it I was sent back to login and it seemed no matter what I did I couldn't log in. I changed my password several times ect.. finally for no good reason I got in and thought I had it. Then when I went to digital library it said I had to download an app! I was exasperated but figured hey I came this far so I did that too! When I got on the app and signed in the ebook was of course you guessed it not there. L9ng story short I spent another hour now 3hrs in total trying all I could to retrieve it. As of right now I spent a few dollars and a few hours and have nothing to show for it!

The failure to protect the children who frequent your stores from the cultural ideology of trans and LBGTQ by purposely displaying their literature ALL over the store is abhorrent. Worse than Target. Gender Queer is pornography and is displayed for and looked at by anyone walking by it's filthy cover.

I been a purchase for over 20yrs . I had the original nook and have purchased at least two after. I have the nook glow plus now. I received 3 gift cards for my children for Mother’s Day total of $90.00 . I know how to use the physical gift cards. I added the three cards. I saw them enter with pin. I went to check my balance after purchasing a book for $10.99. No balance on my nook showed. I called several times and they said no cards on the card. They were checking into my account. I happened to get rid off the cards after a few weeks after posting them. So I’m out of h the gifts.

physical card and added to my account.

arrived in good condition, and earlier than i expected!

Update: Barnes and Noble customer service contacted me, emailed me a coupon for 15% off and refunded the price of the DVD that had no digital copy included. I probably won't ever use the coupon but I appreciate the refund.

I used to shop at Barnes and Noble all the time when I lived in California for books and music mostly. I lived in Palm Springs and there was a B & N close by so we went often. I now live in another state and there is a Barnes and Noble close by, but after I retired and my income decreased, shopping for books and music CD's became a luxury I could no longer afford. (Plus I can download MP3's from Amazon in seconds.) I recently got a $25 gift card for the store, and was kinda stoked that they sold DVDs and Blu-rays. I ordered 7 movies - all DVDs - and 3 of the 4 of them are HORRIBLE copies that are fuzzy and blurry and the sound doesn't quite match up to the lips. I read online that Barnes and Noble is considered reputable and they would not sell Chinese bootleg movies, but I don't believe that now. Also, I ordered a DVD that stated on the website that a digital copy was included. The email confirmation and the shipping confirmation also stated that particular DVD had a digital copy. I emailed B & N and told them I did not get a digital copy code with the movie, and the first customer service person issued a re-order for the same movie, but before I could email back to say WTF? another customer service rep emailed me to say there was no digital copy because the movie was too old and that they cancelled the order recently issued by the rep. I was also told that a "coupon" would be emailed to me for a future purchase - but of course, I never received any coupon. I don't care about the latter because I'm sure any coupon would require me to spend MORE money to use it. I kinda think Barnes and Noble sucks now. This was my only online experience with them and it sucked.

I tried to order comics online, and in three attempts, I received an email that they were unable to fulfill my order because it didn't pass their verification process. Customer support wasn't helpful. I was just told to call them when they only want to verify my information, which they could've done through an alternative method. I called and was told it should all be good now. I just tried again, and to my surprise, I received the same email after a few minutes of processing my order.

I made on online order and paid extra for the 1-2 day shipping option. When I got the receipt it says that the books will arrive in 3 business days. When immediately inquire about the discrepancy. The customer service rep says that its 1 business day to process the order and then 2 business days to ship. I then ask to cancel the order that was placed 15 minutes earlier. The customer service rep then says that my order does not qualify for an immediate return. I have to wait for the books to arrive then go to the UPS store and ship the books back. When they receive the return I will be refunded. While I was waiting for the rep to deliver this news I visited Amazon, ordered the exact same books which will arrive in 2 business days and the grand total was almost 1/2 of the price that Barnes and Noble was charging. I will not be returning to the online store for future purchases.

Online is not the way to go with this company. Pre-ordered a book in Feb, book shows shipped out on the 18th of April and to be delivered on the 25 which was 4 days ago still nothing. Won't ever order online again with them.

There’s a B&N location in my town in a boring shopping center. I haven’t been in a while. I went last week and it was a great experience. The cafe looked clean and customers looked happy. They have a nice section in the back for kids. The best thing was the very nice Easter display. I was not even thinking of that when I went, but I was able to get everything for my son’s Easter basket right there and the staff was very helpful and prompt.

How does the Barnes and Noble site have 66% 5 Star reviews when review after review is negative?? Well I just had a highly negative experience with this site, leaving me to believe it's just a scam to get all of your information so it can be sold; especially after reading all of the negative reviews here. I came to the site through Google because I was looking for online graphic novels. Barnes and Noble advertised free ecomic books. So I chose a few, but upon checking out, the site wanted me to sign up for an account, which I did. Then trying to check out, the site wanted all of my payment info - credit card, address, phone, etc... Which I input. Then when I thought I would finally be able to check out, but the site says, "We are unable to complete your order. Come back later. Sorry for the inconvenience". Or something to that nature. I was so annoyed! I tried again. No luck. I went to the help center and found the chat option, spoke to Vanessa, who had me try a couple things, which didn't work. She was unable to offer anything else. So I wanted to just delete my account, but there is no where to easily delete. I found this option hidden under the Account Info section where you can put in a request to either have all of your info deleted, or request for them not to sell you info. I submitted for both, but you have to fill out separate requests, which asks for all of your info again, both requests! Then you have to confirm the requests in your email inbox, which I did. Then it says you can track the request updates, which I did, and the tracking says it could take up to 45 days to delete. What are they going to do with all of my info in 45 days?? Why is deleting and asking not to sell my info such a ridiculous process? Both should be a simple click of a button, and if it's not, then be aware of this company having free reign over your info for 45 days. Just my thoughts and experience. Felt like a total scam, and definitely a huge waste of my time! Zero stars if that were an option.

ordered a book online, never recieved it, contacted customer service and I got no refund or anything. its terrible!

My daughter ordered an ebook for college and was unable to see her order on her order status page, nor was she able to see the ebook on her purchased ebook page due to an system update. When she called, she was told there was a system update happening and the rep stated did not know when she would have access. In addition, when asked to get a refund was told that the rep was unable to do so because of the system update. However, I requested to speak to a supervisor who was able to provide a refund. Highly dissapointed! The website should have indicated that there was a system update and my daughter should have been able to get a refund as soon as she requested one as she needed the book immediately for school. This is not like Barnes and Noble so we are very dissapointed. Please consider letting customers know when there is an update. Students need their books when they need them.

They never have the books I want. Even if they do, they run out of it and don't even restock. They are the WORST!!!

BUYER BEWARE.. Several years ago I used my credit card to purchase gift cards for my younger neighbors. Just recently (March 2025), while going over my credit card statement I found that Barnes and Nobles had charged over $25.00 for a membership renewal. I haven't been a member for over 10 years. I called my local B&N store and discovered they've been charging me for several years because I originally paid for that membership with my credit card. According to the manager, if I pay with a credit card, the membership is automatically renewed. I want my freaking money back, you common thieves. I NEVER authorized you to renew this membership. BUYER BEWARE

TERRIBLE Online
they sold me OUT OF STOCK ITEMS. They also sent a game that was OPEN. it was missing parts. wouldn't refund me. told me I had to send it back for a refund. I wanted the game so I didn't. they SUCK SO BAD. WORST EXPERIENCE ONLINE SHOPPING EVER!!!

A very unpleasant experience I had at B&N Palisades Mall today. When I approached a “Customer Service” person to ask a question about a book, and before I could say anything, his words were “WHAT DO YOU WANT! In a very harsh way. I decided not to ask this person any questions and left the store. One less book B&N sold because I bought it from Amazon.