McLarenblog

November 30, 2013 at about 9:40 pm I placed an order for a book with Barnes & Noble Internet web site (BN.COM).  I have a coupon that stated that I should get 20% off if I buy in a store or on line.  The end date is November 30 but the fine print on the rear side of the discount it states “until December 1, 2013 at 2:50am Eastern Time.  I made the purchase on line and because I have a credit card registered with B&N the purchase went straight through without being allowed to take advantage of the discount.  I was never allowed to enter the coupon code.

I then felt obligated to notify B&N of my not being able to take advantage of the discount by using their web site portal (I removed the actual coupon code below):

You guys send me 20% off coupons to entice me to buy books.  I go on line to barnesandnoble.com and place an order.  I am never allowed to “Enter coupon code at checkout: XXXXXXXXXXXXX”.  I have a credit card on file and I guess I get screwed because of that.  I have a second 20% off coupon that I was also going to use but I would rather quit your store from any future purchases and add this incident to my blog.

 

Here is B&N response:

 “…this coupon cannot be applied to NOOK Book.”

The coupon states in large letters in front

“SAVE AN EXTRA 20% OFF ONE ITEM”

“Present this coupon AT BN.COM.  Enter coupon at checkout.”

I thought they sold books.  Oh, I guess only books that you can hold in your hand?

So the back of the discount coupon card has writing that requires a magnifying glass and it includes a whole list of items that the discount does not apply to.  Oh, B&N, I apologize for not digging into the fine print.  Well here is my reply to you.  I have my terms.  I demand a good shopping experience.

The following was a screen shot of iBooks price for the same item:

Above image taken Dec 1, 2013 at 11:50am

Other purchase options:

• Google Play has the book for $11.99 (Dec 1, 2013)
• Amazon Kindle: $7.99 (Dec 1, 2013)

Now B&N now makes me feel bad twice.  I get no discount from them and then discover that I could have made my purchase somewhere else at just over half their price.  I paid $14.99 for the book at Barnes & Noble.  I just learned a life lesson.  Be cautious with B&N or just don’t use B&N coupons at BN.COM.  You can use them in their walk in stores.  It has been my experience that the people running the cash registers at Barnes & Noble brick and mortar stores will bend over backwards to extend a discount to you.