joe_b

Barnes & Noble really does suck. I decided to order Pierrot Le Fou by itself after it became available for ordering again. The price was more then I usually like to pay, but after browsing third party seller prices, I didn't think I'd find a new copy cheaper. The price was $33.99 and I used a coupon to knock it down to under $30 shipped. Not one hour later, they lowered the online price to $31.99. So, I Googled "Barnes & Noble price protection" and discovered that you can request an adjustment if the price is lowered before your order is delivered. I shot off an e-mail politely requesting a refund of the $2 difference. A day goes by and I noticed that they had lowered the price yet again. Now Pierrot Le Fou is $29.99 - $4 less then when I ordered. I sent in another request for a price adjustment. Three days later, I finally receive a response to my first message:

Well, that's apparently not what their policy states. As long as the item has not been billed (the estimated ship date is two week away and they won't let me cancel), they should have no issue with adjusting the price. An hour later, I get a response to my second request:

So apparently one rep is more "able" than the other. At least I was granted the $4 adjustment over the $2 one. On the downside, they just canceled the free item from my B2G1 order today with no notice whatsoever. Just more crap to sort out...

RoadToPerdition

For joe b - After two follow-up e-mails, with the latest threatening to initiate a dispute with my bank, and a little over two weeks since my original e-mail, I have finally received a response. They completely disregarded my request to either ship Pierrot le Fou since it's still available on their website or give me an equivalent store credit and gave me a generic, canned explanation about how sometimes they cannot fulfill orders for items depending on their inventory and had to cancel Pierrot le Fou from my order. Clearly, contacting their customer service is pointless; if you can get a response at all, it's nothing helpful. I'm now going to my bank's website to initiate a dispute to recoup the free selection's cancellation.

sumdeus

I had no success through emails with BN.com so I called their customer service number and they allowed me to order a title of equal or lesser value right on the phone. No problems at all on the phone. Worth a try IMO.

RoadToPerdition

Thanks, sumdeus. I'm one of those people that doesn't like to talk on the phone, but if the dispute doesn't work out, I won't have a choice but to try your method.

jwstl

If I were the bank employee I would refuse your claim if I knew you hadn't bothered to call B&N. I don't care how much you hate talking on the phone; if all you've done is email then you've not done enough. I had a similar issue with them and their CS via the phone was very good and resolved the problem. To not even try is ridiculous.

nitin77

what happens if you're an international customer like me?

I've had no issues with this order but there are still 3 items outstanding from my November order, 1 of which shipped and the other 2 are still to be shipped, and I have emailed them several times about it.

Finally this morning, without so much as a reply, they cancel the 2 items still outstanding (which is fine by me as they have not charged yet) but I still have no response regarding the one I need a replacement for since it has not arrived.

I could pay international call rates and ring them (not to mention the 20 hr time difference) but I should not have to!!

joe_b

Thanks for the update, RoadtoPerdition. A two week wait for an e-mail reply is unacceptable. These guys are worse than GoHastings. I hate calling simply because it takes forever to get anyone on the phone. The few times I've had to dispute a charge, I always note ridiculous hold times in my complaint to show that I at least made an effort to get someone on the phone.

I'm going to have to browse their site to see if I can find anything that would make a worthy replacement for my canceled item. Their system is awful. They are still taking orders for the discontinued item.

Also, they shipped my copy of Pierrot le Fou BD, but the price adjustment was wrong. I asked them to adjust the final total to $27.02. [$29.99 - 15% off ($25.49) + 6% sales tax (1.53) = $27.02] Instead, their billing department entered $27.02 as my subtotal and I was charged an extra $1.62 in tax. I sent them an e-mail threatening to dispute the charge if they don't refund the difference.

RoadToPerdition

Fair enough. Luckily, I work in the banking field and know that isn't a valid reason to not accept my dispute. At this point, I would rather B&N eat the $26.59.

jiggyblau

I ordered Pierrot Le Fou 1/30 and received it today (member express shipping). They must have a bunch, because they're still taking orders.