Beware! No returns/refunds on Nook Books!!!!

[dtakahashi]

From the Barnes and Noble Refund and Returns Policies

Items That Cannot Be Returned
We are unable to accept returns for NOOK Books, magazines, downloadable PDFs for SparkNotes products, gift cards, and shrink-wrapped items that have been opened. Please note: Once purchased, NOOK Books cannot be refunded.

I bought a Nook book whose printed counterpart has a DVD that the author refers to. eBooks do not allow access to additional content such as cd/dvd. I had to go to the publisher's site where I could buy a printed book/eBook (all formats!) combo. I asked B&N for a refund and this is what I was told.

The competition has a limited window in which you can return, but it would have taken care of me in this case...I asked for the refund the night I purchased the Nook book.

So, let the buyer beware!!!!

David

[geertm]

Originally Posted by dtakahashi

From the Barnes and Noble Refund and Returns Policies

Items That Cannot Be Returned
We are unable to accept returns for NOOK Books, magazines, downloadable PDFs for SparkNotes products, gift cards, and shrink-wrapped items that have been opened. Please note: Once purchased, NOOK Books cannot be refunded.

I bought a Nook book whose printed counterpart has a DVD that the author refers to. eBooks do not allow access to additional content such as cd/dvd. I had to go to the publisher's site where I could buy a printed book/eBook (all formats!) combo. I asked B&N for a refund and this is what I was told.

The competition has a limited window in which you can return, but it would have taken care of me in this case...I asked for the refund the night I purchased the Nook book.

So, let the buyer beware!!!!

David

B&N will give a refund when problems mean you cannot read a book (very bad formatting, a lot of errors, the wrong content, etc.), but not for other reasons. This is true for most ebook stores.

As far as I know Amazon/Kindle is the only store where you can just return an ebook. And that policy is quite controversial as some people use it to read ebooks for free. Something authors are not happy about.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by geertm

And that policy is quite controversial as some people use it to read ebooks for free. Something authors are not happy about.

Do you know anybody who does that, or are you basing this statement on any numbers you have seen that you could post here?

[geertm]

Originally Posted by xendula

Do you know anybody who does that, or are you basing this statement on any numbers you have seen that you could post here?

See the comments of this Teleread article:
http://www.teleread.com/kindle/amazo...e-ebooks-easy/

[HarryT]

I strongly suspect that Amazon would crack down on anyone who abused the policy. Returning excessive numbers of items is one of the ways that people get their Amazon accounts closed.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I strongly suspect that Amazon would crack down on anyone who abused the policy. Returning excessive numbers of items is one of the ways that people get their Amazon accounts closed.

I don't know the answer to this, but I have often wondered if Amazon makes the decision to close an account for excessive returns not based on the number of returns but on the dollars involved in the return. IOW, returning a TV involves a significant amount of dollars and thus returning two TVs in a year might trigger a closure regardless of the reason for the return, whereas returning an ebook involves virtually no cost, even if 100 are returned within a month. I wouldn't be surprised to find that a person could return 50%of all ebooks purchased from Amazon and not have their account closed for excessive returns because of the insignificant hit to Amazon's bottom line.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by geertm

See the comments of this Teleread article:
http://www.teleread.com/kindle/amazo...e-ebooks-easy/

Exactly. Look at the comments.

[xendula]

Without hard numbers, abuse of this return policy is mere speculation.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by xendula

Without hard numbers, abuse of this return policy is mere speculation.

Drop a $10 bill on a busy street. Do you expect to find it still there the next day? How much hard data do you need beyond a few millennia of human history?

[xendula]

Apk, I am afraid I can't follow your connection between a lost 10$ bill and the percentage of ebooks that were read prior to being returned.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by xendula

Apk, I am afraid I can't follow your connection between a lost 10$ bill and the percentage of ebooks that were read prior to being returned.

Follow: It doesn't require hard data to reasonably predict that some people get a free read by abusing a return policy any more than it requires hard data to predict they will pick up a $10 bill on the ground. There is no question that there is abuse of the return policy because there is ALWAYS abuse of ANY return policy. The only questions are how much abuse is there, how does Amazon detect it, and how much will they tolerate.

[Isles8008]

Amazon has deleted the Kindle accounts of people who have abused their return policy, but, from what I have read, the number of eBooks you can return before looking suspicious is pretty high.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by ApK

Follow: It doesn't require hard data to reasonably predict that some people get a free read by abusing a return policy any more than it requires hard data to predict they will pick up a $10 bill on the ground. There is no question that there is abuse of the return policy because there is ALWAYS abuse of ANY return policy. The only questions are how much abuse is there, how does Amazon detect it, and how much will they tolerate.

Assumptions. I assume as well that there is abuse, BTW, but without hard numbers, it is difficult to say if 0.0005% of ebooks are being read prior to being returned, or 10%. It may be a non-issue.

[david8866]

Why does anyone want to risk his account with Amazon? People already download unauthorized music, movie from internet, why not ebook? Especially when ebook files are small.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by david8866

Why does anyone want to risk his account with Amazon? People already download unauthorized music, movie from internet, why not ebook? Especially when ebook files are small.

I can only answer for myself: because I want to support authors. If they stop writing, it's my loss. I love to read too much for this to happen.