Careful with B&N Classics...

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Catlady

And, again, why is BN being dissed for not having a shopping cart when Amazon and Kobo certainly don't use one either?

Thread drift from the original complaint being about B&N?

If you like, I'll be happy to diss Amazon's lack of shopping cart too, since I've once been caught by clicking the wrong #$%^ing button and buying a book instead of a sample, and again been caught by clicking a $0.00 promo freebie too early in the morning when apparently the price-setting was fluctuating.

First time I decided not to return the book since it was then at the lowest price according to Inkmesh and it was something I was vaguely interested in. They dropped it to half the original asking price shortly afterwards. I still haven't read it.

Second time they refunded me that same day, but I lost out half a dollar from the back and forth foreign currency exchange to my credit card.

So yeah, I #$%^-ing hate no-confirmation one-click, no matter which store is using it.

[koland]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

I didn't bother contesting the charges since they added up to less than a dollar and I was okay letting them have less than a buck for what I suspected were glitch freebies (unless MGQU was having some sort of Kaplan-like launch promotion) and also it would have probably eaten up more of my time than it was worth to try and get my money back.

Yep, same batch of books. I also let them keep my 61 cents (except, they didn't get the whole amount, as my credit card blocked a bunch of the later ones and froze my account, which I found out when visiting a store later one that day). It's happened two or three times since, but (so far) I've been lucky and avoided the higher priced mixups there. It seems that every promotion they have lately, they end up with a score of complaints on their boards by others who have been mis-charged (ok, maybe not every one, but the bigger ones, with non-smashwords publishers). Kaplan has to be the worst of all, with tens and hundreds of dollars in bad charges to some people.

Originally Posted by Blossom

The earlier suggestion of adding a gift card to your account sounds like a great idea if that would keep them from messing with the Credit Card completely. I wonder if you do add a gift card do you even need a CC on your account to order the free books?

It stops the penny charges, but not the pre-authorizations. With a real credit card, those are not a big deal (unless your bank gets upset about $1 pre-auths, as a few are overly sensitive and will lock an account after only one such test). With a debit card, they can be annoying, especially if you run your balance down that low that you don't have enough to pay it.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by boswd

I just did three more and again nothing,

as to answer your question of why BN getting dissed and not amazon? that's SOP for this forum Amazon is god. the double standards get quite annoying after a while.

I can't eye roll enough at this statement.

It's a thread where one person wanted to warn others that they had been charged for free books. The incident took place at B&N. It's happened numerous times before to many different people, implying they have on-going issues. "I just can't understand why it's a thread "dissing" B&N?!?! DOUBLE STANDARDS BLAAAAAARG!"

[boswd]

Originally Posted by koland

The success that they normally achieve doesn't mean that they do all the time. I've bought more than 300 books from B&N, just counting free books. They do screw up and when they do, it's in a big way (as in, affects hundreds or thousands of people, swamping their customer service and leading to backlogs of several hours for each person to talk to someone who can take care of it). Their customer service is clueless about ebooks, most of the time, and will tell you to delete the free book you were accidentally charged for or you won't get the refund (you don't get the book, either, unless you wait to see the refund, then try it again, if it is still free ... and sometimes their system won't let you rebuy the same book).

Of course, some people require ill fortune to befall them before they will believe it happens to anyone - here's hoping you remain in the dark. Here, though, I have the credit card bills and emailed receipts that show the errors I've run into in the last few months (none from the Kaplan sales, though, as people were getting charges of $3 to over $10 per book and I didn't have enough on my gift card to cover that .. I just keep enough to offset the pennies they decide to take now and then).

Listen, I'm not saying glitches don't happen, They do, they happen to everyone, I don't think BN is expempt but you guys come on here and give off the impressions this is SOP and happens every single time and that's not the case.

If Amazon screws up do you guys go on and on and on and on/ nope because you guys give Amazon a pass but BN has a glitch and you guys all act like the world is coming to an end.

I did three books all within 10 mins and nothing to my bank account so that makes me 53 books and no charge.


you know what it's late so I'll conced Yes Amazon is the most amazing store ever and BN's is the worst So now the world is back in it's rightful place

[boswd]

Originally Posted by queentess

I can't eye roll enough at this statement.

