"Free" BN membership (discounts, free express shipping, etc.)

[NicholasV]

Barnes and Noble has a new deal, if you pay $25 for Barnes and Noble membership, you get $25 off of a Nook Color/Tablet or $10 off any other Nook.

The benefits:
-- 40% off hardcover bestsellers
-- 10% off almost everything else
-- Free express shipping(1-3 days) on BN.com orders, no minimum purchase needed
-- Special offers

Sources:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Memb...Join/379002828

Is anyone a member of BN, how beneficial is it?

[ClairePMR]

Not currently a member, but do be aware that the "10% off nearly everything else" does NOT include any ebooks or other electronic content. They are never discounted through the BN membership.

[LoganK]

I went ahead and signed up when I bought the Nook Tablet. A tiny amount of paperwork and I get something similar to Amazon Prime? Sounded good to me.

[kezza]

A warning about the members' free so-called express shipping:
I have frequently had my orders shipped via USPS first class or UPS ground, which can take up to 7 days, when they are supposedly shipping my stuff "express." When I complained they said "that doesn't usually happen." Be prepared to be disappointed.

[rhadin]

I have been a B&N member for years. The hardcover book discount is 20% if the book is not otherwise discounted. It can get to 40% if the book is being discounted and is eligible for an additional discount or if you happen to get a coupon for the book.

But be aware that the discount really only applies to discounts in their brick-and-mortar stores. And there are a lot of books that you cannot get a discount on. For example, I ordered a book for my wife for Xmas that has a publisher price of $50. The cost to me: $50. B&N gave no discount of any type off the cover price of the book; I could have as easily bought it directly from the publisher and not paid anything more for the book.

And the shipping is problematic. I have a book on order that was shipped November 15th from New Jersey; I live in New York, right next door. Perhaps it will get delivered today, perhaps not.

Over the years I have saved a significant amount of money with the membership as long as I bought hardcover books in the physical store. Online, the only thing I save is shipping cost, rarely anything else.

A tip: if you order books online at BN.com, the smart thing to do is to make each book a separate order. In the beginning I didn't do that and discovered that they would hold books in the order until the complete order was ready to ship, even if it meant holding books that they had in stock for a couple of months.

[elemenoP]

You also get a discount at the cafe in B&N. Seems like a better deal if you actually shop at the stores.

eP

[tecweston]

The last time I was inside a B&N store I got offered the card, and I thought "well now that I have a Nook maybe I should get one." But there's no discount on ebooks, and that's pretty much the only thing I would buy from B&N (other than their delicious coffee and cheesecakes when I find myself in the store). I had to explain to the cashier that I really only read ebooks nowadays, and my wife made fun of me for days for sounding like a hipster.

[chazcop]

Been a member from time to time over the years. I decline automatic renewal (& make sure the clerk unchecks that option!].

The various exclusions drive 1 batty (e.g. at B&N College Bookstores copy paper is excluded)!

When the Nook Color came out they were offering regular free treats to Nook owners at the Coffee Shop...but that seemed to stop about 8 months ago. For years B&N has promised monthly deals (via email & or snail mail) but my last year of membership (ending in July) saw none whatsoever though I complained to the 800# & online.

Will I finally renew my membership?

Last time I renewed figured that if I went to a B&N coffee shop weekly the discount would pay for the year's membership

Alas my nearest (huge) B&N closed back in January (Lincoln Ctr in NYC).

Then I found it easiest to go to (now closed) Borders in the Time_Warner Mall.

It's just not as easy to go by the remaining NYC B&N locations & since I'm doing all of my reading on my Nook (mostly library books) the incentive to go out of my way is pretty nuch gone. There is a B&N College Book store across the street but it's not at all comfy & lacks a cafe & community space. I do miss wandering amidst the hubbub of a large bookstore!

The fact that ebooks are excluded certainly makes me think twice. I have no other reason to buy at B&N now.

