Careful with B&N Classics...

tiniree · 02-22-2011, 10:23 AM

I just went to B&N and downloaded three of their classics. On the page it says 0.00 but when I got the "thank you for your order" page, it charged me $1.99 for each one.

I contacted CS and they said it could take up to an hour to "show up" on my accnt. So now I need to wait and remember to contact them! I looked at the B&N Classics section and there are several showing as "Free". Be careful! They may not be.

rogue_librarian · 02-22-2011, 10:32 AM

I never bothered with their "free" offers since they made me jump through all kinds of hoops. Why do I need to add a credit card to my account if I want to download a free book? Guess now we know.

koland · 02-22-2011, 10:35 AM

The credit card number and your name are part of their DRM scheme, just as with EREADER at Fictionwise (it's why they bought them, to purchase the DRM scheme).

But, BN has a horrible record of charging for free books - they use two databases and they can't seem to keep them in sync.

petercreasey · 02-22-2011, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

I never bothered with their "free" offers since they made me jump through all kinds of hoops. Why do I need to add a credit card to my account if I want to download a free book? Guess now we know.

R, I have avoided registering with B&N because of their requirements.

Now I am glad I did!!

jbcohen · 02-22-2011, 10:41 AM

I guess if I need one of the free clasics I will go to Project Gutenberg.

ATDrake · 02-22-2011, 11:10 AM

Sorry you ran into this.

B&N have a horrible habit of having special promotional pages which say that a book is free, but not updating them for a couple of hours after the book becomes non-free.

So if you click a "Free" link from the aggregate promo page after the offer expires, you get charged and you don't even get the "do you really want to buy this" warning that I've heard you're normally supposed to get with pay books.

This is why I always make a point of loading up every individual book description page to see that it actually says 0.00 before I click.

I seriously hate 1-click buying, and incompetent applications of like B&N's don't help.

wvcherrybomb · 02-22-2011, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I guess if I need one of the free clasics I will go to Project Gutenberg.

Or here. The books in the MR library are much nicer than those I've gotten from PG. All have been nicely formatted and clean.

wyndslash · 02-22-2011, 08:54 PM

@drake: one-click buying makes me nervous, actually, but amazon doesn't offer me any other option either when it comes to ebooks D:

koland · 02-22-2011, 09:33 PM

True, but the chances of a price change with amazon is less (although it does occur). With Amazon, though, getting a refund is quick and cheerfully done, with no questions. And you don't need to call only during business hours, only if not downloaded and stay on hold a couple of hours to get it taken care of (all of which are common with B&N). I've had one or two issues at Kobo - there, you just email into a black hole (over and over) and maybe it gets taken care of and maybe not, but you never even get a reply email in between the auto-response and the final resolution.

Michael Wallace · 02-22-2011, 09:42 PM

I really hope that B&N works on some of these aspects of customer service. I like Amazon, but there needs to be a viable alternative and sometimes I feel like B&N is intent on shooting themselves in the foot. They don't want to go the way of Borders.

wpeace · 02-23-2011, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Wallace

I really hope that B&N works on some of these aspects of customer service. I like Amazon, but there needs to be a viable alternative and sometimes I feel like B&N is intent on shooting themselves in the foot. They don't want to go the way of Borders.

It's really sad, The B&N site has always caused me to shiver. If one thing I thought Borders did right it is their site; Its lot easier to navigate and you know what you're getting into.

jhempel24 · 02-23-2011, 12:24 AM

Hmm....never ran into this. I've always found it very user friendly, just click buy, go to your NookLibrary from the website and download...even before it says "shipped" it's there.

I'll be on the lookout for this though, everything that has been free for me, has been free.

Blossom · 02-23-2011, 07:25 AM

What I don't like about B&N is once you add your CC there is no way to remove it on their site that I can tell. Amazon will let you remove your CC at anytime. So does Kobo.

queentess · 02-23-2011, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

What I don't like about B&N is once you add your CC there is no way to remove it on their site that I can tell. Amazon will let you remove your CC at anytime. So does Kobo.

I have the same problem. Anyone know how to remove a credit card from your bn.com account?