It's a thread where one person wanted to warn others that they had been charged for free books. The incident took place at B&N. It's happened numerous times before to many different people, implying they have on-going issues. "I just can't understand why it's a thread "dissing" B&N?!?! DOUBLE STANDARDS BLAAAAAARG!"

reading comprehension 101 the person asked why does BN get dissed over single checkout when Amazon does the exact same style of checkout for downloads.

but you know what
Amazon is god Amazon is god Amazon is god

yes queeenie I get it.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by koland

It stops the penny charges, but not the pre-authorizations. With a real credit card, those are not a big deal (unless your bank gets upset about $1 pre-auths, as a few are overly sensitive and will lock an account after only one such test). With a debit card, they can be annoying, especially if you run your balance down that low that you don't have enough to pay it.

Well poopers. There's goes that idea. Mine is a debit card and I have over gone the amount and had to add a back up source to my card which is why I am very careful.

I also have accidentally purchased a book with Amazon when trying to send myself a free sample. I contacted CS and they refunded my money the same day.

Kobo well I have had several issues with them but now use a different card to keep my bank from marking the purchasing as suspicious due to foreign transaction fees.

I remember last year I ordered free B&N books but didn't download them right away and it was just as my card expired the next week. When I went to download them after my card expired, it wouldn't let me till I added a new valid card and then they did a $1 authorization to make sure it was valid before I could download the epubs to my PC. It's a flawed system.

[jhempel24]

Originally Posted by queentess

Amazon doesn't charge me $0.01 for a free book. B&N apparently does (or can; I'm unsure if this was an error or their standard policy).

No they don't, never had that happen at all.....ever....and I've downloaded free books like crazy.

[tiniree]

Wow! I didn't mean to start anything. For the record: I have gotten almost all my books from B&N and most have been free.

I just posted this because yesterday, when I went to download one of the B&N classics, on the main page it stated it was free and when I looked at the "Thank you for your order" page, it showed the charge of $2.16 (total with tax). I also noted to the CS rep that on that page (which I had saved), it showed 8 other B&N classic books for free and he said they weren't). I understand that that is not a huge, unreasonable amount. I just wanted everyone to be extra careful to double check the site and their account so that no charges were put on their cards that they were not expecting.

As the to customer service at B&N? For the most part they are fine. But, yes, I did get the feeling that it was a "big deal" for the CS rep to go thru the routine to remove it. I also got the "Oh, it's only $2.16!" speech for which I just ignored.

Marie

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by tiniree

As the to customer service at B&N? For the most part they are fine. But, yes, I did get the feeling that it was a "big deal" for the CS rep to go thru the routine to remove it. I also got the "Oh, it's only $2.16!" speech for which I just ignored.

Marie

Regardless of the amount the CSR should have graciously refunded the money. Your act of calling should tell them that the matter is important to you.

------------------------------

I just picked up the six free Sith short stories from Sony. Very nice experience using Reader Library and its shopping cart.

[basschick]

it's every bank i've ever banked with's policy. any retailer should be aware of this, and should have a way for you to buy several items at once.

Originally Posted by boswd

sooo how is that Barnes and nobles fault, it's your bank's policy

samething happend to me on my Honeymoon. I forgot to call the bank and let them know I'll be out of the country and will see some purchases. Well half way through the honeymoon, my bank froze my account. Following your logic I should blame Mexico.

[aagstn]

I've nearly paid for a free book once at B&N so I agree you have to watch it carefully. I usually go to each book's page to buy just to make sure. I've never had the penny thing happen though and I've downloaded 100 free books from there.

B&N has weird glitches on their site though, I've bought books before and been unable to download them the entire weekend.

[frquixote]

Originally Posted by Catlady

And, again, why is BN being dissed for not having a shopping cart when Amazon and Kobo certainly don't use one either?

OK, Let's diss 'em all! BN, Amazon, Kobo/Borders ... you guys need to get with the program and give us a shopping cart capability. I've had my credit card locked twice because Borders doesn't have a cart and I was trying to buy several books in advance of a trip. Seems Visa doesn't like to see multiple transactions from the same site in a short time period.

