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No ebooks with B&N gift card
November 6, 2009 | 11:03 am
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By Paul Biba
Got an email from dave. He says:
My wife and kids pre-ordered a nook for my birthday at our local B&N. The sales person also sold her a $100 gift card to “get my eBook collection started”. When I tried to purchase a few books, I found out that gift cards can’t be used on eBooks. How many people are going to get a nook and a gift card this Christmas only to find out they are void when it comes to eBooks.
Now that is really very strange. I suspect there will be a lot of angry customers around Christmas!
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Comments:
The inability to use gift cards and the refusal of B&N to give a discount to B&N members on the purchase of ebooks (or even the nook) has been the subject of many posts, including at the B&N forum. B&N’s stock reply is that it believes its ebooks and its nook are “fairly priced” and that its ebooks are “already discounted.”
B&N is losing several important battles (and ultimately, perhaps the war) to Amazon by its lack of competitiveness and its refusal to extend discounts to its best customers. B&N is refighting the Civil War. Instead of being led by a Grant, it is being led by a McClellan — a sure recipe for disaster.
As I noted elsewhere, in my own case, in the past 4 weeks alone I spent nearly $500 on hardcover books (and a few paperback books for my wife) at B&N and nearly $200 on ebooks at various stores (but $0 at B&N, although a small amount at Fictionwise). I have spent many hundreds of dollars more over the course of the year at B&N. Because of B&N’s attitude, however, I am rethinking my relationship with B&N. I certainly don’t need to buy from B&N; there are lots of other booksellers other than B&N and Amazon. I was going to preorder the nook, perhaps even get one for my wife (and we had thought about getting one for each of our children for the holidays) but why support a company that doesn’t want to support me. So no preorders and I am now leaning toward the forthcoming Sony Daily Edition.
How many customers like me will B&N lose because of its idiotic gift card and discount policies? How many can it afford to lose especially when its chief rival is willing to sell at a loss?
Many Kindle users find an Amazon Gift Card essential for buying ebooks that cost under a dollar so as not to have these little charges clutter their credit card.
But that can’t be legal – the barring of ebooks from gift cards. Gift cards are paid for. They are cash already given to the seller. They can’t exclude products from gift cards.
They’ve got your money already. They have to sell you the ebook with the gift card. They are going to get sued and lose.
I suspect it’s just a temporary glitch.
I don’t think it is temporally. Rather, I think it is to prevent people from abroad to use the gift cards to buy books restricted to the American market. Of course I don’t have any data to back up my believe but I can reassure you, that this restriction is in place since September, when I investigated whether I could use a gift card to buy e-books for my sony reader.
FULLY agree on the illegal statement. Gift cards can’t be taxed for that exact reason: They’re cash. Period.
You can’t limit what someone can and cannot use a gift card for. The same restrictions apply to a gift card purchase as a cash purchase. If you’re required to be a certain age to purchase in case, you are with a gift card. Same rules.
As a former B&N employee (and a disgruntled one, at that) I will LOVE to hear about it when they do get sued. Love it love it.
Well, according to the FAQ at b&N regarding the nook:
Q. Can I use a Barnes & Noble Gift Card or Online Gift Certificate to buy eBooks?
No. Currently you cannot. By mid-December, however, you’ll be able to buy eBooks with a Barnes & Noble Gift Card or Online Gift Certificate.
So it appears that they if they were intending to originally screw us out of money then they have gone back on that. Otherwise, it may have been an honest mistake trying to get the nook out by the Christmas season.