I guess I'd take the free membersip if I buy Nook Tablet (thinking about it) but otherwise no.


Chaz


Is anyone a member of BN, how beneficial is it?[/QUOTE]

[IDSmoker]

Originally Posted by kezza

A warning about the members' free so-called express shipping:
I have frequently had my orders shipped via USPS first class or UPS ground, which can take up to 7 days, when they are supposedly shipping my stuff "express." When I complained they said "that doesn't usually happen." Be prepared to be disappointed.

The express shipping for the STR I ordered through the B&N site was only one day faster than the Amazon Super Saver Free shipping for the case I ordered to go along with it.

A warning about the free membership offer, if you decide, as I did, to take advantage of it for the free shipping:

As far as I could find, there is no way to disable the automatic renewal, which means that 2 months after your purchase, the credit card you used to buy your new Nook will suddenly be dinged for $25.

The only way to prevent this is to make sure they cancel your free membership before it runs out. I doubt you'll have much luck getting a refund if you wait till after they have already billed you.

I intend to cancel mine in the next week or so, and have also created a reminder just in case I manage to forget.

[Fbone]

I was at B&N this week and overheard the cashier ask a customer if they were a member. The customer said he had a Borders membership. The cashier said ok "what's your number" and it was accepted. B&N accepts the former Borders members.

[Indio777]

I would say that the usefulness of a B&N membership depends on your buying habits.

The membership is useful if you buy a lot of stuff in an actual store. I buy lots of magazines (although I am gradually moving to subscriptions--usually so much cheaper) and I do buy some books. So it can pay for itself and them some if you buy enough stuff.

For example, B&N had a Criterion DVD movie sale earlier this month--50% off. But I got 60% off in store. I bought enough that my membership price was covered and then some.

But as others have pointed out, you do not get any discount if you buy something online. Yes you are supposed to get faster shipping, but in my experience it does not compare with shipping speed if one has an Amazon Prime membership.

Case in point: I ordered some Criterion DVDs Monday evening that were not available in any stores near me. As of this morning, the shipment was still at the UPS shipping facility. Yes, I know yesterday was a holiday, but...... I suspect I will not get the package until next week. So compared to Amazon Prime's 2-days, not nearly as speedy (on the other hand Prime costs a lot more).

So, to repeat, it all comes down to your B&N buying habits. The membership might end up paying for itself or you might be be wasting money. You will have to figure that out.

Edit: I meant USPS, not UPS.

And no, does not compare with Prime. With prime you are basically paying for 2-day free shipping, both to your address and to any other address you ship to (in US I a guess). Plus now with Prime, you can stream "some" video free and can "borrow" a book--but only if you have a Kindle device.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by IDSmoker

A warning about the free membership offer, if you decide, as I did, to take advantage of it for the free shipping:
As far as I could find, there is no way to disable the automatic renewal, which means that 2 months after your purchase, the credit card you used to buy your new Nook will suddenly be dinged for $25.

The only way to prevent this is to make sure they cancel your free membership before it runs out. I doubt you'll have much luck getting a refund if you wait till after they have already billed you.

I intend to cancel mine in the next week or so, and have also created a reminder just in case I manage to forget.

I have been a B&N member for years and do not have auto renewal. You need to go to your account online and your profile and simply uncheck the autorenewal. If you can't find it, give customer service a call.

I think you can even get an associate in one the stores to do it for you.

I have complaints about B&N, but the one thing I have no complaint about is the ease of not being autorenewed.

[IDSmoker]

Originally Posted by rhadin

I have been a B&N member for years and do not have auto renewal. You need to go to your account online and your profile and simply uncheck the autorenewal. If you can't find it, give customer service a call.

I think you can even get an associate in one the stores to do it for you.

I have complaints about B&N, but the one thing I have no complaint about is the ease of not being autorenewed.

The ability to disable the autorenewal is limited to the paid memberships.