NightBird · 02-23-2011, 08:57 AM

To delete your credit card:

1. Click My Account.
2. Click Manage credit cards
3. Click on credit card you wish to delete.
4. Click delete this card.

02-22-2011, 10:23 AM	#1
tiniree Zealot Posts: 118 Karma: 64626 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: AZ Device: Nook 1st Gen	Careful with B&N Classics... I just went to B&N and downloaded three of their classics. On the page it says 0.00 but when I got the "thank you for your order" page, it charged me $1.99 for each one. I contacted CS and they said it could take up to an hour to "show up" on my accnt. So now I need to wait and remember to contact them! I looked at the B&N Classics section and there are several showing as "Free". Be careful! They may not be.

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02-22-2011, 10:32 AM	#2
rogue_librarian Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 4269175 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Europe Device: Pocketbook Basic 613	I never bothered with their "free" offers since they made me jump through all kinds of hoops. Why do I need to add a credit card to my account if I want to download a free book? Guess now we know.

02-22-2011, 10:35 AM	#3
koland Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,560 Karma: 8033155 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: TN, USA Device: kindle(all), nook, nookcolor, Sony, Kobo, epic, iphone, iPad, pc	The credit card number and your name are part of their DRM scheme, just as with EREADER at Fictionwise (it's why they bought them, to purchase the DRM scheme). But, BN has a horrible record of charging for free books - they use two databases and they can't seem to keep them in sync.

02-22-2011, 10:41 AM	#5
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	I guess if I need one of the free clasics I will go to Project Gutenberg.

02-22-2011, 11:10 AM	#6
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Sorry you ran into this. B&N have a horrible habit of having special promotional pages which say that a book is free, but not updating them for a couple of hours after the book becomes non-free. So if you click a "Free" link from the aggregate promo page after the offer expires, you get charged and you don't even get the "do you really want to buy this" warning that I've heard you're normally supposed to get with pay books. This is why I always make a point of loading up every individual book description page to see that it actually says 0.00 before I click. I seriously hate 1-click buying, and incompetent applications of like B&N's don't help.

02-22-2011, 08:54 PM	#8
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	@drake: one-click buying makes me nervous, actually, but amazon doesn't offer me any other option either when it comes to ebooks D:

02-22-2011, 09:33 PM	#9
koland Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,560 Karma: 8033155 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: TN, USA Device: kindle(all), nook, nookcolor, Sony, Kobo, epic, iphone, iPad, pc	True, but the chances of a price change with amazon is less (although it does occur). With Amazon, though, getting a refund is quick and cheerfully done, with no questions. And you don't need to call only during business hours, only if not downloaded and stay on hold a couple of hours to get it taken care of (all of which are common with B&N). I've had one or two issues at Kobo - there, you just email into a black hole (over and over) and maybe it gets taken care of and maybe not, but you never even get a reply email in between the auto-response and the final resolution.

02-22-2011, 09:42 PM	#10
Michael Wallace Writer Posts: 31 Karma: 14740 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle/Nook	I really hope that B&N works on some of these aspects of customer service. I like Amazon, but there needs to be a viable alternative and sometimes I feel like B&N is intent on shooting themselves in the foot. They don't want to go the way of Borders.

02-23-2011, 12:24 AM	#12
jhempel24 Wizard Posts: 2,157 Karma: 7068605 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, B&N Nook Colro	Hmm....never ran into this. I've always found it very user friendly, just click buy, go to your NookLibrary from the website and download...even before it says "shipped" it's there. I'll be on the lookout for this though, everything that has been free for me, has been free.

02-23-2011, 07:25 AM	#13
Blossom Treasure Seeker Posts: 18,708 Karma: 26026435 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kobo HD Glo, Kindles, Kindle Fires, Andriod Devices	What I don't like about B&N is once you add your CC there is no way to remove it on their site that I can tell. Amazon will let you remove your CC at anytime. So does Kobo.

02-23-2011, 08:57 AM	#15
NightBird Wizard Posts: 2,364 Karma: 3724797 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: California Device: KPW, KF, KF HD, iPod Touch	To delete your credit card: 1. Click My Account. 2. Click Manage credit cards 3. Click on credit card you wish to delete. 4. Click delete this card.

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