The Darker Side of Barnes and Noble
by TheUnknown285 - Written: Feb 08 '07
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| Full Review |
I recently professed my love for Barnes and Noble in another review. However, this love devolves into a love-hate relationship when it comes to the online part of the company (www.barnesandnoble.com or www.bn.com).
On one hand, there is a wide selection choose from, even wider than the stores, which often have a wide selection to begin with. And that includes more than just books. You can buy (and sample) music, DVDs, video games (something I’ve never seen in the stores), stationery, board games, etc. It’s also possible to find cheap, used items. Sadly, though, you cannot order packages of Starbucks coffee from the website.
Searching for products is a breeze. You can search by title, author/artist, ISBN number and refine your search by format, subject, age range, etc. Product pages include pertinent information like plot synopses, track lists, and editorial and consumer reviews, whenever applicable. There is also a list of other things customers who have ordered that product have, which is helpful in finding similar but unfamiliar products.
Ordering is simple. Simply click “Add to cart” to add a product. When you review your order, you can remove products and change quantities (if you’re shopping for gifts) with ease. Speaking of gifts, you can have products gift wrapped for a charge and add messages to the recipient. You can also save an order for later use.
Prices are commonly below list price, and you can add coupons and membership discounts. All major credit cards are accepted as is paying with PayPal. If your order is above $25.00, you don’t have to pay shipping and handling.
Sounds like heaven on earth, doesn’t it? It is until it comes to actually getting what you ordered and dealing with charges. Despite saying products ship in 24 hours, all of my orders have been late in shipping. Then again, at a time when “allow four to six weeks for delivery” is the mantra, getting a package in a week isn’t that bad.
More annoying is what I call “The Saga of the Charges.” The company will split your order and ship products from different warehouses to speed delivery. They charged my debit card for the total order and then charged it again for the two packages. Even worse, the extra charge made my available balance negative. I sent two messages to customer service, asking them to remove the overcharge. Their first reply explained that when paying with a debit card, the bank will hold the amount until the actual charges go through. So, I sent them another message explaining that I understood that, now remove the holds for the overcharge. They sent me another e-mail giving me an invoice, with no mention of an overcharge.
But the issue became moot; when the actual charges went through, there was only one. Luckily, I had nothing went through at the time, and the hold for the overcharged amount was taken off, but for those few days, I couldn’t touch my own money.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Self - titled albums from Temple of the Dog and Candlebox and a book
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