I had major trouble with them when I tried to buy my textbooks online last semester. It was posted on their website that they had used books for sale. I put my order in on the second day of class and expected them to come in the next week according to their shipping promises. When I did not receive my books the next week I called them and it appears they just outright canceled my order. Needless to say I was mad. They cancelled it because they had no more used books left, however, they did not post it on their website that used books were based on availability. According to their website they had the used books in stock. Well they didn't and cancelled my order without notifying me. Anyways, I got them to send me new books for the used book price and send them next day air. I thanked them for doing that and told them that is why I picked them over other online book.coms. A week and a half passed and I still had not recieved my books that were supposed to come within a few days. I called them again and apparently they did not put in my order until just two days before. At this point I was really mad because I needed my books for school. As most of you know books are important. On top of that they refused to give me any compensation. The person I talked to was very rude and said I had already been compensated by getting new books for a used book price. I told them that was ridiculous because I would have settled for getting used books on time and this was no kind of compensation. I finally got my books three and a half weeks after I ordered them. To top it all off one of the books was the wrong one and they did not cancel my first order therefore I received another cellular biology book two weeks later. I'm sorry this is so long but any business that treats their customers like this does not deserve your business.

Sorry, no sympathy from me. B&N has done well for me on a number of purchases.

As I've said about others on this site you appear to want the best of both the online and brick and mortar worlds. You want the best of price, convenience, and customer service.

Knowing a little about Oracle databases and how businesses use them, I can tell you that it's virtually impossible to 'guarantee' real time inventories. And seeing that you come from the land of recounts...

I shudder to think that you, America's future, waits two days into classes to get your books.

[This message has been edited by msharkm (edited January 29, 2001).]

Considering the fact that they did not notify me about canceling my order and the fact that they did not state anywhere on their site that the inventory is updated only once a week and the fact that their customer service handled the situation poorly I feel I am justified in being upset at B&N.

The only thing I expect online companies to do is to do what they promise. And if they cannot live up to their promises I expect an apology. B&N did neither. Customer service is a very important aspect of any business regardless if they are "brick and mortar" businesses or not. There is no excuse for poor customer service.

Sorry I cannot feel your pain with Barnes and Nobles website! i've got some books , DVD's and videos from them hassle free! http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gifI like thier coupons and prices are better than the B&M stores! http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gifI agree with what msharkm said!Try to have the best of online and B&M!

Seems to me you have a legitimate gripe. They should have notified you when your order couldn't be completed, and should have stated that the books were subject to supply. I certainly don't think thats too much to ask of an online company.

While I can understand your anger, for me B&N comes probably as the best online experience (out of more than 30 etailers). Fast, prompt service on both books and DVDs.

I've ordered from B&N about 20 times and out of all these orders, I've had BIG PROBLEMS with about 5 of them (an empty box and 4 orders that I've never received).

Except for one of these erratic orders, I must admit that their customer service have been helpful and quickly refunded my CC.

BUT... I must admit that 75% of success is very poor for an online store. Amazon.com, for example, have a 100% rate of success with me (out of about 15 orders). So...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by TheCurse9:
Amazon.com, for example, have a 100% rate of success with me (out of about 15 orders). So...</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

OT, but I have to second you on this one. Amazon is the greatest, I've placed over 100 orders with them (thanks Jaboom!) and have only had 1 screw up. They did not refund a GC after I cancelled an order, the problem was fixed weeks ago but I still get $25 GC's every now and then apologizing for it...can't be that kinda customer service http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif

Count me as another buyer with mixed B&N experiences. The first thing I bought from them, a hard-to-find book, was shipped quickly and arrived a couple days later (a day earlier than predicted). My second order, another book which was supposed to have arrived yesterday (via UPS _3-Day_ Select), hasn't arrived and the customer service idiot refused to do anything about it until 6 business days had passed (he was unable to grasp the concept of "3-Day Select" vs regular "Ground."). It doesn't matter that UPS told me (via _their_ website _and_ their customer service rep) that it's overdue and B&N should request a trace to see what happened to it (it hasn't been seen since it was checked in in New Jersey -- it's supposed to be in Texas by now). At the very least, per UPS' 3-Day Select policy, B&N is due a refund since it wasn't delivered on time. And if they get a refund, I should also get one, since I paid for 3-Day shipping and didn't get it.

bwahahaha, if it's any consolation, your book will probably arrive soon. It's most likely not lost ... only the tracking number is screwed up. UPS's tracking is complete suck. I once had a large order from Amazon go missing. A UPS CSR told me it was most likely lost and that I should contact Amazon. I did, Amazon called UPS and talked to someone who wasn't a complete idiot, and they told Amazon that the order would be delivered, it was just misplaced in the tracking system. Long story short (too late) it was delivered later that day. So hang tight if you can.

I have had the same problem with both Barnes&Noble.com and Buy.com :

- Order item not currently in stock (ie pre-order, special order, or back order)

- Weeks later, item shows up as "Available: Ships within 24 hours" on the item web page.

- However, those items almost never ship at BN or Buy unless I call or e-mail and have them inquire with the warehouse about what's going on with my order.

- At buy.com, what is usually required is for them to create a new order with that item, and I have to be vigilant that they preserve the older cheaper price and my free or 99cents shipping cost.

- At bn.com, they either create a new order for that item, do nothing and let the order sit http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/frown.gif , or else cancel the order for no good reason. http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/mad.gif Usually, they do the opposite of what I ask. Either the average IQ there is 80, or they intentionally do the opposite as a prank to keep themselves amused (I tend to think this is the case when in the middle of the e-mail exchange, they cancel the order for no reason.)

The result is that I now pre-order only from Amazon (who now have uniform 30% off pre-orders as well as GCs and coupons), who have never failed to ship something when it comes back in stock, no matter how old the order is (I still have some pre-orders on delayed DVD releases from 1998!).

[This message has been edited by HepDude (edited February 03, 2001).]