I've been busily looking for other sites where I can get my Borders WishList books and have transferred almost ALL of my WishList to BooksOnBoard. A few of the books are a dollar or two more expensive there, but at least I won't get surprised by having my credit card locked because of too many charges from one site.

Oh, by the way, they also sell books for Kindle and Nook ... and they take Paypal and Google Checkout, too!

Disclaimer: I do not work for BooksOnBoard, nor am I affiliated with it in any way apart from being a very satisfied customer.

[ATDrake]

If it weren't for the fact that B&N is running them into the ground, Fictionwise would be my favourite store to actually buy from*.

Shopping cart which clearly shows whether discount pricing has been applied, wishlist, frequent major % off coupons that can be used in conjunction with another sale going (such as the 15% off weekly new releases), allow Paypal as well as credit card — all on top of a fairly good catalogue of DRM-free MultiFormat backlist sf/fantasy by authors I actually want to read!†

But they've stopped sending me the newsletter with the discount codes, removed ePub as an option from their Secure formats, and have this nasty habit of purging from their catalogue titles I had in mind to buy for what seems to be no apparent reason, given that a lot of this stuff was put there by small presses/the authors themselves who still have their other works from the same imprints going.

Aargh. I blame B&N, who've taken away much of the useful things about Fictionwise that people liked (Micropay rebates, magazine subscriptions, etc.) and replaced them with a nice big Nook advertising banner at the top, and links to the B&N eBook store pages at the bottom.

* Amazon works better for browsing, due to downloadable samples which more-or-less reflect what the actual e-book version formatting will be like. But I really dislike paying for Mobi/Topaz, and will only do it if the book is dirt cheap at a price not available elsewhere and I can pay for it with my Swagbucks earnings..

† I love the idea of Baen's Webscriptions, but the actual backlist which gets included is a little lacking, for my tastes. Needs more Subterranean Press offerings.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by frquixote

Seems Visa doesn't like to see multiple transactions from the same site in a short time period.

Speaking of Paypal. I use to shop at B.O.B but they have a fee for purchases under $5 and their prices are kinda high but they do take Paypal.

Another store that accepts Paypal and has a shopping cart is Cyberread.com This was the first store I used for a very long time but they do carry books other places don't.

Fictionwise too takes Paypal and has a cart but right now the pickens are slim there. I do find stuff there I want from time to time when they offer those big coupons.

eHarlequin has a shopping cart as do Source Books but they don't take paypal.

I can say I use my Paypal Debit card to shop at Amazon, Kobo and other places. I have bought multiple books from Kobo when the $3 off coupon was given out I went hog while. I must of bought every HQ on my list that weekend. Which was like 40 books. Paypal never had a problem with all the purchases in a short time unlike my Bank Card. Banks have stricter polices I guess.

I have used an Amazon gift card that I bought at my local supermarket for a long time instead of a Credit Card. You don't even need a CC on your account and those gift cards are available practically everywhere!

All that said. I shop where ever I find the deals! lol Coupons are a must or discounted books. That's who get my business whether they have a cart script or not. Agency publishers just miss out and if there is one I want I get it locally at my supermarket where I get 35% off all books purchases.

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by tponzo

I just bought ebooks from B&N for the first and only time. I got a gift certificate. The site is very difficult to navigate and I hate one click buying! It's one of my pet peeves about Amazon ebooks too. I don't buy books one at a time, never have and probably never will. So why don't I have the option with ebooks of adding books to the shopping cart and making one purchase. Not only is it a waste of my time to have to purchase each ebook individually but it's also wasteful in terms of paper. I have to print a separate receipt for each book instead of one receipt for the entire purchase. And let's not talk about the accounting nightmare. Instead of one transaction I have several small ones which I need to keep track of. And what if I don't want to use the credit card they have on file. I have to go to the hassle of changing it in my account before I can purchase my books. Ugh! Generally not a pleasant shopping experience.

get something like CutePDF and print to a PDF rather than paper. Just name the file using some system that will allow you to find it instantly. It's what I've done for years with online receipts. No fuss no muss no wasted paper toner/ink. But as Amazon also sends you emails confirming each purchase as well as leaving your invoices/orders online for, as far as i can tell, ever I only use the 'print to PDF" option as a belt-and-suspenders" deal.