Through the college’s website I was able to determine which book(s) were needed for the course so I was prepared for the 1st day of class. I found the required reference manual at Barnes & Noble and purchased it a week before class started. Come to find out, during the 1st day of class, that the reference manual was not required. The following week I went to return it and B & N refused since it had been 18 days, 4 days past their 14 day return policy.

After learning of this ridiculous 14 day return policy I decided that I will shop the competition, and there is a lot of competition out there, before EVER going back into a B & N store. They just lost a customer. I will be passing on this bad customer relations of B & N to other family and friends that are readers.

Whatever happened to making things convenient for the customer and valuing them, especially in this economy?? B & N sure doesn’t seem to care or want the business. With the economy the way it is I don’t think this is good business practice.

When I went to the B&N store nearest me on 8-23-09, I was told returns or exchanges with register receipts could only be made within 14 days after purchase. I explained I had just received the item and it was still sealed in their plastic wrap. No dice. They wouldn’t take it… even with the receipt, in NEW condition, and with me only wanting to make an exchange… it wasn’t even like I wanted CASH!!

Only then did I read the back of the receipt and it said with a GIFT receipt items could be returned or exchanged up to 60 days later! 60 days!!!

I always thought a receipt was a receipt!

I e-mailed B&N to give them a chance to make good on this but I am doubtful they’ll do anything or even care.

But when someone has a valid receipt?? Fine, take their driver’s license # if it’s over $15 or whatever (that way you can keep track of someone using the store like a library). Only allow people a % of the amount they spend as returns….or only allow a certain # of returns per year…or a certain $$ amount of returns per year. But don’t change the policy so that honest customers are completely screwed.

Every retailer is tightening return policies…partly due to return fraud (someone stealing something and returning it for cash or credit) and partly because Americans are dumb and only want low cost, regardless of the level of customer service. This is part of the reason customer service is dead. Everyone wants Mall-Wart prices and cheap crap. Nobody wants to pay for anything. As a result, customer service dies in favor of simply offering the cheapest everything.

Anyway, Amazon is cancelling customers for returning things too. Google it. It blows because I receive damaged items all the time, now I feel like I can’t return them (for fear of having my account cancelled). If the corner of a book is dog-eared, bent back, torn….you won’t get as much if you try to sell it to Half Price books or whatever. Yet you can’t return it to Amazon for a replacement because they’ll cancel your account if you do it too often (however much that is).

REMEMBER TO ASK FOR A GIFT RECEIPT FROM B&N! You then have 60 days to return the item for a full store credit. If you don’t want to be tracked, simply pay in cash (and don’t use a B&N member card when you pay for it).

-certainly the “profits” from buying a book cheaply somewhere else (or online) and exchanging it for cash at Barnes and Noble would be meager, but what about larger items that they sell? they do more than books now, DVD’s, computer stuff, etc.

-Barnes and Noble, along with every other retailer is having to offer some pretty steep discounts and sales at the moment. what prevents someone from buying a book on a deep sale, and then trying to exchange it for cash once its sale has ended?

-in the end, all Barnes and Noble is doing is saying that if you buy a book and want to return it you have to have a receipt. isn’t the same as virtually EVERY other bookseller? do you think you could walk into your local independent book shop with a random book and demand cash with no proof you’ve bought it from them? certainly not.

-every time I give a book as a gift, I give a gift receipt. around holidays they almost always ask me if I need one at Barnes and Noble or elsewhere. now that this policy is in place, why not just get one when you buy a book as a gift? it’s not particularly taxing.

I do agree that Barnes and Noble should have had a longer interim period before they switched their policy entirely, so that everyone was on the same page (har har). but still, I don’t think their putting on their evil empire cap just yet. this is a pretty standard policy.

I would stay away from them in future